February 2012
11 posts
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LMFAO is coming to Korea. →
Walking through Hongdae, you’d be hard pressed not to hear any LMFAO coming from one of the clubs. I don’t really like LMFAO, but I’m a bit tempted to go because as much as I hate the shuffling craze, I really like watching Koreans do it.
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Anonymous asked: Hey Joe. This is Raj Maitra from Cambridge. I like your blog stuff about Korea. Pretty funny stuff. I hope all is well with you. Good luck with TOPIK. Questions: Do you watch Korean Soccer? What was it like in South Korea when they heard that in North Korea Kim Jong-il died?
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Anonymous asked: can we get another tour of your new apartment?
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The coolest thing that I found in Thailand so far:
Ranch Dressing.
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I'm in Thailand.
I guess that I forgot to mention it, but I am in Thailand and I’m here until Sunday. It’s been great so far and I’ve been having fun. I’ll post more about it later.
January 2012
3 posts
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“The doctor is going to say, “Sorry, I transgendered you.”
– One of my students worried about getting circumcised
December 2011
3 posts
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Merry Christmas!
I’m sitting here in my classroom at work, waiting for the two students who are supposed to show up today. Personally, I’m not too angry that I have to work Christmas. I’m just annoyed that I have to work on the weekend in general, but I guess that’s life at a Korean academy (at least some of them). Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your holidays!
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Busy as fuck.
I have been swamped with Korean academy and have been in the midst of resigning for another year, so posting on my blog has taken a back seat. Luckily, the last day of Korean class is Friday. However, winter camps are starting soon and I am taking the TOPIK in January. I am also picking up two new hobbies, woodworking and leathercraft. I am signing up for woodworking classes with a friend and...
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Top 40 Korean foods according to CNN →
I think that it’s a pretty fair list, although I think that bibimbab and galbi are too low on it. I am definitely not going to argue with first though. I fucking love haejangguk.
November 2011
15 posts
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I am on my way to Korean class.
I have been busy for the past few weeks. The term at my academy was ending, there was a speech contest I had to prep some of my students for (they took first place), and some good friends were leaving Korea so there were all the good-bye parties to go along with it. However, I am back on the ball now and I have decided to try being a little more productive. The big thing is, that I am going to...
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“Avocados are pear-shaped vegetables, with hard skins and large stones, which are...”
– Another vocabulary notebook
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Hong Kong was fun.
I’m currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight back to Korea. It’s been a great trip, but it has been exhausting. The only sleep I’ll be getting is on the airplane. Unfortunately, I also have to work today.
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I am alive in Hong Kong.
I made it safe and sound. The hostel we were at for the last two nights was a little sketchy and I am sure we paid more than we had to, but now we are at a nicer place. It also has wi-fi! Anyway, I’m starving and there’s still a lot to see so I’ll post more about it later if I have time.
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I am going to Hong Kong tomorrow.
I haven’t mentioned it, but I am visiting Hong Kong for the weekend. I am really excited for it since it’s the first time I will be leaving Korea in the eight months that I’ve been back. The big highlights of this trip are that I will be attending a friend’s wedding and I will be gambling in Macau, the gambling capital of the world. I’ll probably be doing a bit of...
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“You should be able to articulate your dreams in a new way; and thus bring them a...”
– My vocabulary notebook
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I get my advice from stationery.
Since I budget 20,000 won a week to spend at Morning Glory and other stationery stores, I own a plethora of notebooks. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. A lot of the notebooks I have though, have English on them. Usually it’s some poorly written English meant to motivate you or a misspelled quote from someone. Even with all their grammar mistakes, I find them absolutely delightful and...
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What I learned in Korean today:
Hangul/Romanization
춘전기/chun-jeon-gi
Translation
charger (for electronic devices)
I learned this word trying to buy a new iPad charger earlier today.
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“To Joseph
Hi Joseph I’m one of Jeremy teacher’s students.
I saw...”
– A letter from a co-worker’s student after I pulled a prank on his classroom
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My iPad charger broke.
So now I am forced to update from my galaxy tab until I pick up a new charger. The sad part is that I can’t post any of the pictures from my camera until I do since I don’t have a laptop. I guess it really isn’t that bad, but not having technology sucks.
October 2011
18 posts
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Costume shopping
I am currently on my way to Dongdaemun to see if I can pick up some of the fabric I need to finish up my costume. Hopefully, it won’t take too long since I have work a little later. However, my costume is coming together nicely. I bought most of it on Saturday, but I still have a lot of work ahead of me since I have to sew all that shit together.
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What I learned in Korean today:
Hangul/Romanization
인생은 어려워요/in-seng-eun eo-eo-ryeo-weo-yo
Translation
Life is hard.
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Makgeolli bread?! →
I am definitely going to try making this next week.
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Things I bought from Costco yesterday:
A chicken bake
A slice of pizza
4lbs of bacon
ham
face wash
Only God can know how happy all of this made me.
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Things I did in Busan
I only spent a night and two days in Busan, but I think that I managed to do quite a bit. I know that I didn’t get to see all the city had to offer, but I’m glad with what I did get to see:
Saw a wedding. This was the reason I went down to Busan in the first place anyway. It was only my second wedding that I’ve attended in Korea, and I still think it’s such a weird...
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I'm off to Busan tomorrow.
I’m off to Busan for the weekend tomorrow morning. My co-workers and I are going to go to my friend’s wedding. I won’t have tons of time down there, since I’ll be flying back on Sunday at 7:00 PM, and I have no idea what I’ll be doing besides going to the ceremony, but I am really excited for this. It’s the first time I’m going to Busan, and the actual...
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TOPIK Guide →
So, I’ve been studying for the TOPIK recently. It hasn’t been going that well, but on one of the older versions of the test that I took last night, I would have passed the beginner TOPIK test at the lowest level. It’s progress, since last time I looked at one I didn’t really understand the test at all. Anyway, I grabbed the old version of the test on this site and...
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Arrested Development is coming back. →
This is huge news for a lot of people I know.