Hey All

I know it's been a while since I've posted. To be honest, it has been a hectic couple of weeks and the most effort I've felt like putting into my blog involved the layout rather than the content. I am back, however, and come bearing a few notes.

It was my friend Brian & Alli's birthday this past weekend in Gwangju. I had volunteered a massive shift going into the week prior involving teaching 34 out of my 35 possible hours. I hit overtime after 22 so some of you might be thinking "Benjamin's!" but it's more along the lines of Hamilton's. It was an eventful weekend that allowed me to see some old friends who I hadn't in some time and on the whole I had a wonderful visit. Since coming home I've become sick again, as per SOP. I should be getting over that shortly though! Steve & Nara set the date and I have enjoyed watching the announcement video a few times now!! I'd also like to link to my friend Sid's longing thoughts on his time in Korea (though this is for the adults in the room so young'ins beware!).

Sid's blog post

I can relate to a lot of it and I haven't even left yet! By the way I think I just finished like 5 sentences in a row in exclamation so you know this guy's excited.

Some music I've been listening to --

Rocket Man - Elton John

Seen the Rain - CCR

Run Devil Run - SNSD


Elton has helped me get through some of these more hectic times lately so my hat's off to him. So much so in fact that sometimes I feel I have on a crazy pair of glasses and suffer from severe balding.

My Friday Co-teaching Experience

THIS video summarizes what I feel like every Friday in class. For anyone who's watched Band of Brothers, it's fairly similar to teaching with Lt. Norman Dike. Sabotaged at almost every turn. Trying to work out the kinks!! The first 3 minutes summarizes my entire experience but if you are short on time jump to 2:10. Those few lines can illustrate it better than anything I could say.

Band of Brothers

of course I would be Donnie Wahlberg in this scenario. His reactions & sentiments are fairly analogous to my own.

My St. Patrick's Day

I was thinking of the best onomatopoeia to describe my St. Patty's Day but I can't decide between "bleh", "yeesh" or "meh". After joyously pinching hordes of unsuspecting Korean students for their lack of green and general knowledge about the Irish holiday, it seemed as if the sky was the limit this time around.
It was going to be hard to top last year's celebration. I went and had a great swim practice at Westwood, got an early start on downtown Austin with Alex H. and Nick M. and generally lazed around all afternoon playing bocce ball at Joe's Bar (by Frank & Angies). This was followed by a bottle of wine at home with Emily after she got off work. I would tend to call it my best St. Patrick's Day yet. The road ahead for me this year was bound to be long and arduous if I was to make it the best.

First stop after school: a faculty dinner at a sushi place near where I work. The food was excellent and the soju flowed freely. I must say (imitating my mom), I had a really good time at this dinner. It was a "Welcome New Teachers" party which was great because it really highlighted my position as an old teacher. In welcoming those new to the Hae Song family, I realized that I had firmly made my claim. I didn't have to go into the dinner worried about all the right things to say or how to make the best impression. I was relaxed and felt like I was among friends, or at the very least people I see rather often. What was I saying about the soju flowing freely?? Oh ya.. it did! Early and often! The whole affair wrapped up around 8 PM (lasted about 3 hours).
The words that are many men's undoing: "I have enough time for a short nap." I woke up again, 8 hours later, at 4:30 AM. The night had completely passed me by and on top of it all I was restless and awake with 3 hours before I actually had to be up. Inane internet activity kept me busy but I was really excited about wearing a new St. Patty's themed UT hat (thanks Mom!) and paying dividends to my Irish ancestry. I'm sure I saved money, but at what cost?? Though I tried it probably figured as my worst SPD thus far.

Random Note -- my Girl's Generation trading card collection (yes, they take their pop groups seriously). I'll claim ownership but not the purchase. My friend Joe got these for me knowing my true love of SNSD (Girl's Generation).

Curriculum Changes - KR & AMR.

