(17) 90 in 90: The God of Cookery

I've gone on a cooking spree lately. Normally, to any ordinary person, this would not be to surprising, as most people cook quite frequently with some of them even enjoying the process of cooking.

It's rawwwwwww! But that's ok. 

I am not one of those people, or rather I didn't use to be one of those people. I never liked to cook. I never enjoyed it. I only did it to make food for myself, to have something for dinner because there was nothing else. I cooked because I had to, not because I wanted to and didn't particularly enjoy myself in the process.

So why the sudden change in attitude and the new enlightened view in culinary technique? Being tired with my food options and quite simply, wanting to try something new. To participate in creating something that can bring my satisfaction and happiness. I wanted to make something that I can be proud of.

I'm also tired of rice and kimchi. I know this sounds like some blasphemous statement to say in Korea but its true, after nearly two years of having rice and kimchi for at least two out of three meals a day, I have to say I'm beginning to tire of the stuff.

That's not to say I hate it, I don't but I've noticed that my portions are usually much smaller than before. The amount of rice I take is equal to one scoop. The kimchi on my plate has gone from dozens of pieces to only several small pieces.

So in the mean time, dinner at my home has become a daily event anticipation, anxiety and for the most part victory. Everyday is a new recipe to try making. Every meal time is a new adventure in cooking to the point that even something simple like stir fried beef with pasta al dente is a monumental achievement to me. Laugh all you want but remember, you're talking to a guy who absolutely hated cooking before to someone who now looks forward to it everyday. This is a big step.

Besides becoming bored with my menu options and taking matters into my own hand, I recently had rediscovered the joy of cooking and preparing food for someone else. It feels good to cook for someone, especially if the appreciation for you efforts and quality of the meal is returned. You're creating something from raw materials in a relatively short amount of time, that is enjoyed by someone you care about. Its like an artist crafting a beautiful work of art, and instead of of it taking years for people to appreciate and understand the nuance, the feedback is almost instantaneous.

I'm slowly beginning to discover the joy and incredible feeling of accomplishment that comes from preparing a delicious meal for yourself. I'm beginning to discover the incredible options and choices available now, that I'm not limited to someone else's menu and my lack of experience.

I'm starting to experience the feelings of preparing delicious food for someone. The feeling of excitement when telling them the different things you can make them and hearing the excitement and anticipation in their voice. I'm getting used to the confidence that comes from cooking and knowing that you can make something that you and everyone else can enjoy.

Will this last? I hope so I'm getting used to cooking for myself and hope I can continue. This is one habit that I wouldn't mind hanging on to.

(16) 90 in 90: Birthdays Abroad

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with friends. This is something that I normally do not do. In fact this is only the second year that I've had any kind of official celebration concerning my day of birth.

My birthday in previous years has always been a bit low key. Never any big parties or fancy gatherings but rather simple small dinners with my family. My birthday always feel during the late August, so for a\ most of my early school life, my birthday was forgotten by other students as the school year started and the summer began its slow transition into the fall.

There was a small part of me that always felt that celebrating my birthday was a bit narcissistic. To me, it almost seemed like forcing others to acknowledge the day of your birth and the declaration of just how important of a person you are. While this comes off as sounding like a self esteem issue, its really not, my confidence is just fine, as is my level of self importance. I just felt like it was a bit selfish to make others celebrate with me.

However this year was truly fantastic, much of it being due to my wonderful girlfriend working very hard and planning a little surprise for me, which came completely unexpected.

While I was away at school during the day, she came to Gimcheon from Incheon (a three hour train ride) and decorated my house while I was gone. When I cam home I was greeted to streamers, balloons and a smiling girlfriend ready to greet me. She even went as far as to bring some small gifts that I had wanted since the beginning of the year.

It was truly a touching moment and the emotion that swept over me was held in check my my constant smiling. I've never had a surprise party in my life, so to see all the time and effort my girlfriend put into making it great meant a lot to me. A simple and kind gesture that showed a lot of caring, and something that still warms my heart thinking back on it.

