I AM SPARTACUS

Damn! I watched Spartacus last night and as always, it was terrific. It’s probably the best sandal epic of all time. Stanley Kubrick did a marvelous job in directing this film. In fact it was so good it almost makes you forget the horror of “Eyes Wide Shut”. The man has a body of great work and his final effort is a piece of garbage. But, who ever said that life is fair and things wrap up into a nice package. Anyhow, I deleted the film from my computer right after watching it due to space concerns but today I wanted to put a clip of it in this post. I love the scene (if brings either tears to your eyes or a lump to your throat) when after the evil Laurence Olivier defeats the slave army, he offers all the slaves their lives in exchange for them pointing out to him which one is Spartacus. The marvelous Kirk Douglas rises to say that he is Spartacus but before he can, that great actor and master of the Roman accent, Tony Curtis (as the slave Antoninus) gets up and says, “I am Spartacus”. One after another the slaves rise, all saying “I am Spartacus”. They all gave up their lives (they were crucified) instead of ratting out their leader. All kidding aside, it makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation. How often are one of us called upon to make a major sacrifice out of principal? Not often, I’m sure. And if we were, how would we respond? It’s frightening to think that we would fail at the task, but I’m sure most would.

So why did I watch Spartacus? One reason is I love the film. But the main reason is that it’s the first movie I can remember Elana crying at. When the kids were small I used to go to the library and borrow videos. This was back in Burlington and the library had a wonderful selection. The kids learned to love Hollywood musicals like “On the Town” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”. I forget how old Elana was at the time but I was guess ten or so. When Spartacus was crucified she was crying her eyes out (not that the rest of us weren’t). But I can’t remember her crying at a movie before that. She was so touched by the story that it’s stayed with me all this time. I watched it just to feel closer to her in my mind. I cried because of the story, and because of time passing and knowing that everyone grows up, but still missing the youth of my children. I don’t know when I’ll ever totally accept it. I’m not sure I ever will, but I don’t think that’s a problem. I’m excited for them and their adventures ahead, but I can still miss the wonderful things that have happened before.

As might be evident from the opening paragraphs I’ve been sort of contemplative this weekend. I wonder what brings these episodes on. I can just be rolling along, business as usual, and then my mind is filled with the past and all that’s happened in my life, and uncertainty about the future. I don’t think it’s depression (at least I hope not) but in a way it feels similar to depression. Maybe I just don’t want to dwell on things. This all started Saturday afternoon in Suncheon while eating lunch alone at Pizza Hut. I wanted McDonalds but couldn’t find it, so it was Pizza Hut for me. But first I’ll get to that point in order from my previous post.

Friday was the long day at work. I’m standing at the corner waiting for the shuttle to pick me up. Usually I give up at 2:50 so I can get a taxi and get to school on time. I don’t do that anymore because I’m in no hurry to face the kindergarten kids. At 3PM my phone rings and it’s Kelly asking me where I am. I tell her I’m at the corner where I always am waiting for my ride. She says the driver was there and didn’t see me. I said I’m right here and now I’ll take a taxi to work. The driver was probably a minute early instead of very late (which is her usual way) and didn’t bother waiting 2 minutes for me.

I survived the kindergarten class by just ignoring them and letting them do whatever it is they do. I don’t care as long as they stay in the classroom. And, I feel like crap anyway with this flu/cold so the less I say, the better. At 4PM I had the class that pissed me off the previous Friday who I gave the silent treatment to, and for the 3rd time this week they were behaved. By Jove, I think my silent treatment must have worked. Who would have thunk it? Not me. I just gave them assignments from the work book because I didn’t want to talk. They do their writing in their book and they bring it up to me to check. I tell them that they’re doing well, even when they aren’t. I correct what’s wrong and try to explain what they did wrong, but let them know they’re doing well. Does it work? Beats me. But I won’t shoot a kid down for trying.

At 5 I was supposed to have the super-dumb kids but a bunch of kids were away on a school picnic. So Kelly didn’t teach her class, she threw Jason in with the super dummies, and told me to look after 2 classes. No problem. I brought out my trusty Bingo game and the kids enjoyed playing. I hate Bingo but if it keeps them interested and behaved, then it’s fine with me. It was so nice of me to buy the game with my own money. I’m not angry but I am disgusted that I pay for the extras (like games) that I may use in the classroom. I suppose if I mentioned being reimbursed every day I would eventually get my money, but it isn’t worth it. If the kids enjoy the games, I don’t begrudge them the money. Now Kelly and the school, that’s another story. The games and books come with me to my new school. I won’t be able to use most of them because they’re for younger kids, but she gets nothing for free from me.

If I survive from 3PM to 6PM on Friday, then I feel better. I still work until 10:20, but I have the older kids starting at 6PM so that works for me. I managed to get through the rest of the evening at school. One of my students in my 8:30PM class brought me in a gift. Their class (like all middle school 2nd year classes) went to Seoul for 3 days. She brought me back a pen from the National Museum of Korea. I was quite touched and surprised. I love this girl. She wants to learn English, she works hard, she always has good things to say, she’s not afraid to talk, and she’s funny. Why anyone would get me a gift, I have no idea. But it means a lot to me. Here is my gift:



So another week at school comes to an end. Who’s counting but for those who are, there are only 3 more complete weeks and a few days until I’m done with this school. It will definitely be bittersweet but I know I’m doing the right thing. It’s nice to be sure about something for a change.

I didn’t sleep my usual 12 hours on Friday night. I had 2 phone calls on Saturday morning, both of which woke me up. The first was do with the never-ending sale of the Tyler house and the second was a moronic call from Kelly. The kids I tutor on the weekend told me last week that they didn’t want class this week because they needed to study for exams. No problem. Kelly calls me and says, “are you teaching today”? I told her that I wasn’t as the kids wanted to study for exams. She says that she better call the parents right away and hangs up. I have no idea what she did, but I have no idea why she would have to call the parents. But I don’t try to understand the things that are beyond understanding.

After many weeks of saying “I’ll do this” and “I’ll do that” I finally did something on the weekend. I went to Suncheon which is the closest “big” city and about 40 minutes by bus. One of my high school students gave me the name of the biggest bookstore in the city so I thought I’d check it out. I would also get some crap food and visit the movie theatre and see if there was anything worth seeing. When I got off the bus in Suncheon I found a taxi and got in. I showed the driver a page in my notebook where I had someone write in Korean where I wanted to go. However, I had 2 pages of places and I think I showed him the wrong one. Besides the bookstore in Suncheon, I had the soccer stadium in Gwangyang written down, and I think I showed him the soccer stadium. Finally it dawned on me that the taxi was traveling too far, and was on the way back to Gwangyang. I quickly whip out my notebook and show him the bookstore page. He grunts something and turns around and takes me to the bookstore. That was a costly mistake. Instead of about a $4 cab ride, it was $25. Boy, was I dumb.

