Music from my Seoul

Moving on!!

2007-09-26T17:49:00.001-07:00

So I left Seoul last June and spent 3 wonderful months home - road tripping with my pals and spending quality time with my family and friends. At the end of August, I decided to come back to Korea but not to the hectic and polluted Seoul metropolis; instead, I chose to come to Jeju island.

I was amazed to realize how much I had missed Korean culture, food, customs and the like. Given, there are things I still disagree with but overall, i'm a big fan of Korean culture.

That being said, my new blog about my life in Jeju is: www.quebecjeju.blogspot.com
Cheers!

Spectacular Ilsan

2007-05-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

Seoul is an amazing city. I've always said so - it is efficient, the architecture (especially skyscapers) are impressive and it's a place where overconsumption coexists with beautiful parks and breathtaking Bukhan moutain.

Although air pollution is a serious problem here (not as bad as in India or China but still...), Koreans are environmentally-friendly on a daily basis. There are numerous examples:

- Apartment buildings have recycling bins and COMPOST bins!

- Starbucks gives you back 10 cents if you recycle your cup (it's automatic too!)

- When you order at Starbucks, they give you a plastic thing that you bring with you to your table. When your order is ready, it buzzes, vibrates and lights are flashing

- Street food is an interesting industry; it's everywhere at night time and quite cheap to buy and to run. Everything is in their pick-up truck and they just set a big tent for people to sit, eat and drink.

- McDonald's have a recycling system as well

- "Umbrella cover": that's so smart! You know when it's raining and people walk in shops or restaurants with water dripping all over the place and making the floor both slippery and dangerous? Well the solution is simple: an "umbrella-cover" dispenser! You slip it in that long and thin plastic bag that fits your umbrella, just as shown by my good friend Woo Kyung ^^

And toilets are WELL-THOUGHT! :

- The courtesy bell....... people have a tendency to flush the toilet when they're going for number two and that is just a waste of water. So the courtesy bell is a button you press that makes the sound of a flushing toilet!

- Toilet paper always goes in the garbage, not the toilet- Auto toilets are public bathrooms; you pay 10 cents and get full service including a welcome message, classical music, and it's very very clean. I recall those in France... they'd sometimes cost a buck and be some sort of junkie paradise.
Last night as I paid a visit to Kyungah in Ilsan, a town outside Seoul, we got to see a kind of outdoor and live Korean-made Disney show at the local Lake Park. The place was filled with people and little kids running around!

It's basicallya lights and water show out of a huge water fountain. It's quite spectacular because the show revolves around music themes and whenever the musical tension would build up, the gush would go higher.
We ended up going the the game room and I kicked her ass at a car race game ^^ Then we went for delicious ice cream, sitting on swings!

Outside there were beautiful lights that looked just like Christmas time!

I thought it's funny that even Korean mascots are thin as hell! Look at those legs hehe

Roof fiesta!

2007-05-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

Quick memo: I don't check this site's emails too often so pardon the delays!

So. Like Sarah said, "I'm so excited I could crap in my pants. Seriously."

Roof party turned out to be quite nice with friends, beer, pizza and a really nice view of Seoul. I especially enjoyed Pam grooving to Beck's "Debra" like there was no tomorrow!

Yuni (poor thing, for a while she was the only Korea speaking person there and she tried so hard to speak English!), Ben and me

Yuni kept screaming every time I went up that ladder and Twyla mentionned something about CPR...

Isn't that a nice roof? It's all set up for people to enjoy but they keep it locked, unless you bribe them 50 bucks and promise not to tell anyone... aaaah, corruption!

Sunset view from ma roof in Seoul! I ain't forgetting that one.

Erika and me and a beautiful sky.

Sunny and Ben. Yuni was in heaven to finally be able to speak Korean.

Vanessa got Twy "THE key!" I told her not to pose...

Pam and Erika.

Katherine, Yuni, Erika, Rachelle and Ben

Of course we ended up at Tinpan and I had a wonderful time with Katherine, Erika and Lourdes. I met really cool people and had a lot of fun until... 7 or 8am? I can't remember but the sun was up. All I know is that I woke up the next day at 5pm!

There were post-its all over my apartment begging me to come back to Korea next year. It totally made me smile.

I headed to the sauna just to relax and at least get out of the house. I love saunas. I even enjoyed the "massage chairs" - basically plastic balls hitting your back but I like to think it helps blood circulation...? ^^

As most of you already know, I lost my cell phone grrr not sure if it was in the cab or at the bar? My battery was dead so it's no use calling it. My 400$ Motorola Razr. Fortunately there's a silver lining: my addiction is over! I feel free. It's nice not to feel metal vibrating against my hip whenever someone feels like talking to me. And text messaging? Seriously? Now I must overcome my computer addiction... a hard one.

Today was a great one at work and it was hilarious to see all the teachers/staff walking as if they had been in a car accident or something... They met on Sunday to play kick ball... it's easy to see who works out hehe

Tomorrow morning i'm packing. I so don't want to leave so soon. Today again one of the guys at the organic food store chased me - this time, to give me free grapes. The "hello girlfriend!!" always brighten up my day... what will I do now?

I'm going home in 10 days and it's brutal! I still haven't figured out my plans for the summer, or even after, but i'm thinking 6 months of volunteering should be enough? I really think I need the reality-check, but I know i'll come back to Korea.

It's far, ajummas do cut in line and grab my butt, people are always in a rush, I do get stared at a lot, there is too much pollution and most men really are control freaks but... I love it here. The food is delicious, people are nice, I love the culture, the history, I want to learn the language, the kids are adorable, the city is so efficient...

Thursday and Friday are off so we're going to Deokjeokdo, the nice island close to Seoul. As for the week-end, I should visit the demilitarized zone and finish packing. My housewives are taking me out for lunch next week, it should be interesting.

I'm not ready for the 20 hour flight. I never am.

Once again, here are my lovely ABC students. Seriously. I love them more than chocolate.

17-year-old girl stoned to death

2007-05-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

We, Occidentals, enjoy passionate affairs and complicated love stories. Things such as cheating, getting divorced, dressing provocatively or even having orgies are just part of everyday life. Moreover, there is little racial/religious barrier when it comes to marriage. We are basically free.

Tonight as I was working out at the gym, I almost fell off the threadmill when I saw on BBC News this 17-year-old Kurdish girl being kicked and stoned to death in Iraq. It ends when a man smashes her head with a stone and blood spills all over the ground. Some guy has filmed the whole thing on his cell phone. Ironically Rhianna's "SOS" was on my ipod...

The girl was accused of have a realtionship with a boy "from the wrong religion". Reports from Iraq said a local security force witnessed the incident, but did nothing to try to stop it. Now her boyfriend is in hiding in fear for his life.

The girl, Du’a Khalil Aswad, was condemned to death as an “honour killing” by other men in her family and hardline religious leaders because of her relationship with the Sunni Muslim boy.

Miss Aswad had taken shelter in the house of a Yezidi tribal leader in Bashika, a predominantly Kurdish town near the northern capital, Mosul.

A large crowd watched as eight or nine men stormed the house and dragged Miss Aswad into the street. There they hurled stones at her for half an hour until she was dead.

The stoning happened last month, but only came to light yesterday with the release of the Internet video.

It is feared her death has already triggered a retaliatory attack. Last week 23 Yezidi workmen were forced off a bus travelling from Mosulto Bashika by a group of Sunni gunmen and summarily shot dead.

An Amnesty International spokesman in London said they receive frequent reports of honour crimes from Iraq – particularly in the predominantly Kurdish north.

Most victims are women and girls who are considered by male relatives to have shamed their families by immoral behaviour.

Kurdish authorities have introduced reforms outlawing honour killings, but have failed to investigate them or prosecute suspects, added the Amnesty spokesman.

Kate Allen, the organisation’s UK director, said: “This young girl’s murder is truly abhorrent and her killers must be brought to justice.

“Unless the authorities respond vigorously to this and any other reports of crimes in the name of ‘honour’, we must fear for the future of women in Iraq.”

(source )

There's of course a video and I must warn you that it is REALLY disturbing. It totally freaked me out. Sometimes I can understand how people might turn to crime after a shitty life, but this is BEYOND understanding. It's sick. Barbarian. NOTHING could ever justify anything like that.

They think she committed a sin? She was in love! They're the ones who'll be burning in hell.
God bless her soul. And all the other ones.

It's too horrible to even post this here. It's on a fellow's blog though and seriously... it's really harsh. http://ballyblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/warning-uncensored-video-iraqis-stone-girl-to-death-over-loving-wrong-boy/

Just... Korea?

2007-05-16T21:01:00.001-07:00

That's good news! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6664091.stm

Fun for me

2007-05-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was Teachers Day ! Yes my friends, being a teacher is celebrated in Korea! And believe me… I got spoiled with flowers, chocolate, tea, pencil case, agenda, Korean traditional fan, stickers, a pin and free tickets to the movies! Yeeeeeeah!

On Monday I met a friend for dinner in Gwanghwamun and we ended up having too many drinks and celebrating along Chonggyecheong – this beautiful stream downtown Seoul. I love that place so much. Went to bed at 4am and I was very thankful that I only teach at 3pm on Tuesday/Thursday. Oh yeah. I peed in Chonggyecheong too.

Things are going well and I only have 15 days left in Korea. It’s heart-breaking. This Saturday I’m having a party on my roof – watch out! A 16th floor roof in Seoul, with trees and flowers, and my going away party = …. Uh, just watch out ;)

I joined Facebook and it’s amazing to see what old friends have become. But I'm getting tired of it pretty quickly...

Marc ordered me my first Ibook so I’m thrilled. Aurélie got me tickets for a cool concert in Quebec City (http://www.listentofeist.com).

Pete is planning our road trip en Gaspésie! Patrice invited me to Edmonton. Bella invited me to Madrid. Patrick invited me in France and Cédric/Paolo might visit me in Quebec. And I’m sooooooo looking forward to seeing old friends when I get back home (Rosane! Nono! Janvier! Kev! JF! JC, Bergeron, Emilie, AndreaneS ;), Vero, les Brodeur ?????????)

And my brother and sister, boy I just can’t wait to see you!! Je vais yéller!

I’m looking for volunteer opportunities in Latin America. Most of my stuff here is already sold. A dude bought my pink couch for his dog. I’m not judging hehe

Today I had a blast with my students! They are my big chunk of love; I adore them more than chocolate! We took many random pictures and I thought I’d share a few.

Eddy is as wide as a sheet of paper!! He floats in his clothes and he is soooo adorable and smart! Every class he yells "teacher!!!!!!!!!" and won't quit until I help him unzip his crappy bag.

Julie always begs for me to pick her up. She is totally in love with me and I love her too! Plus she's my top student with a 99.8% average!!

Class at work!

Still not sure what was with that... the kids were obsessed with the big "Freedom" written on its chest.

Sophia showed me the ultimate sign of adoration when she gave me a comb... she always gives me that cute look that's impossible to resist!!

Korean kids go insane when it comes to stickers! So they have a sticker sheet and I give them one every class if they complete their homework. Stickers are also used as bribes to keep them quiet, ensure class participation and prevent them from speaking Korean. They're also good rewards!

As you've probably noticed, Koreans are obsessed with Caucasians. My students particularly enjoy staring at me and discovering my body - especially my hands and face.

And my feet!!!

Amy is always spaced out. So is Paul, who blissfully smiles when I snap my fingers next to his ear. Today he spent 40 minutes SMELLING his peppero (chocolate stick). The other kids ate the thing in a second.

Harry took most of these pictures. He's Korea's next greatest artist. He is so smart. Average? 99.6%!

Cobi always looks at me with a big smile and whenever I say something, he says "Yes! I understand!" He's my first ABC student to ask "May I go to the bathroom" when the other kids still struggle with the word Apple.

Average? 99.5%!

I had to put the flowers between those two because Charlie kept accusing Brian of cheating. The kids always make fun of Brian and accuse him of every single thing. The flower idea was good cauz they both laughed and forgot about it.

Remember Chandler in Friends? "Kids! Roll your way to child obesity!"

That's basically what Paul does, but look at his ankles... he's so skinny! This kid is a rebel but totally in love so last week when he heard it was my birthday he got me a gift. But he tried not to make a big deal out of it....

He "rolled" up to me in the hallway and said "here teacher. happy birthday" It was a funny prank he had brought to class the day before and I had laughed so hard when I saw it. He remembered. aaaaw so cute!

Time for Pisa after the big final test! An all-boys class and they're just lovely!!

John is the most interesting kid i've ever met. I love him so much! He wears shoes twice his size and baggy pants because his mom just got divorced and she want to save on clothes. He is nice to everyone and always smiles.

I’m sick of work. Sick of 5 minutes break. Sick of some people. Sick of city life. Sick of pollution. Of traffic jam. Of people in a hurry. Of hang overs. Sick of negativity. Of not knowing. Sick of mind games. Of temptation. I love Korea so much that I hate it. Doesn’t make much sense but Annabella you understand, right?

Fortunately those guys at the organic store by my place always yell a nice “hi girlfriend!” every time I walk by. It’s endearing, really.

Life is a wonderful gift!

Except when they put this giant ad at the end of the alley... believe it or not, the bright light reaches my 15th floor and gently prevents me from sleeping...

Mothers Day

2007-05-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

Koreans don't really celebrate Mothers Day - they have Parents Day, which was last week actually.

Rumor has it that this day was originally Mothers Day, but fathers complained it was unfair and so it became Parents Day. It think it's clever to combine it all in one day. Back home we have two separate days - Mothers Day and Fathers Day.

I called home to wish my mom a happy day. Before hanging up my day said something quite hilarious to me: "tu es un superbe spermatozoide ma belle!" hahaha

The time is now

2007-05-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

Fortune tellers are an important part of Korean culture. So are Chinese astrology and the four pillars - the Hour, Day, Month and Year of one’s birth, which contain some sort of esoteric code and have a positive/negative energetic influence on one’s life.

From time to time, Korean women will have a C-Section in order for their baby to be born at the exact date and time that is supposed to generate a genius. A second later might prevent the newborn from being the next Sejong Wang!

One of my housewives students is having marital problems. When she first met her husband, the fortune teller said that, according to their birth dates, the chance of them getting divorced was 100%. But they were so in love!

So they lied to each other’s parents. She told her mom his birthday was in June. He told his mom her birthday was in September. Of course both moms went to a psychic and were told that, according to the birth dates, the relationship would last. So they gave their blessing.

It’s ten years later and she’s giving up her beauty and liveliness… just waiting for her daughter to be old enough to handle a divorce. In ten years she’ll be fifty. The fortune teller was right... OR was it just a coincidence?

If you like spooky stories, there are tons of them over here.

A little girl was really sick. Her mom was so worried that she went to a psychic. She was told there was a spell on her daughter. Actually, it was meant for the husband but something had gone wrong in the process and the little girl was “paying for it”.

The mom was desperate. She bought a very expensive piece of paper on which the psychic wrote some Chinese characters intended to break the spell. She still carries it in her wallet. She showed it to me. A month later her daughter was cured and never sick again.

The only problem I have with such a belief is actually the same I have with Calvin’s theory of predestination: so there are no accidents? No twist of fate? Everything’s already planned ahead and supposed to happen?

If so, what about free will? What’s the point of me living my life? Is this just a big show to entertain some sick almighty?

I look at all those pictures, think about all those memories, recall conflicting emotions and I can’t help but think that I’ve just been very fortunate. People are lucky. People are unlucky. They make things happen for themselves.

In the end, aren’t we the ones making the decisions? As I get older, the line between “blame it on society” and “take responsibility for yourself” gets blurry.

Anyway. No matter what, even if life is fucked up, the best you can do is keep trying. Like Moloko sing – the time is now.

Le vrai Sarkozy

2007-05-11T05:20:00.001-07:00

"Sarkozy, fascist?"

Sarkozy, President of the French Republic.

Ah, Sarko...

Saeng-il chuka haeyo!

2007-05-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

My dream come true: at work they got me a cake and the staff and teachers sang me happy birthday in Korean, French and English!! Yeeeeeah! ^^

Turning 24 could be depressing if I chose to see that I didn't do much for other beings this year... it wasn't exactly a selfless year.

On the other hand, I've had incredibly new and exciting experiences and I'm still a little shaken by them all. In Canada, China, Japan, Thailand, and especially in Korea!!!!

Last night the girls invited me to dinner at Skyview. Gosh i'm going to miss the view from that 41st floor and their delicious food! Twya and Kyungah made me a really cool picture frame with pictures of our year together!!

Unfortunately I am terribly sick, my tonsils hurt as hell and I've had nightmares and cold sweat last night so my actual birth day wasn't so cool. Nonetheless, my ABC students sang me happy birthday and I got beautiful flowers!

Thanks for the emails and phone calls, y'all very sweet!

And watch out this week-end because it'll be my actual birthday party!! I'm thinking... the roof?

Last Saturday, as I was getting in the elevator to go out I heard sounds coming from the roof... i'm glad I live on the 15th floor: there was a party on the roof of my building!! Apparently they paid the security guard 50 000 won and it was done. I'll see if I can do the same... ^^

Fireman in Thailand

2007-05-10T00:24:00.009-07:00

kkk

Thai fireman on fire!

2007-05-10T00:24:00.007-07:00

kkk

Fireman in Thailand 2

2007-05-10T00:24:00.005-07:00

kkk

Sunset in Ko Phi Phi

2007-05-10T00:24:00.003-07:00

kkk

Karaoke in Thailand

2007-05-10T00:24:00.001-07:00

kkk

Cast away?

2007-05-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

There u go. Thailand was amazing. What else could I possibly say? It's always amazing. Life is beautiful.

Sea kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, i got scared of the underworld down in the ocean. Innocent fish swimming right at me and I thought they'd eat me or something. At times, I'd never felt so lonely. I met locals and despised myself for being this metropolitan alien. The usual, you know.

Jumping off a fisherman's boat right in the middle of the ocean, on the other side of the world, 11 hours ahead of Quebec, was pretty cool.

Pollution hit me as soon as I got back to Seoul. So did the impatient Koreans who were pushing my back on the plane. I'm claustrophobic. Thank God I can control myself. Sometimes.

The tsunami pretty much devastated Ko Phi Phi - where I spent most of my time. People lost family members. As this one amazing woman named "nah" said referring to her husband, "him die. him die..."

I feel like i live in a big fat bubble. If I lived in those bamboo houses on the shore it wouldn't be fairer. I still can't figure out the meaning of life. That's all.

Cool video of the fire dude. He's been doing it for 3 months so be indulgent. Same for those drunk Thai women singing the Karaoke.

On vit comme on peut.

I'm happy!

2007-04-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Leaving for Thailand in a few hours and i'm happy.

To life.

Spring in Seoul

2007-04-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had so many bills that your money doesn’t fit in your wallet? I actually have such a problem quite often in Korea…

See, the biggest bill you can get here is 10 000 won – which is like 10 dollars. So if you’ve got 300 bucks on you, it means there are 30 bills in your wallet.

That’s what it looked like before I emptied it to buy D&G super sunglasses! 50% off! Sion bought Prada’s and Twyla also got D&G. I love that you can do that here. We make good money, don’t pay rent, sweet deal.

So it’s the week-end and I’m really happy. Right now the flowers are blooming all over Korea and it’s phenomenal. Azaleas are especially beautiful.

Last night we went out to the “luxurious” noraebang (karaoke bar) in hongdae. Look at this!

The concept is very simple: you get a private room with your friends and sing, dance and scream as you like. It’s usually cheap, and this one was 18$/hour for the four of us. Sweet deal.

There was a street festival so the area was very lively. I actually think those artists are really good!

We ended up at Tinpan once again and I’m incredibly thankful that Twyla’s friend is still here because he is a GREAT dancer! We had a really good time and ended up going home at 8AM this morning.

Going to Thailand next week-end and I’m really really really excited! Life is pretty good, I’m really thankful.

Plus I got a basketball today. It so made my day! When you're single, doesn't take much to make you happy!

My butt in Korea

2007-04-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

Never have I been so aware of my butt.

Butt-grabbing in Korea is shameless, and a sign of curiosity. I’ve had my hair touched by total strangers on the street (given, you don’t find lots of blond curly hair in Asia), my skin patted and of course I’ve been stared at. But my butt??

On my very first day in Seoul I hopped on the bus and two ajummas (women over 50) slapped my tushi and just laughed their head off! It was like their “dare moment” of the day.

Today one of my housewives students literally put her hand on my butt as the other housewives giggled. She asked “is this sexual harassment if I do this?” Of course I smiled and so she did it again! How am I supposed to react?

I chose to think it’s funny. I know they're not gay r pervert; just curious.

I feel like an alien here, but in a good way. When I got to Korea, I was expecting to be on the other side of the wall. I thought I would experience racism.

As it turns out, it’s reversed racism. Like I said before, being a white girl in Korea is a ticket to heaven!

Yesterday at the gym I got my membership extended 3 weeks for n-o-t-h-i-n-g! On top of that I joined spinning class for only 20 bucks. It think it’s safe to say that I love Yuni :D

Reversed racism also includes the free food, incessant compliments and special treatment. It’s really nice. But sometimes it’s too much.

One of the guys at the organic fruit market by my place yells every time he sees me “hello girlfriend!” and then he turns to the costumers and says “MY girlfriend!” While it was cute the first time, it kinda gets tiring.

Moreover, white girls here are often seen as sexual objects that can fully fulfil men’s desire. Of course it’s not true, but how do you get rid of that image?

Tonight at the jimjilbang (sauna) Twyla and I were asked by a very bad-looking pathetic Korean man if we are Russian. Roughly translated it means "are you hookers?"

Russian women come here as prostitutes because the money is good and Korean men are horny for white chicks. It's one of the biggest insult when you get asked that.

I understand the curiosity of that little Korean girl staring at me because she probably never sees a 5"11 naked white girl. It's just curiosity. Ajummas grabbing my tushi is understandable too. I chose to laugh, but of course I could be mad and insulted.

It's all about the attitude.

But you don't see me slapping the butt of Chinese women back home!!!

Forced to be gay

2007-04-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

I love those morning classes with Korean housewives. We just have some tea and discuss whatever topic comes up. They are adorable, funny and very sweet (when they don’t scare new students away)! Plus, they teach me a lot about Korean culture.

Like this morning. Sue told us this story about a woman who was worried that her son never married. One day, she found out he was gay. Apparently, his boss had “forced” him to become gay.

This story came up after Stella showed up with a baseball cap on (meaning “bad hair day”), telling us that she HAD TO drink last night. She’s a freelance translator for LG and the Chinese clients she’ll be translating for this Friday invited her out for dinner.

In Korea, you can’t say no to that. You can’t refuse a work-related invitation; otherwise it’s seen as rude and could be really bad for business.

But not only do you HAVE TO show up for dinner. You CANNOT refuse a drink. And God knows how wasted those businessmen can get. So you basically drink the whole night long and end up being totally drunk.

Some people have this trick where they hide a bucket under the table and empty their glass when no one’s looking. Stella couldn’t find one I guess…

So anyway, they told me how Korean bosses basically own you and you pretty much have to do whatever they ask you to do. Thus Sue’s story about the gay dude.

I thought it was quite funny because where I come from, you’re born gay; you don’t “become” gay. Maybe in some developing countries people are forced to have sex with people from the same sex for money. But that’s not being gay; it’s sexual slavery!

I found out that Korean mentality towards homosexuality is very conservative. The housewives insisted that public opinion has improved a lot on the matter, but it still seems to be a hell of a ride to be gay in Korea.

Ironically, it’s a very touchy-feely society. Girls hold hands, touch each other and so do boys, who would especially look gay in a foreign country when they’re drunk and hug each other.

Moreover, people see naked bodies every time they go to the sauna. Back home, nakedness is a very private thing… except for nudists and strippers!

Too young to be old... and North Korea

2007-04-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ain’t got no idea how my friend got up this morning. She’s visiting the DMZ, I’m still dizzy. What a week-end!

Do we need to party so hard in order to have a good time? I’m too old for this now^^

Friday night we had a great time with Kyungah, Rachelle, Twyla and her friend Sion. Christine got us a table at Skyview (41st floor!) for dinner after work. The food was good, great wine, great atmosphere. Except maybe when the opera singer kicked in.

