I warned you all shit was gonna be a bit slow for a while, and it's more than likely going to continue to be slow for the month of August. In September, I'll return to the ROK and get started on yet another lovely, challenging, frustrating, hilarious, fantastic year. And get back to being Korea-focused.
Recently the focus has been directed toward the poems, and that will continue for the next month. So. I hate to bore everyone with that. If you have any interest, tonight commences the official restarting of the Letter Poems, which you can follow here.
Right. That's me off for the month. Take care, pretty babies.
7.30.2010
7.28.2010
The neverending quest for logic.
Bitching my face off to The Kid about the situation here with foreign teachers, because I had to get my medcheck done today, which is always a nice, tidy reminder of my place within the bureaucracy in this country. Whatever. I have to reassure everyone once a year that I don't have AIDS, a drug addiction or serious mental illness, even when I've already been allowed to come in and handle their children alone on a daily basis. That's fine.
I've already been over how I just don't really give a crap about the visa law changes. They can test me for every drug and disease under the sun if they want to, and I'll probably roll my eyes about it, but that's fine. The upping of the criminal background checks is something I fully, one hundred percent support, because kids don't deserve to be placed in life-altering situations just because someone can't be bothered to do the one simple thing they can to protect them. The degree thing is stupid.... I don't understand how having some desk person at an embassy pass a 'discerning' eye over my degree is going to make one speck of difference, but fine. I'll do it.
It's all a big ass smokescreen anyway -- we all know that. The media hypes up everything, as the media is wont to do, and the public starts bitching and moaning about the government not doing its job. So the government 'does its job', aka instigates a few 'changes' that require more pointless paperwork that basically amounts to nil, but can be pointed out to the public as 'tightening restrictions'. Then the whole thing starts over again. Nothing new or interesting to see here. It's done the world over, and, believe it or not, it's got the Korean public school teachers under a hell of a lot more strain and scrutiny than it does us at the moment.
But it's got me thinking about how, actually, the ROK really could use a much improved system for working out which foreigners are appropriate to have in their schools as teachers, and which, simply, are not. Now. This has nothing to do with foreigners. People go where the money is, and the foreigners here who are here legally deserve to be here, no matter how 'qualified' anyone perceives them as being, because if they've met the qualifications set for them, then they are motherfucking qualified.
The problem isn't the qualifications, either. It's part of the problem, but not the entire problem. What does that mean? Well. You get a boatload of foreigners over here who had no intentions of every being teachers. They haven't dedicated any amount of work or effort to the task, and therefore can't be expected to have any kind of attachment to it. Now. Not all teachers who have not trained to be teachers are bad teachers. I'm not trained. Not in the least -- not in any shape, form or fashion, in fact. But I'm still ridiculously passionate about my job, and go out of my way to do what I can to improve and work hard on a daily basis. But when you don't make people work for something, you're inevitably going to end up with tagalongs and apathetics in the mix. That's fine, though. I don't think that upping the qualifications would fix the problem here. And we all know that South Korea isn't really high enough up on the list of desirable locations to do anything about that anyway.
But I'm still bothered by the things that I see and hear among groups of random foreign teachers out and about on the weekends. Far be it for me to expect every crowd of foreign teachers to be constantly gushing on and on about improving their teaching methods and how fantastic their students are over a Saturday night beer. But the way some of these guys talk sometimes....
The kids deserve better than that. The schools and co-teachers deserve better than that. And I keep thinking to myself, how do Koreans not realize that these people are not suited to being teachers? The answer is that they were never given the chance to, before they were already committed.
And before I get tackled for being a one-sided race traitor yet again, let me just point out that there are a boatload of foreigners who are promised all kinds of things about their jobs that are just simply not even close to the truth before they ship over. They arrive and find themselves placed in the middle of nowhere, with all kinds of expectations and job requirements that no one told them anything about.
And thinking about all of this tonight.... the solutions seems extremely simple. As does the root of the problem.
Recruitment agencies.
They say whatever they have to to fill positions and get foreign teachers placed as quickly as possible without giving a fair picture of the situation to anyone on either side. Nobody from the school is required to speak to the foreign teacher before they come over. The foreign teacher is given no personal contact with anyone at the school before they come over.
So. Here's a novel idea: Why don't the schools interview the teachers before they come?
Answer: Because nobody knows where we're actually going before we get here. And maybe that's why we're told all kinds of bullshit or, in the best case scenario, absolutely nothing before we arrive. The foreign teachers end up bitterly disappointed when faced with a situation that is not at all what was described to them by some recruiter in Canada who has not a fucking clue in the world what they're talking about, and couldn't care less anyhow, and the school has no idea what kind of personality type or worker is going to be walking through the doors of their schools to work in tandem with the Korean teachers and in close contact with the students all year long.
End result: both sides end up disappointed and frustrated, bitching to anyone who will listen, and screwing up the reputations for parties on both sides, as well as creating a hostile environment toward the entire profession.
I realize organizing overseas interviews between individual schools and individual foreign teachers, when they tend to come over en masse, is hectic and complicated. But so is a year spent struggling through a bad work situation, caused by a party on either side, or both. Different schools have different personalities, and are better suited to different foreign teachers. And foreign teachers' number one complaint in the first year is not having been informed. Of basically anything. Not having had a chance to speak with anyone at the school, they're unable to ask specific questions, or get specific information. They're not able to get an idea of the school's location, population or expectations. Having simply been made aware of these things before they left their home countries to end up facing them down, when they're already tied to a year contract in a foreign country with seemingly no recourse for negotiation or escape, short of skipping town, would likely make a world of difference in the attitudes they have toward facing the already difficult adjustments they'll have to make.
The hagwon world is a whole other animal, of which I am largely uninformed. But I continue to struggle with the way the Korean public education system fails to set its own situation up for success in regards to the foreign teachers, and then turns around and blames it all on the foreigner. This isn't about Koreans/foreigners -- it's about employers/employees. And in this situation, the employer has to take responsibility. So instead of adding pointless extra steps to the visa process, which do nothing to allow for the human problems of these arrangements, why not go to the extra effort to provide the one basic step that most jobs the world over require, which is human to human contact before a contract is signed?
I've already been over how I just don't really give a crap about the visa law changes. They can test me for every drug and disease under the sun if they want to, and I'll probably roll my eyes about it, but that's fine. The upping of the criminal background checks is something I fully, one hundred percent support, because kids don't deserve to be placed in life-altering situations just because someone can't be bothered to do the one simple thing they can to protect them. The degree thing is stupid.... I don't understand how having some desk person at an embassy pass a 'discerning' eye over my degree is going to make one speck of difference, but fine. I'll do it.
