The Great White Gorilla in Daejeon

Tumblr

2010-12-08T18:35:00.001+09:00

So I think I'm going to move my blog to tumblr. I've set up a URL there, so add it. I like the design there more.

http://cmgarland.tumblr.com/

That's the address. Add it. Monitor these both for a bit, we'll see which one actually sticks around.

Wolfpack

2010-12-06T14:21:00.000+09:00

The Wolfpack are going to be playing West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 28th at 6:30pm. So December 29th at 8:30am for me. Middle of the week, so I won't be able to watch it unfortunately.

If only hadn't choked, we could possibly be in the Orange Bowl. But we're not.

Oh well.

Guns.

2010-12-04T15:50:00.000+09:00

The other day I had the following exchange with a student:

Student: In America, you can have guns, right? Have you ever shot a gun?
크리스: Yeah, lots of times. We have a bunch at our house.
Student: Wow! That's awesome! I wish I could shoot a gun.
크리스: You have to join the army one day, you'll get to shoot one then.
Student: Yeah! Oh...yeah....
(sad silence)

Burned.

Sistar and their poles

2010-12-03T10:21:00.000+09:00

New Sistar video. They apparently got a lot of slack from the teaser for this video, so I guess they edited it a bit. There was supposed to be pole dancing. Like strippers. Oh well, still good.

Baller

2010-12-02T09:47:00.000+09:00

Saw this on another blog about how a Korean dude proposed to his girlfriend. Figured I would share it, cause it's awesome.

Basically the guy went to NYC and got a bunch of different people to write messages telling his girl to marry him, and took pictures of it. The he laid them all out, blah blah blah. Just read it.

How to propose.

I'm not a hopeless romantic or anything like that, but this guy is a genius. Definitely going to steal that flowers trick at the end sometime in the near future.

Tests!

2010-12-02T08:55:00.000+09:00

So someone has been whining that there haven't been enough blog updates (read: YOUNGER BROTHER) so I guess I can post something.

As the semester is winding down, there have been a plethora of tests for my kids. Last Thursday we had a Daejeon-wide English test, and yesterday and today at our school we have had read/speaking tests for 5th and 6th graders. Tomorrow is the big end of the year test for EVERY subject, which means I'll have no classes.

Most of my kids are giving me what I expect of them, and some of them are even exceeding expectations, which is nice. The weirdest part is that as of right now, my worst classes are actually the ones that are testing the best. I'll take it though, because my favorite kids in all my classes are still doing well.

The sucky part about this now, is that after tomorrow, 6th grade will have no reason whatsoever to do anything. The kids that come to class to actually learn will still be awesome, obviously. The kids that come to pass the test, that's a different story. These are the last tests of the year. The main portion of winter vacation doesn't start until after Christmas. Plus there are an additional two weeks of class during February. Those two weeks in February are going to be especially hellish, as they already know what middle schools they are going to, and will pretty much be acting like middle schoolers.

We'll just see what happens, I guess. All I know is that the only work I will have tomorrow is grading English tests in the afternoon. I will have absolutely nothing to do all morning. What does that mean? Tonight's gonna be a good night.

Lazy...

2010-12-01T15:02:00.000+09:00

Haven't really done anything with this in a while. I'm just lazy and don't really have anything worthwhile to put up. Ain't been blow up by them North Koreans if you're wondering. Sorry.

The best music video teaser EVER.

2010-11-18T15:43:00.002+09:00

F.cuz is a boy group, and they recently put out a teaser for their new album. It received an adult rating.

It is fucking DIRTY. And hot as shit.

Unfortunately, the music video itself is nothing like this, and actually sucks. The song isn't even the same.

Oh well. I will be watching this teaser for years to come.

Orange Caramel...oh god.

2010-11-18T13:24:00.001+09:00

Orange Caramel has made a comeback. Their second video is just as sickeningly cute as the first. Take a look.

Complaints

2010-11-16T12:59:00.000+09:00

Sometimes, I might bitch about this country. Sometimes it happens a lot. But when it all boils down, Korea is fucking awesome, and I really do love it here.

코리아 화이팅!

I ain't never goin' back.

Here we go again...

2010-11-15T12:03:00.000+09:00

Well, it looks as if yet another actress has committed suicide. Her name was 박혜상, and it doesn't look like she was too terribly famous, which is honestly a good thing.

In the past, whenever a high profile celebrity kills themselves (see 최진실 and 장자연) the rest of the depressed folks here decide that they want to kill themselves too. There's a very high spike in suicide rates in Korea following a celebrity suicide. Sorta scary.

There will undoubtedly be some sort of spike following this actress's decision, but hopefully not too bad. As long as another celebrity isn't one of the copycats, I think things will probably be okay.

And what DO so many celebrities kill themselves here? I honestly can't think of that many American celebrities that kill themselves. And honestly, we have to have a hell of a lot more celebrities in general.

Oh, and nobody kill themselves cause this lady did, okay? Thank you.

Girl's Day is back.

2010-11-15T11:48:00.000+09:00

Girl's Day is a group that debuted this summer and sorta sucked. Since then, they got rid of two members, and added two new ones.

This is the result. The verdict as of now is that this is sorta awesome. Good bassline, very climactic little bit there in the middle. And leather.

Nicely done ladies.

Son Dam Bi AND Kahee...?