Everyone was tired so we called it a night, right after some delicious ice cream at Cold Stone – where Rachelle totally danced the whole time. It was hilarious!

Saturday we met with Erika, Sion, the hairdressers, Erin and her boyfriend for dinner in Itaewon. Right behind KFC there’s a small alley that goes up. Then turn left, walk to the end and go up the hill. There’s a French restaurant called “Mignon”. Exquisite!

After that we headed to a cool nearby bar called “Bungalow”. You basically sit in swings and the floor is covered with sand. Nothing better than enjoying your cocktail with your feet in the sand! Plus the waitresses have that "exotic" thing going! And there's a hottub on the roof!

As if this wasn’t enough, we ended up in a gay bar. As you probably guessed, the gay society in Seoul is very low-key and/so there are about 2 gay bars in Itaewon. Where are they located? Right on hooker’s hill! Apparently it’s another form of sexual deviance hehe

Back in Montreal my gay friends would take me out dancing. I just love gay bars! Men there know how to dance and it’s such a fun atmosphere! So I was glad to feel that energy, as opposed to everyone drinking their head out at straight bars.

Unsurprisingly, there were more foreigners there than Koreans. Sion made me dance the whole night long and it was phenomenal! I hadn’t had such a great dance partner in a really long time!

We left when the bar closed, and we got home around 6am. We tried staying up until the sunrise in order to catch a ferry to Deokjeokdo, but we totally passed out.

Woke up in the afternoon, had some McCrappy and spent the afternoon by the Han River. I’m lucky it’s close to my place. And it felt nice to just chill out a little.

I showed Sion and Annabella the Korean convenience stores – go to a 7/11, get your beer bottle and sit outside at a picnic table. Much cheaper than going to the bar. We tried some dry octopus and it was disgusting!

Then we tested our strength with the punching and kicking games. Quite fun.

Also found ourselves on the scene of an accident - this motorbike had crashed into this green bicycle... wasn't me!

Finally I took them to the sauna. First experience for them both – totally naked with strangers. Of course men are on one side, girls on the other. We got massaged. The usual way – spanking, hitting, rubbing, I was in pain. The ajumma yelled “Shower! Shower!” and then I came back for the scrubbing. Ouch mama!

Thank God I don’t usually drink this much. I can’t believe tomorrow is already Tuesday!

Here's a quick peek of the DMZ... thanks Bella!

Food, stream, spaceship and ABC

2007-04-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

First of all I must say that I LOVE my students! Especially the little kids. They are ADORABLE!
Second of all, Seoul is a great city! Last night I took my friend to Chonggyechon, this nice man-made stream downtown Seoul. There, we had Samgyeopsal (fat pork) and a few shots of soju.

Then we headed to the stream, it’s really nice at night with all the lights.

A Korean dude joined us. He’s studying cardiology in Germany and we ended up having a fun night.

You know how you always have to pay for public bathrooms in Paris? And usually they’re dirty and the meeting point of drug addicts?

Well public bathrooms are free in Korea. But there’s one in Gwanghwamun that costs 50 cents I think.

Oh my! It’s like you’re entering a spaceship! In the middle of the sidewalk. It’s the cleanest place on earth, with a lady talking to you in several languages, some classical music coming out of the speakers and a self-cleaning "bidet". Wow!

I’m sad I’ve got to work and so much grading to do, but at least I spend some tome with Annabella and she’s seen quite a lot of things so far. She said she knows Seoul pretty well. It’s fun to look at her pictures and hear the “tourist” stories. Reminds me of my first weeks in Korea. That is, without the throat infection of course ;)

Here's a few of my ABC students. They can be little monsters but don't they look adorable?!

French it!

2007-04-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

It’s usually when you have friends come over that you realize how much you love the place you live in because you suddenly become very aware of everything/everyone! Korea is a fantastic culture! And a freakish one too...

Annabella brought saucisson and cheese directly from Spain so I bought wine and we had a “French” night yesterday. It totally feels awesome to speak French.

On the other hand, we only slept 3 hours and it was quite hilarious in my housewives class this morning – our discussion topic was pornography. This is going to be a long day.

April 1st in Seoul

2007-04-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Wow. It totally feels like April’s fool! Except they don't really celebrate it in South Korea. Where does it come from anyway?

Annabella’s plane landed at 8am and I was still passed out in my apartment. Last night Erika and I got our hair done and then we decided to go out. Bad idea. I was tired and had so much stuff to do.

Anyway, we had shabu-shabu for dinner; a really cool Korea typical dish. They bring this broth to your table and you drop in vegetables and meat. When you’re done, you cook rice in there, with a raw egg. Delicious!

We ended up at this great Thai lounge in Hongdae - where we had shisha and way too many drinks. Among others, I got a “Chocolate kiss” and a few “Naked Canadians”. Erika’s ex-boyfriend showed up with some of his friends. It was really cool.

The end of the night was disastrous. Something to do with her ex. Thank God Twyla’s door was open even at 5am and we had a great talk.

I felt terrible for not being at the airport when Bella got here, but I hopped into a cab and we enjoyed a very expensive cab ride back to my place. We napped and then I showed her around Insadong. I bought a really cool tea set!

Having a friend here totally helps me realize I've been in Korea for over 10 months now. And yes, I LOVE Kimchi!! ^^

Work me, Lord

2007-03-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

When Twyla left tonight (or this morning) we could hear the rain falling so hard, it sounded like a waterfall. She called me describing how amazing it looked with the rain drops bouncing off the ground as the city lights were reflecting on the water.

And then once again, i recalled acid rain... damn Seoul! I love Korea, but all this pollution is bad. And as for global warming...

Annabella is coming all the way from Madrid in 2 days!!!! How awesome is that?! She'll be staying for 10 days and ever since she's told me she's coming, I've started to realize how much I feel at home here. How much I know about Korean culture. It's amazing!

Tonight we had a girls' night, with my famous shrimp curry and Kyngah's delicious kimchi pancakes. And Sangria. It suddenly hit me that i'm leaving in 2 months. I'm going to miss those people so much.

After Annabella leaves, i'm going to Thailand and i'm really looking forward to this vacation! Then i'll be back in May and i'm leaving four weeks later. Insane.

I HAVE SPENT A YEAR IN SOUTH KOREA!!! France was nothing compared to this!

So here's my big dilemma now: i'm definitely coming back next year, but where should I work? My current school, or at a public school?

My boss came up to me and said they want to keep me so they're willing to let me keep my apartment for free, even though the price will rise. That means keeping that perfect place with flat screen TV, piano, pink couch, AC and all the brand new appliances.

But I don't get a raise because, well they're paying for the apartment. And they let me go home for a month and a half. So i would have to be back mid July. And for next year, I would only get a week vacation. As for the rest, it's the usual deal with the plane ticket paid by the school.

HOWEVER, IF I work at a public school, I could spend 3 months home this summer, come back for a year contract that pays more than my school, get PAID sick days and two weeks vacation.

My schedule would be regular, i.e. 9 until 4 instead of 2pm until 8pm at my school. That's cool.

But i'd lose my apartment and I would need to pay to get all my stuff stored. I don't know if my new apartment would be better or worse. I don't know if people at public school woud be awesome or assholes. At least at my school now I get along with the staff and they're not on my back.

At public school I'd have to spend more time at work, but no grading. Right now i'm going insane with grading. Also, what if i'm in a crappy neighborhood? The reason why I love Korea so much is because I feel comfortable here. And my apartment (i know it sounds incredibly shallow) has a lot to do with this.

So what should I do?

I want to spend 3 months home just chillin' with friends and family. Plus a friend of mine is supposed to come from France in August. But I guess he could visit in Korea, that's more exotic! I mean, a month and a half home would be alright, wouldn't it?

I'm confused. And tired. I have so much grading to do. Tomorrow gym and getting my hair done with Erika. Then going out but not too late cauz Annabella's plane lands at 7am Sunday!

Also thinking about buying a new laptop: should I get a mac (performant, no viruses, no bogs but heavy), or that Sony SZ48 (light, performant, lots of space, but runs with stupid Windows)?

Hey you know what? This post is probably the most ridiculous one on earth. Who cares??????????????????????? People are starving and here I am talking about all this. Maybe I should volunteer in developing countries to set my mind straight... none of this matters in the end.

Ever heard Janis Joplin's "Work me, Lord"? Pretty good.

Seriously, get yourselves some Janis, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Massive Attack, get in a jazzy mood with Holliday, Armstrong, Simone and Fitzgerald, sing your soul with Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, even John Lee Hooker!

And you're never wrong with some good old reggae a la Bobby Marley, Peter Tosh, Tiken Jah Fakoly or Jimmy Cliff. Oh! Do you know Louisa Mark's "keeping it like this", or Janet Kay's "Loving you", both delightful reggae love songs.

Or kick in some Eminem and try to sing along. How about Chingy's "right thur"? That's all we sing at work, along with 50 cents' "in that club"... just because, they're catchy tunes ^^

I also recommend watching Chris Rock's one man shows, they're all good. But it's not for puritains...

(acid) rain drops keep falling on my head

2007-03-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

The school gave us masks to put on. Yes, those little white masks everyone in America saw Asians wearing at the outburst of SARS in 2003. Apparently those are intended to protect us from air pollution.

A lot of people usually wear them, but now... it's a must because it's:

YELLOW DUST season in Korea!!!

Indeed, China's dirty pollution and dust is blown by the wind and reaches Seoul (which is an hour and a half from the coast). This adds up to the usual pollution making Seoul one of the most polluted cities in the world.

A few days ago the sky was grey, yet the sun looked like a giant ball of fire through clouds of dirt.

About 85% of air polluants are emitted from cars, in a city where traffic jam is never ending.

Ironically enough, the subways system is probably one of the cheapest and most well developed in the world. Moreover, Koreans are very environmentally-friendly, with mandatory recycling and composting everywhere in town including apartment buildings. You get fined if you don't recycle or compost. How cool is that?!

While some people say it's usuless to wear a mask because the particles are so tiny that they get through the fabric, I'm putting mine on. Seriously. I'm sick and tired of speaking like a French whore who smokes 3 packs of cigarettes a day! It burns down my throat!

I don't want to lose my voice again... when I got here, my poor lungs were in shock! After having spent my life in green Quebec and then a year in the moutains of Southern France, all this acid shit was filling my lungs. Man was I sick!

Seoul is a very convenient city and I love it. But when I think of coming back, I keep in mind that people living in such a polluted city are at risk for lung infection, cancer and shortened life expectancy.

Fortunately, most Koreans do exercise a lot and they are generally moutain-lovers so that's gotta be a plus.

But how do you react when you see some of your students with weird red dots and weird heaps of skin all over their body? Whenever I ask about it, they answer "oh teacher, really bad!" but they can't explain.

I was told by my housewives and Korean friends that those are skin diseases caused by air pollution. It's a shame, really. Many Koreans are already obsessed with being skinny and beautiful...

A report published by the Blacksmith Institute says mental retardation can even be an outcome of air pollution!

Today it was raining a lot. I liked it, until someone reminded me about acid rain.

I'm trying to go to the gym every day now, hoping it will help me feel better. It actually does, but i'm still sick.

Tonight I joined spinning class, oh my! I've never been so hot!! In fact, the whole room was foggy (i'm not kidding! my hand left a mark on the glass window!) and we were working it to the beat of a wonderful dance remix of "can't keep my eyes off of you".... i love you baby! and if it's quite alright i need you baby...

So what's the deal? We can't reduce gas emission? Come on, years ago we were doing damn fine without them. Now the earth is sick and so are people.

No matter what, I'm wearing my mask!

Just like little Ryan... ^^

Afghanistan: drugs, guns and money

2007-03-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

"Afghanistan: Drugs, Guns and Money" is an astonishing documentary about the socio-political landscape in Afghanistan - where opium crop is one of the largest ever.

Afghanistan and its near neighbours still supply around 80 percent of the heroin sold in Western Europe.

Like a cancer, the heroin trade has spread its tentacles through almost every level of society. In Afghanistan there is mass local addiction, local HIV epidemics, an unending cycle of violence and crime, and the corruption of state institutions......

When I first got to Korea, the first thing I noticed in my crappy apartment was this sticker on the obsolete computer - it said:

It's a messed up world but I love it anyway.

Amen.

Gold digger

2007-03-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

A lot of you emailed about Hadaka Matsuri… I’m glad you enjoyed the little Japanese tushis ;)

So it’s official: I’m going to Phuket for 8 days at the end of April. I was originally supposed to go to Bali, or Fiji, but the flights don’t go very often and my parochial boss refused to give me Friday off.

Who cares? I’ve been to Thailand during my first year of college and it was blissful!

On a related note, my contract ends on May 30th so I’m coming home for two or three months. I’m really looking forward to it!

I hope I’ll get to see everyone I love! Have a blast at my sister’s with, among others, my brother. If he shows up. Go on a road trip with my best friend. Discover Gaspesie. Kayak and camp with Cedric and Paolo, coming all the way from France.

I’m also thinking about spending a month volunteering in Latin America… building houses or teaching English or something.

As for next year, chances are I’ll be back in South Korea. I love it here. And y’all welcome to visit!

Since I won’t be returning to the hagwon/academy I’m working at now, things will be very different but I like change. Plus I hate a lot of things about my hagwon.

Most of my “white” friends aren’t coming back so I’ll definitely miss our shopping, movie nights, dinners, nights out, etc. I’ll also miss my killer apartment just 5-minute walk from school and the organic food store right on the corner of my building – for the delicious food, but also the guys who give me free stuff ;)

I’ll especially miss my gym, and the “sex and the city”-like habit of Twyla and I chatting all the way through the work out, bitching about work and men ;)

Work is fantastic and I totally LOVE my students! Yesterday in ABC class Paul, a little boy, came up to me and he said “teacher!” I turned around, and he gave me a big wet kiss on the cheek. Then he went on to tell the other kids “my… kiss… teacher!!!” it was so adorable!

Teaching ABC is awesome because you see them progress a lot faster than, say, in higher levels. During break time, my students all write the alphabet on the board, or spell their names, or draw a heart and yell “teacher! I love you!” It’s priceless.

As for teaching TOEFL, it’s really challenging. And those middle school students are sooooooooo self-conscious… every class I have to remind them that they’re at school, not at a funeral!

Anyway, life is great and I am very thankful. Once in a while I’m reminded that I’ve got it real good and I wonder how I could help even things out.

There was this homeless woman near Kyobo, begging for money. What I gave her probably bought her a meal (or boose but I prefer the first option). As I was walking away, I felt awfully guilty. I had just spent 20 bucks on a lonely planet for a trip to Thailand. Is life unfair? Or do we only get what we deserve?

Take a look at those pics from the trip with Youri and Genevieve… I guess we all are, in our very unique way, gold diggers!

White Day!

2007-03-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

So I thought i'd definitely be eating black noodles on April 14th but apparently I won't!!

Kids gave me candy, and I was chased down the street by one of the guys working at the organic food store next to my place. He had a big smile as he gave me three lollipops ;)

If you recall, February 14th is Red Day in Korea - when women give chocolate to the man they like.

Then March 14th is White Day - when men give chocolate to the women they like/love.

And finally there's Black Day on April 14th - when people who didn't get any chocolate in Feb and March go to the restaurant and order black noodles (noodles in black beans sauce). It's ironic, sometimes sad, sometimes funny. But it's a way to meet single people.

A cheap dating service if you will...

10 000 half-naked men in Japan !

2007-03-10T08:33:00.000-08:00

Japan was… surprising ! Of course I didn’t get to see Tokyo, but I’m actually glad I was in Nagoya because i think our week-end was far more exciting than the girls’ in the capital city (yikes! didn't you read the title?!)

Seoul – Nagoya is a 2-hour flight and I noticed the flight attendant had a permanent smile on. Erika said that’s the difference between Nippons and Koreans; the Japanese are constantly happy.

We were greeted by Tim, Erika’s brother, and Yukari, his girlfriend. That girl is a party animal, always happy and soooo interested in everything! She speaks fairly good English and taught us "yata!" - which means "awesome"! Similar to Korean, which is "yassa!"

Meet Erika (right), Yukari, and me!

First shock: Tim and Yukari had beer cans in their hands. Indeed, you can drink alcohol anywhere you like; in the subway, the street, at the airport, ANYWHERE.

Next, the porn. Japan is a hotbed for the pornographic industry! So in the train, instead of cell phone ads you see boobs and numbers to dial if you’re horny.

We headed to a bar downtown – pretty usual scene, except that the Japanese bartenders are kinda cute. And the girls are REALLY outgoing!

That's Erika (left) and some random girls we met.

I bumped into a crowd of Quebecois working for Bombardier in Nagoya. Needless to say I spoke Frrrrrench and discussed the health benefits of la poutine!

I was surprised to notice the non-smoking signs ON THE SIDEWALKS! In some parts of Japan, you can smoke in bars, but not on the street. If you do, you get a fine. And you actually do (policemen here have nothing to do with the ones back home!)

As we left the bar to go get some sleep, we saw a group of Japanese men who looked totally gay to me. No offence; they were just so beautiful, mannered and wearing more make up that Britney Spears.

As it turns out, those were escorts – another big thing in Japan. Actually, the next day was my other cultural shock: a full size ad promoting “being an escort”. Where else on earth would you see that?!

We grabbed a cab and I was reminded that Japan uses the British style – that is, they drive on the other side of the road!!!

The cabs in Nagoya are all fancy, black cars. The drivers wear a uniform. And they should because the fare is incredibly EXPENSIVE!!! It starts at 8 dollars and it cost us 45 dollars for a 20 minute ride. Fortunately there were four of us.

Tim’s apartment is typically Japanese: the outdoor looks Occidental but inside there are sliding doors, the bathtub is the size of my butt but higher than my knees, and of course we sleep on the floor – which is covered with some kind of bamboo carpet.

Other than that, don’t ask retarded questions. Japan is one of the leading industrial countries in the world so of course they have refrigerators, microwaves, couch, tv, etc. One thing though – Tim has a kitchen table but, just like in Korea, most Japanese eat at a low table, sitting on the floor.

I was getting really sick, coughing like you wouldn’t believe, so I didn’t sleep well.

The next day we met Jun, this amazing Japanese guy who’s very short but so smart, pretty and kind of an oriental doctor. He’s dating a very annoying British girl whose legs are the size of my wrist. But she’s funny and we had a blast.

That’s when we saw a Japanese castle, on our way to Hadaka Matsuri – the festival of 10 000 half-naked men! There’s a great article explaining this here.

They wait for a little bold half-naked man to come out of the temple. This man is called “shin-ottoko” and he is believed to be the “chosen one”. All the men try to touch him (imagine the claustrophobia!) and if they’re successful, legend has it that they rid themselves of their sins and negative energy.

Every year, 1 or 2 men die in that huge crowd. The celebration takes place all over Japan, not just in Nagoya. The grandpa who escorted us told us he’s tried to touch the shin-ottoko for 50 years but he’s never been able to!

I don’t really know what to say. I was speechless. You NEVER expect to see that in your lifetime.

I forgot to mention that Jun’s friend lives near the temple so his family welcomed us for a meal! I was so sick I couldn’t eat, but I wish I had!

It was a traditional Japanese house – low, sliding doors, bonsai trees in the garden, the backyard connected to another house – where the grand-parents live.

We sat on the floor and the table was FILLED with all kinds of food – seafood, tofu soup, fish soup, vegetables, salad, weird looking traditional stuff. Behind us the stove was heating bottles of sake – thus the incredibly strong smell of alcohol as you walk in the house.

Everyone was joyous and talkative even though we didn’t speak a word except countless “arigato”.

All of a sudden we heard people burst into laughter, as the father walked into the living room, naked except for the loin cloth and sandals (white, look like ape feet!!). He stood proudly for pictures with us, and then ran to the festival. Priceless moment.

At night Tim took us to “Bar 3”, a casual place with couches and a guitar. I was sicker than ever.

The next day was St-Patrick’s! And yes, the Japanese do celebrate it. Why? Just because it’s another occasion to drink from morning til night.

That's Yukari (left), Erika, funny dude, and me.

We passed gigantic street markets where anything you’d ever dream to buy is available at very reasonable prices. Then we headed to the center of the celebration, near a Buddhist temple (don’t ask).
Tim, of course (right), me and Yukari.

A crowd of Caucasians, Blacks and Japanese wearing at least a green piece of clothes was gathered, laughing and drinking.

That was probably the most boring day of my life – I was really sick and everyone around me was drinking and talking shit. Seriously, boring conversations of people bragging about how drunk they’ve been in different situations. Given, I wasn’t in the mood, but our “leader” really really likes alcohol and he and his friends spent the day drinking.

At night the girls went shopping so that was my getaway – even though all I wanted was to sleep or go to the hospital. I was coughing non-stop, dizzy, headache, nausea… la totale!

At the shopping mall, I was once again shocked: the saleswomen were incredibly beautiful and totally sexy, but they looked like real prostitutes! Mini skirts that are no larger than a headband, wearing thick and colourful makeup, the hair must have taken them 2 hours to do… Beautiful, but too much.

I told Erika how I thought Japanese women are sexually liberated, but she made a good point; they are in a way, but they still are just sexual objects to Japanese men. And it’s true.

The shops only carried size 0 clothes, and the underwear stores sold the kind of bras you only find in sex shops back home – gorgeous pink and silver leopard ones, flashy red laced panties, etc. Anything to please your man!

I noticed that every single white guy I saw was with a Japanese girlfriend. It’s much more obvious than in Korea. No comment.

Good point for women though: there is a special boarding point on the subway for women during rush hour. This is because there are so many people; women tend to get crowded and sometimes men sexually harrass them.

The night came and we, of course, headed to a bar. I bore the torture for a while – everyone was drunk by then, smoking in my face as I was trying to spare my poor throat… I just felt like the whole day had been so pointless. Maybe back when I was in high school I enjoyed those, but now I was dead sick and really not in the mood.

The next day I woke up to three wasted guys in the living room, and the three Japanese girlfriends giggling in the bedroom. Everyone had slept with their clothes on.

We took the train to the airport and realized that Japan isn’t AS “foreigner-friendly” as Korea. Most of the signs are in Japanese, and many things are confusing – whereas in Korea everything is so smart and straightforward.

We were like two zombies at the airport. Fortunately our plane was pretty empty so we each got an entire row to ourselves.

Back in Seoul it was raining and I was glad. It was one of those days; when you’re sick and you nap in the afternoon, listening to the peaceful sound of raindrops on the window.

Japan is a great country and I can’t really say much about it because I spent so little time there. And I only saw Nagoya.

Nonetheless, when I think of Japan I will always have that memory of 10 000 half-naked men running around with bamboo sticks. That’s something.

Suicidal lifestyles

2007-03-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

Enjoying your warm, meaningful, comfortable life? So am I.

But after watching Al Gore's (Oscar winning) documentary on global warming, my conscience hit a wall and guilt started tormenting me. And for cause.

Try to see how yours feel after an hour and a half of "Inconveninent Truth"...

It's one of those amareness-raising movies in the lines of "l'Erreur Boreale". Powerful. Makes you wanna grab a sign and become an activist right away. Wanna change your whole lifestyle and share the scary facts with the whole world.

The fact that we're ruining the perfect and beautiful natural elements on earth is indeed an inconvenient truth because if we chose to see it, we can't just remain inactive. But our minds are so dulled, we just close our eyes and chose not to see it.

See? I just did it. Hopefully we'll wake up on time but, and correct me if i'm wrong, we've obviously reached a point of no return.

Le Japon!

2007-02-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving for Nagoya!! Four days in Japan. I can't wait.

Exquisite Busan !

2007-02-27T07:04:00.000-08:00

In Korea the four seasons are 100% enjoyable – you can ski in beautiful mountains during winter, admire the leaves changing colors in breathtaking mountains such as Seoraksan during fall.

In spring, anywhere smells and feels good. As for summer, you can lie on several beaches and gaze at palm trees while swimming in the ocean.

There’s a gorgeous island about 2 hours from Seoul (subway and ferry ride), Deokjeokdo. You can also go to what foreigners refer to as a “honeymoon island” south of Korea, Jejudo. The east coast is filled with crowded beaches in the summer, like in Sokcho. A little South East is Pusan, my greatest experience with nature so far in Korea!

