Ok, I owe yall an update. I plan on uploading a whole slew of pictures from the last few weeks that include a few events such as a friends birthday, my new class, a going away party, St Patricks Day and who knows what else. So, as soon as I can find the cord to connect my camera to the computer, I will put those up (EDIT: I just found the cord so the photos are UP).
Things are good at school, the beauty of having a new class that has never had a teacher before is that they are so impressionable! I am quickly molding my 7 year olds into mini-Quincys, complete with my mannerisms and accent (on a side note, my accent was mocked my some drunk girl last week, she was wearing flannel so Im assuming she was from Canada). My class is progressing nicely, since this is their first time learning English, their progress is very obvious and rewarding since almost every word they can speak they learned from me. Teaching is not without its challenges though, last week I had one of my best kids poop his pants. Im serious. Ironically, the week before, there was a note in the staff room not to restrict the kids from using the bathroom, since it was the first time they had to ask to go for the many of them. I know what you are thinking, and the way I wrote it should have created an obvious assumption, but I WAS NOT KEEPING MY KIDS FROM USING THE BATHROOM. I guess it just snuck up on this kid.
Things have been good outside of work, also. I currently have about 4 1/2 months left in Korea and I am already counting down the days, so let this be a warning to all you readers, you will be sick of me talking about it. But, its really your fault since Im counting down the time until I get to see all of you again. I am pretty sure these remaining months will go fast, I really only have to make it until the end of July and then I get my summer break for a week and then my contract ends around the middle of August. Speaking of my summer break, I just booked a plane ticket to Cambodia today, so I will be spending that week seeing the sights (Angkor Wat), shooting automatic weapons (here) and avoiding the sex tourists. On top of that, one of my best friends from school, Charles, is supposed to join me and my coworker, Kyle, on this adventure. So, with that to look forward to and the weather getting warmer by the day here, it should be a pretty fast couple of months.
One last thing before I go: I was recently approached at a bar by a guy I had met before. He told me him and his boss liked my style, look, etc and wanted to make me a model in Korea. I dont think Im model material, but having white skin goes a long way here. Their company deals mostly with the Korean home shopping network and they asked if I had any tall, good looking friends that would also be interested so I successfully recruited a guy I work with from my school and a girl from Charleston I met here. They needed one more girl so they took me out to the foreign area on St Patricks day, bought my drinks and pointed out girls they thought had a body shape appealing to Koreans. My job was to go talk to them since their English was inadequate and see if they would be interested. They ended up settling on a tall Canadian girl who teaches at a university. Anyway, last weekend we went and met their company photographer (who they claimed was famous in Korea, he did have a nice studio) and he took our pictures and told the Koreans that me and Kyle were very good and the girls were "a little good." They are very critical of girls over here. We are supposed to go back this weekend to get the equivalent of head shots done so when companies call the photographer looking for models, he will have something to offer them. Who knows if anything will come of this, but it has been an interesting and funny story so far.
Godspeed everyone, enjoy the pictures.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Video Upload Bonanza!
I just uploaded 12 new videos to YouTube, heres a preview to wet your palate, click on the link to see the rest.
Sorry, the audio is inconsistent on some.
Sorry, the audio is inconsistent on some.
Monday, March 9, 2009
THE BOYS ARE BACK!!
Some of you may know this, many may not, but Phish was my first love before Sound Tribe. However, they took a hiatus after the summer of 2004, leaving a void in my heart that was filled by STS9. Thankfully, the boys are back and kicked off their spring and summer tour with 3 nights at The Hampton Coliseum in Virginia this weekend. While many of my friends and even some of my family attended this momentous occasion, I had to follow via the internet, but even that brought on goosebumps.For those that care, Trey, Mike, Page and Jon played for a over 12 hours this weekend that included more than 80 of their songs. They left on kind of a low note in their musical careers in 2004, but after listening to the recordings of these shows, its exciting to see that they are very much back and on top of their game.
If you are interested in any of the recordings, they are free and can be found at LivePhish.com.
Thanks for humoring me by reading this.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Out with the old, in with the new!
First, let me thank my friends and family who responded to my last post, I appreciate the kind words and encouragement. I will certainly try my best to keep you updated on my adventures and stories in this ass backwards country.
Second, I just uploaded over 150 new pictures, so check them out.
Finally, the new school year begins in March here (having no summer break is cruel if you ask me) so I got a new class on Monday, called K Lion.
They are a group of ten 7 year olds who have never been to an English school before. Obviously, I have my hands full. I inherited my previous class in their second year, so they knew a decent amount, but these kids insist on speaking Korean and are dumbfounded that I dont know what they are saying. I guess its the same for them because all I speak is English and am amazed that they dont know the phrase 'sit down.' They also do things like point to their crotches when they need to go to the bathroom or just leave the room when I turn my back. Today was the first day so Im sure things will get easier and hopefully I will have the whole bunch soluting me when April rolls around.
On a side note, the best kid from my old class, who was a model student and never gave me any problems peed himself in front of his new teacher today.
Be easy yall.
Second, I just uploaded over 150 new pictures, so check them out.
Finally, the new school year begins in March here (having no summer break is cruel if you ask me) so I got a new class on Monday, called K Lion.
On a side note, the best kid from my old class, who was a model student and never gave me any problems peed himself in front of his new teacher today.
