Blowfish.

Blowfish.
The inspiration.

31 July 2010

Misc. July

New hair cut!


Sailor cake? Why not?!


Unfortunate name.


You really couldn't get away with school uniforms that look like this in the States...


A Louvre-esque pyramid outside of DongDaegu Station? Why not?!


I've been looking for this *supposedly* mythical place for years...


What exactly is "NON-LIFE insurance"???


A tiny toilet and sink in the ladies room of Kyobo Book store.


Someone should probably explain to them that these aren't fruits.


Got tires?

Confusion

My body's so confused. 2 weeks of getting up at 7, working 830-12, nap, and work 4-10 have taken their toll. Was so exhausted last night(1200am) I thought I might hurl, but woke up at 520am and couldn't fall back asleep. Tried to buy my Philippines tix but the site didn't confirm. Guess it's nap time (720am).

30 July 2010

Summer in the City



The park near my house, where I take Hayes-y twice a day.






The garden is in full bloom.


My building.


Down the hill from my house.






On my way to work.




Umbrellas really do help shade you from the heat. I'm learned that helpful tip by watching the adjummas. :P


I'm pretty sure they're not prisoners, but I can't be sure. It's a fashion trend that I hope doesn't catch on.




The Rose Park near my house.

Students' funny answers, compiled by a friend in the US

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight.

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed. 

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q.. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A. Premature death.

Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow. (Simple, but brilliant)

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised? (e.g. the abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U.. (???)

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie.

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby.

Q. What is the most common form of birth control?
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium. (That would work)

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'?
A. The caesarean section is a district in Downtown Rome.

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure, I came, I saw, I had a fit)

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport. (Irrefutable)

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas.

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning.
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight. (brilliant)

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shriek wears on his head.

And my favorite:

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Damn those canoeists.

Teaching Evaluation

My teaching evaluation went exceptionally well, especially considering how exhausted I was at the time. She was very impressed with how well I'd trained the kids to repeat ad nauseum, and how well everyone in the I3 (3rd level) class used complete sentences all the time. I was very proud of the kids for performing well in front of an audience, even the one kid who usually is well-beyond ADD. It's nice to be recognized for the hard work I'm trying to do!

29 July 2010

Almost the weekend...

One more day... 7-1 Intensives. Nap. Shower. Work 4-10 with added bonus of being observed by the HQ woman. Counting the hours until it's all over.

24 July 2010

Bathroom Door Locked Me Out!

Finally got some good sleep. So nice...and lots of cleaning, half done already. Too bad when I arrived home last night my bathroom door wouldn't open...30 mins last night and an hour this morning to get toilet access...boo.

22 July 2010

Where's the weekend I ordered?

Holy crap, it's HOW LONG until the weekend?! If anyone needs me before 5pm Sat...well...tough.

Sleep!!!!! That's what I want/need/can't have... Off to work part 2 in a bit...

Magic Stick

Do Hoon: Teacher, he touched my magic stick!
Me: Really…?
DH: Teacher, do you know what a magic stick is?
Me: Yeeesss. Do YOU know what a magic stick is?
DH: (long pause) Um, yeah…
Me: Um, where did you learn about “magic sticks”?
DH: Aiden teacher was laughing at a story in a book, and he told us what was funny.
Me: Really? Fantastic.

Now, every day he talks about who does and doesn’t have a magic stick.

20 July 2010

First day of Summer Intensives Done

So tired and EXTREMELY sore muscles suck. Muscle relaxer and bed, here I come.

Summer Schedule is Gonna be Hard...

Made it to my first day of summer intensives! My break is last, so 9-12 and out. Woohoo! Now for a quick nap before Work, Part Deux.

19 July 2010

Christy, Christine, and Chrystal

I have three girls who have decided to change their English names. I knew their previous names, but now I have to take a few seconds to remember which is which before I say their new names: Christy, Christine, and Chrystal. I think they just wanted to give me a tongue twister to say during attendance.

