Taiwan :::Touch Your Heart:::

I'm in Taipei!! Taiwan seems really cool so far- everything is clean and well labeled in English as well as Chinese, so those of us who aren't awesome and don't speak Chinese know wtf is going on. People actually speak English, too! Things just seem easier to get done here than in Seoul, where pretty much no one ever knows what I'm trying to do/say. Also it's awesome being in a place without a significant US military presence~ I'm not constantly annoyed/grossed out by some American moron! The foreigners here are just living, studying, working, etc. and umm...MEETING TAIWANESE POP STARS!!

Yesterday we went to the young and trendy area Ximen to walk around and check out fly factors. As soon as we stepped out of the subway station we noticed this huge line of people. A lot of them were holding signs and posters, so it looked like someone famous was going to be there. Stefanie asked some girls what was going on and they said the pop group Fahrenheit was there signing autographs. I'm not exactly going to camp out overnight for the chance to see Fahrenheit, but hey, if they're there and it's convenient, sure I'll meet some Taiwanese pop stars. Plus, Stefanie's going to marry Senior Liang one day. I know it.

Picture Time!

On my first night checking out the Night Market we cam across the MOST AMAZING CAT EVER. It's name is Ice Cream and it was literally the most mild mannered cat I've ever seen. It wore a T-Shirt and let random people on the street hold it and take pictures with it. SO CUTE.


Next Day: In Ximen. Yea, it was a little crowded.


The Sexy Source of the Commotion

Yea, so Taipei is looking pretty good. I'm really excited for New Years because there's going to be even more pop stars available for gawking at, and there's supposed to be an amazing fireworks display off of the tower. OH~ and Three 6 Mafia's performing somewhere. SHOULD IT HAPPEN?!?!

Taiwan pictures are <here>.

Kids Say the Darndest Things, fo real.

Sometimes being a teacher is very amusing, like when you assign journals and get to read the wacky things they say. In my more advanced elementary classes I can actually ask them to write about a topic and they'll write about a paragraph or so in their journals. The last one was "All About My Family." Here are some of my favorite respones:

My father is very handsome and tall. My mother is pretty and tall. They are the same age. My brother is tall and strong. And I am ugly, but my parents say I'm handsome. My brother is cute.
-Ryan

Father: He is tall and strong, and has black eyes.
Mother: She is tall and has curly hair and black eyes.
Sister: She is cute and has black eyes.
Me: I wear glasses and I'm taller than my sister. I have black eyes.
We all have black eyes.
-Dannie

In my family there is my father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me. My father is 37 years old and my mother is the same as my father. My brother is 8 years old. My sister is 2 years old and I am 10 years old. I am the only person who wears glasses. And my father, mother, brother and my sister have good eyes but I have bad eyes. So I'm sad.
-Charles

You know, no one is younger than me. However I have 2 brothers. One is puppy and he's younger than me. And another brother is a person named Alvin, and he was born in 1999. So he's ten years old.
My mother and father are older than us. My mom has black and curly hair. My dad has many freckles on his face. Actually, my father is very ugly.
The very oldest people are my grandmothers. Two of my grandpas went to the sky, but my grandmas are alive. I'm afraid all of my grandparents will go to the sky, but I can't help them so I'm sad.
But I'm just kidding, puppy is an animal not a person. My puppy's name is Cherry.
-Ruby

Sarah also had some interesting conversation today with one particularly goofy kid. She was doing a speaking test, which is basically when you ask them a bunch of questions and see if they understand you/answer you correctly. She asked this kid Ted what he did well and he said "eat ants." Kids: sometimes you really are the best.

THAT'S FINE HAVE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT ME

Merry Christmas! Actually I'm not (that) bitter, I just miss my family sometimes. Hope everyone is having a good Christmas, wherever they are. I have hope for future Christmases, even though this one isn't the most amazing of my life, ie I woke up alone and hung over. Holly Jolly XMAS INDEED!

New Obsession: Sonny Angel

OK, most people know I have a strange affection for creepy baby doll toys, ie pod babies. WELL GUESS WHAT. Sonny Angel: He may bring the happiness to you!?



They're basically the same as Tarako Kewpie dolls (or Pod Babies, as I like to call them) except instead of being enclosed in a pod, they're usually naked except for either a hat or a tshirt. They even have little baby genitals! I'm not sure why, but they definitely bring me the happiness.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!

I have no idea how to explain this, but I was just sorting through the can of pens and pencils that was here when I arrived, taking out some old ones and putting my own in. I just found a pencil that says "Kacy Rohn is a great Kid". Kacy Rohn was my best friend throughout middle and high school, but the last time I talked to her was over 2 years ago. I did not bring this pencil with me- it was here when I arrived. It had to be. There's no way I would have had it OR put it in there. WHAT THE FUCK. This is really freaking me out.

