dollop of solipsism

i met diana at 9:15am in front of my house this morning. together, we went to the daegu ymca to register for and attend korean language classes. we were not disappointed to find out that we’d have the same teachers we had last semester, miss jeon and miss kim. in the advanced class were some new faces: a korean australian girl who speaks korean well but wants to improve, an indonesian guy who really should be in a lower level class, a white guy who works at an elementary school, and another white guy who works at daegu university. we did self-introduction, followed by a family introduction. this semester, we’ll be studying from sogang 2B (now referred to as simply ‘book 4′).

diana and i each purchased our own blue books. no doubt i’ll make this korean class a competition and stress out about it. koreans will happily applaud a white person for speaking even a little bit of korean, but they’re less lenient towards asian-looking foreigners who speak at a low level (it does help if you’re cute, though). just like i have to ensure that i work harder than the white person at my school to make up for the fact that i’m not white, teaching a white language. it’s not something i complain about, it’s just something i feel i should do. i don’t think this is an exhibition of internal racism (or self-hate), it’s just something i treat matter-of-factly, practically. i think a woman who works at a corporate office would do the same thing.

anywho, i do blame myself for not being a studying machine (like one of my students) and learning korean at full throttle. i have the ability to be fluent in this language, i just don’t try hard enough. the same goes for exercise. the running track is right there waiting for me, i just don’t go. it’s slightly upsetting. sigh.

enough with the self flagellation.

after korean class, a small group of us students went to outback steakhouse for lunch. after that, i met elisha (who works at the education center) for coffee. there, we talked about our jobs and complained about other people. she accompanied me to some places to buy art for my walls. in my apartment, there are four nails protruding out of certain cement walls. i can’t remove them, so the only choice is to hang artwork. at kyobo bookstore, i found an amedeo modigliani painting (a portrait of his wife jeanne hubuterne wearing a large hat) for ₩9,900. kyobo had a wide variety of paintings, but my favorite artist is modigliani, so there was no need to consider the others. plus, the earthy tones go well in my living area. currently my favorite color is brown (it’s the new black), and jeanne’s hair is brown. i might go back to get a klimt or two…the more art, the better (and who doesn’t love klimt?).

upon leaving the bookstore, elisha and i strolled along the underground malls and found a small art/poster/frame store. there, i purchased a small square shaped painting for ₩16,000. it is of a deep blue flower, and it’s really beautiful. elisha wanted to purchase it, but decided not to (she’s planning on leaving korea in march). and since there’s nothing more satisfying than having something someone else wants, i decided to purchase it. sure, it is a bit pricey for a small painting, but it goes perfectly above my bed (remember my blue bedding?). if only i could draw well, or paint well. but alas, my older sister has better art skills than me.

third only to buying bedding and furniture, purchasing artwork is a task i love to do. i stand there and consider the artwork itself (i do appreciate art and have a good knowledge of art history), the space it will go in (in terms of color), and what kind of mood it will bring into the space. so now, to my left i see the modigliani portrait looking at me thoughtfully. ‘why does she not have eyeballs?’ elisha asked me. ‘i don’t know,’ i replied. it’s just something he did. most of his portraits have figures that have bluish gray eyes. i think it’s more soothing to look at. it’s like, i can see the figures’ souls.

when my apartment feels like a place that is part of me, and a place that expresses who i am (a neat freak), i will have a housewarming party (elisha was asking me about that earlier; ‘when are you gonna have a housewarming party?’). sure, only two or three people will be invited, but at least they’ll see that i have good taste and clean floors. and a really big shoe closet.

last thursday night was the annual speed quiz tournament at the high school i work at. all the first and second graders gathered in the auditorium to watch this special event. in a speed quiz, there are givers, receivers, and judges (much like sex). on the stage a giant television screen sat in perfect view of the givers and audience members. on this screen a word appeared so that givers could explain said word to receivers (sitting with their backs to the screen), without using any parts of the word, making gestures, or slipping into another language. the difficulty level of words varied (‘mother tongue,’ ‘milk,’ ‘friendship,’ ‘obama,’ etc.), and with each correct answer (or ‘pass’) the next word would appear. it’s like (my favorite game) taboo, but without the limitations.