The rest of the evening was spent with some friends who lived in Gimcheon as we went out to dinner and ice cream afterwards. Some of the people I had not seen since the summer began, so it was nice to have a relaxing dinner and enjoy each other's company. The one thing I cannot deny about the people I know in Gimcheon is the chemistry everyone has with each other. Even if we're just acquaintances, the conversations we usually have are warm and inviting. I suppose it comes from the "we're all neighbors in Gimcehon" mentality that we can all share. I can't really complain though, its better to be included and part some something good rather than being isolated, especially in a foreign country.

At the end of the night, my girlfriend remarked at just how nice the night was. No stress or pressure from trying to please everyone. No excess of partying and drinking . Just good conversations and good times with everyone.

"Its amazing how much fun we had without getting drunk," my girlfriend said. "Usually in Korea, friends get drunk together and call it a bonding experience. They really don't get to talk like we did though, it was nice."

I don't think I could have asked for a better day. I had a great time spending time with the people I care about the most and didn't wake up with a hangover the next morning.

Thank you to everyone who made it great, if all of my birthdays could be like this, I would probably feel less guilty about celebrating them.

(15) 90 in 90: Job Applications in Korea aka The Bizarro Applications

Filling out job applications in Korea is a challenge in ways that I never thought possible. This isn't a challenge in the normal sense of finding a job and having to slog through an endless parade of applications, at least not yet. It's the challenge of not only filling in a job application, but understanding it as well. Even when in English, Korea job applications are an entirely new beast to tame and a new puzzle for me to wrap my head around.

I'm recently in the process of applying for a new job. To apply for any job, one needs to fill out an application before going to the next step. Seems simple enough. The website is in English and the place of employment is full of English speakers and English speaking job opportunities. It should be simple.

It's not, not even in the slightest.

The application itself is very unusual, with some of the questions ranging from odd to blatant invasion of privacy. Sure, you have some sections to fill out that all applications share such as address, previous place of employment and where you went to school. those questions are fine, and I filled them out with no effort.

Take everything you know about job applications and THROW THEM OUT THE WINDOW. Welcome to Korea.  

It's the more unusual ones that threw me for a loop. Questions that I cautiously filled out, knowing full well that someone asked these types of questions back in the US, someone, somewhere would throw a fit.

The application asked me what my religion was, and among other things, members of my family. While personally, I didn't mind answering these questions, I know many people who would be bothered by these questions and question the level of privacy and being threatened by asking these questions. It seems ridiculous that these would even be included on a job application. Does my religious affiliation have any difference when it comes to lecturing about grammar mechanics? Do my parents make a difference in determining my job?

These questions are considered relatively tame and standard to some of the questions my girlfriend had to answer. One application even going as far as to ask the income of both of her parents. Why did they ask? Even she doesn't know. She kept referring back to the Korean way, telling me that applications like this are normal. As a foreigner it looks like a way to criticize someone while not taking a look at their experience or qualifications., but rather a way to judge someone and their family before even considering them for the job. It seems so childish to me, I feel there has to be more that I'm not picking up on.

If that wasn't strange enough, I found that the rest of the application was in Korean, with one section in English and the rest in Korea. Some of the simpler questions and sections I could answer. However some of the more complex sections I could not even begin to answer.

Which one are you? This is totally relevant to your job. 

A lot of credit goes to my wonderful girlfriend, who has helped me along in the process to conquering this beast of a job application. She's had the patience of a saint through all of this so, much credit goes to her and if by some stroke of luck I actually get this job, it will become my solemn duty to repay her back as thanks for her time and patience and all those times I asked her what "bachelor degree" was in Korean.

I still have a few days before the deadline so I'm going to be spending the next few days hammering away at this and trying to finish it. I'm not bitter or even annoyed, its been an interesting experience learning about the Korean job application process and experiencing all the differences from small to Oh My God, that would so be a lawsuit in America.

This is just the start of my journey to apply for a new job next year. Wish me luck everyone. Hope for a bright future. Hope that my girlfriend doesn't want to kill me by the time its all over from my annoying questions.

(14) 90 in 90: A Love that Will Never Die

It's no secret to people that know me how much I love film. I love watching film, I love talking about it. I love finding out the secret history of my favorite films, the steps it takes to craft a vision that begins in the mind and comes alive on the scree, to be shared with millions of people from all walks of life.

