sitting, waiting, wishing, drinking...

Toy Kittie Death @ Coffee House

Believe it or not, I've never been a huge coffee drinker, I have an aversion to hot drinks. For some reason I am like a 5 year old child, and I sizzle my tastebuds on hot liquids. This includes all hot liquids, not just coffee,  hot chocolate and soup are also guilty. Until a couple of years ago I put ice cubes in my soup and hot chocolate. I couldn't trust myself enough to wait for it to cool down on its own.

Since I've arrived in Korea, things have changed. It is like I have finally matured (I'm sure that is debatable to some) and I can enjoy warm to hot liquids. It didn't take long after that for a formal introduction to coffee. Especially when Corwin is a caffine junkie, and former Starbucks employee. She has taught me the ins, outs and in betweens ofcoffee. I have tried to be a good pupil, and learn quickly, although I'm nowhere near the critic she is. Instead I'm a willing participant in her coffee adventures around Korea.

Cafe Mocha @ Coffee House

Coffee has become a very trendy thing to drink in this country, and there are many great coffee shops in Seoul.  But, I don't think coffee has been around long enough in Korea to serve as fuel for the masses. The zombies that walk around at the trapse of dawn can't find a cup of coffee in this country, they have to wait many many hours. Coffee shops here seem to open around 9 or 10 (sometimes later, whenever the owner shows up) and stay open well past midnight.

This trend has worked its way into Yeonshinae, a local  neighborhood. I can't begin to count how many have opened since I arrived last february, and more seem to be sprouting up. Corwin and I have found one in particular that suits our fancy, Coffee House. I'm happy because they serve mocha's and Corwin is in love with their foam. This cup of boiling water heaven was also included by association to a recent article in 10 Magazine (an expat magazine in Korea) in their article about the 10 best cups of coffee in Seoul (read the article here). Coffee House's main branch in Anguk is hailed as the second best cup of Jo in Seoul.

Caramel Machiato @ Coffee House

The Yeonshinae version of this cafe is trendy, and often quite busy. I have spent more than a few afternoons injesting their brew, and abusing the free wifi. The staff is pretty awesome, and never appear to go home. One of the girls running the place took the 18 month barista course offered by Gwang-su Jeon (if that doesn't make sense to you, that is because you didn't read the link, haha). If I had a complaint about the place I would say that they have overused (the) Jack Johnson. I have been there often enough to recieve free cups of coffee, and JJ has been played everytime. I think for Christmas Corwin and I are going to burn them a new CD of equally trendy coffee shop music.

the west is the best ? ? ?

I've taken a look back at some of the entries that have chronicled my time here in Seoul, and I'm kind of shocked that I haven't included more about food. I mean I have written some posts, but interestingly enough, I've only been posting about 'western' food, most of which y'all can enjoy on a regular basis. My blog has a glaring omission of Korean cuisine. I will try to amend that situation. I swear I will, I love Korean food. Yet because I eat Korean food everyday, I find myself more giddy and excited about edible reminders of the west.

For example, the other weekend I found an amazing Mexican restaurant.  Not only was the food fantastic (and cheap), the place had actual Mexicans cooking, and serving the food.  The sight of this threw me back a little, seriously! Anyone from Calgary might also be confused what a real Mexican looks like for two reasons: #1. Calgary doesn't have a huge Mexican population, and #2. Most 'Mexican' restaurants seem to be run by the Japanese (ie. Taco Time). These Mexicans in Korea fed me my first ever corn tortilla (pictured). A Mexican food first in Korea! what are the odds of that?I would like to say that I also enjoyed some Mexican beer while I was there, but I'd be lying.
The Mexican joint is located right beside... (drum roll) BIG ROCK!!!!