It's all a big ass smokescreen anyway -- we all know that. The media hypes up everything, as the media is wont to do, and the public starts bitching and moaning about the government not doing its job. So the government 'does its job', aka instigates a few 'changes' that require more pointless paperwork that basically amounts to nil, but can be pointed out to the public as 'tightening restrictions'. Then the whole thing starts over again. Nothing new or interesting to see here. It's done the world over, and, believe it or not, it's got the Korean public school teachers under a hell of a lot more strain and scrutiny than it does us at the moment.
But it's got me thinking about how, actually, the ROK really could use a much improved system for working out which foreigners are appropriate to have in their schools as teachers, and which, simply, are not. Now. This has nothing to do with foreigners. People go where the money is, and the foreigners here who are here legally deserve to be here, no matter how 'qualified' anyone perceives them as being, because if they've met the qualifications set for them, then they are motherfucking qualified.
The problem isn't the qualifications, either. It's part of the problem, but not the entire problem. What does that mean? Well. You get a boatload of foreigners over here who had no intentions of every being teachers. They haven't dedicated any amount of work or effort to the task, and therefore can't be expected to have any kind of attachment to it. Now. Not all teachers who have not trained to be teachers are bad teachers. I'm not trained. Not in the least -- not in any shape, form or fashion, in fact. But I'm still ridiculously passionate about my job, and go out of my way to do what I can to improve and work hard on a daily basis. But when you don't make people work for something, you're inevitably going to end up with tagalongs and apathetics in the mix. That's fine, though. I don't think that upping the qualifications would fix the problem here. And we all know that South Korea isn't really high enough up on the list of desirable locations to do anything about that anyway.
But I'm still bothered by the things that I see and hear among groups of random foreign teachers out and about on the weekends. Far be it for me to expect every crowd of foreign teachers to be constantly gushing on and on about improving their teaching methods and how fantastic their students are over a Saturday night beer. But the way some of these guys talk sometimes....
The kids deserve better than that. The schools and co-teachers deserve better than that. And I keep thinking to myself, how do Koreans not realize that these people are not suited to being teachers? The answer is that they were never given the chance to, before they were already committed.
And before I get tackled for being a one-sided race traitor yet again, let me just point out that there are a boatload of foreigners who are promised all kinds of things about their jobs that are just simply not even close to the truth before they ship over. They arrive and find themselves placed in the middle of nowhere, with all kinds of expectations and job requirements that no one told them anything about.
And thinking about all of this tonight.... the solutions seems extremely simple. As does the root of the problem.
Recruitment agencies.
They say whatever they have to to fill positions and get foreign teachers placed as quickly as possible without giving a fair picture of the situation to anyone on either side. Nobody from the school is required to speak to the foreign teacher before they come over. The foreign teacher is given no personal contact with anyone at the school before they come over.
So. Here's a novel idea: Why don't the schools interview the teachers before they come?
Answer: Because nobody knows where we're actually going before we get here. And maybe that's why we're told all kinds of bullshit or, in the best case scenario, absolutely nothing before we arrive. The foreign teachers end up bitterly disappointed when faced with a situation that is not at all what was described to them by some recruiter in Canada who has not a fucking clue in the world what they're talking about, and couldn't care less anyhow, and the school has no idea what kind of personality type or worker is going to be walking through the doors of their schools to work in tandem with the Korean teachers and in close contact with the students all year long.
End result: both sides end up disappointed and frustrated, bitching to anyone who will listen, and screwing up the reputations for parties on both sides, as well as creating a hostile environment toward the entire profession.
I realize organizing overseas interviews between individual schools and individual foreign teachers, when they tend to come over en masse, is hectic and complicated. But so is a year spent struggling through a bad work situation, caused by a party on either side, or both. Different schools have different personalities, and are better suited to different foreign teachers. And foreign teachers' number one complaint in the first year is not having been informed. Of basically anything. Not having had a chance to speak with anyone at the school, they're unable to ask specific questions, or get specific information. They're not able to get an idea of the school's location, population or expectations. Having simply been made aware of these things before they left their home countries to end up facing them down, when they're already tied to a year contract in a foreign country with seemingly no recourse for negotiation or escape, short of skipping town, would likely make a world of difference in the attitudes they have toward facing the already difficult adjustments they'll have to make.
The hagwon world is a whole other animal, of which I am largely uninformed. But I continue to struggle with the way the Korean public education system fails to set its own situation up for success in regards to the foreign teachers, and then turns around and blames it all on the foreigner. This isn't about Koreans/foreigners -- it's about employers/employees. And in this situation, the employer has to take responsibility. So instead of adding pointless extra steps to the visa process, which do nothing to allow for the human problems of these arrangements, why not go to the extra effort to provide the one basic step that most jobs the world over require, which is human to human contact before a contract is signed?
7.22.2010
Camp cont.
I'll just say it again: I fucking love camps. Especially the last couple of days. I always, always over-plan and prepare, so that by the last couple of days, I'm able to pick out the choice activities from what's left and we have a lot more fun. Today, the other students who are in summer sessions spent their break time gazing longingly in through our window and frowning at all the screaming, smiling and laughing we were doing. And tomorrow is going to be basically nothing but a huge sugar high.
I had already forgotten what it was like to be around the little ones. They're so handsy -- they grab anything in sight: Teacher what this? Teacher what this? And they come running over to show you the most awkward, asinine things at the most random times: Teacher hand-uh pone numbers looks like food!!! And they cry. For no reason.
They're adorable as fuck, and I like them, and enjoy having them for that last bit of the year before they start to man out. But I don't think I could do it all the time, and am mostly glad to be working middle school. I've caught myself gazing in at my third grader's summer classes, and feeling so relieved when they come over to talk (more) sensibly, in their already changed voices.
