Typepad has made some 'imporvements' to it user interface that have me a little confused right now but, still, overall I'd have to say I feel pretty good.
Why?
Because yesterday I nailed down a new job. It's in a new school, in a new area, at a big pay raise and there's not only salsa in the area but also a very healthy casino rueda community.
But that's not the reason for the post.
This news article I just saw is. I think you'll like it. It's about the Brazilian diet. It's got some great ideas in there. Some of which happen to be things that I've sorta done all my life anyway.
But.....I'm sure any of you who've ever had Brazilian food liked it. And in this article you'll discover not some of the reasons it tastes so good but also why it's probably one of the best cuisines for your health and your weight control efforts.
Yeah....apparently so. I gotta give the Koreans credit. They're not bashful about adopting anything from other cultures that'll make'em money. From reading this article, the idea (of Korean tacos) has proven very popular and successful for these entrepreneurs.
Vox, as you probably don't recall me mentioning previously, is one of the free blogging platforms owned by SixApart.com, the same people who own Typepad.com (that what this blog is on).
I've got a Vox blog but honestly I don't even recall the name. But I do remember that it's a good blogging platform. Very similar to Typepad and .......perhaps most importantly to some people/budgets.....totally free.
And BTW......I'm hearing that there's an increased number of applications coming in from the US from people who are interested in teaching over here in Korea. Depending on your job situation back in the US(or Canada), it might be something for you to consider. All the good jobs (which is most of them actually) aren't gone yet.
Teaching English in Korea can be a fun and interesting experience as long as you come over with realistic expectations. If your the kind of person who isn't frightened by the word 'different', then you'd enjoy it. If you're the kind of person who thinks that the American way is the only way then, don't come.
Korean kids are just like kids anywhere....sometimes it's like herding cats. But at least you don't have to worry about any of them bringing a gun to school and shooting you. And generally they're nice kids. If you're a nice and reasonably good looking guy, the girls will love you. And if you're a 'jock', the guys will worship you.....expecially if you're into soccer or basketball or baseball. If you're a girl....pretty much the same thing applies except in reverse except that you might have to develop a firmer 'hand' with the boys.
Korea is a very pretty country and you don't have to go very far to see it. It's all around you. The number of parks over here is incredible. It's nothing like in the US. Koreans are very, very much into the outdoors and communing with nature. They wouldn't have it any other way. If you like taking pictures you'll find endless opportunities for creative shutterbugging. Take a look at my two sites... flickr and dropshots.
You won't need a car....or the associated bullshit of car payments and insurance and safety inspections and worries about cops giving you a ticket....because the public transportation is excellent.
There's lots of clubs. Koreans love to drink. If you're into salsa dancing and can get a job in or near Seoul, it's the best salsa dancing town on the planet. I mean, where else would you find 12+ clubs open almost every night of the week? Other than Cali or Bogota or Medellin, Colombia I mean :-)
Another nice thing about it is the cops don't bother anybody. Not foreigners anyway. And in fact the times I've seen'em dealing with Koreans, they strike me as very patient. They don't seem to 'have something to prove' like some American cops do.
I could go on with the pro's and con's of teaching English in Korea but, needless to say, I like it. I've been over here 2.5 years already and I'm probably going to extend for another year (in December).
The job isn't hard, by any definition. And if you happen to be one of those smart people who understands that the internet is where the opportunities of the future are, then Korea will give you plenty of time to work on whatever internet direction you want to go. That actually was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come over here.
So, if you'd like more information about coming to Korea to teach English, check out this very informative website, www.asknow.ca/teach. These are the folks who got me my job and start in Korea.
Do you think the kind of hero worship and idolization that brought Hitler to power in Germany?
If you said, 'It could't happen in American, you'd be dead wrong.' Before I show you these videos let me give you a little history lesson (just in case you're not big on history).
After WW1 the German nation was really beat up. Their economy was a shambles, their army was emasculated, their navy was scuttled, their air force was reducted basically to gliders, and their politics was confused (to say the least).