That's right, the microbrew turned regional brewery in Calgary is available in Seoul. The bar looks familiar to the brewery in Calgary (If you have ever been). I have no idea if the place is actually run by Big Rock or just licensed out to some expat.I've read that the beer is not actually brewed here, it is imported. This means quite literally that I can get Calgarian beer in Seoul, YAY! I've been told the food isn't the greatest, but what does it matter when there is an authentic Mexican joint next door. Big Rock's entire liquid menu is present, from the new Jackrabbit and Big Rock Lime, to the classic Traditional and Warthog Ale (pictured). The food was great, the beer stirred memories, a perfect afternoon.

P.S. I swear that I will start writing more about Korean food instead of western food.

오징어 vs 피라니아

I'm a pretty lanky fellow, so I often find that I have nowhere to put my arms or legs. It's time for a moment of pretty sincere honesty. Most of the time I don't know what the fuck to do with them. It's probably not a very shocking revelation, but hey whatever. One of my classes has taken to calling me 'ojinga teacher' (ojinga means squid in Korean, 오징어 is ojinga). They like to dance around the class exaggerating my arm motions.

I went zip lining for the first time a couple of weeks ago and if you would like to find an activity to highlight limb control, zip lining is it. There is something about hurling down a 100m track suspended by the waist, that highlights your abilities. My (not so) graceful moments were recorded on film as I dangled lifelessly, flailed like a ragdoll, and sailed like a human torpedo through the trees. My arms and legs were simply passengers along for the ride. My friends laughed, and snapped (photos).

In sharp contrast, Koreans seem to know exactly what to do with theirs. I checked out an International Food convention the other weekend, and some Koreans were snapping up giveaways and freebies with surgical precision. I could say that I was shocked but I'd be lying (I've lived here for 9 months now, I was shocked for the first 8, I've given up sampling most things).

Yet, I have to stand somewhat in defence (and admiration) of some of the actions at the convention. This convention was handing out free booze, and a lot of it. You could easily get hammered if you sampled only half the booze being dished out. Most people tend to get a little grabby when they are tipsy as well. I don't know if I'm excusing the actions, or simply explaining them. I don't know if being grabby is ever fully excusable.

Anywho, I think I'm writing this more out of jealousy. From my inability to know what to do with my limbs comes the fact that Koreans know exactly what they would like to do with theirs (even drunk). I swear some of these Koreans would be able to grab a grain of rice flying through the air, with a pair of chopsticks. I'm speaking of some serious precision here.

Free samples would disappear with lightning speed. I came across a booth selling French chocolate truffles. These delicate truffles would barely hit the bottom of the dish before they were gone. The two Frenchmen working the booth were visibly disgusted as they gawked at the Koreans (I found it a little funny to watch their expressions) The same thing occurred with pajong (what am I? click and learn!). I'm surprised the chefs had it cut up before it vanished. I had to go back to the booth 4 times in before I managed to sneak some Korean pancake action.

Even a chaotic line up for free samples in NA is tame compared to Korea. I'd compare a Korean line to a piranha (피라니아 ) feeding frenzy. It's totally different, and something to truly behold. I'm jealous not because of the frenzy, but the precision. You can't strip an animal to the bone with random bites. It takes accuracy, and the ability to know your weapons. Judging by my zip lining pictures, and current nickname at school this isn't talent I possess.

The gang deals with the North Korea situation (II)... 'nobody loves you when youre down and out'

The situation in the North has pretty much become a same same issue. In Canada there are cold fronts that drift down in from the arctic. They are often despised, and yet Canadians weather these cold spells. They do so while uttering under their breaths that global warming should take them out at some point.

In Korea we have a similar issue, although instead of being a cold front that drifts down, it is a large ego that descends south. I don`t know how much detail I need to go into on that, so I`ll leave it like that. Yet like Canadians it seems to have become a practice for Koreans to utter that the ego will be dealt with at some point. That silencing will occur through starvation, or a communist extinction event.

Both appear to occur with the same frequency as well. Since I've arrived in Korea this is the 4 or 5th time the North has stirred up shit. That seems close if not higher than the amount of cold fronts in Canada.
After my (not so) brief introduction I can reach my point.

