An abbreviated update

So before delving into what promises to be a long set of posts about my trip to China (all the way back in February), I figured an update about what I'm doing in my life now would serve me well. When last we spoke, I was working for ECC, a well-known franchise hagwon that has its advantages and disadvantages. I was neck-deep in a relationship with a Canadian gal, and so certain aspects of my life (the decent potential of re-separating my shoulder in a night of whiskey-fueled debauchery, the even-better potential of mastering all four races in Warcraft III, and the almost-certain potential of spending countless nights catching up with Battlestar Galactica, The Wire, et al) were diminished. Life has changed.

Okay, let's think of this in terms of categories, since it'll make the process of typing this out that much more simple:

My Job

I escaped ECC (and I don't use that verb lightly) last August, and am now working for Pusan Foreign Language High School in Yeonsan-Dong. It would take patience that I don't have to fully articulate the differences between the two schools, but I'll do my best to give you the basics.

The kids here are among the best in the city, and in terms of conversational English, I'd put a good percentage of them up there with students I had in St. Louis; actually, there are a few students I have who have studied in St. Louis, and although he's not in my class, there's a kid here who continually lets me know that he prays for the Cardinals and considers Albert Pujols to be "the home run king". I don't need to slow down my speech or dumb down my vocabulary around them, and I can teach slang and idiomatic expressions to them without feeling like I'm wasting my time. They still have outrageous names, the best probably being "Arrr", "Maxer", "Tepsca", "Tinky Winky", and "Dingyo", although I'm a little tired of students choosing to be named after players on Manchester United. All in all, I'd say teaching here has been far and away my favorite job in education, and that includes my experiences in the States.

My Living Situation

Upon leaving ECC I had to find a new apartment; schools here typically pay for your residence, but the Foreign Language High School doesn't cover those costs so I had to go it alone. I moved out to the Pusan National University area, which is considerably more lively than Shinmandeok, my old digs. Rent is a little much at $440 a month for a decent-sized, fairly-new studio, and I could find cheaper, but it's located about 5 minutes from the subway and several restaurants/bars I frequent. My landlord is a tad sleazy, I think, and I get the pleasure of living next door to him; something about his swagger and his look makes you think he douses himself in soju every night, but I've never heard any drunk outbursts from the other side of the wall.

My Habits

To be honest, I can't say life is all that exciting for me right now. I earn money, lose it and win it back (please?)playing poker, and download everything I can get a hold of. On an occassional day I'll dance on tables, but it's just not like it used to be. I've been running four miles a day, an alternative to doing muay thai/jujitsu on Sundays (I did that for around two months-- enough where I think I'd stand a better chance with Paul Fehler now, but don't call me Fedor quite yet). I ponder buying an 80 GB Video iPod a lot, enough that you could make a case for it being a hobby.

Girls, girls, girls

I wish I could say something on this front. The Canadian and I broke up, but sometimes the lunar cycle has caused strange things to happen. This town is so full of beautiful girls that I've suddenly stopped caring; every now and then my apathetic trance is broken, but after nearly two years, short skirts don't mean what they used to. If any of you could send pictures of the average American woman to remind me of how good I've got it here, that'd be a big help.

Future Plans

Leaning heavily towards re-entering proper American adulthood by starting graduate school next fall or winter. I'm not quite sold on any career path still, which is a problem. I feel terribly stagnant in Korea right now, but I am making money--probably more this year than what I would make as a teacher with 20 years under my belt in the States. All suggestions are welcome... seriously.