From One Planet to Another
Summer vacation. I had not been to America for a year and a half, and I was eager to get back. I was eager to get away from this land of garbled English, yellow dust, and drunken ajossis. I flew home on August 9 for a 3-week vacation.
When I came to America, the first thing I had to eat — or rather, drink — was a bottle of root beer. I tasted freedom flowing onto my taste buds. I tasted joy, ecstasy, and nostalgia all in one medium-sized cup (no free refills, thanks SFO) I could never find a pack of root beer in Korea, since they all think it tastes like medicine.
The English Zone
There’s been a big scare of swine flu in Korea recently. Korean mommies are running scared because some foreign hagwon teachers have swine flu. The hagwons in classic Korean fashion responded in various manners:
- One hagwon confiscated their foreign teachers’ passports.
- Another hagwon told their foreign teachers that, if they were found in Itaewon or Hongdae, both major foreigner hotspots, they would be fired.
- One of the major English chains in Korea even put up this little ditty on their website:
Rough translation: “Information: Our foreign teachers don’t have swine flu!”. The best part is when I showed the co-teacher this sign, she couldn’t find anything racist about it. Now imagine if a similar sign was posted at a restaraunt in America:
“Information: Our Mexican workers don’t have swine flu. Enjoy your meal!”
Lawyers would be salivating at the thought of the discrimination lawsuits. The restaraunt would be boycotted. Protests would be held. But in Korea? Nobody cares.
Never mind the fact that the Koreans are getting the flu too – the foreigners are Not One Of Us and therefore are Dirty and Diseased. Thankfully, my school is one of the sane ones and I received a simple notice on my desk reminding me to be careful when I travel abroad.
Now, let’s take a look at my school’s English Zone!
Utah Fun Dome Now Becoming…..Something
I am sick of writing about this. But I guess I’m committed. Like when I used to watch Beverly Hills 90210, and I kept watching it long after the series jumped the shark. Maybe I need more hobbies.
In any case, thus it is with the tall glass building some might know as the former Utah Fun Dome. According to a revised article in Murray Journal, the former Dome is becoming some kind of private school. I don’t know. Read the article.
“There have been further developments in the possible purchase of the former Utah Fun Dome property in Murray. As previously reported in the Murray Journal, Prison Watch International had expressed interest in purchasing the Fun Dome, but it was just one of about “two to three dozen parties looking at the property,” according to Gary R. Nelson of Highland Commercial, Inc., the exclusive listing broker for the property.
Read the rest of this entry »
Former Utah Fun Dome to Become Prison Rehabilitation Center
For those of you following along at home, the building along I-15 formerly known as “Utah Fun Dome” has had the following incarnations:
49th Street Galleria
Utah Fun Dome
Salt Lake Valley College
Utah Pavilion
Utah Pet Center
According to an article in Murray Journal, the site may soon be getting a new identity: a Utah prison rehabilitation center.
According to the article, Prison Watch International (PWI) is considering the purchase of the former Utah Fun Dome in order to turn the former entertainment center into a multi-use facility for recovered prisoners and their families.
There was a charity fundraising event at the Salt Palace on May 9th called “High School Millionaire” wherein a few reality TV celebrities offering some of their talent for the good cause. Apparently PWI is hoping to raise $150,000 or more. While details are sketchy at this time, it looks as though PWI plans to do the following once the property is purchased:
- Offer Associate’s degrees through Indiana University for underprivileged youths
- Build an indoor soccer arena
- Community Center school/clinic
- Provide a free medical clinic for the uninsured.
- Hope to be up and running 18 months after acquisition of property
A noble cause for a very troubled location. Here’s hoping it works out.
Update 5/27/09
OK, it looks like that article has been removed. According to Evapa from the comments below, the facility is NOT going to be a prison rehab, but some sort of school. Read for yourself.
Halo 3: Making Friends in Grifball
Classic stuff. The players on the red team decide to try and see if they can make peace with the blue team, leading to some kind of tea-bagging dance party that’s strange and hilarious at the same time.
Holy Traffic…
Living in Utah as a Non-LDS individual has always been a little interesting. I’m used to praying at public events, okay bowing my head and watching what people are doing when they’re supposed to have their eyes closed. Being raised Catholic I remember the prayers being very repetitive. Yes we would improv and ask that our loved ones be blessed, but ‘Hail Marys’ and ‘Our Fathers’ were a staple of the religion and they were so repetitive that as a child you never actually listened to the words.