OMG liek SOOoo domestic LOL

Today I have been puttering around my apartment all day. It really has taken a long time to get comfortable in my living space because a) it's so tiny; b) it seems to get a new layer of dust and dirt every day, despite my best cleaning efforts; c) there's always lots of condensation on the windows and NO ventilation, so things can get funky; d) it's just pretty janky in general.

BUT~ this is supposed to be a positive update. I've made a lot of improvements over the last week or so. Mainly the curtains: it's been a battle. I'm not sure how many people have battled window treatments, but it's not easy. First there was a horrid shade that didn't even cover the entire window and blocked absolutely no light. And it just wasn't cute. There were a few stages that led me to my final window treatment situation, and now I must say it's looking pretty good. I ended up buying some brown velvet and some sheer green fabric from the fabric mart at Dongdaemun. The curtain hanging gear is attached to the ceiling- it's a track with a bunch of little sliding hooks that you can attach the fabric to with hanging pins that just go right through the fabric. It was actually really easy once I got it hung, and looks good even though I didn't sew anything at all. I pinned the sheer green stuff to the ceiling behind the velvet. The window itself is so ugly and dirty (I've tried cleaning it - it's beyond anything I can do) so I wanted to hide it; this works out really well. AND~ Sarah had an extra pack of Christmas lights and I just hung them and GODDAMN is shit looking festive and happy up in here!


(Ok it might not look very impressive at all here, but I swear it's much nicer!)

I also moved the microwave and toaster over to the "kitchen", ie 5 feet behind its original location. I don't know why it didn't occur to me, but Jayne suggested the rearrangement and now the place feels so much more open and nice. It's just not awesome sitting at the computer next to a huge ugly microwave.

And one more thing I feel the need to tell everyone about. There was a plant here when I arrived and I've actually managed to keep it alive! Today I made it even more festive with some peacock feathers I also bought at Dongdaemun. HELL YEA I GOTS DA DESIGN.




My Christmas door.


It's definitely the most festive in the hall/building. Plus I don't leave my junk (like a huge empty water bottle) sitting next to it for indefinite periods of time. LOVE U KOREA.

Art Star

Each day we do something slightly different in kindergarten. Mondays and Fridays are "Theme" days, which means that we sing the monthly storybook song and talk about something relating to the theme. Last month the theme was Dinosaurs, so every Theme day I was trying to drill the difference between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores into 6-yr olds who don't really speak English. That was a little difficult, but they got it in the end (I've never been so proud of a group of children shouting "EAT MEAT!!" in my life). This month's theme is Christmas. I've started the kids on a journal, where I basically write sentences on the board for them to copy like "I want a rabbit for Christmas" or "Santa Claus lives at the North Pole with his wife, Mrs. Claus." Anyways, Tuesday is art day, and it should correlate to the theme somehow as well. It's been pretty easy thinking of art projects that have to do with Christmas (snowmen, christmas ornaments, candles, cards, snowflakes, etc). BTW how many dinosaur art projects can you think of off the top of your head? Yea. Glad that month's over.

Today's art project turned out pretty well- I decided to make christmas tree party hats. I precut pieces of green construction paper that the kids colored and glitter glued, and then I helped them roll them into cone shaped hats. Then I punched holes in the sides, tied some string on, and voila, Merry Christmas Hats! If we had time I let them glue pom-pom balls to their hats. It was really fun and pretty darn festive.


Swan and Judy from Kangaroo Class in their new hats.


Kevin from Starfish Class displays his Mario themed tree.


Puppy Class with Robert front & center


Kangaroo Class



Listen to this song and understand 40% more of my life.

Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear! - Big Hungry Bear

You know it ain't easy..

This is still really difficult, and sometimes I'm just not sure what to do with myself.

I had the worst class ever on Friday, mainly just cause of this one little **** we'll call JJ. He's the oldest kid in the class and also the dumbest, so he spends pretty much the whole class trying to distract everyone else by being loud and obnoxious and always speaking Korean. I kept yelling at him to stfu but he wouldn't listen so I finally sent him out of my class into the hall and went to get Cindy, who is pretty scary when she's reprimanding kids in Korean. As soon as JJ left the classroom, it was like a weight was lifted and we could actually get some stuff done. Seriously, I hate that kid. When he came back he had this little smile on his face I wanted to slap right off. Don't worry, I'm not going to abuse anyone. I just have the occasional violent thought every so often.
I know this is how kids are- they like to test the boundaries, and the foreign teachers' classes are meant to be easier and more fun, so some of them don't want to work at all when they get there. But still, wtf. It's just exhausting having to yell "No speaking Korean" one million times per class, and think of ways that will actually make kids shut up. I was almost in tears on Friday, something I never thought would happen to me at school. But a lot of the stuff that I've been going through here I never really thought would happen. So there.

