Travel Journal...Day 13

I love basketball. And today, I practiced basketball with a special guest. I practiced basketball with Diego from my grade. I need to practice because I want to be the starting 5 in Sub-16 next year. I beat Diego 51-39. It's funny how Diego is always saying "I'm black so I will beat ya badly!". But at the end, Diego always gets tired and I beat him. So I say back to him, "Funny how I have better stamina than you and you're black." Diego cried and left.

PS. The last sentence is not true actually. Or is it?

Travel Journal...Day 10

Finally, Christmas. Since my family does not celebrate Christmas, I went to church. It was great there. I saw the new Korean guy who will be attending our school in January. I saw a lot of Korean people in the church. That night, I went to a BBQ party. The BBQ party was also good. We played Monopoly, but at the end nobody won because it got so boring. Fail. It was fun just hanging around with the people I know. Great Christmas. I didn't take any pictures, sadly.

Travel Journal...Day 4

My dad and I hanging around the hotel hammock

After having a great time in the Las Olas resort, we started heading back to Panama City. We couldn't reach Panama City by the end of the day so we stayed at a hotel in Coronado beach. The hotel had a private beach exclusive for the people staying at the hotel. Even though we couldn't really enjoy it since we could only stay there for a day, the beach was great. Then we finally came back home at around 6 P.M. Our trip to Chiriqui ended.

Travel Journal...Day 3

In front of the beach. By the way, that's me.

My dad finally decides to drive back to David, the capital city of the Chiriqui Province. I am glad to get of Boquete. After struggling a bit with the roads, we finally make it back to David, where we eat lunch. My dad decides to rest in the beach. So we drive south towards the pacific ocean, and we find a decent hotel with the beach right next to it. We have a good time there. The waves and the winds blew away all of my worries. It was great there.

Travel Journal...Day 2

A Coffee Factory in Boquete, a small town in the province Chiriqui

The long tedious ride from the Panama City to Boquete was horrible. Covering hundreds of miles by a rented 4x4 Toyota, We finally reached Boquete at around 8 P.M. Dinner at an old restaurant was horrible as well. I didn't get the reason people visit here so much. There is nothing to do here. Maybe it's because of the Coffee Factory above, but I'm not interested in Coffees.The hotel was also not very satisfying. the bedsheets weren't washed and there were bugs everywhere...

A Surprise in the Subway Station

I was walking down the subway station with my usual, bright disposition. There were homeless men, clad with sheets of blankets, cardboard boxes, newspapers and worn clothes. But I saw this slovenly, young boy. He had a small body. With an affable manner, I spontaneously encompassed him. However, when I saw his face, I was electrified by who he was.

It was Holden, who used to be my best friend back when we were in Elkton Hills together, sleeping in the subways station. His face showed a despondent expression. I quickly woke him up. He was in a turbulent, untidy situation.

“Hey, Holden, wake up!” I said while shaking him with my tremulous hands.

“Goddamn it, why did you… oh, Kun Hee, long time, no see,” He said, but he didn’t look surprised.

“What are you doing here, sleeping in the subway station? You look like a recluse!” I said. I took him to a café nearby, but I had to hurry up (I had a meeting to attend). As we walked towards the café, I saw that his clothes had an abrasion.

“Yeah, I had struggled these days,” he said.

In the café, he told me in a cursory manner, what has happened to him since he was flunked from Pencey Prep. I had to make a conjecture that he has been drinking, for his breath smelled like my alcoholic uncle John. His attitude was lackadaisical, and I could tell that he wasn’t glad that I came because he barely seemed like he was listening to me. In a brusque manner, he left the café with a lousy excuse and said that he had to go and meet someone pivotal. I was only trying to extricate him from his situation by giving him sage advicies.

Half a year…Already

Kun Hee Yeo

February 23^rd, 2009

Embarking towards a new place

Called Panama

Lucky Seven, they say

With Panama being my seventh country

I felt like

A nomad

I was tired and rankled

Of moving to new places

My spirit has become lackadaisical

The effort I’ve poured in

To make new friends

Went all to waste

The moment I stepped on

Gate 42, with my one way ticket

To panama

Now, it is October

Half a year

Already

Made new friends

Restored everything

Panama feels like

My home

This safe, serene place

I want to stay here

Here, in Balboa Academy

Till I graduate

Please don’t confiscate my life

Anymore

Destiny, don’t make me move

Ever again

Holden

Irresponsible, unaccountable and uncontrollable

A teacher’s worst nightmare

There is no other

Boy like you.

You are

Limited edition

Sarcastic, ironic.

You’re a critic.

