Cows By The Fence

It’s that time of year in Korea. Rainy season, summer break, and people leaving their jobs in Korea to go back home. I arrived in Mokpo in Mach and already so many people have came and went. A large number of people I consider friends are leaving in the next two months alone! While it’s sad to say goodbyes, there is one plus for those who are still around: free going away stuff!

On Sunday, one friend was having a going away sale and give away. I picked up a bass guitar and amp for 50,000 won ($50), food, laptop bag, drinks, spices, soju, whiskey, and a few books all for free. Packrat heaven (for me anyways).

I wish Monique all the best with her travels home and hope for a safe flight and a great life! Nice knowing you!

Wow!

Monsoon season has arrived in South Korea. Which means that it is bloody hot, humid, and rainy. My apartment does not leak luckily, but the hallways are often pretty wet after a good rain storm. The school has air conditioning in every classroom, but it is not turned on until next month. Thank you provincal regulations. Students (and teachers) are sweating buckets while teaching/learning. I especially am sweating and melting away during this season. Students hand me their fans so I can cool down and teach (they rock).

Despite the humid weather, I’ve been enjoying my time here again. Keep good company in Korea. Some people can be so negative and that can have a profound effect on your feeling about Korea and your experience here. Keep good company. Summer break is slowly approaching and I am off to Seoul next weekend for the very first time. I’m pretty damn excited!

What is coupling you ask? It is when in Korea a couple wear matching clothes to let the world know they are a couple. I was in old Mokpo Monday evening and snagged a picture of a coupling couple (love the Lumix camera)! It’s a pretty common sight to see. I have nothing against it. I just never imagine I would see this happen in Canada. It’s also cute in its own little way.

This week, I’m having my students write stories based on pictures I put up on the board or tv screen. The picture below has been a popular choice for stories.

The students have been working in groups of 3-4 depending on class size. One group on Monday wrote the story below. I loved it! Sarcastic, funny, and well written for first year high school students.

Chicken was not sold because people were scared of Avian Flu. So the chicken store keeper is wearing a cloth like chicken and he informs people about chicken safety. But the people didn’t believe his speech so he was very sad. Then, a good idea came to his mind. He went to the school and shouted “Wow!” He started to dance paradise and said
“Come on, man
You say chick
You say Ken
Chic-Ken Chic-Ken
Everybody put your hands up!
Just feel me.”
Everyone was excited. One man started shouting “Chic-Ken Chic-Ken”. Two men did, then three, then four. Finally, everyone was shouting. He was happy and took off the chicken cloth. But people don’t like chicken because everybody thinks chicken is not good for health. Cow too. So people eat dog instead.

This weekend, Steph, Elliot, Matt, Ray, Maggie, and I went to camp out at Waydaldo for the night. Waydaldo is a small island that is not too far from Mokpo. you get there by taking the 8000 won ferry from the Mokpo Coastal Ferry Terminal. It takes about fifty (50) minutes by ferry to get there.

We got to the island around 11 a.m. on Saturday. The group rented a room in a small house/hostel/hotel (?) and the owner came to pick us up from the dock in a fine piece of equipment. Yes, the blue tractor below was our chariot. The six of us fit in the back comfortably. The ride was fun and slightly bumpy. I took a video of us being driven to the house and back to the dock the next day, but am having trouble uploading them due to their size.

We got to the house, unpacked, ate a quick lunch, and met our resident friend, Madoggie. Madoggie is the cutest ugly dog I have ever seen. Short, ugly, curled lips, yet cute. She was a very friendly dog and loved the food we gave her.

We spent the majority of the afternoon at the beach. Swam in the ocean. Matt, Steph, and myself tried to swim to the nearby Star Island but turned back after making it halfway there. I tried to find a shortcut to the island and ended up swimming right into an area filled with razor sharp shells. My hands and feet have many scars and cuts to prove it. We played frisbee, drank beer, and relaxed for most of the afternoon and early evening. We had dinner (Korean pork bbq), soju, beer, etc. Very filling meal. The place had an outdoor Noreabang and we proceeded to sing after we had some more alcohol in us. While we were singing, the owner of the place was off in the corner killing chickens. So strange to sing Wonderwall and see him walk beside us with two dead birds.

We made it down to the beach where we piled wood for a bonfire earlier and proceeded to sit around and enjoy flame. It was so nice to finally see stars again! There really is no light pollution on Waydaldo whatsoever. Noise pollution wasn’t too bad either.

We left early Sunday morning. Most of us were hungover from the night before and wanted to relax and recover. This week at school is a short week. There is a national holiday Friday. I think I am off to Wando this weekend. Enjoy your week.

I’ve had some time to play around with my Panasonic DMC FZ7 Camera and I have to admit I really like it! Before, I was using an old HP E327 and it was more than showing its age. It wasn’t a quality camera to begin with though. The Lumix takes pretty sharp pictures. I will post some comparison shots below.

This photo was taken with the E327 and not very sharp.

This one taken with the Lumix. Much sharper and clearer.  The zoom/macro is also much better with the Lumix.

I love the camera is the message I am trying to get across. I am however unable to get my camera to upload photos to my laptop which is running Ubuntu Studio. It thinks the camera is an FZ5 and will not sync. I have been uploading to facebook using the school XP machine.

The one I do not enjoy about Korea is how some teachers talk to you like you are a monkey.  The one teacher asked me if we could switch classes around so her students would have more time in home economics class and I agreed. She spoke no English so she asked one of the English Teachers to ask me. The teacher goes up to me and says” Jack I was supposed to remind you about something today. Do you remember what it was?” Duh. Of course I do. “Very good, you did remember.”

Talk to me like an equal human being please and not like a child or a monkey.

Last night I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 off of my friend Camille. The camera I was using before was a Hewlett Packard HP E327 which worked alright, but didn’t take very sharp pictures. I’ve been playing with the Lumix at school and I rather like it. I will post some comparison pictures to compare it with my old camera when I get the chance.