The Sage Of Our Age... (Tuesday 18th Mar 2014)

Dear Sal,

 

The second week of teaching went by very much the same as the first. The days almost bleed into one, time passes without realising. I feel like I'm doing so much, yet nothing at all. It feels like I've been here forever. My mid week drinking ban lasted all the way until Monday night, that's one day, one whole day. I was doing really well until I was invited to play a game of beer pong. Part of living in Korea and experiencing the life and culture here is to say 'yes' more. So far it seems I've been saying yes to alcohol more than anything else.

This week has been nice, as I start to get know my students more. Who are the ones who can actually speak English, who are the ones that try and who are the little bastards who don't do bugger all. Some classes I like, some I hate, but all in all I don't mind. I don't love the work, I know that David certainly doesn't, but its a hell of a lot better than the mind numbing world that retail was.

We made the brave decision to return to Friday night makgeolli, where we ate a very hot dish whose name I can't remember. To solve the numbing pain of my burning lips, the makgeolli worked a treat. David of course ate more of the dish that I can only imagine was made of nothing but chillies. So in turn he drank more than I did, I know right, there is a first time for everything. The next morning the devastation of the night before was truly felt by Davids bathroom floor. I don't think I've ever seen him that sick/hungover. He slept most of the day.

After half arsed wrestling with my mind as to whether I should stay and look after him or go out and explore, I made plans with Bridget to go down town. We had coffee in the amazing English book shop where we discussed out favourite books and exchanged reading lists.
The evening was spend with Raquel, who we trained with, and a group of David's co workers. David text me regularly to remind me he wasn't feeling well and that I was a monster for leaving him at home. Nothing new then.

Sunday morning came and David had made a significant recovery, but was still not a hundred percent. He was determined to get out of his bed and not waste one of his rare days off though so we headed down town again to look round a museum, walk through a park with a temple, and went to a cat café. The museum was interesting, however the English translations were by far the high light. I recommend everyone pays a visit to the 'Daegu Modern Historty Museum'.

 

I was so excited to finally venture in to a cat café. I could barely contain myself as we walked through the door, but then the smell hit me. It was vile, I was already hungover but the smell of over a dozen cats piss and shit made me want to vomit. The cats were very friendly, if you had food. They formed large groups around tables of Koreans who lured them with some sort of cat meth. We didn't know how to order this magic that the cats loved, so we sat drinking our coffee and watched. I did make one friend who came to join me several times during our short visit. I called him Wordsworth, and I strongly believe him to be some sort of wizard in disguise, the true sage of our age.

Love, Hugs and... you know what, I can't think of anything.

Samuel James

Makgeolli Brain... (Saturday 8th Mar 2014)

Dear Sal,

Last weekend was an alcohol fueled blur with a bombardment of introductions to so many new people that I know I will fail to remember most of their names. Also, I just wanted to apologize if my last few letters have come across as a bit... well, like I'm an emotionally overdeveloped teenager on crack. I am loving it here, there is something in the air that I can't describe, but I think it might be... sewage?

Every Friday night, the group of people David works with go to their local makgeolli haunt. It's run by this very sweet Korean woman who does everything completely on her own. She serves, cooks, cleans and anything else that may need doing. She even has time to interact with everyone one in there, despite not really speaking English. The drink comes in a dented brass kettle and you drink from metal cups, like 1920's Prohibition America. 

  
The dangers of makgeolli don't make themselves known to begin with. The first cup goes down easily, is this even alcoholic? The second is smooth and refreshing. The third through to six cups disappear without you even realizing. This is when the effects start to kick in. You feel a little bit floaty. It is a very pleasant state to be in, that is of course until the morning. Makgeolli brain has become a widely used term within the branch. I can't even start to describe the feeling exactly other then to say, oh my God my head!

We were both suffering from the infamous Makgeolli brain when David moved Saturday morning, in one of the worst planned events I've seen in a while. We woke up early, ok about 10, with nowhere to go. Those clever people at Davids work thought it was a brilliant idea for them to have both the apartment David was staying in to be professionally cleaned at the same time as the one he will be moving in to... Genius. We would not be able to move him in until five. We seeked refuge in David's new neighbor and co worker, Bridget where we watched 30 Rock and ate omelette. We were very grateful to for her kindness and internet.

The afternoon was spent wondering around Home Plus, getting some essentials. I brought some cereal and was greatly looking forward to having a normal breakfast again. That was until I remembered I still don't have a bowl or a spoon. Oh, and I forgot to buy milk. I needed to lie down but there was no time for that. As soon as we moved David in, we were right back out again, making our way on the subway downtown.