2010-11-10T08:43:00.000+09:00

Found this video the other day. Guessing it's off of a previous album by Son Dam Bi. Features Kahee. Two gorgeous women in one music video. What more could you ask for? Also, Son Dam Bi looks exceptionally beautiful here.

This post brought to you by: my brain at 8:45 in the morning.

ORANGE CARAMEL!

2010-11-05T10:02:00.001+09:00

Don't know why I have never posted this video. It's three gals from After School in a split-off group called Orange Caramel. It's sickeningly cute, and it gets in your head and doesn't leave.

Comebacks

2010-11-04T11:28:00.000+09:00

T-ara, Kara, AND 4minute are all expected to make comebacks in the next few months.

Oh hells yes.

I am excited.

Get your lotion ready.

Suki and Kahee

2010-11-03T10:30:00.000+09:00

This video is a few months old, but I heard it in a hof the other day and remembered it. I'm not 100% sure what exactly what goes on, but what it boils down to is one bitch playing fucking everyone. And she's hot.

Midterms

2010-11-02T10:35:00.000+09:00

Today my school is having midterm exams. This means I'm basically sitting here all morning twiddling my thumbs. So far I'm being somewhat industrious, though.

The best part will come this afternoon, when I get a nice fat stack of my 6th graders' exams to grade. I like grading, and grading these kids is even more fun because I can berate them if they don't do as well as I expect them to.

I can't wait.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T05:09:00.000+09:00

Those of you back in the States are undoubtedly preparing for a lovely night of partying. Those of us in Korea, however, are already done partying for the most part.

My Halloween consisted of numerous enjoyable things. For instance...

Drinking too much gin.
Seeing the one local foreigner bar we actually like packed with people.
Dancing!
There was a bartender who used to work there when the bar first opened. We used to go there all the time during the week, and on weekends, just to say hi to her. Then she quit, and we stopped going to the place as much. Tonight, she came and decided to help out behind the bar. We missed her. So seeing her again in her old place was awesome. I must text her tomorrow.
Getting shot down by a gal that was flirting on me all night for asking her age. If you didn't know, asking someone's age is VERY common for Koreans. Homegirl didn't like it. Well, she didn't care at first, but when I told her my age she didn't like it. I'm 26 in Korean years. I know plenty of girls both older and younger than me. The younger girls for the most part don't care at all. The older ones do seem to sometimes. That means this one was probably older than me. And considering the age when they seem to get weirded out about my age, she was probably 30+. Oh well, she still made a damn cute Snow White.
Ate ramen at GS25 in the cold while watching the madness that is Dunsan.
Seeing someone walk full speed into a parked car.
Chit chatting with random Koreans at the GS25.
Drinking too much.
RAMEN.
Imaginationland!
Not having a Halloween costume and telling people I was the dude from Twilight by looking emo.
Tekken.
Some gal in a Ms. Pacman costume.
Green Man.

I'm sure there's more, but it's 5:00am, and I'm damned tired. Basically, it was a good Halloween, and that's all that matters.

Happy Halloween everyone!

New Girls' Generation! HOOT!

2010-10-29T13:09:00.000+09:00

The Girls' Generation slaves have come out with another mini-album. That makes their fourth release or so in roughly two years, tops, I'd say. It's still already selling like hotcakes.

There's black leather. Still pretty cutesy, and a veiled attempt at "we're not being sexy we're cute but really we know you want to bang all of us!" but I don't care. Black leather.

The song is called Hoot. It's James Bond themed, so there's lots of 60s and 70s styling to it.

Enjoy.

Food coma

2010-10-28T13:16:00.003+09:00

I'm fighting off a VERY serious food coma from lunch right now. It wasn't even that good, honestly. My classroom is just nice and warm right now, and the lights are off, and everything just says "go to sleep Chris."

The problem?

I have an open class in thirty-five minutes. MUST WAKE UP.

화이팅!

Open Class

2010-10-27T17:34:00.000+09:00

Went to an open class yesterday. This was MOE mandated. No big deal, gets me out of school early. Big problem was that it was way out in BFE. North of Hannam University. It took us a damn hour to get from school to the place.

The class was special because it was put on by a lady who had apparently been to some super special training program last semester, for the entire semester. Thing is, it was literally her first semester actually teaching English. Why not train someone who has actually been teaching English? Cause that would make sense.

Anyway, the class sucked, an the native teacher had ZERO classroom presence. He would not have survived my students. The people that follow in my footsteps have a hell of a job to do. I've actually had former students message me telling me they hate their new native teachers for numerous reasons.

Tomorrow I actually have an open class. It's for the mentor of my co-teacher. In two weeks we have one with the principal and vice principal. She's surprisingly calm about this, considering it's her first co-teaching open class. It's going to be easy, honestly. This will be our workout for the people at our school, because I think that one determines whether or not she gets a raise. A bit more important.

Regardless, I still hate open classes.

한국어 10/26

2010-10-26T17:36:00.000+09:00

Haven't really done one of these in a while. Haven't really studied much, either, so this is a somewhat cumulative effort.

스물 - 20
서른 - 30
마흔 - 40
쉰 - 50
예순 - 60
일흔 - 70
여든 - 80
아흔 - 90

Note, these are numbers for counting things, and ages. I won't use most of them, but now I know them just in case I do.

문구점 - stationary store
오전 - AM
동료 - co-worker
교통 - traffic

As a side note, Nickelback is playing in this coffee shop. I am angry.