I go into this bookstore and if that’s the best that Suncheon has to offer, then I’m glad I’m getting out of here. I don’t expect a big English section, but I would have liked to have seen books other than “Harry Potter and the whatever”, “The DaVinci Code”, and “Tuesdays with Morrie”. I asked at the front desk if they had other English books but they didn’t understand what I was talking about. But as is typical in my experience with Koreans, they do their best to be helpful. They phoned someone and handed me the phone. There was an English speaking Korean on the other end and I told him what I wanted. He said I should come to his bookstore which was close. I told him that I had no idea where I was, so he should give me directions. He told me to stay put and he’d come over. Five minutes later a man shows up and explains to me that there isn’t much call for English books in Suncheon so there weren’t many books. I was quite disappointed but thanked him profusely for his kindness. He told me that helping me, “was my job”. Okay. He did a good job.

After the bookstore disappointment (I hope my Amazon books come this week), I took a cab to the movie theatre. I had no idea what movies to expect as it’s a real hit and miss here. But I was lucky here. I had a choice of two. One was “The Man Inside” with Denzel Washington and the other was “16 Blocks” with Bruce Willis. I bought an illegal copy of “The Man Inside” in Seoul (which I’m still waiting for Robert to send me) so I chose “16 Blocks”. (I may have bought that too, but I don’t remember). I bought my ticket and went out to quash my McDonalds craving. I hadn’t eaten much for 3 days. In fact I’d had 1 salad and 2 plates of spaghetti in the last three days. I was ready for the Big Mac Meal. (Ah, the life of the desperate). I was sure there was a McDonalds in the area, but I couldn’t find it. I did find the Dunkin Donuts where I picked up a 6-pack to bring home.


Mmmmmmmmmmmmmn, Donuts!

I gave up on finding the McDonalds as hunger was setting in and I was running out of time before the movie was to begin. And unlike America where they have from ten to twenty minutes of previews, here in Korea they have less than five minutes. I went into the Pizza Hut and ordered a pizza and some garlic bread as the carbohydrate special. And a Pepsi because they don’t have Diet Pepsi even though they advertise it. And then’s when my contemplative mood struck.

I started feeling lonely, but I can’t say exactly what I’m lonely for. I mean, there are people I miss and would love to see but I don’t think (and I might be wrong) that it would cure my lonely feeling. I know it’s around the 1 year anniversary of me officially “flipping out” which now has me here. (Not that being in Korea is a bad thing). Maybe knowing that it’s been a year is playing with my head. When I was talking to my mother on the phone this week she asked me when I was going to find what I wanted. How I wished I would have been able to answer that. As a parent I think I know that it pains her that I’m so unsettled. I think I would feel the same way if it were my kids.

To put it in a few words, I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what makes me happy. I know things that make me happy (like Elana and Leah), but that’s not my whole life. They have their own lives and aren’t dependent on me for survival anymore. I’ve never felt “at home” anywhere. It doesn’t matter where I move, be it Canada, the United States, Israel, or Korea, I’m just not at home. I’ve lived most of my life like I can pick up and go at a moment’s notice. Maybe it’s some ingrained Jewish thing. Being an atheist is tough when you’re so culturally Jewish.

I was hoping that coming here and being alone would help me get closer to the answer. I wasn’t expecting to be hit by a bolt of lightening and finally know the answer to my life, but a little direction would be nice. It’s still early. I’ll have been gone 3 months on May 5th (next Friday). I’ve gone through Gwangyang. Fortunately I don’t feel like I failed here but rather it just didn’t work out as well as I wanted. I chose this city for the right reasons. It was the size of city that I wanted and Kelly gave “good interview”. But the reality of living and working here is not what I imagined. I’m excited about teaching near Seoul for the things to do, and to be working with middle school kids. If I can’t succeed in enjoying myself there, then it’s time to move on. My attitude is right and I want it to work.

The future is frightening. I have no idea what I would do in North America. Nothing appeals to me work wise. Trying teaching is great because it’s new, and it’s an adventure and I get paid for it. There aren’t many jobs like that. But if it doesn’t work out, or the time comes when I know it’s time for me to go back to America, then what? I try to think about it, but I don’t have an answer. It’s funny, I’m not an idiot but I might as well be because sometimes I’m just no use to myself. If I’m such a smart guy, why can’t I figure this all out?

I loved “16 Blocks”. I think Bruce Willis can be quite good at times and the movie was fast paced and kept me quite absorbed. The audience was well behaved which was good considering that they could have talked and just been reading the subtitles. That’s the second movie I’ve seen in Korea and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy seeing a good movie in a quiet cinema. And unlike “Firewall” (the other movie I saw), I think I would have enjoyed seeing this movie in America too.

After the film I headed back to Gwangyang where I watched Spartacus. (I think this is where everyone walked into this dialogue). Today I did my grocery shopping and I won’t miss shopping in Gwangyang. The supermarkets have to be better where I’m going and there is always Costco for me to visit. (Yes, there is a Costco in Seoul).

I’ve done pretty much nothing today. I did some of my computer job and a bunch of time looking at old pictures I found on the internet. I found this picture of my lovely daughters which I know they’ll want me to share with everyone.


(I hope they’re still talking to me).

Leah gets married in less than seven weeks. Is she ready? Is she mature enough? Is she old enough? I’m only her father.
You be the judge.

If you want to understand how some English speakers feel about the Korean experience, I came across this site which expresses it well in humor. I look forward to be a regular reader. It’s really quite funny. If you go back to the 2nd page you can find this story, “Expatriates Report That Living in Korea Can Cause English Skills Getting Such a Bad” which I think explains my speaking skills these days.

Sometimes you find things and it’s like stepping into a time machine. Click the link and go back.

(You should let it run through once so it's in memory, then on the 2nd time it will play at normal speed).

DO I HAVE SLEEPING SICKNESS?

This is absurd. I’m not getting better. Today I rolled out of bed at 1:45PM so that was over 12 hours in bed. I do nothing in school because I have no energy. Today I let one class just color away. It was easier than trying to teach. Especially if I start talking, I start coughing.

It's unusual for Korean's to take time off work. They like to bring their illnesses to work with them to show their dedication to the job. I'd call in sick but I know it's puts them in a real jam if they're short a teacher and taking a day off on the heels of my resignation looks bad. I don't want anyone to say anything bad about me, although I know they will.

It’s not even 11PM yet and I feel like I’m ready for bed, so I will go to bed shortly. I’m not going to go away this weekend. I’ll go next weekend which is a long weekend. It won’t be fun with the way I feel. Of course, staying here won’t be fun either.

Sometimes sitting in class waiting for student to answer a simple question is like watching paint dry. Tonight I had 2 students in a new class. One is 22 and he’s fine. The other is a 1st year high school student and it appears he has no conversational skills. I suppose his reading comprehension needs work too. It would be a real treat to have students of the same level in the same class. But I want too much.

I just don’t have much to say because I feel like crap sitting here and nothing new is happening at the moment. It’s funny how I feel obligated to post but I shouldn’t. If I can’t be my usual fascinating self, then I should just skip that day. And as you can surmise the kids aren’t as fascinating anymore. I hope the middle school students I get at the new school are as nice as the ones I have now. Wouldn’t it be ironic don’t you think, if they weren’t.

