Thursday 26 April 2012

Bowling for Sogogi

The title of this blog is a rather far fetched reference to the Michael Moore movie. I don't even like Michael Moore. As a matter of fact I find him utterly insufferable. However, I think the title has a certain ring to it, so, badda bing badda boom.

This is a eulogy for a netbook that has been through the works. It’s travelled to four different continents, has stuck by me for four years and has never given me many causes for concern. However, two nights ago my beloved netbook died. It was a long time coming. It was never a top of the range netbook, so, in a sense I’m surprised it lasted this long. The downside to this is that now I have to buy a new laptop. It’s a shame because I was intending to save a lot of money this month, alas, this will set me back a little bit and I’ve concluded that a laptop is something I can’t really live without, especially being a writer.  

Less than an hour after my netbook kicked the metaphorical dust my camera went and snuffed it as well. I think something got into the lens as it makes an awful churning sound right before it switches itself off. I’m hoping to be able to pick up a cheap camera here in Korea, as for a laptop, I’m going to have to get that shipped from the UK which will also cost an arm and a leg. Yet, we mustn’t fret must we fellow readers for we are still alive? I’ve been hugely positive about the whole experience and am trying to see it as an opportunity rather than a nuisance.  Money comes and money goes and things get fixed just as quickly as things break and if we went around worrying about these silly things our whole lives then we’d get nothing done, would we? So, I’ll take it with a pinch of salt and look at it like the minor annoyance that it is.

Onto more uplifting news. The school went bowling yesterday. Bowling, bowling, bowling, what an utterly repugnant sport that is? Like all sport when it gets taken seriously its almost comical. If only some of those Koreans knew what they looked like. Koreans seem to take any social or leisure event incredibly seriously, they dress in the full attire, they focus on the competition and the winning and they forget the main ingredient in doing anything and that’s to just kick back and have fun. The Koreans were lined up in the bowling alley wearing the most fashionable bowling shoes, dressed in tracksuits and sporting shield guards on their hands, they did a strange ritualistic high five with one another when they knocked any pins over and I thought it was hilarious. My schools crew didn’t take it as seriously luckily enough and it actually was fun playing with my co-teacher. We rarely get a chance to actually talk to one another so this was a welcome opportunity. The school just down the road from mine attended as well so I was lucky enough to be with another native English teacher. We bowled. There’s nothing more to it really.

After bowling we went for beef (Sogogi) at a restaurant in Chuncheon (hopefully the beef wasn’t imported from California as it might be infested with mad cow disease, see the news for more information). I doubt that, though. I’m sure it was locally sourced and not from Lotte Mart or Home Plus. Trent (from the other school) and I sat with our co-teachers at the end of the table and had a conversation which was nice.

Trent and I discussed some philosophy and talked about our backgrounds and our future plans. It was great to be sat at a table full of Koreans and still be able to have an intelligent conversation with somebody. My co-teacher gave me some decent information, complimented my teaching and we had a good time. Relief. This semester has been tough and it was good to finally get some feedback on how I’ve been faring. The day after social events at school is always pleasant and today has been no exception. At lunch my 5th grade teacher asked me if I would be staying another year and was disappointed when I said I wouldn’t be. She said the students will be very sad. This made me smile.

So, onto buying my laptop I suppose. I’d better plan some lessons for tomorrow whilst I’m at it. Luckily, I don’t believe in luck. That sentence was loaded with contradictions wasn’t it? Yet, it seems any bad luck that might have come my way has now departed. Here’s to a brighter tomorrow with less technological problems. 

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