These are just some notes that students left me.


Hi
My name is Park Su Bin.
the EngLish class is Funny good! ha ha
Tank you! <3




To: Patrick Teacher-

Hello! Patrick Teacher?
My name is Ji yeon.
Today is nice Teacher's day
and.. My favorite subjeck is English <3
and.. Today study game is very funny
so.. Teacher [awesome] have a nice Day~ <3
Good bye see you next week~ <3
bye bye~ <3

From Ji yeon




to. patrick. from. [mijoo]

Hi- Patrick~! My name is mi joo
Today is happy teacher's day
I love English
Today game is fun~!
So I enjoy today game
You are best teacher
now I hard your hear.
see you next week.

Good~bye~!




To: Patrick Teacher
From: Emily

Happy Birthday""
8/25""
your student Emily
(this is a very colorful note)




To. Patrick teacher <3
From. Diana <3
*Please only see you!


Dear, Patrick. Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday, patrick! I'm Diana.
I hope you like this present. Because,
it can be you don't like it. And,
want you don't forget to us, in
everyday. Because, you were a best
teacher! .... And, happy birthday one more
time. <3
2008.8.23 Sat<3 In Korea,
-Diana

So I finally made it home safe and sound. There are a number of things I will miss about Korea. Then again, I'm also glad to be home. My flight was long and slow, or at least felt like it. But the Kendo Master was kind enough to drive me to the airport. We had a nice, and late, party the night before. In an attempt to fight the jet lag, I slept only 2 hours that night. The Master had even given me a new sword bag and a white wooden sword with some korean writing on the blade. I really wish I had met those people sooner.

The only thing I would really wish I could have changed on this trip would have been to live with a host family. I have been following my friend Chelsea's stories from her time teaching English in Kazakhstan with the Peace Corp. She is living with a host family and is really experiencing the culture and learning the language far more than I learned Korean. Of course, living with a host family is a bit of a risk, you never know what the family is going to be like.

Now though, I have been offered a job teaching Taekwondo up in Simi Valley. My only fear on this one is that I'm going to be diving in head first at full speed. I'll be set up for burn out if I'm not careful. But I KNOW I want to be teaching tkd. I don't have all the details on this school but it's relatively small. Master Rowe sold it to Mrs. Nack who already owns the Camarillo school. I've worked with all the instructors in Camarillo so there shouldn't be any communication problems. My only obstacles that stand in my way from taking the next step in tkd is becoming a Certified Instructor. I've signed up for my first of three seminars in San Diego in October.

Now starts "the rest of my life." We'll see how it goes.




PS I want to post some of the notes students left me but that'll have to wait a little more than a week.

I'll get to probably the most odd event of the whole trip in a moment. But first I want to say that having spent this past year as a member of a minority has opened my eyes more than anything in my life. It's all fine and good to talk about discrimination issues when your the majority, but to actually understand the other perspective is something all together different. While I don't condone the steady stream of illegal immigrants from Mexico, etc., I do have a new found respect for people risking it all in a country that shuns and looks down on them. I also now understand why so many civil rights activists are so passionate about what they do.

Now for the odd event. A while back I was walking around on the other side of Sosa station when I looked up and was met with every single set of eyeballs on a bus that was making the corner. I was there, all alone, nothing around me of note, and everyone on the bus was just staring at me. The bus had stopped at the light so there was no mistaking what was going on. I felt like doing a dance so they'd have something worthy of a stare. But in Korea, all it takes is a Waeguk-en, a foreigner, and the spectacle begins. The frequency of equivalent behaviors I've experienced first hand are the most galling things in the world.

I'm cutting this post short because I must now hunt down a mosquito that turned my ankles into a buffet.

So not a lot has happened since Aiins World. I've been teaching some camps at school. Nothing exciting.

I did get the certificate for my first testing in Kumdo. 5th grade something or other. There's no belts but there is a 6 rank color belt-esk system. Not sure about the "black belt" ranks. I don't know how long it will be before I pick it up again in the states.

