selectivememories

Monday, June 26, 2006

This is us one week after the fire. Always stopping back by the apartment to try and salvage something. The clothes that appeared to be salvageable normally just fell to pieces once it was picked up or pulled out of the wash.

And then there's the lovely picnic we had with the school just off of Dolson Bridge the next afternoon. The older women on the ferry--the one just squishing the kids--is Olivia. She's our hilarious co-teacher that I will miss dearly.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I'm Gonna Burn One Down

Ever heard of the song? It's a Ben Harper song. Well, I did burn one down. Make sure you check out the before picture only one night before the damage below. It was April 2nd--just hours earlier we were pulling April fools pranks on one another. I kept thinking to myself: please let this be an awful joke someone pulled on me. Nope.

And it is as bad as it looks. Every room was torched. If it wasn't completely torched up by the fire, then it was awfully smoke damaged. The pics speak for themselves I guess.

What a lovely apartment!

Here is our apartment only hours before it would burn down. Awwww....everyone's having so much fun, it's such a nice get together in such a cute apartment.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

The Sounds of Settling

Practically everyone that I've been in contact with since coming to South Korea knows that I don't like South Korea--at least that's what I've said to over a dozen people. I'm here to tell you I was being a little over dramatic, though you may have already decided that on your own.

But I have to be honest, I just haven't liked my job. It's too easy to attack an entire country which is still foreign to you and to whom everyone you vent. "It must be so hard living there." I kind of take this and run with it whenever it's a response. "It is! You're right!" Really it doesn't matter where I am, it's only hard living somewhere if my attitude sucks. I came to South Korea with a here-to-save-money mentality and certain I wouldn't find adventure or love in anything here. The shitty attitude perpetuated when I started my shitty job.

It all started with the terror class of 10 wicked children that I teach 10 times a week. You never realize that children so young, and some say innocent, can lead you to feel so sorry for yourself that you end up laying in bed all weekend watching the entire Six Feet Under series, wishing you had a feeding tube and bed pan so you didn't have to get up every-other hour. (I really only did that once.) Teaching children sucks.

So I don't like my job. I have choosen this lifestyle that enables me to live in goofy places and easily move on when I'm ready. I sometimes feel guilty about complaining about not liking my job and wanting to quit, because I know so many people that hate there jobs back in the States and deal with it. I'm not that tough.

What I wanted to fix with anyone still nice enough to be reading this much, was my horrible impression I've given about living in South Korea when I should've been reacting to children and how awful they are to be around in groups over 4. (Was that a run-on sentence?)

Korea is great. Many people are eager to help you. Most are well-dressed and educated. The streets are clean. The subways are well organized. Homelessness appears to be nonexistant aside from the occational blind man walking through the subway, playing his harmonica for a few coins. People feel an obligation to support those in need. You should see how happy people are to toss in a bill when a beggar crosses their path. What else? Men are respectful. They don't hoot and hollar at you. Period. No weird whistles, no crude comments, no unsettling stares. It's affordable for me to live here. Technology is well-advanced. My internet connection is fast. The food is good (or I should say growing on me). I like living in South Korea.