Happy New Burnblog!

Ahoy there Burnfans!!

Hello there.

Sorry I've been a bit quiet this week.  Busy being free.  Because it's camp, I finish school at lunch time...so I piss off and do stuff...and basically can't be arsed writing a blog every day.  I know...I'm a cunt.  I don't mind...I've never pretended to be anything else have I?  No...I haven't.

Here's SNSD singing a festive tune....



Here's "Hoot" their latest K-pop mega hit...and like all of their other songs...the music video is much better than the song -



The usual K-Pop end of year Mash-up...I liked the mid year one a little more -



I'm not one for lists...so let me just say that 2NE1 were the only K-pop oufit that really surprised me this year...whilst B2AST were my fave new act for the year...but that was mostly because of Grade 6 Camp and how much the kids enjoyed singing "Shock"!


I'm going to answer ALL (3) of your Formspring questions today!  I know...it's like a second Christmas for you lazy punters isn't it?  Sitting about on your back spadgers, feeling the turkey settling your tummy while Ole Uncle Burndog answers your questions about the world!!  You lucky bastards!!  Luckier still because there are no questions about cricket this week!!!  Clearly my English chums have been too busy slapping their tadgers while that cheating South African makes poor old Punter yell at that elderly Indian fella...pack of cunts the English...make no mistake.  Before I answer my Formspring questions...please allow me a small chat about the English.

"Burndog, don't be an arse, " I hear you say, "the English are alright."  Are they?  Did you know that the English tried to kill all of the Aborigines in Australia?  No?  Well they did...and the worst thing is...we get the blame!  Did you know that the English made Rupert Murdoch a cunt?  No?  Well...he was a nice enough bloke before he moved over there...that's all I can remember.  Did you know that the English turned poor old Shane Warne into a rampant sex machine?  Yeah...he was a nice fella with a blonde wife and a couple of kids...he was fat and playing for Australia (basically living the Australian dream!!!) and then the English (possibly with the help of brainwashed Rupert Murdoch) threw a few slappers, a blow up doll and a camera into a bedroom with him...and he fell to temptation.  Poor bastard.  He's tried everything to get revenge (even ploughing Liz Hurley) but he will never get his blonde wife back *sniff*.  The English invented racism and then made tv shows about how funny it is.  Love Thy Neighbour anyone? (look it up kids)  Now...I'm willing to agree that most of these crimes have been perpetrated by what the English call 'Southerners'...but that doesn't excuse those amongst you who have comical accents, cousins in prison, and childhood tales of thieving cars and things from round the estate.  Merely by sitting back and allowing these pastel wearing stuff shirts free run of your tiny gaff...you've somehow acquiesced...even if you're Scottish.  Nah...not if you're Scottish...that's just a joke.  The Scotts are alright...aside from that cunt Sick Boy.

Now...where was I?  Oh yeah...the English are right cunts aren't they?  Without the English Neighbours would have stopped years ago, Kylie Minogue would be less famous than Danni Minogue, and we wouldn't have to hear We Are The Champions played every time some punter wins something.  So,,,in case you haven't already guessed from reading this...England retained The Ashes during the week...which is a fucking joke anyway, considering the cunts keep the urn in England anyway...win, lose, or fucking draw!  Breaks your fucking heart doesn't it?  We're competing for a trophy that's the size of a Londoner's cock...and even if we win it...we aren't allowed to take it home!  Mugs fucking game cricket...make no mistake!

Now for the answers to your questions...

1 - "May I ask; Why are you so fat (or are you just tall???....)" Now...it's supposed to anonymous...but I ken that this was written by me old mucker Angry.  Angry...don't say "May I ask" and then ask before I say yes or no.  It's pointless.  Anyway...no...you may not ask.

2 - "How do I copy a video from youtube?" A fine question.  It's actually really easy.  I use a program called youtube downloader.  Follow the link...download the very small and very simple program.  Download videos from youtube...add them into your ppts, or just keep them on your pc...it saves a LOT of grief when teaching.

3 - "do Aussies get screwed on the pension? or just kiwis and brits."  Another brilliant question.  We don't get screwed.  Kiwis, the English, and the Irish do get screwed.  Here is a link to the Australian consulate website...it provides information about this...including this -
"Under the agreement, Korea has agreed to refund contributions made by Australian nationals, in much the same way Australia refunds Superannuation Guarantee contributions for non-residents who have worked for a temporary period in Australia.

The refunds will benefit those who have worked in Korea for only a few years and who would not be eligible for a Korean old-age pension, such as English language teachers. Lump-sum refunds will be retrospective."


That's the grand sum of the whole Formspring thing for this week.  Again...do feel free to ask me anything you like.  I quite enjoy answering your questions.

So...it's the end of 2010.


Thanks for being a loyal Burnfan throughout the year.  I enjoy writing the blog, and I'm chuffed that anyone reads it...much less Burnfans as loyal and awesome as you cunts.  It makes my week.

I hope that 2011 brings you lots of joy, good health, and general decent shit.  I also hope that you keep reading the blog, commenting, and asking questions...hopefully in 2011 the old Burnblog will be competing on an equal footing with some of the lesserlights of the global media scene...shit like The Age or The New York Times.

To finish things off...a few festive photos from New Year's Eve last year...

I went to a party at a friends gaff.

It was a pretty informal kind of gig.

Lots of fruit.

A little bit of home (Tim Tams) and a little bit of Korea (Max, gaudy balloons and a Handphone).

Some punters were a little worse for wear the next morning.

Some Punters were a LOT worse for wear the next day.

Just stretching the old legs...

This is one of those things that I used to see...and think, "wish I had my camera." Now, thanks to the magic of the iPhone...I do have my camera. It's nothing incredibly awesome...but it's one of those things that I see here that I would never see at home. I mean...a cab driver (or any man) doing step aerobics in the middle of the street? Not gonna happen. He'd probably sooner sit down to piss. Anyway...here's the vid.

School's Out!!

School's out...and to prove it...here's my 6-1 class murdering the end of the National Anthem.

Google Me!

Because it's about Google and her name is Goo...I can use this photo without it seeming un-related!

Hello there Burnfans!

It should be a bumper day for the old Burnblog today. See...I've already got the blog ready (in my headspace) tomorrow...so I need to knock out a couple of blogs today about a couple of things. So...all going well today, there should be this (which will be about recent Google search terms that punters have used to find the Burnblog), one later (which will be me answering the Formspring Questions....so if you have any questions...get on board) and one later again (which will be an angry rant about something (currently a war in my head about what to rant about...Christmas? The English? Being told that because I got a death threat from some retard for being 'negative about Korea', when I suggested that a little more forethought could have gone into their design for the Australian Prime Minister's outfit, that I am negative? The cocks out photos of AFL Footballers that a 17 year old girl has posted online? Something else that I can't remember right now because I'm old and a little senile?). So...all going well...three posts today! Just the tonic for all of you Public School teachers out there sitting at your desk on this chilly Thursday!

