Elections: Korean Style

Today marks the blissful close to South Korea's 2006 election period. I don't really know all the details, but apparently the entire country's municipal elections are held at the same time. This has meant that for the past 3 weeks rigorous campaigning has taken place in every nook and cranny of this tiny country. Let me assure you that campaigning Korean-style looks nothing like our tacky lawn-signs and occasional door-to-door hand-shaking. No, here we've had dozens of trucks circling the city, blaring our campaign songs from 7am to 10pm DAILY. There are advocates for each candidate positioned at the major street corners, dressed in matching outfits, singing songs, handing out yogurt drinks and dried squid, whose ceaseless attempts to pester pedestrian and distract drivers grew old after day 1. Some of the larger apartment complexes (read: mine) even have advocates positioned at the driveways leading in and out of our buildings to ensure that we are bowed to each and every time we pass through. If you're really lucky you'll get an impassioned Adjuma (read: older Korean woman) taking up the mike at one of the many soap-boxes which have sprung up in our parking lots, admonishing the transgressors and extolling the virtues of Mr. Mokpo 1-9. All of this is delivered directly into our apartments via the 1000000000mhz sound systems that are installed in each one of these temporary lecterns. Long-story-short: sleep has been hard to come by recently. I am thanking the heavens above that it will be over by nightfall but even that doesn't seem quite soon enough.

I must admit, however, that it has been a crazy spectacle to witness. I don't think I would have believed it had I not endured it myself, and I'm certain I'll never be able to explain it well-enough to capture the full extent of its irritation. Who knows, perhaps I'll even feel nostalgic about the whole affair when I return to the apathetic election climate in Canada. At least there's a real drive here to get people involved. The voting day was even declared a National Holiday to ensure that everyone would have the opportunity to vote.

Tracy's Sour Grapes: Yes, it was declared a National Holiday but did our Academy take the day off? Not a chance. Here's to democracy...

Reverie Sound Revue

Thanks to the wonder of CBC Radio 3's weekly podcasts I have discovered the late, GREAT Canadian band Reverie Sound Revue. Particularly of note is their track "Walking around waiting downtown." Listening to it I am immediately transported back to my idle days of riding and rambling around downtown Toronto waiting for life to happen.

How much will my city have changed by the time I return? I shudder to think. Maybe the monster that will be the R.O.M. will finally be finished? I cannot even fathom how that metal skeleton will transform into a suspended sun-room for antique objects. I am excited to return. It's just not going to happen just yet...

Ferocious Flatmates

I committed a grievous error the other day. There were 2 salmon steaks left in the freezer of our apartment by the previous residents which neither Jessica nor I had claimed. The other day Jess let me know she was taking one and asked if I wanted the other. I said I did and thought nothing of it. Then I noticed a salmon steak sitting in the refrigerator thawing. Remembering that Jess said she "was taking one" almost a week prior I assumed that she had already eaten hers and that this was the lone salmon steak left to thaw into oblivion if I didn't do something about it. So I marinated it in lemon and dill and ate the damn thing. Of course it turned out that the second steak was still somewhere in the freezer and I had just ruined a well-planned dinner. I am the unthinking insensitive asshole in this matter -- admittedly. But I thought the passive-aggressive note that was left for me on my return from work was too priceless to go without photos. Apparently sharing is not one of my strong points.

End of an Ex-pat Era

The time has come for the first ex-pat's I met in Mokpo, those who threw out the lifeline and rescued me from certain loneliness, to return to Canada. After more fiascos than I could even begin to record here, Todd and Laura are returning home to Toronto for an unknown period of time. Suffice to say they wanted to stay but things really didn't work out.

At the bar last night I met a whole whack of new people. Apparently a large group has just arrived to teach in Mokpo's elementary schools. But for me their arrival only signaled the wave of departures that will wash over this place in the coming months. All the people who I first met: who directed me, instructed me, encouraged and cavorted with me, are leaving the picture. Some are leaving with plans to conquer more of the Far East. Others are returning to their respective homelands.

I can't help but feel a mix of emotions. In this microcosm of the working world, it is all too apparent how fleetingly people pass in and out of our lives. How they can have a tremendous impact and then be absent a day later. The "good-bye's" are just now beginning, and over the course of the next two months they will ebb and flow until the foreign faces of Mokpo have eroded entirely; transformed from those who were into those who will be. There are those with whom I would like to stay in contact: we exchange all the necessaries and part with the best intentions of writing. But most of these connections, wittingly or otherwise, will be lost along the way. Beginnings and endings are so pronounced here that it's hard to avoid the "bigger picture". Where are and who are the selected few without whom life would be unbearable? Have I told them they mean this much to me? Do they know how much I need them all the time? How weak I'd be without them? How can I pursue my ambitions without risking our bond? If I stood still would it be easier for either of us, or just as hard?