Did go to a small, informal kumdo party. There was a guy at kumdo who was fairly good at English. Unfortunately he's moved back to his home in Jeju so we had a goodbye party last Wednesday. That night though, I made a bet with Sahbum-nim that I could get down to a fighting weight (he suggested 85kg [187 lbs]) by 12/31/09. Cory's answered my call for help on that. It's something I've been intending to do for a while and should have done a very long time ago. The bet's $100. I'm actually not sure if I'm going to collect from him but he'll get a fresh crisp $100 bill if I loose. We even pinkie swore on it, so no going back. ;)

This'll be my last full weekend in Korea. Got a number of goodbye parties to go to. One tonight, another tomorrow. Still need to do more souvenir shopping and then start packing.

8 days and counting.

So, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week I spent at the Bucheon English Festival at the Aiins World amusement park. Don't think Disney Land when I say that though. Aiins World simply has a slew of miniatures of man made structures from around the world. It would have been a fairly good camp if it wasn't for the fact that it was the three hottest days in Korea. There's even a special chicken meal that's eaten during these three days that is supposed to help cool the body. (sigh)

But anyway, my booth was Red 9: Magic Bubbles. Suffice to say we did about 30 seconds of English before things descended into utter chaos of bubble making (lots of fun, of course, but chaos none the less). We had really big bubble rings too so the bubbles were equally as big.

There was some other entertainment besides the English booths. There was an acrobatic group that was performing in the auditorium. They were very flexible!

Not a lot went on at this camp. Nothing exciting at any rate. I picked up my second round of souvenirs while I was there; mostly for the nieces and nephews. A giant 3D puzzle of one of the temples for my self too. Should be quite challenging (especially considering that the directions are all in Hangul [oops!])

You can find pictures of the English camp as well as just about every miniature at Aiins World (I skipped most of North America) on Facebook by following these handy links:
Aiins World 1
Aiins World 2




Also had a goodbye party with the Taeglish group. Taeglish has officially ended. It's now known as "I Run" a play gym for kids to develop physically. They still do some Taekwondo and are trying to expand KESA.

So last weekend was my first (and probably only) Kumdo (굼도) test in Korea. It was really simple. We did the usual warm up (we being me, 3 other guys and 1 woman) and then put on our armor and did a simple combat drill. That was it. After we took off our helmets the Master gave praise and criticism. I was complemented on my strikes but my foot work needs... well work.

After the testing we all went out for dinner. I have to say, this group is full of some of the best people. Though, they still haven't figured out that I don't have a high tolerance for alcohol. But after that we went to a 노래방 (Karaoke room) where I was immediately prompted to sing Y.M.C.A.

It sometimes amazes me how much American culture makes it into Korean culture. Every 노래방 has several pages of English songs. Beatles, Beach Boys, Will Smith, Shrek, Billy Joel, you name a group and they probably have at least one song.

But I did enough rambling in my last post, so without further delay:

Boryong Mud Fest July 11-13, 2008

For the record, this entry is more for my own memories than for anything else. You've been warned.

( linked for length and lots of pictures )

Ok, time for a turn around from the last two posts. Today I got my armor for kumdo! Nothing can turn around a slump better than new sparring equipment. (It cost me all my overtime for the last month, $510) But hey, I got it. Though I have to note, when you get whacked by somebody it's not (hold on, just realized the armor really did change my mood. I guess I'll be in the right career soon, now where was I?) When you get whacked it's not a tap or a bump, it's a full on whack, smack, can't-help-but-blink fest. It's what comes with the territory, I guess. I'll have pictures next week.

The Instructor keeps pushing me to come in every day. I would love to do it if it was earlier in the day. But as it stands right now, I'm getting home a little past 11pm and quite frankly with the combination of a stiff bed and the hot and humid weather of Korean summer I'm not sleeping well.

If anyone has sleeping suggestions, I'm all ears.


Finally, Mud Fest is this weekend. I'm going with Alex, Min Jung, Patrick and a few others. I'll have pictures up on facebook with a link here some time next week.

So, Kendo is going well. Unfortunately it took so long to get my vacation days approved that I missed the deadline for the trip to Japan. :( But I did order the armor anyway. $540. A bit more than Taekwondo sparring gear. Also, Taekwondo has come to a close. Not the business, yet, but they couldn't pay me for the time I was putting in so now my Tuesdays and Thursdays are free for Kendo.