That having been said, English camp sometimes yields real opportunities to actually teach English on a more complex level. Today an argument broke out amongst my three second graders. I listened in for a bit, before they decided to have me settle it: What was the difference between "a few" and "some"? They knew the obvious difference of "a few" generally meaning a small number, but "some" meaning anything from a few to almost all. But they were arguing over the degree to which "some" was flexible, and in what cases you would use it. I got to explain that we use "some" or "a few" at different times, depending on the feeling we want to give. For example, if you are failing two of your six classes, and your mom asked you how many classes you were failing, you would answer "a few" to give the impression that it wasn't that many. However, if your mom got your report card and you came home to find her angry, she would say you were failing "some" of your classes, because her point is that you are failing any at all, and she doesn't want to make it sound smaller. But. If your relatives asked your mom about your scores, she would probably just answer that you were failing "a few" classes, because she doesn't want to make it sound like a lot. If she's complaining to your father about how he needs to discipline you, again, she would say you were failing "some".
It's been a long-ass time since I've had the chance to explain something like that. And they stayed after to have me explain the difference between a participle and a gerund. For fuck's sake. What smart boys I have.
I had already forgotten what it was like to be around the little ones. They're so handsy -- they grab anything in sight: Teacher what this? Teacher what this? And they come running over to show you the most awkward, asinine things at the most random times: Teacher hand-uh pone numbers looks like food!!! And they cry. For no reason.
They're adorable as fuck, and I like them, and enjoy having them for that last bit of the year before they start to man out. But I don't think I could do it all the time, and am mostly glad to be working middle school. I've caught myself gazing in at my third grader's summer classes, and feeling so relieved when they come over to talk (more) sensibly, in their already changed voices.
That having been said, English camp sometimes yields real opportunities to actually teach English on a more complex level. Today an argument broke out amongst my three second graders. I listened in for a bit, before they decided to have me settle it: What was the difference between "a few" and "some"? They knew the obvious difference of "a few" generally meaning a small number, but "some" meaning anything from a few to almost all. But they were arguing over the degree to which "some" was flexible, and in what cases you would use it. I got to explain that we use "some" or "a few" at different times, depending on the feeling we want to give. For example, if you are failing two of your six classes, and your mom asked you how many classes you were failing, you would answer "a few" to give the impression that it wasn't that many. However, if your mom got your report card and you came home to find her angry, she would say you were failing "some" of your classes, because her point is that you are failing any at all, and she doesn't want to make it sound smaller. But. If your relatives asked your mom about your scores, she would probably just answer that you were failing "a few" classes, because she doesn't want to make it sound like a lot. If she's complaining to your father about how he needs to discipline you, again, she would say you were failing "some".
It's been a long-ass time since I've had the chance to explain something like that. And they stayed after to have me explain the difference between a participle and a gerund. For fuck's sake. What smart boys I have.
7.21.2010
I'm so glad I come from a multicultural, multiracial modern society that's so well integrated and doesn't have the problems that....
Haha. An old friend of mine, who lives in the area in question, posted about this on facebook. The original article, on newsbusters.com, has disappeared. I look into this more this afternoon when I have time after work. Lovely.
All I hear is bullshit coming out of that country at the moment. Good to see Obama's presidency has really proven how our society has moved forward and brought us together as a untied nation that embraces our... oh fuck it. I can't even be bothered.
Haha. An old friend of mine, who lives in the area in question, posted about this on facebook. The original article, on newsbusters.com, has disappeared. I look into this more this afternoon when I have time after work. Lovely.
All I hear is bullshit coming out of that country at the moment. Good to see Obama's presidency has really proven how our society has moved forward and brought us together as a untied nation that embraces our... oh fuck it. I can't even be bothered.
7.19.2010
Center boys violence and what to do for camps minus a computer?
Fuck. To be so incredibly exhausted, yet unable to get to sleep...
It's camps. During camp time I can't stop running over activities and possibilities and schedules in my head. Also, today I got some really disappointing news. Some of my boys at the center, including my favorite set of twins, beat the living shit out of another kid last Friday. This was all explained to me in Korean today, when I got to the center after work with not a student in sight, and as best as I could understood, the kid talked down to them, they got pissed off and jumped him. As a result -- and the why on this one is something I didn't fully catch -- they're not allowed in the center for two weeks.The thing is like... I know these boys are rough. And I can forgive them a lot of things. But I have a hard time not being seriously disappointed when any of my students do something like this. To fuck up in a million other different ways is one thing, but to physically harm another person... and I'm almost ashamed to type this next part, but the topper is that the kid was a fourth grader in elementary school. A fucking fourth grader. These boys are middle school third graders -- the equivalent of a freshman in high school in the US. It's just hard to believe that Chanhee, who is always so fucking polite and mannered, and Geonhee who just grins like a loon when I come in and lays his head on my shoulder during lessons when he's bored and frustrated could turn around and do something like this. I know they're kids and they make mistakes. But fuck sake. I can't even picture them angry, let alone being physically violent. It's really disappointed me.
The head teacher put me on the phone to them today to express my disappointment, but I wasn't having a real on day with the Korean, and it was hard to say what I wanted to say.
And in contrast to that depressing news, I thought I'd throw a few things out there for public school folks who may be facing similar problems a la lack of equipment and proper settings for camps, like I am at the moment. Things to do to keep the kids busy and entertained when down and out in the technology department....
1. Make pancakes. If your students are anything like mine, they're wicked good with those gas camping stoves, even indoors, and can be completely trusted to man them responsibly. Which isn't to say you should go leaving them alone in the room with or anything, but I've seen the Korean teachers do it all the time, so don't be afraid to try it out. Just watch them when it gets to be time to add the salt, or you'll end up with some fucking disgusting pancakes, like we did last year. Not that it wasn't hilarious to have them do their write ups afterward:
By the way, you get away with this one by teaching them all the words for different tastes beforehand. You can see them applying all the vocabularly we had learned in pretty amazing ways in their write ups there. Even though they came out crappy, as you can see, and as the students themselves put it, "but we are good time".
2. Marshmallow tongue twisters. This one was actually inspired by Willie having his students stuff as many marshmallows as possible into their mouths during his camps for his own amusement. And I have to say, it is actually one of the most amusing things I've ever seen. You get your hands on a few good English tongue twisters, and have them practice first, sans marshmallows. Grabbing some that have the key sounds that are difficult for them are the best. You know the ones --- F, V, R, L, TH, etc. Then, to up the fun factor, you have them say them again with one marshmallow in their mouths. Two. Three. Four. As many as they can fit. The last part obviously doesn't help much with their pronunciation, but you get to sneak that in as you're "practicing" for the "game" beforehand. And they stay way more focused when they know what's coming.
