Happy Birthday Lauren!

I'm probably always going to harp on about how-fast-the-year-is-going, and today is no exception. It's just a little head spinning to think that it was a whole year ago that we finished our final exams and were planning this little sojourn to the other side of the world. It's only four weeks until our summer holidays - for which I really cannot wait - but then Lauren's off! How different it will be without her.

So, as a reminder of the beauty that is this wonderful country, instead of blogging in the past week I've been making the mother of a mix tape featuring all the wonders of K-Pop that are. With less pleasant reminders of Girls Aloud-esque girl groups, I wasn't exactly a fan of the genre when I first arrived in Korea. However with few alternatives available to me as I walk down the streets of Seoul, I am nothing less than a convert.

Remember Tell Me by the Wonder Girls? Here's their new song. Not exactly the cutesy innocent look they had six months ago. I've chosen to link you here since this version has English subtitles which I feel are a necessary commodity to fully appreciate the delicate nuances of the song. Unfortunately the user disabled embedding, but I urge you to take 3 minutes for a listen.

We had a nice birthday dinner/drinks on Thursday to celebrate Lauren's big 2-2. It was lovely having all our friends in one place, and to meet up with our old co-workers from our old school. It's become a bit of a joke that out of all the ex-teachers, we're the only ones who have continued in the profession - and we don't even necessarily want to be here! Having said that, with no concrete plans post-contract I'm starting to consider staying on...

For the benefit of Cat,

who I know is a big fan of the cheesy K-pop, I post these videos.

Not quite a Tell Me hit, but heard regularly enough throughout shopping centres to get painfully stuck in one's head, the first is L.O.V.E. by Brown-Eyed Girls. This is an apparent attempt at introducing Electronica into the pop scene, though whether they have succeeded or not is largely debatable.

Second we have a long time favourite by Korea's favourite "hip-hop" group Big Bang: Last Greeting. Again, hence the inverted commas, hip-hop is a term loosely related to anything with vague amounts of rap, so the genre is open to dispute. Nevertheless, this one I've been searching for for a while, so it is with great honour that I share it with you :)

Cat, I hope you enjoy, as well as the rest of you cheesy poppin' fans out there.

The more prevalent purpose of this post is due to the fact that I am alone in the school with nobody but the non-English speaking art teacher (a very nice girl, but conversation is a tad stunted...and mostly in Korean if that gauges the level of communication), while the kids and teachers alike have gone off for a picnic. This field trip was ironically postponed a couple of weeks ago due to bad weather, though I couldn't help noticing that really huge downpour a few minutes ago.

I had to stay behind due to the one 50 minute class I have to teach this afternoon to a bunch of elementary kids. I'm sure they're all off having fun (I'm not bitter, really^^), but I'm kind of enjoying the time off lounging about with lesson plans, coffee and the internet out of the rain...

Popular culture

Last class on a Monday, Wednesday, and most irritatingly, Friday, is a group of nine boys ranging from 11 to 13 years old (Korean age). They are an absolute nightmare to teach: they tip their chairs and tables over by the minute; I'll glance away for one second, look back and find half the class have hidden round the corner, under the piano, in the shelves or behind the whiteboard (I ask them, "How old are you?" They reply, "I'm three years old"); they're constantly leaving the classroom to get water; they shout, they sing, and I have one boy who insists on rapping everything he says with the speed cranked up x1000. As amusing as this is, to exercise any control over them whatsoever is proving somewhat of a challenge, not to mention the fact that the range of their English levels is so vast that it is almost impossible to keep all of them occupied at the same time, give anyone attention without having the others throwing each other out of the windows, and actually give them any kind of education.

However there is one positive side to this group of raucous boys: I do get to keep up with all the latest Korean pop songs. Whether or not this is a blessing (highly debatable as you will see), I certainly cannot escape the tunes of "Tell me, tell me, t-t-t-t-t-tell me" (complete with dance routine), and "I'm so sorry but I love you, blah blah blah blah..." that fill my classroom with untuneful pre-pubescent voices.

Tell Me - Wondergirls


Lies - Big Bang