Korea 8 of 9 - 경주시 (Gyeongju)

I can't believe that it took me over a month to put this video together. Usually, I can toss something of the same length and quality together in less than a week. There are other things more important than sitting behind a computer screen in my free time slaving away at videos I get pennies for. Example: my sanity.

Of course, I love making these videos and I'm grateful that other people enjoy them. Thanks for watching them if you do. Also, thanks for understanding that I have other obligations that I need to attend to.

Silly Japanese Signs

Here are a few for your viewing pleasure...

 Be nice to the birds...

Anti-Smoking ad.  (I'm a little sad it came out blurry)  These are found all over train stations.

How to pass a bowel movement (for kids!)

No tattoos allowed (only attempt to keep the Mafia out of the hot springs)

Warning: Snakes (vipers)

Radiation... 

Be careful of closing garage doors

DANGER!  (just don't swim here)

I'm not even sure...  DVD 

People can own rifles here.  It's rare though.

Another anti-smoking ad. 

I'm curious about the accuracy of this...

On the train.

Something or other about 'bad guys'

You know you're from Washington when...

Stolen from the internet...

1. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw and Issaquah.
2. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
3. You keep snow chains in your trunk but they've never been used.
4. You see a person carrying an umbrella and know they must be a tourist.
5. Eating seafood isn't anything special.
6. Your lawn is mostly moss and you don't really care.
7. Your daily commute to work involves riding a ferry.
8. You know the difference between "showers followed by rain" and "rain followed by showers".
9. The sight of Mt. Rainier is still awe inspiring.
10. You're extremely picky about your coffee.
11. You yell at the TV if they pronounce the name of a city wrong or make an inaccurate Seattle reference on "Frasier" or "Grey's Anatomy."
12. You rarely wash your car because it's just going to get muddy again tomorrow.
13. You wouldn't dream of putting an air conditioner in your house.
14. You go to Eastern Washington to get some sun.
15. You can drive from your home to a lake, a river or the Puget Sound in 20 minutes or less.
16. You've seen or know someone who has seen Bigfoot.
17. You remember where you were on May 18th, 1980.
18. You get a terrible sunburn on the first really nice day of summer.
19. You look forward to SeaFair and all its related activities.
20. You take a heavy coat and a hat with you for a day at the beach.
21. You have learned to assume Christmas will be rainy, not white.
22. You've owned the same bathing suit for years because you never have a chance to wear it out.
23. You still can't believe the new Seahawks stadium is open air.
24. Your phone book contains a tide table.
25. You only visit the Space Needle if you need someplace to take out of town guests.
26. You or someone you know works at Boeing or Microsoft.
27. You "Do The Puyallup" every year.
28. You feel guilty throwing something away that could be recycled.
29. You use the word "sunbreak" and know what it means.
30. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
31. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
32. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.
33. You never go camping without water proof matches and a poncho.
34. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
35. You can point to at least 2 volcanoes even if you can't actually see them through the cloud cover.
36. You wear shorts when the temperature gets above 50 but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
37. You switch to your sandals at about 60 degrees but keep your socks on.
38. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
39. You buy new sunglasses every year because you've lost last years pair after such a long time not needing them.
40. You measure distance in hours.
41. You often switch from heat to a/c in your car in the same day.
42. You use a down comforter in the summer.
43. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them.
44. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
45. You choose your vacation spot according to the best latte stands.
46. You purchase a new car and the 'Northwest Package' includes a built in umbrella holder.
47. Your children don't get chicken pox; they get 'rust spots' instead.
48. When you think 'big hair', you think of Kent.
49. You can't make it two blocks without seeing a Starbucks.
50. When you hear people from Eastern WA say they're going to the coast, you assume they mean Ocean Shores.
51. You make reference to the new neighborhood going up down the street and people have to ask, "Which one?"
52. You can't believe that people in Spokane actually have yellow grass in the winter and green grass in the summer.
53. You know how to pronounce geoduck and know that it doesn't quack or have feathers.
54. You expect snow for Valentine's Day, not Christmas.
55. You get upset when a store doesn't carry your favorite brand of bottled water.
56. You can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai food.
57. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Tully's.
58. It's not a real mountain unless it has snow and has erupted within the last 200 years.
59. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark even though you only have an 8 hour workday.
60. You've ever stood alone on a deserted street corner in the rain.
61. You can tell its summer because the rain is warmer.
62. You know what a Frango is.
63. You think the "Middle East" is Ellensburg and the "Far East" is Spokane.
64. You realize no education is required to be a weatherman. Just predict, "Partly cloudy with a chance of rain."
65. You have an earthquake story, and so does everyone else you know.
66. You can identify seven different types of rain.
67. You can identify five different cities by smell alone.
68. You think espresso was invented in Seattle, along with Starbucks.
69. You know what 'Sodo Mojo' is.
70. You can turn in any direction and be within a stones throw of an Indian-run casino.
71. You think summer starts in July and winter in September.
72. It's not a real windstorm until your lawn ornaments blow away.
73. You know exactly where Tom Hank's boathouse was in "Sleepless In Seattle".
74. You know who J.P. Patches is.
75. At least one of your neighbors has a hot tub they haven't used in over a year.
76. You know who really 'let the dogs out'.
77. You become frightened by the bright yellow orb in the sky until the 9-1-1 operator tells you it's just the sun.
78. You've used every setting on your intermittent wipers.
79. You know you better enjoy the snow the first day it falls before the rain washes it away.
80. You marvel when the autumn leaves stay on the trees for more than three days before the rain knocks them to the ground.
81. You can't imagine living through a tornado or hurricane but you secretly think earthquakes are kind of fun.
82. You give directions using the Puget Sound and Cascade mountains as points of reference.
83. You lose your sense of direction if you go east of the Cascade mountains.
84. You know at least 5 different ways to kill slugs.
85. You know at least 10 different recipes that call for blackberries.
86. You are not sure of the color of your house because of all of the rhododendron bushes planted in front of it.
87. You know the difference between a rhododendron and an azalea.
88. You know what a Dick's Deluxe is.
89. You or your family member live "in the woods".
90. You can endure 100 days of rain and wind but an inch of snow means school cancellations.
91. You consider an antique anything mad before 1970.
92. You know someone whose house has been partially crushed by a tree.
93. You know the difference between an evergreen and a deciduous tree.
94. You don't know what a turnpike is and have never paid a toll to drive over a bridge.
95. You own a barbeque that has rusted.
96. You change your wiper blades more often than your oil.
97. Your idea of dancing is nodding your head vigorously.
98. You use your defogger and your AC at the same time.
99. You don't own anything made of wool.
100. When someone honks at you, you think they are trying to say "hi".
101. You get a least 5 e-mails a week from friends asking you to come see their band.
102. You know what a 9-inning lunch is.
103. You think you're working late if you stay past 3 pm.
104. You have more unemployed friends than friends who have jobs.
105. You prefer one mountain range to the other.
106. You know the state flower (Mildew).