I have a small theory as to why the north chose Tuesday to attack. I think it was because they were jealous, I don't think it has anything to do with wanting to start a war. If they really wanted to start a war, they could have easily attacked last week while the G20 was going on. They wouldn't have to worry about the Obama if they knocked him off (although that might lead to a communist extinction event ie. an American invasion).

I've done some brief searches online, and have come up with a possible conclusion. After a (short) search I was unable to find any information on music in the North. People don't really know what the Kim's listen to, well besides their propaganda filled national anthem. This goes for father and son, well more father than son. Either or we know very little.

Shortly before I found out about the attack I secured my tickets for the upcoming Eric Clapton concert. In fact I found out about the concert about an hour before I found out about the attacks. I think they were upset that Eric isn`t visiting them, and that was why they attacked. You may say that that notion is preposterous, absurd, or horribly implausible, so I will present another argument supporting my asinine conclusion.

Last week there were fears that North Korea would attack in some way shape or form. Security at the G20 summit was insane, they had an entire section of the city cordoned off, so that the leaders of the free world could gather Gangnam to chit chat. As we all know there wasn't an attack, and that one actually occured this week, the same day that Eric Clapton tickets were shown on Interpark (a Korean equivalent of Ticketmaster. I highly doubt this was a delayed reaction, and that it took the North a week to fully hit the launch button.

So there it is, a somewhat rational argument for why the North was pissed off.

just a thought.

dog and pony show...

This week is my second round of open classes. You may remember that in April I was subject to similar scrutiny (re-read). Where my biggest fear and enemy proved to be my inability to tie a tie. Well I have some good news, I am not going to wear a tie this time around. I've slain that evil through pure avoidance.

Instead I'm left with a larger fear, lack of control. In my previous open classes, I was able to control and dictate the pace, and direction of the class. I chose the story we would read, and I would throw out random questions to my kids. I felt quasi confident in this process, because I could quash any unwanted silence. If a child bottled up, I could simply direct the question somewhere else. All in all, I could fill awkward silence with some child's voice.

This time around I won't be so lucky, I will have minimal control over most of the class. My kids will be presenting an adventure story they wrote. For most people this would be awesome, perhaps even kickass, me, I'm left quaking in my boots. Korean children, like many children I'm sure, crack under the watchful gaze of their parents. The bright, lovely, outgoing students quickly become mutes, it's as if their parents presence creates an invisible gag in their mouths. That is a huge reason I loved to be able to control things, and quickly adapt as the class went on.

Tomorrow they will be thrust under the limelight, or halogen (or whatever light the projector uses), and will recite a story. That as well should be pretty simple, yet the school has decided that it wants the children to memorize the story. Not even a cue card can be used to bail them out.

I have a couple objections to this kind of torture... First with the presentation style. It takes a couple of years of practice before most people don't require cue cards anymore. It took me all of high school and the beginning of college before I started to save trees, and ditch the paper. Yet I was still taught speech class that it was completely fine to rely on cue cards. The invisible safety net would be a great benefit to my kids, considering what happened to some last May. Tomorrow the stress will be cranked, parents will be watching, and hell even the Obama doesn't memorize his speeches.

Tactics aside, as there is little I can do to change the format. My objections for presentations are insignifigant considering my feelings for the students memorizing them. Yet I slightly (silently) objected to the presentations in the first place. This is because the school stated they want the open class to be an average class, and not appear to be staged. I have never, not once held presentations in this class. With that knowledge in hand, it is clear, it will be staged (dance monkey dance) I don't object, really! I love presentations. Okay, slight rephrase, I love giving presentations, I'm not a huge fan of standing on the sidelines.

In the end, I'd love to be able to absorb all the stress in the room to take it off my kids. Perhaps I'll bring a sponge, and try to deflect the tension into that. At the very least I have to know that I've done all I can, and I hope to shit that my kids surprise me and memorize their parts. If not, I may find another rogue gray hair. I found one last week which may, or may not be related to this open class.

cars...vulgar language... and barenaked ladies...