Fall

2010-10-25T17:29:00.001+09:00

Fall is officially here. It's 12 outside right now, which equates to roughly 53 fahrenheit. Tonight the low is 2. Almost freezing.

It's nice.

Are you there god? It's me, Chris.

2010-10-24T03:27:00.000+09:00

I just had my first period.

YEAAAAAAAH.

Hung out with white people tonight. It was different. And awesome.

Some white folks need to learn that even though there's not much deodorant here, they still need to find it and use it. Fucking stinky crackers.

Thankfully, nobody I know has this problem. It is good.

I love Korea.

화이팅!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel like Pete Townsend.

The most important meal of the day....

2010-10-21T10:32:00.001+09:00

A new take on the word breakfast, as written by one of my 5th graders.

"black first"

Oh you silly kids.

Kickscotch (Korean punk!)

2010-10-21T10:29:00.000+09:00

When we first showed up to the rock fest this past Saturday, the first sound to greet my ears was some Korean girl screeching into a microphone over punk music. I had no idea what the fuck was going on, but damnit I liked it.

Turns out the band was Kickscotch, a four person outfit with a female singer. I can't really find anything other than some YouTube videos of them, but I'm probably going to go to my local record store and see if they happen to have their album. If not, I found a place to buy it online.

Anyway, here's a video of "Leave For The City" by Kickscotch.

My heart hurts...

2010-10-20T22:27:00.000+09:00

I really want Shabu Well for some reason.

For those of you that don't know, Shabu Well is an all you can eat shabu buffet in Dunsan. 15,000 and you can eat until you explode.

And they have draft beer.

I want Shabu Well.

I love you.

Ich will.

2010-10-19T14:06:00.000+09:00

It's not K-pop, but it still a fucking badass video.

On picnics:

2010-10-19T13:29:00.002+09:00

"Apparently this picnic was on the top of a fuckin' mountain."

Ddochi!

2010-10-17T16:28:00.000+09:00

This is Ddochi, the fifth horseman of the apocalypse.

Remember his name, for he will be your destruction.

In reality, it's just the pet of one of my favorite students. Ddochi (또치) is his name, and she used to talk about him all the time. Now she has started bringing him to school. He doesn't like it at all, but he's damned adorable and so is she. I even call his name on the roll for that class now. I love 또치.

한국어 10/17

2010-10-17T13:29:00.002+09:00

영웅 - hero
생각 - idea
법 - law
코끼리 - elephant
선풍기 - fan
들 - field
값 - price
연기 - smoke
것 - thing
발목 - ankle

Rock fest semi-recap

2010-10-17T03:00:00.001+09:00

Well the first Daejeon Rock-Fest was an utter failure. Apparently it's a bad idea to throw a rock concert right in front of the most expensive apartments in town. Much less an all night rock concert. People that pay millions of dollars to live in boxes are pretty uptight about what goes on in their neighborhood.

The event was cut short at roughly 11:30 because people bitched about the noise. Until that point, it was awesome. Whoever the coordinator for this shit was needs to get destroyed. This event was supposed to bring attention and people to this area of Korea. Now the only thing most foreigners are going to think of when they think of Daejeon is a shitty concert that was cancelled extremely early.

One of the bands had to play without a PA system cause they shut them off mid-set. And this was apparently the new headliner after Galaxy Express cancelled (which in retrospect was an awesome fucking move on their part). They were fucking pissed, rightly so.

Gay.

Daejeon Rock Fest

2010-10-16T12:49:00.002+09:00

Today's the first ever Daejeon Rock Fest. We'll see how it goes. I'm sorta looking forward to it. In my experience if I'm looking forward to something, it's probably going to suck. Hopefully it doesn't.

한국어 10/15

2010-10-15T17:44:00.003+09:00

Just a little today. John's birthday celebration soon!

기속사 - dorm
달력 - calendar
혀 - tongue

In addition, I also started studying some hanja today! Amazing!

日 - 일 - day

月 - 달 - month

夕 - 저녁 - evening

Lies

2010-10-15T15:00:00.000+09:00

Honestly, I don't know how I have really been posting about K-pop for a year and haven't posted this.

Big Bang was at one point one of the biggest boy groups in K-pop. They honestly still are, even though they haven't done much together since I've been here. Lots of solo stuff.

Anyway, this is the video for Lies, their most famous song. I like it.

Crazy bitches.

한국어 10/14

2010-10-14T17:49:00.000+09:00

주유소 - gas station
자판기 - vending machine
냉장고 - fridge

한국어 10/13 (for reals)

2010-10-14T08:56:00.000+09:00

Here's what I actually studied last night. Sorry folks.

Oh, and Aladdin was awesome, just in case you're wondering.

근처 - vicinity/near
서점 - bookstore
휴지 - tissue
칠판 - blackboard
공항 - airport
편의점 - convenience store
시장 - market, like an outdoor one for the most part
천사 - angel
강 - river

Most of these words are from my Korean class, and this is me memorizing them.

한국어 10/13

2010-10-13T23:47:00.002+09:00

Today was a good day! I studied nine words.

However, I'm drunk now, and am too lazy/don't care enough to look in my book.

One was 강, which means river. That's all I care to recall.

I'm watching Aladdin now. 5th grade tomorrow. Sweet dreams everyone. 사랑해요.

