Robert James Russell

Yeah, well, that title is about as clever as I’m capable of being today.  Deal with it.

Not much to report, I’m afraid.  Been sticking close to Incheon/Seoul area to save some money – although, there are plenty of things to do in both.  As you can see from the above photo, visiting a sticker booth with some friends (albeit an older picture) is one of many things you can do to pass the time in Korea.  Woot!

Taekwondo is going well and I think it’s something I’d like to continue for a long time.  I want to stick with it and get better, unless my long legs get longer and more awkward, at which point I’ll hang up my white belt for good.

School is great.  I love making lesson plans and being in charge of what the students learn.  Some of my friends teach at schools where they must teach out of books, which can stifle creativity.  I’m glad this isn’t the case with mine and it’s cool already seeing some of the students get better at speaking English.

I’ve also been studying the Korean language and I now have the consonants and vowels memorized, which is a big, first step.  I don’t want to slack on learning the language, as it’s everywhere and I feel as if I owe it to my host-country to speak their native tongue (not just a few phrases).  It’s polite, after all.

It’s still odd to me, being in Asia instead of the USA.  Not in a bad way, but back home I’d hear so much about things going on here, but was always separated by such a vast ocean and many thousands of miles that it was easy to put it out of my mind.  Actually being on this side of the world, living here and interacting with the people here, has made me really start listening a whole lot better.  I want to get involved.

And, if you aren’t aware, Asia’s had some bad cards dealt lately. Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar (Burma) hard earlier this month and left nearly 130,000 dead. The already impoverished country is running out of food and resources and with the hot summer months coming, there’s a new fear of dengue fever spreading quickly. Check out some articles here and here if you’re not caught up to speed.

If that wasn’t bad enough, China experienced a massive earthquake a few weeks back (registering 7.9) that left over 60,ooo dead and displaced another 5 million from their homes.

There’s also been a lot of issues with South Korea importing beef from America. Supposedly Koreans run a higher risk of contracting Mad Cow disease, based on the parts of the animal they eat regularly, so this has been an ongoing thing for the past month or so. You can check out more about it here.

I don’t trust most donation sites, seeing as scam-artists aplenty can swindle anyone into thinking they are legit and it can be hard to tell the difference, but Google sponsors some donation links that are easy to follow and you know it’s the real thing. Here you go:

Here’s a great link to a Google-sponsored donation site for those affected by the Myanmar cyclone. You have your choice of UNICEF and Direct Relief International. Everything will help.

And here’s another Google-sponsored site for the China earthquake victims (Mercy Corps and Tsinghua Foundation). Check it out, do what you can.

Anyway, just some food for thought (no pun intended, Korea), and I’ll be updating again later this week. Promise.

Ciao.

So, all you die-hard blog readers have heard me mention (on more than one occasion) a “Mr. Jang” – my liaison to the world of Korea.  Mr. Jang is my main co-teacher at Jakjeon High School and he’s basically, as he refers to himself, a Korean James Bond (or Macgyver – he’s used both references). He helped me get settled on all accounts when I first arrived, picking out my stellar apartment and getting my bank account in order, and he’s always quick to help me navigate through the cultural taboos/miscommunications that I unfortunately stumble across on an all-too-consistent basis. Basically he’s just a really cool guy and I’m glad to have him on my side. He’s a great teacher with great policies and we work well together.

Anyway, I finally have photographic evidence proving his existence!

This past weekend, Mr. Jang was kind enough to invite me to his home in Seoul.  I met his family (two sons – ages 6 and 10, and his wife) and he gave me a tour of his neighborhood.

(Mr. Jang at a park near his home. Don’t worry, it’s a cultural thing for Koreans to
not smile in pictures. He actually does like me.)

He then took me to a really cool little neighborhood called Silim so we could have a local delicacy – sundae (pronounced soon-day). The food is basically noodles and vegetables and pork. It originated as a poor man’s food, and the portions are, even for Korea, humongous. Mr. Jang ordered and I went to town on it. 

(The sundae before I began to eat. Mmm…right?)

It wasn’t until a friend translated later (via phone) that I found out I was actually eating blood sausage and tripe and pig liver and basically anything internal from an oinker. Before I ate, I specifically asked Mr. Jang what the “sausage-shaped” things were, and he replied “noodles.”  I said, “these are noodles?” and he tried to explain to me that they were bunches of noodles with spices cooked and chopped up, like sausage.  Wrong – it was blood sausuage.  Apparently there are noodles in , along with blood and whatnot, so he was half-right…I guess.  Ugh…

I won’t probably ever eat sundae again (my mind likes to play tricks on me like that), but hey, it was good at the time.  Yet another case of me needing to learn to not ask questions about what I’m eating. I need to stick to my rule: If it tastes good, keep my mouth shut and just chew.

I break this rule all too often, though. ::sigh::

(My look of glee shortly before discovering what it was I was eating.
This expression quickly turned into a disheartening frown.)

Next, Mr. Jang and I met up with some other teachers and we went…wait for it…drinking!  He introduced me to a Korean liquor called jook soon ju – which is bamboo-flavored soju.  It was delicious, tasting a bit like apple juice, and wow…did it go down easy.

I had a great time and it was really cool hanging out Mr. Jang like this, as I’ve only seen him outside of school a few times. He loves explaining Korean culture to me and I love learning about it, so it’s a great combo.

(Good times with the Jang-meister.  I swear he really does like me!)

I look forward to many more adventures with Mr. Jang.

