Pre-Korea ~ September ~ October ~ November  December ~ January ~ CHINA ~ February

January 26th, 2008 I leave for China in 6.5 hours! I haven't even started packing yet and that doesn't include the travel time. Oh no... It's just hitting me now. You know, I don't even have a ticket yet? I might not actually be going to China. No, I will, but there just might be a few... road blocks on the way. And by "roadblocks" I might mean the "Yellow Sea." Oh well. I'll figure it out. I got a haircut today for 7 dollars. She shampooed it and everything. I tried to give her a tip afterwards but she wouldn't take it. I also dyed my hair "red" but it came out purple, so I re-dyed it brown but it didn't really work and came out dark purple. I hope this is one of those mistakes in life I make and never really make again, but I have the feeling it won't be. I really wonder why I'm so impulsive sometimes. I got home from school and thought, "Hey! I should dye my hair crayon-red!" and within four hours I had the dye in my hair. Stupid... stupid.... I'd post a picture, but you'll get enough of that if I take a lot of pictures on the trip. It doesn't look that bad, but it is not remotely what I had in mind. Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to Beijing, Xi'an, and Guilin. I'm going with Nicole, a friend of mine out here who was also going to China by herself at the same time. We don't really know each other well enough to plan a trip together for a full two weeks, but it should be okay. I guess we'll get to know each other very well. We have a rough plan, basically a very loose outline that was made on half a sheet of paper at a cafe table, but it will probably change a bunch when we're there. While on the trip, I'll keep a journal-esque thing and put that on here afterwards, so you know all of the details. Wish me luck!

January 20th, 2008 Recently I've been sort of surprised with how many people read this, including people out here, hehe... so I have to make sure I don't say anything bad about anyone. That also got me thinking about the rest of this site. I haven't really touched any of the pictures or writing in about a year, so if you do look at that stuff, know that it is old. I should probably put up some more galleries or something of recent stuff I've done. Onwards. I went skiing this weekend, rather, I went snowboarding. It was lots of fun, but I hurt. Everywhere. I've never had so many bruises all over my body at the same time. But it was really fun, and I heard it only hurts the first time because you fall so much. I always assumed that people just liked to snowboard because it's "cooler" than skiing, but it really is more fun, at least in my opinion. It's like sledding... really really intense sledding. I guess I learned pretty quick, too. I went with my Korean friend, 광호 (Gwangho) and his friend. We went up in this Gondola, before I'd ever even strapped a snowboard to my feet in my life before. Gwangho told me the hill down was 3 km long, which I was... a little apprehensive about. Let's just say the first kilometer was rough. But it was worth it. I think that's the way to learn. Put yourself into a situation that you can't get out of without learning the skill. By the end of the night, I could go down hills without falling and even turn, going down backwards. I'm not "good" by any means, but I've heard people have more trouble than I did on their first time. Here's some pictures:                          1st* This is all three of us, before we did anything. It's 광호, 정우, and me. 2nd* This is after the first 3 km hill, ready for round two. You can tell from my haggard appearance and lack of a hat. Look at the view in the background. 3rd* Me and Gwangho fought. It was epic. So, freezing and barely able to move due to the pain, afterwards we went to a 짐질방 (Chim Chil Bang), the public bath houses. Seriously, we have to get these in America. Again, the nakedness wasn't a big deal... except... well, when I first went into the room with all the showers and tubs and such, my friends had gone to the bathroom, and I stepped in and looked around for them. There were probably about 40 men in there, and when everyone has the same hair color and no one is wearing any clothes, it's hard to scan a crowd to look for people. So, I guess a foreigner in a Chim Chil Bang is not exciting, but a lost foreigner is interesting. My "friends" weren't even in there, so I continued to helplessly look into the crowd, naked, wondering where they went. About half of the people in the room all started to watch me, wondering what I was doing. You know that nightmare some people have of being naked in front of a large group of people while they all stare at you? In reality it's not a big deal, but I could see where the awkwardness comes from. I just realized that I've slept on the floor the past four nights, and two of those nights were in my own apartment. My Korean friend doesn't even own a bed. Isn't that strange? To me, a bed seems to be a staple of the bedroom. But... it's not even that. Not having a bed is normal in Korea. I just forget sometimes that my friends out here were raised in a completely different society than my own. The floor's not bad, it's actually pretty nice because it's heated. I'll probably sleep on it again tonight. Oh wait... not with my bruises. I need to start thinking about China. I leave in four days.                         1st* I finally brought a camera to Taekwondo. This isn't even a good kick. They took the picture on the way down. Notice my black suit and the yellow belt. 2nd* Me and Gwangho tried to get a tan on the beach. 3rd* This is funny. On the second gigantic hill, I stopped to take a picture of the scenery. If you look closely, you can see Gwangho and Chungwoo waving at me. I didn't even see them and they thought I was taking their picture. They were waiting for me to catch up. To a bored student looking over my shoulder at my desk: Me: It's a tongue twister. (reads) She sells seashells by the seashore. Try it. Student: (reads) She shells sheashells by da sheashore. Me: Okay... let's try a different one.

