Life Is Just the Same...

...here in Korea.


No, really.


See, I continue to read voraciously. That hasn't changed at all. I still buy books. The only way that has been altered is the quantity of books I purchase.


I've done quite a bit of shopping while here in Korea. I like having tangible souvenirs of the places I visit. So I buy things.


I decided to take a picture of the major things I've purchased up to this point. Why? Because I can, of course.

The books are (from left) Blankets by Craig Thompson, Fun House by Alison Bechdel, Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips and Persepolis(the boxed set) by Marjane Satrapi. 

I bought a man-bag in Namdaemun. It's handy and a convenient size. Plus: lots of pockets. 

The bag is propped against the printer I purchased. On top of the printer is the wireless router. You can see the antenna!

There's a pipe and two pins that I purchased at the Mt. Odu Unification Observatory. The pipe is supposedly a product of North Korea. The pins are of the South Korean flag and of the observatory itself. The observatory is all about the propaganda of unifying the two Koreas. The message I got was that South Korea wants to unify to benefit their cousins in the North, but North Korea keeps screwing things up.

And last, but not least, is the Samsung Galaxy S II. Great phone. Best phone I've ever owned, actually. Here's the cool thing about buying a phone in South Korea: In the phone box, you get the phone, headphones, and a charger. All pretty normal. What makes the purchase great is everybody with a smartphone gets a spare battery and a battery charger. So you can use the phone while the spare battery is charging! Brilliant!

Oh yeah, I also purchased a 2TB external hard-drive. I like having it.

And there you go!

Adventuring...

I have this week off.  Monday was the Chuseok holiday here in Korea. It's generally a three day celebration, so Sunday and Tuesday were included. As I teach in a week-long program, I got the week off. And got paid for it, though it came out of my vacation days. Kind of a mandatory holiday. But I have twenty days total, so no big deal.


On Monday I went to Everland with a group of friends. Everland is Korea's Disneyland. Fun amusement park. It doesn't have as many thrill rides as Disneyland does, but the prices are more reasonable. Both to get in and to buy food and souvenirs once inside.


The first rollercoaster we chose didn't have a very long line, which was nice. The security harness did not fit over me. That wasn't nice. I couldn't go on the ride! Very rude. So I waited.


The next rolloercoaster I attempted to ride had a line that lasted 2 hours to get through. Crazy! I was able to ride, though Chelsea wasn't. This coaster was a wooden one that features the steepest drop of any wooden coaster in the world. Really! Look up "T-Express" on Wikipedia and you'll see I speak the truth. The initial drop felt like it was vertical. I'm sure it wasn't, but that's what it felt like.


My favorite "ride," however, was the Rotating House. There were fantasy paintings on the walls as I waited in line. Gave me something to look at. When I went into the room that starts the ride, a pair of gargoyles began to speak and argue with each other. One was evil and one was good. The evil one had an evil laugh and red eyes, so I knew he was evil. The good one had a kind voice and blue eyes, so I knew he was good. 


I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying, though. All in Korean.


After the gargoyle argument, the group of park visitors I was with proceeded to the next room, which had four long benches, two running down each long side of the room. Once seated, a lap bar lowered down until I was securely held into place.


The gargoyles across from where I sat came to life, their eyes glowing red! The room began to rock back and forth! I began to get dizzy.  


Then the room began spinning! I was staring down at the floor from up above it!  It must have been magic holding me up there, as I was not pressing against the lap bar at all. 


Then blue lights started shining from behind me, and I knew the good gargoyles had started to try and protect me.  The room began spinning the other way, because the good gargoyles were trying to protect me.


Faster and faster the room was spinning. First one way and then the other. I didn't know when it would stop. 


Then, with a puff of air that exploded in my face, the room came to a rest, the right side up. The evil gargoyles' eyes flickered on and off, then turned off for good. Thunder crashed outside, and lightning flashed through the skylight. I saw a demon's face in the skylight! The good gargoyles must have chased him off.


I thought I was safe, then I felt something moving underneath my butt, inside the bench! It scared me and I jumped! It ran back and forth underneath me a few times, then went away.


The lights came on and the lap bar went back up. The doors opened again, but the room on the way out was upside down! I felt like I was stuck to the ceiling!


Then I went outside the house and felt safe again.


....
Seriously, though, the Rotating House was a lot of fun. Sorry for the abrupt change of voice. It just came over me.