17 July 2010

Rain. Boo.

Stressed. Severe shoulder pain. Headachy. I hate neverending rain...

13 July 2010

Cake FAIL and New Korean Partner Teacher

Even though the kids liked the "cake" I brought, I think it was a huge FAIL. Looked totally undercooked, was gooey, and I thought it tasted terrible. Eww. New Korean teacher rocks. I got so lucky.

12 July 2010

*Fingers Crossed*

I am hoping today's a good day. New Korean partner teacher, and boss on my case. *fingers crossed*

Cupcake FAIL and Centipede That's Trying to Kill Me

Huge cupcake FAIL. Then spotted an ENORMOUS!!!! centipede that was black with thick red legs trying to escape my entryway into my shoe cabinet. It took over two minutes to successfully kill him...the unsquished parts kept trying to get away...BUT I GOT HIM! Ewww~~~

Jeremy:
How could you kill such a magnificent creature?

Me:
Would you feel better if I told you he carried an axe and had a menacing look? He would've killed me while I slept...

10 July 2010

Quiet, Please.

QUIET day at home, after a week of SCREAMING, NOISY kids at school.

Subway Escalators


Koreans are fierce about saving energy. Sometimes this equates to not turning the heat or air conditioning on, and sometimes it's focused in a more helpful way. Subway escalators are only used when people are disembarking from their trains. When no train is at the station, there is no reason for the escalator to be running. So they are each equipped with a sensor, which will start the escalator when people walk onto it, and will stop it when it's not in use. Such a great idea. Now if only we could design a heater with this capability...

09 July 2010

The Faculty (1998)

The movie on TV right now almost makes up for my horrible day today (I even cried between classes). The Faculty (1998) with--wait for it--Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Laura Harris, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Jon Stewart, and Usher. Wow.

08 July 2010

Ketchup! Ketchup! Ketchup!

So this week I told a couple of classes this joke:

A daddy tomato, a mommy tomato, and a baby tomato were walking to the market. The baby was walking too slowly, and the daddy got angry. He hit him on the head and said, "Ketchup!"

Now my kids keep hitting their desks and saying, "Ketchup! Ketchup! Ketchup!"

07 July 2010

My Beautiful Drawings for Students

I can't draw. But I can make stick figures. Since arriving in Korea, I've become fairly proficient in making stick figures to describe, well, pretty much anything. :)









Couch potato.


Potato couch.




06 July 2010

Spice Cake Cupcakes

Had a few crazy classes today, and a couple of surprisingly good ones. Promised "spice cake cupcakes" to some of my girls in one class, so they can see that "spice" doesn't equal "spicy".

6 needles still remain.

Darn the Appeal of Hidden Trash...

Not a bad day. Still crazy hot. Dog is enjoying finding trash cans wherever I hide them.

05 July 2010

When the Saints Go Marching In

I have a few students who started singing “me-me-me-me” to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching In” a few weeks ago. Every class several times they will start singing, and sometimes it’s very difficult to stop them. I told them I’d find out the actual words, but decided against encouraging it. It’s not a great song to get stuck in your head three days a week.

Happy Independence Day! (aka. Happy 4th of July!)

Happy 4th of July to those still in those time zones! Enjoyed some mac and cheese in honor of American freedom. Granted, it was a Canadianized-Koreanized version, but it was mac and cheese nonetheless.

Down to 7 remaining needles attached.

04 July 2010

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th all! Eat lots of American goodness for me, since I can't!

03 July 2010

Rain and Acupuncture

I almost made it home before it started pouring. Almost. And I have 9 needles in my skin for the week from the acupuncture guy. Was 10. Lost one from my wrist. We'll see how long the others last.

02 July 2010

Adventures in Food: Potato Pizza

Thank god for weekends. And potato pizza.

Potato pizza in Korea is cheese, potato wedge, "bacon" (aka ham), and corn and onion, which I hold off on. It's delicious!!!

Why don't we have this at home?