english majors had to play the game in english, chinese majors played the game in chinese, and japanese majors played the game in japanese. the chinese, i found, was particularly difficult because not only did the words have to be right, but the intonation as well (of course, since a different intonation denotes a completely different word). one chinese major student in particular knew the answer but didn’t know the intonations exactly so he just said the same two word answer in a gazillion intonation combinations. it was hilarious. the event ended with a game played by non-english teachers. they did the game in english, and the students really enjoyed that.

after the certificates were passed out, all the teachers went back to the office. it was 6:30pm, well past going home time, but it wasn’t over. teachers were ‘encouraged’ to attend the afterparty at a korean restaurant, to celebrate the games’ success. since my desk is placed (unluckily) in front of the vice principal, my moves are watched very carefully. there wasn’t any way i could’ve escaped this get together. my neighbor, ms. jung, said, ’so you’re coming with us, right? you should. then you’ll be one of us.’ ominous.

dinner was good. at my old school, there were only 4 english teachers (2 of them who didn’t really speak english fluently) and so office parties always felt burdensome to me. at this school, all thirteen english teachers speak english fluently (even the non-english teachers speak passable english), so it was very easy to converse with my fellow colleagues (diana, my partner in crime, fell ill so was unable to attend the show/dinner). around 8:30pm dinner was nearly over. we waited for the principal to finish eating and drinking (he’s a heavy drinker, i’ve noticed)…at 9:00pm, we left the restaurant, but it wasn’t over.

dinner was followed by noraebang (aka karaoke) across the street. about 10 teachers (including me) spent a good hour and twenty minutes dancing, singing, drinking, and being merry. it was actually a lot of fun. i sang the opening and closing numbers (because i’m new (i sang korean ballads)). at 10:25pm, i got home. it was a thursday.

friday passed by smoothly (teaching at this school is a breeeeeeze, and a total joy). the vice principal (who is actually very kind) allowed us teachers to leave at 3:45pm (because the weekend was a very important korean holiday), well before going home time. diana and i had dinner plans together, but thought it wise to invite other english teachers. the only one who agreed was my team teacher ms. shin (she and i teach 6 classes a week together—we’re doing carl hiaasen’s hoot). she drove us to gusto, an italian restaurant near keimyung university. it’s very close to where diana and i live.

there, we talked and bitched and had a surprisingly delicious dinner. the service was slow but generous (we got free garlic bread, soda, and cheesecake!). ₩20,000 will get you appetizers, an entree, drinks, and dessert. sweet deal. we conversed about dogs (i want a shiba inu!), north korea, american plays, feeling inept as a teacher, one disturbed student of ms. shin’s, and of course, other teachers. we entered at 5pm, and were kicked out at 8:30pm.

over the weekend, ms. shin took it upon herself to help find me a shiba inu puppy, which is nearly impossible in korea. but the woman found an owner of a female shiba inu who recently had puppies (the dog had puppies, not the owner). the owner is looking to find buyers of the puppies and to take them away later this month (i have to double check with my building manager that my building is pet-friendly—my guess is that it’s not). ms. shin also found a running track near my house, and completed a series of other things i mentioned to her. because she is unmarried and lives alone with her mother. or she’s treating me as a charity case. either way, i enjoy her company and hope to become friends with her.

good things. good things.

[update: the landlord is a dream squasher and has informed me (via ms. shin) that dogs are not allowed in my building because they are noisy. me sad.]

twas written on the wood of a boarded up house. cnn is on. my local abc channel ktrk is streaming on my laptop. i’m watching the storm’s progress so that i’m emotionally there with my family as they ride out the storm. cnn pisses me off with their sensationalistic summation of the hurricane’s power. joking about ike being 1mph (wind-wise) from being a category 3 hurricane? not funny, larry king. ktrk, my local abc channel, is doing a decent job. everything seems more personal. informing me that clear creek is close to flooding and that east bay area blvd is flooding is useful information. telling me that ike is a ‘colossal’ storm and arguing about panic-arousal of the weather bureau’s statement, “residents on galveston island who choose to stay in one or two story houses will meet certain death,” is unnecessary. even (gorgeous) anderson cooper gets minus points.