This is why I get incredibly giddy when I watch a film that I genuinely love. Like many things in life, getting swept off your feet doesn't happen too often. And also like life, we comes across dozens of moments that we experience one moment, and easily forget about the next. Life is filled with many moments, but there are only a precious few that we actually remember.

For me films are the same way. It may have come from devouring a massive amount of of celluloid in my life. While I can confidently say that I have watched hundreds of movies and films over the years, there are only a select handful that remain in my mind. 

These are more than just passing memories or cool moments that I can remember (although there are still plenty of those). These are stories, scenes and characters that have effected my entire life and being. They have sent images and messages that have been permanently implanted into my brain, moments in which I close my eyes, I can can still recall with such vivid clarity, they feel like recently experienced memories, even if the film or specific moments were first viewed years or months ago.

People often think its strange how much I love cinema. To them, it comes off as excessively possessed by something that has no true purpose in our lives. Something that is a in its most basic way, entertainment meant to distract us for a few hours. 

To me it is an easy answer to give. Cinema offer something more than entertainment. Dig deep enough you see something so pure and simple in its message, so incredibly human like in nature. 

This is because movies offer a heightened sense of emotion that we don't get from the real world. We, I, crave that stimulation because life is filled with tedium and toil for which most of will never escape from until the day we die. Most people walk blissfully through life and don't care about movies, seeing them as simple entertainment, a distraction. We want to feel something beyond what life offers.

But despite all of the thunder that movies provide, the best of them always have the smell of truth. What I remember from Star Wars isn't the Death Star explosion but that one moment where Luke looks to the horizon. That's one of the purest moments in cinema history as it crosses cultural barriers because it reaches the very core of the human condition; longing and hope for a better world.

No matter how many pyrotechnics there are, if the story doesn't resonate on a purely human level then all is lost because it then becomes an imitation of life. Hollow and shallow, like many forgotten memories and moments in our lives.

Moments that like bad movies, just seem to fade away from our minds. 

(13) 90 in 90: "Take a Rest"

"Kyle, please take a rest."

This is a phrase that has been told to me many times by various teachers at my school. Whether its a cancelled class, a day that I don't have to come to school, or even a holiday, these four words are the words of both relief and excitement for a slightly easier work day.

However, I seem to be one of the only ones living up to these words. Due to my work contract, I only am needed to work 20 to 24 hours a week. I do not have to work on the weekends, I have every major holiday off and I get a larger amount of time off in the summer and winter months.

The other teachers at me school are not so lucky.

Often I see and hear about teachers working to 8 or even 10 PM with few breaks. They are often required to do massive amounts of work both in and out of school and are often asked to come into work even on the weekend, all with no extra pay or incentives. They do it because it is what the culture has told them to do. Hard work is expected, it is part of working in Korea.

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about these long work hours. I often felt sorry for my teachers as they would lament the lack of time to go visit the places they wanted to visit and see the people they wanted to see. It seemed that while I had than enough free time to do what I wanted, my fellow teachers were left with nothing but things to do.

However, I have asked my teachers what exactly they do the entire time they have to spend at school. I was curious and wanted to know exactly they spent time doing for hours on end.

The answers surprised me.

"Well not much, its not a lot of work, just having to stay late," one teacher told me.

"I mostly just have to monitor," said another teacher. "Sometimes, I feel like I am at my school doing nothing worthwhile."

Other teachers have more work to do in a much smaller time frame.

A few days later, I was spending time with my girlfriend at a restaurant. It was a national holiday that day meaning most Korean people had the day off. When asked what her parents would do with a day of no work, she replied that they would do nothing. Sleeping, watching TV and eating were the only plans to celebrate their day off.

"Koreans, especially older generation Koreans don't really know how to use their days off from work. They just aren't used to days where they don't have to work," she said.

The thoughts on Korean work habits and break time came to mind after reading a recent article in the Korea Times. This article was an opinion piece on Korean work habits and how effective they were. In an attempt not to spoil the entire article, the numbers showed that despite being one of the hardest working countries in the world, Korea only ranks 28th in overall work efficiency.

This is due to much of long work day being spent doing "busy work" to look good for the boss and make it appear that they are always busy when in truth, this work is not efficient or effective, more or less wasting the time of everyone involved.