January 18th, 2008 So I was walking down the street yesterday when I almost passed a fishtank sitting on the curb. I walked a few more steps, then turned around and stared at it for a good 2-3 minutes. It might have looked strange, but people probably just assumed I was lost. Was it trash? Often, people will throw things out by just putting it on the curb. However, there are also a lot of little stores by my house that sell things like that. I asked around, and although I know a lot more Korean than I did on the 7th, I still don't know how to say "take" and as of yesterday I couldn't say the word "can," so I just gestured and mimed me picking up the tank and taking it away. After about three people, I got someone who could say "you take" in English, giving me permission to take the tank. I brought it back to my house, almost considering leaving it, due to the freezing temperatures and the necessity of taking out my hands from my pockets to pick it up, but I took it home and promptly set it on my kitchen counter. It turns out there were about 8-10 decent-sized fish sitting in the 2 inches of freezing water at the bottom of the tank. Since then, only one of them has died. Okay, if you talked to me before I came to Korea, one of the things I was most excited about was getting an octopus at one of the restaurants and raising it at home. I love cephalopods. They're fascinating animals. However, instead of a fishtank I decided to buy the stupid rabbit, and have been holding off buying a tank because I really don't want to start a zoo out here, which... I guess is inevitable. I collect animals. I don't know why. I never like them. They never like me. These stupid fish even hate me. I saved their life. I'm sort of waiting for them to die, though, because octopuses live in saltwater and these are freshwater fish. Oh well... they've got a few more weeks to live. I'm not going to buy an octopus until I get back from China.                                             *I lost old camera last week so this is the only picture I have for this blog entry. See my fishtank? Isn't it nice? If I got this at E-Mart, it would probably have been about 80-90 bucks! Not including the fish, of course. I got it for free.                                        Speaking of China, I'm having second thoughts. I'm definitely going, and I'm really excited about going, and I know I'll have fun, but this winter season is really starting to take a toll on me. My friends are all coming back from Thailand, where it's 70F-80F and there are beautiful beaches everywhere. China is cold. But it's not even the cold that bothers me. The cold is actually pretty nice. It's the sun. I need sun. I'm getting deathly pale and I'm so tired of wearing clothes all the time and... socks. I hate socks and shoes. My thoughts are continually disrupted by images of Miami, with the palm trees and the general smells of life in the air. I miss that. Winter is full of this strange feeling of inner cold, like my very essence is on the verge of freezing. You know... it's really not that bad. If you had talked to me a week ago I would have told you that the cold is really nice and I like winter. This week we had a cold front come in that dropped the temperature to below freezing. I think that's what did it. All the cells on my skin are going nuts, trying not to die. But there is something about the sun... I heard from someone who read something once that said something about how a little bit of sun is healthy for you. I believe it. But that said, my opinion of Korea is completely different. I really am enjoying myself out here. I love this city, and the culture is great. Now that I'm continually and actively trying to learn the language, I feel more... "involved" in the culture, if that makes sense. I just talked to a few people this week who had come to Korea with me in September, and about four or five of them don't like it here. They're all staying, but their general opinion of Korea is negative. I don't understand that. Everyday I seem to like it here more and more. It's strange... I don't really miss home anymore. I mean, I miss people, but not really America anymore. I miss the food, but I don't miss the food prices. Every time I think about going home, I think about what I'll miss here, not what I'll be regaining when I get back. Every time I think of people back at home, I want them to come visit, not me to go back. (Sadly, there's a strange perception of Asia being really far away that in today's world is really not the case. Nevertheless, I don't think anyone except my sister is going to come visit) There're these barbequed beef sticks that they sell on every block here for a buck. I had two of them yesterday night (instant, hot, and delicious) and I can still taste the spices on my lips. One of them seriously tasted like boneless hot wings on a stick. I'll probably miss that most of all when I go home. I'm totally serious, too. That's sad, but I'm not ashamed. Okay. I've played Starcraft a few times out here now. Something to understand about the ten year-old computer game that has its own channel in Korea is this: it is not a game. I don't even know what to call it. My Korean friends wanted me to play with them in the PC방 (Internet Cafe) and I was thinking, "I'm sort of a nerd. I can play games. I'll probably beat them." That was absolutely not the case. I was destroyed. Run over. Brutally slaughtered as if I was nothing. Of course, being a proud American alpha male, I downloaded the game on my laptop, set on learning the ropes and eventually beating the Koreans. I actually practiced. I've never "practiced" for a computer game in my life. It's not even fun for me. I don't understand why Starcraft so popular. But I continued to practice for about three days, getting ready for another encounter. I played my friend tonight over the internet with eight other Koreans and was, again, brushed aside with their fleet of spaceships as if I was nothing. Nothing! I sat back and watched my friend play. It was eerie. He was a machine! He typed so fast, so smoothly. Everything he did was clockwork and fluid, so strange. The map on the screen was dancing as he switched from view to view. I couldn't keep up and I was just watching! The spacebar clicked a rhythm and the keys seemed to roar as his Starcraft empire stretched across the screen. I really did feel like I was watching a sport, and a real "athelete," too. Only in Korea. I had some more to type, but I'll save that for the next entry. I'll try to get two more in before I go to China. Woohoo! China! Me: What did you do yesterday? Student: (thinks) Thursday! Friday!