Galaxy Express

2010-10-13T14:28:00.000+09:00

Today, I shall show you a little of the more glorious (and less hot) side of Korean music.

This is Galaxy Express, a sorta punkish band. This is the only actual music video I could find in roughly sixty seconds of searching.

I like them.

This album also happens to have one of the most epic intros I've ever heard.

한국어 10/12

2010-10-12T17:53:00.000+09:00

Short list today, didn't start till late and it's time for dinner.

Oh yeah, 5-0 in fantasy football now. Suck on that Sam.

장난 - joke, like a practical joke. Or a trick. This is what they say more than 농담
두통 - thank you my co-teacher, and EBSe
맞은편 - opposite/across

Addresses

2010-10-11T22:24:00.000+09:00

Do Koreans even understand how the addresses over here work? I don't think so. Jesus. Someone needs to fix this crap.

비스트!!!!

2010-10-10T10:48:00.002+09:00

Beast/B2ST has a new mini-album out, and a video to go along with it. The song is called "숨" which means "breath" in English.

This is what makes 6th grade Korean girls go absolutely apeshit as of right now.

Definitely no Shock.

한국어 10/08

2010-10-08T17:58:00.000+09:00

빛 - light
여관 - passport
빗 - comb
거울 - mirror
접시 - plate
치약 - toothpaste
북 - drum
가게 - a store

Ga-In goes solo.

2010-10-08T16:09:00.001+09:00

Ga-In, hot lady from the Brown Eyed Girls, has gone solo. Her first video came out today, and it's more of an eleven minute mini-drama with a song thrown in for good meansure.

I know at least one, if not two people die in the video. Maybe more!

Gotta say, the blue eyeliner really does it for me. Just look at that damn preview picture. Jesus.

Chocolate love.

2010-10-08T14:24:00.000+09:00

Sex sells, everyone knows that. The new rookie group Chocolate has recently made some news by appearing in Maxim. However, that's not the hot topic.

You wanna make sure your new girl group is a hit? Send them to go fuck people for endorsements!

Ohhhh Korea! Makes you wonder about which gals in the K-pop industry have taken one for the team. Probably all of them.

한국어 10/07

2010-10-07T17:38:00.000+09:00

Korean class in a bit. Here's some pre-studying for you.

운 - luck
양 - sheep
칫솔 - toothbrush
취미 - hobby
가사 - lyrics (which I'm going to start reading to learn more Korean, and so I can sing the shit out of my favorite songs)

Time to meet some folks and head to dinner before class.

한국어 10/06

2010-10-06T17:50:00.000+09:00

Only six today. My fervor for the full ten seems to be waning. But I feel today's vocabulary makes up for quantity with exceptional quality!

닐짜 - date. As in today's date.
털 - hair. But not head hair. I think it means more like body hair, but maybe also animal hair.
파리 - fly. Fun fact, the word for "Paris" is also the same. So, you're essentially shopping at "fly bread" when you go to Paris Baguette.
우편 - mail
약 - drug, medicine. Not the illicit kind, sorry folks. That's for another day.
사악 - evil. Wickedness. Viciousness. Vice. Hells yes.

HAM is sorta hot.

2010-10-06T08:54:00.000+09:00

There's a girl group called HAM (Heart And Mind) that's been around for a year or so. They're sorta not that great, and no one really cares about them.

But now they have a new song, and video to go along with it.

It's nice. They've apparently gotten a lot of shit for the whole chest/shirt dance they do, as well as some possibly suggestive lyrics. Whatever, these girls are good looking, and Korea needs to pull the stick out of it's ass sometimes.

Here is "So Sexy" by HAM.

Korean class: a beginning.

2010-10-05T22:39:00.000+09:00

Well, we have officially had one day of Korean class.

So far, the class seems to be extremely low level. However, this may have been a warm-up type session. From looking at the book, though, it's about what it's going to be.

I think at some point, however, there will be some grammar I need focus on. Plus there's a fair bit of vocabulary, a lot of which I don't know. I'll get some practice, at the least. And it's a good chance to see some people I don't get to see very often.

The class members are fairly varied. The four of us, a guy from Mexico, some lady from Russia or some other former USSR country, some Mormons, and some other random people. A foreign clown. Yeah. And one lady who apparently gave myself and another friend the stink-eye. She thinks we took some papers that were someone else's, maybe? Or she's jealous of our amazing Korean skills? Only time will tell.

Regardless, I'm thinking we'll stick with it. Still going to keep studying on my own as well, though. Maybe start brushing up and expanding upon my own grammar if this turns into my vocabulary class.

Only time will tell.

한국어 10/05

2010-10-05T17:33:00.001+09:00

Very abbreviated Korean lesson today. I actually start classes at the DICC at 7pm! We'll see how they go.

변화 - a change
장 - chapter
회화 - conversation
부부 - a couple (married, I think)

Old folks.

2010-10-05T15:45:00.000+09:00

In Seoul an old lady and a gal got into it on the subway. Read the article here.

Problem with the article is that it doesn't link the video. So here it is.

Now, I can't understand Korean, but from the look of things, this old lady is a cunt. Apparently there's more before the video actually started, but still. Takes a lot to get a normal person to attack someone else on words alone, and it's lookin like that's all there really was. Plus she gets bitched out by other people on the train afterwards. Although, those folks should have done something.

Oh, and the camera man is a dick too.