One of the things that make me wish I really spoke more Hangul, is the movies of medieval Korea. Here's the cliff notes version: there were once many small feudal countries in the China/Korea region. About the same time that China was consolidating into one country (see Jet Lee's "Hero"), Korea was shrinking to three. These three kingdoms fought with each other for several hundred years. Eventually the country of Shilla won out. At this point "Koryo" (believed to be the origin of the western term Korea) was roughly 2 or 3 times it's current size (and that's including North Korea). This is essentially the feudal era of Korea. After that there were a few invasions by Mongolia, Japan, and even a repelled incursion by the USA in the late 1800s. And for the record, Koreans don't call themselves "Korean" in Hangul, it's "Hanguk-en" or "Hanguk-saram."


( Rant (read at your own risk) )

So I'm out with a cold today. :( It's been raining really hard both last night and this morning; cats and dogs don't hold a candle to this storm. But anyway.


Kumdo is going quite well. The language barrier still causes some problems, but for the most part Sabum-nim is jovial and understanding. He likes to yell, but not angrily. A laugh usually follows. The curriculum focuses mostly on the downward strike. I'm still working on the coordination of it all. The stances and foot work are very different from Taekwondo. For example, in Taekwondo sparring, you turn your body to present a profile and turn your feet on an angle. In Kumdo, you stand facing perfectly forward with a very small stance, feet pointing forward.

Despite my green-ness, they've invited me to a tournament in Japan. First weekend of August. It should be fun.


As for renewing my contract, I've decided to return home after my contract is finished. As much fun as I've had here, I'm ready to return home and get back to teaching Taekwondo.

So, something besides Taekwondo.


Mrs. Dew is finally back. Evan was a good guy to work with, but he needs a lot more experience before I'd hire him as a full time independent teacher. But he did well enough working with me and teaching a subject he isn't really good at. Yay, Korea style!

Anyway, when Mrs. Dew first got back I didn't recognize her. She's had her hair curled and she's much more active. Not that she wasn't active before, she's just more so now. Tomorrow will be the first time this semester that we plan a lesson together, which means she'll come up with a worksheet and tell me the parts I'm teaching. I'm just fine with that, it's less work for me and I usually teach the same part from chapter to chapter.

She's invited me and two other teachers to her house this weekend to see her new baby. Jung Joo may come, but the special ed. teacher is coming for sure. I like to chat with her. She's traveled the world and always makes me tea. :D She made rose tea a few weeks ago and it was really good!



Also something that's not Taekwondo, I'VE SIGNED UP FOR KENDO! Wahoo! Should be fun. I'm still going to Taeglish to work on the English program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'll be at "Kumdo." (The korean word for Kendo, pronounced like "comb-do") There are about 30 adult students there which is a big plus (and almost half are women). ;)

The first month is $135 and that includes a proper cotton uniform and the bamboo sword. Subsequent months are $90. After about two months they let you buy the armor and then you can start sparring. For those that don't know about Kendo, when I say "armor" I don't mean the sparring pads like Taekwondo. I mean real full fledged metal and leather armor (and sometimes plastic, but come on, it's the 21st century, we can call plastic armor now) for the head, chest, groin and hands. That's going to run about $400. :(



Now lately, I've been considering staying an additional year. I've gotten very accustomed to living here. Not that I want to spend the rest of my life here. But another year would not be a hardship. I don't have to decide for sure until July 1st, but I'm sure Mom would like to know asap. ;) Of course that would all be on staying at this school. If they want a different teacher next year I'd just go home. But I've made several friends among the teachers and I know they'd rally to my cause if I really wanted to stay but the school wanted a new teacher.

Another year would mean an extra $100 a month plus a round trip ticket home to get a new visa. That'd be for a week or two in August. The second semester starts August 25th, but my contract goes to the 31st. (sarcastic yay for working on my birthday) But that also leaves time for me to get my Second Degree in WTF and test for First Degree in Kendo. Though I really need to test for ATA 4th Degree within the next year. I might be able to plan a vacation for Nationals or Worlds. I don't know if there is a National level WTTU testing where I could test in Korea. Still have to send off the letter to Grand Master 6 months in advance either way.

It's hard to plan that far in advance in Korea. It may be the "land of the morning calm" but it's also the homeland of procrastination and the last minute. There's an expression here that loosely translates to "You can always add another spoon to the table." Meaning a last minute guest to the dinner table is no problem and is to be expected.