I posted the link (Cliff's notes)in my previous entry but in case you haven't read it there it is once more. This issue has actually been on my mind all day. I don't know how anyone could get behind the idea if the conversation for changes went something along the lines of "Let's try and detract from Thomas Jefferson's influence, shine the spotlight a little more on the militant side of the civil right's movement and try and justify McCarthyism a bit to give it it's proper due." You can't rewrite history to suit your purpose!

A Checklist of changes:

- Resistance to addition of more Latino figures as role models and leaders in Texas history

- A decrease in emphasis on separation of church and state and a questioning of the secular nature of the American Revolution

- A look at the more violent prone figures of the Civil Right's movement (along with a trumpeteering of Republican policy during the CRM)

- A less racist view of the Japanese internment camps during WWII - Hey, Italians and Germans were there too!!

- What about all the good things McCarthy did?

- Replacing the term "capitalism" with "free enterprise system" because as Terri Leo points out, “Let’s face it, capitalism does have a negative connotation. You know, ‘capitalist pig!’ ”

- A decreased view of Thomas Jefferson's works as an inspiration for revolution in the late 18th and 19th century.

- A more favorable view of Nixon's work with China (I actually don't have a huge problem with that)

History is not black and white and it certainly isn't always a matter of right and wrong. It's muddy and grey and that's the whole point. There are instances of complete heroism as well as instances of pure evil (though many times they are few and far between). The scarcity is what makes those instances so noteworthy. History is grey because it is affected by humanity's touch. All people can do is make the best decision with the information available to them. You hope that after your lot has been cast you end up on the bright side of history. If however, you do not, you must own that as well. Our history is not a collection of "what's?" but rather "why's?". "Why" something happened is the reason history lovers can debate, discuss and remain captivated by their passion.

I worry that this action by the Texas School Board of Education is rooted in a deep disorientation by members who have been poisoned by the recent, historical bickering. It is as if their best way to justify their cause is by tearing down the opposition. Like abortion, (yes, it's a bomb of a comparison) the standstill created has led to flat out name calling and takes people further away from intelligible conversation, much less any form of agreement. It just seems like everything got so personal.

If it were dreamt up by a group of people (as is the case) I suppose America could look as flawless as they choose. I would say that a predominant amount of my personal, memorable history comes with me far from my best. The stories I carry with me involve missing my mark, disappointment and poor decisions. It would be convenient but tragic if I could simply wave my hand and remember them a different way. I could put a nice bow on them all and admire the pretty picture. In that blissful picture, I would lose the truth, the lesson and the growth that came of it. In the very best of lights you could call the Texas SBOE's actions misguided. They aim to take away precisely what a completely pleasant story is in want of -- the truth, the lesson and the growth.

The errors they are bringing about in this whole mess are of the worst nature. This is because the worst mistakes are ones that affect those around them. We, as Texans, pay for these stupid amendments. They embarrass us and injure our reputation. They make us look ignorant and foolish. They will inevitably lead to a lot of misguided teaching as well if nothing is done.

What I'm listening to--

- The Oldboy soundtrack (which hasn't been working from American IP's)

- Shama Lama Ding Dong by Lloyd Williams aka Otis Day and the Knights

- Blame It On The Girls by Mika

- Lisztomania by Phoenix

by the way! I miss everyone very, very much!!

March 18th & St. Patty's

My St. Patrick's day seems like it will be rather muted. We have a party for new teachers tomorrow and I have been told thus far that it will run pretty late. I will probably hit the town after that but I do have school the next day and if I get out late it might just end up being tempered. I ought to sue on grounds of discrimination towards the Irish. Oh wait never mind-- frivolous law suits don't exist in Korea.

Shutter Island will be coming out on March 18th. This is coming at about a 3 week delay and I must say I am pretty psyched. I am a huge Dennis Lehane fan (along with Leo and Marty) and have read everyone of his books. The movie looks like it is trying to be scarier than the book was. Maybe I just missed that whole vibe in the book but it was never one of horror or chills. By Lehane standards, Shutter Island was just OK but I am excited nonetheless. Of course, I could have watched this movie the day it came out if I bought the DVD at the Yongsan technology market for 2 dollars. I built up enough patience to go for the movie theater experience. In case you were wondering, seeing movies in Korea is almost identical to back home and the prices are analogous too.