Every once and a while I get homesick.  Reading over this list makes me miss home just a little bit more.  

Teaching English in Japan - Just an observation

Today I taught some classes in elementary school, with the help from some of my second year students, from one of my JHS.  You should have seen the looks on their faces when I spoke to my fifth graders.  I wanted to say to them, ''don't worry guys, I would challenge you. I'd drag you through the coals like I do my elementary students.  The thing is, that's considered 'too difficult'.  I would really like you to grow as an English speaker but a lot of that is out of my hands.''

The sad thing is, it's generally true.  I have confidence in my students and their ability.  It's ok to fail, as long as you can grow from your mistake.  We can have fun, have a challenge, and learn.  Isn't that the whole point to education?  Well, in Japan its not so much the case.

I could go on but for now I will stop.  I need to sleep and I don't want everyone to read this.  Maybe when I'm done with the whole ALT business, I will let it all out; every feeling and complaint.

Next Stop Gyeongju

Every time I complete an episode, I feel a small sense of accomplishment.  It might be big or small but it's always there.  After that feeling of pride wipes away, I am left with the next challenge.  Which is the next video?  

Mentally, I keep a checklist of what I want to work on next.  Sometimes, starting a new video is a huge chore.  There might be little visuals to work with and creating a narrative might feel impossible.   I'm in luck this time.  

For the Gyeongju episode, I found that I have nearly twenty five minutes of footage to use.  This is not normally how much I have for a single video.  I'm lucky if I have ten minutes.  

Right now, I'm sifting through what is useable and what isn't.  I'll be aiming to get this episode down to around five minutes.  That's the goal for now.  If I can keep it around seven minutes, I'll be happy.  There might be more I'm willing to hold onto.  

Gyeongju was one of my favorite places I visited in Korea last year.  It's a quite historic city that's off the east coast of Korea.  Generally, it doesn't snow much there.  On this occasion it did.  This was something most Koreans living in the area never see.  Not only did I get to see a historically rich city but I was able to see it caked in snow.  

Anyway, final cut awaits!  I hope to see you next week!

Korea 7 of 9 - Busan

Korea 6 of 9 - Korean War Museum

It took me about seven tries of exporting and uploading to youtube, to finally get it right. All of the stress has finally been lifted.  I was getting pretty frustrated with the whole process.

I've already begun working on the Busan episode and should have it done sometime around next Wednesday (Nov. 3rd).

