Korea (I've got Seoul)

[R Cohrs]

Thanks for cleaning up the spam.  It must be that time of year again.  Also planning on another RPS tourney in December.  Ready for sprock? tourney too if there's some more competition coming along.

[R Cohrs]

I learned 2 more Korean variants for RPS last night that I would like to share.

1.  The first one is actually a way to play the game with both hands simultaneously.  During the shoot a player uses each hand to make a throw.  You then have just a moment to see the 2 throws your opponent picked, but there is no win or lose involved yet.  The player keeps their hands in form (rock, paper, or scissors) and there is a second prime where the player must extend one of their hands as the throw that is counted.  If you lose, then you must play with one hand against your opponent, although a crafty player realizes this basically means defeat in a 2 person game.  I played with 3 players though which made it a little more interesting, and a slight variant on this is to put your hands on the table in order of loss wherupon the winner can strike your hands repeatedly.  I didn't quite understand that variant just yet as we didn't play it though.

2.  The second variant I learned yesterday was similar to a Japanese form that I've played.  This one involves the players priming and shooting as normal, but after the shoot the players keep their hands in form (rock, paper, or scissors).  If it is a draw then it is replayed, but if there is a winner then the winner counts the prime (with hands still in same form) and after the prime calls out a throw (R,P, or S).  Both players can choose a new throw here or go with the same, but if the loser matches the throw the winner called, then they lose.  If not then the game is repeated based on the 2nd throw.   

I was also told about a RPS variant played with the feet, but I haven't learned this one yet.  Also there is a popular bar game here where groups will play gai-bai-bo (RPS) and the loser must go to another table and ask for someone's phone number.  Korea's definitely a nation to watch when it comes to RPS skills.

[R Cohrs]

Feel like it's been a while since a nice Korean update.  Some exciting stuff for me; I bought my first modern laptop a couple days ago and am currently pimping the crap out of it.  Really helps to kill a lot of stress here, and also keeps me connected to home.  Been about 9 months over here now. 

Found a nice group here to play some Hold'em.  I'm working on combining this with some post-game RPS action, much like Pro Poker player Phil Gordon, http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/phil-gordon/   (story's near the bottom of the thread). 

Other than that it's cold again but not snowing, air's still polluted, some people are awesome but others make me wonder why I came, people are coming and going like a dream, I'm playing RPS everyday in anticipation of my first world victory, and my school of kids is also becoming more ferocious in their own RPS skills.  Figured out one trick to keep the kids happy; when I assign their homework, I start with a high number of times for them to write, then I challenge them to play me for a lower number (the actual amount I want them to do), then I just play till I lose.  I seriously have the kids thanking me for giving them such a small hw assignment.  It makes them happy, I have much less complaints, and I get to practice RPS; everyone wins.

Alright future updates to come, might have some great news soon if things work out.

[Maxamillion]

ah i found it!
 
looks like you are developing a lot of Happy Souls in Seoul.

Nice work Mr Cohrs.

Max

[R Cohrs]

My year here is coming to a close.  I've eaten dog soup, pig legs, fish penis, and some tasty food too.  I've drank soju, Cass, and Hite until I'm drunken.  I've played RPS everyday with my students and friends, found some new variations to the game, and won the tourney I hosted.

Recently I've been pretty busy.  My friends and I have a hold 'em tourney every week, we've been bowling quite a bit, playing pool, screen golfing, and we've started spending more time at the local hofs now that the weather's nicer (outdoor chicken and beer joints).  I went to Everland amusement park a few weeks back, which was pretty fun, especially drinking beer and going on a roller-coaster. 

I've been proud of some of my students as I've watched them make strides over the last year.  Pretty nice to see them actually learning something.

I'm on the job hunt again and really not looking forward to the next few months.  Still don't know where I'll wind up, but I'm definitely going to try teaching again next year. 

It's a great day out today, so I'm going for a picnic with some Korean BBQ by the Han river   

[Maxamillion]

Enjoy BBQ & goodluck with the Job hunting!

Pity my attempt at a link on facebook did not work. It was funny!!

Max

[R Cohrs]

Yo all!  It's been a while since I've been a regular around the bullboard.  Most of this stems from the fact that for some reason I can't access this site at work where I have tons of time to kill.  Seems like the firewall on my computer started restricting this site a couple months back.  But right now as I'm almost finished with my first tour of duty here, I'm too frustrated and angry to sleep, so I thought I'd vent.

I usually think of myself as an optimistic realist.  I want the world to be a good place, and I have hope it can be, but I accept the reality that things aren't that pretty.  I've learned a lot from my time here in Korea, and I wish that I could say it was the kind of great experience I had in Japan, but being here just kind of sucks the optimism out of me. 

So I'll say some good things first.  I was able to find a job here that actually paid the bills, and that in itself made it a worthwhile venture.  I met a lot of good people here, but the majority of those were other teachers, and I wish I could say I made stronger ties with Korean friends.  There were a couple of really nice Koreans who really helped when it seemed like a very cold and uncaring place, and I'm glad to have met them.  I got to practice several new forms of RPS, which is always a positive in my book.  I found out I really like teaching and will probably pursue it as a future career.  I was able to learn a lot about a country that I knew nothing about, and see some cool sites, eat interesting food, and explore a new culture.