I’m getting off. I just can’t get going typing tonight.

ANOTHER DAY CLOSER, BUT WHO’S COUNTING

Another day without yoga because I slept about 11 hours until close to noon again. I did less than nothing before going to school and that was fine because that was exactly what I felt like doing.

I really hate this feeling in my head that it’s so heavy. So much of my body aches. If I had a normal job, I’d call in sick. But, because there are only 3 teachers, I’d rather go to school and infect the kids.

The class who I gave the silent treatment to last week was good again for the 2nd class in a row. I’m shocked. Now if they could only learn English.

I was looking at the kids closely today and I’m sure I’ll miss a lot of them. At least for a minute or two. And when Kelly makes a stupid comment about anything, I can just ignore it and not be bothered by it. It’s wonderful.

The agency that placed me here called last night to see why I wanted to quit. I think it was her plan to try and get me to stay. I told her that I didn’t like elementary kids and got a job at a middle school. I also told her that I had no respect for Kelly and some of the things she’s done. By the end of the conversation it sounded like she agreed with what I was doing and said to call her if I needed any help with anything. That was quite nice.

I wonder how much I’ll have to post without much to complain about? After all, this blog is built on complaints. Without complaints I’m nothing.

I don’t know when my departure will become public knowledge. I won’t tell anyone. It’s up to Kelly to break the news. I can understand it if nothing is said yet as she won’t want to frighten the parents with the news that their greatest teacher is leaving.

Last night when I told Kelly I was resigning she said she wanted to talk to the agency and then continue our conversion the next day. Today was the next day and nothing was mentioned. Business same as usual.

STICK A FORK IN ME BECAUSE I’M DONE

The long and arduous journey into finding a new job teaching has come to an end. The seconds spent on it were well worthwhile (I hope). The effort was backbreaking but one does what one has to do. Sometimes. I handed in my resignation tonight giving one month’s notice.

I began the job search on Sunday afternoon. I sent out a few resumes and on Monday I sent out a few more. I was contacted by one school and talked to the director for an hour. He is an Englishman and everything sounded good except it had elementary students. Finding a job with no elementary students is very difficult. All the academies (after hours schools) have a large age range and elementary students make up the majority of the students.

My friend Robert from Toronto and Seoul told me to call the recruiter who placed him. It sounded like the company did a wonderful job for him so I sent them an email and my resume last night. This morning they called me with a job opportunity. That was quick. The job was for a public middle school close to Seoul. No kids! Nine to five! Not a business! They offered me the job and I took it. I know you shouldn’t necessarily jump at the first offer, but I didn’t think I could do better. Jobs that don’t involve elementary students are few and far between. Most foreign English teachers work in the academies. I consider myself lucky to find a job in a public school.

The apartment should be bigger than this one I’m in now. It’s a one room also, but it has a desk, a kitchen table, and a couch among other things. I couldn’t get 2 of those things in here. So that’s exciting knowing I’ll have room to breath.

I’ll be the first foreign teacher at this school. There is something appealing about that. I know it’s tough without the high noses to talk to, but I’ll be close to Seoul and I have a couple of friends there. And just maybe I’ll integrate into Korean society. (For sure).

I resigned this evening and although Kelly didn’t faint, I think this left her in a bit of shock. I gave her one month’s notice and told her that I’d say nice things about the school when she finds someone and they want to talk to a foreigner already there. I can lie and who knows, maybe the next person will have a better experience that I did.

I must admit that this took a lot less time than I thought it would. I’m quite excited about it, but I still have a month of this place in front of me. I will not be sorry to say goodbye to the elementary kids or the school. I will miss some of the middle school kids. I’ve enjoyed their company.

I felt better at school today. I could look at the kids and think, “I’m outta here”. I have to go back to Japan to get a new visa which is a pain but one does what one has to do. The new job pays a 300,000 won relocation allowance. (That’s about $300). It’s going to be a pain lugging all my stuff to my new location, but it’s a small price to pay.

I skipped yoga today. I didn’t get up until my phone rang at 11:45AM. I felt like crap (however crap feels). I’m coughing, my nose is running a bit, and my head feels like it weighs 50 pounds. I’m sick of being sick. BUT, I’m happy about my new job.

The only person I know who can pull jobs out of the air like this is Leah. I’ve stepped up to her league.

I'M BITING THE BULLET

I was talking to my friend Robert who teaches in Seoul yesterday. He joined the chorus of people who are telling me that I should get out of Gwangyang and the school here. Enough is enough. This was the straw that broke the camel’s (or my) back. I’ll live with the guilt. I’ll probably get over it quite quickly. I started sending out resumes yesterday. I’ll be picky as to what I accept (if offered). It’s not just getting a job but going through everything again. My work visa is only good with my current employer. If I get a new job then I have to go through the visa process again. And I just can’t get the job because I need to get a release from my current contract first.

I’m sure it won’t be a problem to get the release. I want to give one month’s notice because it would really put Kelly in a bind if I just walked out. If she won’t write the release then I’ll tell her that I’m leaving immediately. That will help but I’m sure it won’t come to that. And when have I ever been wrong?

I know that some people won’t be interested in me as a contract breaker, but others will be. Some will want an assurance that I’ve spoken to my employer before talking to me, but I don’t want to mention anything until I have a job offer. I had an interview today that went well. It’s a school ½ an hour outside Seoul working for an Englishman. He seemed mature and knew his stuff. I like his philosophy and his goals in teaching. It seems like a professional place. When I told him about how report cards were done where I work (grades pulled out of thin air), he was genuinely surprised. I found that to be a good sign.

This time I’ll speak to employees of the school before committing, and try to learn as much as possible before accepting anything. Only wanting to teach middle school students and above quite severely narrows my selection so I’m also open to other kids. I’ll need to get an honest assessment of the kids of elementary age to see if I’m interested. And I’ll go to a bigger city or closer to a bigger city. My one exception to that is Jeju Island. Jeju Island is supposed to be quite beautiful so that does have a certain appeal. We’ll see what transpires.

My weekend was boring. I tutored. I went grocery shopping. I read. I slept. I downloaded movies. And I watched 2 movies. I watched “Derailed” which I had read was bad. I liked it. I loved the book and the movie wasn’t awful. It kept me interested. I also watched “Hustle and Flow” which I had heard was quite good. I didn’t like it that much and was disappointed. I had no idea what it was about before I watched it. It’s about a pimp who wants to be a rap singer. It’s hard to relate to a pimp and I find if there are no real likeable characters then it’s hard to like a movie. It took me about 20 minutes to be able to understand everything being said because most of the characters had black southern accents. The ears needed a period of adjustment.

I returned to yoga today. Some days the instructor laughing at me gets on my nerves. I know I stink but I’m trying. I just smile but at times I want to scream. I do not love yoga.

I think I’m getting sick. Again. I’ve started coughing and my throat doesn’t feel right. Laryngitis could be just around the corner. This will be the 3rd time I’ve been sick (or had a cold). That’s more colds than I’ve had in the last 5 years. I think Jeju Island is the place for me.