Attempting to Finish My Korean Videos

It's been almost two months since I last posted a video on Korea.  Two months!  Can you believe that?  Well, a lot has happened to me since I last posted a video.  I moved into a new apartment, got hit by a car while riding a bicycle, started up school, and had to practice for the speech contest. I'm hoping that if I have the time, I will talk about each of these incidents.  For now, I'm just trying to finish up the last few videos I have about Korea.  

I don't know if you remember or not but all of these videos are from when I was in Korea last year.  It's taken me the longest time to get around editing these pieces.  I really enjoy putting them together but it's hard to balance a hobby with my free time.  

I really wish that putting these kind of videos was my full time job. Alas, it's not.  There is a little revenue that I get from it but it's not much.  Better than nothing right?  It all really depends on how many people are watch or reading my content.  At the moment, not so much.  That's ok though!  :)

At the moment, I am attempting to upload part six of nine, of my Korean series.  It's a video about the National War Museum of Korea.  Youtube is kind of being a pain and not processing the videos.  I've tried about six times so far and am getting really frustrated in the process.  It would be nice to get it up now but if not, I'll try and get it up by this Wednesday.  Remember, the video is finished, it's just youtube that isn't co-operating.   

Bizarre Dream

Last night I had a dream in which I was forced to leave Japan and go back to America.  I've had this dream a few times before.  There have never been a reason to 'why' I had to move back.  The problem I've had in each of these dreams is that, I've never been able to find work.  I love Cascadia but I have a very stable life in Japan.  Let's hope it doesn't come true.

(Japanese forest nearby my house)

Japanese Customer Service

I was at my school the other day, just sitting down at my desk.  There wasn't much work for me to do, so I was scribbling some kanji on blank pieces of paper.  Class didn't start for an hour anyway and I had some time to kill.  While in the midst of practicing a mechanic showed up at school.  He was there to pick up one of the teachers cars.  I glanced out the window and saw his car in the parking lot.  He grabbed the keys to the teachers car and drove off, leaving his car in the parking lot.  A few hours later, the mechanic returned with the teachers keys and a bill for the work done to his car.  This isn't the first time I've seen customer service taking to that level.  

Since many employees in Japan work long hours, it can be difficult for them to get normal errands done.  I've once seen travel agents come to the school, sit down, and talk with the teachers planning to get away during summer break.  This level of customer service is super rare in America.  

I think there are a few reasons for this, not all of which I want to get into.  The main point I want to get to is most Japanese take their job seriously or take extreme pride in their work.  Rarely is anything done sloppy here in Japan.  Let me give you an example.  

If you walked into a 7/11 in Japan, you'll see at least three people working.  They'll great you immediately.   You head over to the chips section and pull a bag off the shelf, leaving an 'empty' space. Then you grab a coke and head to the front to pay.  While at the front of the store, you decide you want a corn dog.  You tell the clerk and before you can finish your sentence, another employee or the clerk themselves quickly head over to the corn dogs and pulls one off the shelf for you.  Puts it nicely in a bag and hands it too you.  When you're walking out of the store, all of the workers yell 'thank you' (in Japanese of course) and you're on you're way.  What you won't see is that one of the employees will go back to where you bought your bag of chips and 're-face' the brand, making sure that the shelves don't look empty.  

The level of detail and pride the Japanese take in their work is insane.  Sometimes I think it's a little to much but I have grown accustomed to it.  I have a feeling that when I go back to visit in America, I might be a little discouraged.  

Spotted.

I wore a white dress shirt today.  I never wear it because it's easy to see through.  As I was walking past some students the sunlight hit me perfectly.  ''ジェリ先生、イレズミ持っていますか?’’  Then the pestering began.  I put my finger over my lips like ''it's a secret''.  The kids laughed and said ''it's cool''.  It still makes me nervous.   This isn't America, where it's not a big deal.

Hit by a car in Japan AND other things

This past monday I had the joyous experience of getting into a cycling accident over here in Japan.  There are so many details that I want to get into but for now, that must wait.  It came at the worst time too.

If you have been following my work for the past six weeks or so, I have been posting constantly once every Wednesday.  I got up to begin work on the WAR MUSEUM episode and then, well, I just got lazy.  I decided to not work on it that week and instead save it for next week.  

The problem is, a lot happened rather quickly.  I had to move out of my apartment (which I will get to later) and I got hit by a car.  I'm going to have some time off this weekend and will aim to get that war museum episode done.  There is a lot that I want to say.  I want it to be a meaningful episode and cut corners.

Sorry, there are just a collection of thoughts right now.  It's about one-forty in the morning.  I should be asleep but I felt like I just need to update a little.

Once I am settled in my new place, I will get to work.  I don't have much money so it looks like I will be once again stuck where I am at for a while.  At least I have friends.

Korea 5 of 9 - Seoul Bus Tour