Though if I stay another year here, I MUST GET SOME CURTAINS. The sun lights up every room in my apartment during the day, so forget sleeping in on weekends and holidays. I'm also going to need an a/c unit. $200 but I might be able to talk my school into buying it if I promise to leave it installed when I eventually leave.


Lastly, I have posted links to pictures on facebook. Anyone can view the pictures but I'm restricting them to my "adult" readers list. Not that there's anything really "adult" in them, but I never can tell who's reading. If you don't see a very short post next to this one with links to facebook photos, then just make a comment to this entry and I'll add you to the list.

So what has happened in the last month?

Taekwondo has gone well. I tested last weekend for 1st Degree. We stopped shooting video the week before so I could get ready. It went well, Mark, Steve, and Paul (the new guy) all helped me. I had three sparring matches before the testing though. Left me a little worried. But when we got to the testing site and I saw over 600 kids all doing mediocre poomsae, my thoughts of failure evaporated. Granted, some kids were doing very well, but some of them were very young and got more leniency. Fortunately, until you're 18, you can't actually get a black belt. Instead you get a "poom" which is like black belt limbo. So in that regard the quality of technique for a "Dan" (Degree) is higher.

I saw only three other foreigners there, two testing for 1st Degree and the other tested for an additional Degree. I didn't get to talk to them, they were from a different region and so were testing at a different time.

At this point my only thoughts were of looking like a fool if I forgot a section of poomsae or sparred ATA style instead of WTF style. Though the fool part got handled by Mark and Steven. Apparently they weren't paying very good attention to the announcer because I nearly missed my testing group. The other two testers in my group had already finished their poomsae before I finally got down on the floor. :(

But no harm done, the judges watched me separately and I even got applause from the center judge (which apparently never happens). I did poomsae chapters 3 and 8 and other than deeper stances I think I did well by my own standards.

Sparring was only head and chest pads. My opponent had to spar a second round with me, but even though they were short he played very defensively, staying way out of range. After 30 seconds the match ended and the judge talked to the floor coordinator who then talked to my opponent and we were back at it for a rematch. This time the other guy was much more engaged. Somewhere in it all the top of my left foot got smacked hard and it's still sore. Can't remember how, why or when for that one. Got kicked in the throat too, and if we hadn't been keeping our distance, it would have been a match ender. But I got quasi-payback when I reacted to a kick with a push block. Basically I palm heeled the top of his foot. Didn't think about it until I launched a counter round kick, but neither of us left the match with hard feelings.

Now I have my 1st Degree in Korean Taekwondo. Next stop might be a Kendo studio just up the street. Mark wants to go to so I'll have an update next time.


The filming is almost complete. We have filmed all but the last poomsae and kick terminology. I'm trying to design a rhythm for chapter 1 that I can turn into an Midi file and distribute to our members. That way no one will mess up the syllables again. All in all we're almost ready for our first seminar which is on the 10th of next month. Should be interesting.

That's all I have for now. I'll try to add another post before friday, but no promises. ;)

Let's see, so since my last post most of the regular classes have begun. I've been working with two substitute teachers and they've been working ok. They haven't passed the test to become full teachers, but they did well enough. Though disciplining the students was apparently something that isn't covered in teacher training. Fortunately this past week my advanced class started again. A hand full of familiar faces there out of 21 in all. Don't know when the teacher's class is supposed to start, though.

( Pictures from the Teachers' Dinner )

Mark invited me to visit his home town and meet his parents. So I had a fun time on Ganghwa Island (I think I spelled it right). By Sunday his parents were referring to me with the Korean word for son and had me calling them "ohma" and "ahpa", the equivalent of ma and pa respectively. It's customary for Koreans to refer to the parents of good friends this way and vice versa. Ohma is learning the piano and that's most of what I know about her and ahpa is a bus driver. He is also a black belt in Judo. Well I can say one more thing about ohma, she can drink me under the table. ;)

( Ganghwa )

We also stopped by Mark's old Taekwondo studio where he trained as a kid. It was interesting. Not just that they had two separate and very different work out floors (one for sparring and the other for poomsae) but they also had a small indoor golf driving range. Netted of course, not a full driving range.

