Lunar New Year Pt. 1

It's 8pm on Saturday night and back stateside everyone is asleep as we get ready for the biggest holiday of the year... Solnal or Lunar New Year. I am extremely grateful to have so much time to relax with the 4 day holiday. This is my kind of national holiday, 4 days off, although that doesn't mean I won't be working at the bar tonight. We have a band coming in to play some indie music to kick off our 3 day party to celebrate.

The last few days have been very nice with tests finishing up for the month at school and calling my mommacita with angela to wish her a happy birthday. It was great seeing the grandparents as well. I just wanted to write a quick note to everyone before I head off to get some more pictures for everyone. All my love. Talk to you all too soon.

Musings on a Winter Night

So I've been deep in thought lately, some know why and some don't, but nonetheless I have been exceptionally busy. So tonight the bar is rather quiet, which is quite fine by me. Angela is sleeping in one of the booths and Sophie is playing games on her phone. Personally, I think the cold combined with the ugly wind is keeping everyone indoors tonight. A nice quiet night is due after the hectic week with school and with the bar. Argh too much to do in so many ways that I feel like my brain is splitting apart trying to solve every problem posed me.

However much stress I feel from writing 17 different tests in the past week for my classes (daily tests for my intensive students is really tiring) I still think about strange things that just make me smile about Korea. Take for instance, superstition and the fact that while I live on the 5th floor of my apartment building, its technically the 4th floor. Koreans and I believe Chinese as well have a superstition regarding the number 4, or sa, and many buildings are without a 4th floor, similar to Western buildings often not having a 13th floor. There superstition is based on the word for four and the word for death being very similar in sound. A similar superstition is based on the color red, and its meaning relating to blood, death and war. As such you very rarely see red in clothing, it is there, just as the number four is there, but on a much diminished scale.

On a bright note, for all who know where my mind has been at lately, the initial work in my business venture has been completed and hopefully the rest will shortly hereafter be concluded in the infamous words of the beatles, with a little help from my friends.

Sanmal is coming up quickly and I'm excited to see how much more excited the Koreans are about Lunar New Year because despite the hordes of people thronging the beach, it was a relatively quiet New Years. I will update you soon because I believe its on January 25. It's a 4 day holiday so it should be a good time. Love and miss you all and I hope everyone's year had come off to a good start despite the freezing cold and the current state of the union over there. Can't wait to talk to you again. Spokoiny nochy druzya is semya.

Welcome to 2009

We have entered a year of change. Alot has gone on since I last wrote, Christmas and New Years in another country, the beginning of intensives. I have been working at a new school in Busan and it has been a great experience. Coming from Daegu where I was working myself to the bone with 9 or 10 classes every day of the week and joining a school where I have no more than 5 classes a day has been a godsend. Now, for the next month, my schedule is very different with my classes being spread out over the whole day starting at 9 am and ending at 6pm. Intensives are extra classes that the school offers while the students are on their holiday vacation and they are just that, very intense, with daily tests and massive amounts of homework. Its difficult to write a new test every single day of the week. Apart from the massive prep time I have to put into creating a good curriculum for my students, I am really enjoying working with students who truly want to learn the english language, well most of them do anyway. It is a drastic change from a few random students that choose to study wholeheartedly to whole classes full of eager haksaeng (students).

Christmas and New Years in Korea were entirely different over here. Christmas was very beautiful with many wonderful lights everywhere. The Koreans truly enjoy the holiday season decorating everything they can throw lights or garland on. We had a small tree and the Arizona tree ummm, saguaro really tied everything together. Angela and I spent a quiet holiday apart from the Christmas party we threw at the bar. It was a great time and despite being thousands of miles from my family, it really felt like Christmas. I got a new set of darts from Ang and she got a new robe from me. Quiet times for a quiet life. New Years on the other hand was a lot different than what I was expecting. I thought that being in Asia would make the New Year a big deal, and I was somewhat correct. New Years is a big event, but not the same type of holiday as Lunar New Year which is a 4 day holiday starting on January 25. New Years Eve was very quiet, the night truly culminated with the morning of New Years Day, Haeundae Beach was crowded at dawn for the first sunrise of the year. Thousands of people crowded the beach to see the new light of the year. It was truly a magical experience, but sadly my camera died earlier in the night so I was unable to get any pictures. I wish everyone could have seen how wonderful it was. So that's all I've got for now, I'll keep everyone posted on the happenings in the amazing land of Korea. Later.