The school gave us a 4-day week-end for Lunar New Year. Since my Vietnam plans weren’t going to happen, Erika and I decided to go to Busan. We flew in on Saturday morning and came back with KTX (Korean version of the French TGV) on Tuesday night.

You wouldn’t believe the awesome time we had there!

I slept about 2 hours on Friday night and we took a shuttle to the airport at 6am. We met Twyla, who was going to Vietnam, for breakfast before going through security. The flight took an hour and we were in Busan!

Our hotel, Novotel, is heavenly! Our room was on the 14th floor with FULL ocean view! In the morning, the sun would rise over the sea and wake us up.

The beds are as comfortable as a cloud! Usually a “suite” like this is 495$ in the summer, but we go it for 150$/night… and a 3rd night for free! Lunar special!

We were both really tired, so we had coffee and then spent the afternoon at the swimming pool. Oh! The swimming pool! Indoor, of course, but with glazed ceiling and walls. And again, ocean view included! We also had a relaxing time in the sauna.

At night we rode the bus for about an hour and got off at one of Korea’s largest fish market: Jagalchi. Very similar to Seoul’s Noryangjin fish market. In a way, it was shocking to see all those fish tanks filled with variety of fish you’ve never ever seen.

Countless little restaurants were open to the public, offering sashimi and soju for your pleasure. Also available were oysters, steamed crab, fried fish, scallops, and so.

Ajashis and ajummas, old men and old women, dressed in plastic aprons and wearing yellow rain boots yelled their “special” prices to the crowd. To us, foreigners, they would say “come in! very good fishi! Good prrrrrrrice!”

We walked around for a while and finally set our mind on a small place where we got sashimi and scallops.

At a fish market you get countless side dishes and the service is never-ending! Salad, marinated mussels, chickpeas, fried vegetables, kimchi, tiny snail-shaped shellfish that you suck at the end and some chewy little creature comes out… and of course, assorted sauces.

Erika took a video of the murder. I had already seen it happen at Noryangjin and couldn’t handle it twice. She picked the fish; they took it out of the aquarium and killed it with a spear. Then, while it was still moving (nerves I guess?), they cut it open, took off the flesh and tiny bones and cut off the head. Funny how there’s only blood in a fish’s head, not in its body…

We had a delicious dinner! But I mentioned that society isn’t logical; if we’re going to do this with fish, why not do it with every single animal?! Go to a steak restaurant, order beef and have it slaughtered in front of you!!! Want bacon for breakfast? Let’s see how they get the fat and meat out of its back!!

We headed back to the hotel, where we watched for a good two hours a live jazz performance at the lounge downstairs. It was quite enjoyable! And the pina coladas too!

On Sunday morning we had a delightful breakfast downstairs while gazing at the ocean. It was a beautiful sunny day and the buffet was the most attractive one I’ve ever seen! We ate like you wouldn’t believe, just because every single food that we like was displayed there.

We walked towards the port and hopped on a boat to Oryukdo, a rocky island about half an hour from Haeundae, our beach.

The boat ride was fantastic! The soothing feeling of floating on the waves, the sparking reflection of the sun on the water, the salty smell of the ocean breeze, and the birds flying high in the sky.

Luckily, the boat was almost empty so we fully enjoyed it. At first a crowd of seagulls harassed us because people were feeding them chips. They followed us for a while.

Back on solid ground, we ran into Lilly and Matt and we all decided to visit a Buddhist temple set by the ocean. The cab ride was quick; until we reached the entrance… we were stuck in the taxi for a good 20 minutes – lunar New Year traffic jam! Everyone single Buddhist was going to the temple to bow and celebrate. Ouh!

There was a huge crowd of course, but the view was totally worth it. Of course, I feel like if you’ve seen one temple you’ve seen them all – and it is partly true. But this one, right on a creek, was spectacular!

Obviously getting a ride out of the temple would be an impossible task. We still tried because of Erika’s leg (she got in a massive accident in Thailand a few years ago) and Matt and Lily’s baby James. But we gave up.

That night Erika and I had a delectable steak at the famous “Outback” restaurant. We ate every Korean woman’s sinful fantasy: huge piece of meat, potato with sour cream, and a beer! It was so wonderful that, back at the hotel, we passed out on the bed!!!

Seriously, we still wonder what was in that food. We literally fell on the bed, to wake up only an hour later. By then, our tickets to a Korean traditional drumming show were expired. And we were still tired and confused.

Nonetheless, went for a walk and had a drink before finally calling it a night.

As for Monday, that was our big fat “doing nothing” day!!! As so we did!

We woke up early, went for a walk on the beach and lied there for a while. The sun was so warm, it felt like summer. I actually got tanned a little ;)

Since Erika’s leg was painful, I went alone for a great walk up to the lighthouse. The view was as gorgeous as in Jejudo. But it was full of Koreans. In Korea, you can enjoy beautiful sceneries but you have to do so with countless human beings surrounding you. No peace here.

Back at the beach I took a nap and read. We then headed back to our hotel for a swim. It truly was as if we were lying on a summery beach! With the sun coming in through the ceiling windows, the magnificent ocean view and, of course, the swimming pool.

Around 5pm we had the BEST full-body massage I’ve ever had! Over an hour and a half of heavenly movements on my body… I still can’t believe those hands!

It was Korean-style, but not as brutal as they usually are. Instead of having me lie on my stomach and slapping my back, the woman let me on my back and slid her hand between the table and my back – thus using the pressure of my body to fully massage. That’s totally the way everyone should do it!

Of course she mixed all my vital organs together when she sat on my hips and started rubbing my stomach, but it wasn’t as bad as the masseuse in Seoul who was apparently trying to perforate my liver!

It was heaven. Erika and I were both really high when we got out of there.

We changed and headed to the hotel’s restaurant. Oh my! They so got ripped off!

The buffet was 40$ and included wine. We drank a lot, but we mostly ate every single thing on the table! They had king crab, roast beef, curry, sushi, shrimps, salami, shabu shabu, cheese, stroganoff beef, and so on.

As for desserts, aaaaaaaaah! It was the best! Tons of fruits, cheese cake, chocolate mousse, ice cream and berries. And to top it all – a French dessert (it’s a French hotel): la crepe flambée! Fruits flambes in orange juice, sugar and alcohol, then served on a crepe with whipped cream and chocolate. Like summer in your mouth!

We needed a very long walk after such a heavy meal. The ocean was so nice. There were many people but it wasn’t too crowded. We ended up going on those creepy little bumper cars!

Those things are much more dangerous than back home!! Moreover, you get your own little speaker in the car so you hear all sorts of different music playing at the same time. At that time of the night, it felt as if we were in Chucky or something.

An hilarious video (you had to be there though....) is on youtube for more live performance ;) Right here

Afterwards we sat on the beach and lit a few firecrackers. Koreans go insane with those – they love them! So we figured we might as well do it too. It was cool.

The next day we spent the morning at the swimming pool and the headed for Kimchi jiggae (the most delicious one I’ve had so far). I got on the 1pm ferry ride to enjoy for one last time the beautiful ocean. Erika stayed on the beach.

The boat was late, I got back late to the hotel and there was a huge traffic jam downtown. Maybe we would have made it if we had taken a cab, but we didn’t; we missed our train! ... for this breathtaking view!

The train station was as crowded as it would be on Christmas. We finally got “standing” tickets for 6pm. “Standing” means that you sit on the floor near the bathroom. And it costs the same price.

So we ended up spending the afternoon at a café, playing guitar outside in the sun, and going for a walk on hookers hill.

I never ever thought I’d see this in Korea: it’s like Chinatown back in Montreal, but for Russians!

A huge street where everything is written in Chinese and Russian. Blue-eyed, blond hair people on the streets. Russian women sitting outside shops and just waiting for men. Very sad.

Back in Seoul, if you’re blond with blue eyes you often get asked if you’re Russian. I was quite confused the first time it happened. Do I look Russian??

Erika has been asked that very question far more often. “Are you Russian” means “are you a hooker”? Taxi drivers ask. Married men ask. Total strangers will stop you on the street. Sometimes they chase you. They’re horny. It’s pathetic.

The KTX ride turned out to be fun. We got folding seats next to a vending machine (not a bathroom) and ended up reading and chatting for the 3 hours. I also took a nap and woke up with Koreans staring at me. Always nice.

I had fun pretending to be this French girl in Paris coming out of the train at the last minute to say goodbye to a loved one hehe

Back in Seoul it was insanely crowded. At the train station I got 5 DVDs (movies) for 10$! That’s the beauty of Asian countries!! And the quality is quite good. I don’t mind Korean subtitles.

I was only teaching 3 days this week, then I’m going to Japan (Nagoya) for 4 days! I’m thinking about taking a week off in April and get some rest on a beach before leaving Korea at the end of May. But I’ll be back before long.

I’m totally in love with this country and its people.

Saehaebong mani paduseyo!

basil childers

2007-02-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Meeting an artist is always exciting. But there are no words for how I felt when I first met Basil Childers, an actual famous American photographer. We had dinner, drinks and the greatest evening ever.

He had somehow found my blog, contacted me and we met at the Ritz hotel in Seoul. The man, as well as the artist, is simply amazing! From Posco, one of the leading steel companies in the world, to a wrinkled woman smoking a giant cigar in Myanmar, he truly captures the essence of this world through photographs of dance, landscapes, everyday scenes, bigshot CEOs......

http://www.basilphoto.com

Enjoy.

Dog cafe, birthday and fiestas

2007-02-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Apparently there IS such a thing as a "dogs cafe" - a cafe where you can bring your dog and the owner's dogs are walking around, pooping on the floor and jumping all over the place. They're barking at ya as you walk in. You pet them as you're sipping tea. Original idea, for sure.

That's Shane, cool guy from South Africa, former Navy officer. And those are the dogs. Plenty of 'em.

Tonight we were celebrating Pam and Rachelle's birthday. Kelly and I met everyone in Hongdae at that cafe, where the birthday girls put on the hats we'd bought them. See that dog by the window? That's what it's like there. I wonder if we have those kinda places back home?

We then headed to a cool Soju place where we had a few drinks and fruit. I love that about Korea: you can order fruit at basically any bar. Healthy eh.

Then we headed for a really creepy walk in dark alleys, up to a Salsa club that was so crowded, we couldn't even get in. There was 10 of us so we didn't want to insist ;)

The girls stopped for sundubu on the street. I love that about Korea too. Even at one in the morning, the old lady is there, selling you typically Korean food from a tired "boui-boui". Given, we were at the heart of Seoul's nightlife. Here's beautiful Jin, having some.

At the back you can see Young, Jeesoo (my school VP)'s sister and the nicest Korean girl you'll ever met! Kevin popped the question about a month ago and they're getting married in the US really soon!!

Afterwards we headed back to the Barbanana, a bar we thought would be more entertaining. Nonetheless, we ended up having drinks, fun and sharing great memories. Pam (left, Californian girl totally awesome whose full name is Pam Cash... totally artistic!!, Ben, and Catherine) just bought a Polaroid and it is the coolest thing ever!

There, you have it. A Saturday night in Seoul. No Tinpan. Still a lot of fun.

Sorry baby!

2007-02-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

How would you react if a 7-year-old Korean kid told you "sorry baby!" with a big smile after he accidently knocked some books off the table? I couldn't stop laughing!

Earlier Jason had handed me over a note written by his mom:
Teacher. I am he's mom. He lose his taste. Pleas help he find his taste.
Pleas dont punch him.

I assume "taste" means "test"..
Once again we laughed our heads off in the teachers' room.

This "ABC" class is really great. I love those kids so much and they always surprise me. They've learned so much in 3 months!! Their spontaneity is a delight.

The girls follow me everywhere I go during breaktime. They wait for me on the other side of the door. They try to teach me to count in Korean - which is funny because today they said
Teacher! Big big big test!!

They were refering to my "big big test" when I told them about the final exam. But now, they want to test ME because they've taught me how to count from one to ten!!! They're adorable!

As for Sally and Katie, i've told Ashley to call the moms. You're right mama, they oughta suffer the consequences of their actions. And anonymous's post also convinced me. Thanks ;)

On another topic, Lunar New Year's coming and Erika, Matt, Lilly, James and I are flying to Busan on Saturday! I'm really excited to get out of the city, enjoy the (cold) ocean and taking delight in eating tons of seafood!!

Moreover, we found plane tickets for Japan (Nagoya) for that 4-day week-end we get at the beginning of March! It'll feel great to travel around a little, even though I'm pissed that i'm not going to Vietnam with Twyla as originally planned (the school saw my going to Quebec for my grandma's funeral as a "vacation"............... don't get me started!)

Now i'd like to share something Eric and Danny taught me tonight about the Valentine's day in South Korea. It's really interesting.

--- February 14th is indeed Valentine's day, but GIRLS must give a gift to BOYS that they like. NOT the other way around!!

--- Then on March 14th, it's White day (which I see as Valentine's day 2 but whatever). On this day, MEN return the favor to WOMEN. In other words if a girl gave you chocolate in February, you should give her chocolate in March.

--- Finally comes the big fat (and depressing) Black Day on April 14th. On this day, people who did NOT get chocolates at all get together in Chinese restaurants and order Jajangmyun (noodles with black beans sauce). Isn't that funny?!

Of course there's also Pepero Day on November 11th - when people give peperos (candy stick dipped in chocolate) to each other. Apparently that's a big commercial scam started by Lotte company. But you can see that those Koreans are true givers!!!

And I guess we all know where i'll be on April 14th........

Love, cheating and politics

2007-02-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

First of all, happy valentine's day.... NOT! :p Ok, i'm glad for all you lovebirds out there and I truly enjoy being single. Honnest. But when I saw Christal's boyfriend bringing her flowers and a teddy bear, I did want to join them hehe although it would have been weird!

John, one of my students, got me chocolate. Sally, an old student, also came to see me with a box of chocolates. I got a lovely "you hit the jackpot at the casino of love! Je t'aime!" apparently from James, a one-year-old kid of my co-worker.

The school gave us four bottles (each!) of rasberry wine. How generous!!!!! And I got an anonymous "be my valentine" card in my classroom.

Kyungah and I ended up having delicious Seolnong Tang (soup with meat, green onion, rice and radish kimchi)... my new obsession. It was freezing cold outside as it has been raining a lot yesterday.

Not a special day in itself. Although I did put on my pink shirt for the occasion (actually I had no idea it was Valentine's day until I saw the card!)

I spent the day grading final tests and giving speaking tests. Some were totally awful, others were just amazing (especially Sally - she's 10 and speaks English like a native!)

I was really pissed when I handed back some 59% to kids that didn't even review their tests even though I told them to. But I guess i'm mainly frustrated at myself for having been like this as a kid...............................................................!!

And then it happened. I knew it would happen some day. I just wasn't prepared.

Some people enjoy this. I really don't. REALLY don't.

I was grading tests in class during the break. I looked up and saw Sally and Katie writing answers on the table.

I laughed. "Are you writing down answers?"

Sally stared at me. She was scared. She silently shook her head. "Are you????"

"No...."

I went over. "I'm sure you're telling the truth, but I just need to check. You know... in case... " I said with a big smile.

There it was. Korean and English written down on the table. "Are you kidding???" I was really upset. No, not upset. Disappointed. She erased it. I told her to erase harder.

I looked over on Katie's side. Katie is the nicest (and tiniest) girl in the whole world. She's the smartest kid i've ever had. That's not like her to do that. I saw "optimistic" written down on the table. I guess she asked the others how to spell it. No big deal...?

"I'm taking 10% off your grade."

They looked like they were at a funeral. Lisa, the other student, didn't say a word. When the bell rang they left without saying a word.

Ashley, the sweetest staff at school talked to them. Apparently Katie was crying.

And now, it's up to me to decide if the school should call the parents. What a dilemma.

Of course they should. But Korea is not like America. Parents are a lot more strict than back home. You may recall my post about corporal punishment. I know that parents might hit their kids if they hear that they cheated. And I don't want that to happen.

On the other hand, if I don't do anything about it, I'll look like a very weak teacher and they may not respect my authority afterwards. What should I do?

I guess I'll talk to them on Friday and see how it goes. I told them that their homework is to write an essay - "what is wrong with cheating?"

Yes, I know. I should be a hard ass and not care so much. But... they're just kids!

You know, in Shining Star classes we discuss really grown-up topics like the Civil Rights Movement (Luther King and Park), World War I, the Balkans, etc. You can't blame me for seeing them as adults sometimes. They know about "balance of power"... which is something I learned during my last year at McGill!

They're about 10 years old. And today, Jenny bit on something and her tooth fell off. She went to the bathroom, put the tooth in her pochet and came back with a piece of tissue in her mouth. She sat down and wrote the test.

That's when it hit me: those students are still just... kids!!!!

It was weird. As I was walking down the stairs I looked at the younger ones, lining up, following each other. They're in school. They listen to us. They do their homework. They study. They go to regular school. Then academies at night.

They're so excited when they can play outside. And when you hear them laughing, it's priceless! It's so innocent. Liberating. For both them, and you because you realize they're still kids. But for how long...?

Education is necessary, I agree. I'm a teacher. But do we do it in an healthy way? Seems like the more we learn, the more we innovate and "progress", the worst off the earth is. I don't know. Being a teacher is such a HUGE responsibility! And some teachers are just on a power trip.

When I was looking at the kids, their tiny legs going down one step at a time, they looked like conditionned little beings. For a second, I couldn't see the difference between this and a dictatorship. People are free, yes. But to what extent?

Zen Buddha

2007-02-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

A lot of people share a growing interest in Buddhism – as a religion, a lifestyle or even home deco. I recently started reading “Being zen” and, after spending last week-end homesick, I decided to go on a templestay.

Meet Cheong Ah Sumin 청아 스님, one of the two monks at Jakwangsa temple.

The temple is located in the mountains around Daejeong – a two-hour bus ride from Seoul.

After a 15-minute cab ride from the bus station, I was greeted by a lady wearing what appear to be the most comfortable clothes on earth. She showed me the way to a typically Asian looking door (thin white paper and wooden sticks).

As I walked in, I was greeted by Cedric, a really cool Australian guy who’s in charge of the foreigners on templestays. He also speaks French.

There were 3 other people there – a Korean girl from Daejeong, Mark, a Canadian living in Seoul, and Kelly, a Korean girl living in Seoul. It was probably the first time in my life I was so quiet. I just didn’t feel like talking. And it was ok.

Here's a quick peek of the temple.

We all went for a walk for about an hour around the mountains. The temple is surrounded by what looks like slums or abandoned villages; small alleys filled with all kinds of trash – from refrigerators sitting between two trees, to crates of beer bottles, couches, rusted bicycles, shoes, tiles, flat tires and so on.

The low houses had metal bars or broken windows and often smashed in roofs. They all had half-destroyed metal fences of stakes and some abandoned car sitting in the doorway.

I was told farmers live there, but I couldn’t seem to find any field where someone could grow crops. Only hens trapped in tiny cages, a duck flapping its wing on a front yard, and countless dogs barking at us.

Nonetheless, the surrounding mountains were pretty nice and it felt wonderful to breathe in fresh air far away from the big metropolis.

Back at the temple Cedric gave us a tour. The temple has 3 stories; ceremonies and meditation take place on the second one.

That’s where three enormous golden statues of Buddha are sitting up front, surrounded by three hundred something lit candles, a flat screen TV, a piano and Buddhist paintings. There are three portable radiators because the place isn’t heated and it gets chilly in winter.

As y’all probably already know, upon entering a temple one must take off his/her shoes and bow to the statues. Same when leaving, except that you put your shoes back on!

The 4 noble truths in Buddhism go as follows:
1. Life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by craving and aversion
3. We can overcome suffering and attain true happiness
4. To end suffering one must follow the 8-fold path

Basically we must detach ourselves from the material world and stop craving for never-ending material needs. We suffer because we always feel like something is missing and/so we’re not happy. If we stop desiring, we’ll be much happier.

The 8-fold path is:
-- Right understanding
-- Right intention
-- Right speech
-- Right action
-- Right livelihood
-- Right effort
-- Right mindfulness
-- Right concentration

Buddhists believe that if one follows those, personal suffering will come to an end.

After the tour we went to a ceremony. It was nice. A woman was hitting the gong and singing. Well, not really singing as much as making sounds. But I enjoyed it. It’s called chanting.

There's a really cool guy who's hitting the giant gong outside every time there's a special occasion - ceremony, waking up, meals, etc. The gongs are in a seperate place, in the outdoor. They are huge and I'm thinking all this stuff (including the giant gold statues) must be worth quite a lot of money...

We bowed to the statues. You should know that Buddha is NOT a God in this religion. He simply symbolizes the possible achievement of attaining enlightenment.

Then we meditated.

At 6pm we had dinner and it was quite good. Everyone ate in the same room, sitting on the floor. Buddhists are vegetarians so we had tofu, delicious mushrooms and other vegetables, kimchi, curry, lots of salad and a really good seaweed/tofu soup.

We had to wait for everyone to be seated before we bowed and started eating. We mustn’t leave food in our plates because waste is not tolerated. And I understand.

We finished dinner with a barley infusion and a really good dessert. I can’t remember the Korean name, but it’s like fried dough with nuts and sugar inside. Yummy!

We all washed the dishes together and the Korean girl from Daejeong told me her life-story. Cedric and I spoke French. It was nice. It had been a while since I had washed dishes with other people. I really think it’s a great moment to bond. Dishwashers are so anti-social!

After dinner I went for a walk alone. I saw another temple.

At 8pm we had a Dharma talk with the monk I mentioned earlier. This was really special.

We sat on the floor and drank lotus flowers tea. He even gave me a bag because I obviously loved it.

This Dharma talk is basically your chance to ask a monk anything you wonder about. And he supposedly gives you enlightened answers.

So we all introduced ourselves and asked questions. The Canadian guy wanted to know what’s real and what really matters.

The Korean girl from Seoul asked about finding your true self. She said she sees two very opposite personalities within her soul and she doesn’t know which one is hers. The monk insisted that she observes herself and then she’ll know. He said what others think doesn’t matter because they don’t know you “inside”.

The Korean girl from Daejeong asked about Buddhism in general. And I asked about mediation and the meaning of life.

The monk was funny and he loved using metaphors. He would make big long pauses before he spoke. He pointed at the teapot and stirred it. The water inside was moving. He said that’s like humans.

Tea is your soul. You move all day long and you soul picks up many different things – some are dirty, some are good. When you meditate, you stand still and it allows your soul to settle down. Then you observe yourself, your thoughts, and you “see” clearly.

As for my very general wondering about life, he laughed.
“What are we doing here?” I asked
“We are making tea.”

He smiled and turned to somebody else. I guess it meant that only the present moment matters.
I learned about the Buddhist precepts.

a) not to take the life of any living thing
b) not to take anything not freely given
c) abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence
d) refrain from untrue speech
e) avoid intoxication (loosing mindfulness)

Cedric asked about cloning, which led to a very strange conversation. Overall, we talked for over 2 hours and my legs were killing me.

When I inquired about kids dying at an early age, I think he didn’t really know. I started from the premise that we are reincarnated until we reach enlightenment. Basically your karma must be flawless and then you can break your cycle of reincarnation and stop suffering.

But then, I wondered, what can a child accomplish or how can he improve his karma if he was born with AIDS and dies at an early age. Or if he was a child soldier and got shot. Or whatever.

The monk looked at me, paused a minute, and said “this just shouldn’t happen. Nothing is perfect and so isn’t life. Sometimes there are flaws and that’s on of them.”

I slept on the floor with Kelly. We read for a bit (she also had the “Being Zen” book! I was into Malcom X…) and went to bed, knowing we’d have to get up at 5am. I didn’t go for a shower because they were outside and the idea of my wet body walking through the dark night at minus 5 didn’t enthuse me too much.

When I heard the gong I wasn’t really tired. It started with the sound of a wooden stick bouncing off an empty wooden ball. Like a woodpecker.

I totally hit my head on the doorway but it was ok. Waking up at 5am is definitely not my cup of tea, but it was nice to see the moon and the stars. I could hear the birds singing and a couple of hens too.

We went to the temple and meditated. Then we had breakfast – rice, kimchi, tofu and the same stuff from the previous night. I noticed the giant tigers on the temple. Temples are beautiful - they are quite colorful, with lotus flowers painted on the ceiling. The shapes are very interesting too.