So...what search terms have punters been using that have caused them to come across (almost literally judging by some of the search terms) the old Burnblog?

"fuck my life" - Poor Bird or Reverse Bird typing this in and then having to read the self indulgent whinings of some fat cunt. I doubt that the searcher found much solace in what they ended up with.

"shit my kids think" - Clearly this one ended well.  They would have gone to possibly my favourite Burnpost of all time "Shit My Kids Write."  So long as they didn't try and read further...they would have been fine.

"dongdaegu station prostitute" - Back in April I wrote about The Lonely Planet Guide's recommended hotel in Dongdaegu...and the fact that I was offered a prostitute by the adjumma who worked there....classy!

"good morrow to thee" - I just googled this term.  My blog is the first thing that pops up.  Which is a shame.  Because in the blog entry of the same name (here) I wrote about how much I hate it when people say "good morrow to thee" and other assorted Olde Englishe sayings.  The cunts. 


"shit my students write" - see "shit my kids think" above.

"teacher cunt" - Wow!  I'm not sure what they were actually looking for...but they did use the two words that I probably use more than any others.  Wait...I'll google it and see what comes up...just kidding...we all know that there will be a myriad of filth and somewhere on page 30...Burnblog!

"sexy seoul" - Yes...this is an easy one.  One of my all time favourite Burnblogs...of...all...time!  Not so long ago (October?) there was an article that listed Seoul as one of the sexiest cities on Earth...and I wrote a response.  Once again...I'm reasonably sure that the searcher was hoping to have quick wank over some saucy pictures...but there's enough sauce in the Burnblog to get things going...don't you think??

"bilder team america" - Bilder is a German word.  Team America is an American movie.  I use a picture of Kim Jong Ill from that movie.  Maybe that's why zee Germans end up here?  I'm not sure.  I do know that over the last year, Germany has ranked 8th on my list of visitors (in order, South Korea, America, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine and Russia) so maybe it's all about Team America??

"awesomeness when i get sad, i stop being sad and be awesome"- This is the weirdest one yet.  Partially because if, when you get sad you stop being sad and you get awesome....I can't imagine why you would need to search for that online....wouldn't you just keep being awesome?  I mean...you're awesome!  I guess that someone who can't stop being sad and start being awesome might have searched for it...because they want to become awesome...but..how did this search term lead people here...TWICE???

"girl squatting piss" - There were a few about girls/women squatting.  I was puzzled about that....then I remembered that I once wrote about not wanting to take a shit in the squat toilet here at school.  Naturally...if a fella's gonna write about squat toilets...he's gonna end up with a bunch of blokes with more cum than keys on their keyboard, lerringly wandering onto his blog.  So...apologies to all of the horny piss fans who have stumbled upon this fine body of work...hope you got your freaky freak on over at "chickswhopiss.com" (not a real website...I think).

The Warming Of The Desk.

Hey Burnfans!

You've probably noticed a few different types of posts today...different from my usual style anyway. The reason for these strange new posts? Well...it's good news for Burnfans...I'm considering merging combining the two blogs into one again. It's a pain in the arse having two seperate blogs...and if I swear less and present my usual ranting monologues along side weekly doses of useful shit...then I will be combining the two blogs without even trying. Sounds grand doesn't it?

I know that it will make some of you grumpy. Especially if I swear less. But...it's free isn't it? I don't charge you a penny to read this shit...so you can't really complain...unless you want to...then I'll just have to listen.

So...it's time for the yearly 'Warming Of The Desk'! I have no classes tomorrow or Friday...but I still have to come to school and sit at my desk like a cunt. I don't mind. It saves my heating bill. I can leave school at lunchtime during camp...which is nice....because I don't much like desckwarming in the afternoons during camp...it's just...not my style!

So...just wanted to explain the change in content today...and to let you know that there will be a fair bit of the old posting over the next two and a half weeks!

Bye bye Burnfan!

The Snowman

In the last post, I placed a lot of links and some lesson plans up for winter camp.
Well, no winter camp would be complete for me without watching The Snowman. It's become a tradition for me and my students. They really enjoy it (although Bowie freaks them out quite a bit), and so do I!

I couldn't find it on youtube and it was too big for mediafire and waygook.org, so I ended up putting it onto youtube! I'm not sure how long it will last before I get in trouble for copyright infringement, so make sure you copy it from youtube before it gets taken down.

Here's the link.

winter camp

                         

It's that time of year again, the temperature is below zero, the wind is blowing, and my ondol bill is out of control...which means...it's winter in Korea. Winter is a special time for Public School teachers. We get to share in the special joy of Christmas in Korea -

We also get to host a winter camp! Hoorah! A winter camp! Oh what fun! Some people hate camp time, and some people love camp time...well...love it or hate it...there's no avoiding it....so today I am going to put up some camp ideas I've had and link off to where you might find useful ppts and stuff to help make planning your camp a little easier.

Now, many of you may have already had a summer camp, and you're probably asking how a winter camp is different. The short answer is that they are exactly the same. The long answer is that with any camp you should take a look at using the season, and incorporating it in your camp. In summer we had the World Cup, in winter we have Christmas, New Years Eve, snow, ice, and a whole heap of other stuff that you can theme into your lessons. You can also use the same sort of themes you used in summer (teamwork, vacations, the world etc) in winter camp.

I like to section my camp out so that each day has a different theme. Now...my camp structure is simple. Two weeks of classes, two groups per week, ten 40 minute classes per group. So I have to plan two 40 minute classes for each day, and I can use the same lessons two times (once with Group A and again with Group B). Before you start planning, you need to know how your school is gonna set up your camp, then you need to work out how many lessons you have to plan. You also need to find out if your school has any specific rules about camp...at my school, I'm not allowed to show movies, at other schools teachers aren't allowed to bring food into the classroom and so on. Once you know these details, you can start to plan the nuts and bolts of the actual camp.

I always start by trawling around my computer and various other places (mediafire and waygook.org mostly (links to follow) to try to find some inspiration (this has been made a little more difficult since that idiot deleted gepikteachers7 on mediafire...which is where all of the camp files were! Once I've found a few decent files, I'll work out some themes, and then try to think of some games/ppts/activities relating to those themes.

So...here's a sample winter camp plan.

Grade 3 and 4 Camp.

Day One

Session One

Introduction. Camp Rules. Name Tags.

Session Two.

Divide into teams. Team names. Team Flags

Day Two – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Session One.