Finally, I got a new electric piano. It's not really fancy, though not that I had much choice, it was the only one with enough keys. I also finally got an mp3 player. Even got it at almost $100 off. 4GB, picture capable display and heat sensitive "buttons."

( more pics )


OK, real final bit. We've started filming for a new English program at Taekwondo. It's called English Active Taekwondo (EAT for short, lol). It's been a creation between mark and I. We've gotten through our introduction video and some of the basic English words. Now if only I can get them to film faster than an average of 10 minutes of video an hour.

( Peter would probably die, or kill us )


OK, Very last thing. For a little amusement, everyone should goto www.BaboShirts.com where they have some very funny shirts for Waeguks. If you want to understand the pictures or text better, click on the image.

I think it's safe to say it's not going to snow again this winter. The weather is finally warming up (a high of 44F today). Though I haven't taught a single class since I got back, yet. The first week back from vacation was the last week of the school year. The kids were at school, but they didn't really take any classes. For the past two weeks I've still be required to come into school, but it's their spring break so I had nothing to do but plan. And I wrapped that up by the time I went home on Tuesday. So mostly I've been wondering aimlessly around the internet, listened to books on tape, and setting a new record on Minesweeper.

Now though is the first week of the new school year. Not much has happened today. Unfortunately, for the next couple weeks I'm going to be working with two substitutes. BOTH of my new co-teachers are out on maternity leave. Jung Joo is now a 3rd grade homeroom teacher. Mrs. Dew has been bumped up to grades 4 and 6 english teacher. She and her new son are both doing fine and I've already received an invitation to the boy's 100 day party. I haven't met the grade 3 and 5 teacher yet. The substitutes are not very good at english, but they are very eager and have met with me to plan the classes ahead of time, which is nice.

Taekwondo is having a few rough spots too. This is the big enrollment time and if they can't get enough students then they are going to have to close. Lately I've been the only foreigner coming to class. Jeremy had surgery on his foot and the stitches got infected. He hasn't been in since and that was almost two months ago. Alan's been sick and I think has just fallen out of the habit. Martin's "knee has been acting up" which on one hand may be true but lately his impatience with the learning style has been causing some friction. I've also heard a rumor that Martin is going to be changing schools. Hopefully the new teacher is close to my age and is interested in trying some Taekwondo.

Though not everything has been a downer lately. Mark and I have been working to make Korean English Sports Program: English Taekwondo. Basically I've been working with him to add a lot more english to his Taekwondo classes. We've made one-steps for the Kukkiwon style with english idioms, I've made a short new Bong Mahng EE form with english words, we've added words to the Kukkiwon poomsaes, and we're still bouncing around some other ideas. We want to make an instruction program to teach other instructors how to teach in english. This is a different approach to having just one school teaching english and Taekwondo together. It will be more of a certification program. The next big step is to record all our creations to video and see if there are any instructors out there who are interested. Steven may also be adding to some sort of "English Growth Exercise."

At first I was very skeptical about making this program and just went along with it. Now though it is showing a lot of potential. I really hope it will work. Because Taeglish doesn't have enough students, Mark has been making only ~$325 a month.

That's all for now. It's lunch time at school and all I can say is I hope it's not octopus. Again.

All of this information comes from my "Beautiful Korean" book that I'm learning Hangul from.

First, History:
"Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was invented by King Sejong the Great in 1443. It consists of consonants and vowels. Korean vowels were made according to the forms of heaven, earth and human beings. Consonants were made according to the shapes of speech organs such as the tongue, teeth, lips and throat... The first characteristic of Hangul is that it is very easy to learn. This is because King Sejong the Great uniquely invented Hangul for people who could not use Chinese characters. Hangul is internationally recognized as a unique and scientific invention, which was registered as the greatest cultural heritage of the world by UNESCO in 1997. Furthermore, since 1990, the "King Sejong Literacy prize" has been awarded by UNESCO for the elimination of illiteracy on Hangul Day (October 9th) every year."

( Hangul letters )

This is mostly a picture entry. I have some photos of vacation, Taeglish and my apartment.

( click here for the pictures )

I'm also adding pictures to my scrapbook
http://pics.livejournal.com/ptrick_in_korea/?sort=alpha
(let met know if that link works) :)

Here's a little grammar for you. The sentence bellow has been properly translated into Hangul and then word for word translated back into English. This will give you some idea about how hard it is to learn English when you already know Hangul and vise versa.