For about 2 hours we could do anything we wanted so I went for another walk. Then I meditated again and finally met the other guys to set up the place for English classes. Yes, English teachers volunteer every Sunday for 4 hours to teach to Korean kids at the temple.

Between 10 and 12 there was the noon ceremony at the main Buddha hall. Chanting and meditation of course, but mainly we did the 108 bows.

108 bows is simple. You are standing up in front of your cushion. Put your hands together. Bow. Then get on your knees, put your hands on the ground and touch the cushion with your forehead. Get up and do it again. 108 times.

For some reason my feet hurt the most. It took about 20 minutes. Afterwards Kelly and I had a good laugh when going down the stairs and realizing how painful our thighs felt!

The lady asked if we wanted to meditate or watch a video. This weird-looking dude and his wife immediately said “VIDEO!!” so I had to sit, crossed-legs on the floor, for an hour, watching a monk talk in Korean. I didn’t understand a single word and was quite bored. But I figured it was the polite thing to do to stay.

After the projection we were told it’d be lunch in about 15 minutes. As I was about to get up, this Korean woman slid her cushion up to me and started speaking to me. Ah. I needed the peace, but she needed to talk I guess. So I listened to her life story and her compliments about me.

We went for lunch, same thing as the night before. After washing dishes I went for a walk. It was such a bright day.

I sat on a pile of abandoned wooden planks between old junk and a deserted building and I read for a while. Even though it was cold outside, the sunlight kept me warm and I stared at the mountains for a moment. “Nothing but blue skies, do I see”…

I went back to meditate in the temple, and then Cedric, Mark and I took a bus back to Daejeong. We caught the 4 o’clock one to Seoul and I pretty much slept the whole time. I was really tired from a wild Friday night party with Woo Kyung and her friends at a karaoke bar. I had slept about 4 hours that night.

Back in Seoul there was hell of traffic. The subway was crowded. Back to reality I guess. I got home, ate dinner and went straight to bed for a good 12-hour sleep.

Now it’s Monday and I would need the day off to cool off and have a little personal introspective but I gotta go to work. Gotta give my students their final test. Gotta. Gotta.

I’m definitely going back to that temple. Meanwhile I’ll beware of my karma and try to practice wisdom and compassion.

Is Bush an idiot?

2007-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

The whole thing is just blow-minding, but you can fwd to about 5:27, when he talks about the pig while having a press conference with the German Chancellor. Priceless

At the post office

2007-02-08T00:54:00.000-08:00

As you walk in the small office located on a corner of two alleys in a poor neighborhood, the smell of gas immediately reaches your nostrils (and brain?)

Two ladies dressed in dark and sobre clothes are busy behind the counter. It's hot in there and the only thing decorating the immaculate walls is a framed Korean flag.

The place is tiny, filled with boxes and packages all over the place.

Suddenly, I don't feel like i'm in the wealthiest part of Seoul anymore - it looks like i'm in some developing country, at a post office temporarily opened as a result of a flood or civil war that has destroyed the entire country, or something.

It's like we're 50 year ago.

Like I said, it's so hot in there. I'm sweating like you wouldn't believe just as i'm filling out the address on my package. I can't write in English; it has to be Korean characters. I do my best. The lady smiles and nods, thinking "they should be able to understand this"

Just as i'm about to pay, an ajashi (old dude) cuts me off and starts talking to the employee. They both forget that I even exist. He seems confused and he smells like alcohol and cigarettes. It's 11am.

That adds up to the gas smell. I notice the heating device on the floor. It feels as if the whole place could blow up any minute now.

Mailing stuff from Korea is cheap. A letter to Canada is a dollar and fifty cents. A package to Madrid, about 6 bucks. Soju, sake, tea and other silly things to France cost maybe 10 dollars to the most.

North Korean Mass Games - Finale

2007-02-05T09:07:00.001-08:00

Would you part two

2007-02-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

This time i’m not asking about buying a dog. This was a stupid idea, I know. I’m leaving in four months and the poor thing would be miserable. So would I.

I have a crazier idea: visiting North Korea!

Going to one of the very last bastions of communism.

Crossing the border that so many North Koreans have died trying to escape through.

Pyongyang, the capital of a cold country full of unsolved mysteries.

The tiny Kim Jong-Il – as ugly as a hamster and yet most likely the mastermind of general paranoia as well as brainwashing.

Why not?

US citizens are not allowed there. Neither are Israelis. But I’m Canadian.

It would be in April, during the mass game and the big festivities (can “fun” and North Korea be in the same sentence?) for Kim Il Sung’s birthday celebration.

Damn Youtube ain't working on my blog but check out this video, it's impressive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWOEdy_-qM . There's the actual mass games video divided in over 10 parts too... unbelievable!

We’d visit the DMZ (demilitarized zone) from within North Korea. We’d bow at Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il statues.

We’d stay in a huge hotel where there are maybe 10 guests. Go through empty streets, riding far away from the local population.

I'd see some starving and pennyless people from afar who think they were lucky to have been born in NK. They wouldn't dare waving at me because, well of course i'm white, and they'd be shot or sent to prison right away.

We’d be followed by at least one guide everywhere we’d go. Our phones would probably tap.

Apparently the kimchi over there tastes incredibly good. And the anti-american propaganda is delirious.

The flight is from Beijing so I need to pay extra money to get there from Seoul. We’d fly in on a Saturday morning, and then take the train back.

Can you imagine? One day and a night on the train from Pyongyang to Beijing, looking through my window and catching a tiny glimpse of this secluded world.

Sounds interesting, right? Plus I’m a sociology/polisci major so of course this stuff interests me a lot.

Should I do it?

Oh, one more thing. It would cost 3000$ for 5 days.

Yes. Really.

Here are a few facts about North Korea:

1. Ironically called Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
2. Military expenses account for almost a quarter of the gross domestic product.
3. Population: 22.9 million
4. Language: Korean (slightly different from South Korea)
5. Life expectancy: 60 (men) and 66 (women)
6. Literacy rate: 99%
7. Eternal president: Kim Il Sung
8. Communism introduced in: 1945 (after WWII and independence from Japan)
9. Main ally for trade: China
10. Annual growth rate: 0.98%
11. Infant mortality: 24.84 deaths per 1000 live births
12. Exports: $1.044 billion
13. Imports: $2.042 billion
14. Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
15. Agriculture: rice; corn; potatoes; soybeans; pulses; cattle; pigs; pork; eggs
16. Industry: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles; food processing; tourism
17. Deaths attributed to famine between 1995-98: South Korean and U.S. estimates of deaths range from 270,000 to 2 million
18. Percentage of the population with access to safe drinking water: fell from 86 percent in 1994 to just 53 percent two years later (The current economic situation is so bad that there are areas of North Korea where there is neither electricity nor sufficient chlorine to run water treatment plants)
19. Vaccination coverage for diseases such as polio and measles: fell from 90 percent of children in 1990 to just 50 percent in 1997

TGIF!!

2007-02-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

Well intensive is over so I can sleep in the morning BUT i've been sick as hell the whole week so... so far I ain't enjoying this. Last night I was shivering so hard I was afraid my temp fillings would break!

The funny thing (if you will) is that whenever I have the flu I feel like i'm the only one on earth to experience those symptoms. "There's gotta be something wrong with me! Am I going to die?!"

On Tuesday Pam made me laugh harcore when she showed me this:

Yup! That's what we teach young Korean kids at my school hehe

It's a page from our little story books that we read in PhonicsA. Read it carefully. It's both hilarious and quite disturbing.

"No, no, no, no, no!"
said the big monster.

"Come on, open your mouth and close your eyes."
"I'm going to give you a big surprise."

First of all, it doesn't just say "No, no!"; to the contrary, it's a big fat pervert "no, no, no, no, no!"

Moreover, you can hear the dude saying "come on...." as you read the words and, well, no comment on the rest of the sentence...

Finally, why on heck did they highlight the word "big"?!

Needless to say we were all laughing our heads off in the teachers room.

In a nutshell here are some news: got our plane tickets to Busan and booked a hotel by the beach! I really need to get out of this city.

I got several postcards, a book about Andalucia and a really cool Japanese movie delivered to school this week! It's from Hye Jeong, the sister of a private I used to teach last summer (remember when she showed up with her whole family in the car and they showed me around Seoul all Sunday long?!) She just got back from Spain! How sweet is she?!

It's February so this means I've only got 4 months left here! I don't know if i'm sad or excited, but i'm definitely stressed out browsing job openings all over the world.

I'm learning the Korean alphabet. I really feel like a child, copying each character at leat 30 times and trying to stay BETWEEN THE LINES!

Am reading Malcom X's biography and it's pretty good!

Got no money but before I leave Korea I want to
- get my teeth crowns (so much cheaper here than back home! Here it's 400$, in Montreal it's 900$!),
- buy a better digital camera,
- go to Vietnam, Fiji, Japan, maybe the Philippines?
- North Korea is definitely a must too.
- spend a week-end at a Buddhist temple
- And of course I need to visit historical places around Seoul like fortresses, a few more palaces, the DMZ, museums, tombs. Also want to see musicals, traditional Korean dancing and plays.

Yeah right. All this in four months. By the way, i'm superwoman!

Oh, here's a picture of my adorable ABC kids. We're working on "X" now. Every class we list words starting with every letter of the alphabet and last class we counted them: they know over 180 words!

You should have seen them, they were clapping and smiling like crazy! I'm so proud of them!

Thank God It's Friday!

Wake up Andy Warhol

2007-01-31T19:03:00.000-08:00

In January there was this great exhibit in Insadong called "Wake up Andy Warhol". I had no idea who that artist was until I came accross this:

It is basically one of the emblems of pop art/culture in the 60s.

Warhol would paint things and people that defined American culture - from Marilyn Monroe or John Lennon, to a bottle of Coca-Cola.

"What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too.

A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."
– The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: (From A to B and Back Again), 1975

It was interesting to see that exhibit in South Korea, in the middle of a buddhist/gift shops area.

Blood diamonds

2007-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard about blood diamonds? Did you know it involves the mass killing of populations, trainning of child soldiers and slavery so that people can say "I love you" with a diamond ring?

December 2003. Montreal.

I was riding the subway with Carmen - a Rwandese friend studying politics with me at McGill.

We had a heated debate over world issues and she suddenly rose her voice. People were staring at us. Back then, I felt embarrassed. Now I think she should have shouted. I just had no idea what she was talking about.

"How come the Ivory Coast is exporting diamonds when there are NONE over there?"

True. Remember the civil war in Sierra Leone? The bloodbath of the 90s?

What about Liberian president Charles G. Taylor and the RUF insurgency in Sierra Leone? Rings a bell? If not, read about it. I am right now. Seriously. It's totally inhumane. Like so many things in this world, granted.

Tonight I saw the most powerful movie ever produced on the topic. I was crying so hard, even after it was over. "Blood Diamonds". They really are.

Run baby, run

2007-01-26T05:33:00.000-08:00

This is ridiculous. I spent the whole week looking forward to Friday night, just to get home, go to bed early and get some rest. I caught a cold and I taught from 9am until 8pm/10pm every single day. That's not even including class prep, writing exams and grading.

AND I had open classes on Tuesday and Wednesday - that's when the parents attend the class and then you talk to each of them about their kid. A real blast. So I'm officially wiped.

Yet I went out to dinner and bought the most delicious dark choco cookies "Le Petit Ecolier".

The brand brought back so many memories. Now that I think about it, last year was really great! Except of course that I used to eat like a pig when I was in France. Really.

Bread every day. Cheese; goat, mamirolle, brebiou, brie, camembert, bleu, comté.
Huge steaks. Even wild boar in a pear sauce.
Table d'hote almost every night.
Incredible desserts such as Charlotte a la chataigne and countless coulis.
Les petits lardons partout.
And of course the addictive saucisson and patés.
Smoked salmon with cream cheese.
Moules et frites.

We drank like you wouldn't believe. Vins d'alsace was my favourite. And let’s not forgot the tasty Pineau des Charentes. And beer. - although girls don't really drink beer in traditional France. French people just drink wine. The school would provide wine for lunch in the teachers' room. Yes. I know.

I recall riding my scooter through the breathtaking sceneries of the Mountains of Ardeche. A 20 minutes ride every day, with my visor wide open even during winter... just to feel the fresh breeze on my face.

My job was easy and everyone praised me. We'd meet for l'appéro amost every night with Cedric, Paolo, Sylvain and JP. It was so much fun. Cedric would cook cajun food.

And Patrick and I would have these endless nights, philosophing until the morning came. It was harmless and just so nice.

People would take me to the mountains. Cedric, JP and I had a memorable camping at the Chateau de Rochebonne - on top of a mountain, sitting by an abandoned castle, loving the view of the valley while enjoying a bonfire and some delicious saucisses merguez. What more could I ask for?

I remember walking all the way home a couple of times. It took me about two hours and a half. I had to go through mountains and the forest. Just me. Silence. Tress. Nature. Lovely. I'd get back to the moulinage all cold and happy. Made me feel lighter.

Got lost a couple of times. Some hunters took me back home. The same hunter that had killed a wild boar on our property and left a bloodbath behind them. They brought up a piece of meat in a plastic bag... all warm and bloody.

Roxy was the best. She was the love of my life! The most adorable Labrador in the world. She'd come with me every time I went for a walk. Which was every day. She guarded the huge mansion (it was gigantic!) when I was there all by myself.

Every night i'd go for a walk. There were no lights on the street. It was a small village with only one big road in the middle. We'd walk for at least an hour in the dark. First on the road, then we'd come back through the dark woods.

It's funny how I knew my way by heart. It was dark as hell and yet I could tell when there was a huge rock on the ground, a small river or anything, really. It was this big moment of silence before going to bed. I miss this so much.

Imagine going from this to Seoul. A cold city filled with skyscrapers. Strangers. In St-Christol everyone knew each other.

And the trips, oh the trips! France is probably one of the only countries in this world that has so many holidays!

I've been to Barcelona and partied with some German students on spring break and this cute guy studying medicine in Philly.

I went to Italy with my students and I literally acted like one of them.

I spent a week-end in London with Annabella and this was awesome. I also went to Paris a couple of times to hang out with her and we always had so much fun! Especially that night at her friend's place - this huge and classy house "en banlieue" where we stayed up until 7am. Good times!

And then this week skiing in the French Alps for New Year's! Oh my! Did we celebrate. And the sceneries were breathtaking! I'll never forget those.

As I was about to leave, Corinne lent me the keys to her apartment in Montpellier. I spent a few days there. Her place was by the beach. Oh it was incredible!

There’s just so many memories. So many. It makes me smile just to think about it. My last day teaching there my students took me outside and all my students showed up. They had brought cake, soft drinks and a farewell card and we played Jeopardy. They were adorable. Especially Sarah, the American student there. She’s just lovely!

Wow. I just shared a big chunk of my life here. I feel good. Yet it seems pointless.

I should go to bed now. Did I tell y’all that Danny got me this keychain with the emblem of Jejudo? How cute is this kid?!

This week-end I don’t wanna do anything. Last week-end was hectic – went out with Sunny on Friday night, dentist Saturday morning, shopping in the afternoon, dinner and movies with Ben that night, Sunday had lunch with Erika and then went to the gym, had dinner with Sunny and ended up grading and writing tests until midnight.

Ok here’s my list for this week-end:
- sleep in
- learn some Korean (I bought books and a cd last week-end!!)
- clean my place and wash the dishes
- meet up with Erika to plan our trip to Busan (for Lunar New year!)
- go to the gym with Kyungah and maybe the movies after
- grade papers and diaries
- play guitar and piano
- READ!
- Catch up with my emails (sorrrryyyyy!!!) and read my bro’s blog
- Get over my cold

Ok. Ok. Ok. Too much. Computer… can’t process… need…… sleep…..aaaaaaaah!! Run baby, run!

It's not rape; it's marriage!

2007-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

"Should husbands be allowed to rape their wives? Yes, says the [Thai] Justice Ministry. And for the sake of gender equality, it will allow the wives to rape their husbands, too."

"This draft is the ministry's response to years of pressure from human rights groups to redress gender violence and inequality in Thai law. It ends up being farcical because of the ministry's mechanical approach to justice and its refusal to tackle the heart of the matter, which is the oppression of women."

Check out the article (and the Bangkok Post) here

US Soldier raping an old Korean woman

2007-01-21T05:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Erika has this line she tells guys in bars and it goes a little something like this: "Military? Don't even bother!"

Remember a previous post on foreign loosers in Korea? I quickly described the night scene in Seoul and how (too) many wasted non-koreans act like total assoholes while trying the fuck the whole world. It seriouly disgusts me. Plus it ruins it for everyone else.

So guess what happened last week! A 23-year-old US Soldier raped and beated up a 63-year-old Korean woman. In the morning. In Mapo neighborhood. How sick is that?!

I know, I know, similar shit probably happens every minute around the world ... what is wrong with people?!

Veni, vidi, vixi

2007-01-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

My brother is the most awesome person I know and I love him so much. He's sooooo smart, funny, open-minded, cute, artistic, nature-lover, sensitive... he's got it all! Moreover, he is a fabulous writer and for y'all francophones out there I urge you to check out his blog that he just started http://quebecworld.blogspot.com/

He's in Bangkok right now.

It would take forever to tell y'all about him but he's a 28-year-old man with a wonderful heart and a beautiful mind.

Has done internships in Kenya, Mali, worked for the European Union in Brussels, worked on an environmental project in Mexico, was part of the supervising team for the last elections in Haiti. Smart as he is, he's also done an internship at the National Assembly in Quebec and that's not even the start of it. He writes wonderfully and he knows so much about everything... it always blows my mind. And it will blow yours too.

One world at a time

2007-01-17T05:15:00.000-08:00

That's what Thoreau answered when asked about the hereafter. Not bad, eh?

Today I saw the most hilarious thing! Well, Korea is always a surprising place. And I love it because Koreans are SO proud of everything that has anything to do with their culture! Except maybe the family relationships cauz parents are often control freaks in denial. But they always do so for the good of their offspring.

Anyway.

They just finished building those HUGE Hyperion towers in front of my school and like 5mins walk from my place (remember Nico how impressed you were by the enormous buildings when you got off the subway station?) There's multi-colored lights coming from the ground at night... it feels like walking on little rainbow drops. Seriously.

They're luxurious flats that cost over three million bucks a piece (yes, I live in the neighborhood that has the 98th tallest building in the world and... it's apartments!) and/so of course they're opening all sorts of commercial stores like Starbucks, Purely Decadent (not bad... soy ice cream), etc.

And today there was a big opening for a Gimbap place. Gimbap is Korean sushi; vegetables, ham and eggs rolled up in rice and seaweed. But you should have seen how they celebrated for the occasion!

There were ballons outside, lights and two chicks dressed pretty sexy, dancing and singing for the WHOLE DAY! It's like minus two outside. They were there when we left work at 8pm. And they're dancing their ass off!! I mean dirty dancing, but kinda trashy too because... well it was on the street. I was shocked.

First of all because we never see this in America (and by America I mean North America! Sorry USA but it's quite ethnocentric to refer to yourself as "America"!!!) And just because it's kinda degrading for women. I'll post a video soon. Although it's bad quality, you'll see what I mean.

There were also a bunch of flowers at the entrance of the store with giant ribbons on each bouquet.

I learned that this is typically Korean too. When you friend opens a new store, you send a gigantic bouquet with your name on a pink ribbon. It's a kind of showing off, like "look how how many friends i've got! Come into my shop because if I know that many people, then I must sell good stuff!"

Korea is all about appearances. Shallow, yes, but that's life.

I also discovered last week-end that Korean drycleaners/dressmakers are like little Chinese sweatshops: the place is tiny and there touns of people working in there, right next to each other. That was in Edae but Kyungah told me it's like that everywhere. Shocking.

Saturday night we shot some pool with Jin, Ben and Rachelle but we hard the hardest time finding a regular pool table; Korean pool tables don't have pockets! Well, it's probably this game where you only have red and whites balls, but anyway, we found ONE in a room filled with maybe 10 tables. And those places don't seel mekju (beer) so we could only have sodas.

Oh and now I have proof that some Korean children take a bus home at the language academy at MIDNIGHT on friday night! Took a picture of one of the bus, Highest21 is the name of the school. Can you believe this?! I complain if I have to leave school at 10pm!

Tonight we had sushi for Christine's Birthday and now i'm totally full. Sucks cauz I'm getting up early tomorrow again and teaching until 10pm. Arrrrg.

Oh and this private i'm teaching at school (Jake, from Sunny's class)... well, we met again today and he's really adorable but I think he has a learning disability.

It sucks because his mom told the school that after our first session he came home totally confident that he could read! She said he wouldn't let go of his English book and she said he's gaining self-confidence because I encourage him a lot. Good.

But today I got the feeling he's immediately forgetting everything as soon as we're done with it. Nevertheless, it's priceless to see his face when he gets the right answer!

He's so funny this little chubby kid, stretching out between two yawns while his big belly came out of his shirt and he was drueling like a baby. He's just a kid. I don't know. I hope I'll be able to help him a little. Sunny said everyone is making fun of him in class. That's awful.

But hey! I carry the sun in a golden cup, the moon in a silver bag...

Which reminds me: I recently came across pictures of my "journey" in France last year and I was totally AMAZED to see the breathtaking sceneries of my trip with Patrick in the French Alps for New Year's!!!

Is it just me, or that's how paradise must look like?!

The sun in a golden cup

2007-01-16T05:55:00.001-08:00

Eric and Danny always have this effect on me. They're those 11-year-old boys I teach from 7:30pm until 10pm on Tuesday/Thursday; they just make me feel so peaceful.

It's their attitude, so naive and so careless but yet interested. They're in school from 8am until 3pm. Then they quickly grab a bite to eat and head to their grammar class which starts at 4pm. They finish their day with me. I really feel for them. But they are so adorable and they listen to me and participate in an active, yet quiet way. I just really like being with them.

My ABC class is also enjoyable because those kids don't speak English at all so you can feel everything through their eyes! It's just fills my heart with a lot of emotions!

They're so cute, pointing at the door and screaming "DOORE!!", looking at me with question marks in their eyes when they're puzzled, bursting into laughter when I make my impression of a bee to remind them of the sound "Z", looking all proud and throwing out their chest as they approve of my decision to give them a hundred!

But actually I love all those little monsters because each of them brings something to my class and the complicity we have established is priceless.

So tonight when I heard Carla Bruni's new album after class, I was in a fantastic mood, dancing around in my apartment. You may recall her first album and the song that made her famous
Quelqu'un m'a dit
Que tu m'aimais encore
Serait-ce possible alors?

Well this one is entirely in English and i'm totally hung up on the groovy beat of "Those dancing days are gone"
Come, let me sing into your ear
Those dancing days are gone
I carry the sun in a golden cup
The moon in a silver bag

There's just so many things going on in my head right now. Two 4-day holidays coming up in February so I gota find out on which beach we'll lay our sore bodies on (intensive is killing me!) Moreover, I've got less than 5 months left here so I must figure out what i'm going to do. And that's tormenting me.

Then there's all the existential questions, trying to define life and myself. I know! In order to be zen I must stop clustering my brain with those pointless questions, but it's just torturing me.

Plus I just feel really good right now so my mind is racing.

Last night I had quite an extensive dream in which grandma appeared and I hugged her and it felt so great. She totally reassured me. I know it was my imagination, but it was comforting.

The funny thing is that when I asked her why she took so long to tell me she's alright, she tried to reason me, saying how much fun she's having up there, chatting with old friends and catching up with both her husbands.

And then she said that she's the president of the association of the dead people (or something like that) and that was hilarious because until the day she died, she was the president of an association defending the rights of the elderly and she couldn't stop bragging about it! So I woke up crying like a moron while smiling through my tears.

Sarang hae, je vous aime

ps: excellent book for the francos out there, "Lady L." by Romain Gary

Between two crunches

2007-01-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

I just got one question: What the heck is up with cell phones at the gym?!

I'm running on the treadmill and here she is, right next to me, walking and speaking on her handphone.

Then I turn around and that guy's cell is ringing.

As i'm running while watching a soccer game and listening to music (pointing at the irony here), I am once again distracted by the loud voice of what appears to be a big shot businessman arguing on his phone.

Are we soooo important, so indispensable, that we can't let the machine get the message while we're trapped on a room full of sweaty people for about 2 hours?! This is just incredible.