So hearing the below audio from a local radio traffic report made me wonder if all religions sometimes feel that same way. When you speak is that same monotone repetitive pattern could it possibly trigger a “Prayer Mode”?
CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO (If you cannot get the clip to play, simply right-click on the link and select ‘Save Target As.’)
Valérie Allain’s Mailbox
Because you’ve always wondered what Ms. Allain’s mailbox looked like! Click to enlarge.
A snapshot of the mailboxes in Ms. Allain's building
English Education Evolution
Wow, another update!
Recently, I experienced the truly unsettling event of fearing for my safety here in Korea. Korea’s a pretty safe country, so imagine my surprise when I was riding the subway to my friend’s house, playing my DS. The door opens and in steps a rather scraggly-looking, youngish Korean guy. He paused for a moment and then shouted something in Korean.
The entire car is looking at him.
He continued shouting and launched a kick toward the door, right in between two people who were standing there. The back of the car has cleared out now – nobody wants to talk to this lunatic. He sank to his knees and reached inside his pocket – I was half expecting him to pull out a knife – but no, Mr. Scraggly pulls out some leaflets of paper and starts tearing them up while shouting. The train stops at a station and I exit the train to wait for the next one – no way am I going to be on the same train as this maniac – and I hear him making a scene in the middle of the station platform. Back on the train!
The end result – I lost my hard-earned subway seat to the incoming mob boarding the train. Such is life.
—
The Wheels of English Education are turning at the school. Here was the school’s English configuration 1 year ago
2F: After-school class that was canceled this year; the classroom looked like it was recently remodeled too.
3F: 3rd and 6th grade, my class
4F: 4th and 5th grade, Buzz’s class.
Recently, more English Funds has come from the government, and the decree went out that the entire eastern wing of the school be an English Zone. To accomplish this, the 2nd floor, 3rd floor, and 4th floor classrooms are all receiving a thorough remodeling. All the English teachers – along with the PE, science, and music teachers – got kicked out of their classrooms to make way for Glorious English Progress.
Here are the gutted classrooms, from 2F to 4F:
Also victim to Glorious English Progress was this rather charming – if worn – painting of Korean kids playing some traditional Korean game. This will all be repainted:
The remodeling centers around a certain theme for each floor. 2nd floor will have subway station decorations, 3rd floor will have a bizarre fake interior of a jet called “Korea Air”, and the 4th floor will have a hospital where the kids can pretend to be hospital staff.
I’ve been asked to come up with a proverb for the teacher’s room, where we’ll all be working. Something inspirational. And so, I turn to you, Scribble Village, for help. What saying should go up on the wall in the teacher’s room? Your answer will influence generations of Korean and English teachers – until the next remodeling in the distant future.
—
So, all the subject teachers had to move into the first floor teacher’s room. For me, it meant that I had to move my desk, computer, chair, and help my Korean co-teacher move her things as well. Initially it seemed like we would have no Internet in that room, but I discovered a hidden cache of Ethernet wire behind the air conditioner in the corner perfect for our needs. Dragging the nest out, I proceeded to connect every computer in the room to the Ethernet outlet in the corner. Since people were tripping over the mess of wires, we taped the lines to the floor to form a makeshift cabling shield
For my simple act of connecting the computers to the ports, I was treated to Domino’s Pizza. People were praising my computer skills. Even the IT guy who later came in to look at the setup said it was a good job. My MIS bachelor’s degree has finally paid off!
In true Korean fashion, about a week later we were told to move all of our stuff out in the hall to make room for the upcoming election. What kind of election would be this important for the teachers to have to move all over again?
Why, the election for the Gyeonggi Superintendent, of course!
Halo ((All I Play-Oh))
An epic Halo 3 song parody of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song Snow (Hey Oh) by PaletteSwapNinja. Get the Mp3 here. Video by Usethefork.
Master Chief Likes Brownies
I’m late to the table on this one. Like, really late. The original Halo game called Halo: Combat Evolved made its debut on the original Xbox in 2001. Around then I was working full-time, going to school full-time, and dealing with a very needy wife (now ex-wife). I didn’t have time or money for video games, so I largely ignored the hype surrounding popular games. Halo was no exception.
