Taebaekois: Archive

May 13th

Mar 20th

2 notes

Feb 27th

1 note

Feb 27th

Update attempt #3

I’ve been trying to update this blog all morning but everytime I do, the power goes out and I lose my work. So this will be quick. Taebaek is going through a drought and it isn’t fun. I get two or so hours of water a day. A bit in the morning a bit at night. Read about it here. Also, relations with the North are worsening. Read about it here. I think it’s jutst a bunch of talk. ...

Feb 17th

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For the rents

Jan 11th

Do the Dangyang

In Korea, school vacation happens in the winter, not summer. The 23rd was the last day of school and to celebrate, the school staff took a trip to Dangyang, about 2.5 hours away from where I live, in Taebaek. We did a bunch of fun stuff: visited a restored ancient village, cruised a lake on a ferry, cave splunked (sort of), fired off some rounds at a shooting range. We also ate a bunch of weird...

Dec 28th

XMAS

I received a few gifts and Christmas cards from some students at school the other day. My favorite says this: To Andrew Hello I am chulgu Thank because study. bacation four gread merry christmas thank you parkchulgu It’s from a third grade student named Chul Gu (whose “western nickname” is Antonio). Evidently we have a lot of work to do on the English front but I think...

Dec 21st

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I went to Seoul and met a new friend. Her name is 고양이.

Dec 16th

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The formatting for this is all messed up. I’ll fix it eventually. Anyway, this is what happened when Luke and I went on a hike.

Dec 10th

옥수수

Lunch break just ended. Today we were served corn dogs — it was my first time trying one. Kinda ironic that the first time I tried a corn dog was in Korea. They’re not too good, but better than some of the food over here.

Dec 3rd

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OMG I’m on TV on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Nov 29th

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Walkz on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Nov 22nd

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Bus Stop on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Nov 21st

I’ve started another blog. It’s called Worst Artist Ever. I’m a horrible artist. Probably the worst I’ve ever met. To fill my time at work I’m going to draw one picture a day in MS Paint and then post it for everyone to see my skillz. If you have a request, I’ll fill it, just nothing to abstract, please.

Nov 12th

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Chupachups on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Nov 11th

Days off are awesome

I finally received a visit from crazy Korean missionaries! These dudes were from the “Church of God Preaches the Holy Elohim God where they practice the love of the Jeruserlum Mother.” I invited them in, we sat down, they tried to convert, I laughed in my head. They believe in God the Mother whom, they claimed, can be learned about by reading in-between the lines of the bible. People...

Nov 11th

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Boring Apartment Tour on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Nov 10th

Reallife

I’m sitting at school, bored. Yesterday I worked for a total of 40 mins, today I logged 80 mins. For the rest of the day, I sit at my desk and use the internet. Right now I’m in the staff room and there is a big meeting with all the teachers and school staff. A big wig is in from the education office and people seem nervous. The grade 5 teacher, Kim Young Me, just had an “open...

Nov 6th

Lunch

Just had lunch at school. I sit with the kindergartners. Our chopstick skill are about the same. Lunch is always an adventure. Today It was spicy soup, rice, radish kimchi, vegetable “pancakes,” and some weird stringy cold things. Coulda been octopus, could have been a vegetable. Your guess is as good as mine. In the cafeteria at lunch, they always play music. Usually some classical...

Oct 31st

Kimchi Fridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi_fridge. No wonder Yani wants one. Korea’s all about keepin’ up with the Jones’ errr should I say Kims.

Oct 31st

Wonju Weekend

Luke and I are in Wonju. A town of about the size of Victoria that’s two hours away from Taebaek. We’re killing time in an PC Bang, waiting for our train to leave in a bit. This was a strange weekend. Didn’t really do too much. Shopped a bit, hung out with some Korean pals. There is a Korean dude and his girlfriend sitting next to me. They’re playing counterstrike 1v1....

Oct 26th

Finally

After messing around with the Korean version of internet explorer 6 that i have to use on my work computer, for what felt like forever, Ifinally figured out how to log in to tumblr. Dreams come true. Yesterday I accidentally ate squid twice. It doesn’t taste too bad but the thought of it still grosses me out too much to enjoy it. After school yesterday all of the school teachers went out...

Oct 21st

Thursday

he saw the picture was going to be taken from a mile away and ripped over to make the jump in. perfect timing.

Oct 18th

Autumn Tints

The area around my school is “famous in Taebaek” because of the “autumn tints.” Check it:

Oct 14th

Oct 9th

KPOP Smash Hits. This song is 하 루 하 루 (Day After...

Oct 8th

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Sep 29th

Hiking

On Friday, all the elementary school teachers from the Taebaek school district went hiking. Like most official school things, it was a big deal. We all met at a school near downtown where some dudes made some speeches and handed out towels and little mats to sit on if we needed a rest. It was hilarious to see some of the Korean teachers decked out in full hiking/climbing gear like they were going...

Sep 28th

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Practically ever car in Korea has a TV/GPS. They pick up six channels over what I think is the cell phone network, but I’m not too sure. Everyday I car pool to work with my Vice Principal, and during the ride we watch a soap opera. I don’t fully understand it, but it seems super intense.

Sep 26th

Super interesting photo essay of North Korea. →

Sep 23rd

Kitchen

My apartment is great aside from this little leak/mould problem on the kitchen ceiling. This is what rent-free living looks like.

Sep 22nd

Sep 21st

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7pm Friday night. Your future looks good.

Sep 19th

I finally got the internet hooked up in my apartment. It’s insanely fast. I’m currently downloading a torrent at 1.2mbs. +1 point for Korea.

Sep 19th

Sep 17th

Sep 16th

Sep 14th

The soul of Asia

This weekend I went to Seoul. The train ride took about 4 and a half hours from Taebaek. The trains are comfortable, tons of space and the seats recline pretty far. I went with Luke and three other English teachers. I don’t even know where to start writing about this weekend. Seoul is crazy. It wasn’t as congested as I thought it would be but it is definitely sprawling. The first...

Sep 8th

Sep 4th

Sep 3rd

Entry NUMBERERE 2

Yesterday was the best day so far. I had my first day at the school. I’m not teaching for another two weeks. I pretty much just sit on the computer all day. I think I’m supposed to be prepping lesson plans but I’m not really sure. Anyway, I sat in on two classes yesterday. The first was a dance class which was a blast. I’m hoping I can get in on that again today. The kids...

Sep 2nd

ENTRY#1

So this will be the blog where I’ll be posting about my time In Korea. Shall we start at the start? Luke and I flew into the airport in Incheon which is just outside of Seoul on Wednesday. The flight was long and fairly uneventful, they played a Celine Dion concert as the in-flight entertainment. After we landed, we made our way to Yang Yang on the opposite side of the country. It was a...

Aug 31st