I'm not here to say which way or getting a job done or working is better, there are lots of cultural aspects and backgrounds that go far beyond what my short read of the article would justify. However it is something interesting to think about. Does having more time at work and less free time hurt or hinder work progress? Is this something Korea can change? Do they want to change?

I don't have answers, and even a opinion would be half-baked at best. For now, I can only think about the long hours my co workers put in, and realize my luck ability to participate in the Korean work environment, while still being an outsider looking in.

The original article from Korea Times

(12) 90 in 90: The one day vacations

Yesterday was Korean Independence Day. While it was an important holiday, most Koreans choose to spend the holiday relaxing and enjoying their one day chance to rest and relax before going back for one more day on Friday. Instead of staying my home, I choose to take a day trip to Seoul to visit my girlfriend.

Normally, these one day breaks I don't like to do anything too crazy or venture too far from my town. I always feel like if I do something too big and too adventurous I'll keep being distracted by the clock and knowing that despite all the fun I'm having, it all has to end soon and I'm left with the task of making sure I can make my way home in time to get a decent night's sleep for the next work day.

This was different though. I have plenty of experience traveling and walking around Seoul and Incheon. I've visited my girlfriend many time before and have become familiar with both cities and what they have to offer.

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, a late lunch and a trip to the DVD room to watch a movie, along with dinner at a Mageli place. Nothing too exciting, but still immensely fun.

I think what made the day so enjoyable was a near perfect amount of relaxation, visiting someone I cared about and getting out of my own house and town. It's my ideal perfect day: spending time away from home so I don't get too stir crazy and doing something fun and relaxing as not to disrupt my peaceful state of mind.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy doing exciting stuff, but like I said earlier, one day adventure fests are never fun to me. I never have fun as much as I worry. Maybe that's why I disliked Majora's Mask, that damn time limit and the moon threatening to crash down on me.

We tried a mageli sampler. It did not taste as good as this picture may lead you to believe. 

Lately though, its getting harder to leave once the day is over. For me, there is still this longing to be there longer. My initial need to go home in a timely manner is suddenly replaced with a moment of illogical thoughts of staying longer, staying the night even and catching the earliest train back home in the morning, knowing very well this is very stupid and is worth more trouble that its worth.

My traveling mind makes no sense to me. It goes from being logical and on time to wanting to have fun and forgo all responsibilities the next. My adult, responsible self constantly at war with my immature side.

However, my adult side always wins, even if its painful for a few seconds upon departure. I know we will see each other again soon and I'll most likely have a lot of fun again but, I want to have fun now. Not later. Once again, my inner spoiled child starts crying again.

A few minutes later though, I'm on the train on my way home. Tired, knowing that I have a three hour ride ahead of me and knowing that by the time I get back, it will be way past my work day bedtime. I could have planned it earlier, but I just had to squeeze those last few minutes of fun out of my mini break day.

I guess in the end, the adult and the child can come to a compromise after all.

(11) 90 in 90: Into the (Ocean) World

Last week, my girlfriend and I spent a day at Ocean World, a water park a few hours away from Seoul. I've been to Caribbean Bay, another water park located next to Everland, however Ocean World was an entirely different beast. While both were water parks, Ocean World had more of everything. More slides, more pools, a bigger park, more areas to rest and a bigger variety of other attractions to see besides the slides. I may be getting ahead of myself, but in my opinion, Ocean World was a much better experience.

Getting to Ocean World is a fairly painless process. There are several buses that go directly to Ocean World and are free, as in no need to pay bus fare or swipe your travel card. They leave from a few locations in Seoul and Incheon, including places like Bupeyeong and Sinchon at different times.

The Ocean World Entrance

Once you arrive, there is a changing area at the front of the park along with an area to store picnic food and buy your tickets. after that, the rest of the park is pretty straight forward,as you can walk around the entire park with each new pool and slide located one right after the other.

We went on a Thursday, which by normal standards should have been pretty empty but due to it being the summer time and a peak season where most people in Korea are either on vacation or have extra days off work, the entire park was packed.

I didn't mind though, compared to my last visit to Caribbean Bay, which was strangely empty, seeing lots of people swimming and having fun was nice to see.