3. Paper mache solar system. You can teach loads of vocabularly with the planets, including comparitives and all kinds of science stuff. Colors. Gas, liquid, soild. Atmosphere. Orbit. Blah blah blah. All kinds of work you can do leading up to this, but the important part is, you can do all of the worksheet/English based stuff and reward them with an actual activity afterwards. And while they're doing activities, they are actively engaging with the language, having to listen to your instructions in English, ask you questions, so on and so forth. Like I said before, when the students feel like they're working up to something more fun, they pay more attention, rather than just being taught vocabulary for vocabulary's sake. Also, when you activate those other parts of the brain, the language just sticks better. Everyone knows that. Get the motor skills going, get them engaged with colors and shape and movement -- the more areas of the brain you activate with them using English, the more they naturally absorb. Plus, it's just not as boring.
This is all messy as fuck though, and takes loads of materials prep. But it's worth it. By the third day of camp, even I'm starting to die of boredom with the games and vocabulary and worksheets. There are a million other things -- have them make time capsules to open in ten years, or go on scavenger hunts. You've all seen most of this out there I'm sure. But those are my top three for this camp. Hope it's useful to some of you.
No computer and sexy girl.
First day of camps. Aren't you all dying to hear how it went? Well, settle in kiddies.
What was that about no electricity, GFBR? Yeah. Me too. Got it switched on and then moved to the new classroom to find — what’s this? — no computer! No powerpoints or photos or games. Cool. I can deal with this, I guess. Feel bad for the kids because they have to concentrate twice as hard to figure out what in the samhill is going on, and also writing things out on the board is about a billion times less interesting than quickly clicking through colorful photos of them.
I pointed this out to Co after her classes ended, and she came out to find us playing Simon Says on the dirt pit, because three and a half hours of worksheets, board writing and card games was about all I could stand to make them endure. She said, I know! I have to teach without a computer too! It’s inconvenient!
Well. I understand that it’s inconvenient for everyone. But it’s slighly moreso for the teacher who isn’t fluent in the students’ native language and relies heavily upon visual aids, which have all been prepared ahead of time and are now useless. But you know. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose. Like I said, I can manage. I’m not thrilled about it and I feel bad for the boys, but I can manage.
I’ve got about the swellest group of kids ever, and the third graders have integrated themselves nicely in with the first graders, and the second graders all seem to know the first graders anyway. It’s weird. Usually it’s like the goddamn Berlin Wall between different years. But, like I said, they’re a great group of boys.
We started class off promptly with one of them vomitting all over his desk. Bless his heart, he didn’t want to go home, though. He wanted to stay and play the game. During break time they got ahold of my phone, and I let them. I told them if I got home and found my language settings switch I would kill them tomorrow morning. They had great fun trying to work out the meaning of my most recent text messages. Native English is so hard!
While we were out playing Simon Says, some first graders started shouting, “Sexy girl! Sexy girl!” from a third story window. The first time I ignored it. The second time I told them to go away, which my students translated to them as “꺼져!” The third time, I set my boys to playing a game of Red Rover, and took to the stairs.
They couldn’t believe the foreign teacher had come to get them. I confronted the classroom full of boys to hand over the perps, and took the two boys out into the hallway. It was all smirks and sniggering for about thirty seconds. Until I asked who I was. A teacher. That’s right. And what did you say? Sexy girl. Right. You screamed “Sexy girl!” at a teacher, over and over again. Would you like to go down to the teachers’ office with me and tell the other teachers that you screamed “Sexy girl!” at a teacher? No? Why not? Names and class numbers, please.
Now they’re about to start crying. I said, look. I am a foreigner. But I am still a teacher. And you don’t talk to foreigners that way to begin with, but you certainly do not speak to a teacher that way. Understand? Good.
Sigh. I can’t believe I have to start all over again with the social training after vacation. But I have a feeling having three full classes of first graders oversee this little encounter will help set things straight from the beginning. I hope, anyway.
7.14.2010
E2 visa nonsense.
So. I feel like I should feel compelled to say something about what's going on with the E2 visa right now. But to be perfectly honest, you all know what's going on, and plenty of other bloggers with wider wisdom than my own have already stated their various positions on the issues.
I'm also tired and really, really distracted with other things at the moment. Which is how The Man ultimately always gets you, in the end. I know.
I'm also having a hard time getting too pissy about it, when I'm simultaneously receiving a lot of really disturbing reports of rising racial tensions back in the homeland. Add to that the fact that my recent bout of reading has centered around wars of nationalism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and I'm just not able to get myself that fucking pumped up about the weed test.
Which. It's not about the weed test. We all know that. It's about the way the media reports our "outrage" at having to be tested for weed, which isn't the point most rational adult foreigners are making. But at the same time, for every blogger making fantastic points about racial/ethnic profiling and foreigner crime stats compared to Korean crime stats, there are at least three idiots posting all over the internet about how they're leaving for Korea in two days and made some "choices" that we're not supposed to judge at their going-away party, and what the fuck do I, like, do, man bro?
So. Whatever. They can test me for whatever they want. I don't have anything to worry about, and I don't feel like that is something I'm missing out on in life. Yeah, it's a dick move. But I'm also not going to be sobbing myself to sleep to think that a teacher who couldn't put down the goddamn bong long enough to pass a test they knew was coming isn't going to be here spazzing up my reputation by doing stupid shit like mail ordering pot seeds off a website. As long as my co-teachers continue to look embarrassed every time they have to explain that I need to go to the hospital and get proof that I'm not on drugs or infected with HIV, then I'll get by.
We're in for a bad wave in the media, it seems. We all knew it would be coming shortly when that shit went down in Daegu. It will pass, and the foreigner fear frenzy will wane, only to wax again sometime in the near future. Back and forth. In the meantime, if you're American, just comfort yourself by trolling media sources from back home and realizing that, although we've had such an ethnically, racially and culturally diverse history, we're not doing any better at the moment, and people who look "different" are being treated just as shit as we are. Hooray!
I'm also tired and really, really distracted with other things at the moment. Which is how The Man ultimately always gets you, in the end. I know.
I'm also having a hard time getting too pissy about it, when I'm simultaneously receiving a lot of really disturbing reports of rising racial tensions back in the homeland. Add to that the fact that my recent bout of reading has centered around wars of nationalism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and I'm just not able to get myself that fucking pumped up about the weed test.