English: Even though I told John not to take the chemistry class, he took it.
Hangul: Even though I John chemistry class not to take told John it took.

This was the most sacred and #1 National Treasure of Korea. Now it is destroyed by arson thanks to a man protesting the korean equivalent of Eminent Domain. He has turned himself in, but 610 years of histroy was completely destroyed. The only thing that was saved was the main sign. They say it will take 3 years to rebuild and $21 million, but it will only be a replica. It was once the south gate in the old capital wall. Traditionally that is the most important and grand gate.



( More pictures of before, a video of the fire and after shots )

Ok, so it's been a little while since my last post. So let me see if I can remember everything that's happened since Thanksgiving.

The weather has gotten really cold. It hasn't been above freezing since about Christmas. Friday it actually snowed all day. It's snowed at night but nothing of particular significance. It looks like tomorrow will have a high of 26 degrees F.

I've learned all eight color belt forms for Taekwondo. I can't quite keep chapters 7 and 8 straight yet, but I still have some time. I've found out that I have to be in the country for 6 months before I can test in Kukkiwon, so that means I can test some time in March. The state of the average Taekwondo facility here troubles me quite a bit. But I will save that for later since it falls under a broader umbrella topic. But I have been working with Mark on the English curriculum for Taeglish. One thing we are doing is incorporating English with One-steps. Mark and I are still settling on the idioms we will use and once that is done we will create the One-steps.

I've been out for a night on the town with the other Taekwondo instructors twice now. They're good guys. Friday we all went to Steven's new house for a house warming party. We all shared some pictures of our friends and family, played a few video games, drank a few beers, etc. Unfortunately, Mark's girlfriend had dumped him on Thursday so he was constantly shouting "Let's Die!" which is a Korean way of saying he wanted to get really, really drunk.

On a better note, Martin, Jeremy, Alan and I participated in a demo at Taeglish. It was a Christmas party and we did poomsae and board breaks after the kids. Santa even showed up for a visit. I have a DVD of it too.

Thanksgiving wasn't much to speak of. There's no holiday for it here; the closest thing is Chusok which is in September. I didn't do anything special so it mostly went by without notice. Christmas, though is a holiday over here, but not much of one. I had to teach regular classes on Christmas Eve but Christmas day I had off. I got a package from home with a couple presents and a stocking full of candy. It was nice, but long way from a Christmas "as usual" with all the family. And of course, the next day was back to teaching again.

That was the last week of regular classes, though. The following week was the start of the winter vacation. I didn't teach any classes except advanced class, but I still had to be at school at 8:40am. I get paid more than any first year teacher, so I can understand the want to get me to work as much as possible. But it is a bit of a hassle to go to school and do nothing for 6 hours. As a matter of fact, I believe a few teachers have a bit of animosity towards me because of my pay. Fortunately, the only thing they've done is quit my teachers class.

New Years was fun, though. Hung out with Alex, Pat and Min Jong. Even bumped into Melodi (the teacher who had my job last year). Alex and Pat are from Canada and Min Jong's from SK. We started with a few games of bowling, then went to an all you can eat buffee, and ended up at Rocky Mountain Tavern for the countdown to midnight. I believe I got home around 5am. Thank goodness school was closed that day.







Also went out for a friend's birthday party. Her dad and sisters were in the country for a week.



This past week was my first English Camp. 10 3rd graders came in for 3 hours a day. Unfortunately, they didn't speak much English. On top of that, I didn't know what to expect with these kids. But all in all I think it went well. We did things like Tung Twisters, "Eeny, menie, miney moe", a little bit of sign language, a card game called "Slap", and some new vocabulary words. They also watched some movies, in English of course, but with Hangul subtitles. I have some pictures below. The kid on the end who looks sad had just been in a fight with one of the other kids (the only incident during my whole camp, I must point out).





And here are a few pictures of a couple girls from advanced class. Doodlebug is the short one, Violet is the taller one, and Layla only shows up in just the one. I let them play with the camera on my laptop during break time when I happen to bring it along to class.

Sorry to any republicans, and I'll have a real update soon. I promise.