Work was tolerable today. The brats at 4PM were well behaved today so I think my silent treatment on Friday worked. And I do love the girls at 8:30. A couple of them visited Leah’s website (I directed them there on Friday). They thought she was quite beautiful and Taylor was quite handsome. It was cute to hear them gushing. I told them they should leave a comment so we’ll see if they do. The girl with the best English is a little self-conscious about leaving a comment with her bad grammar. I told her to not worry about it and just say she was writing from Korea.

My throat is rapidly seizing up and I feel like crap. I think I’ll keep this post brief and log off. But I am psyched about the job hunt.

IT'S A LIKE-HATE LIFE

Just when you decided something or have forged your opinion in stone, something changes it. I hate when that happens. I’ve about had it with elementary students because I just don’t see these kids as worth the bother or effort. They’re pigs, they’re rude, they have no manners, and so on. Something falls on the floor, it stays there. They write on the desks. They throw a ball against the wall in the classroom. They can’t be bothered to pay attention. You get the idea. Today in kindergarten I just looked at them as space aliens. They couldn’t even focus on Bingo. I mean games always work, or so I thought. I just try and keep them in the room.

At 4PM the class the kids came in and just talked and talked. I didn’t say anything because I’m paid whether or not I do anything. I didn’t feel like raising my voice to get them to shut up. After about 20 minutes it starts to get quieter as they realize that time is passing and I haven’t said anything. One kid asks me, “teacher, are you angry”? I replied in a not too pleasant voice, “what do you think”? Of course they didn’t understand my answer but I think they got the tone. I still didn’t talk and the kids who were talking were now talking in quiet voices. I didn’t say a thing the whole class. I just sat there and when time was up, I walked out. It’s my new strategy. If they want to learn or try to learn, then I’ll teach. If they don’t want to learn, I’m not going to force them. To hell with them. Not the best attitude, but one that works for me. I’m not the miracle worker.

At 5PM I had the super dumb class. Kelly comes in at the beginning of class and apologizes to me for putting me in that class. She can’t pull me out because I’m part of the package when the kids come to the school so I must do my 1 day in there. I asked their regular teacher what I should do with them. He said to teach them short sentences like, “I am a doctor”. I said, “what for’? “Do they even know what a doctor is”? He said they don’t so I don’t see the point of having them repeat things they don’t know. The cute kid who is 6 (and licked my hand last week) is so damn cute. He’s always chattering and smiling but he has no business being there. I actually learned his name today and I’ll remember it. It’s “Canoo”. That’s an easy one for me. Here’s a pic of young Canoo:


So here’s the thing that throws me. Class ends and Canoo takes off like a bat out of hell from the classroom. The next thing I hear is serious crying so I go out in the hall. It seems young Canoo has fallen head first on the floor and banged his head. I put my arm around him and tell him it will be alright in my job as the great comforter. I walk with him and we get to the front desk where Kelly is. She hands me some candy and says, “give this to him”. She couldn’t have cared less. I look down and there is this boy who’s in the 5PM class and annoys me because he knows nothing and when I ask if he understands he always says, “yes”. He gets this stupid grin on his face like he’s trying to be pleasing but just annoys me. Anyhow this kid I don’t really like for no other reason than he’s an overweight, smiling, know-nothing is trying to comfort Canoo by talking soothingly to him and giving him some chocolate that he’s whipped out of his school bag. I was very impressed with his quick response to Canoo’s distress. It took me quite off guard and halted the big hate I had on for elementary students. He’s still the same moron at 5, but he’s more than that and not totally useless. That’s the problem I have. These are not bad kids. As I’ve written I find them generous and they share with all their classmates. When one of them is in distress, all of them seem concerned and try to comfort the one in distress. They are not just the morons from hell as they have other dimensions that I sometimes forget. I just dislike them as students. I like them outside of the classroom.

It was a long session at school. The highlight was on the bus ride home when one of the students (13 year old girl) wanted me to tell her a word in English that she were trying to describe to me. She were describing “horny”. After I told her she pronounced that the “Japanese were horny”. I’ve heard that too. When I first saw this girl today and asked her how she was, she told me that she “was not too good”. I asked why and she told me that she got a phone call from someone she doesn’t know who said a four-letter word to her. I asked if they had 4-letter words in Korean and she said yes. I asked if they were really 4 letters and she said yes. In class she told me again that she was still bothered by someone calling and telling her to “fuck off”. I told her not to worry about it. Yes, I have an open classroom where anyone can say what they want.

A great game to play with kids who know a bit is the “$25,000 Pyramid”. The kids laugh and get excited and it’s funny to hear them searching their minds for the words in English. I love Miss Kim. She’s the one who grunts. Here she is:


Listening to her give clues and get frustrated is a riot. She always puts a smile on my face. Even Miss Han (the last year of high school student who knows less than the 12 year old in that class) got into the spirit of things. I’ll have to take a class picture of that class. Kids from 12 to 18.

One of the girls I have at 9:30 will be 16 in 2 weeks. That’s really 15 as they start at the age of one when they’re born. She was telling me that her girlfriend got a boyfriend today. I asked how do you get a boyfriend. What transpires is that the boy tells the girl he loves her and then if the girl likes him, they’re boyfriend and girlfriend. I asked what do you do as boyfriend and girlfriend. They go places, he buys her presents, and you eat lunch together at school. I really enjoy these conversations. She then told me that she’s jealous and she wants a boyfriend. She’s had 3 in her life. She said she had her first boyfriend when she was 12. I asked her what she wants in a boyfriend and she told me she wants a foreigner. I asked her why and she said she likes “blond hair, blue eyes, and a high nose”. I have a “high nose”. She said she wanted kids with these features and I told her that it was doubtful she’d have kids that looked like that. I also told her the chances of meeting a 16 year old foreigner were slim. She knew that. I did inquire as to what a “high nose” was. I always thought my nose was where everyone’s was, in fact it’s in the same place as Korean noses are. Apparently a “high nose” means a sharper more defined nose as opposed to a flat, squashed nose like Korean’s have. I told her that didn’t mean my nose was high and she said she knew, it’s just what Korean’s call it. Very interesting.

I had two nice experiences today out in the town of Gwangyang. I was at the bank getting some money and as I’m about to leave a woman says hello to me. She starts talking to me after being sure I wasn’t bothering her. (I love polite people). She was studying English and wanted to talk for a bit for practice. She told me she’s been studying for 8 months with a Canadian teacher. It seems (or so it sounded like to me) that she’s a Catholic, who is going with her family to Rome next year, and this is in preparation for the trip. As I have said many times, I take great pleasure in strangers starting up a small conversation with me.

I went to the pharmacy this afternoon to pick up my medication and I didn’t have enough money with me. They told me to take the meds and to bring in the money on Monday. That’s what small town living is all about. Damn. I slam this town one day for being boring, but on the other hand, it’s friendly. Today when I got in the cab to go to yoga, the driver asked me if I wanted the bus station (that’s where I get out to go to yoga). I love it when they know me.

IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION

I went to the doctor today after Yoga to get my prescriptions refilled. As always she took my blood pressure and told me it was good. I must be healthy. She asked me how I was and I told her that I sometimes feel light-headed and dizzy. She said, “yes, sunny” and smiled at me. It’s so good to be able to communicate to your doctor how you feel and have them understand.

My life is routine. I didn’t post last night because nothing happened. I get up, go to Yoga, come home, goof off, go to school, come home, eat, fiddle on the computer, read, and go to sleep.

I love Yoga on Thursdays. The instructor doesn’t work us as hard. It’s more cerebral. And she stops after 70 minutes which is better than 90+ minutes. I got there about 1 minute late today and all the mats were taken. I don’t know where all these people came from. There were 21 of us there today. A mat was set up for me at the back. It was a treat to not sit in the front row and be on exhibition. I wasn’t as self-conscious.

I received an email from the agency that placed me at the school saying that they hoped I was settling in well and that they were here for me. I wrote back and told them that this city is boring, my apartment is too small, I don’t like teaching elementary students, and that Kelly is immature and I have no respect for her. I’m sure they’ll be glad they asked. I asked them if there was a nice way to get out of my contract and get a different job. I told them that I realize there probably isn’t, but I was asking anyhow. Maybe their writing was just a matter of good timing and they’ll airlift me from here. Maybe I can sing.

The thought of teaching elementary students for 9 ½ more months is not a happy thought. I tried again to start teaching one of the classes to read. They should already be able to from their regular school, but a few of them are just not with it. I photocopied some pages from a book I bought and one of the things to do was to circle the words that matched the sound the letter makes. If the letter is a “g” and the picture is a picture of a girl, then you circle it. If it’s a picture of a boy, you don’t circle it. I thought this would be easy enough and that all could do it. I read the words so I could be sure that they knew what the pictures were of. I had kids who didn’t listen and just copied from their neighbors. It wasn’t a test. It’s hopeless and I don’t know why I try.

I get tired of looking at tired faces. Tonight I tried to get a discussion going of what constitutes the “best price”. It related to a question on the passage we read. I thought by having a real-life discussion then it would be more interesting. Not. Dead faces but I plugged away trying to explain how you weigh quality and cost to get the best price. I draw a pretty mean scale.

I learned how the school year works in Korea. They start on March 1st and have 2 6-week breaks in the school year. They have a break in July and August and a break from mid-December to February 1st. They go back to school for 2 weeks on February 1st and do no school work. Then they’re off the last 2 weeks of February before starting the new school year in March. I like the way it is here better than North America. I think 2 6-week breaks beat 1 12-week break.

The first school holiday is May 5th and the 2nd is May 8th which are a Friday and a Monday so that means a 4-day weekend. I’m psyched. I don’t know where I’ll go, but going I am. May 5th is “Children’s Day” and May 8th is “Parent’s Day”. There are supposed to be about 15 holidays during the year so this should just be the start. You have to love the “red” days. (Holidays are called red days because someone once circled the date on the calendar red to mark the holiday).

The regular shuttle driver, Jack, was away yesterday so someone else drove home last night. Jack drops me off first but this driver dropped me off last. That meant instead of a 5 minute ride, it was a 40 minute ride. For a small city, this city covers a lot of ground. If I would have known it was going to take that long, I would have taken a taxi.

I went into the bank yesterday to follow up my phone conversation with regards to the credit card. They wanted a copy of my passport. They tried to explain why and it sounded like they needed it as proof as to why they declined my credit card request. Then again, maybe they’re just fans of mine and wanted it as a souvenir. The manager I spoke to was very nice and gave me his card and told me to call him if I needed anything. I just attract people like flies.

Tomorrow (Friday) is my long day. Kindergarten and everything. I sure can’t wait to be in the school for 7 ½ hours.

I only watched ½ of “Lord of War”. I didn’t like it. I found it boring. Did anyone see it and like it? If you answered yes, tell me why.

OH WELL

I was prepared to begin the steps for my exit from Gwangyang today. I had made up my mind to bring up the subject of it not working out because I couldn’t teach the way I wanted to, and that I couldn’t do it her way. I thought this would be a good starting point as I wouldn’t feel comfortable just saying, “forget it, I’m gone”.

I went into Kelly’s office and told her I wanted to talk for a few minutes. I first told her that I didn’t appreciate her telling me how to teach in front of the students and I thought it was rude, disrespectful, and undermines me in the classroom. She apologized and it sounded sincere. In a way I wish she would have said, “I’m the boss and that is that”. But she’s not the type to do that, and she always sounds receptive to what I say. So I brought up the topic of our conversation on Friday and her telling me to be stricter and not have fun and to stick to the book. Right away she said that wasn’t what she meant and she was just giving me suggestions. She said she started the school teaching in a relaxed manner but business wasn’t good because the parents didn’t want that. She said she does the strict thing to please the parents and she doesn’t agree with them. She said I can teach how I want. So, that sort of cut me off at the legs. How can I say it isn’t working out when she tells me I can do as I want in the classroom? I can’t.

I brought up the topic of her calling the kid’s parents from the note I left her. She said she called. I’m not sure that she did but I couldn’t call her a liar because I’m not sure. She said (again) that we needed to meet more often and discuss things. She apologized because her head has been elsewhere due to family problems. She told me her mother-in-law accused her 2 weeks ago of stealing her husband’s money. She’s been quite upset by it because her husband won’t stand up for her. I said “why doesn’t he tell his mother to stop it”, and she said, “because he’s stupid”. Hmmn, I think there’s a problem here. She said he’s like a baby when it comes to his mother and although he’ll tell Kelly that he supports her and thinks his mother is wrong, he won’t stand up to his mother. I think there are more problems floating around but I can’t say for sure, and I don’t even want to know. I just said that she should take care of her family problems first.

So, I can’t kick a dog when it’s down, and my exit strategy isn’t there anymore. As much as I would like to, I just can’t say, “I’m resigning effective in one month”. I find it a little ironic that she is the beneficiary of the “new” me who doesn’t want to hurt anyone when it’s not 100% necessary. I’m not suffering here, and it’s not an emergency, it’s just not an ideal situation. Of course, what is? If it got the point where I was suffering, I’d leave. I’m not suffering and my leaving would hurt her business so I can’t. I really don’t think anything will change at the school or with her so I’ll just have to keep riding this horse for now.

I hate to ask this, but how do you know if kids are stupid? I’m just really amazed at how many of them don’t know anything in English and can’t seem to pick any of it up. I know I’m useless in languages but I can learn to read and learn the sounds of the letters. This small ability seems out of the reach of a few kids. I find myself in class just saying, “I can’t believe this”. It’s so frustrating. I don’t know what to do about it. A few of these kids are quite nice so I can’t get angry, I just worry they might be slow. I can’t talk to them in Korean to get a better idea. Some classes I just endure.