What do Top Gear and Anthony Bourdain have in common? probably very little. But! I've shown clips of both to my classes, and my Korean students have learned valuable lessons. Such as, what happens when a car is struck by lightning? I didn't know, but Top Gear filmed it. What are the national dishes of South America? again, I haven't the faintest idea, but Anthony Bourdain and Jamie Oliver know. Although, of the two I kind of prefer Bourdain, nothing against Jamie but Bourdain is brutally honest, and I appreciate that. 

I guess you could say I love being able to show YouTube videos in class. I've been able to expose my kids to highly censored clips of Anthony Bourdain, and non censored clips of Emeril Lagasse. I've also shown clips of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. All to show my kids that the world eats great food, and so they can see what gorgeous food expanded American waistlines.

I have had to mediate a debate between my Grade two's as they argued which was better, the folk tale Mulan, or Disney's historically inaccurate Mulan. Instead of drawing horrible diagrams of weather, I brought Hurricane Katrina alive in the classroom through NASA's 3-D satellite imaging videos. The same grade two's have also witnessed the phases of construction of the great wall, and all the global empires from the last millennium.

Nobody quite says "Houston, we've got a problem" like Tom Hanks. I'm sorry Jim Lovell, but Forest's got you beat. Tom Hanks didn't play Neil Armstrong, but if he did I'm sure he would kick ass, instead I've had to improvise in class by showing the actual moon landing video. Truth be told I've actually shown that video to four of my classes, as apparently the moon landing is not shown in Korean schools.

Some might say that my use of video in the classroom pushes the limits, I'd say that some of the time they are right, like when I showed David Copperfield make the statue of Liberty disappear (although to my defence, my students were reading the book 'David Copperfield' at the time). Pushed line or not, I find it amazing how educational Anthony Bourdain can be, I find his blatant honesty the best way to describe food that my kids have never heard of. Grammar can also be perfectly demonstrated through the song 'If I Had a Million Dollars', even if I had to spend time explaining why it is cruel to buy a real fur coat.

Perhaps this post just a long winded way of saying, thank you school for buying projectors. It is because of that kind gift, that James May and Top Gear were able to show my Korean students that the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the world's fastest car.

what would you do for a snickers bar?

We had an extra lesson day in the session last week, so it was used to give candy to already hyper children. My youngest kids were adorable, and took the smallest piece of candy with such glee. My older kids however, needed to be bribed a little. I needed them to do some work, and not bounce off the walls. I figured the best way to do that would be to entice them with the allure of more chocolate. I was a little shocked when my plan actually worked. I gave the kids this picture, and told them that the best three stories would get a full snickers bar. I recieved some run of the mill stories, I also recieved these entries. (as always these are unedited)

First place: by Benjamin
(no title)
There are two boys and one tall girl. In Halloween day they were going to the theme park and go inside the ghost's house. But there was a real monster. Everybody screamed and ran outside. But 1 girls and 2 boys didn't scared. The monster asked "why did yours not scare?" "Because your not real!" they said. "We can see your legs, little bit" "Wow, your clever".

Second place: by Lisa
STRANGE CHILDREN
A long time ago, there is a wierd and big large door. It seems like a monster. One day, three (3) children were playing in the playground and saw that door. They suddenly go in front of the door, and laugh. The other people saw them and frightened. More scary thing is that the children didn't move. People thought they were dead. AND, the secret of the door is that's the door the baby dead in that moon, so when the people saw it. They can't move anymore (they died)

Third place: by Esther
(no title)

The three  children live in the very beautiful house. One day, the Halloween is coming. So, they do the Halloween trip. First day, they go to forest, but there is very scary things. They go near. There is the title. 'Welcome to Halloween' The sign is very scary. That place is ghost house. That ghost's tongue is the door. They go inside, but its very fast. Because, the tongue is the roller coaster's seat. When finish the roller coaster they are panic. This time is the most interesting Halloween.