The Hodgepodge, Potpourri, and Smorgasbord Post

As a few of you have been so kind to tell me, I have sucked at keeping my blog.  Thanks, for your well wishes and shall we say “gentle” nudges to write a new posting.   

So what wonderful and fabulous things have I been up to in the last two months?  The answer, sadly, is not a whole hell of a lot. Back at the beginning of April, some coworkers and I went to an amusement park in Seoul known as Lotteworld. Lotteworld, or as I like to call it, copyright infringement land, has probably been sued by the Disney company more times than one can conveniently count. Not because of the rides, but because of the items one can buy there.  Mouse ears??? Really??? Even the curtain on their stage bares an uncanny resemblance to the wonderful world of Disney curtain that Tinkerbelle opens at the beginning of Disney specials on ABC. Hell, they even have a knock off the Disney knock off of Neuschwanstein! As for rides, this place is very much geared to the small child, but there are a few adult rollercoasters that are good times.  They also have this giant tower which spins you up to the top and then drops you straight down. For those of you that know me, you know I don’t have a fear of heights.  I love them.  What I am terrified of is the sensation of falling. It makes my skin crawl and causes shouts, not unlike those of an eight year old girl, to come from my lips unbidden. Despite this, I went on the ride. I figured I’m here I might as well… It wasn’t a good decision.  The other ride that I feel I ought to mention is a rollercoaster they call Atlantis.  It’s mostly awesome.  I say mostly because while we were waiting the hour and change to get on the two minute ride, I noticed a sign that gave me pause. It simply read max height: 1m90.  Now, for those of you not familiar with the metric system, I at right around 6’2”, am 1m85. So at a guess, it has a max height of 6’4”. The entire idea of being too tall to ride a rollercoaster really got under my skin. Then I got into the car I noticed almost instantly that my body did not fit into the car in the way that it was designed to accept a human body. I figured, what the hell, it will only last a few minutes.  I can be a little uncomfortable in order to take a thrill ride. What I didn’t expect was that we’d sit there for five minutes before we started out. By the time the car started down the track, I had developed the most painful cramps in my hips that I have ever had. 

            My friends and I were going to go out and experience the Seoul nightlife, but we were exhausted from standing in line all day. So, we just relaxed at the hostel and hung out with the guys that own and operate it. This lead to the drinking of Soju. Soju, is a very inexpensive and strong type of alcohol. A bottle of it runs about a buck.  It leads to me singing Karaoke in what is known as a Norebang with Koreans I have just met.  Fun at the time, shameful and hangover inducing come the morning.

            Cassie and I went back to Seoul a few weeks later to hang out with those guys again, but bad mojo struck and well… I’m just going to leave it at this.  I woke up closer to the North Korean boarder than I did to Seoul and spent $80 on a taxi ride back.  There is no upside to this story.  I just thought I’d mention it. 

            With only one other exception, I’ve been staying in Seosan on the weekends trying to make friends and influence people. I’ve finally got a decent group of core friends and that will lead to great experiences and stories later. Such as the weekend we spent camping at Malipo beach to celebrate my friend Amy’s birthday. Good times had by all, even if I’m not allowed to play with roman candles anymore.  Let’s just say that wizard battles on the beach in Korea can be fun… Also, I know that it was stupid and was told many times the next morning that it was dangerous.  Please, don’t chime in with your own critique of proper firework use.  I’ve learned my lesson.  Mostly. At least, it was roman candles and not bottle rockets on the fourth of July… right Mom? 

            So that’s all the fun I’ve been having. My work schedule really has me going. I’ve added an adult class Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to my list of work so I’m now working from 7:50 on those days until 8:00. Monday and Friday it’s only from 11:00 until 8:00. The problem is that my place of education is first and foremost a business and it is run like one.  The illusion of success is better than the actual attainment of skill and homework, if parents complain about it, is like junk mail.  You look at it and then do nothing with it. None of my students really want to be here and my Kindergarteners cry at the drop of a hat. So by the time Friday comes around, I’m more or less able to chew iron and spit nails. I need all weekend doing more or less nothing to recharge enough to face the coming week. I know that teachers in the States have to deal with parents too, but they don’t have to change test grades to keep the parents happy and, in extension, themselves employed.

           

            Also, Lowell and Dave, I don’t have a girlfriend.  I don’t’ even know a girl that would be upset if she were to hear me say that. So, thanks for thinking that I could pull it off, but I honestly don't have the time to find one.


Also, this weekend I plan on staying at home and will be putting up pictures of my time here.