Picking on everyone’s

Flaws

Liar and a sadist

Complains about everything

Never tries to achieve anything

Do you care about

Your future?

Booted from Elkton Hills, Whooten School and Pencey

Which school

Is the next?

Failing four out of five subjects

A very bright future

I see

Book Review: Ark Angel

Anthony Horowitz shows an action-packed thrilling story in his book Ark Angel. The protagonist is a fourteen year old teen called Alex Rider- the son of a professional assassin and the nephew of a dead spy who has worked for the MI6(British Secret Intelligence Service). This book is definitely for boys who hate reading books (This book will make them want to read) or somebody who likes to read books with thrillers and suspensions in every chapter.

During the story, Alex Rider is intentionally drawn into an adventure involving a Russian billionaire called Nikolai Drevin and his son Paul Drevin, even though Alex couldn’t realize it until the climax of the story. The antagonist Nikolai Drevin is later on revealed as the worst criminal in the world and the CIA makes Alex Rider find evidence so they can arrest him. He later on discovers an evil plan by Nikolai Drevin about Project Ark Angel and his adventure towards stopping Drevin starts.

Alex Rider wants a normal teenage boy life. However, his dream to be a normal teenage boy cannot be accomplished because he is already trained and destined to be a spy for MI6. Unlike his friends in his school in London, Alex is always spying for MI6. He is the vital weapon for MI6 because nobody will think that a 14 year old boy can possibly be a spy. Ark Angel is a book full of thrilling moments that will make you continue to read until the end.

Ark Angel is the sixth book of the Alex Rider series. Although I don’t think it is the best book of the series, Ark Angel is a very compelling book. Every end of the chapter, Anthony Horowitz leaves a cliff-hanger that made me read more. When a mystery is solved, another mystery is introduced that keeps the reader entertained. Also, at the end of the book, AH leaves a huge mystery that makes the reader wonder what will happen in the next book of the series.

However, there were some moments that were impossible for a fourteen year old boy to solve. For example, Alex escaped from the top the top of a building that was set on fire by walking over a rope to the building next to it.

This book is obviously set in a modern setting, probably the 21^st century. Ark Angel was a medium sized book (327 pages) and a book that suites for boys aged 11 to 15. The book was a little bit boring during the first 50~70 pages because during those pages the book only introduced the characters. But as the book gets near the climax, the story gets really intense. Realistic setting, intense plot, diverse characters and mysterious chapters are all contained in Ark Angel. I strongly recommend this book.

Confession Tuesday #5

1. Poems kill me. It is my least favorite type of writing. That’s why I have a hard time when Mrs. Meadows gives me poems and I can’t really analyze the poem. I don’t know why. My brain just gives me no clues. Sometimes I think I was destined to be a bad poet. No matter how hard and creative I want to be, the poem just doesn’t come to my mind.

2. I have six golden teeth in my mouth. And no, I didn’t put gold on my teeth because I wanted to look cool or whatever. The dentist in Korea recommended me to replace parts of my teeth with gold. Don’t make a conjecture and say “Oh, you did it to look like a gangster,” I didn’t do it to be called “Gangster”. However. I do not recommend filling your teeth with gold. Now I can barely eat ice creams. The pain is excruciating. But look at the bright side. I will never get cavities on the six teeth with gold.

3. I barely watch TV. A lot of people around my age watch TV (Especially in the US. Sorry for the stereotype, but generally it is true) I spend a lot of time on my Laptop instead. There’s nothing to watch on TV. The only time I ever watch it is when they broadcast live NBA games.

Memoir Monday #4

Separation is inevitable. I realized this when I was in the plane coming to Panama. Before, I abhorred moving countries and moving schools. I really wanted and I still want a lifelong friend. I protested and whined whenever my dad decided to move to another country. Living in seven countries is not fun and leaving schools and friends is excruciating.

Now, I am used to moving countries and leaving friends. My dad’s job is a diplomat and moving from places to places like a nomad is now part of my life. I’ve accepted it. I’m not saying that now I enjoy moving from place to places. I still think its horrible moving countries & schools. Even though I have Facebook to stay notified with my old friends, the fact that I can’t see or hang out with them sucks. Somehow my dad thinks that it is good to make a lot of new friends because having a lot of friends will help me in the future. But I disagree with that. Well, sometimes I think that people who have lived in one country for their whole are lucky.

Now that I have accepted the fact that moving around is inevitable, I never protest anymore. But I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be a diplomat when I grow up. I hear that diplomats get low wages too.

Poetry Friday #2

It is horrible to only be able

To see you every

Three years.

