::A Geek in Korea::

Someone at a forum I post at had a idea to post a mix tape of ten songs to represent your musical tastes. I thought I’d give it a whirl, as I don’t do much meme-posting.

Air - Walkie Talkie -Universal TravelerWhenever I come home stressed out from work and need to write, I can put this song on and have the words start flowing. It’s basically "me" when I write in song form.

Radiohead- Hail to the Thief- There There
I love the whole lyrics and vocals to this song. I have many favorite Radiohead songs, but this one gripped me right away.

Aphex Twin- Drukqs - Ruflen Holon
I’ve been a fan of Aphex Twin since college, but this simple, beautiful song reminds me of a simple countryside in peace.

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
This was my "Working in Korea" theme for my first few years. Things kept getting worse at work, and I needed to do more with less, which had me feeling alienated and robotic most of the time. I was a tool in an English teaching machine.

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine- A better version of me (Alternative Mix) / Extraordinary Machine
 I’m a frightened fickle person/ fighting, crying, kicking, cursing, / what should I do?
…
I’m good at being uncomfortable, so I can’t stop changing all the time
If this is cheating, so be it. I can’t listen to one of these songs without the other anyway. I’ve been a fan of Fiona Apple for as long as she’s been around, and her lyrics are always her strongest when she’s pissed off and uncomfortable yet assured. When I was switching jobs and having a hard time finding myself, I really got into listening to Fiona Apple again.

The Flaming Lips - Fight Test
To lose I could accept/ but to surrender I just wept and regretted this moment
There is always a time where you have to pick your battles, and sometimes you don’t forget the ones you stepped away from.

Incubus - Morning view - Wish you were here
When I get all lonely and introspective I like to listen to this song on my own. Staring up at the stars at night with a lighter being held above your head is almost a requirement when listening to this song.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
This track is one of those cheesy emo songs that I really like for the sweet lyrics. When I get all weepy from traveling alone, I like to listen to this song.

Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic- American Car
My circus train pulls throught the night/
full of lions and trapeze artists/
I’m done with elephants and clowns/
I want to run away and join the office
When I stopped digging the foreigner heavy drinking bar scene in Korea, this was the song that sort of encapsulated that feeling for me very well.

Weezer- Self Titled (Blue) - Say it ain’t so
I dare ANYONE to listen to this song and NOT sing along. It’s simply not possible.

*Note: The Beatles aren’t on the list because they deserve a list of their own. I can’t choose one song. The list was difficult enough as it is!

Anyone with decent taste and some free time, post your list in the comments!

Today was the first of our "Halloween" parties. It was a Halloween party in name only, as we had speaking tests today in the majority of classes. No fun! We had to prepare tests and take students outside one by one for a speaking examination. Seeing as I had done this a number of times at different schools, I was sure to prepare a puzzle for all of my classes to work on while I was outside. I gave them a copy of the questions I would be asking then went outside. The students had five minutes to prepare, then I started calling students out at random.
Depending on their levels, the questions might have been a simple straight forward question/answer style response, or a more specific answer that required the knowledge of some related vocabulary. I had scores ranging from perfect to completely wrong, which is amazing considering I told the students every single question and every single answer every single day I taught them last week.

During the interview, I sat in another classroom. I had bought an alien mask, so when I called the students in after setting up the test, they entered the room to talk to an alien for their test. Some of the students were surprised, some laughed, and some were freaking out. I gave candy for every correct answer, then when I went back into class I gave them some more if they worked on their puzzle well. I also played some Haunted Hangman style games for candy as well.

When the students heard the bell rang, they were surprised. "So, whens the party? Tomorrow?"
"Uh, I gave you candy, that was the party."

 I was the ONLY teacher to wear a costume, to bring candy, or even do anything with my students vaguely related to the holiday at all. It was pathetic. The student’s expectations of a haunted house and multiple rooms of terror and parties was a bit of a stretch, but I didn’t feel like the other teachers tried at all. Even my foreign coworker was suffering what looked like a little burn out from a party heavy weekend. Tomorrow I hope the other teachers pick up the slack and deliver on some of their Halloween duties. Students are frightened of them enough, with the beatings and insane homework. All they need to do to cause abject terror would be to wear a scary mask too.