Which. It's not about the weed test. We all know that. It's about the way the media reports our "outrage" at having to be tested for weed, which isn't the point most rational adult foreigners are making. But at the same time, for every blogger making fantastic points about racial/ethnic profiling and foreigner crime stats compared to Korean crime stats, there are at least three idiots posting all over the internet about how they're leaving for Korea in two days and made some "choices" that we're not supposed to judge at their going-away party, and what the fuck do I, like, do, man bro?
So. Whatever. They can test me for whatever they want. I don't have anything to worry about, and I don't feel like that is something I'm missing out on in life. Yeah, it's a dick move. But I'm also not going to be sobbing myself to sleep to think that a teacher who couldn't put down the goddamn bong long enough to pass a test they knew was coming isn't going to be here spazzing up my reputation by doing stupid shit like mail ordering pot seeds off a website. As long as my co-teachers continue to look embarrassed every time they have to explain that I need to go to the hospital and get proof that I'm not on drugs or infected with HIV, then I'll get by.
We're in for a bad wave in the media, it seems. We all knew it would be coming shortly when that shit went down in Daegu. It will pass, and the foreigner fear frenzy will wane, only to wax again sometime in the near future. Back and forth. In the meantime, if you're American, just comfort yourself by trolling media sources from back home and realizing that, although we've had such an ethnically, racially and culturally diverse history, we're not doing any better at the moment, and people who look "different" are being treated just as shit as we are. Hooray!
7.09.2010
Gang.
Having the bad boys on your side, as a teacher (or probably any other kind of human being), is mostly priceless. However. There can be times when there are downsides.
I've been giving my classes the option between a movie and games all week. The A level boys have mostly opted for games, because movies bore them (as they do me). The lower level classes, it should go without saying, have almost all shouted out, "MOVIE!" rendering the vote I administer mostly useless.
However. Daesook and Minwoo's class yesterday.
"Two choices today. You choose. Choice 1: Watch a movie. Choice 2: Play a game."
"MOOOOVIE!"
"Oh man. Again? Movie, boring."
Seungwon: "Teacher no want movie?"
"It's okay. Just, I've watched this movie 15 times this week."
Minwoo to Seungwon [in Korean]: "What did she say?"
Seungwon: "She's watched the movie too many times already. She doesn't want to watch the movie again."
Me: "Okay. Let's take a vote: if you want to watch the movie, raise your hand!"
Everyone except Seungwon and Minwoo raise their hands, including Daeseok.
Minwoo to Daeseok: "Hey! Teacher doesn't want to watch the movie!"
Daeseok: "Oh really?" [Addressing the other boys in the class] "Hey. Assholes. Movie's boring. We're playing games."
Every hand instantly goes down. No matter what I said, I couldn't get them to put them back up. Even offering to beat up Daeseok for everybody. So we played games. Haha.
I've been giving my classes the option between a movie and games all week. The A level boys have mostly opted for games, because movies bore them (as they do me). The lower level classes, it should go without saying, have almost all shouted out, "MOVIE!" rendering the vote I administer mostly useless.
However. Daesook and Minwoo's class yesterday.
"Two choices today. You choose. Choice 1: Watch a movie. Choice 2: Play a game."
"MOOOOVIE!"
"Oh man. Again? Movie, boring."
Seungwon: "Teacher no want movie?"
"It's okay. Just, I've watched this movie 15 times this week."
Minwoo to Seungwon [in Korean]: "What did she say?"
Seungwon: "She's watched the movie too many times already. She doesn't want to watch the movie again."
Me: "Okay. Let's take a vote: if you want to watch the movie, raise your hand!"
Everyone except Seungwon and Minwoo raise their hands, including Daeseok.
Minwoo to Daeseok: "Hey! Teacher doesn't want to watch the movie!"
Daeseok: "Oh really?" [Addressing the other boys in the class] "Hey. Assholes. Movie's boring. We're playing games."
Every hand instantly goes down. No matter what I said, I couldn't get them to put them back up. Even offering to beat up Daeseok for everybody. So we played games. Haha.
7.08.2010
Gusts Of Popular Feeling has some posts up this morning that have caught my attention.
Firstly, nobody work for Pagoda ever. This is disgusting.
And secondly, I hope they find him and chop his junk off.
My foreign English teaching brothers, I feel bad for you. I have to sit through the occasional lecture about how bad foreigners are from inbred backwoods racists (and occasionally, as has been wont to happen with racism, some otherwise surprisingly well-balanced and likable people), only to have nearly every one of the people who feel comfortable unloading such a thing on me, a foreigner, qualify it somewhere near the end with, "Well foreign men. The women are okay." Of course. Women are for conquering, and men are to be conquered by. Believe me. This comes with its own pack of issues for foreign women. But at least in my job, which is the most important thing to me here in Korea, I am not viewed as a potential threat. I can't imagine what that must be like.
Firstly, nobody work for Pagoda ever. This is disgusting.
And secondly, I hope they find him and chop his junk off.
My foreign English teaching brothers, I feel bad for you. I have to sit through the occasional lecture about how bad foreigners are from inbred backwoods racists (and occasionally, as has been wont to happen with racism, some otherwise surprisingly well-balanced and likable people), only to have nearly every one of the people who feel comfortable unloading such a thing on me, a foreigner, qualify it somewhere near the end with, "Well foreign men. The women are okay." Of course. Women are for conquering, and men are to be conquered by. Believe me. This comes with its own pack of issues for foreign women. But at least in my job, which is the most important thing to me here in Korea, I am not viewed as a potential threat. I can't imagine what that must be like.
7.07.2010
Formspring -- Kpop: legit or guilty pleasure?
kpop: legit or guilty pleasure?
Okay. I sort of already answered this here. But to reiterate: Legit. Not because it's 'legit', in the same way that indie bands are 'legit', but legit because guilty pleasures aren't something I've had since high school. Going to art school will cause you, if made of the same stuff I am, to give up on feeling guilty about liking what you like pretty quickly. Because being cool is so uncool. And once the ones not following the herd become the herd.... well. I won't get into all of that. But I don't do song and dances trying to cover over what I genuinely enjoy anymore. That shit is for the young and unemployed, who have time and energy to worry about such things.I don't like all Kpop. In fact, I only like a very small portion of it. Some (maybe even most) of it annoys the shit out of me. The girl groups in particular tend to send me over the edge, because their shit tends to be so fucking saccharine (not their fault -- definitely a byproduct of the culture). I only really like Big Bang and 2pm, the former mostly because of T.O.P. and G Dragon (both of whom I think are legitimate cultural icons, who will change and affect Korean culture -- also, T.O.P. is hot as fuck), and the latter possibly because they are described as "the noonas' desire" (as opposed to SHINee, who I can't stand and are described as "the noonas' hope"). There are more than one of them who definitely fall into the category of this noona's desire.