Fucking old people.

한국어 10/04

2010-10-04T17:47:00.000+09:00

발 - foot
휴식 - rest
미소 - a smile
벽 - wall
소원 - wish
곤충 - a bug
상사 - boss
간격 - a gap
열 - heat
꼬리 - a tail

한국어 10/03

2010-10-03T20:12:00.000+09:00

Studied a little today. Not much, but a little. Wasn't feeling it. I don't like Hollys on the weekends cause it's insanely packed. I need to start going earlier in the mornings if I'm going to study on the weekend, so it won't be as crowded.

Anyway, only four words.

무지개 - rainbow
기름 - oil
숟가락 - spoon
사냥 - a hunt

On bathrooms, and meth.

2010-10-03T09:11:00.001+09:00

There are some more fucked up pictures than this, but I didn't figure a sink filled with blood spatter would be too work safe.

Don't do meth, kids, or you will have sex in a public restroom.

5-0?

2010-10-03T02:42:00.002+09:00

Going to bed. NCSU vs VT at 4:30am KST. Let's go Wolfpack!

Waking up to 5-0 I hope. We shall see.

Cocaine

2010-10-01T23:04:00.001+09:00

한국어 9/30

2010-09-30T17:48:00.003+09:00

Today's Korean studying is abbreviated, because I'm tired. Only six words.

입술 - lips
사촌 - cousin
열쇠 - key
구석 - corner
어둠 - darkness
게 - crab

I love livin' in the city.

2010-09-30T12:08:00.001+09:00

A picture I found on the internets of Shanghai. Awesome photograph. Click the picture to get to the guy's Flickr.

For some reason I really like urban photography. Especially when it involves old run-down buildings and whatnot. Pictures of nature and religious or historical things don't tend to do it for me so much, but something about human destruction and creation is just a thing of wonder in my eyes.

한국어 9/29

2010-09-29T18:37:00.000+09:00

과거 - the past
비행기 - airplane
아들 - son
소리 - sound
세계 - the world
주소 - address
바다 - the sea
얼굴 - face
동전 - a coin
기침 - a cough, which I currently have

Love is a beautiful thing

2010-09-29T13:06:00.001+09:00

Dibs.

Joon has a MASSIVE pencil, and all the ladies love it.

2010-09-29T09:18:00.000+09:00

So I decided to put the 6th grade English CDs into my computer at work for the first time ever, in hopes of ripping some videos and putting them on YouTube. I never got around to it cause I know ripping and re-encoding into a viewable format can be a pain in the ass.

Lucky for me, the files were already perfect!

So, here's the first video I'm putting up. This is the sort of shit I have to show almost every day.

In the clip, everyone's favorite nerdy Asian, Joon, has lost his pencil. Tension and hilarity ensues in the frantic search.

한국어 9/28

2010-09-28T18:02:00.000+09:00

소녀 - girl (ie 소녀시대)
흙 - dirt, as in real dirt, not dirty
군중 - a crowd
농장 - farm
칼 - KNIFE
장난감 - a toy
목소리 - voice
잔 - cup, glass
기체 - gas
포옹 - a hug

BoA BoA BoA

2010-09-28T16:16:00.001+09:00

BoA's new single. Cut Copy and Paste.

Fall is here...

2010-09-28T12:48:00.000+09:00

And it feels amazing outside.

God I love this weather.

한국어 9/27

2010-09-28T07:53:00.001+09:00

Yesterday's words.

지옥 - hell!

거지 - a beggar, a bum

바닥 - the floor

사자 - a lion

사슬 - a chain

전등 - a lamp

장미 - a rose

늑대 - a wolf (go Pack!)

얼음 - ice

깃발 - a flag

miss A's second video.

2010-09-27T13:22:00.001+09:00

New video from miss A. The song is off of their "Step Up" single album, and is titled "Breathe."

Must say, much better than their first in terms of look. Didn't really like the dance outfits at all. This is much better. And the Korean gals are looking more attractive than the Chinese ones in this, for sure.

Good job.

Awesome shit that is related to my birthday.

2010-09-27T11:01:00.001+09:00

This is pretty self explanatory.

-Got a cake and got drunk with my co-teachers and another teacher on Thursday.
-Ate 갈비찜.
-Had my last ever beers at Francos ㅠ.ㅠ
-Got a free cake from the Francos managers.
-Got a cookie type thing from one of those said managers, made by him and his girlfriend.
-Some sort of smell-good spray from a gal.
-Dolla dolla bills ya'll.
-Some dude apparently robbed the bank in my hometown.
-A fucking 9am wake-up call, but it was a good one so it was okay.
-2NE1 won on 인기가요.
-Dexter AND Eastbound & Down come back.
-Fucking 4-0 Wolfpack, now in the top 25!
-Ice cream cake with Megan, John, and hopefully Sam? Maybe a delicious dinner as well?
-Probably gonna buy myself a new G-Shock if I can find one I like.

Not too bad.

Goodbye Francos.

2010-09-26T03:00:00.000+09:00

Found out my favorite bar, Francos, is closing. During my birthday celebration. And that tonight was actually the last night they were going to be open.

This sucks.

It ranks number four in "places I spend time in" behind my apartment, my workplace, and Hollys Coffee where I study Korean. That's pretty damn high. The manager has become one of our best friends, the staff all knows us, and it was just a great place we could always go and chill.