Discussion of New Year, and New Years Resolutions. Students make their own New Years Resolution and write it down to give to their parents.

Session Two.

Games! New Years Bomb game, and Christmas Present game.

Day Three – Who Am I? Who Are You?

Session One.

Friends PPT. Followed by questionnaire for friend.

Session Two.

Introductions. Students must introduce their friend.

Homework….students must gather information and materials to make a poster about King Sejong.

Day Four – Korean History Day.

Session One.

Discuss the life of King Sejong. What do students know? Discuss findings, and show PPT of King Sejong.

Session Two.

Have students make their King Sejong poster. Assist students. Play ‘Sejong Says’.

Day Five – Farewell.

Session One.

I Love The World Program. Show song. Hand out lyrics. Show song and sing-along. Go through ppt. Discuss elements of song. Have children draw (solo) four things they love about the world…and label them.

Session Two.

Farewell Games.

Now...this is the plan that I handed in last year for winter camp. There is one crucial detail here...I didn't follow that plan at all. I handed it in...and then ignored it. I'm not even sure why I did that...but I know from looking at the plan, that it's nothing like what I ended up doing. Key elements are. Here's another plan...that's much closer to what I actually did for camp (the point here is that I often make a quick plan to give to my teacher to keep her happy...and then slowly plan a better camp than the plan I gave to her. Why? Because your camp is your chance to cement your reputation at the school. The students remember your camps...if your camp is good...you win their little hearts and minds...if your camp is terrible...well...you can guess.)

Day One- Introductions.

• Introduction - Welcome to camp!
• Camp Rules!!! (something similar to my Advanced Class Rules)
• Discuss how to introduce yourself. What can you say? What do you ask?
• Introduce myself.
• PPT - Interview a Classmate.
• Ask questions about everyone's friends...elicit responses.
• Create name tags.
• Learn Beatles song, "Hello".
• Review and preview.

Day Two - Making Teams

• Camp Rules and introduction to the day.
• Bombman game.
• Flags and Yakko's World.
• PPT - Guess The Country
• Discuss the importance of team names and identity...name teams.
• Create Team Flags.
• Simple points games to create rivalry - Class Rock Scissors Paper, Simon Says, Hangman.

Day Three - Food.

• Camp Rules and Introduction.
• Today we will learn about food...ask about their favorite foods.
• Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and discuss.
• Food Quiz
• Food Bomb Game.
• Make peanut butter sandwiches....have the students write down the steps required to make a peanut butter sandwich...then review and re-write until it makes sense. Follow the recipe and make peanut butter sandwiches together.

Day Four - Super Hero Day.

• Camp Rules and Introduction to the day.
• TPR Simon Says.
• Superheroes and villains. Talk about heroes and villians...who do the students know? What are their attributes? What are their weaknesses?
• Make a comic book. One student draws and their partner writes words. The first frame, student a writes dialogue, and b draws what happens, the second frame student b draws first and then a writes the dialogue.
• Teams make either a superhero or super villain...design and draw and write notes about his/her super powers/weaknesses. Then...we make them fight! rolling two six sided dice per team, and starting with 50 points we roll...the losing roll loses the difference between the two rolls in points (for example if I roll a ten and you roll a twelve, then I lose two points).
• Watch - "The Snowman"

Day Five - Bye Bye

• Camp Rules and introduction to the day.
• Finish watching "The Snowman"
• True/false quiz re the snowman.
• New Years Resolutions Snowfight - Discuss New Years Resolutions. What do they mean? Why do we make them? Have each student write their resolution on a piece of paper...but make sure that they know that they must keep it a secret!! Then...scrunch the paper into balls and have a 'snowfight'. Continue for a few minutes...then everyone collects one piece of paper. Sit in a circle, read the resolution out...and try to guess who wrote it. Whoever guesses the most correctly....wins!!
• My Crazy Invention.

Now...there's plenty in there...with your own ideas...you should have a winter camp up and running in no time.

The mediafire login is gepikteachers1@yahoo.com and the password is kimchi.

For other camp related files, check waygook.org's selection here.

Good luck...happy camping...and feel free to ask questions about the ppts or links...or to post your own suggestions and ideas.

Cheers,

Burndog.

Egg Drop

There are a lot of teaching cliches...a lot of activities, songs, subjects and games that every teacher has up their sleeve. Some of them are designed to fill a minute or two left at the end of a lesson, some are their student's favourites that the teacher holds in reserve for special occasions, and others are useful lessons to keep in your locker for when you have a class with mixed levels and you want to do something that ALL of the students get something out of.

I do therefore, present to you, the epitome of the activity that any level can enjoy...the Egg Drop. I did this lesson for the first time over the last two weeks, with students from Grade 3, 4, 5, and 6. Here's how it works.

Each team gets one raw egg...the rest of the materials are up to you...but here's what I gave my students.

Two one meter long pieces of string.

Two balloons.

Five pieces of A4 paper.

One A3 sheet of cardboard.

Four tissues.

One and a half meters of masking tape.

I explained to the students that we would drop the egg out of the window (egg window 나가 (naga) was enough for my REAL low level students). We start on the second floor, and go all the way up to the 5th floor. The kids got it pretty quickly, and set about designing their capsule. I was reasonably relaxed with how much Korean they spoke (I mean...they're little kids...so I didn't expect them to know how to discuss the creation of a capsule), and allowed them a very reasonable amount of time. In fact...there was no time limit! If a team finished early, we just played simple games while the other teams finished. As it was, the teams all finished at roughly the same time.

Once the teams had built their capsules...we went to the second floor. The 'droppers' stayed in the room (one per team) and the 'spotters' stayed downstairs. The 'droppers' drop the egg (pretty obvious huh?) and the 'spotters' check to see if the egg survived.

It went really well! The kids had a blast dropping the eggs and checking if they'd broken, cheering their egg home, oohing and ahing at every turn, it was clear that they invested a lot in the game.

After the activity (only one team managed to survive the drop from the 5th floor, but most survived the 4th floor) we went back to the English Zone and I had the kids write about what they had done. Writing about it at the end allowed the kids the chance to enjoy the egg drop without being too encumbered with 'new terms', but we were then able to discuss new words and review the activity.

At the end of it all...I made a really short movie in iMovie...and they were really amped to see the movie afterwards.

Below I've added some photos, so you can get an idea of what the kids came up with. I was really impressed by the variety of different designs and ideas my students had, and it was great to see some of the boys who are a little shy with their English, be able to enjoy their time in the sun.

If you want to try this activity, feel free to email me burndoggy@hotmail.com or leave a comment on here, if you need any advice.

I'm the calm.

The new drama teacher loved beige.