Every time

You get older

And older

This summer, when I saw you

At the Korean airport

I felt both

Happiness and sadness

Happy to see you

But sad to see your

Wrinkled skin

White hair

Watery eyes

And curved back

I had to take in the fact

That you are already

75 years old

A step closer

To death

You told me stories

Of surviving the Korean War

Losing your brother in the Korean War

Stories about the hard life you’ve been through

You bought me everything

I wanted since I was young

Including this laptop

I’m using to write

This poem

I wish you had an

Eternal life

And guide me through

My life

Thank you

For everything you have

Done for me

Thank you

For sacrificing a lot of things

Just for me.

I love you, grandfather

Never say no to Panda!

Slice of Life Thursday

By: Kun Hee Yeo

Never say no to panda. Yesterday night, I was just scanning through the posts on Facebook, liking and commenting on them. But then, I saw a catchy title saying “Never say no to panda” with a video linked with the post. I was interested. I clicked on the video which took me to Youtube. The next five minutes filled me with pure laughter. It was one of the funniest commercial videos I’ve ever seen in my life. The video was actually a commercial advertising a cheese brand. But the panda in the video was very funny. Explaining the video will be a hard thing to do. The panda will ruin everything if you deny the Panda brand Cheese. That is the summary of the video.

I usually never linked URL’s of the videos to my friends. But this one was so funny that I just had to link them to my friends in Skype. It’s amazing how people can come up with these funny commercials that make people laugh a bunch. The normal advertisements on TV are usual and boring. They try to get your attention and fail.

Worldy Wise Wednesday #3

Wordly Wise Wednesday

By: Kun Hee Yeo

Why I love Mondays

Oh no! Tomrorrow is Monday! This sentence haunts me every time on Sunday nights. Both on Facebook and Skype, my friends abhor Mondays. But I think Mondays are affable. There is really NOTHING to do on Sundays. I go to the church and come back at approximately two o’ clock, but when I stay in my house after, it feels like Sundays are interminable. I feel as if I am a recluse. It’s better to go to school and talk to my friends and play basketball. Getting tired because you had school is better than doing nothing and getting bored.

Ok, there are people who have good work to do on Sundays. Some of my friends watch TV or play games with their PC (Mac) or video game consoles. Every day, I entreat my parents so we can go to the beach or somewhere where we can spend time sagely. But everything goes amiss and all I receive in return is a tirade from my irascible dad about why I never study or read books. It’s scary whenever my dad goes on a tirade because he shouts at me with a tremulous voice.

I don’t go to school so can I learn and get educated. I’m not a nerdy guy. I go to school so I can hang out with my friends and practice basketball. Saturdays are ok. I sleep all day. But Sunday is just total boredom. Mondays I am glad to be back with my friends. The profound boredom I have to face every Sunday… It is just unbearable.

Wordly Wise Wednesday

By: Kun Hee Yeo

Why I like Mondays

Oh no! Tomrorrow is Monday! This sentence haunts me every time on Sunday nights. Both on Facebook and Skype, my friends abhor Mondays. But I think Mondays are affable. There is really NOTHING to do on Sundays. I go to the church and come back at approximately two o’ clock, but when I stay in my house after, it feels like Sundays are interminable. I feel as if I am a recluse. It’s better to go to school and talk to my friends and play basketball. Getting tired because you had school is better than doing nothing and getting bored.

Ok, there are people who have good work to do on Sundays. Some of my friends watch TV or play games with their PC (Mac) or video game consoles. Every day, I entreat my parents so we can go to the beach or somewhere where we can spend time sagely. But everything goes amiss and all I receive in return is a tirade from my irascible dad about why I never study or read books. It’s scary whenever my dad goes on a tirade because he shouts at me with a tremulous voice.

I don’t go to school so can I learn and get educated. I’m not a nerdy guy. I go to school so I can hang out with my friends and practice basketball. Saturdays are ok. I sleep all day. But Sunday is just total boredom. Mondays I am glad to be back with my friends. The profound boredom I have to face every Sunday… It is just unbearable.

Confession Tuesday #4

Confession Tuesday

By: Kun Hee Yeo

This confession is dedicated to my close friends who are continuing the racial jokes against Koreans just for a “joke”. No names will be mentioned except one. Nicholas Brands Smit. The worst of all. First of all, I am not offended by your racial jokes. I know you’re only joking. But here are some points I want to make.