Another thing that was different (and admittedly a pleasant surprise) was the lack of covering up from many people in the park. I've been to other pools and beaches before in Korea and both guys and girls usually make it a habit of covering themselves with pull overs, big t shirts and hats. Here, i saw very few people covered up and instead swim trunks and bikinis everywhere. For someone from America, this wasn't exactly a foreign sight to see in the summer, but in Korea, this was the first time I ever saw this much on display at once much to my surprise.

The two most memorable parts of the park were the massive wave pool and the tube slide. The wave pool was probably the largest I have ever seen in Korea and America and was at any given moment filled with people. There were more than enough people to fill the entire front section of the deep end, making moving around impossible. I never felt the threat of drowning or being swept away by the waves due to the large number of people. The claustrophobia was worth it though, as the waves the pool sent out were strong and large. If you caught the wave at just the right angle, you could have easily been carried back several feet. There were times where I would struggle to stand up after a massive wave and regain my composure before another one would come crashing down on my sending me back and disorientating me even further.

There was a downside to the waves though, my girlfriend lost her balance to one of the larger waves and scrapped her leg on the bottom of the pool. Since the bottom was rough and oddly, sharp textured, she ended up getting some significant cuts. A trip to the medical ward showed that she was not the only one there as there was a line out the door of people who suffered cuts all over their bodies. Perhaps its time to invest in another material Ocean World.

The slide was also a highlight for good and bad reasons. The good being that the slide was long, the longest I have ever been on with lots of drops and steep inclines to make it feel almost like a roller coaster more than a water slide. The bad was the wait. We had to wait in line for three hours before getting the chance to go down the slide for a few minutes. My advice is to get in line as early as possible because from 12 PM on, the wait will surely stretch to 3 hours.

Towards the end of the day, we ended up relaxing in one of the spa pools filled with pine needles and also discovered by accident another water park located indoors. If I haven't stressed this enough, I'll say it again: this park is massive.

My girlfriend at the DJparty

In the center square of the park, there is a stage that throughout the day features different performers and musical acts to entertain the guests. At the end of the night when the park closed, there was a DJ on stage

complete with booming speakers and a dance area for people to gather around. Judging by the massive amount of people dancing and grinding in the center, they were having a great time even after spending hours in the water.

I had a great time at Ocean World for me and my girlfriend, it was a nice way to send off the summer, to say goodbye to our vacation period and welcome back the 9 to 5 jobs that allow us to travel to places like this in the first place. It was fun, it was wet and exciting. I could not have picked a better way to say goodbye to the summer. It's still not too late, visit Ocean World, you won't regret it.

Link to Ocean World's website 

Snapshots from Teaching in Korea: Important Vocabulary

This morning I was looking through one of many English textbooks our school has and noticed this vocabulary entry inside. It made me laugh. Apparently the influence of Lil' Jon stretches all the way to Korea.

I hope this is on the Korean SAT

Although, there is one nitpick with this. There is a lot more to being crunk than just being drunk. It's all about the craziness.

(10) 90 in 90: Back again aka working is hard!

Today marks the first day back for the second school semester and while I wish it was a little more exciting with a little more fanfare... there wasn't.

The mood today was incredibly dour and quiet. None of the enthusiastic greetings from teachers, none of the normal greetings from students. Everyone today was tired and not looking happy to be there.

I guess you could have included myself as well. After having an extra long vacation and having to start my normal schedule again, I also felt incredibly lethargic and sluggish throughout the day. Something about being back and working didn't register in my brain. Thank goodness the activity level of everyone today was low because I'm pretty sure the thought processes in my brain were tumbleweeds.

I'm hoping that this is only temporary and I'll be back in the work and teaching mode by the end of the week. It's such a weird feeling having a different mind set when you need to be doing something. It feels weird, not right and yet you know it has to be done. Your body is rebelling against you while your brain yells at you for being a lazy ass.

You tell em lazy cat. You tell em. 

I wish there was more to say but today was incredibly meh, a solid 5 out of 10. Here's hoping my students and more importantly myself are ready to go at this whole teaching and learning thing again soon. Doing simple warm up activities was a long and time consuming task that took a large amount of effort just to get the students doing what they were supposed to do. An activity that was supposed take thirty minutes took almost the entire hour.