I am the calm.

That makes no sense.  But...I had a student say it to me...and I don't argue with that sort of shit.  I don't argue with any kind of shit these days.  I'm trying to cultivate more of a devil may care, unflustered, easy going vibe.  This is especially true in my dealings with the Teacher in Charge Of Special class (The TiCOS).  I teach her class first thing on Tuesdays and today...we had a conversation while the little ones watched Merry Christmas Mr Bean.  The kids love Merry Christmas Mr Bean.  I may have mentioned previously that the TiCOS is going to be one of my two English Co-Teachers next year...so our chat today was about next year.  Things I learnt about next year -

1) There will be three lessons per week for grade 5 and 6, and 4 grade 5 and 6 classes.

2) There will be two lessons per week for grade 3 and 4 and 3 grade 3 and 4 classes.
3) There will be a Special Class.
4) The Special Class will focus on drama, and will be divided into two...I will teach one class English, whilst the other class has lessons with a Korean drama teahcer (I shit you not) and then the class will swap so that they each have some English instruction and some drama instruction each day.
5) Did you just hear that shit? 
6) The school wants me to teach 4th and 6th Grade only, but the parents have of the 3rd and 5th Grade students have complained because they want me to teach their children.


So...I don't really know much more than I did before we had a chat.  I told her that I'm not really bothered either way...and do you know what...I'm not really bothered either way.  I'll teach who they want me to teach...when they want me to teach them.  It's no skin off my nose.  I'd probably be happiest with 4th and 6th Grade...but that's just because some of this years 4th Grade kids are jerks...and I'd rather not teach them next year...but....it doesn't matter....you teach the kids your given...and hopefully with a change of homeroom teacher, will come a change of attitude. 

That's all for today.

Just one Formspring question so far this week...so pull your fingers out of your over worked dates and get asking!!  For fucks sake!

Egg Drop video.

Tension...

Hello there Burnfans!

It's a tense old day isn't it?  North and South are getting a bit giddy and threatening and all gussied up for a slap fest...but...and I mean this...are things REALLY tense?  I mean...if you read some of the Facebook status updates of my fellow expats...you might believe that Kim Jong Ill himself had appeared on the streets of Seoul.

It's important to maintain perspective.  Why would the North provoke a war at this point? Last month, they attacked, knowing full well that the South Korean response would be entirely limp.  If South Korea had been more forceful in response to the sinking of the Cheonan back in March, then last month's attack may not have happened.  Instead, South Korea dithered and released reports and held meetings and came to conclusions about the Cheonan.  This is the South Korea that the North knows and loves.  A nation divided into those who believe that North Korea is a threat that needs to be tamed, and those who feel that America is a threat that needs to be tamed.  Within hours of the sinking, there were conspiracy theorists who claimed that America had special information they wouldn't disclose, or that they were military insiders who knew the truth about what had happened, or wer just generally meeting to voice dissent at the South Korean governement's handling of the whole affair.  Take a look at this article on Reuters.com.  The article is the usual North Korean rhetoric about the 'puppet state' in the south and blah, blah, blah.  The article is interesting because of the comments section.  This -

"Looking at this, I have a notion of feeling that it wasn’t actually the North attacking, it may of been some counterpart or security alliance to do with the U.S who may want something to erupt, as it shows in the media nothing is being thought of if the u.s was involved in some kind of conspiracy or to make people believe that the North wants to attack teh South, everyone who does believe that the North wants to attack, then why don’t they, it’ss because they don’t want to, there is history between both, and families apart, only the media and certain keyed political people will be involved in masterminding a fake attack against the south so they kill each other. 

Am actually speaking the truth as I closely montior tthe media and political media, be careful on what to believe, don’t judge or believe any politician especially from the west as they are regarded to be puppets, poppuets of whom are controlled by an elite group of people whom are called the bilderberg group, very secret in what they do, but as you know money controls everything from bribes to whatever, bilderberg use that as a counterattack on creating world domination using the banking system.

anyhow if this comment does not get through, I so then believe, that obviously this does not need broadcasted, as to why the bilderberg are behind everything.

But if whoever is looking at this, then you think, why arn’t the people allowed to see this, remember freedom of speech is the most powerful key to this world."

This seems insane...but...in a lot of ways...it is not an atypical 'netizen' response to these incidents (right up until the Bilderberg stuff...I mean...WOW).  This belief that the North would never attack the South because of the family ties, and that all of these incidents are actually masterminded by the United States in the hope that North and South will go to war again (because that's what America needs right now...another war!!), is expressed regularly by these nutters.  It's ridiculous.  I mean...what do these people think happened in the Korean War?  I won't say much more about those comments...they speak more loudly to the ignorant madness of some netizens than anything I might write here.

As for the current situation...well...it would appear that the North is going to come up short.  When the first Korean War started, there were two main factors that enabled the North's invasion.  The United States government failing to re-affirm its support of South Korea in the months leading up to the attack, and the Chinese government granting Kim Ill-Sung its permission to attack.  These conditions are no longer in place.  The United States government has made it known that it is fully committed to supporting South Korea, and the Chinese government is less supportive of North Korea now than at any other point in North Korea's history.  Why?  Well, when the Korean War came about, China may have seen North Korea as an chance to expand its political ideology further south throughout the peninsula (amongst other strategic military, shipping and expansionist advantages).  In 2010 however, North Korea and its absurd dynastic communism is less of an extension of China's proggressive communism than it is some sort of Stalinist nightmare.  It's difficult to imagine that the Chinese leadership (particularly the younger leadership of the communist party) feels an enough kinship with the Kim clan that it might again offer support for a full blown war.

So...what will happen today?

In my mind...not much.  South Korea will launch artillery into the sea.  North Korea will complain about this provocation...but nothing more.  Then...business as usual.  This whole business is just the usual North Korean brinkmanship...they wanted to meet the U.S envoy so they threw their toys out of the pram.  Last month, North Korea knew that it could bomb the fuck out of Yeonpyeong without having to pay any penalty or price.  It also knows that a similar move today would cause the South to bitch slap the North in a manner that it hasn't done before...and nobody wants that.  The whole North Korean hard man act requires attacks when the South is un-prepared and vulnerable.  Bullies don't attack when the teacher is watching!

Having said that...it's just the opinion of a fat man with a bit of time on his hands...so...maybe get the tin foil hats ready just in case!

Take it easy...and have a day!

Oh...and for those who asked...She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still in hospital...she should be out on Sunday or Monday of next week.  Poor wee thing.

Formspring Friday!!!

Hello Burnfans!

How are you?  I'm good.  A lot of snow about today...which always makes me happy.  I like snow.  Snow joke!  Hahahaha!  Yeah!  Brilliant shit!