Be easy yall.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A Letter to Myself
Compliments of my friend Kate and her blog WorldWideKate, this is a letter written by a guy named Calvin Reid who is currently living in Thailand:
When you get old, remember how when you were 20, one of the best decisions you ever made was to live in paradise. You lived in Disneyland. You stopped wearing shoes. You stopped brushing the flies off your feet. You smoked weed on a mountain and under palm trees overlooking a beautiful beach. The soundtrack of your life was decided on by the bars that you visited. You met everyone. You never turned down an invitation. If you didn’t know something, you found out. You wrote daily phrases on your arm. Your plans were written in the sand so they could be washed away every morning. You knew the phase of the moon every day. You used to go to bed when the sun came up and wake up at 2 in the afternoon. You knew all the restaurants, bartenders and locals. You were a role. A local. It was your job to show everyone what paradise looks like. You made decisions with a coin. Your biggest problem in day to day life was sand. You never regretted anything. You trained puppies on the beach. You were always wondering what the next adventure would be. There was always a new story. Everywhere you needed to go was a walk down the beach. You would take 7-11 picnics of cup noddles and ice cream to people watch. You would order something on a menu if you didn’t know what it was. You were living the definition of bliss. Every second of everyday you were doing exactly what you wanted to. There were no rules. No limits. No regrets. No one to answer to except yourself. Regardless of time, you greeted everyone with “Good Morning”. You laughed about everything. Your backyard was a beach rave that only ended when the sun came up, and sometimes, not even then. You had an incomprehensible amount of freedom. And you could do anything you wanted to. If you wanted to lie in the sand and listen to reggae, no one could stop you. If you wanted to just listen to frogs in the jungle, there’s a place for it. If you wanted to photograph the sunset from a swing hanging from a palm tree, you did it. There were no street signs or addresses. Just places with names like ‘Fairyland’ (who plays the most chill music on the beach) or Cactus or Drop In (the main beach bars) or Chicken Corner (the Israeli place open 24 hours, right in the centre of it all.) You had ‘Fake-date Fridays’ and ‘Stupid Sundays’. You never stopped smiling and plans were never made beyond tomorrow. You met the most amazing people in the most unusual circumstances. Your palm trees had electrical sockets in them and the ones on the beach were lamp posts. You had no one to ask permission from or commitments to keep. Goodbyes with new friends were cause for a crazy last night, and a solemn last day, but you always had the memories. Banana shakes were a staple in your daily diet and there was fluorescent neon paint of every article of clothing you owned. You met a lot of people older than you and every single one said one of two things: “I wish I’d done something like that when I was your age.” or “I did something like that when I was your age and it was the best decision I ever made.” Not once have you heard of anyone who did something like this, and regretted it. Everyday you said “We are the luckiest kids in the world.” And you were. It was difficult for you to understand how people could go through their entire lives and not experience some of the things you were experienceing on a daily basis. You didn’t have memories. You were memories. You were hitting levels that you didn’t even know could exist and no one could bring you down, ever. You were untouchable in your youth. Never, ever, ever forget that.
When you get old, remember how when you were 20, one of the best decisions you ever made was to live in paradise. You lived in Disneyland. You stopped wearing shoes. You stopped brushing the flies off your feet. You smoked weed on a mountain and under palm trees overlooking a beautiful beach. The soundtrack of your life was decided on by the bars that you visited. You met everyone. You never turned down an invitation. If you didn’t know something, you found out. You wrote daily phrases on your arm. Your plans were written in the sand so they could be washed away every morning. You knew the phase of the moon every day. You used to go to bed when the sun came up and wake up at 2 in the afternoon. You knew all the restaurants, bartenders and locals. You were a role. A local. It was your job to show everyone what paradise looks like. You made decisions with a coin. Your biggest problem in day to day life was sand. You never regretted anything. You trained puppies on the beach. You were always wondering what the next adventure would be. There was always a new story. Everywhere you needed to go was a walk down the beach. You would take 7-11 picnics of cup noddles and ice cream to people watch. You would order something on a menu if you didn’t know what it was. You were living the definition of bliss. Every second of everyday you were doing exactly what you wanted to. There were no rules. No limits. No regrets. No one to answer to except yourself. Regardless of time, you greeted everyone with “Good Morning”. You laughed about everything. Your backyard was a beach rave that only ended when the sun came up, and sometimes, not even then. You had an incomprehensible amount of freedom. And you could do anything you wanted to. If you wanted to lie in the sand and listen to reggae, no one could stop you. If you wanted to just listen to frogs in the jungle, there’s a place for it. If you wanted to photograph the sunset from a swing hanging from a palm tree, you did it. There were no street signs or addresses. Just places with names like ‘Fairyland’ (who plays the most chill music on the beach) or Cactus or Drop In (the main beach bars) or Chicken Corner (the Israeli place open 24 hours, right in the centre of it all.) You had ‘Fake-date Fridays’ and ‘Stupid Sundays’. You never stopped smiling and plans were never made beyond tomorrow. You met the most amazing people in the most unusual circumstances. Your palm trees had electrical sockets in them and the ones on the beach were lamp posts. You had no one to ask permission from or commitments to keep. Goodbyes with new friends were cause for a crazy last night, and a solemn last day, but you always had the memories. Banana shakes were a staple in your daily diet and there was fluorescent neon paint of every article of clothing you owned. You met a lot of people older than you and every single one said one of two things: “I wish I’d done something like that when I was your age.” or “I did something like that when I was your age and it was the best decision I ever made.” Not once have you heard of anyone who did something like this, and regretted it. Everyday you said “We are the luckiest kids in the world.” And you were. It was difficult for you to understand how people could go through their entire lives and not experience some of the things you were experienceing on a daily basis. You didn’t have memories. You were memories. You were hitting levels that you didn’t even know could exist and no one could bring you down, ever. You were untouchable in your youth. Never, ever, ever forget that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