Hitler and the Nationaal Socialist German Workers Party (AKA: Nazis) rose to power partly (and largely) by playing on the resentment and hopes of the German people.....i.e. offering them national pride which many of them had lost and jobs or hope of jobs which most of them had lost. And there's countless other related things they did but basically Hitler was a salesman.....i.e. he knew how to sell the customer what they wanted. Every good salesman does that.
That's exactly what most politicians does and Obama is doing it better and more effectively than most politicans ever have. Where Obama has the edge is that because he appears 'black', or sorta creme colored anyway, the large mass of disgruntled black people in the US tend to look at him as some sort of black messiah.
Make no mistake about it. I think he's a handsome dude. But he ain't no messiah and he darn sure isn't going to solve any of America's problems. In fact, more than McCain might......he'll probably make them even worse because (I'm convinced) he resents the very principles that made America great and that can make it a respected and admired country again.
In these videos I'm posting here you'll see examples of the kind of mind numbed morons who are worshiping Obama right now. Their ignorance of history, lack of perception, desire for easy and quick excuses and herd instinct is causing them to sing songs to him and march around like the idiots and retards that they are.
When I saw these videos I was both amazed and saddened. To me the similarity was obvious and undeniable. I was amazed at how obvious it was and that other concerned citizens aren't saying more about it. Also how totally congruent the videos of today are with the videos from Nazi Germany. And I dare say you could find similar videos of Fascists in Mussolini's Italy and Kim John Il's N.Korea. It's really scarey.
And I was saddened that our country has degenerated to such a low level of intelligence and character appraisal as to give such a dangerous individual as Obama any credence at all.
Another interesting thing that occurs to me also is the irony of the fact that in WWII you had two evil empires, Communist Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany at each other's throat. If one had a time machine and had to make a choice on which of those two sides you'd be on if you were sent back in time, it would be a hard choice to make. I'm not totally sure what I'd do.
But the point there is that it somewhat previews a situation we might be in where the extremism of the Obama camp could be mirrored by an equal level of extremism, although of a more 'rightist' sort, from a future McCain presidency. Not something I necessarily see on the immediate horizon but definately something that's plausable.
Of course, the best solution would still be to elect people of a libertarian persuasion....as I've been saying for some years now. Not likely it'll happen. At least not this time anyway. Let's just hope there's enough of 'us' left to do something about it when the next opportunity comes around.
But.........here's the videos. See if you don't see the similiarty.
I think it's safe to say that most salsa dancers are singles. As singles, we know what a difficult task it is to buy food without buying so much that we can't use it before it starts to grow legs and has to be thrown out.
Would the milk and dairy industry be as big as it is without the widespread belief that unpasteurized milk isn't good for you?
I don't think it would. You probably would agree.
That being the case, it makes me curious other things this guy I'm reading about now has to say. I'm not even going to mention his name. Suffice it to say that he used to be a Navy doctor and has studied a lot of interesting places, etc., etc.
I'm not trying to promote him here but I'm just reading something online about a newsletter he has. I doubt that I'll sign up....but!
I certainly agree with him that it's often worthwhile to question the motives of anything we're told by 'big pharma' (i.e. the big pharmaceutical industry).
If, by chance, you'd like a list of some of these newsletters I'm reading about and some of the ones I get, just let me know. I could easily put a list together or set up some sort of autoresponder or automatic feed.
People who haven't lived abroad, and especially in the Far East, probably don't understand how important schmoozing with the guys-from-the-office is. It's definately something that's valuable to do here in Korea even for a relatively tame profession like teaching.
Before I came over here in Korea to teach English I did a lot of research so I already knew that a lot of Koreans like to drink a lot. In fact many of them drink and drink til they get totally shit-faced. Ask anybody who's ever been out at night in Seoul and they'll probably tell you they've seen Koreans (usually guys but not limited necessarily to only guys) having a merry old time in bars or staggering along the street either singing wildly or shouting at (something) loundly. And you'll sometimes see'em conked out right there on the sidewalk or on a bench outside somewhere. I once even saw a guy curled up on the driveway of a parking garage.....and nobody was bothering him.