That having been said, I am fucking fascinated with the way Korea basically enslaves these kids at a young age and controls every aspect of their lives for decades. I know the music is overproduced, definitely over packaged and mass marketed. And I know a lot of the members of these groups are only as good as they are, because anyone who trains at something all day every day for years basically should end up being good at it. But. You can't overlook what these kids have been willing to give up to accomplish their dreams. It's incredible to me. I don't think I could ever be that dedicated to anything. That aspect, at least, is completely legit, no matter how you look at it. And worthy of respect, in my opinion.
To finish you off....
Kpop I like:
2PM
T.O.P.
G Dragon
Seung Ri -- VI (Seung Ri means "victory" in Korean)
Brown Eyed Girls
2NE1
Kpop I hate:
SHINee
T-ara
Ask me anything.
7.05.2010
Games.
I got to work today, prepared to show a movie, as one does once exams are finished. Had the God-given sense to get into the EOZ an hour early to set it all up and make sure everything was working, because.... well. You hold a job that expects you to perform during a certain allotted time slot while using technology (whether or not that technology is actually functioning) for nearly two years, and you learn a hard lesson or two.
Had an original problem involving the subtitles not being synced up (which I was only able to notice, thanks to my mad Korean skills -- perks!) and got that all sorted when I realized the TV connected to the computer was fucked. Played with the menu in Korean for a while. Decided that was only going so far. Went and told Co. Watched while Co nodded. Listened while Co told me the tech guy would come fix it. Went back and fucked about with the menu some more. Fucked about with the wires connecting everything. Fucked about with the menu some more.
Forty minutes later, my class started. Five minutes after that, the tech guy came in, fucked about with the menu and wires in much the same manner I had, then said, "Please wait," in Korean, and fucked off, never to be heard from again.
Well fuck me. No computer. No movie, and worse, no back up game, which involved using the computer. Better still? No co-teacher! "선생님! Other 샘 땡땡이?" Yes, boys. I believe so.
So. Me. Thirty teenage boys. A board and a chalk pen. Fuck it. Nothing left to study anyway. Who's ever heard of Heads Up, 7up? They were immediately intrigued.
Now. They got the point of the game right away. We didn't have any issues with comprehension. However. First round of boys do their thing. Heads up, seven up! Nine students stand up. What the fuck? Try again. Heads up, seven up! Six students stand up.
Boys. Kindergarteners play this game on a regular basis. With no issues. What is going on?
Teacher, one person touch same two times. Very sorry.
Again.
They're all standing there innocently when I turn around and say, everyone touched one person? Everyone touched a different person? Everyone ready? Okay, heads up --
"Teacher!" The confession comes out, now. "I mistake! Touch two people! I very sorry!"
They were more amused with my befuddlement at their stupidity than anything, and we had good time. Then we played Do As I Say, Not As I Do, which involved them having to face me while I said, "Touch your elbow!" while I touched my knee, and having to follow my words instead of my actions. Fucking hilarious. Then I put a student in charge. Teacher, what this? Nipple. That's your nipple. A question brought before the class in Korean, and suddenly, Jihwan, one of my besties, shouts out, "DICK!"
"JIHWAN!"
Redder face you've never seen. Good to find out he learned that one from his hagwon teacher, who is not a foreigner.
It's always good to have these occasional classes with no co and no real lesson plan, because the boys feel comfortable enough to really talk to me. And I have the time to let them. Of course, today that resulted in an entire class confronting me with the request to teach them bad words. I had half a second of rationalizing it to myself, before I told them they knew them all already, and if they want to learn that lesson from me, they can come back and visit me after they graduate.
We had a good time. Much better of a time than I would have had watching the first half of School of Rock five times in a row. In fact, I'm thinking of scrapping the movie and doing games all week.
Later, out back behind a coffee shop near the study room, I ran into a flock of high school girls. They came over and were asking all sorts of questions, including where I lived. I told them, and they responded that they lived in the neighboring dong, which is where my school is. I told them my school name. They, in turn, told me my previous students' names. They have been dating a group of my third graders from last year. I told them they were all bad boys and to stay away from them, and they agreed and then sighed about how they were so handsome, though. I told them I could see their point. Then I told them all the unflattering nicknames I had had for those boys last year as sisterly revenge for them being bad, yet handsome.
They all had those weirdo contacts in that make their eyes look like cartoons, and went on endlessly about how my eyes are so big, round and blue, my face so small, my body very S line. I haven't had really any chance at all to interact with female Korean students, and it's always interesting to me when I do. It seems they're always confessing things to me within seconds of meeting -- insecurities about their looks, how often they smoke or drink alcohol, how they're in love with a bad boy. At some point, I really would like to try a girls' school.
The boys at the center almost got the smackdown tonight, because it was fucking hot and I'm exhausted, but they pulled it together at the last minute. The other male teacher there seems to be finally coming around to me a bit, it seems because he popped Woohyeok in the face when he came around a corner for absolutely no reason and I lost my composure and nearly fell over laughing, almost out of sheer shock alone. He actually spoke to me after that.
Oh stuff and things. I'm home early tonight, because the twins ran away from class, took forever to be rounded up, and so we only had time for one session, instead of the regular two. Now I've got to finish the Korean chapter and eat something....
Tired, tired Liz.
Had an original problem involving the subtitles not being synced up (which I was only able to notice, thanks to my mad Korean skills -- perks!) and got that all sorted when I realized the TV connected to the computer was fucked. Played with the menu in Korean for a while. Decided that was only going so far. Went and told Co. Watched while Co nodded. Listened while Co told me the tech guy would come fix it. Went back and fucked about with the menu some more. Fucked about with the wires connecting everything. Fucked about with the menu some more.
Forty minutes later, my class started. Five minutes after that, the tech guy came in, fucked about with the menu and wires in much the same manner I had, then said, "Please wait," in Korean, and fucked off, never to be heard from again.
Well fuck me. No computer. No movie, and worse, no back up game, which involved using the computer. Better still? No co-teacher! "선생님! Other 샘 땡땡이?" Yes, boys. I believe so.
So. Me. Thirty teenage boys. A board and a chalk pen. Fuck it. Nothing left to study anyway. Who's ever heard of Heads Up, 7up? They were immediately intrigued.