So...I'm stealing an idea from I'm No Picasso and having myself a Formspring Friday!  Hooray!!  Why not?  The standard of question has been remarkably high...so I am inclined to answer them as honestly as possible.  I had assumed that people would just ask "why are you so fat?" or some such...but generally...people have asked legitimate...and interesting questions.  Here's the first of them -

"What do you think about shane Warne's current mental state?" 

Great question.  I imagine there's conflict on a few levels.  Firstly...he must be excited by the idea that people want him to play test cricket again.  Especially because it seems that people want him to become captain.  Warnie would like that.  He'd like that a lot.  On the other hand, he's got to be fully aware that he is in no shape to make a comeback (having said that...he was in no shape to be a professional athlete in the first place so it might be plausible) so he kens that he's gonna have to let everyone down.  Instead of dancing the penetrado, he only gets to have a quick wank.  Then there's the Liz Hurley thing.  He'd be happy with that...but he'd also ken that she's a brunette.  Warnie and a brunette?  What next?  Burndog and a ranga?  Steady on!  He would also be aware of the path that getting up Hurley caused Hugh Grant to pursue....Divine Brown anyone?

It's a busy place the old Warnie mind.

"like a typical Australian, and being one myself, i swear my arse off. is there any situations that have left you thinking.. 'oh shit, i shouldn't have said it like that'" 

Yes.  I swear a lot.  Cunts who know me will confirm that.  I can't help myself.  I have never sworn in front of my students though...never ever.  I'm in a difficult place with swearing.  She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named doesn't like it when I swear.  She gets well angry and tells me she doesn't like it.  So I've had to curb my enthusiasm for the four letter words.  I slip up every now and again...can't help it.

My main problems have been with public speaking, or fighting with my boss.  Back home I told a boss to 'go and get fucked' and that what medicine my doctor had prescribed for my throat infection was 'none of your fucking business mate.' (I actually said that my doctor prescribed me a large dose of none of your fucking business).  I said 'shit' during one of my GEPIk talks.  I didn't mean too...and didn't notice that I had until someone told me later on.  That was a bit of a worry.

As for general, non-swearing related foot in mouth....every day mate!  I say something stupid and regrettable every fucking day.  Sometimes with my mouth, sometimes with my keyboard.  My dear old Mum always told me to be myself and speak my mind...I've never looked back!


"Fucking 'blah blah blah' newbie blogs about Korea. They shit me. do they shit you too? When you first came here, where there dime-a-dozen blogs about Korea ranting about shit like they do now?"

Great question...again!  Yes, some blogs shit me.  I mentioned in my first blog that this blog was a response to a blog by a one year teacher that shat me to tears.  I've always hated the 'Korea is magic and unicorns fornicate in magic fields of delicious kimchi and gold' style blogs.  It's just how I am.  When I first came here...which wasn't that long ago really...I didn't notice the blogs.  I noticed Dave's Cafe.  I went there a lot.  It made me feel negative and cynical.  i didn't like that.  Then I noticed a LOT of blogs.  They were all about how wonderful the world is...and how when you teach in Korea you go snowboarding and eat kimchi and do amazing things every fucking day...when really....you do a LOT of mundane shit...and then you do fun shit sometimes...kind of like EVERYWHERE ELSE.  So...I guess I wanted to inject some realism into the blogosphere....but not negativity.  Because there was also a big wank of blogs that popped up that were insanely negative and often, just racist.  This came about after they banned swearing and overt racism on Dave's.  People just made blogs that were about how much they hated everything about Korea and Koreans, and how much everything sucks.  I disagree...I love Korea...and Koreans (as much as I love any nation of wildly diverse people) and find that sometimes things suck...but sometimes I suck (not cock).


"Are you proactively learning Korean? Or are you just picking things up as you go along? Having a Korean girlfriend, does that hinder the process of picking up the language?"


Best question this week.  Really good shit.  I am not proactively learning Korean.  Which is shit isn't it?  I can read and write...and my vocabulary is naturally improving all the time.  So...yeah...I'm just naturally picking things up as I go along.  I DID proactively study it though.  I self studied the reading and writing and basic pronunciation stuff....and then I went to the local university and did a Hagwon course for a month or three (I don't remember how long).  I went to class, but I never studied at home...so I didn't do so well with it.  Which is a shame.  I want to study Korean more (which I can also say in Korea :-) but I find with school, and extra curricular activities...I don't have a heap of time to do it.  I get sleepy!  It's an interesting question about whether she helps or hinders.  I think that I used to do a lot more on my own.  I'd just try my best to muddle through something (like opening a savings account, getting a phone, talking with my landlord) but she heps me and things get sorted properly and quickly...so i don't muddle as much.  It's great.  Has it hindered me?  Maybe.  But I've also learnt a lot of terms that you can only learn from getting text messages in Korean...learning how to say I miss you, I have missed you, what are you doing, where are you going, who are you with...these are all best learnt through experience! 


The last question for this week -

"How do I post a comment?"
I think that you just type it down the bottom, and click submit.  Then it comes to me...I check it...if it's not a death threat...then it will appear within an hour or two.


I shall be taking submissions for next week's Formspring Friday....now!

Murder...Madness...Mayhem.

I guess if you read the headline...and then the story...you'll get an idea of exactly how much I tend to pump these stories up.  I mean...the story here is about what happened in my last class...there's no actual murder.  There is a little madness (maybe) and some mayhem.  It was brutal.  The weirdest class I've ever been a part of.

Here's what happened.

It was 4th Grade.  It always is on a Thursday.  My first two classes were both filmed by the teacher that has been filming my classes.  They both went EXACTLY as they normally do.  No real drama or problematic episodes...except that I was a little more nervous than usual because I was being filmed. The third period was brilliant...better than usual.  Lots of fun and interaction...I guess because I wasn't being filmed anymore I relaxed and opened up a little.

My final regular class of the day was the fabled 4-4 class.  A good class.  A lot of my favourite students...and Tin Tin.  Tin Tin is a kid who reads Tin Tin books in English...so I call him Tin Tin.  He loves it.  He is also a little bit ADHD.  Not the kind of ADHD where some American doctor has decided to give some Middle Class twat a collection of pills because he cried at his fucking Nintendo.  No.  This kid is legit.  Some weeks he's a champ...some weeks he's a cunt.  Sometimes he can flip the switch right in the middle of a lesson...champ, champ, champ, cunt, cunt, champ, champ.  Today, the homeroom teacher told me she had to go downstairs for ten minutes.  I said that would be cool.  I mean...I have no trouble with classes when the homeroom teacher is gone.  So...we start.  Tin Tin tells me it's his last day at my school...he's moving to a new school during winter vacation.  I put on this video...




