i’m outta here tomorrow. yep, & it can’t come soon enough. but you know that already. my desire 2 leave here is not solely because i’ve had it with camp, which, of course, i have, but also because i’m looking forward 2 getting back 2 the somewhat normality of seoul, namely my apartment & the strangely addictive life of a seoulite. i’m saying goodbye 2 jochiwon today because tomorrow i won’t be able 2. why? well, i’m assuming i’ll be 2 busy 2 do so... busy with the formalities of the 3rd, & final, ck closing day (“bye bye students”)... busy packing... busy sitting on the bus back into seoul... busy proclaiming i’ll never do it again... & busy settling back into my apartment. & beyond tomorrow i’ve also plans 2 be busy. busy drinking... drinking 2 the end of camp... drinking 2 having 5 days off (maybe more)... drinking 2 the chinese new year... drinking 2 australia day (hey, any excuse)... & drinking 2 drinking. the days in seoul after a camp are always a blurry affair, & this time will be no different. there’s just 2 much 2 celebrate.
a few things i will miss about this camp
- being served 3 meals a day... or 2 if, like me, you’re never up early enough for breakfast.
- 10,000 won (€5.50) 3-litre pitchers of beer in city pop.
- the banter with the university cafeteria chef who, although not having a word of english, is a legend.
- the good teachers. yes, there were some... thank god.
- the on-site gym. so i didn’t utilise it very often (5 times over the 4 weeks i estimate) but @ least it was there.
- the part-time/hired-only-for-camp korean staff members, especially the cute females, who venerated me. i interviewed them all months ago & they still, even after working & joking around with them for a month, treat me like a pop star. so what, i like the attention. you would 2. trust me.
- not spending money. camp life limits your spending, something seoul takes 2 extremes.
- being answerable 2 no one & being able 2 do what i want 2 do, when i want 2 do it. okay, so there is a korean here, ozi, higher up in the pecking order than me but she wouldn’t dream of ordering me around. not because i’m liable 2 react in an undesired way 2 orders or anything like that... it’s just that i know what 2 do & when 2 do it... & the koreans know that & so leave me 2 it.
a few of the things i won’t miss about this camp
- the questions. oh my... the questions.
- wonder girls, big bang, abba, lemon tree, cartoon heroes... if i hear any one of these bands/songs while i’m celebrating the end of camp over the coming days i’ll probably react in a very violent way.
- having the urge 2 strangle fellow human beings who, @ first glance, appeared capable of doing their job sufficiently... but failed miserably. sufficiency... that’s all i ask... not proficiency.
- the 3-4 meetings i attended each & every day 2 remind me of stuff i already knew.
- having 2 rely on koreans 2 do their shit so i can do mine. it is, always has, & always will be, the biggest frustration of camp (unless, of course, i could get rid of the koreans... now there’s an idea).
- receiving dozens of e-mails a day, the majority of them in korean.
- the cold. i’ve a high tolerance of the cold but i’d take a summer camp over a winter camp every time. teachers are generally in a better mood in the heat of a korean summer, meaning they don’t complain as much.
- old teachers. every camp has them. this camp, unfortunately, had more than most. okay, call me ageist... i don’t care. but i’ve done enough camps now 2 know that it’s a young man’s, or women’s, game. if you have kids old enough 2 teach @ ck then please don’t apply 2 teach yourself (& if you do come please don't complain so much).
- the photocopiers that were unable 2 produce 3 copies without jamming. okay, maybe 4.
- the printers that wouldn't print.
- the teachers who hovered around said printers/photocopiers & who turned 2 me as if i was some sort of printer/photocopier engineer. i can’t believe i got though camp without shrugging my shoulders & saying something along the lines of “well, what do you want me 2 do?”... especially considering how often i was tempted 2 do just that.
- the 12 midnight curfew.
- chairing early morning meetings with my teachers the morning after we dodged said curfew.
- mc’ing in a hall of 200+ koreans. i do it a lot... & i’m well used 2 it. but i still hate it... & i gotta do it 4 more times before i leave here in 24 hours... “students... are you ready?!”
- correcting reports. i’m paid 2, amongst other things, proofread reports writen by qualified teachers... ‘cept reading them you’d never think they were qualified teachers.
- counting down the days until the end of camp.
‘livin’ with seoul’ inauguration watch
okay... no more about camp. i couldn’t file a entry today without mentioning the us presidential inauguration. there’s a lot expected of this obama chap, with some expecting him 2 do nothing less than change the world itself. whether he does or not remains 2 be seen. i’m just a tad upset that poor auld unemployed george ‘dubya’ won’t be prominent in the public eye anymore... because it probably means that 8 solid years of ‘bushisms’ has come 2 an end. aggh yes, say what you want about him but he was always good for a laugh.
& you can read the best 'bushisms', according to the bbc, here... oh, & check out this video of the man of the moment, obama, claiming he has been 2 no less than 57 states. how’s that now? say noting, but maybe we’ll get a few 'obamaisms' over the coming years.
‘livin’ with seoul’ funny label/sign watch
'Exfeel-s - The Stylish Beer with Fibre. Smooth and light premium beer exclusively designed for well-being of young generation'
– exfeel-s beer label
what i’m listening 2 right now
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