I can't help but feel bad for the students though. Their summer vacation wasn't really a summer vacation like I was used to. Students still had to go to school and attend classes until noon. Afterwards, they were required to stay and study until 6 pm. Some of the teachers also had to stay full days as well not only to teach them, but to monitor the study sessions as well. I consider myself very lucky. I have a feeling that besides myself, very few teachers or students had the opportunity to relax and go on vacation like I did.

So now, I head to bed. Wish me luck tomorrow world. Let this laziness go away and get my butt back in gear. I'm a big boy now, time to start acting like it.

(9) 90 in 90 Hiatus: Coming Back Sunday

I'll be gone for the next few days enjoying the last part of my vacation before my school starts again full time next Monday. It's been an incredibly relaxing and incredibly lazy last week as a majority of my summer classes were cancelled and the extreme heat has kept anyone with sense indoors.

So I'll be going to Ocean World, a famous waterpark in Korea along with some other random adventures before coming back on Sunday.

This means I won't be able to post for a few days, and maybe I'm technically cheating on the 90 in 90 rule, but well, its my blog and my rules. That's all I have to say about that.

So see you in a few days. To the few people that read this or stumble upon it by accident, thank you for taking the time to read. I'm really doing this more as a way to write and have a reference for various memories and states of mind while I was in Korea, but if some of you actually find what I write entertaining and worth reading, that's cool too.

See you when I see you!

I'm cheating a little bit. I ain't even mad though.

(8) 90 in 90: The rain that takes the heat away

The rainy season is almost finished in Korea, meaning the hot and humid temperatures will eventually lead the way towards cool and windy fall days.

For that, I can't wait. I've said it many times before, but I'm just not a fan of humid summers. I can deal with the high heat but its the humidity that makes it a miserable and sweat filled experience for me, sapping away any energy and will I had to accomplish anything, and instead making a lazy day spent in an air conditioned sound like a continually tempting way to spend a day.

However, there are days, a small amount of days, where the rain comes and doesn't make the weather more

DAT HUMIDITY...

humid. Sometimes, the heavy rain can bring a moment of relief from the hot summer days. For a few hours, it feels nice.

This feeling never last long. It last for a few hours before the sun comes out again and the sweltering heat comes back. Until that time, I enjoy the coolness that it brings. The heavy and sticky feeling of humidity yields to a cool and chilling feeling. A cool breeze can lightly be felt, a sign that for a few hours, its time to open the window and let in some air from the outside that actually feels good.

Sadly, this has not happened very often this summer. A majority of the days were humid, but its those few rare times, where relief comes through and allows me to escape from the heat for a little bit.

It's funny how appreciative I have become of something as simple as a rainstorm, but like many things since moving to Korea, I've gained a new perspective perspective and appreciation on many things.

So thank you rain and the cooling effect you bring. You're my moment of relief and a sign of cooler days to come.

(7) 90 in 90: Things that bother me about the WSJ Korean Education Article

A few days ago I read an article published by The Wall Street Journal titled Should the U.S. Follow South Korea's Education System? In the article, the writer talked about a Korean "super teacher" Kim Ki-hoon calling him a $4 million dollar teacher and crediting his wealth to his more than 20 years of teaching, tutoring and lectures.

The article then goes on to describe how he is paid in accordance with his skills, eventually suggesting the idea of teachers in Korea who are paid on the level of athletes or lawyers to teach students.

This part of the article, along with the constant reminder that Korean teachers make a lot of money really bothered me. The article as a whole is fine, and brings up many decent points usually not discussed in detail in western media.

It's the statement about teachers and other similar statements that while I don't think were intentionally written incorrectly, were lacking the proper research to give a more balanced opinion.

While its true that teaching, or anything in the educational field is a stable job and source of reliable income in Korea, the number of teachers who make anything close to "rock star" status income is very small. Kim Ki-hoon, while successful and more likely than not deserving of every bit of income, is an outlier.

A majority of teachers in Korea, both public and hagwon make a basic salary comparable to other mid to high level jobs. In fact, may teachers starting out their teaching careers for the first time make less than I do, and still have to pay many of the living fees such as rent and utilities that are provided to me for no cost.

Many starting teachers who work at private schools and hagwons are also often being offered one year contracts which ensures one year of employment and possibly succeeding years based on their performance. You could eventually make a lot of money teaching this way, however this comes through a higher position than an entry level teacher.