The kids then had to write down...in order...a list of exactly what the guy did during the day.  The lesson is "What time do you go to bed?" so a little bit of what did he do, when did he do it? kind of shit.  The kids love this activity...because they love the video.  So...we watch the video once.  I hand out the whiteboards and explain the task.  The kids get in their groups and try to work out what he did.  I gave Tin Tin a whiteboard...because it makes him feel important and keeps him out of trouble.  Works a treat.  He's the centre of his group and feels like a king.  So...it's all going well.  Everyone finishes their work...i collect the whiteboards...and then I notice that Tin Tin's whiteboard doesn't list the activities in order.
"You need to have them in order, just number them please." I said, trying to keep it light.
"Shit!" yelled Tin Tin.  So I said his name sharply and just asked that he refrain from such outbursts...in a jokey way.  He took it well...but within a minute he was trying to pull my curtains down.
"Ya!  Tin Tin!  Don't do that.  YA!" I shouted trying to make him stop.  Trying.  He didn't.  So I moved around my desk.  He stopped.
"Tin Tin.  Come here please."  I left the classroom.  He followed me, but not before he smashed some chalk onto my blackboard and pushed another boy.  Outside the classroom he was a little less churlish and a lot more curteous and polite.  I gave him the speech that I normally give to 6th graders near the end of their tenure.  I explained to him that he needed to think about what kind of memories his teachers would have of him, how he might want his friends to think of him, and how he wanted to remember himself.  Did he want to look back and feel that he could have done better?  Would he rather look back and feel proud that he had done his best.
All was well.  He said sorry.  We were about enter the room...and his homeroom teacher arrived.  I lied to her.  I told her that I just wanted to say good-bye to Tin TIn and thank him for being a good boy most of the time.  She looked suspicious.  We all entered the classroom.  Tin Tin had barely made it a half dozen paces before he smacked a kid in the face.  I told him to stop it.  He said the other kid teased him.  The other kid denied everything.  I said that I didn't care who started it...it was done.
Tin Tin went to the back of the room...and started talking with some other boys.  I meanwhile, placated the boy at front of the room by explaining that I knew it wasn't his fault that Tin Tin smacked him in the head.  Just as that was getting sorted Tin Tin lunged at another boy at the back of the room (a little fella) and they started wrestling.  The Korea teacher ran over and seperated them.  My first thought was to run over and help.  My second thought was that if I steam in and drag kids out of there left and right, then I'm liable to get sued.  So I moved closer, but not in the middle. 
They seperated and I moved in.  The litle fella moved to his desk...and I stood in the middle of his desk and Tin Tin's.  Then the little fella howled like some sort of wounded dog, screamed, slammed his fist into the desk and (screaming again) threw his English book toward the front of the room.  It was amazing.  He then sat there and stared at Tin Tin, clenching his fists, and breathing in and out like Hulk Hogan did when he was 'hulking up' towards the end of a fight.  Clearly he had decided to make up for his lack of size with an excess of mental when it came to fighting.  Good strategy.  I always worry more about you psycho ants than I do about your lame bulldog.
I said 'it's alright' in Korean a lot, and escorted the little fella out of the room.  Poor little cunt.  Outside I just told him to calm down.  We went back in. No drama.  I continued the lesson.  It ended with no more problems.  There was a new student.  She had lived in New York.  She was pretty freaked out by the whole experience.  So was I.

Weird shit.

Don't forget to formspring me.  Tomorrow...I'm gonna make like I'm No Picasso and have a Formspring Friday.  I only have two questions though...so ask me more!!!  Ya cunts.

All systems go!!

Good Morning Burnfans!!

How are you?  This will be exceedingly brief.  I'm on a schedule that is tighter than a Scottish Nun. 

So...a dramatic day yesterday.  She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came to see me at lunchtime.  I needed to go with her to LG and fill in some paperwork so that I can rid myself of my Kim Yuna Touchphone and get my iPhone 4 (today is the day).  She came to meet me but...had a problem.  Poor thing got 'hit in the head by a bus'.  That's her exact text message.  "Hit in the head by a bus."  Dramatic times.  I was stunned that she was still texting, much less had continued on said bus (I mean...I'm not sure I would want to be driven about by a driver who managed to hit me in the head with his bus) for 30 minutes to meet me.  But she did.  She's tough.  Not so tough that she hadn't already called her mother (who was angry) and arranged to go to the hospital. 

So...I only saw her for seven minutes or so...then she hopped in a cab.  Short story short...she's totally fine.  Which is a relief.  I said to her that "it's good news...I didn't want to marry a retard."  This made her a little annoyed.  Apparently in Korea a 'good boyfriend' wouldn't say that.  I feel like a bit of a cunt.

Oh well...what's a fella to do hey?

Now...here's another Formspring Question -

"god what is the future of public school jobs? any security?"

Good fucking question.  Firstly...I'm not god...I'm just a humble fella.  Secondly...I don't really know.  There are a LOT of rumours flying about the shop...but there always are.  We'll be replaced by robots in five years, Koreans in three years and chocolate flavoured arseholes in six months.  Do I know the truth?  No.  Do I have an opinion?  Fuck yes.  I have an opinion about everything though don't I?  Of course I do.  My opinion...we're on the way out.  Within five years, native teachers at Korean public schools will be a memory.  Hagwons will become more viable though...because parents will feel that they really do have to send their kiddies to Hagwon to learn from a native teacher.  It is what it is.

I have the strangest feeling that I lost a question somewhere along the way...so...if you asked me and I didn't answer...ask again.  if you haven't asked....get your arse into gear...this shit's the real deal!!!

That's all for now.

Formspring!

Hello Burnfans!

I knew this Formspring thing was a good idea.  It's certainly handy today when i have a class full of students and very little time.

I've had two questions so far...and I shall answer them now.

"do you get drunk and rowdy? or are you a controlled drinker?"

Great question.  It's difficult for me to answer this one with any hint of objectivity.  I mean...there have been odd moments where I've gone a wee bit mental.  I remember skulling a huge glass of tequila and then apparently slapping Zappa and throwing Kingy's bike across his backyard.  I aslo remember another night where I had a go at some cunt who hassled Kingy when we were playing pool and then asked if 'any cunt wanted to have a go'.  That hardly sounds controlled...in fact...I would say it's quite out of control.  As a rule...I would say that when I'm with my genty friends I can get quite rowdy...but when I'm birding I generally put a lid on it and act a wee bit less mental.  I'm not the kind of cunt who goes looking for trouble though...far from it.  I just like a quiet drink and a wee blether.