They bought me a cake for my birthday, gave us a bunch of free beer. The manager and his girlfriend even made me a special type of traditional Korean cake/bread/sweet thing that people eat on their birthdays. It was touching and really made me happy.

It was like a second home here. Somewhere I was always welcome no matter what, and everyone was happy to see me.

And now it's gone.

Not the best birthday present. Goddamnit.

I'm depressed.

한국어 9/23

2010-09-24T15:09:00.000+09:00

Korean for the past few days.

오이 - cucumber
여우 - fox
염소 - goat
꿀 - honey
바위 - rock
출구 - exit
입구 - entrance
비누 - soap
풀 - grass
유리 - glass
농담 - joke
폭탄 - bomb
수학 - math
전쟁 - war
배구 - volleyball
부엌 - kitchen
언덕 - hill

Droppin a bit of knowledge on yo asses.

2010-09-23T16:42:00.000+09:00

Learned something new today.

입슬맞추다 - to kiss. A little formal, apparently, and Koreans don't really use it.

뽀뽀 is a kiss. But in only a smack on the lips kind of terms.

When talking about a full on French-kiss type deal, Koreans use 키스, which is Konglish for kiss.

For some reason I find this interesting.

New addition

2010-09-22T16:48:00.000+09:00

In an interesting turn of events, it turns out there's going to be a new group of EPIK kids coming in the next couple of weeks. Even more interesting is that my brother actually knows one of these girls, and she is from our hometown. AND she's coming to Daejeon.

So there you have it. Another Bryson Citizen in Daejeon, South Korea. Small world, considering our town has a population of about 1,500 people.

What is even weirder is something that I'm speculating on. The contract English teacher at my school teaches at another school as well. Their new native teacher was sent home because he was anti-social and had a bad stutter. So they're looking to get a new one from this new batch of EPIK kids. The girl put elementary school as her preference. So, long story short, there's a very good chance that this girl and I could end up sharing a co-teacher.

Don't worry, current Daejeon citizens, she's probably not as retarded as I am. Although she is a friend of my brother's, so you never know.

Chuseok Holiday!

2010-09-20T19:32:00.000+09:00

The Chuseok holiday has officially begun!

I have no work for for almost an entire week, and it is going to be awesome. Koreans from out of town are here for the next few days, and when they leave the Koreans who had to go elsewhere for Chuseok will come back. And no one will have to work!

Also included in this lovely vacation is my birthday.

Unfortunately I'm getting sick thanks to someone at taco night, but whatever. I'll power through.

The Great K-Pop Slave Trade of September 15th and 16th, 2010

2010-09-16T22:22:00.001+09:00

At some point over the past two days, a conversation between Fansy and I somehow digressed into divvying out k-pop groups and performers amongst the two of us. One thing led to another, and we decided to make a list and split them up. Bidding ensued (ie you can have them if I can have them) and the Great K-Pop Slave Trade of September 15th and 16th occurred. Here are the results, for your viewing pleasure.

Me

CL, Minzy, and Dara of 2NE1. 4minute, 1/2 of SNSD (orc girl was thrown to the wolves). ALL of Secret and Sistar. Half of T-ara and After School (I made sure I got 정아), as well as Davichi. Sulli, Victoria, and Krystal of f(x). All of the Wonder Girls and Nine Muses, and 3/4 of the Brown Eyed Girls (Ga In! But no Narsha). Ivy. And last, but definitely not least, 손담비.

Fansy

Park Bom of 2NE1, Miss A, Kara, 1/2 of SNSD (once again, orc girl is dead to us). 1/2 of T-ara, 1/2 of After School (he got 가희) and half of Davichi (those girls look the same anyway). Amber and Luna of f(x), IU, Chae Yun, Gummy, BoA, Narsha, and Rainbow. And then, Hyori.

The biggest problem we had was Hyori. We spent roughly 24 hours trying to figure out that situation. I ended up giving him Rainbow for Hyori rights, and he gave me Dara, the three Secret members I didn't have, and Ga In and the rapper from Brown Eyed Girls.

By the numbers, I have fifty, he has thirty-seven. But he has Hyori. But I have all the good 2NE1 girls. But he has BoA. But I have Secret.

All in all, I think everyone is happy.

And this is how we spent our past two afternoons.

Fansy, I think we have a problem.

한국어 9/16

2010-09-16T18:26:00.001+09:00

Today you will notice there is a little bit of continuity, but that suddenly gets thrown out the window halfway through cause it was boring. Random words are more fun.

머리 - head
머리카락 - hair
이마 - forehead
눈썹 - eyebrows
전공 - major
발음 - pronunciation
향수 - perfume/cologne
고향 - hometown

야채 - vegetables

연극 - play

Short people LOL

2010-09-16T10:14:00.001+09:00

So as I have no class today, I am of course finding something to keep me occupied. Found an article here about a short dude getting rejected from a dating company because he was too short. In Korea a lot of people say that anything under 180cm is sorta short. Usually, though, women are okay with 170 and up. Anything over 180 is basically a "tall" man. I'm about 190cm, so I am fucking awesome.

I expected this guy to be in that range of 170-180, maybe high 160s. So, how tall was he? 158cm.

My co-teacher is 163, and most women I've met range from 160-170cm. I think I have met one girl who was 159, and she was damn tiny. 163 is roughly 5'3", for those of you wondering. One of the members of T-ara is about 158, and people laugh at her and call her the little one. So she's made fun of for being short in a group of women.