January 7th, 2008 Something happened on this day last year. I don't remember what it was, but I remember counting down to it for some reason. Isn't it weird how stuff like that sticks with you? Anyway, it's a very foggy day here tonight in Incheon. I swear, a cumulous cloud has settled on this city. I don't think I have been in a fog this thick before in my life. My street is usually lit up like a Christmas tree with all the bars, restaurants, and karaoke rooms, but right now it looks like a rural street in Elgin.                           1st* Outside E-mart. 2nd* My apartment. I'm also on the side, trying to pose. I only took one shot of this because there was a restaurant full of people and a giant window right next to me. 3rd* I guess "Mad Max" is a chain. I'm a little disappointed. I found this in a back alley by my taekwondo place. Remember that one time I told you I was learning Korean and you didn't believe me because I lie about that all the time in this blog? Well I'm still going strong! And it's been almost two weeks now! What I know is still minimal, but I'm remembering it all, and using it, which I guess happens when you live in a country that doesn't speak your language. But today I taunted one of my taekwondo peers when we were stretching, and it worked! He understood! It's so satisfying to say something to someone you don't know in Korean and have them respond quickly, as if it wasn't your first time saying it to someone outside the "classroom." Granted, for every one of those quick responses, there're about twenty blank stares, several repeats, and then finally comprehension of what I'm trying to say. Then I was thinking. Perhaps it's because they are expecting me to speak English, and are listening and desperately trying to figure out what it is. It makes sense. I'm sure I have an outrageous accent, but not one that needs to be repeated four or five times. So as I was writing the next paragraph you're about to read, my landlord just stopped by my apartment, having noticed that my bicycle was stolen. (Oh yeah... my bike was stolen at work. I like how I tie it up outside in the dark alley by my house for two months, but it gets stolen in an elementary school. Of all the places...) I told him in bad Korean that it was stolen at school and not here. He left after that, but that's why I like my apartment so much. What kind of landlord notices something like that and cares enough to look up the word "stolen" and "bicycle" in the dictionary and come help me out with that? A note on language. I made a salsa CD for a (Korean) friend out here, and found myself translating the Spanish for him. I don't speak Spanish, but I guess I picked up a lot living in Elgin and Miami. Later, I went through everything I know in Korean and said it in Spanish. I didn't realize I knew so much. I guess I took a class once, but only for a semester. I find it odd that I lived in Elgin my whole life without learning the language of +30% of the registered population. Then there's Miami... The other day I went to McDonald's for lunch. While there, I saw about ten of my students. I know it sounds dumb, but I really sympathize more with celebrities these days. Not that I feel like one, but I can't go to a public place without being watched. Just waiting in line, I hear, "Oh! Jacob!" and have to put on a smile and say "hi." Sitting down, there's a table of them right next to me, watching me and wondering why I'm eating alone (Koreans always eat together). As I take a bite, I see the camera phone flip up in the corner of my eye. Seriously, I just want to eat my sandwich. And it's not like I can avoid them. Until they say "Hi," or "Oh!" or just blankly stare with a surprised, happy expression on their face, I don't know which ones are my students and which ones aren't. It's relieving to eat and shop at different parts of the city, where I'm stared at only for being white and not for being "Jacob the English Songsangnim."                              1st* That's my bunny. I busted out a tripod for this shot. Yeah... I know... 2nd* On Christmas Eve, it was the busiest I have ever seen the subways here. In Sindorim station (a station I already don't like) there was a shoulder to shoulder crowd, not moving, just to get on the platform. About five full minutes later I made it to the green sign. 3rd* This probably means nothing to you, but I could see the Gyeyang mountain all the way from Bupyeong. Winter air clears up the skies. It's nice. This is also the same alley where I took the night shot picture I posted on Dec. 19th. Student: Teecha! My englisha name is Look Upa! Me: What? Student: Look Ipa! Look Upa! Bible name! Me: Oh! Luke! That's a nice name. Student: Yesuh! Lookipa! Me: Wait... Lucifer? Your name is Lucifer? Student: Yesuh!