Blackout Korea

In Korea, people pass out in public kind of frequently. I've mentioned in the past how I've seen men out cold on the sidewalk during a Tuesday walk to work at 7:30 am. That soju'll murder you if you aren't careful. In a country where you can drink at a bar until 5am any day of the week, and buy booze for just over a dollar at a convenience store at any time, it's really not a surprising phenomenon.

I've never had the heart or the guts to take a picture of one of these soju warriors, but luckily I don't have to. There is a site dedicated to capturing this little quirk in Korean drinking culture.

Check it out. You might have to scroll down to see the pictures because there's some weird YouTube post at the top right now:

http://www.blackoutkorea.com/

At first I felt hesitant to share this aspect of what one of my co teachers refers to as "Ugly Korea" (she used that term to describe any behaviour Koreans worry about foreigners seeing). However, the other night I was watching TV and a Korean show that had the word "News" in the title was actually just a highlight reel of drunk American college kids doing stupid things. I then realized different cultures have always laughed at one another, and probably always will. There's nothing mean spirited about it; it's all in good fun. At the same time, I can't help but thinking some of the dudes in the pictures probably wouldn't be too happy to know they've been captured unconscious on camera and had their images posted on the web...

What Teaching in Seoul has Taught me About my Appearance

Korean students are not afraid to call 'em how the see 'em. I've blogged in the past about how brutal they can be when describing their classmates (much like Canadian students). I'm not immune to the brutal honesty of my students. Whenever a student does make fun of me, I react with either mock outrage or mock sadness. For whatever reason, my reactions amuse the little jerks to no end.

So what have I learned about myself?

1) I am very furry. I've always known I'm a little hairier than the average person. In a shirts vs. skins game, I'm on the shirts team no matter what. However, moving to Seoul has made me feel like some kind of monster. Every time I go to help a student at their desk in a short sleeved shirt, the student will ignore what I am saying. This is because they are memorized, fascinated, and disgusted by my arm hair. Inevitably, the student will let out an "Oh!", eyes wide with surprise, and reach out to touch the mysterious growth that covers my forearms. "Shawn Teacher! Furry! So Furry!". For whatever reason, Korean students do not learn the word "hairy". Either that, or they think I am more of an animal than a human being. It doesn't help that Korean men my age have basically no body hair. Much to my relief, the students were excited last week because they found a kid who had some visible arm hair.

2) I have a McDonald's head. The sketching ability of Korean students is insane. I swear it seems 95% of Korean students can draw amazing pictures/cartoons. One coteacher told me this is because private schools have drawing contests for students periodically, so kids hone their skills with hopes of winning those. Anyway, they've all discovered that if they start drawing cartoons of me with just the right M, they can capture my receding hairline perfectly. To perfect the likeness, they are sure to add what I like to call my "11am shadow". Despite the fact I shave every morning, I've had a permanent shadow since age 17.

3) I have a huge freakishly huge nose. I have a slightly big nose, but when Korean students look at me they see a ski slope that takes up half my face.

4) I have big eyes and beautiful lashes. My cartoon eyes are always huge and dark, with feminine lashes. A McDonald's hairline, giant nose, facial hair, and big beautiful puppy dog eyes. This is my face.

5) I look like: In the beginning, students wanted to get on my good side, so they always compared me to celebrities. Lately they've become a little more comfortable, and the truth is coming out. I've drawn comparisons to a turkey, a pumpkin, and Mr. Bean, to name a few. Stupid Halloween/Thanksgiving lessons...

All of this really makes me doubt anybody at school truly thinks I am "handsome" after all.

I'm Back

I got my new laptop today (on credit), so I'm back in the blogging game.

I'm officially abandoning the photo a day for a year, because I am a quitter. Anyone who knows me knows that. The good news is I will continue with a photo a week instead, and I'll go back to writing posts. Who was I kidding? I'm no photographer.

In the spirit of Halloween, I have a Halloween teaching story. I was teaching students a lesson about (you guessed it) Halloween the other day. In one part of the lesson, I had them tell me things they're afraid of.

In my basic class, one student wrote "I'm afraid of cat". Normally I don't like to correct students for every little thing because I don't want them to become too shy from embarrassment to participate. However, this girl is confident and eager to learn, so I decided to explain her mistake.

Shawn: You should say "I'm afraid of cats". "I'm afraid of cat makes it sound like you are only afraid of one cat. Cat is singular, it means one. Cats is plural, it means more than one.

Student (eyes wide with sincerity and fear): But Shawn, one cat scary too!!!

I lost my shit when she said that. It was even funnier because this is a high school girl, not a little kid. After I finished laughing I explained she should say "cats" to express that she is afraid of cats in general. Once she got it she thought it was pretty funny too.

Teaching is so awesome. Some of the time, anyway...

Broken Laptop

My laptop took a nasty tumble in my apartment the other day. The screen is now pretty mangled, the USB ports don't work, and it would cost about as much to fix it as it would to buy a new one. So, until I buy my new one the photos are going to have to be put on hold.

I'll continue taking pictures, but am seriously thinking about reducing the photos to one a week. I'm thinking one a week will lead to higher quality photos and more time for me to write a few posts. I'm also thinking it would a bit of a cop out. I'd like to keep it going just to say I did it. Who am I kidding though, I've already had to cheat multiple times. Any thoughts?

Photo a Day # 43: Laundry Day

This is my little washing machine/dryer. My boss showed me how to use this once, and I memorized the sequence (the buttons are in Korean) immediately. My boss seemed very impressed. I used this same sequence for a long time, until I realized this machine could clean my clothes in 56 minutes instead of several hours. I've yet to summon the kahunas to use the dryer. Friends of mine have used the dryer only to turn out blankets with holes or burns in them. I've always been a hanger myself. It's cheaper and better for the environment. Plus if you leave the window open the breeze makes your laundry smell fresh for free!

The praises I've received for remembering how to use this machine were the beginning of a trend. My Korean colleagues have rained undue compliments upon me for my attempts at planning lessons, my attempts at using metal chopsticks, my attempts to use the subway alone, my attempts to speak Korean, and my attempts to eat spicy Korean food. I know I am nothing special for developing the aforementioned skills I have been commended for, but I still enjoy the positive encouragement. In reality, I feel I should be far more fluent in the Korean language after an entire year. I'd like to think I'm ok at the rest of the things on that list though.

Photo a Day # 42: Maxim Coffee

Maxim instant coffee is all the rage in Seoul these days. The moment I arrived at orientation last fall, I was presented with these little packets of coffee and sugar on an hourly basis. There are also water coolers everywhere in the city because some people don't think the tap water is safe. As a result, you can pretty much use the hot button on a water cooler to brew up a Maxim anytime, anywhere.

I started out having one in the morning at work. Gave me a little boost. Then it was two. When I hit seven per day the mood swings, depression, and violence kicked in. After the intervention, I learned to moderate my Maxim drinking a little bit more. Instead, I mix it up by stopping for a coffee at Dunkin Donuts every now and then.

Sidenote: Some of my Korean friends swear that certain people can make things like instant coffee or instant noodles better than other people. I guess some people just have that instinct. You know, the one that kicks in and tells you when you have enough water, if it's hot enough, etc.

Photo a Day # 41: The Wackiness of Gangnam

Matching Game: Match the picture to the appropriate answer below.

a) Connect 400
b) "Don't drink at work" ad.
c) Coach
d) Poor choice of words.
e) Huh?