I feel the need to express my tremendous gratitude to everyone who has made my time here (in Mokpo and on Earth) a bit easier, a bit brighter, and 100% worthwhile. I don't write, I don't e-mail, and I definitely don't phone, but you're in my heart and mind every day, in everything I do. Thank you all.

Everything is Illuminated

P.S. I watched this film yesterday and LOVED it. No tears but deep thoughts.

The Laura who's leaving...

You will be missed, cheri!

Work Horse

Yesterday may have been my worst working day so far. I arrived at the academy shortly after 2pm and did not leave until 1am this morning. We are to begin testing the students next week and so I had to compose a huge stack of written examinations. On top of that, our older students will be participating in a speaking competition on June 17th that requires them to read 7-8 English novels. Guess who else has to read all those novels...?! And lastly, it is our school's policy that each student submit a 1 to 2-page diary each week, written on a topic of their or our choice. This means that I have a mean stack of notebooks cluttering my desk that haven't even been touched let alone corrected.

Next week we will administer all of the tests, which means I will also have to mark all the tests. Once that is done it will be my turn to write the written commentary regarding each students loquacity on our almost-monthly report cards. As of yesterday our enrollment was just shy of 300 students.

This all means that I may be buried beneath a mountain of work for a short time, but I promise to resurface sometime in mid-June. Last night I considered consoling my silent complaints with the fact that, at 1am, I wasn't the last person to leave our academy: there were still students half my age studying in our "listening lab" and my boss was still teaching a class to our high school students. Alas, that fact merely perturbed me all the more. If ever I thought it was tough being a student in Canada I'm now ready to admit that I was wrong. I've seen the dark side of the moon. It's not pretty. We had it good -- REALLY good.

B is for Bomb

I firmly believe that, although it is a far cry from the binding broadcasting system John Grierson envisioned in 1939, the NFB of Canada has been and is involved in creating some of the best documentary films the world over.

South African documentary filmmaker Carey McKenzie's short film B is for Bomb (produced in U.S.A) was recently selected as the winner of the Cannes 2006 Online Film Competition. Narrated by a child, the film is an alphabetical listing of the hazards of nuclear power.

Having just returned from Hiroshima I found this film's message intelligible and intelligent. I encourage you to view it (for free!) if you have the time. The link is listed below.

http://www.silenceoncourt.tv/silencelight/?lg=en

Pride and Pointlessness

Today I was asked to discuss Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with my most advanced conversation class. In case you're unaware, P&P (as it is respectfully referred to by those of us who've read the book and/or watched the BBC mini-series more than 5 times) is THE BOOK that changed my reading life. It was the first book I ever "fell in love with" and it was my favorite book for a very long time.

Some might consider the opportunity to share their latent literary love with others a fantastic break. Being paid for the chance might seem like a dream come true. For me, however, I knew it was going to be trouble the moment the assignment arrived on my desk. Love can make one very particular about the object of their affection. Perhaps a bit protective. Remember: these are ESL students. They're our brightest ESL students, but the oldest of them isn't yet 16 years old, and as brilliant as I would have you believe me to be, I certainly didn't catch every wry witticism Jane pulled out of her hat the first time I read the novel -- and English is my first language! Having to explain, translate, summarize and simplify every theme, character, progression and conflict will end up killing both P&P and me. Yes, I am irrationally irritated. I know I'm an ESL teacher. But I don't enjoy stripping the wonder from my one-time-favorite novel just for the sake of some silly speaking competition. I just don't want to do it.

Today I attempted to explain what "sarcasm" is and how it can be detected within written discourses. We then discussed what "pride" and "prejudice" are and where they can be found in the novel. We spent 15 minutes decoding the novel's first sentence alone. June is going to be a long, long month. Poor Jane is probably rolling over in her grave. R.I.P&P.

Dobok

I've splurged and bought myself a new Tae Kwon Do uniform, formally known as a "dobok". It is made by Adidas, its material is soft yet sturdy, it has the name of my school proudly printed on its back, there is a Korean flag stitched on its front, and generally I'm feeling like it's the coolest thing I own at present. I'm so giddy I might even sleep in the darn thing tonight! I never thought I'd be this excited about Tae Kwon Do, but now that the whole "you are going to be tested for your Black belt even though you're nowhere close to being ready for such a trail"-thing is over I am starting to enjoy the sport more and more. I'm very happy with my Red Belt and I wouldn't mind leaving Korea without advancing (colour-wise) any further.