I had a new class to teach tonight. I go into this class 1 day a week. It’s a grammar class with 4 boys who are 14. That’s 13 in North American years. The reason I have to go in there is (I think) just a promise that Kelly made to the parents that a “native speaker” would be one of their teachers. Their English was awful. They take English at regular school, they are students here, and they know next to nothing. Maybe they know grammar and the written word, but I don’t know. If they do, the vocabulary isn’t making it from their heads to their mouths. I asked them if they speak English in their English class in regular school and they said yes. It’s hard to believe when they had trouble fielding questions like, “how old are you”?

I love Tuesday’s. I’m only at the school for 4 hours and that includes a 1 hour break. Who knows how long this will last because I don’t. I’ve learned that things aren’t stable from day to day in the academy business.

My back is killing me and my body is in pain. I thought Yoga would make me healthier and not a broken down old man. I thought this was supposed to be good for me. If it’s supposed to be, it better start showing me soon. But then again, maybe I am sick. I feel light-headed at times and I sleep more than usual. I will have to keep an eye on myself. If this lasts into next week I’ll have to go to the doctor on medical business and take a translator with me which is not a prospect I relish.

While I was on my break my phone rang. It was my bank and after introducing himself on the phone, the man who called was calling about the credit card I requested. I was quite surprised because when I said “credit card” almost 2 weeks ago in the bank and they said “one week” I was sure they didn’t understand what I wanted. Apparently I was wrong. He told me in his halting English that I had to be a native Korean to get a credit card. I said fine. He then said I needed to come into the bank at my convenience to see about the credit card. Obviously I missed something in his translation of the situation. I told him I’d be in at 11:30AM tomorrow and he said that would be good. I want the credit card so I can get an inexpensive cell phone plan. You can’t have monthly billing for a cell phone without a credit card. I’m curious as to what’s up.

I think I’m going to watch “Lord of War” now. I hope it’s good. I’m currently downloading “Blade Runner” which I’ve never seen. It was leant to me back in Austin but I never got a chance to watch it. Everyone who’s seen it says it’s excellent. It’s hard to believe I missed it. I’m also downloading “North by Northwest”. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen it and it’s Cary Grant at his finest. Maybe I should see an acupuncturist for my back because I don’t think there are chiropractors here.

TOMORROW EXTRACTON STEP ONE

That Yoga instructor really likes to put her hands on me. I’m talking about the one who uses me as “show and tell”. In class today she kept helping me get into position. Her hands were everywhere. And she likes to laugh at what I do. BUT, the Mexican woman said I’m getting better and she was serious. Perhaps she needs a new prescription for her glasses? I asked her if she was serious about me getting better and she said, “I’m not as much out of position as I was at the beginning”. So maybe I am getting better. However, if I get too good then I won’t have any woman here who touches me.

I think the taxi drivers are recognizing me on the street now. As I was standing on the corner, waiting for the school shuttle this afternoon, a taxi drove by. The driver was waving at me and yelled something at me. I think he was yelling, “How do you do”. I might be the only white guy in the area. I haven’t seen any others.

When the shuttle driver was bring me home on Saturday, I saw something I hadn’t seen before. We drove by a building with a huge Star of David on it. At first I thought, “a synagogue. Really”. But there was a sign in the window that said, “Café”. I meant to ask someone today what I saw but I forgot. It did startle me however.

When I got off the shuttle today, the little kindergarten girl was waiting for her ride. She saw me, said my name, and blew me a kiss. I get a charge from that. The other kindergarten kids also greeted me very friendly. I think they like me better now that I’m only in there once a week. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone?

My kids at 5PM were supposed to have done some homework I gave them. It’s a rare occasion when I give homework. Three out of four (who were present today) didn’t do it. One of the kids said they didn’t understand it so I taught them a new word. The word was “bullshit”. I had asked each one individually if they understood when I gave it and they all said yes. So, I told them that I was phoning their parents after class. One of the kids said, “sorry”. My reply was “so am I”. Of course I can’t call because I don’t speak the language so I gave a note to Kelly to ask her to call. I doubt she will which only makes me the giver of idle threats. It fits in well with her asking me to be stricter.

I was chatting with my student at 9:30 when she brought 2 more students into the classroom. They had changed from 6PM and they were now in this class. She said, “why don’t you teach them something out of the book”. What an annoying idiot. How does she know that wasn’t in the plan? Because it was. I don’t think you go into someone’s classroom and then tell them what to teach in front of the class. It annoyed me and helped me reach a decision. I am going to talk to her tomorrow and suggest that maybe this isn't working out. I’ll tell her I know how she wants me to teach but I don’t agree with it and it doesn’t fit my personality. I think that you should try and make learning fun. Burying your head in the text book is not fun. I will also tell her that she was quite rude and was undermining me by saying how to teach in front of the students.

As I wrote yesterday, I was thinking of saying something. Now I’ve thought. Whether or not this begins my departure from Gwangyang dance, I couldn’t say. The fact of the matter is that I really don’t like her as a person. I think if I wouldn’t feel guilty if I left the school, I’d do it. I think I don’t really want to teach young kids even if I like them. Their vocabulary is just too weak to sustain my interest over a year. I enjoy when the older kids try and talk to me about things or try to explain things to me. Tonight in one class the girls were trying to explain this dispute between Japan and Korea over an island that’s in the International Court. One girl was saying that she hates Japan (which is quite a common sentiment in this country). There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be more effective with older students.

I had my first egg today. I made myself scrambled eggs for lunch. The reason was I’ve had this craving for ketchup and I needed something to put the ketchup on. I would do frozen French fries but they don’t sell them at HomePlus. So, eggs came to my mind. Boy, I was filled with anticipation waiting for the Heinz to flow out and me to devour it. So now I’ve finally cooked something and not just used the microwave. Who knows what gourmet dish will be next?

I'M IN URINETOWN

I went across the road to the Mini-Market during a break between classes on Friday and what do I see? A man in a suit standing on the sidewalk with his pants undone urinating beside the market. What is with these people? Are there no public toilets? Why would someone do that out in the open? I don’t get it. I may not integrate well here until I can urinate in public.

I did kindergarten on Friday. One of the little girls who loves me gave me a big hug when she saw me on Thursday, and held my hand going into school on Friday. My popularity knows no bounds. I thought class would be hell, but they were reasonably well behaved for them. I brought my trusty flash cards and would hand them to the 1 smart girl who would tell me what the picture was, or would ask me. She would then show the other students and tell them what it was in English. It was cute.

At 4PM I only had 2 kids as the other ones were on their regular school picnic. I used my flash cards with them and they were a hit. At 5PM I had the not so bright kids and I was concerned that they would ride roughshod over me but it didn’t happen. One of the kids used to be in my 4PM class and was a pain in the ass. I threw him out of class a couple of times. On Friday he was well behaved which makes me believe it’s the dynamics of how the class is made up that plays a big part in how the kids behave. I used my flash cards with that class too, and once again they were a big hit. One little boy (he’s 6) who knows nothing and I have no idea what he’s doing there because he certainly isn’t interesting in learning, came up to me, took my hand, and licked it. How gross! I rubbed it on his jacket. Some of the kid’s are too weird.