The thing that's really keeping me up tonight is dealing with my boss.  Hagwon's, or language institutes, are known for being pretty shady for a lot of reasons.  While mine wasn't the worst of the bunch, I'm going through a ton of stress right now as I'm trying to get things like my final pay and contract obligations sorted.  Lots of little things, a couple big things, basically it's the kind of hell that these places are notorious for.  In the meantime I've been trying to set up a job for next year through the same recruiters I used this year, and unlike the first time where they contacted me on a daily basis, I've had to wait weeks for replies about jobs.  Luckily it's pretty easy to find Korean jobs on my own, but it's always nice to have someone fighting with you in your corner. 

Really I can think of about a hundred things here that have really made me angry.  I think it was better for me not to know anything about this country, because living here has really given me a pretty jaded opinion.  But... it's still the best deal in town, and it sounds like for lack of something better I could easily be returning for another go next year. 

I'll just say that I'm a very independent person, and I love creativity, free-thinking, and individuality.  That's not this country by a long shot.  This is a hive mind country where anything out of the norm is seen as terrible and frightening.  Not good news for me, as especially for those who've met me, I'm not exactly fitting into the norm even back home.

Anyway, I think I should turn to digging ditches in Australia for the next year.  I know I could use the tan at least!  And I've heard that there's a couple good-looking girls hiding in the Bush.

[custardchuk]

And I've heard that there's a couple good-looking girls hiding in the Bush.

Maybe not quite that many......

[Franklint]

Damn, R Cohrs! I'm really sorry to hear it didn't go as well as you would have hoped. It's all experience though, ay? Hopefully you'll do another diary next time you go away. You should definitely revisit Korea and give it another shot some time down the track.

And I've heard that there's a couple good-looking girls hiding in the Bush

Apparently, girls with Australian accents are sexy. I wouldn't know, as I'm pretty used to them. I would say that's my two cents on the issue, but two cents is no longer legal tender down here, and equates to about $1 in modern times. So... Yeah.

In other news, I just started rehearsing for the school musical, Annie, in which I play the lead male role, Oliver Warbucks. It's good to be back in the theatre world! Had some solos today at the first group rehearsal, unfortunately my sight reading isn't awesome and we hadn't gone through them before. After a few run-throughs it was all cool though. Also thinking I'll do a combined law + music degree at Uni.

I hope you don't get too down, Cohrs. All will be grand, just you wait. Again, keep us posted on future adventures.

I also hope that the world financial crisis and swine flu aren't hitting anyone too badly. Oh, funny joke about that: Americans used to say that the day they had a black president would be the day that pigs fly. Well, now they have a black president, and the pig flu...

Cheers,
Franklint

[Maxamillion]

Best of luck with the job hunt Cohrs.

I think your individuality will have brought a lot of joy to your students judging by the postings over the past year.

The world is a wonderfull place because people like you see the bad & teach to make it better.

The stress will pass.

I enjoyed reading of your adventures in this diary.

I look forward to the next one.

Enjoy the holiday's

Max

 

[R Cohrs]

I'm going back.  Next month, I'll be heading back to Seoul as a public school teacher.  It hasn't been a very eventful summer so far, although it's been nice to see the family and old friends, so I've been a stranger around the boards lately.  It looks like I'll be honing my skills in games against my students once more soon!

[R Cohrs]

Most of the people who come here are on Facebook so probably know, but I was planning to leave for Korea Saturday to start a year teaching at a public school.  I got a call the day before my flight and was told that I no longer had a job as the Korean Gov't overhired people.  They promised me a job in February, but I can't really wait 6 more months to work again.  I'm trying to head back through a private school now, and hoping that I'll go in the next couple weeks.  I'm not giving up here, and even with the hard times in Korea, it's still better than what I've got going on now.

So, will update about the situation when I know, and I'm hoping to continue my adventures overseas with all the RPS/Janken/Kai-bai-bo action I can manage.

[custardchuk]

Have you considered teaching American to Australians?

[R Cohrs]

I think teaching to Asians is easier.  Less of a language barrier. 

[R Cohrs]

I've been back in Korea for almost a week now.  While everyone was partying it up in Toronto, I was sitting on a plane for 20 hours.  But I've already played my first street game...  and lost.  I played against a kid of one of the co-teachers for one American dollar.  And it was my plan to lose, but it wasn't even a game for me.  He blew me out of the water.  Making a dollar the easy way for his foreign money collection.  Someday he'll probably be stealing my quarters on a poker site. 

I checked the lesson plan today, and one of the teacher's had a whole lesson about RPS on Tuesday.  How did I miss out on that one.  I'm telling ya, the Asians are gonna dominate the sport as soon as someone decides to sponsor flights to Toronto.