Training in the humidity has proved to be a bit uncomfortable. I end up sweating like a beast after 5 minutes whereas my Master seemingly lasts the entire session without secreting a single bead of saline. It's terribly embarrassing! I'm actually beginning to believe the rumors circulating around the JimJillBong that Koreans don't perspire, which would explain the absence of ANY deodorants in Mokpo's supermarkets. Apparently you can go to the doctor and get a prescription to issue you some deodorant if you're really desperate, but I cannot be alone in thinking that that's a bit of a drastic measure. I'm just talking about some good old-fashioned sweat here. Jeeze!

Ok, so I'm sleeping in the Dobok tonight. It's official. I'm a loser. But I'll kick your ass if you say anything about it!

The GREat "GRE"

To apply to NYU's Cultural Reporting and Criticism program I will have to take the GRE entrance exam. I've been looking into taking out here, if possible, and fortunately it seems as though that might not be too difficult. There's a testing centre an hour away from where I live, and there should be a testing date in late October which I'll be available to take prior to my November departure. I've only just begun looking into all this, but already I'm finding myself horribly intimidated and anxious about taking the test. It's been years since I took the SAT's and that was anything but easy. There's something about taking standardized tests which really rubs me the wrong way, but then I'm also conflicted because I understand their merits and why they are deemed necessary by institutions of education. So that leaves me where? Nowhere. But I guess I should start studying...

Drinking

I've spent the last two nights out drinking. This morning, er... afternoon I woke up with a hideous hang-over and the resolve (which dissolved about 3 hours later) to never drink again. I can find no response to this state of affairs. I enjoy drinking with friends. I only drink socially. But there are some nights when my consumption gets out of hand. I blame my ingestion abilities entirely on Rugby, which introduced my very early to the drink and solidified my stomach to withstand alcohol's vilest volumes. These bad nights don't always happen, but they are frequent enough to be annoying and unsettling. Perhaps the introspective afternoons which follow such nights are fruitful enough to warrant their existence. All the same they are a nuisance and they bother my brain.

That's enough kvetching for today. Thanks.

Bob's Thoughts

I'm quite tickled with my new roommates. Bob and Wanda are no more exciting than a moving poster, but they please me greatly. I do think Bob has some deeper thoughts about his circumstances since he has lived somewhat longer than Wanda so I think I'll sometimes post Bob's "deep thoughts" on this blog, just to keep things interesting.

Sound good? Good.

Oh, and it's Wanda. In case you were wondering...

Meet Bob and ....?

I've inherited un poisson from a departing Irish bird. Meet Bob and his new female friend:

I have yet to select her name. She is rather flighty and frilly in contrast to Bob, but I think the "feminine influence" will do him some good. These are the top title contenders so far:

- Martha
- Wanda
- Namjacan ("Fish Cake" in Korean)

Any and all suggestions/opinions will be graciously accepted.

Back in Action

So... I guess I've been a bit M.I.A. over the last 4 months, but I swear I've been LEGITIMATELY preoccupied.

It all fell apart following my first trip to Seoul. (Details will soon follow regarding the "breakdown in communication". Suffice to say it is my intention to "turn over a new leaf".)

As I edge closer to the half-way point of my Asian excursion there are many things that I'd like to change about my daily conduct. Maintaining this Blog is one of them. I am resolved to make it one of my top priorities. Please feel free to write hate-mail responses when I neglect to keep up my end of the bargain. I'm sure you can appreciate how much more motivating it is to write when it seems as though someone is listening and is perhaps even interested in what you've got to say.

So this is my Blog. I hope you enjoy it.

World Friendship Center

While passing through Hiroshima, Japan, my parents and I stayed at a small Bed and Breakfast called the World Friendship Center. It is a small American-style oasis in the middle of the world's first A-Bombed city. We were hosted by Pauline and Don, two retired non-profit volunteers who run and teach out of the house that was created and is maintained by an American Church group. Although my parents found the futons uncomfortable (in comparison to the luxury beds at the Westin), the atmosphere was homey and comfortable. It was a nice break from the impersonal hotel rooms we stayed in everywhere else.

Hiroshima itself is also wonderful. The A-Bomb museum is moving and informative without being preachy or angry. The city is a thriving metropolis full of life. Their art gallery is small but worth visiting and their wide boulevards are perfect for biking. On the whole it came close to being the highlight of my trip.

Japan may still wish to invade and conquer South Korea...

... but they won't do it before I invade and conquer them!

I'm off for my first "vacation" in 5.5 months.
(Quotation marks are necessitated due to the "parental guidance" designation of the trip -- Yeesh!)
Wish me LUCK!!!