Ciao.

Wait, do you study tae kwon do?  No? 

Oh, that’s right!  I study tae kwon do….IN KOREA!

It’s pretty exciting, actually.  We meet twice a week at the dojo and then basically practice kicks/punches/combo moves until we can’t bend our extremeties any longer.  Let me assure you, though, that being tall and lanky does NOT help me out in any regard.  It makes things very, very awkward, most of the time, when I try to do anything.  Stupid, long legs.

(The gang getting ready before class.)

Anyway, we get free uniforms and everything, so it’s pretty rad.  The Incheon Board of Education is giving us the first two months worth of classes for free, as well, just to show us some Korean culture, but I’m pretty sure I’ll continue on afterward.  It’s a really, really good time and it truly is a cool/unique way to see more of Korea.

Ciao.

Okay, so not this past weekend, but the weekend before, was like the best weekend ever!

On that Saturday I went to the 2nd World DJ Festival in Seoul, which, truth be told, was not very DJ-esque.  It was, more or less, a fine assortment of some great asian rock bands, some with techno beats, most without.  Still cool, though.  A band I actually really like, Cornelius, played there, so the $20 cover was well worth it.  Great, great show.

Here’s a few pics:

And here’s a quick couple videos so you can get an idea of how many people were there:

Great, great times.

Then, on Sunday, my friend Mike and I went to the Seoul Racepark – the biggest, most splendid horse track in all of Korea.  It was intimidating, to say the least.  The only horsetrack I’ve ever been to was in Phoenix, with my brother-in-law, and I let him do all the betting for me.  Seoul Racepark does, however, have a “foreigners’ lounge” where everything is in English, so that was pretty great.  The races were about once an hour and Mike and I ended up only being albe to bet on one, but we both won.  I bet 3 bucks and won 6.5, he bet 10 and won 16.  Small amount, yes, but still cool to win.  My horse’s name was “Happy Go” – I chose him for no other reason than that.

Next time, we’re going to bring a bunch of people and camp out.  There are, typically, eleven races in a day, every Saturday and Sunday.  You can bring your own food/beer/etc., and there is this great big park connected at the side and in the center of the track you can hang out in (with fountains, statues, etc.).

Anyway, check out the pics, see for yourself:

And, again, here’s a video for your veiwing pleasure:

Ciao.

What a week! 

It’s mid-term exam week at Jakjeon High School and basically…I’ve had nothing to do all week.  The students take their tests from about 9am to noon while I just sit in my office.  I also get to go home at 1pm.  Not too bad, all-in-all.

Wednesday, Mr. Jang informed me that the male teachers of the school were getting together for lunch and some ‘games.’  I said: “sounds fun.”  They had set up a bbq on the soccer field that sits at the front of the school, and started cooking plates and plates of meat.  Koreans, it should be noted, have a penchant for drinking.   They had bottles of soju and cases of beer and then a few liters of a drink called makgeolli – which is carbonated rice wine the color of milk.

(makgeolli in all its glory)

Well, I don’t like to disappoint and I really don’t like to turn things down, no matter how gross they may be to look at (read: octopi boiling in water), so I obliged the makgeolli (which is fantastically delicious) and ate about a year’s worth of meat in two hours. 

We drank and drank and drank, then played Korean Football (bae-gu) – there were about 12 of us, altogether.  Bae-gu is basically tennis, except you have six people per side, and there’s a net, and…well, think of it like human ping-pong.  You can only use your feet, and you kick the ball (three hits per side, like volleyball) to the other side, trying to out-maneuver your opponents so they can’t return the hit.   It’s actually pretty fun.  I believe, though, since I’m a foreigner and very tall (compared to them, at least), they expected me to be very good at the game.  I had some good moves, very sporadically, but I definitely have room for improvement.

So, 4pm came around and I thought I’d end up just going home, but the teachers had other plans.  Koreans love staying out late.  Some of the female teachers once told me that the males feel they have nagging wives and try to stay out as long as possible to avoid them.  I’m not sure if this is true or not, but does answer a few questions.  Anyway, we then went to a seafood restaurant where I tried some fish intestines (ew, by the way), and had more soju (cucumber flavored, actually).   After drinking for another two hours, we moved on to a noraebang – the karaoke singing room.  Now, it should be mentioned as well that the vice principal of our school was out with us. This man is a bit feared, because of his title, but boy, oh boy can he sing!  We were down to 6 of us at this point, and they forced me into doing renditions of some Depeche Mode and Queen ballads (which I rocked out).  We drank beer and stayed for about an hour or so, and then Mr. Jang and I decided to go to a local bar (we were by my apartment).  My friend Jeff met up with us and by the time I got home it was about 10:30pm.  I had been drinking a wide assortment of Korean liquors/beers for about 9 hours.  I was exhausted, to say the least.

It was a pretty cool day.  I learned a lot of Korean traditions, about eating and drinking mostly, and my teachers taught me Korean words when they came up.  It was very cool getting to know some of the teachers better too. 

It’s odd, the small things that make cultures unique.  Koreans, for example, are extremely ‘touchy’ and it is a sign of great friendship/appreciation to have your best friend hold your hand in public.  It was very odd getting used to the boys at my school doing this, but I guess it’s the equivalent to friends hugging and giving high-fives in the States.  Throughout the day/night, the male teachers kept grabbing my hand while we walked.  It was odd at first, but again, it is a sign of respect.  So I felt pretty good about that.Ciao.