There is a drink here called 'condition' and I've heard whispers on the wind that it's the cure for hangovers. All you do is drink one before you start drinking, and then one after. This theory was put in to practice on Saturday night by both David and I.

The rabbit warren that is downtown Daegu is littered with a mixture of shops and bars. There is pretty much anything and everything you could possible want or need. I have yet to find my bearings to the area, as so far I've only been lead by a group of people down the criss-crossing roads to the next bar. Through the hazy  eyes of alcohol, my navigational instincts seem to have deserted me. I had a great night and met some wonderful new friends who I look forward to spending more time with. 

We were invited to something that has become known as Sunday Funday, where apparently they just do what they did on Saturday night all over again. We politely declined.

Love, hugs and one more kettle of Makgeolli.

Samuel James

p.s) I now have a phone and will start taking more pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. 

The First Week.. (Friday 7th Mar 2014)

Dear Sal,

The first week flew by more quickly than I could have hoped for. The six hours of teaching moves so quickly and I find myself running behind by the end of each class.

On Wednesday, I only have to work half a day which is great news. I went out for dinner with my co worker Carol, who is also lucky enough to be blessed with a midweek break. She took me to a traditional Korean BBQ place, which was all kinds of amazing. We drank soju, and beer, followed by another and another and another. Before I knew it, we were down town where I bumped into David, which was a lovely surprise. I had a really good time with Carol and it was nice to get to know her more. 

Throughout most of the week, my classes have gone well, I think. I haven't really been given that much feedback, from the cameras that continually film and scrutinize my teaching performance. On Thursday though, my second lesson was a complete car crash. Actually scrap that, it was more like five Hindenburg's all blowing up at once. I didn't have enough prep time and was hung over. If they watch that video, I think they will find a few things to comment on. This was also the day I went to the immigration office. 

I was originally told I would be picked up from my apartment at ten. After waiting over an hour, I made my way down to the school to find out what the bloody hell was going on. I was greeted there by my branch manger Joanne. "Sam? Oh, Sam. I'm sorry, I changed the time and forget to tell you." 

For some reason, in Korea it's perfectly acceptable to make plans, then arrive late, change them or just not even turn up at all. Now the branch owner Alex was taking me and he would pick me up in ten minutes... Over thirty minutes later he arrive. I got in to the car and was handed a luke warm cup of coffee, a small gift to win my forgiveness. It didn't work.

We were of course late. Getting to the immigration office, which was populated by hordes of westerns accompanied by a native Korean, just as they close for lunch. For the next hour, I had a very awkward meal with Alex and a very sweet woman who spoke a little more English than him, but still not much. I was asked a series of question sporadically, "How are you finding Daegu?" "Have you eaten Korean food?" "Do you like kimchi?" All to which I desperately tried to start more of an in depth conversation, but fell at every hurdle. There was an awful lot of long silences. 

After one of the most socially painful lunches of my life, we made our way back and quickly sorted out my alien card which I will receive in about three weeks, but maybe more, maybe less or maybe never at all. After that, I was taken to the bank to open an account. I signed Samuel so many times that I forgot how to spell my name about half way through. Thursday felt like it was never going end. 

So much happens here everyday that if I actually sat down to write it all out, I would rival Steven King in terms of word count. I will try my best to keep you up to date, but at the moment, I feel drained both physically and emotionally. Pangs of doubt run through my mind as I think to myself, did I make the right choice coming here?

love, hugs and no more midweek drinking.

Samuel James.

Home, Sweet Home... Part Two.(Wednesday 5th of Mar 2014)

Dear Sal, 

After finishing my first day of work, I waited patiently to be taken to my new abode. My branch manager, Joanne, drove the short distance from the school to my apartment, which is located at the end of a long and winding back alley. She entered the code which I frantically wrote down on the back of my hand. Another code was entered to my apartment door and I was in. A hand written note awaited my arrival, informing me of how to work the oven, washing machine and heating. But not much else.

Ok, so here is what I think of my new home...

The Pros:

I have a massive double bed, win. A sofa which looks like it came straight out the 1980's. The kitchen is pretty big, decent sized fridge freezer and a microwave. I has a big round table, like the one I abandoned in England. A fairly big wardrobe, big enough for all my clothes anyway. Oh, and it was clean, which is a plus.

The Cons:

No TV and no internet makes Sam a dull boy. Without the company of David, TV had been my only friend on the lonely nights alone. Here I am without it and without internet. I don't even have a router; my friend Thomas lent me a cable to connect directly to the outlet. I think I found the the right one, but am unable to use it since I haven't been left the password... brilliant.