Basically, this guy was about 5'1" or 5'2". That's ridiculous. For reference, he would come up to...roughly my armpit.

Napoleon was about 170cm. Think about that. This guy's gonna turn into some sorta crazy warlord is my guess.

If he was that dude, he'd be smaller, and he'd be extra fucked.

Also, megalodon was awesome.

한국어 9/15

2010-09-16T09:55:00.001+09:00

Yesterday's random words.... Only seven cause I had fucking all you can eat meat last night. I did nothing but eat meat for ninety minutes. I'm never going to shit again.

왕자 - prince
공주 - princess
모래 - sand
바람 - wind
피부 - skin
정오 - noon
선물 - gift

피부 먹어. I eat skin.

한국어 9/14

2010-09-14T18:01:00.001+09:00

Today's learnings and stuff. Hurrrrrrr. My choices definitely lack a common theme. Maybe I should try and do something with that...bust out the ole picture dictionary again.

호수 - lake
직업 - job
소금 - salt
경찰 - police
지붕 - roof
아내 - wife
상자 - box
다리 - bridge
예술 - art
동물 - animal

Some of these are words I already knew, but now I will know how to spell them properly. Since I'm a spelling-Nazi in English, I might as well be in Korean as well.

Changing things up a bit and stepping away from trying to learn so many verbs. And I definitely can't do twenty words a day. Also, my Korean has definitely suffered from being around too many English-speaking Koreans. I honestly learn more from talking with my students than my co-teachers.

Oh, and I've started getting harassed by a gang of middle school girls. I'm starting to realize what Mondays are like for Fansy.

Korean Study Log

2010-09-13T17:58:00.000+09:00

So I'm thinkin' in an effort to make myself learn more Korean, maybe I'll post a log of what vocabulary I'm trying to learn for the day?

Lately I've been doing ten verbs, but I've switched that up because I need more nouns as well. And honestly, I'm having problems finding verbs that are worth a shit as of late. So here are ten nouns, and ten verbs. This might be a bit too much for me to handle, but we'll see how things go.

Plus, in the process, maybe someone else will learn something too? Doubtful.

Nouns for the day.
나이 - age
몸 - body
팔 - arm
침실 - bedroom
딸 - daughter
가족 - family
신 - god금 - gold
인영 - doll
건물 - building

Verbs.
자르다 - cut
입맞춤하다 - kiss
서다 - stand
우습다 - funny
거짓말하다 - lie
잃다 - lose (something)
부유하다 - rich
밝다 - bright
팔다 - sell
더럽다 - dirty

And just for fun, a little slang.
야동 - porn!

Same shit, different day.

2010-09-13T12:03:00.000+09:00

What's new in Daejeon? Well, nothing.

New semester. I'm at my main school every day now, so it's my only school. Don't really like that, but my co-teacher is still awesome, as is the contract teacher. They make it bearable. Four teachers left this semester, so we got four new teachers. One of them is pretty cool so far. She's not afraid of white people, and she speaks decent English! Those two facts combine to make any Korean cool.

Going to be taking a Korean class next month. We'll see how it goes. I'm stepping up my vocabulary efforts in the meantime, cause that's honestly what I need most. I can understand most sentences just fine if I can understand the words. Unfortunately, that hardly ever happens.

No class two days this week. Week after that is Chuseok, so I will have Tuesday-Friday off. Going to be awesome. Some friends are going to Japan. I might go to Seoul at some point, but who knows. Apparently the Koreans really only have to spend time with the family the day of Chuseok. However, if your family lives somewhere else, you go there. Ie new teacher will be going to Daegu, another friend to Incheon, and a few others to BFE.

Oh, and I just realized my birthday is less than two weeks away. Might be time to call home and ask for a care package of some sorts. I could use some underwear, and I don't feel like going to Itaewon. Why not have it shipped from America? For the birthday itself, not sure what. Some people will be out of town because of the Chuseokness and going to Japan, but whatever. We will see what actually happens. Gotta figure out the who at some point. I loathe big parties, so I really hope it does not turn into that sort of affair. Although bigger parties do mean more drinks.... Hmmm.

Anyway, yeah, the point of this is that there is nothing new happening. It's lunch time.

The Holy Trinity

2010-09-12T14:51:00.000+09:00

Three new 2NE1 videos. Hallelujah. Presented in order from favorite to least favorite.

Bitch you ain't got shit on me.

2010-09-10T14:18:00.002+09:00

19+

2010-09-09T09:58:00.000+09:00

You ain't shit without your crew.
-CL

Countdown

2010-09-03T15:05:00.003+09:00

Six days.

I love Dokdo Is Ours

2010-09-01T20:11:00.000+09:00

Dokdo Is Ours is pretty much the best blog in Korea. The perfect humorous commentary on Korea. The best part, as I found out from a recent post, was this piece on first year English teachers.

Here's the post.

Basically, it's everything that pisses me off about English teachers in Korea. If you're here, learn the culture, learn the language. Don't hang out with foreigners all the time and then bitch about Korea. You know nothing about Korea. Learn the language, you should feel obligated.

This ain't America, and you know it. Experience life from a different perspective. It's actually pretty damn fun when you give it a try.