What's also incredible is to get hit on by very muscular Korean staff at the gym.

Here I am, all covered with sweat and out of breath, my pink headband literally soaking, trying to get my tighs in shape, and both trainers come around.

What's your name? How old are you? Between two leg movements I answer. Don't blame me for not entertaining them (although I probably am...), but they keep going. I'm just shy to have a conversation in that condition. Where are you from? You're really beautiful.

I don't know why, and maybe it's just me, but being told that i'm pretty in those moments doesn't sound charming at all... no matter how sexy and fit the guy is! And no matter if there's two of them....

Once again I realize that being white in Korea is indeed a ticket to heaven. You're beautiful even at your worst. I personally think Koreans are beautiful, but that's of course subjective ;)

L'innocence de l'âme

2007-01-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

When I got to Seoul I had a purpose, a reason to be here: I was going to teach English and discover a strange city, a different culture. Moreover, there were indications all over the place - restaurant signs, pharmacies, hospitals, bus stops.

But when I was born, no one told me what i'm supposed to do or what's the purpose of life. Maybe I was told, and then forgot?

What if i'm doing the wrong thing? What if i'm not doing what I'm supposed to do?

Why are some things so hard? Why would the almighty "test" us? When I test my students, I give them at least a week notice and they know what they're supposed to do. They have the tools to study.

It's not fair. And what if nothing is fair? And there's nothing we can do about it?

Why is everything so mysterious?

We are so powerless. We will all die in the end. Everything is a mystery. Everything is ephemeral. We are a whole bunch of ignorants.

And tonight I miss my grandma so much. I know I couldn't see her even if she was still alive because I'm so far from home but the thought that i'll never see her again literally ripped my heart when it crossed my mind while teaching tonight. It makes me feel completely vulnerable and weak.

Her being alive gave sense to our memories because we shared them and we could recall them together. All those moments when no one was around and we talked, laughed, argued, everything.

But with her gone, it's just me who remembers and no other memories will ever be built with that person. And yet those memories feel so incomplete.

What I wouldn't give to just sit next to her, to see her smile brightening up her face, to listen to her babbling about the past, rambling on about her accomplishments.

It's just cruel.

Mona Lisa's smile

2007-01-10T04:06:00.000-08:00

I must admit it: buying this dog would be cruel and selfish. It was love at first sight, yes, but I shouldn't let passion ruin this puppy's life ;) After all, i'd have to give him up a few months later. I can't do that.

Meanwhile it made me realize that I REALLY wish I had a house in the countryside with my dog and my "significant other";) Right now I only got an apartment in Seoul and living in a big city is too "cold" for me. And i'm all alone.

Speaking of which, the weather is getting cooler and we got a minus 3 this morning. Normally I wouldn't know this but I started teaching intensive classes on January 2nd so, until the end of the month, I have to be at work at 9am and teach until 8 or 10pm. I'm really busy with grading, class prep, writing tests. ..

Plus I had an open class for my ABC class on Tuesday and it was exhausting! On the bright side the parents totally loved me and one of them actually said that her daughter used to hate English academies but now she's just in love with me! That really made my day.

Lately i've been hung up on "The Legends of Soul" with Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding, it's just awesome! Makes me wanna sing my soul out every single night!!! Need my whisky and cigarette mama, oh mama!!!

My membership at Seo's gym ends this week so I went for the last time on Tuesday and got my stuff. Twyla talked me into joining the "Apple Gym" and I went tonight... oh my!

First of all i'm really excited because there doesn't seem to be creepy guys that might follow me around. Moreover, the gym is awesome and so huge and high-tech (like 50 treadmils with a tv on each one, same for the 40 stationary bikes)! Am feeling really good about this.

But man! Being WHITE in Korea is just a ticket to heaven... seriously! People treat me so nice, I get compliments all the time ("oooooh!!! beautiPul!!!!") and free stuff and discounts... While I definitely enjoy it all because it makes me feel good about myself, I don't think it's fair to Koreans...

I got the big discount for the gym, but they wanted to charge 100 000 extra wons to my Korean friend Kyungah (Kelly) just because... she didn't deserve a discount I guess??? That's pretty shocking. Fortunately she got the deal in the end, thanks to hard-ass Twyla!

Ok i'm officialy wiped.

I watched "Le bye bye de Rock et Belles Oreilles", it was HILARIOUS!!! I especially liked the part where they do the news for deaf and muted people... and I loved hearing the big fat Quebecois accent! Plus I got "La marche de l'empereur" and a movie about racism in the US, "Crash" so i'll probably watch these soon.

Again, y'all oughta see "Baghdad Cafe", "3 needles", "Everyone says I love you", "Thank you for smoking" and ... uh... well "The Notebook" are the only ones I can think of right now.

Can't wait for the week-end! Going out for dinner, to the movies, cleaning up my place, hiking, maybe shopping and wandering around in Edae? I ate the most delicious pizza/spaghetti last week-end, it was priceless! Now i'm in the mood for French food!

And no, i'm NOT going to Vietnam because my school won't let me take 3 weeks off in a semester (I spent two weeks in Quebec). But i'm thinking about going somewhere sunny and paradisiac in March so let me know if you have any suggestions! I might go to Vietnam on my own, but I was thinking about Fidji? Philippines? Thailand i've already been. Maybe Australia?

I also really want to go to Hong-Kong and Tokyo for a week-end before I leave. It's just cool to go to China or Japan for two days when back home it's like a big deal planning a trip over there ;)

Yes yes yes... i am procrastinating once again. Don't wanna grade diaries!!! Oh, speaking of which you have to read what two of my kids wrote about me!!! I was sooooooooo touched!!!! But... who wouldn't? Those kids are just so adorable!

Amy (she's 10 years old and super good! See how she didn't make that many grammar mistakes? ):
I studied English with Kat, Danny, Vanessa, Steve, Rick and Twyla. It was great fun to learn English with them. When my level was LG6 I wondered who will be my new teacher.

Now my favorite teacher is Anne-MArie. Your blond curly hair is pretty.

You have a sweet smelling flower and fruit. I like it. Your smile is very cute. You are nice, kind and careful.

When I was puzzled, you helped me with pleasure. I feel my English level is going up. I thank you for your help.

I'm so happy to spend a pleasant hour studying with you. Teacher, it's hard to write my diary all by myself but i'll do my best.

What luck I met you! Teacher, what is your favorite teacher?

Chris (his whole thing was funny):
Anne-Mary is LG6 teacher. She is very good teacher. She is similar to the Mona Lisa. She is Canadian. She is a little bit tall. Her class is little hard because she said "don't speaking Korean!"

Rick is LG4 teacher. He is very exciting teacher. He is similar to monkey and he is so tall. His size is like a monster. His class is always laughing class. I like him. He is very nice teacher.

Danny is LG1 teacher. He is very interesting. He teaches my next door. He is similar to Harry Potter. His size is ordinary.

Christine is parade teacher (no idea what that is!) She is exciting class too. She is similar to Indian. She is little small. Her class is exciting and good.

Ok, now I can sleep tight ;)
Oh and the school got me a private student, 2 hours/week and I feel so bad for him! He doesn't know phonics at all, can barely say his name, so i'll coach him hoping he'll improve a little cauz all the kids make fun of him in Sunny's class!!!

Never thought i'd be here at 23 years old! Miss y'all though, and really miss my grandma too.
Sweet dreams.

Would you?

2007-01-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

4am, one of those moments that remind you how true you are to yourself (and values)! Ben and I just finished watching Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" and...

Well, that's not the point.

Today I went to my dentist appointment in Yeouido (what's up with the hole in my tooth doc?) and then spent a great day with Kelly in Sinchon. Really awesome!

First of all, let me tell y'all that IT SNOWED, and big time!

I was wearing my new hat eveywhere including at that surprising store where they sell clothes by the pound! You just pick whatever shirt you want, put it on the scale and it's 3000won per 100gr!!! Can you believe that?!

But I need your insight - I fell in love with that adorable puppy and I was just about to buy it when Peter told me to wait 72 hours because it's an important decision.

Should I get him for my remaining 5 months in Seoul? I literally fell in love with him!!!!!

Won the pool

2007-01-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share this wonderful (or "won the pool" as Koreans say) moonlight. Saw it on my way home, it was nice and comforting... just standing there between two skyscraper.

Step up

2007-01-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

I found out tonight that i'm exactly like a guy when it comes to dealing with emotions - or actually, dealing with problems. I just don't know what to say, how to put my feelings into words and I just pull away as far as I can.

Trying to save myself? To spare the other person's feelings? Or I am just afraid of confrontations? Not quite sure.

But here's what happened.

Chris has been my really best friend since i've been here. We've pretty much done everything together, hung out all the time and talked about everything. No boundaries. She's Korean and we met when she was still and English teacher.

Then she became part of the staff. For the first couple of months things stayed the same and we still had a lot of fun together.

But then stress and pressure from work started to grow on her and she totally changed. What I know is that it seemed like she wasn't happy at all and she became really negative.

So I tried talking to her about it but it wasn't easy. You never want to hurt close friends. And she kept saying that she hasn't changed. So I slowly pulled away.

When I came back to Montreal from my grandma's funerals, she was really helpful but a lot of shit happened at work and I kept hearing stories about her doing crappy stuff to other people.

What do you do when a close friend pisses another friend off? Even if it has nothing to do with you, you ARE affected by it. Just like the way some people treated my grandma like shit made my sister, brother and I totally mad.

But then I got here and she was at the airport in the middle of the night. And she was crying. I knew that I meant a lot to her, and she really meant a lot to me too! So I thought maybe things would change. Maybe I had been paranoied about her becoming someone else.

But then I was standing in front of my apartment at 5am, exhausted from jetlag and the long trip, and she was ramblong with all those stories from work and about Twyla and teachers... She kept doing that for the next couple of days so again, I pulled away.

My smiles were cold. I didn't always greet her. My eyes were avoiding hers. I was avoiding her.

Why?

Probably because I was really uncomfortable. Of course. My best friend was turning into that person I didn't have anything in common anymore, no more fun either, that person who kept complaining about work, bitching about other staff, telling me word for word conversations she had had earlier in the day.

I realized that I wasn't feeling good after we'd hang up the phone or leave each other. She was so damn negative that it was affecting me. I was listening to her stories thinking "ok drop it. i want to go now" while nodding along.

I hated myself for feeling that way about someone I truly loved and cared about. I felt really guilty and thought I was doing womething wrong.

On the other hand I had other people around telling me how she's changed, how she had pissed them off, how she even made a friend cry. My head was messed up.

So tonight she said she wanted to talk to Twyla. I dunno why but eveyone ended up meeting at my place and it was actually funny because we spent about an hour and a half just talking about meaningless stuff because none of us wanted to get to the akward part.

But somehow we got there. And somehow she immediately picked on me.

I was speechless, my mind was racing but I didn't know how the words would come out. I just really blank out when people confront me. Fortunately what I said made a lot of sense and Twyla took control of the conversation for the most part.

While a lot of people have issues with Chris because of the way she handles work situations, I personally was just struggling with the fact that i'm losing a close friend because she's turning into that fake and negative person I don't feel comfortable being around anymore.

The paradox of course being that Christine has a wonderful heart, she's funny and spontaneous and a delight to be with - but it's all covered with a new facade she has to put up for work. And now it's affecting her as a person.

I don't know. That's what I was able to conclude.

Ironically while Twyla told her very hurtful stuff (but in a very nice way), Christine thanked her for her honesty and she seemed alrite.

But then she turned to me and her eyes were like two giant thunderstorms. She said she'd never expect that from me, that I really hurt her. She said I had been really cold and it truly hurt her.

I tried to explain to it's just how I deal with things. It's not an excuse, sure, but that's who I am. And yes, she's important to me. I've tried talking to her, but I guess I didn't have the serious talk. I tried avoiding her because I knew she was in denial and I didn't want to deal with that.

Yeah, I could have handled it much better, but I screwed up. And Twyla said that's just true: I tend to isolate myself when things get rough. And that's ok. Eventually i'll learn to deal with emotions but now I don't and that's who I am.

But of course you know me. I lost myself in apologies and felt horribly guilty. She was just staring at me with that look.

It reminded me of something Andreane made me realise back in high school: the more you let yourself love someone, the more capable you are of hating them.

Christine was really mad because I really hurt her. She didn't really mind Twyla or Kelly because it was obvious that they didn't care anymore - to them, she was completely changed and the connection they had before was now broken.

But as for me, it was like a betrayal.

I'm really trying to analyze all this right now and I think... well... i'm done with the guilt thing. I spent my whole life feeling guilty for no reason at all. I spent all those years letting people making me feel guilty without even rationalizing and seeing that I had done nothing wrong! Not this time.

Yes, I could have dealt with the situation in a much better way. I am truly sorry that I hurt her. Really sorry. And I still really love the Christine that I once knew. But that's how I feel now, and that's just the way it is. I ain't got to apologize for anything!

But this sucks.

Battlefield of work

2006-12-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful surprise when I came back to teach on Wednesday: my whole classroom and locker had been decorated with Christmas cards that students in my ABC class had made. So adorable.

Moreover, the kids were all excited when I walked in and, sorry Shane, but they told me they like me better ;) Look at Ryan's face as he rascally covers Brian's face ;)

It was quite comforting because ever since I got back to Seoul, my grandma's death has been haunting me a little and I needed the diversion.

Yesterday in ABC we worked on the letters "G" and "H" and the little ones were just like busy bees! My heart literally melted when I saw them because I realized that, although i'm quite clumsy with very young children, I really love them!!

As for the rest, we had our intensive session meeting so it's official: i'll be teaching 2 intensive classes - which means that for the whole month of January i'll be at work 9am-8pm MWF and 9am-10pm TTR! Aaaaaaaaaah!!

My mom knit me really cool leg warmers and i got them yesterday. Awesome, thank you mamasita, i'll definitely need them!! The weather is getting pretty cold. And Nicolas also sent me the Hush Puppies boots with a "mix tape"... you are the best!!

We're having new year's party at a big theater in Seoul because Erika knows the owner so I look forward to that! Apparently there will be a bunch of people including actors and, of course, stranger, my friends and co-workers!

What else?

Right now i'm carefully following Ellen Degeneres's clever advice: i am procratinating!

Gotta go to the post office and the bank before I get to work. Gotta wash my dishes. Clean my place (sorry Rachelle, it was a mess!!!) Throw away the compost (ah dear environmentalist Koreans, I love you!)

But I can't get out of my bathrobe. It's so comfy. Feels so warm..... arrrrg ok!

But before I go, you HAVE TO check out this video, it's hilarious! In French of course, a 30 seconds parody of fashion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrt5BYhejk

3 Needles

2006-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

“3 needles” is 3 simultaneous stories that deal with the plague of AIDS in China, Montreal and Africa. It’s a great movie, makes you think and the sceneries are absolutely breathe-taking!

In Montreal a porn actor inflicts pain and death upon other people because he doesn’t want to face reality.

In China, the story deals with the traffic of blood. It’s pretty harsh. One father uses his daughter’s blood to earn money but she mysteriously dies. The government doesn’t give a damn about the situation and diseases spread across the country.

In Africa too many children are dying everyday and 3 nuns are there to convert them to God before they reach the heavenly gates. But there’s much more to deal with and their love for the children leads them to jeopardizing their very own salvation. There’s AIDS of course, rape and a rich wealthy Afrikaans plantation owner…

Anyway, a good and shocking movie I highly recommend! It stars Chloe Sevigny (as a nun!!), Sandra Oh and Lucy Liu (she actually speaks Chinese the whole time!!)

Oh and speaking of movies, I also recently saw “Thank you for smoking” – a pretty good movie about tobacco companies and society. Deals with morality issues and makes you think quite a lot. Stars Katie Holmes and a dude I don’t know but who’s pretty good.

Last one is “Everyone says I Love You” – Woody Allen movie starring Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Edward Norton and Drew Barrymore. REALLY good and a great parody of the world of love. It also deals with how so many crazy things cross our mind and how life would go if we actually gave those thoughts a little more consideration. Excellent film.

But I recommend grabbing your hiking shoes and climbing a mountain ;) Just a thought…

Everyone’s leaving for Cuba tomorrow to attend my sister’s wedding! Still wondering if I made the right choice…

My everyday blindness

2006-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

Here's what I meant: what if I was one of them? It's cruel, unfair and painful. What kind of world is that? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5033648.stm

Dirty Seoul

2006-12-26T02:58:00.000-08:00

It is a wonder why Seoul is so polluted. Can you see the city behind me?

Indeed, every apartment building has recycling and compost bins – Koreans care about the environment. Moreover, there are a considerable number of mountains in Seoul and Bukhansan, the biggest one, is actually quite huge.

See, that's the view from the subway station but if you refer to an earlier post from the last time I went there, it looks more gorgeous from the other side!

Cars, I guess – although the subway system here is simply outstanding and people use it quite a lot... it’s always crowded!

As for factories, I haven’t seen that many but it seems logical that they would account for air pollution since cars can’t be the only ones to blame! Nonetheless if anyone has an answer…

So I went hiking today and here’s what Seoul looked like from above. Smoggy, eh? Especially compared to the blue sky.

I was up at 6am, cleaning my apartment and I decided to get some exercise.

Since I’ve been back last Saturday morning, I’ve been sick and slept a lot. On Sunday night my friends and I rented a cool hotel suite in Seoul and we had a lot of fun – giant shrimps for dinner, swimming pool, sauna, etc.

Real nice view from the place too! I think we were on the 17th floor. They actually had a special check-in for us on the 16th floor so you don't wait with the other "regular" costumers in the lobby. Hahaha we so didn't look like people renting an executive suite, they must have been shocked!

But I couldn’t sleep because of a bad cold so the next day I was up at 7am thinking that the steam room would do me good. I ended up crawling back to the room, throwing up and lying on the couch as the others were packing up. Chris was exhausted too and Twyla was also sick. All fun.

So I was a pain in the ass for all of them but I just didn’t feel like talking. I felt so nauseous, it was killing me. The cab ride was especially traumatic. Then the elevator all the way up… I barely reached my apartment and there it was again.

So merry Christmas to me! I still dunno what was wrong. Fatigue I guess. Still on jetlag (twice in two weeks!) and tired from the big fat flight. I don’t know but I spent the whole day sleeping so this morning I needed to move!

Just got back and it’s early but I’m wiped. Not hungry either but I should eat.

Today was actually nice – I read, took a nap on a big rock on the sunny side of the peak, wrote a few thoughts near a semi-frozen stream, and enjoyed the wonderful smell of wet earth and pine trees. I even took off my earphones to listen to the sound of dry leaves cracking under my feet.

I can’t believe I’m going back to work tomorrow. Do I even want to?

I miss my family. My sister is getting married in Cuba on January 1st and I can’t even be there because of work. It sucks. Maybe I should have been stronger and gone there. But then I would have either gotten fired, or they would have treated me pretty bad upon my return.

I’m a chicken. A push-over. Gotta figure some stuff out. Feels like my soul is as contaminated as Seoul!!

Meanwhile I visited a Buddhist temple in the forest and it reminded how I gotta be zen! You too my friends; don't let meaningless thoughts cluster your brain. Clear your mind. Clear your mind. Clear your mind I say!!!

Feliz Navidad!

2006-12-25T01:09:00.000-08:00

It's my second consecutive year spending Christmas far away from my family and friends. This year is even more special since I was in Quebec a couple of days ago but, thanks to work, I had to come back to Seoul 4 days before the actual D-day...

Anyway, my point is that we really don't need big commercial events to tell our friends and family how much they mean to us. And to enjoy their company. And to wish them all the best. And to tell/show them how much we love them.

Nonetheless, most of you are probably celebrating around delicious Christmas food with a nice Christmas tree in the background, exchanging gifts and hugs. Well, enjoy!

I wish I could be with my family, especially so soon after the death of my grandma. But things don't always work out the way we'd want them to, so just know that I love you all very much and I'm thinking about y'all.

Joyeux Noel!!!

When it's cold outside

2006-12-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Canada! Only a 5-hour layover in Toronto, and then the big fat 14-hour flight to Seoul. Not easy, especially twice in such a short period of time but I managed to sleep, sitting next to an ajumma who seemed knocked out on some sort of Asian medication.

No choice anyway since there was no screen on the front seat... However while I was stretching out near the fire escape (never know ;) a really cute Korean-Canadian came up to me and we talked for a while (we had time hehe) so it changed my mind a little.

I'm wiped, getting off the plane, waiting for my luggage for what seems like forever, thinking about catching the bus to MokDong. Then I pass the gates and Christine's there with Youngah!!! How awesome is that, at 4am, Seoul time?

We rode the Caddy (well Youngah did, pretty wildly too ;) and I got home. Nice chat outside, it's cold but I don't mind. It's really good to be back in Seoul, feels like coming home, really!

Take the elevator, the whole 15 floors pass by slowly and i'm only thinking about going to bed. Then I see my apartment door hahahahaha Twyla and Kelly did that I think. Are they the best or what?!

Feeling a whole lot of emotions right now - missing grandma, my family, friends, speaking French and the beautiful Quebecois scenery but i'm really excited to be back. Just don't know what to say but my heart is pretty much filled with joy and love.

Tears in heaven

2006-12-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

13 hours flight to New-York city.
5 hours layover, jerking around, totally exhausted, taking a nap in the bathroom.
Flight to Boston. 1 hour layover.
2 hours flight to Quebec. 2 hours car ride. Finally home.
3 times I took off. 3 times I landed.

The night I got the news I slept about 3 hours, woke up, packed my things and got on the first plane. 3 fucking million won and my school is giving me shit for having a heart.

I'm still jetlagged and exhausted. I cried like a baby on the plane.

It's the first time ever that someone I love more than everything dies. I don't know how to deal with it and, no offence but, all the spiritual stuff doesn't calm me down. I don’t care what Jesus said; I just wanna know where’s my gandma.

She was beautiful in her coffin. They managed to put a subtle smile on her face.
Her hands were so cold. She looked so peaceful, it was almost painful.

All I wanted to do is yell "wake up now! let's go grandma!" That was heartbreaking because I knew she's never ever gonna wake up... she's gone forever.

I won't hug her, kiss her, see her smile ever again. We won't share our deep conversations, she won't make me laugh, hold my hand. We won't meet for lunch, go shopping or just have a beer on her balcony while the train is passing by. My cool grandma. It's all over. And it's really unfair.

The place was packed with people I'd never seen before. Funerals are so morbid. People were crying to see that I'd come all this way to say goodbye.

My brother showed up too - he'd come all the way from Bangkok Thailand. Grandma was a wonderful woman and we just couldn't let her go like that.

I stared at the wooden box the whole time we were at church. How could she be in there? When we walked behind the coffin I was dying inside. But at least I think she's much happier now.

As I was walking away from the tomb, the clouds scattered away for a minute and I ray of light pointed my way. I cried even harder, just because.

Now i'm home with everyone and I want to yell at them. How can things return to normal so quickly? I just want to go back to the graveyard and stare at her tomb forever and ever. I feel so empty. She really was my everything and I love her so much.

Black Monday

2006-12-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

My grandma died last night. Can't believe this. She's dead. Why????

The politics of Korean church

2006-12-10T00:53:00.000-08:00

From my 15th floor window I can see part of Seoul and, at night, there’s countless crosses illuminating the city. For those of you who are not aware of this, Christian religion is quite prevalent in Korea.

What amazes me the most though is how everything seems to happen at Church!

You make new friends, you meet your boyfriend, you find a job, and you meet music stars. It’s pretty impressive. Is it like that back home? I guess I had never realized how powerful religion can be!

And so on this beautiful (and sunny) Sunday morning, I got up at 9am and met Rachelle for an hour and a half subway ride to Yangjae. Yup, I was going to Church in Korea!

When I was a kid my parents would take us there on Sunday and I didn’t really like it; sit down, kneel down, sit down, stand up, sit down… I did not really get it. To be sure, I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, but I wanted to play!

Moreover, I have this weird thing where as soon as I walk into a church, I all of a sudden feel incredibly tired and my whole body hurts. Especially my back. Anyway.

I hadn’t been to church in quite a while but my Korean friend was a guest speaker and it was really important for her so I went.

I found myself in a big auditorium filled with both Koreans and foreigners, and there was a band playing contemporary Christian songs. The real deal: guitar, back-up singers, bass player, drums and keyboards.