Generally speaking, here in Korea nobody bothers drunks. And drunks usually aren't belligerant or ones to cause trouble. Matter of fact, if a woman gets drunk and passes out on the street or in a public establishment of some sort over here (and assuming her friends don't take her home first) the cops will simply look at her ID card in her purse, pull the info up on their computer (everybody has national ID cards over here....even the foreigners like me) and they'll oftentimes just call the family to come pick her up. Sometimes they'll even take her home themselves.
Back in the states it might be considered dangerous for a woman to get into a situation like that but here in Korea people simply seem to be much more well behaved. That's one of the things I've realized that I like. You don't find ass-holes or dangerous nut-jobs wandering around 'loose' over here....at least not nearly as much as you do in other countries.
But excuse me......I got off on a little tangent there. What I meant to tell you was that last night I finally broke down (or I guess I just felt comfortable enough) to share a beer with some of the teachers where I work.
I had been at school during the early evening, like I usually am. Actually, I had been busy serving as the 'banker' for a vigorous game of Monopoly with 6 of the female students here at school. It's really fun to watch the way they play and the way they interact with each other.
9 pm is the bewitching hour here at school because they have an alarm that they have to set at 9 pm. That means that you gotta get out then.
So we finished the game and as we were packing up one of my teacher department head friends, a Korean, came into the room and said he would be waiting for me at the school gate (we're up on a big hill/mountain with a gate on the road up to where we are). I didn't know what he was waiting for me for but I assumed he had a good reason.
I met him there at the gate and I wound up accepting an invitation to go have a beer at a local 'hoff house' (pub....sorta) just around the corner from where I live. I'd walked by it many times before.
I've been reluctant to get involved in the beer drinking games and rituals most people seem to enjoy over here because (1) I just don't drink. It's not a passion of mine, and (2) I like being cognizant of my actions and what's going on around me so therefore I don't like becoming impaired by alcohal. But I let my hair down a little bit last night.
Point is, there were 4 other teachers over there. I knew'em all too. Three guys and a young lady.....and me. I wound up staying almost two hours and having a really good time. I chugged a couple of glasses of beer and then spend the last half hour or so sipping another glass of beer.
We had a really nice conversation and it was once again apparent to me how sincerely interested these Koreans are in getting to know me and trying to be friends with me and make me feel good. I've said it before but I'll say it again....they're really nice people (for the most part).
That's another reason why I think working over here is such a unique opportunity. It's more than just a job. It's an adventure that includes work, professional growth, experimentation, social growth, challenges, adventures, travel, exploring, seeking, improvising and........lots of stuff. It's really fun. It almost seems dishonest to accept pay for it (but I do).
I know for a fact that there's a lot of people back in the US who would find teaching English over here such a refreshing departure from the dull, drab, boredom of the stateside lifestyle that they'd be pinching themselves every day for the first three months they're over here because it would be so hard to believe (i.e. that they're having so much fun).
If you might be such a person, I'd highly recommend you contact my good friends Jason, Brant, Matthew, or Stacy at http://www.asknow.ca . They're the fine folks who got me my job and I'm sure they'll take good care of you too if you give'em a chance.
And of course, always feel free to email me or Skye me if I can answer any questions for you. If you salsa dance, I can guarantee you'll love it over here too.
Korean 's are very talented and there's some interesting TV on sometimes:
This is me outside on the plaza in front of the museum. Seoul, as well as several of the other major cites, has some amazing public buildings and other iteresting places to visit.
The Korean kids really grow on you. Kid will be kids are there are some kids that sometimes need to have some disciplinary training but generally speaking they're nice kids. I really enjoy our Monopoly games and the kids do too.
This is a picture I took at the National War Museum. It's a cool place.
This is me outside on the plaza in front of the museum. Seoul, as well as several of the other major cites, has some amazing public buildings and other iteresting places to visit.
The Korean kids really grow on you. Kid will be kids are there are some kids that sometimes need to have some disciplinary training but generally speaking they're nice kids. I really enjoy our Monopoly games and the kids do too.
There's tons of culture to see in Korea. And the Koreans know it too!
Eating Korean style, if done correctly, is a blast!
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