Oh ya, Emily linked this to me. Texas has decided to rearrange history which I fully and completely support. I have no problem with idiocy unless it is influential and comes from powerful places. Oh Texas, how I miss thee..

From the Belly of the Beast

From a journal entry dated March 11, 2010:

Coteaching -> Working our way into the flow of the school schedule. Always exhausted -- I think my sleep schedule barely worked without kids over winter break but now it's just ridiculous. Need more sleep! I now have 3 coteachers up from 1 of last semester.
by the way: writing this on the train on my way to trivia and am wondering how Koreans are so successful at getting smashed by 8:30 PM and then finding me on the train to sit next to afterwards.
by the way 2: trying to ease the odd balance between journal writing and blogging ... already am aware that this should go in the blog as well.
Anyhoo= 3 coteachers up from 1 but no afternoon program so my free time gets a nice and almost unwanted boost. Working as much as I did last semester was tiring yet fulfilling. I don't want to lose that sense of fulfillment.
Pleasantly surprised at how nice my handwriting is even when I write blind (aforementioned Korean man's head is extremely close to my lap) - Yes, I mean you crazy, old man. You probably can't read English and you almost certainly couldn't read Korean at this point either. He held my hand for like 30 seconds - I apologize, this is getting seriously derailed, everyone is watching me yet I press on. I can't help laughing either. His hand was large and soft.
Out of 3 new CT's, (Mrs. Lim, my old coteacher, is one of them), Mrs. Kim (my main) is awesome and really good at teaching English. It is her 7th year in the biz and 20th teaching in general. Ms. Jung I see on Fridays, and that has been an interesting adjustment as I adapt to new theories and ways! Life in Korea is one of adjustments. That's all for now, trivia time!

By the way in relation to the man on train:
During my time at Westwood I got a full array of compliments, far more often and far too flattering than I deserved. One of my personal favorites though was when someone told me I "had the patience of Job." I think tonight, with my new-found friend, I lived up to that billing! Sadly, I do not think a second date is in the works.

The Passing of Time

One of the more poignant happenings of late was my good friend Sid's departure from Korea. I was able to see him yesterday on his last night before his flight today (taken from March 4th journal entry). I must mention that I was able to slow dance with him to Andrea Bocelli's "Time to Say Goodbye" and then walked out the door to the ending theme of Top Gun -- a most fitting conclusion.
His going away has me thinking about my own impending finale. I can't believe it's already been 6 months; that I am halfway through teaching, through my time in Korea, through my friends and family for this year. I wonder about my return. I wonder about how this experience has altered me and how I will adjust to life back in the US. I even think about my capacity for adjusting to life back in the States and whether I will have an implanted feeling of restlessness. I have changed in many ways and hope that through the fresh circumstances of life abroad I have grown for the better.
Walking home, (again- transplanted from a journal) I thought about my probable inability to explain all the different things I've done and, more importantly, the way they affected me. (I must include this) I made myself laugh by momentarily thinking "I guess this is kinda like Nam." No, in fact, it is nothing like the Vietnam War. The thought was silly the moment I started it but I did get a good laugh out of it. I finished The Things They Carried today (a wonderful Vietnam book) and sometimes I can take on an odd sense of grandeur.
I think it's a hard thing to realize how special something can be in the midst of enjoying it. It's easy to get caught up in an experience and, like so many other things, find yourself bittersweet because it's gone by the time you understand what it was. I am amazed already by how well everything has fit. In a lot of ways, picking up and leaving was a bit of a selfish decision. It was a planned, honest decision, but slightly selfish at the same time. I'm purposely being vague here but I will say that halfway through I know my time in Korea has improved me and that I will carry that back to the people I love and wherever my next chapter takes me.