While it was entertaining, I couldn’t get into the whole religious mood. And that’s ok. I’m not in that place but the people around me were and they seemed pretty happy.

Chris gave her speech and she was crying like a baby when she saw me! Thanks to her, and in line with the whole “politics of church” spirit, I got to meet a lot of people that she and Rachelle introduced me to.

Greatest surprise of all, I bumped into Alice, a really good friend I hadn’t seen in a long time since she had “show business” problems. It was my best hug of the day!!

I like church because it’s a peaceful place to meet people and everyone in there (I assume) has a good heart. I kinda feel bad that the whole “God” concept doesn’t really speak to me, but I think it has to do with the story that comes with it.

When the preacher reminded the crowd that we are all sinners and that God sent his son to die for us in a big gesture of love, I felt really uncomfortable. No actually… it made me smile because I thought “couldn’t we all have discussed this beforehand? There might have been easier and less painful alternatives!”

I used to be a die-hard Hobbes fan (“man is wolf for man”) but the more I go through life, the more I want to believe that we are good people. I’m still puzzled with serial killers and rapists but that’s not the point here…

Anyway, I went to church and it was fine. On our way out I even passed by a homeless with no legs (a legless homeless if you will) and did my good deed. It’s a really harsh world and we gota make it as easy and peaceful as possible.

Yesterday I was still pretty sick but I spent the day with Twyla. We went to Kyobo bookstore to buy a lonely planet guide for Vietnam (yes! We bought the plane tickets so it’s official: 8 days in Nha Trang for lunar New Year!!)

See how nice is the view when you get off the subway? The street is decorated with Christmas lights and you can see Bukhansan (mountain...which I hiked and could've died there!!) Ah, beautiful Seoul!

I ended up with a Vietnamese phrasebook, Paulo Coelho’s book on love and a Brazilian whore, a great Romain Gary book and, of course, Kundera (“L’ignorance”)

On top of that, I bought… “Being zen” and “The little zen companion”. I really want to give this a try. I’m already a pretty relaxed girl but there's definitely room for improving.

After Kyobo we went to Costco, where I bought salmon, cheese, cider (apple cider! Just like back in Quebec wouhou!) and other stuff. Was pretty fun.

We ended the day moving Twyla’s apartment around, buying organic fruits, cooking dinner and watching Adam Sandler’s “Click”. I must say I’m not a big fan… it’s just a modern version of “Family man” ... nonetheless, it reminded me how much I love my friends and family. And how, even though sometimes some moments suck, they still are important parts of your life.

And yes, it’s already Sunday night. I got a lot of stuff to do around the apartment and I’m in a Jazzy mood so I’ll dance it all away ;) Praise the Lord!

Racist lurker

2006-12-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

I apologize in advance but this is a must see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCF9D02dk1E

Michael Richards, who played Kramer in sitcom Seinfield, flipped out on stage a couple of days ago. He insulted African-Americans in the most blatant and shocking way you could ever imagine.

I must warn y'all: this ain't for kids to watch. There's so much rage, it really scared me. Seriously, i'm still pretty shaken.

Then again, he appeared on TV for public apologies but he really looked all spaced out.

During an interview on the Letterman Show, he said "I'm not racist, that's what's so insane about this."

I'm sorry... WHAT?!?!
And: Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!

The gentle touch

2006-12-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Bad news: I need a root canal treatment on my upper teeth.

Good news: didn’t hurt at all. My dentist is my hero.

Maybe it’s a Korean thing because everyone so far who has had to go to the dentist in Korea was happily surprised. Back home you’d be in pain for days.

I went on Saturday and then again yesterday.

Up to now, it cost 20 bucks. Pretty good insurance system eh!

Since I was in Yeouido, I decided to look around.

Yeouido is a small island in Seoul, surrounded by the Han river.

I went for a long walk and visited the National Assembly. There’s also numerous parks and bridges. We can see Bukhansan mountain. Pretty nice.

Funny thing in Korea is that instead of flowers, you can find cabbage on the street! After all kimchi (spicy cabbage) is a big part of the culture…

I saw those cute bird-shaped boats, still no idea what they were doing there. But my mouth was numb and I was tired so, standing on the bridge, looking at them… it made me smile.

I’m coming down with a very bad cold – feeling feverish, my tonsils are like two giant golf balls. Hope my ABC kids won’t be a handful tonight.

This week-end I plan on being a big potato couch. I volunteer at church on Saturday to give away Christmas presents (Rachelle’s idea!) and on Sunday I also gota go to a different church for my friend. Maybe God will give me a couple of answers ;)

The week-end after, the school is taking us to a small island, about 2 hours bus ride from Seoul. They call this a “cultural excursion”. Apparently the beach is great and there are a couple of mountains so I’m pretty excited.

After that it’ll be… Christmas! We’ve rented a suite in a hotel so we’ll enjoy the swimming pool, cook and celebrate. Koreans don’t make a big deal out of Xmas.

Twyla and I got days off for lunar’s new year’s (thanks JeeSoo!!!) so we’ll spend a little more than a week in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I can’t wait for February!

Doggone my bad-luck soul

2006-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Are we responsible for everything that happens in our life?

What if I had been born with AIDS? What if I suffered a physical malformation? What if I had a leg missing?

What if I was blind and couldn't catch even a glimpse of this beautiful world?

What if I had been born deaf and had never heard the sound of music, of the wind, of the ones I love and those passing by?

What if my mom gave me birth in the middle of a civil war and my dad had been slaughtered in front my eyes when I was a child?

Do you believe in reincarnation? I’m sceptical but…

What if I come back on earth as a giraffe trapped in a crappy zoo somewhere in China? Where my legs burn with anxiety as I see green spaces through the bars of my cage? Where my head aches just to smell the perfume of the nature I was born for but can’t even reach out to.

Do you believe in luck?
What if I had been born unlucky and had no liberty to change a thing?

Spending a life-long of suffering and enduring a sentiment of powerlessness day after day… Could I handle it?

We make choices, hope for good luck and smile when things go well but…Do we even control anything in our life?

Is the wise thing to do struggling until the very last moment or just letting it go? Until what point do we even have anything to do with what happens to us?!

Perfection scares me. Good things scare me. It just doesn’t seem right to be happy and free while others were just born on the wrong side of the world.

Hope is killing me. The more you get, the more you want and the more you hope for. I guess resignation is a better attitude. Or just acceptance. But what's with all the temptation? Arrrg once again i'm confused

Naked friends

2006-12-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

There is a widespread nightmare among Westerners: you are in the middle of a room, completely naked, and everyone is staring and pointing at you.

In Korea, it ain’t called a nightmare; it’s just a sauna. And nobody’s pointing.

I spent the most relaxing Sunday ever with my Korean friend Christine. We met for lunch, went shopping in Sinchon and at night we went to the movies (“The Prestige”… good but not excellent).

After that we got manicures – where my hand was covered in wax and massaged.

Then we got naked.

I actually had done this back in Jeju island but we were sunburned so it wasn’t the same.

Let me tell you about saunas. It’s NOTHING like back home.

A lot of foreigners are a little scared to experience public nakedness, especially far away from home. So here’s a quick peak, no big deal I swear.

You walk in, take off your shoes and go to the front desk. Pay the 6 dollars fee (some saunas are cheaper) and take your tiny towel and key. Pick up your shoes, put them in a shoe locker and walk to the changing room.

In there, it’s simple: take off your clothes and walk to the sauna. If you’re thirsty, hungry, if you need shampoo, mud masks or whatever, there’s a small stand where everything is charged on your key.

Men are in a separate room. For a Sunday night around 11pm, it was not as empty as I expected.

The rest is basically like any sauna back home, except that here you’re not wearing clothes.

They have really hot and really cold baths, as well as the steam room. As for the feeling, after 2 seconds you totally forget that you are naked! Indeed, some people do look at you because you’re white but if you act naturally it’s all cool.

Koreans are obsessed with being beautiful and having perfect skin so saunas are really popular. You know what else is popular? Scrubbing!

Chris and I got body scrubbing for 7 dollars and it was niiiiiiiiice!

There’s a corner where naked women (some of them are just in their underwear too) work your body like you’ve never experienced!

You’re of course naked on the table and they scrub every single part of your body! Then, if you want, you can get the massage!

The lady yelled at me “shower” and when I came back, she literally poured a bottle of baby oil all over my body. Then she sat on my back and started slapping me! And massaging, and slapping, and massaging. It was pretty funny at first, but eventually relaxing.

At some point she covered my face with what obviously smelled like cucumber dip – it was soooo refreshing!

But I was afraid I’d fall off the table since it was so slippery because of all the oil. At the end she turned me around (a 360!) and washed my hair and massaged my head. She smiled and slapped my butt. It was over.

We went back to the steam room, took a shower and went home. My skin has never been so soft and i've never felt so relaxed!!

Now I really think westerners make too much of a big deal out of nudity...

December 1st

2006-12-02T01:05:00.000-08:00

It just hit me: I've been in Korea for over 6 months now! I do miss home, but I can't believe that Seoul feels like home too.

Bori taught me an interesting fact last night concerning Koreans – she said that their mouth is getting smaller!

Have you ever noticed how most Asian people’s jaw is always bigger than most Occidental people’s jaw? Well, it’s because Asian food requires more chewing!

But with fast-food becoming more and more popular in Korea, kids chew less so the overall shape of their chin/jaw is getting smaller! Isn’t that fascinating?!

Ok so about work. Got my killer classroom and everything’s just perfect.

I had a great time teaching ABC – the kids are very funny and easy to entertain so I can act like a total child and it makes them laugh. We worked on A, B and C. They don’t know much but one little girl had sparkles in hey eyes as she pointed to her eraser and said “Pigggggggg”!

They only had Korean names so I put a bunch of English names on the board and ended up with a Jennifer, a Sandy and a Harry (yup just 3 students in my class!) I also taught them how to spell their new name, and the alphabet. They had to write within the lines and everything… it sooooo made me realize how I don’t even write correctly!

Then I had a 2 hour-break… much needed because I had been crazed all day and I was tired and hungry.

The break doesn’t suck. As for the 7:30pm class, there are 3 adorable boys.

One of them is really good in English and also quite sensitive. He played some Kenny G on his ipod – which is very surprising for a 10 year-old kid. Kenny G is this great (and romantic) saxophonist whose music is on the soundtrack of “Dying young” (you oughta watch that movie if you haven’t!)

As for my Friday classes, they are good too! They talk a lot, I don’t seem to have any trouble makers and I was lucky enough to get again one class I had last semester – 5 girls, pretty smart and we have a lot of fun together!

So Friday was alright but it’s pretty crowded in the teachers’ room since the teachers from TPC moved to our building.

At night we went for sushi (I know, I know it’s an obsession! But at least it isn’t junk food!!) while waiting for Catherine, the newbie, to be done teaching. Kelly counld't come because her family thinks she's too fat. I'll explain that one later, it's really upsetting. At 10pm we headed to Paganini, the really cool jazz lounge near Hongdae.

Christine is friends with the owner so even if it was Friday night, we got the best table in the place : ) He also gave each of us a Jazz CD, how sweet is that?! I actually do enjoy having friends that have connexions!

For example when we go out dancing, we always get the best table and free drinks all night. Everyone knows us and that’s all thanks to Erin’s boyfriend, who’s a Korean actor (oh yessssss!! ;), and Erika’s friends, who also are in the show business.

Anyway. We had wine and pina coladas and chatted for a while. It’s a nice lounge. Catherine was really quiet but we dragged her to a noraebang (karaoke bar). We had a blast there – especially when Rachelle sang her rendition of Sweet Child of mine!!! Oh man!!! She totally sounded like Guns N Roses!!!

We tried getting Catherine to sing but she wouldn’t. I think she’s more the introverted type and that’s alright. Or… we just really scared her hehe

After that it was getting late and everyone went home. Except me and Chris – we went to Andrew’s going away party. Andrew is an Irish staff member who’s been working at school for a couple of years.

They were in a lousy bar - the occidental guys on one side, and the Korean girls on the other. Not a big deal but it struck me as I walked in. Anyway, everyone was having fun I guess and Andrew was so drunk.

As usual Janie was hilarious and we joked around telling each other “wo ai ni” (I love you) because Andrew is moving to Taiwan and he’s learning Chinese. She kept asking people with her Korean accent “A you bizi?!” (are you busy) whenever she wanted to chink glasses. And she almost fell off her chair "high-fiving” me : ) Come on Sharon!

I had a really intense conversation with Bori about fat people in Korea. This girl is really cool and I realized that we do get to know people better over a beer or two. It’s sad, but true.

As for fat people… they’re doomed. The mentality here is: if you’re fat, you must (so you CAN) lose weight. The society cares a great deal about looks and since their industry is people-oriented, pretty people have better chances of getting hired.

The school’s big shots were also there and it’s always fun to hang out with them. Young A, the new president, is really nice and adorable! In a word, we had a good night and I went to bed at 4am. Just like back in college. Do I really have to grow up?

Got a dentist appointment on Saturday at 11am. I think my old filling let bacteria in and I bet I’ll need a root canal treatment. I can feel it. Grrrrrrrrrr what’s up with my teeth?!

Day off

2006-11-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Back home I'd never imagine that things could ever be so hectic and unstable in a school! But you know what? You get used to it and it doesn't even matter.

The new semester starts today. So yesterday I was informed that one of my class was cancelled and instead I get an ABC class.

Fine. I realize this is still a great schedule compared to the corporate world - and here I get a decent salary, rent included. But it screw up my schedule. Now Tuesday/Thursday I start at 3pm, finish at 5pm, then start again at 7:30 and finish at 9:40. Beurk.

On the bright side i'll have time to eat a decent early meal for dinner - thing which I haven't done since I got here because I always get off work at 8 or 10.

But... ABC??!! Teaching phonics?? I've done it before and it was alright but it sucks a lot of energy. Those kids are so young and they don't know a single English word! Anyway.

Yesterday was fun. Worked out in the morning, then we met for sushi, dropped by the school (everyone was soooooooo busy!!), then we took a walk and went to the movies. Ok this is a freakin' good suspense that i'm sure eveyone will LOVE!

It's called "the departed", directed by Martin Scorsese, with Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlburg, Martin Sheen and Leo DiCaprio. All the actors do an AMAZING job and the story is really confusing and intense. Love it. Plus DiCaprio is sooooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooot in that movie! I usually don't think much of him but I was really surprised.

Then we went groceries shopping and came home to cook dinner - a wonderful tomatoes/cheese/oranges salad, and I cooked my famous shrimp cury. It was a lot of fun and Chris came over after 9pm cauz she was stuck at work. Man, i'm glad i'm not part of the Korean staff!!

Twyla and I looked for a trip to Vietnam for lunar's new year... 5 days at the beach, hiking in Vietnam, taking those cool little boats... Seems like we're gonna go, I'm so excited!!

Tomorrow night we're all going to Paganini with the new teachers. They seem alright. I won't go to bed too late since i'm going to Deokjeokdo early Saturday morning. Fresh air, the beach and hiking should do me good!!!

Gota go to the gym now if I don't wanna see Mr. Creepy! I wish y'all a wonderful day :)

Land of confusion

2006-11-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Good news: JeeSoo, my VP, finally let me keep my "6th floor with giant windows" classroom for next semester.

I went up to her, saying that since i'm back on the 6th floor I might as well stay where I am and not have to move at all! She thought about it, discussed it with Janie and told me it's possible. I was so damn excited that I gave Janie a crown hahaha!!!

The only thing I don't get is... why all the drama? In the end I am this incredibly thankful person who basically did not get anything more than she already had. Weird.

But nevermind - this Korean staff is awesome and I really like them. They work their ass off all the time and get things done. They're funny and efficient. Some teachers and other people complain about them but I don't really think it's fair... but then again, they've been so nice to me I can only love them!

I spent almost 3 hours at the gym this morning because the owner was there... he really likes helping people out but he's too creepy.

On the bright side he showed me how to work out in a more efficient way because he's Mr. Muscles or something... I especially like his haircut LOL Anyway i'll try to avoid him in the future. Plus big muscles kinda scare me... hehe ^^

Tonight we went out to "Miller Time" for Johanna and Jannah's going away party. Was all right but I wasn't really in the mood.

Today was my last day of the semester so the kids and I reviewed, ate pizza (sweet potato pizza!!! incredibly good but sooo Korean) and watched "The Devil Wears Prada" It was fun. They said they're going to miss me!

Catherine, a new teacher, was observing my first class so I had them read, we discussed world war one, and then played Jenga - but I created a new version.

Every time a student would take out a piece, he/she had to name and describe a korean food to Catherine (since she just got here), a national holiday, a Korean custom, or simply ask someone else a question. It was great.

Not working tomorrow - we get a day off between the two semesters.

We'll meet for lunch (there's a shushi buffet!) and then go to a lake park about an hour from Seoul. I gota finish reading "the old man and the sea" and practice piano and guitar. Plus we might go to the movies at night. I know, the good life.

A change would do you good...?

2006-11-27T06:48:00.000-08:00

I had a very moody day!

Today and tomorrow are the last days of this semester so we review with the kids and have snack parties. That means every kid brings disgusting chips, nachos and any sort of candy filled with sugar that’ll make ‘em hyper for the rest of the day!

As for me, I ordered them greasy pizza so they went crazy. It's actually a very special Korean kind - it has potatoes and sour cream on it and it's soooo good! But you know what? I’ve been eating a lot healthier since I’ve been in Korea and it actually hurt my stomach!!

They were going nuts but we had fun. I even got a wonderful present from Jennifer’s grand-mother who made me a necklace! How sweet is that?! The kids brought me so much food, even a green tea cake (delicious!)

And once again they drew me on the board ;)

But then my VP came to me with the schedule for next semester and I almost cried.

Well. The schedule is totally perfect – she gave me higher levels, which I was told means she really thinks that I’m a good teacher. Plus I get extra money for those! So kamsahamnida a lot JeeSoo!!

But you should know that they’re closing the school’s “Test Preparation Center” so all the teachers from there are coming into our building. As a result, they need to find new classrooms and everyone’s being moved around.

Right now my classroom is on the 6th floor, right on the corner so I get 2 giant windows and it’s AWESOME! I love it!!

Now that's Brian and he always does that thing with his eyelids because he thinks it's funny but don't mind him.

Look at my view! And the window goes all the way on the left, plus on the right it does the corner and keep going until it reaches the wall. I tell ya I never get excited about rooms but... that's a killer classroom!

BUT next semester… it said I was gonna be on the 3rd floor, in the smallest classroom ever and with NO window at all!!! I was freaking out.

My VP said it’s because there are less students in advanced classes so they need the big classrooms for the lower level teachers. Didn’t make me feel any better.

She went on, joking about how it’ll be wonderful because her office is right next to it so she’ll see my smile every day and feel my charisma hahaha. Didn't work. The Korean staff said it’s because they want to have me closer and see me all the time. Didn't work. I really got the big “numero de charme”, with all the touching, holding hands and hugging but… didn’t work either. I was totally depressed!

Got off work at 8:30 and I walked for about two hours. I found a nice park and walked into a small forest until I reached the top and sat down in a gazebo. I was staring at the city lights and realized how stupid I’ve been lately.

I’ve been too involved in my life and forgot about “real life”. I’ve been so much into my work, my friends, and my materialistic world that I totally filled every part of me with crap. I miss solitude, nature...

On my way back home I decided to go away next week-end and get time for myself. Maybe it’ll help me get some perspective. I got home, worked on Mike’s scripts and just when I was going to take a shower Christine called.

Guess what?! People at work felt so bad that they re-organized the whole classrooms plan and they got me one on the 6th floor! It’s not the one I have now, but I got my window and the view!!!!!

They’re awesome. Really awesome. Chris called after 11:30pm cauz they were still at work since it’s the end of the term. They work so hard, and of course it's just the Korean staff that stays so late!! I gota thank Janie too, you’re a sweetheart my Sharon ;)

In a sentimental mood

2006-11-25T00:13:00.000-08:00

Seoul really feels like home now; got my friends, killer apartment, great job, everything I need is here. And I am totally in love with Korean culture.

Nonetheless, I was on msn last night and spoke to a lot of friends from back home. Also got a phone call from Annabella in Madrid, and I spoke to friends in Quebec and my sister too. I didn’t really feel homesick, but I certainly had countless memories flashing before my eyes.

I remembered so many things and with the memories came the feelings. Unfortunately, images are not really worth a thousand words… well sometimes, but we can’t imagine all the history behind ‘em.

A lot of pictures aren't on my computer so you should know that not everyone's there but it doesn't mean that I don't love y'all. Oh and the pics aren't in order!

With my mom at the aiport before leaving for France

Guillaume and my big brother (left) sur la Cote d'Azur... isn't he cute?!

Alejandro the artist! A really good friend I first met at Champlain. Went to see him in Mexico, where I had some pretty tasty food and practiced the Spanish I am now forgetting.... Alex is a psychologist so you can imagine how our conversations went!

The most surprising and hilarious summers I ever had were when I worked at Le Village Quebecois d'Antan!! We'd sing, play piano, serve beer and food, clean everything including bathrooms, then later be tour guides, musem guides, work at the ticket booth... we did it all! And with the damn costumes and no aircon. It was hell but we had A LOT of fun both at work and outside work!!!! Plus I had the big Moulin Rouge phase with Marie-Michele (right).... my gift is my soooooooooooooooooooooooooong ;)

Billy, the man who literally broke my heart before I left a year and a half ago. Back at McGill we'd have great nights out, discover new restaurants, great talks, good friend. His Neil Young rendition of "My my hey hey" is pretty awesome. Check it out ;) (yup, I did it and not feeling guilty man!!!)

With Rosane, a great great friend from my hometown!!! We used to work together at VQA and she's gonna be a lawyer one day so watch out!

Youri and Genevieve when we got to Chiang Mai in Thailand. That was a wild summer!

My beautiful sister (left) on our way out of Kenzo's!

With my best friend Pete! He got me a crown... and countless laughs throughout my university years. Thanks to him I passed my Chinese class, spent rent money at the Casino, broke my favourite pair of jeans, got crucified in the hallway of my apartment building, paid for his birthday dinner at Pacini's, and much, oh so much more! Doesn't he look smart?!

Me (left! like the haircut?!) and my best friends at our graduation. I spent 5 pretty wild years at that college...! Boarding school is the best :)

The cutest, sexiest and most muscular boss I ever had! Working at Sports Experts was probably one of the greatest job i've ever had and Louis, you are the best manager ever!

That's actually where I met JF - with whom I spent the craziest times of my life! I still remember when he helped me move to Mont Tremblant for the summer, such a sweetie. Later that summer we drove from Montreal, singing like crazy in the car, stuck in traffic jam. We had the greatest day just hanging out by the pool, having beers and cooking on the BBQ.

My favourite drag queen!!! Skinny, yes, but he can certainly dance!!

Aurelie!! We've known each other since forever!!! Right after she came back from her internship in Senegal (thus the short hair) she visited me in Tremblant for a couple of days. Iit was really great!

Can you believe this view? That's where I used to live in Ardeche for about 9 months. And that's Roxie - the most wonderful dog in the whole world. She came with me everywhere and every night we'd go for a hike in the mountains - but of course it's the countryside so there were no lights and I didn't need any either because she showed me the way. It was awesome to have that quiet, lonely moment with the starry sky and ... pure air (as opposed to Seoul's polluted air)!

I miss her so much!

My big bro (left) and Dave - my sister's boyfriend. They're getting married in Cuba on New Year's... can't believe i'll be in Korea and my brother in Thailand!!

My two roomates in Cegep - Marie-Eve and Mireille. We had the best time ever and I LOVED living with them. Mireille has the most beautiful personality. Every week we would meet with friends around a bonfire in the forest right by the river and we'd play guitar, drink, talk and sing. Great times!

Julie, Cynthia and me in our apartment back at Champlain. Best roomates ever!!!! Had so much fun! We also lived with Arezo, a great friend from Pakistan who's studying some very complicated science stuff at McGill... crazy girl!

In Paris with really good friend Bella, Bastien, Orchidee, Cedric... Orchidee's place was pretty awesome and so was that night actually!

Elodie - my mentor in Le Cheylard! We had pretty great parties until she got pregnant! She actually just gave birth to the cuttest kid in the world!