I asked Kelly what was up with the little boy who went home. She said, “I don’t know”. She is quite annoying but I choose to ignore her. She left me a note saying that the little boy’s mother will be visiting the school and I should work the kid harder and crack down on him. Considering he’s a nice kid and a good student tells me she doesn’t know her ass from a hole in the ground. She also said it would be a good idea to give that class “dictation”. I think that’s where I say words, and they write them down. I have 4 kids in that class at 3 distinct levels including one who can’t read. How can I give 1 class of dictation with that makeup? I will ignore it. She said to me I need to be stricter and not as nice to the kids. Parents don’t want to hear that their kids had fun. I should do more from the text books. I asked if I was the conversation teacher and wasn’t that the most important thing for me to do. She said yes, but I shouldn’t forget the text books and should use them sometimes. I do. She has no clue. However, I am considering using this as a possible out. I might say that I’m not capable of not being friendly (little does she know) and I’m not capable of taking the ‘fun’ out of the classroom and having the kids enjoy my company. Maybe she needs to find someone else who can do those things because it doesn’t fit my personality. I’m thinking seriously on this.

I asked my older kids if they talked to their parents about class. A few of them did and they told their parents they like taking English with me and that it’s fun. I asked how their parents took that, and if their parents want to hear these things. They said their parents have no problem with them having fun if they’re learning. I really have no idea where these things out of her mouth come from. Maybe she’s jealous that the students like me? Who knows?

When I was getting a ride from school at 10:30 Kelly calls me to tell me that there is a small problem and that Jack was going away for the weekend so could I drive the shuttle to pick up my students. I said, “sure, but someone will have to give me directions”. She then realized it wasn’t such a good idea to ask me to drive. Duh! Why she leaves these things until the very last moment, I have no idea. She asked if needed, would I mind taking a taxi to school. I said no, and to call me and let me know whether I was going to be picked up, or if I needed to take a taxi. I gave up waiting for her to notify me and I called her 45 minutes before I needed to leave on Saturday. The shuttle driver would pick me up and I should take a taxi on Sunday. Nice of her to call me. I asked for the combination to the school to let us in and she said to call her when I got to the school. I did and there was no answer. Nor did she call back. Fortunately I remembered from when she told me about 7 weeks ago. I’ve never used it.

I watched 2 movies on Saturday night. I’m a downloading fool. I saw “The Wedding Crashers” and I must admit parts of it were hysterical. I was laughing out loud. The sound and picture quality were awful, but it was funny nonetheless. After that I watched “Lucky Number Slevin” which I believe was just released in theatres. Where do people get these movies to upload? The sound quality was excellent but the picture quality was weak. However, because of the film, the picture quality actually enhanced the story I thought. It was a mystery and I was totally absorbed from the start. Josh Harnett didn’t annoy me and I enjoyed Bruce Willis. And a movie with Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley in it, can’t be too bad. If you want a good mystery that’s a little different then this is one fine film.

I went to watch a movie tonight. First I started “Lord of War” and noticed it was only about 56 minutes. It seems I downloaded only the first half and I needed to download the second half. So I did while I tried to watch “Hustle and Flow”. But “Hustle and Flow” didn’t work. Sometimes the movies aren’t what they say they are and sometimes they just don’t work. It’s a good idea to preview them while they are downloading to be sure, which I do. But in this case, “Hustle and Flow” worked fine when previewing but the finished product didn’t work. So I went to plan C which was “Flight Plan” with Jodie Foster. Miss Foster should enter a “Michael Jackson Look-alike Contest”. She can be quite scary looking. The quality was excellent but the film was so-so. I have “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Derailed” on my hard drive along with 2 Stanley Kubrick classics, “Spartacus” and “A Clockwork Orange”.

Except for tutoring, grocery shopping, reading, downloading, and watching movies, it was an uneventful weekend. I haven’t felt too good the last few days so I suppose I never got over my previous mini-bout with the flu. When I went to the supermarket yesterday the employees were getting things ready for the sort of 9AM opening. Now it’s not the opening because it’s a 24 hour supermarket but they were prepping the shelves and so on. Right before 9 the people who work in different areas congregated with their fellow employees from their area for a kind of meeting. At the end of the meeting they did a kind of “company” cheer. It was scary. I know things like that are used for cheap laughs in movies about Japan and company loyalty among employees. But it was weird to see it in real life. GO HOMEPLUS!!!!!

A FOGGY DAY IN GWANGYANG CITY

I haven’t felt well today. I’ve felt really strange, like I'm in a fog. I've been a little dizzy and have felt like I’m in a fog. I went to sleep early (for me) last night at 12:30 and didn't get out of bed until the alarm went at 8:45. I didn't sleep right through but I didn't have the energy to get up. So from about 5 on, I slept, awoke, slept, awoke, and so on.

Yoga class is usually 90 minutes but for some reason today it was only 70 minutes. Thank goodness. I thought I was enlisting in a 60 minute class. I had no idea it was the class that goes on forever. And they don't cheat you on the time. It's sometimes a little longer than 90 minutes. They have this one exercise where you lie on your back, extend your arms and legs in the air, and shake your arms and legs. You also breathe in and laugh out loud when you exhale. It sounds really weird to hear everyone laughing. I don't laugh because it's not funny and I can't do 3 things at once. Lifting my arms and legs count as 2.

The Mexican woman in the class thinks she might be being stalked. When I got there today she said to me, "do you see the woman at the desk talking"? I told her I did. She said that yesterday she was in the supermarket and this woman came up to her, grabbed her, and started talking to her. The woman knows no English, and the Mexican woman knows no Korean. She thought it was strange. Then when she arrived at the Yoga building today the woman was there. She came up to the Yoga floor (it's the 6th) and was chattering at the front desk with the instructors. Very strange. It looked like they escorted her out in a nice way after a while. My life should have such excitement.

Yesterday I got a cramp in the bottom of my feet and it was quite painful. The instructor noticed and I told her I had a cramp. She took my foot and pounded away at it. It helped and it was quite nice of her. One of the exercises involved some sort of massage after it. You had a partner and you walked on their legs. Since I had cramped out I didn't do it. The instructor did walk on me and it was strange. It was nice, but strange. I usually don't like being walked over but this was the exception.

I'm running out of insulin so after class I went to the doctor to get a prescription for more. I just got some last week but instead of a bottle which lasts me almost a month, they gave me the "pen". It's an injector with the insulin already loaded but it goes quick. I told that to the doctor so she did the prescription. She asked me how I was going to inject it. At least that's what I think she was asking. Her English is limited. I heard the word injector a few times so I told her I had a bunch of them that I brought with me. She seemed to understand. Then she said "one time" which translates to "are they one time use needles"? I responded in the affirmative. She then asked me how I was doing which is the first time that she's asked me. I told her fine because that's the easiest answer. She then dismissed me. The last time she just waved her arm at the door and I just sat there. She then said "go". Today when she waved at the door in her "get away from me" manner, I knew it was my dismissal.