1. It is not the Republic of Asia. Korea and Japan are NOT the states of the “Republic of Asia”

2. Asians are NOT yellow people. We are not “Yellow Crackers”

3. Not all Asians know martial arts.

4. “Ching Chong” translates to nothing in Chinese nor Korean and Japanese

5. The following goes to ALL of you : ASIA IS NOT A COUNTRY

Really, I never get offended by these jokes. But if you go to Korea and make these jokes, you will not survive a day. The police won’t even help you. Actually, the police might beat you up as well if you make these jokes to them. Just wait 20 more years, when the core of power is moved to Asia. YOU PEOPLE will be the ones getting racist jokes. Unity through diversity. I want no racism or racist jokes. Please.

Memoir Monday #3

Never Trust Dad

I just don’t get how people like classic music. Especially those people who are over 40 years old. What sucks even more is when you have to sit down for three hours watching a classical band play the boring music. Well, my dad is one of the people who adore classical music, unfortunately.

I was in my house chillin’ out with my laptop. But then my dad came in my room and said,

“Hey Kun Hee, let’s go and watch this cool concert! I have the tickets here!” He said. I was a true idiot, because I thought the concert would be fun. I had fallen into my dad’s trap. The nightmare had already begun when I got into his car. My dad smiled and took me to a theater. My suspicions begun.

“Why are we in a fancy theater?” I asked. He just smiled.

“This is a VIP concert, my son. Just wait and see. It’s going to be a fun show.” He said with a smile on his face. So I sat down for the next ten minutes. People with suites started coming in the theater. When I saw the people coming up the stage with flutes, clarinets, violins etc., I realized that this was a classic music concert. But I was too late. I figured it out too lately. It was total hell for the next three hours. Sitting on the seat with the loud classical music attacking my ears… It was unbearable. The music was so loud that I couldn’t even sleep. I wanted to scream at my dad for tricking me, but I couldn’t. I would only embarrass myself. I never regretted that day. So, to all of you reading this memoir, I give you a warning. NEVER TRUST YOUR DAD!

Coming-of-age poem!

I Have Changed

By Kun Hee Yeo

Grim reapers waiting for

Me after school.

I was a slave

at my own house.

Homework and parents. The perfect

recipe for a

Never-ending nightmare

The fat devil that

I was sent to

Once every month

Titling himself

“The Principal”

Only to hear

The boring lectures

Over and over

The teachers pretending

Picking, poking and prying

About why

I am

The way I am

The ugly, unattractive

C’s and D’s

Getting, Grabbing, and gaining

On me

Like I was

Their boyfriend

But now, realizing that my

Parents won’t be

Assisting me

In the future,

I took action

Transformed the

Grim reapers

Into my friends

Transformed the

C’s and D’s

Into much more attractive

A’s and B’s

Never getting to see

The fat devil

Ever again.

I have changed.

Worldy Wise Wednesday #2

K. Yeo

916 Blue Lane

Houston, TX

September 8, 2030

Dear anonymous

This letter is a very imperative and pivotal letter. You must support me. I have been stranded on an island where I do not know. There is nobody in this island and I had to survive two months in the wild. My private plane KY104 has crash landed on this island. My disposition has been modified after spending two months without talking to nobody. I feel like the loneliest man on earth.

If you are reading my letter, please support me by contacting the address written down above. My house is an ancient house that survived five generations of my family. In the library section of my house, there is an anthology of books by Leandro Johnson. These books will help you know where I am. My son Kun Hee Yeo Jr. will assist you if any help is needed. If I get rescued by your help, I will reward you with 500 thousand dollars. Please, extricate me from this situation right now.

Sincerely,

Kun Hee Yeo Sr.

Confession Tuesday #3

1. I REALLY can’t think of any confessions right now. All of my confessions were mentioned on the previous confession Tuesday.

2. My pencil case is not called Snugglepuss. Also, it’s not a dog or a cat. It’s a leopard

3. Balboa Academy is the best school I have attended out of the five other schools I have attended in the past.

4. I used to be really fat when I was young. And I mean, OBESE. Well, the past is the past. At least now I’m normal.

5. Two years ago, my friend and I found a copy of a test we didn’t take yet. We stole it from the teacher and studied the questions. Result: A+ with 98%

6. I have complains with Balboa Academy. We pay about $9000 each year and They wanted me to pay $45 again for basketball fee -_-

7. I thought that the uniforms for basketball team would be great. They gave me a 20-year-old-looking and almost-fading-name & number jersey. Plus, I ordered number 9 and they gave me 19 instead -_-

8. Every time I show my report card to my parents, all they say is, “Improve.” They never compliment me

9. This confession was really boring and I have to admit it. I ran out of confessions…

10. Next week I will come up with a better confession Tuesday. Don’t worry

Memoir Monday #2

Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and the ghosts. The three creatures I used to believe in when I was young. My belief was broken only three years ago. It all started with Santa Claus. I used to post a letter in front of the door to say what I wanted for the upcoming Christmas. I was astounded by the fact that my parents were Santa Claus. I mean, all I wanted was to greet Santa and thank him for giving me presents. It was a total surprise to see my mom come by and drop the box instead. After the broken belief about Santa Claus, I made a conclusion that the tooth fairy and the ghosts could be my parents too. So the next tooth I pulled out, I tied the tooth to a string connecting to my arm and my mom was caught right on the act when she was dropping the money. Right now I wish I never found the truth about Santa and the tooth fairy because last year I never received any presents from anyone.