Cedric, my man in France! I miss you a whole lot! Thanks to him I learned a lot about wildlife... like how not to die while kayaking ;)

With the most amazing girl from Vancouver and Miranda - who's doing at masters at Harvard. Guess the subject? Her grand-parents' life!!!

How can I forget them? Thierry (left) and I used to date. He's a great musician and just got married. As for JC, this guy is just hilarious!!! They're both from Africa - Burundi and Rwanda.

Marie was an exchange student and we met in sociology class (crimino). We had SO MUCH fun together!! Remember that time we went out looking for Mike?!

Me and my bro before I left for Korea. Do you see his new ipod? That was my birthday gift to him... his first technological item ;)

That's JP!! French but Algerian too and really cool guy. We used to have our weekly fiestas with other friends, I really miss those evenings. Hope you're feeling better man!

Cyrille!! I still think about you whenever I listen to Mexican music!!! He is Cedric's best buddy (they're both gym teachers) and he is also a really cool guy - really authentic, zen and open minded.

Carmen (right) is a beautiful Rwandan woman! We met in Spanish class at McGill and became really good friends! She is smart and so great!!! Tara is also an awesome girl! That day they both took me out of sociology class to spend the afternoon on Tara's balcony, enjoying the beautiful afternoon with our "friend" Corona, a guitar and our usual existential discussions!

That's Kevin!! My best friend in Lennoxville - he is hilarious!!! That was his Halloween costume... he was dressed as "Curlman" hehe

Isn't he adorable??? Cedric's son Paolo, he'll definitely break some hearts when he becomes a man !

Oh Lionel! He's in Japan now with his Japanese girlfriend! He is a sweetheart!! We met while I was working at McGill language lab and he taught me a lot of stuff about life and computers!

My sister, the teacher! Isn't she pretty?

Those two are my beloved godmother/father. They were somewhere in the eastern provinces and they just love seafood! Claude is a REALLY funny man, they are both great and have supported me a lot over the years.

Mona and my dad. He's a handsome retired lawyer! She dates (still I think??) my brother and she is WONDERFUL!!!! Every time we get together we have so much fun!!

Ok... maybe an image can be worth a thousand words!!! That's Patrick after he fell off when we went skiing in the Alps for Christmas last year. See the blue sky, white snow and the mountains? It's gota be what paradise looks like!!!

Marilene you're crazy but I love ya! We had some pretty memorable moments and parties back in college! She's the greatest!

That was a few days before I left for South Korea. Ah my lovely grandma!

Right before I left for Dominican Republic we had such a great night together!!! I really love my Pete, he's the best - smart, hilarious, open-minded, wonderful friend!!!! Of course he had sent me a hate mail a few days earlier but it was all my fault!! For you francophones out there check out Marc's website, it's pretty cool

Ryan is a cool bass player! We actually met while working at Sports Experts ... remember our endless walk, wandering around Montreal?! He plays in the band Shamus now

Sarah and I in Italy... that girl is so adorable!

Messing with my head

2006-11-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

Good news first. I got my "ipod shuffle second generation" today and it is AWESOME! It's just so tiny! (for those who don't know, ipods are MP3 players... and if you don't know what is an mp3 player uuuh... you're helpless!!!! ;)

For those of you who have never seen a Korean 1 000 won bill, I thought while we’re at it I might as well include it in the picture.

Same size as the twenties back home so it gives you an idea how small is the ipod. That thing will come in handy at the gym cauz you can clip it on and it weighs almost nothing.

That was my materialistic moment of the day. I'm ashamed but what can I say...? I'm living in the kingdom of technology!

Oh and another news is that Ben, a new teacher, arrived yesterday. So last night they put him in my classroom to observe while I’m teaching. I was told by one of the staff that it’s because I’m a really good teacher. It certainly made my day!

Tonight Chris and I went for samgyeopsal after work and it was good. But damn, eating fat pork at 9pm is not such a good idea…

I was feeling really down today and still now… it’s hard for me to explain why.

In my Shining Star class Billy hadn’t rewritten his diary. It was the fourth one and I had warned him many times. So that was it – I told him I was calling his mom.

After the break I found him with his head in his arms, crying like a baby. The other students had no idea what was wrong with him and he wouldn’t tell me either. So he spent 40 minutes crying… hardcore!

When the bell rang, he didn’t move. But he did talk to me.

He said that he was afraid because his mom would hit him if she found out he hadn’t done his homework. He wouldn’t stop crying. And you know how I feel about that stuff… I had no idea how to deal with that.

Finally, I gave up. I told him that I wouldn’t call his mom but that he MUST show me all the diaries on Friday. He agreed and went home, still crying.

After that I went to my Janie and told her not to call the mom.

The students in the next class asked why Billy was crying (he cried so hard that the table was all wet!) and I told them the whole story. They said it’s his responsibility and that I shouldn’t feel bad or guilty.

But then, they went on about how parents and teachers punish them. They described the actual methods and stuff. I was speechless.

Especially when they said that they believe they need corporal punishment to ensure good behaviour and outstanding achievement at school. They don’t like it, but they think it’s necessary.

During the break I spoke with my VP. She actually thought this was pretty funny. She said that children usually exaggerate because they know that foreigners react strongly to corporal punishment.

The way she talked about it, it’s more like a “love punishment” and both the teacher/parent and child know it. She said there’s no way would a mom actually “hurt” her child.

She said that we should actually call Billy’s mother because otherwise, if she finds out, she will complain you know? She’ll say that I don’t check homework and I don’t care about the kids. Ironic, I know.

After work I went to Janie and Ashley. They’re both Korean so I figured they might help me calm down with a rational explanation. Young Ha, the school’s president, was also there.

Both Ashley and Janie didn’t really believe that Billy’s mom might hit him. They think I overreacted, that I’m too sensitive.

Young Ha, on the other hand, explained to me that it’s part of Korean tradition and it’s not as bad as it used to be. According to her, maybe 0.01% of the parents actually hit their kids in an irrational way. But most parents and teachers do it in a “loving and consequent” way.

But then, I asked, how do you know if the kid’s mom isn’t one of the 0.01%? I don’t want him getting hurt.

We never actually solved the issue. I left work feeling really depressed.

Why do I care so much anyway? It’s really weird. I never thought of myself as such an emotional person. Honestly, I almost feel pain when I look at those kids and try to imagine them getting hurt.

But I refuse to believe that the Korean society is a violent one.

Thus corporal punishment is probably not as excessive as I believe it is…?

Nevertheless, it was shocking to realize how the Korean staff at school minimizes the issue. They said they’ve all been hit with the “love stick” when they were younger and it didn’t kill them. Well, everyone except Young Ha actually.

Maybe I feel terrible because I overly criticised their culture? Maybe I would be a better person if my parents and teachers would have hit me when I was a kid? Actually according to Korean culture anyone family member could have punished me. Like my aunt for example.

At school they could have
1. made me stand in a chair position, without a chair, arms in front of me, for about 40 minutes
2. put my hands and feet on the ground, butt in the air, while they’d hit behind my legs with a stick
3. plunged their elbow in the hollow of my shoulder
4. pinched me
5. hit me with a book on the head
6. made me hit my forehead outside the classroom during recess time so other children could make fun of me

I guess I just don’t know whom to believe. Yeah… it’s probably not as bad as I think. And the Korean staff is right, kids tend to over dramatize. I know I certainly did when I was younger.

Wow. I feel like I was really… weak today. The good thing is that at least I’m definitely not a cold-hearted bitch. But some Koreans might say my love is not strong enough if I’m not willing to inflict a little pain in order to ensure greater joy in the future.

I am so confused.

You should kill yourself

2006-11-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

In order to review for finals I went over a lot of grammar stuff in class. One concept that’s hard for children to understand is the conditional “if I were/had to/could…I would...” So I made a lot of exercises out of that one.

You wouldn’t believe the three exact sentences that came up in each class.
1. If I were a bird I would fly high in the sky
2. If your mother is angry, you should kill yourself
3. If we have a test, we should kill ourselves

Now. I recall that in my younger days a teacher tried talking to me because whenever I’d get a bad grade I’d say “my parents are going to kill me” But I didn’t mean it.

However suicide, especially in Korea (actually both North and South), is a growing problem – particularly among kids.

Last year, there was an average of 38 suicides A DAY in Korea. Suicide rates here are twice as high as that in Canada and the USA.

So who kill themselves?

Housewives of course. Some of them have degrees in architecture, neuro-psychology and so on. Yet they gave up a promising career to stay home with the kids, clean after their husband and watch crappy soapies in the afternoon. Some enjoy it very much but others don’t.

Moreover, when children leave the house to go to college, housewives wonder a lot about the meaning of life.

Men also tend to commit suicide.

Like you probably all know, there were dramatic social changes in Korea’s economy both thanks to a rapid industrialization and the shift from an industrially based economy to a service based economy.

This led to more competitiveness and more stress at work. It’s not like you can sit on your butt and sell all the natural resources your country possesses; you must constantly work, come up with new ideas. It’s all about productivity. It’s never enough.

Social hierarchy here is also quite powerful and another cause of stress. And while Koreans are not necessarily shallow, they do focus a lot on appearances.

As a result, families want to buy everything that’s “in”. They want their kids to have whatever they need to fit in at school (ipods, game boys, etc.) Moreover, they work so hard during the week that they want to treat themselves with material goods. So they basically ruin themselves and must face financial stress too.

As for kids, oh boy! Last week one of my students wrote a really sad story in his diary. It was about a young boy feeling totally depressed, wanting to kill himself. At the end, the student wrote “because his parents always tell him “study, study study”… PS: teacher this is really true in Korea and children are very sad”

You probably recall my post about corporal punishment too. Those kids are under a lot of pressure! They go to school during the day, then the academies at night (math, science, English, even Korean)

They have school on Saturday, sometimes they go to the academy on Sunday. In many cases parents harass them to study. And they hit them when they do badly in school… “for their own good”, with the “love stick” or the danzo.

There is currently a big trend in Japan (another country facing high pressure to economically over perform) which is called “group suicide”.

People basically meet on an internet website, discuss their problems, depress together, and instead of helping each other, they arrange to meet and commit group suicide. This trend is getting more popular now in Korea too.

Kids feel lonely. And even when they see that other people go through the same crisis, they don’t see any concrete solution to the problem. They don’t believe in change. So when they’re really tired and sick of it, what can they do?

Remember Emile Durkheim? He thought there was a close relationship between modernization and suicide. He called this “anomie”.

Basically the existing social order breaks down when there’s rapid change (due to anything but particularly industrialization and modernization) and this leads to disintegration and a “lack of comfort”. A collective sadness emerges and suicide rates increase.

Another explanation might simply lie in altruistic suicide – killing yourself to save honour and stuff. Koreans used to be a lot into that, but not so much today.

However, Korea is still a very conservative society and some things are still not quite accepted – mainly homosexuality, the empowerment of women (still very patriarchal) and choosing a profession your family does not agree with.

Rapid social change definitely has an impact on people. Remember Russia in the early 1990s; after the collapse of the USSR, the government tried to bring about western-style capitalism but it failed and rates of suicide, alcoholism poverty, domestic violence and death in general dramatically increased.

But in the case of Korea, while economy plays a large role and has an indirect impact on children (“study study study” because you must perform and it’s all about competition), it seems like children are just really sick of it all.

Ironically, my housewives class told me that they had similar (if not stronger) social pressure when they were younger. In fact, classrooms were huge and they had to be smart enough to realize that it’s their responsibility to work hard.

Nowadays they said, it appears that children are more fragile and lazy.

Some people believe that corporal punishment is not harsh enough. Basically we should beat the crap out of children in order to discipline them and ensure a successful future.

The disturbing thing is that indeed, there are less drug abuse problems here and children are more respectful to the elderly. But the downside is that suicide rates are extremely high, alcoholism is a hot social issue, and correct me if I’m wrong, but overall happiness is a tad lower.

Look at them. I really love my students and can't stand the thought of people hurting them, or them hurting themselves. Yeah of course they're a handful (and sometimes they really drive me crazy), but... they're kids!

Autumn in Seoul

2006-11-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

I am an idiot. A real idiot.

Autumn in Seoul is beautiful (not as breathtaking as in Quebec but still…) So I went hiking and I brought my camera… without the batteries!

On the bright side, I still have the memories of those gorgeous sceneries I saw today, but you don’t. Sorry.

I did have my cell phone but it takes crappy pictures. Plus it wasn't sunny...kinda foggy.

This morning I overslept and did NOT feel like hiking at all. As a result, I got out of my place around 2pm so it was too late for Bukhansan.

Fortunately, I discovered a very nice and WIDE mountain in Seocho, near Seoul’s bus terminal. It’s called Umyeonsan and you can pretty much hike there forever.

Got myself some Vietnamese fried rice and seafood before the expedition. Up there it was kinda crowded but it didn’t annoy me this time.

It’s wonderful to see all those people getting out of the house and taking part in outdoor activities. No wonder Koreans are so thin. Plus it’s a big family thing – which brings people closer.

As usual, a lot of old people were working out. Like I said in earlier posts, most parks in Seoul have workout equipment that can (and is!) be used by anyone. A lot of people go for a run in the city and they do their workout in a park. It’s really cool.

I found such a spot deep in the forest. I was quite surprised! An ajashi (old man) was doing sit-ups.

A little farther was a temple. The path was filled with gravestones carved with Chinese characters.

Nice hike. I found this weird sculpture on the way back, still not sure what building that was.

I ended up going back to Insadong to get the rest of my Christmas presents and buy a guitar for a friend who wants to learn. I also bought the cutest tiny leather/wool shoes for my co-worker who just had a baby.

The subway wasn't too crowded this time. People were staring at me though - indeed, I had the guitar, a plant I'd just bought, reading Hemingway's "the old man and the sea"... but they probably stared cauz i'm W-H-I-T-E!!!!!

Got home around 9pm and I’m wiped. I wish I were on the other side of the world, 14 hours early. Monday would seem so far away.

Christmas shopping

2006-11-18T06:08:00.000-08:00

I’m getting used to living without cheese, steaks and mashed potatoes. I don’t really eat pasta, hot-dogs, quiches, roast meat, and all the heavy stuff we eat back home.

Korean food is delicious and quite healthy – plenty of vegetables, soup, tofu and fish. Sashimi (what we call sushi in America... raw fish on rice), kimbap (rice and vegetables rolled in seaweed) and kimchi jiggae are my favourites.

The only times I eat fat meat is when we go for kalbi (beef ribs), bulgogi (marinated beef with vegetables) or samgyeopsal (BBQ thick bacon). They’re all cooked at your table… something to experience once in your life!

Anyway, the point is that last night we went to an Italian restaurant where we all shared tomatoes-basil-mozzarella, seafood spaghetti with cream, and proscuitto pizza… it was gooooood!

We ended up at my place enjoying a French Bordeaux while watching Woody Allen’s “Match Point” – a great movie, which led us to discuss human nature and love until 3am.

And today, Twyla and I went shopping for our Christmas gifts!

For some reason, I was up at 9:30 so I cleaned (hardcore! it was a mess... I had a busy week). Then we met for lunch and headed to Insadong (nice neighbourhood, a lot of arts and craft, traditional Korean stuff and crowded as hell on week-ends).

I bought A LOT of stuff for my family and friends and we had a great time shopping together.

But it was crazy. We did not go to a shopping mall; Insadong is an area full of boutiques and you walk through a huge crowd while there’s people begging, playing music, putting out Korean traditional shows. It’s a lot of fun.

Christmas is not really big here in Korea. Unless you go to department stores, you won’t see the big trees, the lights and Santa Claus. Feels nice. I’m not a Christmas kinda person anymore, although I understand that some people are. I sort of resent the big commercial scam behind it, the illusions, artificiality, hypocrisy and “love obligations”

Anyway. There was a cool parade of Korean traditional dance and music. The drum part was pretty good and you can actually check out the video I made with my crappy camera. It’s pretty nice. Just click here

There's also another one, longer and pretty cool too here

We spent a lot of time and money there. It was fun to realize that now I can talk to people in Korean… or, at least, make myself understood… well, for the most part ;)

We came back to drop all our stuff and go grocery shopping at Costco since, apparently, they have avocados, cheese and delicious salmon.

The subway was PACKED with people, I could barely breathe. That's Seoul during the week-end; everybody's out. See for yourselves.

So we met in front of the school and got into a cab. He drove in traffic for 40 minutes, to finally bring us back to school where we gave him 20 bucks and went back home.

Funny. Wondering what happened?

The asshole was gonna take us to Gangnam – which is one hour from Mok-Dong. Costco is 10 mins from our place. The driver was trying to screw us over.

When we realized that, we called a Korean friend who spoke to him. He yelled at her on the phone, said it was our entire fault, made a big fat u-turn on the highway, and drove back to Mok-Dong as mad as in “the fast and the furious”. I feared for my life. And I was pissed.

But what kills me the most is that he asked for the cab fare. 20 bucks and we had gone nowhere. On my way out I slammed the door so hard it hurt my ears (yeah yeah, I work out baby ;)

The sad thing is that it was now 7pm and we were both pretty tired.

I ended up grocery shopping alone at “Homever” – this brand new department store replacing “Carrefour”. It’s the summum of consumerist societies… and I LOVE IT there! It’s shopping paradise. And 10 minutes walk from my place.

It was nice coming home to a clean apartment and spreading all the gifts on my bed! Now I oughta find out how to mail stuff. And make sure it gets home BEFORE Christmas!

Tomorrow I’ll probably go for a hike and just love the view of Seoul from afar. Autumn here feels nice. Today was sunny and the air was just cool enough.

I really need a break. I’ve been crazed all week, giving out final exams, grading them, giving speaking tests (ooooh my head hurts just thinking about it), filling the students assessment charts, etc. There’s only a week and half left before the next term.

I think I want to go to the beach, where it’s hot and sunny. I’m not going to Deokjeokdo this week-end because we had to do Xmas shopping but maybe I will next week-end. Oh no, it’s Emma’s farewell party. The one after that I guess. I’ve never been to the beach when there’s snow. It must be romantic.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

2006-11-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

Have you ever woken up one day and realized for the first time in a really long time that you absolutely love your life? That you actually fear losing it?

It's not just a game you're playing anymore. It's not about passing time, letting things come to you and passively waiting to see what's next. You understand that you are in control of it and everything happens for a reason: you. (i don't mean it in an egocentric way... just that we responsible for a whole lot of what happens to us)

The way you walk, the way you talk. The clothes you wear, the face you put on. The words you chose to say, and the things you don't tell. Your smile, your tears. The way you touch them, the way you enter the room.

It's a huge responsibility to be you. You can't screw it up because you'll be mad at yourself. Because of your new found respect for life.

Such a thing happened to me this morning. As the sun gently woke me up, I felt a nice warm ray of light coming through my window and I smiled.

I don't know why, but I thought of this William Wordsworth poem I read for the first time back in college, "I wandered lonely as a cloud" Even today I can't say why it gives me strong emotions!

We don't know why we're here. But all I know is that I really love it here.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

On a related topic, there's a beautiful post about rain on a pal's blog, you should definitely check it out!

Alcoholism in Korea

2006-11-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Last week I subbed for Yvonne's housewives class as a favour since she was going on holiday. I'm not really fond of teaching at 10am when I finish at 8pm but I do enjoy the little housewives!

I brought some tea and we started talking. Given their relatively high English level, I chose grownup topics (as opposed to “what did you do this week-end”)

The Korea Times issued two stunning facts concerning Korean society.

1. Alcoholic liver diseases are increasing by an average 7% every year and Korea is ranked fifth in the world for alcohol consumption.

2. Suicide rates in Korea are more than twice as high as that in Canada and the USA.

Shocking.

The housewives had very interesting insights on both realities.

Alcohol first. I’ll discuss suicide in another post.

We read the article together and at the end they looked at me with a smile, saying that this wasn’t surprising at all. They know it’s a big problem in Korea.

Of all the women in that classroom, only Martha said that she enjoys drinking with her husband and three sons… quite frequently. The other ladies looked at each other in a disapproving glance.

As it turns out, alcohol is part of Korean tradition. Men drink a lot because they are under a lot of pressure at work. It is still a patriarchal society, where women take care of children and housework while men bring home food on the table.

Considering the additional pressure of social hierarchy, men struggle really hard at work to get promotions and raises.

That explains why they are totally drunk by 8pm on a Tuesday night. But how come they’re walking on the street, reeling and holding onto their buddies? Why aren’t they home with the wife they married?

“Going home to your wife is another source of stress!” I was once told by a Korean man. “She’s going to talk about irrelevant problems, tell you how much she spent on the kids’ new shoes… and you won’t be able to watch TV because it would disturb the children doing their homework.”

In fact, the housewives told me that in Korea, a wife is not a woman; she’s just a wife. And the definition of a wife is: taking care of children, finances and the house. Marriage is merely a social convention in which both parties know exactly what their role is.

But the sad thing is that most housewives aren’t really happy with that. Actually, a not-so-new trend has recently come into light – women drink alone during the day while there’s nobody home. They become alcoholic and no one notices since the husband comes home so late, usually drunk.

They drink out of boredom and depression.

The first thing Michelle said when I asked her to introduce herself was that she’s really depressed right now. Her son left for college and she’s home alone all day. Her husband works out of town – he leaves the house early and comes home really late.

She now has time to think about her life. All the time and energy she spent on raising her son is now free time she doesn’t know what to do with. All her life everything she did was for somebody else. Now she has to take care of herself, but she doesn’t see the point.

Of course the issue mainly concerns older generations because nowadays, Korean women have jobs and are self-empowering. Nonetheless, it remains a highly patriarchal society and even teenagers are quite control freaks when it comes to their girlfriend.

I still see little girls putting their hand in front of their mouth when they laugh because people used to believe that it is not appropriate for a woman to show her teeth or any expression of joy. Emotions had to be repressed in public.

As for young men, they do drink a lot. I read that 65 500 medical treatments were given to teenagers having alcoholic liver diseases last year. Teenagers!

One of the housewives made everyone burst into laughter when she said that her husband calls his drinking habit “similar to the merry-go-round”!

Indeed, it’s like sitting on those horses that gently go up and down, around and around. It’s relaxing after a big day of cold sweats and mental gymnastics.

But is drinking the only way to release the pressure?! Nop, but it certainly is deeply ingrained in the Korean tradition. Every time a man has a problem, his friends take him out for drinks.

But like the article said, while this may have been ok over the past decades, the world reality now is different and such addiction could damage the nation’s competitiveness and economy.

After all, Korea doesn’t have many natural resources so it highly relies on services and technology. With the whole kibun and nunchi concepts already reducing efficiency in the workplace, alcoholism definitely isn’t helping either.

On the other hand, foreigners here aren’t exactly behaving in a more “responsible” way. And back home I recall my younger days when we would drink a whole lot until the morning came. We’d spend the whole night dancing, philosophising, trying to change the world and laughing about it all.

It was fun. I personally did not try to escape any problems – drinking was just part of the experience. Part of growing up. Of course some people turned it into an addiction while others tried to drown the pain with it.

Last year in France we’d have wine with every meal (except of course breakfast!) A glass or two with cheese. Huuuuum, good memories! :)

So… is it safe to assume that drinking habits positively correlate with countries’ traditions? Apparently weather also has something to do with it since it appears that some Northern countries consume a relatively high amount of alcohol too!

I'm a dork?

2006-11-13T05:13:00.000-08:00

You know how I said I was going to buy new glasses?

Well Chris talked me into buying these great Paul Smith glasses - which cost 300$, withOUT the lenses! But they're cute, I really like them and they'll definitely last for a while.

So tonight we went to the optometrist next to school for an eye exam.

It's pretty much the same as back home, except that on the computer they have the picture of a windmill (as opposed to the farm tractor).

Moreover, they have a really "crazy scientist dorky" frame in which they put the lenses for you to try on - this way they make sure everything is all set (another clever Korean thing!!) But the frame is HILARIOUS!!! See for yourselves.

So we had a lot of fun there. After going to Dan's sushi of course, where we got free drinks and fruits once again :)

As for shopping on Sunday, I bought some nice stuff in Apgujeong (Rodeo Drive baby!) - a long grey cardigan (which I'm wearing on the picture), a cool red indian shirt, a green scarf (hair thing), yellow mittens and a shirt. Shopping is Korea is fun!

