Winter blues

Ouch! My head! It’s been raining for 4 days now and, while I enjoy the smell of wet earth, I’m feeling quite tired. There’s something great about rain: no pressure to be happy. When it’s all sunny and clear sky, you can’t be depressed. But when it’s raining, who cares?

Hallim is where I work. It’s a small village about an hour from where I live. I ride the bus every day. Though Jeju is an island, it’s too big to see the ocean from everywhere. But in Hallim, the ocean is right there. This morning the weather was cold, the sky was gray, and it smelled like fish. Salt water and fish. I liked it.

My Korean friend booked my flight to Indonesia this week and I’m really excited! Two full weeks of resting, beaching, sleeping, not working, eating, swimming, discovering, relaxing and celebrating… I love those “ings” ;) 32 more days to go!

Last weekend was quite fun – Isaac’s band played at “Led Zepplin” and a huge crowd turned in. That’s when I realized one of the benefits of living abroad in an Alien country: we know a lot of people! In a sense, it’s like being a celebrity – a whole lotta lovin’ everywhere you go! And let’s not forget the Koreans as well, who wave at you, touch you, shout “hello! Hello!” (even while you’re driving) and take pictures of you even though they have no idea who you are.

It gets annoying after a while, and that’s why I was very happy to hang out with “my people” last weekend! The night ended in the morning again and the hangover was brutal. But to be fair, I hadn't been out in two weeks, slowly recovering from the holidays oh-too-many celebrations...

A couple of friends also invited me to the movies, which was a big mistake! “Todd Sweeney” (with Johnny Depp) grossed me out with all the blood and violence. It just wasn’t my kind of movie – though the underlying idea is pretty good and Johnny is hot! Laurie and I had popcorn and chocolate… delightful mix I hadn’t enjoyed in a long time! Somehow we're the only ones who enjoy the sweet and salty mix ;)

This week is going by very slowly and I am still plotting the murder of my neighbors upstairs. They still wake me up around 4am and keep going until morning comes. Mr. Lee finally got in touch with them after I caught them red-handed – their door was open at 3:30am and they were moving boxes.

Turns out the lady owns a clothing store and she unpacks her stuff at night to be ready in the morning. Apparently that’s the only time she can do that. So uuuuuugh! What can I do? She said she’ll try to be more quiet – blessing which lasted for a week but now she’s back to being a big fat Korean bitch. I never thought I could hate so bad someone I don’t even know.

On the other hand I’m trying to be zen. The city will never shut up, nor will my neighbors so I just have to learn to live with the noise. I wish I had an actual bubble I could dive in every time I need quiet, but I don’t.

Lisa just got back from Thailand, and so did Gabriel and Danila. They’re all tanned and happy! It’s great to have them back, but I’m just so jealous! I also met new people at the gym and the University so it’s nice to have new people to hang out with. There’s over a hundred foreigners on the island, and we all know each other. But after a while (and that’s just my personality), I need a change of scenery! Meeting new people, going to new places, doing new stuff and getting out of this rot!

It’s funny because there’s a whole bunch of newbies coming in March and everyone on the island can’t wait to meet them! It’s like anyone who’s not in a relationship hopes someone better (than those already living on the island) will come along. I have this mental image of sharks haha

I want to go home so bad! I love Korea, but I need to speak French, see my friends and family, roll over in snow and eat poutine. I want to hold the dog, have dinner with my parents. I want to have a beer with my sister and my brother, and talk until the morning comes. I wanna play guitar with Dave and laugh my head out with Pete! I want to cook with Aurelie and go to a concert! I miss home! Can I handle 7 more months?

Mom and dad are thinking about visiting in June - after my brother's girlfriend gives birth. Josiane also wants to come and see me in the summer. I’ve got friends from Seoul who are definitely coming down in the summer too. I guess everything will be alrite once winter (how can this be winter? It’s raining but not snowing, cold but not freezing) is over.

I did (re)discover some great Jazz musicians - especially

Red Garland

(great pianist!),

Ben Webster

(great saxophonist!),

Diana Krall

(duh! but i'm really digging her style) and of course

Duke Ellington

(piano),

Stan Getz

(saxophone) as well as

Art Tatum

(prodigious pianist, sometimes too fast but simply mind-blowing!)

As for movies, i've watched quite a few in the past weeks:

September

is another great Woody Allen movie (and the jazzy soundtrack is beautiful! I especially love "On a slow boat to China" and "Out of nowhere"), while

Mighty aphrodite

is a really funny Woody Allen movie starring Mira Sorvino.

I also highly recommend

The brave one

, a great movie about a woman who gets robbed and beaten on the street. Her husband dies in the hospital and she becomes a kind of vigilente. With Jodie Foster, who is excellent for the part!

Fracture

is alright: with Anthony Hopkins, good thriller, good setup, good plotline. Ryan Gosling is great and perfect for the role of an arrogant lawyer.

And finally,

The bucket list

with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is a nice and light movie about two men who meet in the hospital and decide to spend their last days on earth enjoying life. It's cute.

A good documentary about Cuban leader is "Fidel: The untold story". And if you haven't seen "Buena Vista Social Club", you oughta run to the movie store because it's a must. Ruben Gonzales and Ibrahim Ferrer are simply adorable, and the music as well as their story are all groovy/interesting.

Flavor of life

Getting to Jeju island is not a simple affair; it involves a 5-hours flight from Montreal to Vancouver, where I had a 2-hour layover. Then came the big 11-hour flight to Seoul, where I had to pick my heavy luggage, get on a bus and ride it for an hour, until I got to Gimpo airport. That’s where a domestic flight took me to Jejudo an hour later. Needless to say I was incredibly tired when I finally got there.

Though I am working for the Korean government (public schools), I work at a language training center and the position is quite good – about 17 kids/class, no Korean co-teacher, I build my own curriculum, and I have class prep time.

That's where I work, and the next picture is the high school right next to us... students are doing their morning gymnastics. Assa!

The only downside of my job is that I ride the bus for 2 hours every day, but that’s just for 6 months, when I will transfer to the center in Jeju-si. I actually enjoy the bus ride since I can read, learn Korean, listen to music and get a glimpse of Jeju’s magnificent beaches, farms, mountains and daily life.

The center is quite high-tech and I have my own fully equipped classroom – computer, flat screen, projector, printer, DVD player, AC, etc.

We also have simulation labs on the second floor – restaurant, living room, supermarket, airport and health center are recreated in order to immerse the kids in a given environment and provide them with specific vocabulary.

There’s also “The Learning News” in which each article is written in both Korean and English.

In my opinion, Koreans are surrounded by opportunities to learn English… it’s incredible. The government spends loads of money on us teachers and teaching facilities. There are TV shows specially designed for kids, and an English section in every department store – where kids sit and read while mommy is grocery shopping.

Halim is the name of the small town I work in. It’s very nice and located by the sea. The main street is filled with tiny local restaurants that serve delicious food. There’s stuff lying everywhere on the streets and street vendors offer everything – from ropes, to fruit and garden tools. On our way to work, Bill and I always smile when we pass this small shop where an old lady sells nothing but rice and cigarettes. It’s all you need in life, really.