Korea is too damn cute!

Damn you South Korea! You may have angry and smelly old people and strange ways, but you are also very cute at the same time. I’m referring to some of the items you can find in clothing stores such as the socks with random cartoon characters and David Beckham to the furry animal hats. Cute indeed. I’ve seen the animal hats around before and always though they were a bit of a joke. Alex even has one, a Tiger hat. I finally caved down and joined the cute animal hat cult. I was in the clothing store Orange Mall (located in Old Mokpo on Walking Street) with Tanya and saw the Wolf hat and tried it on. I almost wussed out on buying it but Tanya convinced me that I had to have it. I bought it for 10,000 Won and wore it outside and got reactions right away. Old men were confused and girls were pointing and giggling. So far so good? I’m looking forward to wearing it to the high school tomorrow and seeing how my students react to it. Oddly enough, I’ve seen none of the students wearing hats like it which really surprises me. They LOVE cute things. Maybe they’re not allowed to or who knows what reason is behind them not wearing these hats. Maybe I’ll be a trend setter. :P

Ubuntu Intrepid and Webcam Sucess and Other Junk

Last year, I wrote that I was having issues getting webcams to work with either Ubuntu Hardy or Ubuntu Fiesty. I now am running Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10 and I have had SUCCESS with getting a webcam to work on the system. I went to Home Plus and picked up a Cosy PC590 webcam to try it out. I tried a Samsung webcam earlier as well as an Logitech Quickcam Express last year with no success. I wasn’t expecting this to work either. I was surprised when I opened AMSN and tried to webcam with my parents back home and to my surprise the webcam worked without any software installation, etc. It was a pleasant surprise.

I also broke my Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7….again. I dropped it New Years Eve and the lens is jammed. It gave me the perfect excuse to buy a Sony DSC H50 from FuturShop. ^^

I am home in two weeks for vacation and I cannot wait!

2009 Approacheth!

2009 comes tonight! I can’t believe one year has passed since 2008 rolled in. Last New Years Eve was spent in Paris, France with food poisoning. So this one HAS to be better than that! Tonight is Dawn’s birthday so it will be a doulbe special event. The school year at my high school essentially comes to an end today as well. I don’t believe I have any classes though do have to make an appearance in the morning. What for? I do not know.

I’m still semi in the dark about my winter classes. They’re apparently one hour a day with just the first grade classes. I have classes made for the winter classes but I’d just like to know what exactly is going on (perhaps I never will). Today is also a day that I reflect on what has happened during the last year.

1. Europe trip. Paris/French countryside/Belgium. What an amazing trip.

2. Korea. Still working on that one.

3. My amazing friends here.

The exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the Won is also at a very good level, the best it has been since midsummer. I wired home 1.9 million Won yesterday and only lost $85 on the exchange. Not bad. I used to lose a couple hundred. So this is a night and day difference to me. I hope it continues to improve. I also wish I had more money to send home while the rate is good. Oh well.

Enjoy 2008 while you can and bring in 2009 with a bang!

Answer Me This

So “Winter Vacation” for my students begins on Friday. But they have to come to school during vacation for supplementary classes. So why is it even called “Winter Vacation” whatsoever. I get a vacation out of it but my students need it more than I do. I feel for them sometimes.My vacation draws near and I’m looking forward to being home for a bit. It gives me time to stock up and see the people I love. New Years is also rapidly approaching as well.

This also means that Virginia and Ty leave for the UAE in a week. *Tear. I’m really sad to see them go. They’ve become some of my favorite people in Mokpo and seeing them go will be hard. But such the expat lifestyle here, people come and go..sadly. Have a good week!

Random Gifts and Patrick

Meet Patrick. He was given to me by one of the students in my 2-5 class. He was an art project and she thought I would like it. I’ve been given many random gifts while I’ve been at the school, ranging from sweet potatoes to candy to Patrick to origami roses. I love it!

The school year is essentially over. School days end on New Years Eve but then there are “Winter Classes” for the students after that. I do teach winter classes for 2 hours a day from the first till the sixteenth of January. I fly to Canada on the 17th! CAN’T WAIT!! I’m in the process of making lessons and planning for those two hours a day. I see each class (16 overall) for an hour a day for two days, then the next class for two days. So that’s the dealio.

The majority of my students also watched me on tv Wednesday and I loved it! ^^^

My Korean TV Debut!!

That’s right. I’m on Korean tv! The MBC show Mat Jang. The show was filmed December 12th in Jindo. Trista, Katie, Nick, and myself were on the show. Trista and I the red team and Nick and Katie the blue team. We each had to do various challenges and the final challenge was to make a Korean food dish. The show was a very interesting experience to say the least. It was fun to take part in. I only wish I wasn’t getting sick while doing the show (I was losing my voice throughout the day). The show was on MBC on Christmas Eve and evidently almost all my students watched it (I keep on being reminded by them I’m famous:P).

The show is also posted on the MBC website. The bad news is that the show only loads if you use Internet Explorer browser to open it. The link so the show is below.

http://www.mokpombc.co.kr/skin/board/news_vod/vod.php?bo_table=tv_taste_vod&wr_id=8

Happy viewing! ^^

Tests..

I had another day off because of…another test. Yes, another test. Today it was some math test that supposedly took the whole day to do. I’m not complaining it’s another day off for me. I just feel for the students who have to deal with another test and the pressure that comes with it. Sigh.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, my favorite part of Christmas. I’m looking forward to it! Gin and orange juice and friends. What more could I ask for. I will be in Canada in less than a month, something I’m looking very forward to. New Years is still in the air. There is lots going on for it though. There is talk of going to Gwanju for a big party. A couple of my friends also have birthdays on New Years Eve so options are out there. Oh well.

Marriage

Well. They got married yesterday. Virginia and Ty Fowarker tied the knot yesterday afternoon. It was a great and emotional wedding, one I was happy to be a part of. They soon depart for the UAE. I’m sad to see them go yet glad to see them move onto better oppurtunity.

I wish these lovebirds all the best with their lives! Two amazing people leading equally amazing lives.

GEPIK Gallery of Stupid

Fallon has a new blog that highlights the English dialogs that are taught in the elementary school level here in South Korea. Well worth checking out!

http://galleryofstupid.blogspot.com/

In Mind

Do Make Say Think – In Mind