my older sister and her boyfriend are in incheon (korea) right now. my parents are with my little sister kathy and our two dogs in houston. you know, the city ike is ‘battering.’ i’ve been calling every couple of hours (without a calling card—my phone bill next month is gonna be massive; as ‘massive’ as this storm) to make sure that the house is still intact and that there’s no flooding. my father has boarded up the house, i’ve ordered my sister to have candles and flashlights at hand, and both bathtubs are filled with water. i’m expecting a power outage of a few days; there is enough food in my house to feed a village. my mother will probably be the only person able to cook a five course meal without power or gas. because she is crazy, and because when i talked to her yesterday, she said, ‘no, there’s nothing wrong. it’s sunny. there aren’t any clouds.’

the storm will pass before dawn in america, which is 8pm in korea. at 8pm, i’ll be in incheon with my older sister. we’ll assess the damage at that time. it’s frustrating for me to be here. wait—a reporter in league city, texas. let me watch.

the power is not out yet. it’s more windy than rainy. cellphone reception is unstable. it will get worse.

that’s what the man is telling me. we’ve lived in league city for the past 17 (ish) years and we’ve avoided heavy rain and flooding for those years. i hope we luck out with the flooding, because that’s where the heavy damage comes from. as long as everyone is safe, i’ll be happy.

i hope that after ike, we retire the phrase ‘hunker down.’ it’s getting annoying.

it’s saturday morning, and i woke up at 8:00am. during the school year, i wake up way earlier than i should on the weekends. you’d think i’d capitalize on the holidays and sleep until noon, but no, my inner clock is out of whack.

the foreign language high school is a great place to work, no doubt. the students are really really great for the most part (with only a few exceptions), and speak english well. diana and i make a good team in that we discuss in advance what we’re teaching the kids and we try to make our lessons cohesive. we’re also big advocates of reading literature…she’s doing guy de maupassant’s ‘the necklace’ with the second graders, i’m doing carl hiaasen’s ‘hoot’ with the first graders. at this school, we actually do team-teaching (the reading classes are taught by two teachers, one korean english teacher, one native english teacher), which is something i did on paper at my other school, but never did in real life. it’s refreshing, and i like my team-teacher ms. shin (the kids’s nickname for her is hilarious; they call her ‘machine’).

so yes, in terms of teaching, it’s been great. at my previous school, i had a classroom all to myself, and i hid in it for the most part, facebooking, emailing, blogging; this resulted in me doing the bulk of my planning at home. at this school, my desk is located in the main office on the first floor, with at least 15 other korean teachers (and diana). i must say i like this change. i am 100% more productive around people than when i’m alone. but being amongst co-workers also makes me more accessible to others, and the other english teachers at the school (all 13 of them, all with different last names (which is RARE in korea)) freely come by my or diana’s desk to proofread/double-check something. the level of english at this school is undoubtedly more advanced than at my previous school (a middle school) so the questions are more difficult to answer. i, for one, certainly didn’t know that ‘owned’ could be used to relate to ‘truth’ or ‘actuality.’ ‘it must be owned’ that william didn’t like to eat breakfast because then diarrhea would come again—my my, how could he resist it? crazy english.

comparing my previous school and my current school is a habit my brain does nowadays. the food was better at my other school. the kids are better at this school. the administrators were better at the other school. the copy machine at my current school is flaky. i feel more comfortable with teachers at my current school. team teaching is actually a lot of fun. my current school provides me with office supplies. my old school’s campus is way more beautiful. my previous co-teacher was much more useful…

i guess all of us do it when we move anywhere. city to city, country to country, school to school, lover to lover. it should be a full and busy week next week, but next weekend is a 4 day weekend (chuseok, one of korea’s major holidays). and my older sister lands in korea on the 8th. lots to do, lots to do.