After only a few moments of being inside, Joanne looked around. "Oh, you have no TV, sorry" 

"But there is internet here, right?" I replied.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, of course."

"Well that's ok, I can always watch things on my laptop."

"Ah, that's ok then." she said, with a reassuring smile.

She lied. Just to top things off, in the rush to leave the school, she had forgotten to remind me that my bed sheets were in the main office. I actually moved them off one of my bags to retrieve them. My first night in my new home I would be sheet less. Wonderful news. 

I had arranged to meet Thomas after work to grab a bite to eat and a drink. Thank god I had. After my branch manager left, I unpacked a little before stepping outside to test my door code. The door to my apartment worked fine, opening with ease. The door to the building however did not. I put in the code written on my hand and nothing happened. I tried again to no avail. In that moment I panicked.

What if I can't get in? I'd have to sleep on the street... maybe Thomas was let me stay at his? What if he forgets to meet me? I don't have a phone, I have no way of contacting anyone, what the bloody hell was I going to do? I tried again without any luck so then I tried using different buttons and accidentally called my own apartment. After about five minutes of my flushed fingers punching numbers, I gave up. I decided to go meet Thomas, use his phone to call Joanne and solve this problem right away. After waiting nervously for about ten minutes, and smoking more than I should, he arrived. I called Joanne and she told me where I was going wrong, problem solved. Thank God. 

With that weight lifted off me, I relaxed and had a well deserved drink. That turned in to "just one more", then another, then "shall we?"And then a "let's do this!" I got home about five and passed out in multiple layers of clothes with a bath towel as my duvet. I'm not going to lie, I've had better sleeps.

The morning came too soon. The bright sun is very unforgiving in Korea. Especially with hangovers. Laying in the silence of my new abode, my mind wandered. I begun to think of home. Our old bed room, the safe, warm cosy feeling I'd get from just laying there with David, watching a film together. For the first time since being here, I stopped and realized I missed home, I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss Holly. Through the remainder of this week, I never been able to shake this blue feeling when I'm alone and I'm alone a surprising amount. 

Love, hugs and wishing you were here.

Samuel James.

Home, Sweet Home... Part One. (Sunday 2nd Mar 2014)

Dear Sal,

Sorry I haven't written to you sooner. This first week of work has been utter madness. 

After finally recovering from the epidemic of Sundays hangover, I made my way from my sleaze hotel, taking my luggage across to the school for my first day of work. I had originally been informed I would be taken to my new apartment before work. Upon arrival, I was told it would now be happening after, great. I had come in three hours early. I spent most of my time on the internet, going over my lessons and felt as best prepared as I could be. As I sat there nervously watching the clock count down to my first class, I wondered... What the hell am I doing here? Why am I even in bloody Korea? Was retail really that bad?

Every foolish thought of fear evaporated from my mind as soon as the bell went. I don't really know what happened, but I just got up and got on with it. Sure, I made mistakes, I had only been 'trained' on my first book lessons for about twenty minutes on Saturday, but I did it. I laid the rules down straight away.

The day is organised into two three hour lessons each day, with a five minute break at the top of every hour. Barely enough time to run and piss. I found myself desperately trying to catch up on things I'd forgotten to do, grade a test, print out a work sheet, see if David had messaged me. What I liked most about Monday and Tuesday is that I do the same lessons each day so Monday was more of a test run. By Tuesday, I knew what I was doing and felt much more comfortable.

The biggest problem I have so far is the students. I don't know if it's because I'm new, or it's the start of a new term, but these kids gave me nothing. They sat like zombies staring in to space. Now, I know they work hard. These poor kids get worked to death. After spending all day at regular school, they are shipped off to these English academies to reluctantly be taught a language their parents want them to learn, not them. They make little to no effort to speak. Saying that, they can read and write very well, better then I can probably.  

Lesson one follows a class text book, which work well but are quite outdated and boring for the kids. Yet another reason for them to fall asleep. But the new tablet class, which I had second, was exciting and new with colorful up to date images, current film clips, relevant quizzes and all at a fingers touch away. This group had a little more energy, but were still shy when it came to talking in class.

All in all, I think my first day went alright actually. Towards the end of my second class, which is the tablet I had spent all last week training on, I suddenly stopped to listen to myself. Who is that talking? Who is this guy? And where the bloody hell did he come from?

Love, hugs and stop speaking Korean in my class.

Samuel James.