Now. They got the point of the game right away. We didn't have any issues with comprehension. However. First round of boys do their thing. Heads up, seven up! Nine students stand up. What the fuck? Try again. Heads up, seven up! Six students stand up.
Boys. Kindergarteners play this game on a regular basis. With no issues. What is going on?
Teacher, one person touch same two times. Very sorry.
Again.
They're all standing there innocently when I turn around and say, everyone touched one person? Everyone touched a different person? Everyone ready? Okay, heads up --
"Teacher!" The confession comes out, now. "I mistake! Touch two people! I very sorry!"
They were more amused with my befuddlement at their stupidity than anything, and we had good time. Then we played Do As I Say, Not As I Do, which involved them having to face me while I said, "Touch your elbow!" while I touched my knee, and having to follow my words instead of my actions. Fucking hilarious. Then I put a student in charge. Teacher, what this? Nipple. That's your nipple. A question brought before the class in Korean, and suddenly, Jihwan, one of my besties, shouts out, "DICK!"
"JIHWAN!"
Redder face you've never seen. Good to find out he learned that one from his hagwon teacher, who is not a foreigner.
It's always good to have these occasional classes with no co and no real lesson plan, because the boys feel comfortable enough to really talk to me. And I have the time to let them. Of course, today that resulted in an entire class confronting me with the request to teach them bad words. I had half a second of rationalizing it to myself, before I told them they knew them all already, and if they want to learn that lesson from me, they can come back and visit me after they graduate.
We had a good time. Much better of a time than I would have had watching the first half of School of Rock five times in a row. In fact, I'm thinking of scrapping the movie and doing games all week.
Later, out back behind a coffee shop near the study room, I ran into a flock of high school girls. They came over and were asking all sorts of questions, including where I lived. I told them, and they responded that they lived in the neighboring dong, which is where my school is. I told them my school name. They, in turn, told me my previous students' names. They have been dating a group of my third graders from last year. I told them they were all bad boys and to stay away from them, and they agreed and then sighed about how they were so handsome, though. I told them I could see their point. Then I told them all the unflattering nicknames I had had for those boys last year as sisterly revenge for them being bad, yet handsome.
They all had those weirdo contacts in that make their eyes look like cartoons, and went on endlessly about how my eyes are so big, round and blue, my face so small, my body very S line. I haven't had really any chance at all to interact with female Korean students, and it's always interesting to me when I do. It seems they're always confessing things to me within seconds of meeting -- insecurities about their looks, how often they smoke or drink alcohol, how they're in love with a bad boy. At some point, I really would like to try a girls' school.
The boys at the center almost got the smackdown tonight, because it was fucking hot and I'm exhausted, but they pulled it together at the last minute. The other male teacher there seems to be finally coming around to me a bit, it seems because he popped Woohyeok in the face when he came around a corner for absolutely no reason and I lost my composure and nearly fell over laughing, almost out of sheer shock alone. He actually spoke to me after that.
Oh stuff and things. I'm home early tonight, because the twins ran away from class, took forever to be rounded up, and so we only had time for one session, instead of the regular two. Now I've got to finish the Korean chapter and eat something....
Tired, tired Liz.
7.04.2010
7.02.2010
Dead air.
Folks, I think things are going to be a little slow around here until after I return from my trip home in August. For those of you who haven't caught on yet, I'm doing a lot more posting over here these days. Nothing really Korea or teaching specific -- much more personal. But there you have it.
7.01.2010
Follow-up:
"[Smalltown] what the fuck...."
"I knew that would get you to phone me back."
My reclusive behavior has not reached such extreme levels. He's purely being a drama queen. But he's now decided he'll call me "Lolly Pop", and such behavior is likely to get him banned. At least if he does it in public.
"I knew that would get you to phone me back."
My reclusive behavior has not reached such extreme levels. He's purely being a drama queen. But he's now decided he'll call me "Lolly Pop", and such behavior is likely to get him banned. At least if he does it in public.
Strict.
Hello, boys and girls.
Today, I'm no Picasso is one tired bunny. It's been a hell of a week.
Started cello lessons, which are clear across town, an hour and a half, and start late. Went better than I expected it to, despite the fact that there's some other random guy attending the class who speaks to me in super polite Korean which does my head in. I get that that's good manners and all, and I hear foreigners complain about Koreans de-polite-izing their Korean because they think it's easier to understand. I'm not asking for 반말 here or anything, but laying off the 셔's and whatnot might help a bit. It's not that it completely puts me off my game -- it's just that it takes the ol' noggin a bit longer to catch up to what's being said. He's one of those all or nothing rationalizers, too. So one minute, when I understand something, that means he can speak rapidly and fluently, and I'll catch it all. The next, when I miss something, I'm back to obviously not speaking any Korean. But I think, given time, he'll get used to me. The teacher herself was great at foreignizing her Korean without dropping any polite endings and getting her points across. So that's the really necessary point.
But mostly, super polite Korean speaking adults make me nervous, because I don't really have the ability to reply on the same level. So I hate even saying anything at all.
The students got a big kick out of watching me trying to speak Korean on a more detailed level, and also watching the teacher guide me through my first time ever laying hands on the instrument. They're rough boys who don't tend to fawn over me as the foreign teacher -- I'm just a teacher, at this point. But they gathered around with great interest to watch the teacher guide me through the various motions of the basic four notes.
It's a lot of pressure. I don't need to be looking like a dumbass in front of my students. But thankfully, I did alright, and caught right up to them and their four extra weeks of experience.
Other things: I've stepped up the Korean studying this week, which is making me irritable. But needs to be done, and will ultimately be worth it. I've also put myself on a rather strict budget sort of just to see the state of things. I've got a lot of expenses coming up next month, and I realized it's going to tank my bank account down to a rather undesirable level for where I had intended it to be, so I need to figure out where some of this cash is going. I mean. I know where it's going. But I need to figure out, rather, how difficult it will be to stop it from going there.
I've got both the pressing issues of getting my hands on a decent electronic dictionary (which seem to come equipped with all other kinds of electronics under the sun in Korea, and therefore cost an arm and a leg) and possibly a student cello, if I decide to take this seriously, staring me dead in the face. I decided if I'm going to make these two rather expensive purchases, on top of what all I have coming up next month already, on top of starting to plan a European vacation with The Kid in the winter, I need to get a handle on things. I didn't come to Korea to rake in the cash or anything, but I also didn't come here to blow money without any concern for where it's going. There is a future looming out there, somewhere, and I'd like to give myself as many options as possible for when it finally arrives.