The end of the article also suggests that the U.S. borrow some ideas from Korea for its own education system. While some of the ideas are solid, some do not take in regard the differences between states and cities that would make some of these techniques hit or miss. The article fails to mention that the geography and population of the U.S. are very different compared to Korea. What works in one school district, in one state can very well fail in another. The geography, population and economic stability all play a part in providing differing experiences.

Another point the article does not bring attention to is the side effects of such high pressure on success and education. Students are taught that success is all that matters and that failure isn't a chance to learn from your mistakes, but rather a sign that you have missed your opportunity. Korea is sometimes called a "one shot society" meaning that everything from job interviews to language tests relies on that one window of success.

Such a high stress environment can sometimes create unbearably high pressure for students and create a day in, day out regimen of classes, studying, followed by more studying. Such a high emphasis on specific subjects for testing also leaves very little time for learning about non academic things like humanities, culture and society. From an early age, students are taught that these things do not matter nearly as much as getting into a good university.

While I feel the article is an interesting look for western readers at the Korean education system, much more consideration needs to be put into effect before we start clamoring for our own rock star teachers.

Borrowing from an overall effective system? Great. Taking things without regards to how it can fit into a culture and society different from the original one? No so much.

You can read the original story here

(6) 90 in 90: Korea Heat

Korea is humid and hot. Hardly groundbreaking news to anyone who has lived in Korea for an extended period of time, but for me, its been almost two years living in Korea and I still can't get accustomed to the heat.

I grew up in Indiana. Located in the Midwest part of the US, where summers would occasionally get hot, but it was never anything that could be considered extreme. Even when the heat would climb higher in the summer, the humidity wouldn't ever become too unbearable. To me, those hot summer days were the definition of "hot" summer days.

Once I came to Korea, I learned the true definition of hot summer days. I knew what it meant to be hot.

Where I live in Korea is the central most area of Korea, only an hour away from Daegu, the largest city in the Gyeongbuk-do region. While this means that the winters are usually not as cold as Seoul or Incheon, it means that the summers are significantly hotter and more humid.

Home is still really hot in Korea

The act of simply stepping outside on a typical summer day will usually result in my body sweating profusely and my shirt becoming drenched in sweat in a record amount of time. I used to enjoy walking to school every morning, but during the summers it becomes an impossibility.

The humidity is what makes the summers so ridiculously hot. It often adds up to 5 extra degrees to the overall temperature and makes the air thick with moisture, making even the simple act of breathing a uncomfortable experience.

This makes the air conditioner and water my two best friends during the summer.  I am constantly running the aircon, making my house a cool environment that at times almost feels too cold, a much preferred alternative to the hot and humid outside. During the summer, I am constantly drinking water, even when my bladder feels like it will burst and my thirst has been quenched ten times over. I feel this constant paranoid, creeping feeling that my skin and body is rapidly loosing moisture to the heat and I am constantly trying to recover it.

This also makes school a sometimes sticky experience, as my school is an older building and the principal of the school constantly request that we run the air conditioner the least amount of times possible to save energy. I hope Korea appreciates our sacrifice, because I'm certain that both the teachers and students do not.

There are much hotter and much more humid places in the world, but for now, Korea is the hottest and most humid one I have been to yet. Maybe one day I'll get used to the humidity and heat. Maybe one day I'll welcome the sweat slicked back and soaked shirt. Maybe one day I'll embrace the heat of Korea and welcome it like I welcome other things in life that start as annoyances but eventually become routine parts of life.

Maybe one day I'll learn to walk on water as well.

*for those who ask if the rainy season that Korea gets makes the weather more bearable: no, it does not. It just makes things wetter and more humid.

(5) 90 in 90: The Short Goodbye

One of the sad and ultimate inevitable things that every foreign language teacher runs into while teaching overseas is the flurry of goodbyes that comes from teachers leaving the country to return home.

The amount of time teachers spend overseas varies. Some spend just a year abroad before heading back home. Some spend several years living overseas, carving themselves a nice little lifestyle that lets them do something different and separated from the norm of their country of origin while still having a comfortable life.