The ghosts were a unique joke from my mom and dad. When I was sleeping, they used to scare me by making haunted sounds. I was so scared I begged my mom to move to another apartment.

Now, I understand why they pretended to be Santa, tooth fairy or the ghost. My parents just wanted to keep my childish mind. Well, it is wise not to find out the truth because now I don’t get presents or money from “Santa” or the “Tooth fa

Slice of Life Thursday

This morning I woke up recognizing that there are only two weeks remaining for my birthday. I’m going to turn 14 in exactly two weeks. I was getting old. That was bad. Next year I will be freshmen, the next sophomore, and the next junior and so on…

Anyways, I went to school thinking I will be taking one step towards adulthood. But I was proud. It was going to be my birthday in two weeks. In math class I wrote down on my practice math quiz, ‘When is my birthday and in how many weeks are left until my birthday?’ Since MOST of my friends from the boys knew the answer, I gave my quiz sheet to the girls.

After checking the papers, I found out that Camila checked my paper. Then she gave me back my paper. And there it was, in small ugly green letters, her answer. ‘It’s Cami. I don’t care about your chocolates or your b-day. Sorry!’ I knew she was joking. I didn’t expect her to know the answer but I was sad. At least today I got the evidence that Camila’s insides are mean. She’s was pretending to be kind the whole time.

However, if you are reading this, just remember, my birthday is in two weeks. September 16^th.

PS I was born in 1996 not 1997

PS2 Why is it "Slice of Life" Thursday

PS3 Speaking of birthdays, congratulations to Paulo. Happy Birthday man!

Confession Tuesday #2

Confession Tuesday

By: Kun Hee Yeo

1. “Confession Tuesday” is my least favorite writing of the five writing challenges. But since this is a new way of writing the “Confession Tuesday” I might like it.

2. I never go to any of the dance parties. I don’t know why, but I never go to one. They just don’t seem fun.

3. I never had a Birthday Party in my life. My parents give me an option of giving me a present or planning a birthday party- So I have to choose one option. I choose the present option.

4. Even though my nationality is Korean, I only lived there for two years.

5. I never had a girlfriend. I know. That is SAD :(

6. My Skype username is “Koreandude9”. Is it really THAT bad??

7. In Panama, I’ve been called “Chino” so many times that I got used to it. -_- HOWEVER, I AM NEITHER CHINESE NOR JAPANESE. I AM KOREAN

8. I have done illegal acts, including trying to smoke (Never make bad friends. They give you bad influence)

9. Mrs. Meadows calls me Bruce Lee… I don’t really know who he is, but she even taped a picture of him on my Writer’s notebook -_-

10. I am scared of spiders, centipedes and cockroaches

11. I used to be the tallest in the grade from my previous school. The record broke when I came to Panama (Nicholas BS -_-)

12. I wear a sweater scarf :D

13. I used to hate moving schools. I used to cry when I left my best friends. Now, I am totally used to moving and never cried or felt grief leaving my friends. (You will really get used to moving if you have lived in seven countries and attended 5 schools)

14. After writing the Confession Tuesday in this way, I decided that Confession Tuesday is my favorite type of writing out of the five writing challenges.

Poetry Friday

I Wear Sweater Scarf

By Kun Hee Yeo

Because I’m unique

And it looks cool.

It’s annoying

to wear the sweater itself.

Too annoying

Wearing it, on, off, on, off

Every day, the routine rotates.

Hanging the sweater around my back

Rolling the sleeves around me

Like a scarf

My friends ask me if I’m gay

And I don’t care

Because I’m not.

But last week,

In my English class, my teacher

Mrs. Meadows, questioned me why

I wore my Sweater-Scarf

My mouth mumbled

Because even I wasn’t sure

Why I put on my sweater-scarf

Since then,

My friend,

Miguel

TRIED emulating me

However,

Failed.

As if,

The copy

Can never become

the original.

As if,

The counterfeit money

Can never become

The genuine one.

So I continued

Wearing my

Sweater-scarf

Continued the routine

Again and again

Because,

I’m unique