I know there's always going to be good days and bad days, but right now I just feel like I'm in the middle of a bad stretch of time. I don't know what exactly to do to get myself out of it. Everything is so fucking hard to do- it's always an ordeal and a half. I think I have to go do something, instead of just sitting here moaning feeling sorry for myself. I've been meaning to go to the sauna- apparently they're amazing here in Korea with lots of different rooms and services and stuff. Maybe if I sweat out my inner toxins (I have a lot) I'll feel a little better and my bitterness with life will also seep out of my body. Maybe.

22~

I guess the older you get, the less exciting your birthday is. Remember last year? LOLZ
I dunno.. maybe it'll get a little more exciting once I wake up fully.

EDIT:
Ok so it's pretty exciting when a bunch of kindergarteners crash your class with a cake and a party hat.




& a cute gift from my boss Cindy!

MBARGO~

Sometimes the heels of both of your boots will fall off on the same day (their time to go, ride or die) and you'll be out in Itaewon and have to go to a 7-11 for super glue. Then you'll stand there in your socks in the 7-11 (what a crazy foreigner) and take your shoes to MBARGO to let them dry on the bar. Yea, sometimes that happens.

WARNING! DANGER!

Adhesive fume inhalation has been linked to severe facial ticks and mental disorders.

Sneaker Pimps ♡

The past few days I've abandoned the frantic dance beats I usually enjoy so much in favor of lots and lots and lots of trip hop and other stuff that makes me feel like I'm in a movie. I'm not sure why, but these past few days I just can't get enough. I have a playlist filled with Sneaker Pimps, Massive Attack, IAMX, Blonde Redhead, Battles, Sebastian Tellier, Goldfrapp, Placebo, Radiohead, Air, and a little TV on the Radio. It's been on repeat in my little Korean apartment daily, as well as on my massive ipod as I'm walking in the street (they don't really do sidewalks here) attempting not to get clipped by a stray rear-view mirror. Anyways, I just wanted to share a little bit of my rediscovered music love, because I can't quite explain how, but this music is perfect right now. If you want a taste, download this Sneaker Pimps album. It's gorgeous.


mediafire

Oh, and some more UPDATES:
* Yes, legit laundry detergent is a pretty awesome thing. I'm glad they make some in an orange Tide-looking bottle, cause obviously I don't know anything since I was using "Cotton and Cream" to wash my clothes, which is actually just big fat fabric softener.
* I'm going to Dongdaemun market today to get fabric~ I'll post photos of my revamped apartment as soon as it actually happens.
* There's a Weihnachtsmarkt going on in Seoul today! It's being put on by the Deutsche Schule Seoul & it's gonna have real Glühwein and everything! I'm pretty excited for this. The Christmas Market in Heidelberg was pretty much the most festive and jolly thing of my life. God I miss Germany so much sometimes. But hey, there's an imitation going on here, so be sure I'm gonna patronize that shit.

Pay Day = My Favorite Day

My long-awaited first paycheck comes today!
Now I can do exciting things like:

a) buy actual laundry detergent. I found out I'd been using fabric softener instead of real laundry soap. No wonder the clothes smelled clean, but something wasn't quite right. Now if I only had a dryer..
b) pay my gas and electric bills! YAY!
c) purchase some fabric! I've been waiting til I had some money in da bank to get myself some sweet korean fabric for my walls. There's an unfortunate wallpaper situation here and also a pretty bad window shade thing that does nothing to block out the morning rays (plus it looks like a 10 yr old coffee stain), so I'm heading to Dongdaemun fabric mart to get something to hide some of these negative features. You know I can't go too long without busting out into my inner interior designer.
d) JETSET 2 TAIPEI OVER MY WINTER BREAK!!! Hell yes~ Winter vacation starts on the 27th and that's when I'll be flying down to Taiwan to get my Stef-lovin' in til the 4th. Then it's back to Korea to start back up at work on the 5th.

Being a productive member of society? check plus

I could be luckier..

via The Chosun Ilbo

"Fewer Holidays for Workers in 2009

In 2009, the March 1 Independence Movement Day falls on Sunday, while the Buddha’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and National Foundation Day all fall on Saturdays. Based on the five-day working week, the number of holidays will fall from 115 this year to 110 next year. This year had 11 holidays on mid-week days, decreasing to six next year.

Koreans also have shorter holidays for the lunar New Year and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), as one day of each three-day break falls on a Sunday. Moreover, next year’s Chuseok also falls on National Foundation Day.

Hence a joke that the Year of the Cow in 2009 is likely to become a fearful year of laboring hard like a cow, which is considered a hard-working but timid animal in Asia. "

Well...shit.