"how did you me she who shall not be named? she is korean right?"
Well...this is tricky.  Back in August She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named read the old Burnblog for the first time (I didn't realise that she hadn't been reading it all along) and got quite upset at the level of detail I had gone into about our private life. She wasn't happy.  I promised to never mention private shit again. So I won't go into detail.  I will just discuss meeting Korean girls in general.  Meeting Korean girls (and guys I wager) is like meeting non Korean girls...in fact...it's exactly the same!  I know...weird shit hey?  I've met them on trains, in bars, in cafes, on buses, through friends and even through the odd act of bravery.  The only difference is that back home you know that most people you talk to speak English.  My advice is just to have a go...the worst thing that can happen is that the bird won't speak a lick of English and you'll feel like a bit off a dick for a minute or two...but you'll never see her again (unless you work with her or she's a friend of a friend...in which case you should have sussed out the language issue already).

Don't root people (fuck) you work with.  It's a stupid idea.  Particularly if he/she is Korean...because if things turn to shit...she/he can explain to everyone that you're a cunt...but because of the language barrier you probably won't be able to put your case forward as easily.  


Ask me anything you like Burnfans...it's certainly better to have the odd one of these than to just listen to me rant every day.

Monday Monday.

Hello Burnfans!

How are you?  I hope that you said that you're well...I sincerely do.

That's right...I'm sincere. 

So...how am I?  Well...I'm alright.  Nae complaints...well...a few....but nothing too drastic.

I had an alright weekend...there was no golf on Friday night though....which broke this fat man's heart.  I spent most of Saturday at home, tidying the place up a little (and I mean a little...I did fuck all really) before I went to Yongsan for a wee stroll and a blether with me old mucker Joseph.

Sunday was like a carbon copy of Saturday...I even bought a ticket for the same train at Suwon...only to find that it was running 14 minutes late...just as it had the day before!  Weird shit.  So...I went to Yongsan again, but this time with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Joseph.  We saw a movie.  I don't remember the title.  It was a Korean film, and (spoiler alert) it was alright.  I mean...in a lot of ways it was kind of predivtable and obvious...and although we had kind of hoped to see a wee bit of the old breastage...we were left with nothing more than the odd hint of thigh and a cartoon breast.  Only in Korea can a film about a 32 year old virgin not be some sort of goofy comedy. 

So...back at school today.  No classes.  A lot of planning and preperation.  My winter camp is gonna be overloaded.  Apparently 90 kids have applied for three camps and my boss doesn't know what to do.  She justs me to take the lot of them.  Fucking hell.  Maybe I will.  I don't know.  It's a it of a drainer though.

I updated the other blog today.  Go have a look if you want...it's not much...just a link to The Snowman because I put it up on youtube the other day.  Great video for winter camp.  The kids love it.

Still haven't heard about the iPhone.  KT have to have the lamest customer service imaginable...I mean...when one of the senior marketing people can't do any better than this...it's a fucking shambles.  They need to take a good hard look really.

That's all for today.  I need a nap.

Feel free to formspring me anything you like....the questions are anon and I need to answer stuff.

Friday!!

Hello there Burnfans!

At long last...it's Friday!  Hooray!

It's been a cunt of a week...if I'm being entirely honest.  It's been good in some ways (the secondary blog has taken off...which is the only good thing...so I should say it's been good in one way) but mostly it's been cunty.  Long days, Mrs Park deciding she doesn't want to have lessons anymore, Grade 5 being cunts, She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named skipping dinner on Wednesday...and today...this woman from another school came and filmed my classes.

It's a short story...but not terribly interesting....and you get to be the lucky punter who reads it!  Hooray!  The short version involves a teacher from another school calling and asking to interview me for her thesis.  I know.  She wants to interview me because I am a foreigner who has taught at the same school for more than two years.  I know.  There must be some lightweight academic works floating about in Korea...I mean...interviewing me!  So...we met up after work and she asked me a million questions.  I answered them all and we bid each other farewell.  Then...she asks if she can come to my school and observe a class.  Then she wants to observe two classes per day...every day. 

So...she came here this morning to film two classes.  6th Grade.  The pressure is on...I'm being filmed...and the first class is my most reluctant bunch of students.  It's like pulling teeth.  I just want to crawl into a hole and die.  The second class was brilliant...they really got into it and I gave them a little extra because it was the last lesson to be filmed...so why not go for broke?  Then second period ends...and we have a chat.  The bell goes for third period...the class comes in...and she doesn't leave!  WTF??  Turns out she's been given the whole morning off....and now wants to film all four lessons.  No need to tell me about the new plan though hey?  I mean...I'm just the cunt being filmed.

So...she films all of the lessons and then says that she wants to film all of my lessons next week as well.  Fucking hell!  The very definition of being given an inch and taking a mile!  I agreed to an interview and suddenly this woman is going to film an entire week worth of classes?  She even started asking about the dates that I might be on winter camp!  Fuck that shit.  I mean...she's a nice old bird and I don't have anything against her...but...I hate the way you do someone a favour and they try to take all manner of fucking liberties.  It would be like cooking someone dinner and them expecting to fuck your wife.  Too much.

So...I said that it wasn't gonna happen.  She filmed four classes today...they're pretty much exactly the same as each other.  She needn't film more than two lessons per year level...and should consider herself lucky to film that.

I mean....really?

I love you all...but I'm as tired as most of my jokes.

Night night.

Hello there!

Hello Burnfans,

How are you?  Sorry I didn't write to you yesterday.  I really wanted to write you a nice little letter or two...but then...I got all excited about the snow and went outside and mucked around.  Terrible stuff isn't it?  Where's my dedication?  Where's the desire to spread the Burndog word?

Sorry.

I aslo didn't have much (or really anything) to say.  Things are going along in a very average kinda way...which is nice (if bland)...but a little bit steady.  No word from KT.  The new blog is going great guns.  In only its second ever post it has somehow managed to attract double the audience of this blog.  I am shocked...but I'm not really stunned.  The reason why it's so much more popular is because it's providing a service.  It's giving information.  It's helping people to plan their camps.  This blog rarely does anything other than swear and complain about shit.  On the odd occassion where I do decide to contribute something meaningful (like Boys Before Flowers or my fury re KT) then I get a big audience for those blogs...but most punters don't give a rats tossbag about my fucking musings and meanderings...and the general banality of my self involved patter must make you cunts miserable.

But....and here's an important thing to note...I told you right from the start that this blog was going to be a meandering piece of shit that offered nothing more than the reality of my life in Korea.

