Wet Clothes and Yellow Dust

I decided to give my washer another chance last night. Yeah, it was about the same as when I gave that no good ex-girlfriend another chance after she cheated on me. It's totally over between us. I'm just going to live in filthy clothes or just keep buying new ones for the next year. I did my whites last night, and not only did my clothes come out so sopping wet that it made puddles on my floor, but the bottoms of my socks were still dark with soot. They still await the time when I get motivated to put them away...in the trash can!

So today, the kids came in with brand new English name tags. Originally, I was told that they didn't have English names and that I'd have to remember their Korean names. Haha, yeah right. That'll never happen. When I hear a Korean name I just draw a blank stare and immediately forget it. So, I'm playing it up a bit. Not all the kids had English names. But the ones who did, oh man were they zingers. Let me share with you a few of my favorites.

Sorry, ladies, the boys chose all the interesting names. I have a boy named Joy, a boy named Jesus, a boy named Boy, a boy named Signus, a boy named David Black (what made you decide to put a last name in there, fella?), and my personal favorite of all time: The Undertaker. Yes, The Undertaker. This particular boy loves wrestling. He wanted to be named after his hero, so he chose The Undertaker. I will remember that boy's name for as long as I live. Sure beats Jung-Min or whatever his Korean name is. I wish my name was The Undertaker. Way to pull through on that one, Mom.

Otherwise, today was a pretty uneventful day. Sorry I can't post any pictures for you guys. Actually, that's not true. Here's four to throw a little variety in there:

Woobang Land! Woo...bang! This next one is a pretty prominent advertisement for soju:

What!? Good morning!? No soju signifies to me that the next morning will be good. Soju guarantees a terrible hangover and about a 30% chance of waking up next to someone you don't remember who vaguely resembles a walrus/manatee hybrid. Definitely not a good morning.

These next two aren't as commentary worthy, but they're all I've got left so live with it:

When it snowed last week, the kids all went out and had fun in it. This is a picture of them enjoying the snow between classes. There were a lot more of them. I seemed to choose the time when there were the least amount of children playing to take a picture, but it was the only time I had a break from teaching the little rats. Finally, this is a Confucian Temple in Duryu Park. Very serene, etc etc. The shrubbery landscaping really adds a nice flavor to it, no?

Ok, best part of my day. I got my Alien Registration Card this afternoon. Delivered straight to me by the postman guy. I was giddy with excitement. Not only does this signify that I can travel outside of Korea whenever I want (yay, no more house arrest!), it also signifies that I can get a cell phone and the internets in my apartment. I am going to take care of these things tomorrow when the helpy co-teacher is around. Oh, it's going to be a good day for sure.

I've got one more bomb to drop before I wrap this post up. So, I was told that today is the official beginning of yellow dust season. "What's yellow dust season, Steve?" you ask? Well, Opey, yellow dust season will put a damper on your plans real quick. Since China is a dirty cesspool of vermin and pollution, every Spring when the wind blows East, China sends their nastiest, most polluted dust over with it for the Koreans and Japanese to breathe in a nefarious plan to take them over via chemical warfare. What this means for Suteebuh and his current countrymen is that there will be lower visibility for some time and breathing in the air may cause health problems. I'd say not breathing in air causes more immediate health problems, so I'm going to just continue with business as usual. Children and the elderly are advised to not go outside if it is not necessary. That's why the Koreans wear masks all the time when they go out. That and that durn Swine Flu.

Isn't it funny that every country has its own set of unique problems caused by the increasing manhandling of nature colliding with that very same nature's ability to manhandle (nature-handle?) us back? The only way to beat this problem is to nuke the Earth, killing nature once and for all and then moving to Mars. That sounds like the Steve you know and love talking, right?

Hmm. I ran out of things to say. I feel like there was more, but it's more of the same. There were a lot of pictures taken of me today and a ton of Koreans in my life.