Got the jeans I ordered online, they're awesome! I also ordered those brown/red Hush Puppies boots and had them shipped to Nic in L.A., who will then mail them to Korea. What a great man!

Today we were giving out final tests to the students so I have a lot of grading to do.

The kids really exasperate me. Some of them finished 20 minutes early and I told them a few times to review but instead they drew some Korean "Hello Kitty" stuff.

Well you guess that they didn't get a hundred! Some failed, others got in the 70%.

That one on the picture is Chad. He's adorable and really smart but... he was the one to finish early and he failed!

At first I really questioned my teaching skills. A lot.

But then I recalled how lazy I used to be in high school and now I know that nothing that people could have said or done would have changed my mind. I just didn't care.

Moreover, I had made review sheets, which we worked on for 80 minutes last week. So... too bad for them. I care, but what can I do? It's really frustrating though.

A funny thing also happened. One of the staff member heard that I give speaking tests in class. We are supposed to give them outside the classroom so the kids can't hear the questions. Fair enough.

But you know what? Even with my system, even with the kids hearing all the questions, even with me correcting grammar and pronunciation when they answer, NONE OF THEM has ever gotten a hundred in speaking test!!! But whatever.

It's the same for unit tests. Even speaking tests. I tell them what's going to be on it and i'm VERY specific. Pffff while it might help some, others just don't take the hint!

On another topic, the gym thing is going really well, I went this morning and start feeling in much better shape!

I'm meeting Mike for coffee tomorrow and I plan on going for a hike this Thursday since I only teach at 5pm.

The term is almost over. I'll have new students at the end of November for three months.

We booked a fancy hotel for christmas - an "executive suite', it has a kitchen so we'll be able to cook in there. Plus there's an indoor swimming pool so i'll feel like a fish again haha

I'm thinking about getting out of Seoul next week-end. Maybe Deokjeokdo? It's a nice island, not too far and although the weather is too cold for swimming, i'll enjoy the beach and mountains.

We should also go to Japan soon. And Saipan!! Anyone has ever heard about this place? It's a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, blue sky, big sun, amazing sea. I need sun. I need to wear my flip-flops. I need my toes to be warm.

My sister is getting married in Cuba on New Year's. Can't believe I won't be there. Neither will my brother - who, by the way, is writing fabulous tales and entries about Thailand!

What else?

I'm still enjoying the piano A LOT.

Saturday night I went for a walk in the park next to my place. It was really nice. And kinda crowded for 10pm on a week-end.

Teenagers were playing basketball, young couples were walking, people were power-walking.

I saw a group of ajummas (old ladies) having a workout session with their teacher. It was funny. They were doing all those stretches and encouraging each other. Later on I met them; they were also power-walking while probably gossiping as usual ;)

I stopped for a moment to enjoy the nice evening. Felt like autumn back home - not too cold but cold enough to feel good when I took deep breaths.

I like the smell of humid earth coupled with leaves lying on the ground while dry ones are gently echoing each other, lulling with the wind.

La vida es un carnaval !

2006-11-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

I guess this year really is awesome. For so many reasons – such as I’m 23 and living in Seoul, or I’ve never had so much fun, so much independence, such authentic and good friends, and I’ve never learned so many things about myself, about life and the world. It’s great.

So Skyview. It was shitty plan because they didn’t take reservations and a whole bunch of us was gonna go. I was pretty tired and the girls too so we went to my place and cooked dinner instead.

I learned how to make kimchi jiggae and we finally drank the wine I got for Chuseok. Twas nice. Plus I got a piano (you have no idea how excited I was… and still am!) so as we were singing “Let it be”, we figured it would be fun to go to a Noraebang (karaoke bar).

We went to the same one the staff took me to for Halloween (that night I picked my vice president up… twice!!), about 5 minutes from my apartment.

On our way Twyla stole public property: a big orange cone! It was just hilarious. Who does that?! Of course my dear law-abiding friends and family, she was going to bring it back after carrying it around for a little while.

Anyway.

We got to the noreabang and had a REALLY good time! We sang and danced like crazy, especially me and Twy – we were jumping all over the place. And the orange cone was in the room with us.

At some point during the night Janie and Bori appeared out of nowhere and joined us. They were singing in another room and saw me going to the bathroom I think.

They are part of the Korean staff at school and I really like them because they’re fun to hang out with and just… great!

Especially Janie because she is a HILARIOUS girl. And at work she does an awesome job and remembers everything about my classes. Plus she loves me! Oh Sharon ^^

So they sang songs in Korean while we kept dancing and drinking.

I was reasonably drunk but as usual, behaving like a sober overly happy girl. Twyla on the other hand was too drunk and she suddenly left the room, ready to go home with her cone.

Being the only one who had noticed, I ran after her and found her sitting in the stairs, looking for her keys. She looked pretty down and wanted to leave right away. I went back to the room to look for her keys.

Found them and we all decided to leave. Not safe to let her go home alone at 3am.

I was the last one to meet them in the stairs and there was broken glass everywhere. Apparently a bottle of wine had been smashed! Odd.

Next thing I knew, people were screaming her name. And I was running after a girl… running with an orange cone in the middle of the night. Imagine the scene! I had flip-flops on.

Everyone went home and Kelly slept on my pink couch so we talked until 5am and woke up with the sun around 9:30. I was still tired but the weather was so great, I wanted to go hiking in order to admire the beautiful and colourful autumn leaves. Plus, I needed fresh air and to spend some time alone.

Twyla called, still drunk. Apparently she ran away for various reasons including a creepy incident and the fact that she just wanted to go home. She didn’t even notice that I was chasing her.

I laughed my head out when Twyla said she couldn’t find her keys so she knocked at the door.

Emma answered it naked.

Ok it’s weird. But nop, she’s not gay; just very comfortable with her body!

The hilarious thing is that Twyla was looking at Emma, all puzzled and wondering why the hell she’s answering the door naked at 3 am.

But Emma was looking at Twyla, wondering why on earth she had run home with an orange cone in the middle of the night!

What can I say? These things only happen here in Seoul.

Coming up: the housewives story, many pictures, Halloween party summary (from what people told me cauz I sure as heck don’t remember much) and another chapter on those adorable Korean kids!!

Good day to y’all :)

Pepero day

2006-11-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

A Korean celebration. Just like Valentine’s day. It’s a romantic day and happens every 11/11.

Basically kids give peperoes (cookie/chocolate sticks) to the ones they like or love. Remember Pete when we had that intense conversation at Soto? We ate those for dessert!

It’s the biggest commercial scam ever. Lotte Co. started it in 1994. 11/11 looks like 4 pepero sticks.

Teachers hate it because children get high on sugar and there are crumbs and plastic wraps everywhere.

My kids brought me some. Not a big fan though.

But the cutest thing ever happened!

One of my 8-year-old kid came to class late, out of breath and… carrying a ROSE!!

How adorable is that?? It’s the same kid who was wearing the pollution mask on the previous post. Look at him with his big smile, just waving at me! I just wanted to give him a big hug but you know how kids are at that age…

I was the only teacher to get a rose. Oh! So sweet!

And the girls in my Shining Star class drew me on the whiteboard! Given, my face is not so large and I look a little Korean on there but still, how cute is that?!

Ah those children! They give me a lot of emotions!

Procrastinating...

2006-11-08T05:41:00.000-08:00

Right now I should be grading diaries and unit tests but... procrastinating is so much better!

I also gota go to bed early since I'm going to the gym tomorrow again (yes indeed, my 2nd week working out… gettin’ real firm haha!!) and Erin's bringing the piano at noon. Then I have to teach until 10pm. Well not really teach as much as handing out unit tests! And next week we're giving the poor kids their final test!!

Had kimchi jiggae tonight while watching "40-year-old virgin"... not a great movie, but funny. Thanks Emma!

The weather is getting really cold in Seoul. Twas full moon 2 days ago, look at this beautiful view taken from the roof of my school during my 5mins break! (keep in mind it was taken with a cell phone camera)

Anyway, I have no choice but to stop wearing my dear flip-flops and put on longer skirts. Finding shoes here is quite difficult considering my huge Yeti feet but I found the cutest Hush Puppies online (brown and red boots!) but they don't deliver here.

So Saturday is shopping day and i'll look for them. Also, i'm buying new glasses this week-end! Chris is taking me to Rodeo Drive in Apujong, too fancy for my taste but she loves it and I kinda enjoy it too ;)

I know I said I’d post pictures of the Halloween party but my dear friend Twyla hasn’t emailed them yet!!! It’s almost been two weeks grrrr I think Emma will send me some, and I got a few from Rachelle but they’re mostly pictures of her so… It should come up soon though! Twy???? Love ya, really do, but what the?!

Meanwhile you can enjoy pics dating back from a couple of weeks ago (thanks Rachelle!) Twyla at the very fancy Noraebang (karaoke bar, thus the lighting) - the night where Rachelle sang the unforgettable, hilarious and now inside joke rendition of the Black Eyed Peas "Where is the love", screaming "somethin's wrong with it! Somethin's wrong with this world mama! Tell me! I wanna know!"

The other is me and Twy at Paganini. This place is awesome, we gota go back there! Plus Chris knows the owner and last time we were there we got free wine AND free cheese cake directly from Philly (wink Dave!!)

This week’s been pretty nice so far because I tried to keep it real. Helps a lot. But I still wonder what’s the point of going to work every single day, of building relationships and learning about stuff (won’t we all be forgotten in the end? The only things that remain are immortal I guess, but does this give them more value?) I really have the best time of my life here, but I can’t help wonder what’s the point of all this?

Kelly, Erika and I went to Dan’s sushi on Monday, it was DELICIOUS! Plus fun cauz they know us so well that they prepare our “special” plates (shrimps and salmon!!) and they gave us free drinks and fruits for dessert!

Some girls invited me to Skyview on Friday night but me and the gals moved our Wednesday night dinner to Friday so I’ll try to make it to both. Kelly’s cooking kimchi jiggae miam!

Skyview’s nice but soooo expensive! Ok, it’s on the 40th floor but come on, last time we went there it cost me about 50 bucks for dinner and like 2 drinks. Uuuh, not so bad now that I think about it...

If you compare with the 7/11 though… hahaha in Korea you can buy beer at convenience stores and drink it outside, chillin’ out with your friends at the picnic tables. And it’s legal! Alcohol consumption here is so deeply ingrained in the tradition that it’s like having a cola in a park back home.

Eeeeeeh I’m rambling on and on and on. And on.

Look how cute Ryan is on that picture! His mom made him wear a mask today (apparently too much pollution) and he had it on at the beginning of class! Freak? Or adorable?

Cindy’s right next to him. She is the cutest girl and so smart, she got 95% on her last test! Hey I’ve got more pictures of my students, will post them soon.

Oh yes, some ppl mentioned there are not enough pics on my blog so to remedy that I’ll soon post pics of my co-workers and friends and the school and everything else.

Next topic will be: housewives – desperate and totally smart. Find out why their husbands drink so much and only see them as wives; not as women! Stay tuned for more details ;)

On a final note, here are pictures Nic sent me from L.A. First is Jannah, Johanna and me having dinner after our night out around 5am (thanks Koreaflyfisher... I'll keep Sam kye tang in mind next time we get hammered ;)

Then Nick acting drunk! And me crossing Cheonggyecheon stream barefoot during our last night together (it was sooo slippery, plus can you see the man standing by the waterfall behind me? He stayed there for about 2 hours! Kinda zen alcoholic I guess hehe)

When do you stop?

2006-11-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

Well Marc you'd be happy to be here in Korea. Everything is available on DVD - plays, music concerts, even the latest movies (and before they come out in movie theatres)!! And they are cheap too (about 2bucks) and everywhere on the street.

You guessed? Yup, I went shopping today!

Beautiful sun, cold wind, and me, in Seoul. It was impressive to realize that I am totally used to living here - I pretty much know how to get around the city and nothing surprises me anymore. The cultural shock will be being surrounded by white people; not the other way around. I can even order food, ask for my way and tell the taxi driver where to take me, all in Korean!!

If you're looking for places to shop in Seoul, there are several neighbourhoods. Seoul is quite a consumerist society. I like Insadong because it is nice, artistic and it sells local (often hand made) products. They also have lots of Buddhist stuff.

Today I went to Itaewon. Beurk. A 100 times beurk. It's like shopping back home but you get cheaper prices and low quality stuff. Plus it's crowded with foreigners. Still... I got a sweater. And saw giant dummies.

As I was walking I bumped into Erin and the "weird couple". Erin is adorable! And you know what? I got a piano from her!!! Electronic of course, but I am so excited. She's selling it for a friend who's back in America. I'll get it this week.

That's the amazing thing about being an English teacher in Seoul: free time and good money.

You can basically buy anything you want, go out for dinner quite often, go out dancing, for drinks, enjoy the good life, go to the museums, movies, theatre, and.... you still have money in your pocket!

Next I went to Dongdaemun. Horrible. Well, not for most people, but it was for me.

This place is FILLED with shops and boutiques on the street. Moreover, it has three main (and huge) buildings in which you find nothing but clothing, shoes, bags, accessories stores. Worst part being that it was PACKED like hell (or heaven? ;) I had been there before but it was a week night after midnight so it doesn't count.

There are SO MANY things to see at once while countless people are passing you by and salespeople are yelling their "super discounts" in Korean. After an hour, I was exhausted.

I'm sure my sister would have loved this place, but I just couldn't stand the pressure. Too many things to buy, too many choices to make, too many people to walk by, oh boy! Commercial consumption has reached another level here in Korea. When do you stop?! And why would you anyway?

So I didn't buy much - hair stuff, necklace, t-shirt, scarf and a cute winter hat. I walked a lot though, which was nice. And I had some "me" time... among a huge crowd, yes, but that's Seoul.

I'm glad I took the subway because traffic on Sunday is so heavy. Plus the subway here is much larger than back home and people are much thinner.... so there's room for everyone hehe Seriously, I was shocked to see how almost skinny girls are here!

Erika and I were supposed to meet but it was too late for that so we'll go for sushi tomorrow night :) And Wednesday is girls' dinner at my place (a new thing we are trying which is awesome because we have so much fun and it cuts the week in half)

Right now I’m still in the Kundera mood. Fortunately, I missed a couple of subway stops today so I read over 40 pages of "Immortality", makes you think a lot. Lately things have been quite dark in my head so I need some time to think, put things in perspective and get some air from the "real" world!

As I was walking through the crowds I met a lot of homeless people. Back home I’d take them for food but here it's hard to explain in Korean and I feel sad just giving out money, hoping they won't drink it all.

On the subway there was a blind woman, a beggar. She nodded her head when she heard the metallic sound of pennies chinking in the hat. Ironically, the soft sound of my bill brought no reaction. Neither did my smile, of course. Sometimes it's not all about what you see. Sometimes no reaction is ok too.

Got home late, already full moon. Great. I won't sleep tonight. And tomorrow I must get up early because i'm teaching a housewives class. I can't believe the week-end is already over. At least I saw Macbeth in Lithuanian... that's something!

Lost in translation

2006-11-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to see a Macbeth play in... Lithuanian, subtitled in Korean. Yes of course, you can laugh.

It was a hard night. Really. I met Hye Jeong and two of her friends for dinner - the best sushi rolls I've ever had (shrimp and avocado miam!)

Her friends are great, but it took me a lot of energy to speak slowly and repeat a hundred times every single word that came out of my mouth.

So when we got to the play, I was hoping for a little rest. Oh boy! I really got lost in translation.

Over FOUR hours of this Lithuanian/Korea play. I was wiped!

Objectively, the actors sure used all the space on stage and they gave a great performance. The director, Eimuntas Nekrosius, also did a great job! I especially liked the lighting and scenery.

But this adaptation of Macbeth wasn’t great.

Beside the fact that I did not understand a single word of it, they put a lot of emphasis on the three witches – which were young and quite stunning in this version of the play.

My mind wandered a couple of times.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Shakespeare would have said if, back in the 1600s, someone had told him that his tragedy would be performed by Lithuanian actors in a theatre in Seoul. Moreover, I doubt he would have appreciated this rendition.

One thing that struck me though is how much energy those people have on stage! They scream, they run, often dance, and their movements are so dramatic and… theatrical!!!

The last time I had been to a play was back in Paris last April. Patrick and I had seen “nevroses sexuelles de nos parents” and I must say it was a really special one. Plus, at least I could understand what the actors were saying.

I really love theatre. For so many reasons but let's not elaborate too much here. My brain is clustered with Korean characters and Lithuanian words and I need some rest!

As I was walking back home I stopped for a moment just to smell the air, look at the moon and feel the sweet autumn breeze. Felt nice. Really nice actually. Until I passed by a dark alley and… I saw four young guys loading guns!

I walked by very quickly and looked back to make sure this wasn’t a dream. It was real. They were staring at me.

At that very moment I tried really hard to realise that I could die any minute and you know what? I came to see that I wouldn’t trade life with anyone. It’s my life and I love it – with all the good, the wrong, the twisted, and the dark sides of it.

Tedious Reverie

2006-10-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Fantasies are great ; they keep you company. They tuck you in at night. They distract you when you are bored. They make real life much more entertaining.

They give you hope when the world is nothing but a big disappointment.

They create perfect people and improve those you already know.

Fantasies keep you going when you don’t even believe in yourself anymore. They give you faith – faith in you, faith in the world.

They never let you down, bringing you exactly what you’re looking for.

They’re always there for you whenever you need them – a comfy, cozy place you take refuge in.

It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s passionate and so perfect.

And then comes the soreness.

The dreadful feeling of helplessness when you face the fact that you will never encounter such situations.

That some of those people may physically exist, but they’ll just never meet your expectations.

And the ones you’ve created in your dreams, you will never meet them.

The fall is brutal. You were flying like a bird and it kept taking you higher and higher in the sky.

Your head was comfortably lying on a cloud, the sun kindly warming you.

Then before you could even realize it, you were falling. Falling.

Everything became cold. Unfamiliar. Imperfect.

Disappointment comes in but what can you do? You are helpless.

Is this the fate of dreamers? Or are we all just masochist?

Why not stop it? Because it feels so good up there, out of reach!

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-10-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

The last time I went to the movies was back home last June and I saw "The DaVinci Code" with my best friend. Before that, I had spent a year in France and not even step foot in a movie theatre. Well, except in London where Annabella and I saw "Memoirs of a Geisha" (great movie by the way)

The point is that as a kid, I used to be addicted to the big screen but, fortunately, I ain't anymore.

I came to that conclusion 2 days ago, sitting in comfy seats, shamelessly eating popcorn and chocolate while watching "The Devil Wears Prada"... not the best choice for my big come back ;)

Without Meryl Streep, this movie would totally fall apart. Yes, I get it: it's one of those movies whose sole purpose is to entertain us but... come on!
Anyway, it's a light and funny movie. It also sends a wonderful message to everyone - wearing a size 6 is shameful. In the end, the former ugly and fashionless secretary gladly says that she's now a 4. Bravo!

As for fashion, I must admit that it is well done!! Then again, Streep does a great job portraying this evil fashion magazine boss.

Movie theatres in Korea are great. They don't compare to our AMC Forum movie theatre back in Montreal.... but they're pretty comfy and I wasn't in the most Jetset one anyway.

The genius thing here is that you can buy your tickets in advance and chose your seats!! So you can show up pretty late and still have the best seat in the place!

The food portions are also much smaller than back in America. No way you can get the jumbo-full-of-greasy-butter popcorns. Smart as can be, the soda glasses have room for two straws (as opposed to one big hole where you put both straws) - meaning that even a decent Coke Zero cannot be fully consumed by only one person.

Where is my mind?

2006-10-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hey instead of whining why didn't I just watch those clips?
Check them out, you will laugh your head off!!!!

SNL Parody "Message from President Bush" here

SNL Parody "Bush on Global Warming" here

SNL "More Cowbell" here

Here's some Ellen

The nun in Will and Grace here

Elevator Dance here

"My bras is in my ass" here

SNL Jim Carey's workout here

And this hilarious French parody starring Marc Labreche right here (really funny but you gota understand French of course) Seriously, this one's a MUST!

Speaking of French, Nic made me discover some real Quebecois stuff that's totally fun to watch. Called Les Tetes a Claques - "On sort", "Le Pilote" and "Les Grenouilles" are really good!!

Btw, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are on NBC's "30 Rock", apparently quite comical.

What A Difference A Day Makes

2006-10-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Twenty four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain

Rainy Sunday. I love rain so much. It smells good. It feels good.

As usual, disturbing echoes of some random rock music reach my 15th floor window. It's like they're having a rock concert every Sunday morning...

Hung over. On my week. Not beer.

Mom called, she was worried. Friends called. Friends wrote. Where the hell are you?

I haven't slept all week. Grading midterms, diaries, book reports, filling out midterms reports, preparing for my open classes next week and the Halloween party at school... I'll be a witch in the haunted house!!

Spent a lot of time with Nicolas. There's a beautiful "man made" river in Seoul - Cheonggyecheon . At night, blue lights light up rocks lying in the water. There are waterfalls too. Nice restaurants too. Laughter over Saturday Night Live too. Guitar too. Now he's back in L.A.

What if? What if I died tomorrow? Seriously, so what? I can't even figure out the meaning of life so it would spare me pretty disturbing questions.

My whole head is filled with questions. Maybe Jigsaw was right, it's just the blatant emptiness of our mundane existence. I keep my mind busy with friends, nights out and the usual but when I actually stop for a moment, it occurs to me that my life is pointless.

Isn't it totally selfish to look after our own happiness? Or, worst, to work so hard at being happy when the world is filled with such devastation? How can time go by so fast, so slowly.

A life spent looking after the weaker, helping the helpless, giving to the needy, listening to the sad, talking to the lonely - where will that leave me in the end? A sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction? What if it doesn't matter whether you are totally selfish or selfless?

I look at my grandmother. She's old and bitter. Yet she has lived a full life and has the biggest heart you could ever imagine. When she smiles she’s as radiant as the sun. She is generous and full of kindness. She's traveled the world and never gave up on anyone - even the cruellest person had to have something good in her.

As a kid, I was a total spoiled brat. When I think about it today (and teaching to kids help me see that), I am soooooo ashamed of myself! The things's i've said, the attitude, oh my! But grandma never gave up on me. Neither did she on my brother and sister. Of course she's not a saint, but I really admire her.

Even in her late 70s she was the head of a community group defending the rights of old people (getting easily abused in retirement homes) and she learned how to use the computer. Granted, the concept has not entirely blossomed in her mind but she still talks to me on MSN.

Anyway, the point is that she is wonderful. And now that she's old and needs others, she is bitter. It seems like all those years she gave and gave while probably unconsciously hoping for something in return. Not immediately, but at least when she'd be old and needy like she is today. Yet it hasn't come. Well, not in the way she'd want it.

She's frustrated because she can't do everything she used to do. Independence is just a vague concept that she once fully enjoyed. The days go by, she reads, gossips with old ladies, hangs out with her new boyfriend, goes for walks and writes. And then what?

I'm trying now. Really hard. Life has been amazingly good to me and I always think there's gotta be something bad coming up. Where's the black cloud?

But if that is true, then it means that everything is planned. I refused to believe in predestination - otherwise what would be the point of living if everything is already planned in advance? What about free will? What kind of sick almighty would just sit and watch what would appear like a TV show? If everything is meant to be, then why not spare me the time and energy of performing my role as a human being?

I'd like to be up there and watch the whole world. Busy people, arrogant losers, millionaires that think they own the universe, penniless families struggling to survive, lost souls wondering when this will all end.

It's so tiring. I grew up with mind games and a lack of reasoning. I still resent the pointless struggles, the pain of seeing someone deeply hating my grandma. We all experienced the fear of rejection, the insecurity and the mask that we put on to be like the other kids. Then we grow up and want to believe that the world has changed. We're adults and tired of those mind games.

But I realize more and more that this whole world is fake. This hypocritical world where everybody lies (including me of course) Are we going to answer “you’re hopeless” to a students who failed a test and asked you if he will ever get it?

I want to trust, to believe that there's a good heart in everyone. But I recently discovered that sometimes it's not worth wasting all my energy looking for the good side of what turns out to be evil. And that's ok.

I really hate myself for who I’ve been, what I’ve done, and how completely humane (thus normal) I still am. I guess we're not perfect and that's ok too.