Why?  Why wouldn't I want to give you cunts more than that?  Well...this is why. The link there will take you to "Tongue-Tied in Youngtong"...which is the blog that made me start my blog.  I read it every time it was updated...and every time I got kind of pissed off.  Why?  Well...in her final blog Sarie explains it for you -

"Sure I have managed to fill my blog with fun and exciting adventures: trips snowboarding, white water rafting, hiking and shopping.  But in between all that excitement was the reality of living in a foreign country."
I was sick and tired of the millions and millions and millions of blogs that write about "trips (not acid I'm afraid), snowboarding, white water rafting, hiking and shopping" and I wanted to write a blog that was more about "reality of living in a foreign country."

I guess I can't really see the point in writing about a lot of that shit unless it's in a 'here's what I did...here's how you can do it kind of way'.  Here's an example from T-TIY that shat me to tears. It's just a few internal photos of a restaurant and a cafe...and she says that they are 'near her apartment.'  Now...who is the intended audience for this shit?  Her family?  Well...they're going to be amazed to see a photo of a plain looking restaurant and an average cafe.  Maybe it's for people in Korea?  Well...how about an indication as to where the restaurants are?  I mean, 'near my apartment' is great for the one or two fucktards (including yours truly) who know where you live...but what about anyone else?  In short...it's not a blog...it's a Facebook photo album put on a different site.  Fuck off!

I started my blog just over a year ago...in response to this one of T-TIY's wankfests.  I don't remember it being in response to that particular post...but I started my blog three days later...so I'm sure the two are related.

That's all for today.  In the near future I'm going to write a long winded diatribe about the standard of Korean journalism...and then another one about the standard of Australian journalism.  On ROKSteady I plan on writing about the egg drop activity I've been doing with my advanced class, a cafe review, an outline of how to buy a Kindle in Korea an outline on how to get an iPhone 4 in Korea (with some help from my friends at KT), and also a special on Order Made suits, shirts and coats as we move firmly into winter.  Plenty to look forward too then!

Tuesday...

Another day Burnfans...and a lovely one at that.  I'm going to try and plan my winter camp a little later today...or at least start to plan it....then I'm going to write a blog over at the new blog outlining the camp.  I had hoped to meet up with some local teachers and bounce ideas off each other...but that didn't really pan out.  I don't mind...it's just that I was hoping to get a few new ideas.  This will be my sixth camp at this school...and it's fair to say that the old new ideas well is running a little dry.  Most of the kids will have been to a camp before...so they will have seen my games and activities...so...I'm going to trial a few things with the special class...if they work there....then they'll be in the camp.

Now...where am I?  A very good question.  I'm not sure.  It's a period of uncertainty for the old Burndog.  I'm not sure what to do next.  I'm thinking of applying for some University gigs...but I don't have a Masters....so that would be an act of futility.  So I'm thinking I might look for a new school...or stay here.  I don't know.  The trouble is, if I stay or go I still have to submit a Federal Police CBC and have my degree apostilled....so part of me is thinking that if I'm going to go through all of that bullshit anyway...then I might as well change schools.

But...I'm probably going to stay here.  I like Yongtong still...and have friends and acquaintances here that I wouldn't want to move away from just yet.  It would be nice to liver closer to She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but at the same time...it's nice to live close to some chaps who are happy to have a hit of screen golf and a couple of bevvies on a Friday night...fucking priceless to be honest.  Also, with the new Principal comes a new school.  All of the head teachers are leaving at the end of the school year, and so is the Vice Principal.  So everything is gonna be different here next year...especially when you  throw in the fact that I will have a co-teacher...this really does throw a cat amongst the pigeons (and all that shit).

So...I'll stay...and I'm gonna look into doing a Masters while I'm staying.  Kill a couple of those pigeons with one stone...while I wait for the cat to do its work.

That's all for now.

I hope to be able to give you a little more this afternoon.

If not...the new blog is looking to be updated today.

Let's all hope that something makes me angry again real soon.

The story KTinues...

Hello Burnfans!

How was your weekend?  Grand?  Action packed?  Barrels of laughs?  Mine was alright.  A wee bit of drinking, a touch of being locked out of my own apartment at 4 in the morning due to the battery going flat in the electronic lock, a wee bit of dinner with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a smattering of football and a delicious slice of not much else.  But...I'm not gonna get into all of that cool shit just now...no...I'm not...not at all.  Why?  Because I shall continue with the KT saga.

So...not long after my last post on Friday I got an email from Chris at KT letting me know that he would forward my info to the Jongno Store and "have them try" to re-schedule my phone and he doesn't "think it should be an issue."  Which is what I was saying on Friday about the lack of strongly communicated direction from KT about this.  What I want to hear is that A was done and as a result B happen.  Not...I will ask them to try A and maybe there might be a chance of B.  Don't tell me what might happen...tell me what WILL happen.  He also asked if he could give me a call.

So...an hour or so later, we're on the phone.  Long story short...it turns out that SWMNBN took us to the wrong store.  So...the stor that we were in was NOT one of the ones listed on the website.  Which...for my money...doesn't really matter.  I mean...maybe if SWMNBN had taken us to the correct store, this whole thing could have been avoided.  However, the woman at the store didn't suggest that we go to a different store in the area that could help (she flat out said that foreigners can't have iPhones).  The woman at the call centre also failed to mention the other store in the area that we were in...she told me I HAD TO go to Seoul.  Us going to the right store doesn't fix the problem with the website either.

I mean...if the only negative experience that day was that we went to a store and they said go to another store nearby...or even if we went to the wrong store and the call centre said that we should go to another store nearby...well...there wouldn't have been much of an issue would there?  I wager the blog on Wednesday would have been full of excitement about getting a new piece of shiny tech...and maybe a laugh at SWMNBN for taking us to the wrong store!

Like I said before...KT has a ways to go with its expat customer service...and I think that it's pleasing that they're making an effort.  I mean...we sit here and bitch and moan that it isn't working...but it's a start.  SWMNBN is NOT an expat however, and her anger with the service, and subsequent failure to offer any compensation comensurate with her negative feelings, really grinds her gears.  It's an interesting experience.  She doesn't like experiencing service 'expat style' where if something goes badly wrong, your compensation is to receive the phone in the same sort of timeframe that a Korean receives their phone!  She still can't understand how in Korea, a customer can receive shoddy service and NOT get a phone accessory or fee waiver!!  Like I said...it's an interesting experience.

So...I guess that wraps it all up for now.  I'll get the phone in a week and a half (maybe...all going well...I hope...let's wait and see).  I 'm not particularly excited...more kind of wary...worried that there might be another slip up or brain freeze that leaves us waiting two months!!!

I'll keep you posted...thanks again for the emails...I can't believe that the original story is now in the SECOND most popular post of ALL TIME on the Burnblog!  That's remarkable...and soon it might catch that Boys Over Flowers post...but I doubt it!