On top of all of this, I'm on a kind of temporary diet. Not so much for weight loss, as for sanity maintenance while my schedule picks up pace. Convenience store sandwiches and ramyeon are not acceptable sustenance for the kind of running around I've been doing. Neither are they particularly enjoyable to consume. So.
I guess I'm being kind of a hardass with myself suddenly. This is what I do when times get hard. I guess I just decide to make them even harder. Or, rather, I try to concentrate on goals and purposes to keep myself focused and out of all kinds of emotional mental health trouble that I would like to leave planted firmly in the past.
In other news, the teacher who's girls I teach every week offered to buy me an electronic dictionary today. Why? A going home present. I explained, baffled, that I was actually coming back to Korea. She said she knew, but she wanted to do something nice. I told her that allowing me to sit down to a lovely meal with her family every week and spend time with her fantastic daughters (the only time I get to teach girls ever) was more than enough. She insisted that because of the time she spent in New York not being able to speak English, she knew how hard things are for me. And that she sees me trying so hard to get better, and she just wants to help somehow.
I still feel like taking such an expensive gift can' t be helped but to be seen as a sort of payment for my "services", which given that such a thing is thoroughly illegal, I don't really feel comfortable with. Even if no one else in the world finds out about it. She's a pretty determined woman, though. We'll see whatever comes of it.
And now I have to go, because I've just received the strangest text ever from Smalltown:
LIZ YOUR NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS..BUT I CHANGED MY NAME TO... "BOBBY HARRIS" OFFICIALLY. I DID IT THROUGH THE INTERNET. COST ABOUT FIFTY EUROS~NOT BAD.
Followed by:
MABEY..NO!..MABEY YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR NAME TOO? MABEY... 'LOLLY POP'. ITS GOT A RING? ..... NO~O.K. BUT I REALLY DID CHANGE MINE.
My friends are really weird and I need a vacation.
Today, I'm no Picasso is one tired bunny. It's been a hell of a week.
Started cello lessons, which are clear across town, an hour and a half, and start late. Went better than I expected it to, despite the fact that there's some other random guy attending the class who speaks to me in super polite Korean which does my head in. I get that that's good manners and all, and I hear foreigners complain about Koreans de-polite-izing their Korean because they think it's easier to understand. I'm not asking for 반말 here or anything, but laying off the 셔's and whatnot might help a bit. It's not that it completely puts me off my game -- it's just that it takes the ol' noggin a bit longer to catch up to what's being said. He's one of those all or nothing rationalizers, too. So one minute, when I understand something, that means he can speak rapidly and fluently, and I'll catch it all. The next, when I miss something, I'm back to obviously not speaking any Korean. But I think, given time, he'll get used to me. The teacher herself was great at foreignizing her Korean without dropping any polite endings and getting her points across. So that's the really necessary point.
But mostly, super polite Korean speaking adults make me nervous, because I don't really have the ability to reply on the same level. So I hate even saying anything at all.
The students got a big kick out of watching me trying to speak Korean on a more detailed level, and also watching the teacher guide me through my first time ever laying hands on the instrument. They're rough boys who don't tend to fawn over me as the foreign teacher -- I'm just a teacher, at this point. But they gathered around with great interest to watch the teacher guide me through the various motions of the basic four notes.
It's a lot of pressure. I don't need to be looking like a dumbass in front of my students. But thankfully, I did alright, and caught right up to them and their four extra weeks of experience.
Other things: I've stepped up the Korean studying this week, which is making me irritable. But needs to be done, and will ultimately be worth it. I've also put myself on a rather strict budget sort of just to see the state of things. I've got a lot of expenses coming up next month, and I realized it's going to tank my bank account down to a rather undesirable level for where I had intended it to be, so I need to figure out where some of this cash is going. I mean. I know where it's going. But I need to figure out, rather, how difficult it will be to stop it from going there.
I've got both the pressing issues of getting my hands on a decent electronic dictionary (which seem to come equipped with all other kinds of electronics under the sun in Korea, and therefore cost an arm and a leg) and possibly a student cello, if I decide to take this seriously, staring me dead in the face. I decided if I'm going to make these two rather expensive purchases, on top of what all I have coming up next month already, on top of starting to plan a European vacation with The Kid in the winter, I need to get a handle on things. I didn't come to Korea to rake in the cash or anything, but I also didn't come here to blow money without any concern for where it's going. There is a future looming out there, somewhere, and I'd like to give myself as many options as possible for when it finally arrives.
On top of all of this, I'm on a kind of temporary diet. Not so much for weight loss, as for sanity maintenance while my schedule picks up pace. Convenience store sandwiches and ramyeon are not acceptable sustenance for the kind of running around I've been doing. Neither are they particularly enjoyable to consume. So.
I guess I'm being kind of a hardass with myself suddenly. This is what I do when times get hard. I guess I just decide to make them even harder. Or, rather, I try to concentrate on goals and purposes to keep myself focused and out of all kinds of emotional mental health trouble that I would like to leave planted firmly in the past.
In other news, the teacher who's girls I teach every week offered to buy me an electronic dictionary today. Why? A going home present. I explained, baffled, that I was actually coming back to Korea. She said she knew, but she wanted to do something nice. I told her that allowing me to sit down to a lovely meal with her family every week and spend time with her fantastic daughters (the only time I get to teach girls ever) was more than enough. She insisted that because of the time she spent in New York not being able to speak English, she knew how hard things are for me. And that she sees me trying so hard to get better, and she just wants to help somehow.
I still feel like taking such an expensive gift can' t be helped but to be seen as a sort of payment for my "services", which given that such a thing is thoroughly illegal, I don't really feel comfortable with. Even if no one else in the world finds out about it. She's a pretty determined woman, though. We'll see whatever comes of it.
And now I have to go, because I've just received the strangest text ever from Smalltown:
LIZ YOUR NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS..BUT I CHANGED MY NAME TO... "BOBBY HARRIS" OFFICIALLY. I DID IT THROUGH THE INTERNET. COST ABOUT FIFTY EUROS~NOT BAD.
Followed by:
MABEY..NO!..MABEY YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR NAME TOO? MABEY... 'LOLLY POP'. ITS GOT A RING? ..... NO~O.K. BUT I REALLY DID CHANGE MINE.
My friends are really weird and I need a vacation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