New School!

I know I've been awhile in writing, but I've been rather busy getting set up and established in my new job. I love this new job!!! I now teach a meager 5 classes a day and have an enjoyable workplace where my co-workers say hello to me and take an interest in me! Wow, what a change! I've been enjoying the cold weather and have been spending alot of time planning and running holiday parties with Angela. Christmas is only a few days away and while it's strange not being home with my family, I feel a warm comfort from being with Angela and my friends. I miss you all and hope everyone is doing well. I love you and miss you.

Travelling at the speed of light or 60 km/hr...

Per my usual, I have been slacking on the blog front. I thought it overdue to update everyone on what has been going on in the good ole ROK. Last weekend I had the opportunity to play in my first darts tournament. It was a team tournament, three players and their rankings had to be below 18 total. My team consisted of V-- at B6, I-- at B5 and me at CC4 (low man on the totem pole). We came in with no expectations and despite a late arrival by yours truly, which lost us the first match due to a substandard stand-in, we proceeded to wipe the competition up. There were 19 teams in the tournament and after 4 hours we found ourselves in the final round! We won our first game against them and then lost our second by a single dart, which left us disheartened and the wind was stolen from our sails as we went into the tie-breaker and got slaughtered. Nonetheless, we took second place and won 150,000 won. (approx 150 bucks), not too shabby for never having played in a darts tournament. Which brings me to this upcoming weekend, after hearing about my play last Sunday, I was asked to go to Seoul to play in another darts tournament! I'll let you know how that turns out.

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Today winter has finally reared its head in Busan, if only to briefly announce its arrival, snow fell for about 15 minutes this morning and although it didn't stay, it is now cold. It seems a long time since I was in the desert now! Brrrrrr.

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And on to the final piece of relevant information, I have procured employment and am making my trip to Japan for my new visa sometime next week and begin teaching at a haegwon again December 15. That's all the news from this corner of the world, where the men are pretty, the women are strong and the children are above average. (hehe)

All's Well That Ends Roughly

So... it has come to my attention that some people are rather disturbed by my last blog. It was not meant to be a doomsday message, just an overly dramatic statement of the current state of affairs. My situation is not typical, how apt for it to happen to me, yet it is one of the horror stories of what can happen with a corrupt boss. I am going to Japan on December 1st for a visa run, so I can keep everything legal here. I finished my job last Friday and moved to Busan without event after work Friday night. I am returning to Daegu to file my complaint with the Department of Labor and enter into arbitration with my former employer and will update everyone on the current job situation as it develops, as there are numerous jobs here and I can afford to be picky about the situation I get myself into after my auspicious beginning in Daegu. Anyway, I spent a fabulous day on the beach with Angela and Locky (was supposed to be Rocky, but he was named by a Korean... L-R issue) and here are some bright sunny days to clear the clouds away. All is well in Korea and I have nothing to worry about and neither do you. Life is good, you just have to search a little harder to find the true treasures sometimes. I will write more and give you some more happiness soon. As far as future plans, this January I will be taking a vacation with Angela and some friends to either Jeju Island (Korea's tropical island, similar to Hawaii) or Thailand for a little vacation. That's all I've got for now... Enjoy the pictures!

This is the end, my only friend the end...

So, some of you know and some do not, that this has been an abrupt week to put it mildly. I returned from Busan to Daegu to check my bank account and find that I was missing approximately 2 million won from my bank account... I proceeded to work and was shown a receipt for my pay which had reduced my pay by exactly 2 mil (current economy makes it worth around $2,000 here but if i were to transfer that back home only about $1400) in order to compensate my director for the recruiting fee and the airfare along with an email from him saying that Thursday would be my last day and Friday I would be paid for November and be finished. Wow! Okay, now breathe... So it appears that today, Friday will be my last day in Daegu as I head on down the road to Busan. Don't for a second think that this roadside brigandry will pass and I will leave this matter lie, the kid gloves just came off. At least there is some measure of legal recourse for such action which will be now employed to the fullest.

*NOTE* As far as the tail is concerned, my fellow cohorts and I have now decided it was probably just some Korean that didn't particularly like Weygeukens. No worries.

More as the current situation unfolds.