The last ride I went on was the Log Ride. It was lots of fun. I was in a log with Chelsea and our friend Brandon. I even bought the keychain with our picture in it. Only seven bucks!


It really was a fun day. Liked it a lot.

Photo Dump: Beautiful Bugs and Creepy Crawlies...

Since coming to Korea, I've seen many amazing creatures. I try to catch them with my camera as best I can. I just wanted to share them with you.

I frequently see these huge black butterflies. But they move so fast and so rarely stop that it's hard to get my camera out in time to snap a picture. One finally landed in my vicinity, so I got a couple good pictures.

There are many dragonflies flitting around. I didn't realize they came in such vivid colors until I started taking pictures.

This spider was hanging out at the bus stop for Everland, an amusement park near Seoul. This guy was about four inches long. If you look at the full size picture, she (I'm guessing it's female due to its size) has a white skull shape on her back.

The next two photos were taken just outside the back gate to the English Village. This spider was about two inches long. If I were going to attempt to kill this one, or the previous one, I would want a flame thrower. I'm not going anywhere near that with a shoe!

And there you go! 

Good Books Are...

...a traumatic experience.


No, really, hear me out.


Anyone who reads more or less constantly knows that finding a new book to read is a challenge. And heaven knows that the ratio of good books to okay books is pretty small. And the ratio of okay books to crappy books is even smaller.


When you look at it that way, finding a book you like is a rather miraculous experience. 


Let's say I'm at the bookstore, looking through shelves and shelves of books. I see a title that looks intriguing. It's not trying to be clever, it's not a pun and it doesn't give away key plot points. I read the author's name. Not someone I've read before, but I've seen his name mentioned in interviews where an author I enjoy is talking about authors he likes. So I think, "Hey, I'll give this a shot."


After making my purchase, I go to a restaurant or fast food joint, place my order and start to read.  


So far, so good. The first chapter is enticing. I like the protagonist. I think I can see where the story is going to go, but there is a distinct possibility I'll be surprised. 


Then I really start getting into the book. The supporting characters are well-formed and feel like real people. The settings are given enough description that I can almost see them in my head. 


I'm completely pulled into the book now, starting to read faster and faster. I know I should take my time and savor the experience, but I can't help myself. It's so good, I just want to devour it. I stay up late, thinking, "I'll read through the next chapter." 


I tell myself that four more times before I go to sleep. 


When I wake up, and I mean alert-and-thinking wake up, not just get-out-of-bed wake up, I open the book again and keep reading over breakfast. 


The next thing I know, I've finished the book, and I'm not ready for it to be over. I sit staring at the cover for a few minutes, the reader's version of an athlete catching his breath.


The glow, the rapture, of reading an enjoyable book is transformed into a new desperation: I have to find another book to read. I almost don't dare look for something new. What if I end up with a bad book? It takes me an hour or so to work up the nerve to browse my "Unread" bookshelf for my next affair. 


I make my selection, praying it won't let me down. I open the cover. The smell of book wafts out and my eyes become unfocused for a moment. I take a deep breath and hold it to the count of five.


I start to read.

Well-Read in Korea, Part One...

As mentioned in other posts, I read books. Lots and lots of books. 


It's quite possible that I have an addiction, though I would claim that it was a healthy addiction, as opposed to others I may or may not have.


I've started keeping a book journal of what I have been reading. Well, not so much a journal as a list. Luckily, these books are available on the Kindle, which makes it easy to carry a  whole bunch at once, so I rarely experience a delay between when I finish a book and when I start the next.


I am going to share the books I have read since the last week of June, when my books were almost all boxed up and I was ready to come to Korea.


Here is the list:
1.  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
2. Eve's Diary by Mark Twain
3. Extracts from Adam's Diary by Mark Twain
4. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
6. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
7. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
8. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
9. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
10. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
11. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
12. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
13. Altogether Dead by Charlaine Harris
14. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
15. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
16. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
17. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
18. River Marked by Patricia Briggs
19. The Godwulf Manuscript by Richard B. Parker
20. Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
21. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
22. The Lost World by Michael Crichton
23. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
24. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
25. The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
26. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson


And that's my list. So far. Twenty six books in two months is a pretty good pace. Don't know I will keep at the same pace, but it seems likely. I read.


A lot.

High School, Blankets, and Graphic Novels...

This past week I taught students from Yeonchun High School. Most of the lessons/activities I taught were the same as those I teach for other groups. There were just two big differences. At the beginning of the week, when the students had just arrived, I interviewed half of them to determine how fluent they were in English.  That was new. Then, at the end of the week, I helped them prepare presentations that they were to give in English. I also helped critique their presentations. That was also new.