By Thanksgiving 2004 I was re-married and at a gathering of my wife’s family. Her young cousin got us to play a game called Halo 2, which we did, but ended up hating the whole experience because he just pwned us again and again. Little punk.
Fast forward to 2008 and I’m being introduced by a college-age friend to the latest game in the series, Halo 3. Our friend was staying with us for a couple of months, so we were able to play on his Xbox 360. When we started playing, I knew nothing about the story other than it’s a spacey-type FPS. We almost exclusively played custom games, and he destroyed me again and again. When we finally did play on Xbox Live, I was hooked. Playing with real people in a first-person shooter environment was an entirely new experience for me, and I quickly began to look forward to late nights playing.
I finally got an Xbox 360 of my own in December, and Halo 3 has been a staple ever since. I’m really not that good, but I like working at it, and am a huge fan of the Xbox Achievements system. Typically when I find something I like, I’ll dive into it, read trivia, and try to learn all I can about it. Truth be told, I really have no idea what’s going on in the campaign levels of Halo 3. Something about Covenant = Aliens, Halo = death machine, Cortana = hologram girl in my head, Master Chief = super warrior, and a war on Earth with some pretty sweet weapons. I’ve tried to read plot synopses about it, but get lost in a slew of characters, battle descriptions, and alien terminology.
It’s like walking into the last 30 minutes of an action movie. Looks cool but impossible to figure out the plot without going back.
So to do just that, I recently I picked up three Halo novels: The Fall of Reach, The Flood, and First Strike. Realize again that I don’t know what even the first Halo game is all about. My plan is to read the first book and then play Halo: Combat Evloved before continuing with the series.
Right now I’m on Chapter 7 in The Fall of Reach, which starts on page 60. These are some laughably short chapters. I realize that I’m reading a novel based on a video game, so I can’t expect Michael Crighton here, but so far it’s feeling very rushed. According to the Wikipedia entry, this novel was written in seven weeks, which does not surprise me in the least. I have a long way to go in this book, so I can’t judge it completely yet, but I must say that there are some parts that have got me scratching my head.
For instance, the Master Chief’s name is John, and he was abducted by a Navy research team when he was 6 years old, and forced to go into training in a human settlement on a planet called Reach . So like three paragraphs later, they’re being forced to do training activities in this boot camp of the future, circa 2517. The kids are divided up into teams and John is placed with “Sam” and “Kelly.” What kind of future names are these? The instructor announces what the winners will receive:
“You win dinner, Number 117. Tonight, dinner is roast turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream.” (pp. 41)
Roast turkey? What? Brownies and ice cream? John a.k.a. Number 117 seems to like this kind of food, as it serves to motivate him during the event:
“He swallowed his fear and kept climbing up. He thought of the ice cream and chocolate brownies and how he was going to win.” (pp.42)
I am a total Halo noob, so I don’t really think I have much room to criticize. But, well, are you kidding me? Reading about Master Chief’s childhood is ruining Master Chief to me the same way seeing young Anakin Skywalker pretty much ruined Darth Vader to me. Now all I can think about when I see the cover of the book or play the game is that Master Chief likes brownies:
I’m obviously not done with the book, so I’ll do more reading and less criticizing. Well, at least until I come upon the next scene where Master Chief runs out of baking soda…
Jason Mraz Interview on French Radio
Jason Mraz gave an interview to French radio’s popular nighttime show Mikl L’Emission Sans Interdit on March 18, 2009. He then played his new single, Lucky. You can listen to this below even if you don’t understand French; they translate for him. Click here to view all the pics.
This Could Actually Work!
Having trouble with excessive debt? This could be the solution!
End of the line
An update from the white guy in Korea! Read on for pirates, gamepads, graduation, and contracts!
German kid wants to play “Unreal Tournament”.
Abandoned Utah Pet Center
I had some time to kill while in Murray this morning, so I thought I’d swing by my old stomping grounds at the former 49th Street Galleria. It has been exactly 4 months since the Utah Pet Center shut down, and it was interesting to see the state of the place. No interior shots other than through the front door; it was completely shut and there was nobody around.
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