The reason people come to teach in Korea differs from person to person. Out of every person I've talked to, each person has had a slightly different reason for being here. Some come here to pay off student loans. Some come to find a better job and a means to escape from their country's economic situation. Some even come here due to a love of Korean culture and a desire to immerse themselves in it for a period of time. Each person has a slightly different story on what led them to Korea, making each person's back story all the more interesting.

For these reasons, you come to meet some pretty cool people living here with you. Teaching is not really a job for introverts. To succeed at teaching you need to be somewhat sociable and able to communicate with other people. Working and living in Korea has not only given me the opportunity to meet many native Koreans, but native English speakers from all over the world. It's been a wonderful experience to meet many people and see perspectives from other people and customs. I can honestly say that becoming friends with people abroad has broadened my horizons and views of many things that I would have never achieved staying inside my own enclosed bubble.

However, for as many people you come to meet and become acquainted with, an almost equal number you come to part ways with. Being a English language teacher is not a long term job, nor is it an adequate career for someone to have. People eventually have to return home.

People go back to find a job related to their major. Some leave to explore other opportunities. Some even go because they've become quite fed up with Korea and want to leave while they still can.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't make the goodbyes any easier nor does it make the reality that all the teachers face any less brutal.

Lifelong friends are difficult to make abroad. While it certainly is not impossible, the ratio of people who leave on a yearly basis compared to the amount of time it takes for someone to become comfortable and form a close relationship with someone does not match up. There are several people I consider to be on very good terms with. Despite our closeness though, I can already tell that the people that I have a chance to see again or keep in touch with in a meaningful way is very small.

This leads many teachers to become introverted. Not going out of their way to make friends or make a strong effort to become close to people. After all, what is the point if they're going to leave in a year (for other teaching programs in Korea, sometimes even less).

For me however, it stands a constant reminder to cherish and remember the times we have together. Value the little things that happen everyday and appreciate the moments you share with the ones you care about. While they may not be around forever, the memories and experiences you create will.

I was once told that years from now, we won't remember the names of all the people we met or the places we all met at. What we will remember are the times we had together and the reasons we remember these events to begin with.

I may not see all of you forever, but the memories we shared in this sometimes great, sometimes horrible and sometimes strange country called Korea will last forever.

So with that, I say goodbye to all of you leaving. Take care, and to quote a favorite game of mine: "I'll see you when I see you."*

I'll see you when I see you Gordon!

The quote is from Half Life 2.

(4) 90 in 90: Teaching During Summer Vacation

Like most other teachers in Korea, I have to teach students during their summer vacation. Now before anyone asks the question, the summer vacation period for Korean students isn't a summer vacation in the sense of the summer vacations from America. There is no three month period of doing nothing during the break rather, students still have to come to school and still have to attend class, just not as long or not as many classes as the normal school year. Most students go home at 12, but some still stay behind to either study or go to additional classes.

I'm the teacher who teachers the additional classes. While most foreign teachers here teach for a few hours during the morning period, I teach in the afternoon for only an hour and a half each day. Most other teacher use their summer classes to play games with students or for the most part, entertain them for the class period. Since I teach high school, entertaining is not really part of my plan, or rather not the goal the head of the English department wants me to teach.

I was specifically instructed to teach students the concepts and mechanics that cannot be taught in a classroom. I would be having a smaller class size this year, only three students. While at first this sounded daunting, being able to keep the attention of only three students for a longer than normal class time, I pleasantly found that this could not be further from the truth.

My summer classes only last a week. During this period I have taught the students advance speaking techniques. Techniques such as intonation, pacing, pronunciation and volume control. All important concepts when it comes to speaking another language but are almost impossible to teach effectively to a classroom of thirty students who would rather be anywhere else than a hot and stuffy classroom.

I feel very lucky that I can teach important concepts on a near one on one basis to other students. I feel like the progress we have made over the past few days is incredible and with just a little under a week of classes, the students are already showing remarkable improvements in their intonation and pronunciation.

After today, there are only two more days of classes before a three day break period and I'm looking forward to what we can accomplish. Last year, was a bit of a cluttered mess with a larger class and lack of clear ideas for what the class was supposed to teach. This year is tighter and more focused, making much better results in the end.

I'm looking forward to my mini three day break, but in the mean time I can't really complain about my summer classes. If only all classes could be this simple and effective.