I want some caaawwwwwwffeeeee

Haeundae Beach, Busan.

Kumazawa Mikiko, Erosion, pencil on geso, 2009.

I had my first guest house stay ever with Chan and his lovely girlfriend. 'Chan's house' in Busan

Oliver Clegg, There you are, oil on found wooden desks, 2010

Crazy installation! I neglected to take names down at first. oops!

The Busan Biennale. The Museum of Modern art in Busan.

A random beautiful lake at a rest stop on the way to Busan.

A victorious moment for my apartment. I bought and finally installed a new closet unit!

Singing my little heart out at Noraebang!

Helen, Mia and I. Peace Korea!


Life has these really lovely moments where if you stop and pay attention, there's really not all that much to be sad about. Life also has some pretty shitty moments. Both have ocured in my life recently. For every up there is a down... or something like that.

School, although it continues to give me slight moments of anxiety has fallen into a kind of rhythm that is much smoother and easier to maintain than I thought would be possible. The job itself is becoming easier and easier. What is not so easy is the dealing with incompetent bullshit administration errors which make my life a pice of crap some days and have begun to make my hair thin in a way that makes me wonder if a solid paycheque is really worth it?
We all have the things that get to us and the things we can let go.... keep working on the letting go part. I've come to the conclusion that the people who do really well in Korea are the people who are really good at that letting go part. And boy is it hard sometimes. Don't fight the man. Play dumb, follow along without questioning or surprise and all should go relatively well. Damn!

I do enjoy the teaching part, especially now that I have a fancy new class with a touch screen and a mic! The kids have also responded really positively to the new english environment although surprisingly it is harder to control them than when they're in their own classroom. Perhaps they can sense that it isn't really my classroom (I have to ask for a key to open it every day...) and that makes me weak... erg.

Last week was Chuseok vacation, and although I couldn't find anyone to travel with, I decided to still go to Busan by myself to see the Biennale and get out of Seoul for a couple days. It was by all acounts a pretty good trip. A bit lonely. I don't think I love traveling by myself... but still a good oportunity to see some good art. And I DID make it to a coupple kick butt Jimjilbangs as well as swim in the Ocean (always a very positive experience)! I ended the week by participating in the Seoul Drum Festival. I took part in a colaborative art piece that features 2 drum groups and several artists drawing the oerformance live as well as an affrican dancer. It was cool! What was even more interesting was the fact that last year I was in the crowd. It's moments like these that have been making me feel as though I may be finding a path here slowly but surely. I think it's time to start focusing more seriously on my artwork again. I took a bit of a break this summer with the move and all, but now that I have found a rhythm in my new environment it's time to get out there, see new things, and make more efforts to be productive in the evenings and weekends.

This week I have to pull my piece for the Yongsan Exhibition together. I think it will be fairly interesting to see how it turns out.

I may also go on a rafting trip with some people I met on my trip with Jeremy in Chuncheon. James might come. We've decided to make an honest effort to remain friends and so far things are going pretty well. Time will tell... c'est la vie!

South Korea: year two.

Platoon Gallery, night flea market, Hak-dong

James and I at his favorit bar: Rock Day! in Suyu

The Keith Haring retrospective at the Soma Museum of Art, Onlympic Park

The World Peace Gates, Olympic Park South Gate

People out and enjoying the summer rays in the Chongye Stream, Gwangwamun

Ah summer. You are so long coming and yet you persist in flying by, almost without saying hello long enough for us to appreciate how wonderful you are. Summer, you are my favorite of all the seasons, and while it may sound biast to say so, I heartily stand my ground on this one.

I have now been back at work for a week and I have to say that although it is exhausting, I have handled my stress and dissappointments much better this past week than i expected to. I guess you could say that i went into the semester prepared for the absolute random chaos and dissappointing mess I knew I was about to face. Third time's a charm so they say. so it being my third semester at my school, I have a much better understanding of what to and what not to expect from my administration and my co workers. And days of random chaos and severe dissapointment have been the general trend in the past. So this time I was ready for them when they came. And that made it all a bit easier to take.

I guess in some ways I have just gotten used to the way that korean culture functions in these matters, which is like chickens with their heads cut off all to concerned with saving face to really do and say what needs to be done to make things move quickly and end up with efficient results. But hey, when in Rome..... I find that i am using a lot of expressions and saying in my professional philosophy these days. Sayings that I do not strictly believ, but which I have absorbed in order to function with less stress in this particular working environment.

So, here's the week in a nut shell. I showed up first thing on Monday morning ready to sit around and do absolutely nothing... which is what I did. I managed to find out who was the new head of the office and get her permission to move right sharp to a new computer. Which I did. I took JayEuns old computer. Only problem was that all my files from last year were on my old slow as sluggs computer. So I had the new teacher (who unfortunately for her got stuck with that crap box) send me the files through messenger. Then I sat around and waited for people to figure out what i would be teaching and who I would be teaching with. You would think that they would do this during one of the 6 weeks between then end of the last term and the beginning of the new one, but no. Instead it was a frantic and confusing scramble, which in the end produced an even more confusing and convaluted schedule for me than last year in which I teach 4 different grades (and all different sections and lessons of those grades including exactly 1 section of one grade 6 class????). And I also have 5 co-teachers.... yup. FIVE!!!!! My main two co-teachers are new, as in I have never worked with them before even after having been at the school for over a year. You would think that they would want me to, I don't know, develop some sort of teaching relationship with these people instead of building up to nothing every semester, but well that would be too easy I guess.

The rest of the week was spent in a combination of meeting my new co-teachers, trying to figure out some sort of a preparation schedule which is mutually convenient for both of us and sorting all of my lesson plan files from last year. It was, like I said, a pretty tiering week. But I feel that I have at least been given co-teachers who are interested in working with me and actually participating in not only the lesson laning, but the instruction as well!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that, if nothing else should make this year a whole LOT easier than it was last year! That and the combination of being one year more experienced, having students that know me and my teaching style and also being a lot happier in my personal life and in my relationship with Korea. Now, there are many things that i could complain about, but I am trying to deal with them in a way that will get me what I want. I still have a lot of work to do to get to know my new teachers and also make myself a better reputation with my school. I am hoping that they will see that now that I am living in korea and have good co-teachers that my work attitude has also improved. I would like to build a better relationship with my school, my students and my co-teachers this year, because the stress from work and all of those tensions was really stressful last year and I'd rather not carry that load again this year as much as possible.

Like I had said, it is time to reasses my goals in terms of my life in Korea and figure out what to do to make it more organized, balanced and fun. Sometimes, life can get a little messy, but with a little bit of focus and cleaning, things soon come back into line and start to feel less awkward and difficult. So what is needed id the motivation to keep up an optimistic attitude and keep doing the things that will make my life here easier. Time to get started.