When I found out that I was to be teaching a group of high school students, I wasn't all that excited. For the last month, I have been working the 1PM to 9PM shift, which means that my primary responsibility was leading group activities and games while encouraging the students to participate in English. One of these activities is a dance party, where the students learn many different dances, like the Macarena, the Cupid Shuffle, a dance to "YMCA" and many others. When I was in high school, I would not have wanted to have anything to do with that particular activity. 


I was pleasantly surprised by how much these students enjoyed the activities, even the dancing. Of course, the night previous to Dance Party, we had watched "Iron Man," but didn't have enough time to finish it, so I promised the students that if they danced, we would finish the movie.  That may have had something to do with their participation.


They were fun students and I am glad I got the chance to spend a week with them.


Quick side note: yesterday I bought a printer. It wasn't too expensive and I felt it necessary as when I write I like to edit my own essays on a printout. I felt uncomfortable with using the English Village's printers for this purpose, so figured a printer was a decent investment. End side note.


Every now and again I browse through Amazon's recommendations for me. This is generally rather amusing as my tastes are very eclectic, but now and then I find something I am excited about. 


I found out that Top Shelf publications just put out a hardcover edition of Craig Thompson's Blankets, which is in the running for "Adam's Favorite Graphic Novel" (not an actual prize). Yesterday I went across the street to the Village's bookstore and asked if they could order it in for me. Yes, I could have ordered it from Amazon, but I like supporting local businesses, and the bookstore, as far as I know, is not run by the English Village.


I am very excited to own a hardcover copy of this book.


When I say Graphic Novel, what I am referring to is a work of fiction related to a comic book. However, a Graphic Novel is a single work, generally much longer than a comic book. In the case of Blankets, the work is 600 pages long. It took Thompson years to write, draw and publish the book. 


So, in my definition, a Graphic Novel is an original work of fiction that is composed of two principal elements. 1: Pages composed of panels of artwork that tell a continual, visual (graphic) story. 2: Written elements that can provide insight into what a character is thinking, or provide additional perspective to what is presented in the drawings. Graphic Novels tend to come out once, unless they are released in series, which then are released often several months, or years, apart. Good examples, besides Blankets, include Stitches by  David Small, Maus by Art Spiegelman (which, incidentally, won a Pulitzer, if that sort of thing impresses you. It does me.) and Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.


Comic books are serialized monthly, and these are most often 22 pages or story. The monthlies are (now) collected into volumes that usually include six issues. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Superheroes tend to fall into this category. Sometimes these collected editions of comic books are called Graphic Novels, but I believe this is misleading. They used to be called Trade Paperbacks, but they are now released in hardcover editions as well. I don't know that there is one perfect term to call them. I refer to them as Collected Editions. I'm working on a better title.


I believe that Graphic Novels frequently have profound artistic merit. Collected editions, not so frequently, but it still happens. 


But that's just my opinion...

My Korean Name...

I actually had a good week. I was teaching elementary school students this time around. I rotated between three classes of fifteen students each. Classes 1 & 2 were the oldest. I spent the most time with them.


My favorite was Class 3. I spent my week looking forward to the next chance to spend time with them. Most of the students were eight years old, though there were two who were six. They were tiny and super cute.


I got to teach class three a lesson about tornadoes. After the lesson portion, we made tornadoes out of two one liter bottles, a connector, water and food coloring. The kids were fascinated by the spinning water.


In the evenings, all three classes were combined for activity night. We played games, watched a movie and had a dance night. Unlike my last experience with Dance Night, the students actually participated this time. And had a lot of fun. Near the end of the activity, I told the students to get in a big circle to have a dance contest. One of the six-year-olds walked up to me, pointed at my belly and said, "Big circle." I cracked up. I couldn't help it. The next day, she pointed and repeated the phrase. Cute kid.


Later in the week, one of the older kids in Class 3, who also spoke English better than her classmates, told me I had a Korean name. She said my new name was "Bathangthang." I had her write it down for me and say it several times so I could get it right. When I asked her what it meant, she giggled and wouldn't tell me. I asked around, trying to find out what it meant. I figured it couldn't be anything too horrible, as she was just a kid, and Korean kids are generally quite polite, especially to their teachers.


Turns out, my Korean name means "big, soft belly."


And that is pretty accurate.