Typhoooooooons, soccer, karaoke, smiles, and kanglish

Well i've officially weathered my first typhoon! Typhoon Dianmu...you got nothin' on me!! haha! I awoke this morning to crashing thunder and lightning, sleeting rain, sirens, and public announcements that I didn't understand. I was so confused and disoriented I had to sit and listen for a minute, it was magical the way the rain was pouring out of the sky, alighting upon the engorged earth and sliding off the hills and "mountains" that surround my piece of Korean heaven. I got dressed, and was STOKED to wear my galoshes, I purchased them in the states years ago on a whim and have NEVER worn them! So today was the day! I had them on, and went outside to leave for work. I opened up my umbrella and WOOSH, a gust of wind crept up behind me, turned my umbrella inside out, ripped it from my hands, and carried it away over the roofs of my neighbors. GUH. Apparently i'm 0 for 2 in the umbrella department, I suppose that's what I get for growing up in the desert? Anyway, luckily I was saved from slogging to work without an umbrella because I received a phone call saying school was cancelled!! I've never had work or school cancelled for rain! I could totally get used to this!!

Some fun observations from summer camp that remind me daily why i'm a teacher:

Shoe soccer. My boys have taken to playing shoe soccer in the halls during breaks in lessons. It's so much fun to watch them interact with one another, to be truly free of the inhibitions that hinder them inside the classroom. Their smiling faces, the competitive side of them, that fire of youth. It's really inspiring and always leaves me with a smile.

Karaoke. Koreans/Asians LOVE karaoke, when in doubt they tell me to sing karaoke with them. Ha. It just so happens that in this classroom i'm using in this different school where I am teaching summer camp there is a microphone...that works! So some of the girls and I have taken to singing karaoke during breaks in lessons, before, and after lessons. It's fun to see the girls lose their inhibitions as well! They don't play soccer like the boys, but they all have beautiful voices and the way they hang on one another, that sort of camaraderie is really inspiring to see.

So a trend that i've noticed here is that Koreans try REALLY hard to be trendy with their English, but they usually mess it up. The expats around here call it "Kanglish" here are some of my favorite examples:

On the back of a car:
"Meeting New People:
We were looking for ourselves
but found each other groped for excuses
not to be alone anymore, we were waiting for our
lives to start their endings in the car."

Something a Korean friend of mine said to my fellow english teacher:
"I fear we can't be friends. I have love for you."

In a Jjimjilbang in Seoul:
"Prease push your shoes in your rocker"

In a shop in Jeju-do:

As you can see, these people are trying REALLY hard to get things straight....but they are failing. Miserably. haha. Brittoni and I find it extremely hilarious and try to take photos whenever possible. We have also decided that when we are together two things happen:

 1. lunatics or drunks walk up to me and begin to talk to me about anything and everything, usually it's a combination of Korean, bad English, and Gibberish.

 2. Brittoni gets stuck in elevators. The elevators here don't have sensors so unless you rush into the elevator you can get your hand, bag, body SHUT IN THE ELEVATOR and unless someone pushes the open elevator button...you remain shut in the elevator door. This is always shocking at first, then hilarious once we free her from the elevator. Good grief!

My korean classes went so well this week! The woman, Helen, who I pay for private lessons purchased a book for me, we reviewed the alphabet, and started working on my pronunciation! I'm so excited! I also accompanied Brittoni to a free class in downtown Changwon and I really like this class, it's one-on-one speaking with a Korean, almost like a language exchange but a little more structured. There are guided lesson plans, group discussions, and personal presentations in the last 20 minutes of class. I'm meeting so many people who really want to learn Korean/English! It's such a wonderful learning environment! 

Anyeong!