Oh gawsh

2010-09-01T14:55:00.000+09:00

New Sistar

2010-08-29T20:12:00.006+09:00

Sistar is back with a new video. Two of my girls have gone blonde, and one of them was one of my favorites, but I can't figure out which. The rapper gal is still looking nice though.

When this group first came out some people were calling them 2NE1 copycats. I'm seeing it more now. Upbeat dancing song for the first single, then a slower but still fun song as the second. Whatever. I still like them.

I My Me Mine

2010-08-27T11:50:00.000+09:00

4minute put this video out a while back. I like it. I like everything 4minute though, so that's that. And my girl 지윤 has the solo.

Also, they're going to be doing something here in Daejeon next month, and I need to figure out what that is.

Rainbow

2010-08-24T11:48:00.000+09:00

Rainbow is a girl group that came out last year soon after we got here. Didn't really like them, and their song sucked (Gossip Girl, except it was Gawship Guhl). Now they're back with new crap, and this is better. And they look good.

Fresh meat

2010-08-21T16:49:00.000+09:00

So it appears the new EPIK kids are in Jeonju right now. To think, a year ago I was in the same spot.

I'm wondering how they are, personally. If I'm thinking right the Daejeon kids will probably get in next Friday. My former co-teacher (the good one) is actually in Jeonju helping out with the orientation. She's from there and was spending time at home with her mom this summer, so I guess she figured why the hell not. Plus she's awesome, so that probably factored into it too.

In other news, one week left of vacation. So short, but so long. Some people are starting to leave. Only a couple folks going that I care about. The folks on vacation in America right now are slowly starting to trickle back in, too, which is nice.

Right now I'm smoking a cigarette and watching k-pop videos. Secret just came on. I must go. Life is good.

Secret comeback

2010-08-21T11:46:00.000+09:00

Secret is back with a new mini-album called Madonna. They made this video for the title track.

I like Secret.

One Year

2010-08-19T12:08:00.000+09:00

A year ago today I arrived in Incheon International Airport to teach English for a year in Daejeon, South Korea. I had no idea what the hell was going to happen, I hadn't slept in 40 hours, and I still had a four hour bus ride ahead of me.

How did it all turn out? Pretty fucking good I'd say.

Here's to another great year Korea.

2NE1 IS COMING BACK!

2010-08-17T20:27:00.001+09:00

It was announced today that 2NE1 will be coming back with a new album on September 9th. I am SO fucking excited about this that it worries me.

2NE1 AHHHHHHHHH!

BoA is BACK

2010-08-17T10:02:00.000+09:00

BoA came back with a new album a week or so ago. Here's the title track. I think I like this song. Grows on you, that's for sure. Plus, the gal can actually sing (I think) and she can dance like no one else.

Also, this month is the ten year anniversary of her debut into the k-pop music scene. She's 23 years old. When I was entering high school, this girl was a superstar, and she was younger than me. What the hell.

Nine Muses...

2010-08-14T07:51:00.000+09:00

New group called Nine Muses has recently debuted. They have nine members, just like SNSD! However, they're more on the sexy side, which I applaud. The song sorta sucks, but it's catchy. Sounds like a SNSD song, too. Whatever

Nine Women in garters. That's all you need to know. Jesus.

Oh, and the song is called No Playboy.

Hail Satan!

2010-08-13T10:07:00.000+09:00

SHINee came back a few weeks ago with a new album and song. I was in the music store for a total of five minutes and they sold easily ten copies of the album. These guys are every Korean girl's dream.

Song is called Lucifer. I don't think they know what Lucifer actually means. None of our students do, that's for sure. Regardless, I like the song. It sorta feels like it builds up for the entire track. Also, it's about the devil, which is pretty damn funny.

Be warned, this video is preeetty gay.

Videos

2010-08-12T07:54:00.000+09:00

Since I'm not posting much on the blog these days due to a lack of time/effort, I'm going to start posting the music videos again. Got quite a backlog, so I shouldn't run out of crap to post. Rejoice!

Big Bang - Sunset Glow

2010-08-10T22:02:00.000+09:00

Music video I saw on TV the other day. By Big Bang, one of the more popular boy groups. Just a sorta happy feeling song I quite enjoyed. Yeah, it doesn't have hot bitches. I don't know what the heck.

To whom it may concern:

2010-08-06T21:09:00.001+09:00

Dear MOE,

I am very proud of you for the great work you have been doing. Not really. Thank you for fucking lying to me for a solid month, new coordinator!

-Love, Chris.

Computer issues

2010-07-27T23:35:00.000+09:00

Just an fyi to anyone that cares, my computer is pretty much dead. BSODed yesterday and now I can't get her to do anything. This means e-mail will only be checked at PC bangs, sooo yeah. Probably not going to buy a computer till the next paycheck, because I want to have some fun over my vacations.

Today the plan was hit the PC bang for a bit, check my e-mails and whatnot, and then study. It turned into a four hour Diablo 2 session. And I'm back now.

Fuck.

Summer Vacation.

2010-07-26T11:13:00.000+09:00

I am officially on my first week of Summer vacation. I am happy.

What am I going to do? Absolutely nothing.

After this I have two more weeks of camp, and then two more weeks of vacation. I'm probably going to go to Seoul at least once to see a friend then. Other than that, though, I literally have no plans for my vacation. And honestly, I'm okay with that.

Time to eat a damn ham and cheese sandwich and enjoy my day.