I showed them my health card for the first time today at the doctor and instead of asking me for money, they gave me money. I think my card was in effect at the time of my last visit when I paid so this was an overpayment refund. It's quite unusual to get money at the doctor's office.

Kelly finally read my email and responded. She has now decided to pay me on the 10th of the month like everyone else. I told her at least 3 times that it would be easier for everyone if I got paid the same day as them and she said no. Now she writes like she's made this momentous decision that she just thought of. Now I will have to watch carefully to be sure I'm paid for February 8th and 9th. I also asked if I could be paid on February 1st, 2007 for the final time. She said I will be paid on the 7th (which is technically the last day of my contract), but she said she will "try and listen to my requirement". I will have to be tactful in telling her that my requirement is I don't trust them enough to do it on the 7th and I don't want to spend my last week there reminding them every minute. But if they agree to pay me on the 1st (but don't), I have the week to nag away.

She told me that I am too sensitive and it makes her uncomfortable. Me? Sensitive? I have no idea why she interprets my coldness to my sensitivity about things not being done after I’m told they’ll be done. Or my not getting paid when she said I’d be paid. Yes, I’m too sensitive about things like that.

All that email wants to make me do, is to say to her, "actions speak louder than words". But I won't because I'll just be talking to myself. It's difficult to work for someone you don't respect. I did it for 13 years but the money was good so I suppressed it. This I can live with only because she leaves me be to do my own "thing" teaching. The one advantage is when she asks me to do something and I think it's stupid, all I have to do is ignore it and I don't have to worry about her following through on it.

I went to the corner market to buy some oranges and the proprietor greets me as usual. When I was checking out he says to me, "me Korean teacher". I must admit I didn't feel like working at it and trying to understand. I tried a couple of times but his English is non-existent. I thought perhaps he was offering to teach me Korean but I have no idea. I would trade English lessons for Korean lessons but I have to find someone to do that with. They would have to know a little English to make it work.

Something strange happened at school today. I was sitting in the classroom before my 6PM class waiting for them. It’s a very small class of 4 and I knew one who wasn’t at school today and one who came at 5 today instead of 6. One little boy (about 10 or 11 but very tiny) stuck his head in the door before 6. I have no recollection of saying anything to him but when class started with the one other boy, this little boy wasn’t there. I was confused. I asked the other boy if he saw the first boy but this kid speaks no English or understands any. We went across the hall to see Jason (the Korean English teacher) and I got him to ask this kid if he knew anything. The boy said that he saw the little boy get on the school shuttle to go home. Very, very strange. Tonight after I’m home I get a phone call from Kelly asking me if I said anything to this little boy who went home. I told her the story and that I was quite confused. It seems this boy thought I told him to go home, so he did. His mother called the school to find out why I did such a thing. Kelly wanted my side of the story before she called the mother back. I’m curious to hear his side of what he thought I said. He’s a nice kid and I’m sure he didn’t leave on purpose. I’d love to know what I said or did to give him the impression to go home.

I have one student at 7PM who I love. She cracks me up every day. She’s about 14 and always grunts. Every time I say take out your books she grunts. Every time she asks for something (like to play a game) and I say no, she grunts. She complains about being hungry and grunts. I just laugh and laugh. I apologized to her today for laughing at her but she’s not offended by my laughing. She said it was “her pleasure” to have me laughing. Tonight she was grunting about the very important homework she had to do. I asked what she had to do. It’s for her “home economics and technology” class. She has to write about whether she’s for or against abortion. I was taken aback but pleased that they discuss these things in school. Naturally it took a bit of work to be sure she was describing abortion to me. When I was sure I understood I gave the class the English word so they would know how to say this in English. It’s not the sort of word I expected to be teaching, but I’m pleased to go into this territory.

It’s only 9:30PM and I feel like I could go to sleep. I hope I’m not sick or getting sick and feel better tomorrow. Only time will tell.

ANOTHER DAY IS DONE

Sometimes it feels like I'm an entertainer and not a teacher. Teaching "conversation" is not the easiest thing in the world. Granted there are textbooks, but they are deadly boring. If the students know some English, it's good to talk. The problem however is that I end up doing most of the talking. Sometimes I'm just struggling and have nothing to talk about. Other times it flows. I wish the kids would talk more, but there are only a few who like to speak English. I try and drag it out of the rest.

I started with a new student on Monday. She was the only one in the class. She's about 14 and is quite interested in learning to speak English better. She wants to go to an English speaking University which is great. Today she asked me what she needs to do to get better. That's a bit of a conundrum because the only way to get better is to speak English and you can't speak English because you live in Korea. I told her to watch English speaking shows on TV and listen to English speaking radio. I also suggested reading English books and if possible getting some CD's of books and listening to them.

During my class with her, Kelly came in and said I would have another student in that class in a few minutes and two more on Monday. They were formerly in the 6PM class but now they'll come on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's at 9:30. The new old girl comes in and she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. At 6PM it's a large class and she could hide a little. I thought she was a little above average but very quiet. I was wrong. She could barely say or understand a word. Every time I tried to talk to her she would look everywhere but at me. She seemed terrified. The other girl looked unhappy that there was another student as that would cut into her private lessons. I wish I had more students like the new one who will try to speak.

I was struggling in my 8:30 class. I'm running out of things to talk about. They didn't want to use the book and neither did I. But I'm the one who gets stuck talking. One of the girls at least was asking me questions about myself to get me to do the talking. I wish I could sing and dance because that's what I feel like I'm doing at times.

Sometimes it's a real challenge to explain a word. It's not like I can just translate the word into Korean. I have to explain it in English or draw it or act it and my mind just goes blank at times. Today's words that were problems were "mystery" and "clue". You try and explain the word "clue". I drew a magnifying glass on the board and tried to go about it that way. I was hoping they would understand my drawing and immediately know what I meant. No way. Finally I drew part of a word for hangman and then gave out a clue. The word was marker and I said, "it's something you write with". Then I finished the word and said I had given them a clue. They got it. I'm so clever and talented.

I am at the corner again today waiting for the school shuttle to pick me up (hopefully) when my cell phone rings. It's Kelly. She says, "where are you? I'm here at the corner". I say, "so am I but I don't see you". After a few seconds she realized that she was at the wrong corner. Typical.

I asked her if she'd read my email and she said she hadn't. She told me we need to talk because she can tell that there is something wrong between us. I'm glad she noticed. I told her I'm always available. I really don't expect to have a discussion with her. She did tell me today that she "really appreciates all my hard work". I will say that for her. She does say things like that to me. I wish I could say the same to her.

I didn't fall asleep in Yoga today, but boy was it hard. There were new exercises that gave me great difficulty. I'm not as flexible as women and my sense of balance is virtually non-existent. I am in the front row and the women behind me were laughing at my efforts. Usually I'm good-natured about it, but today I just wanted to turn around and yell at them, "at least I'm trying". I was speaking briefly with the woman from Mexico after class and she said that they're not shy about laughing at you.

I have so much laundry to do. Going away for the weekend puts me seriously behind as the washing machine only takes about 2 days worth of clothes and I have to hang dry indoors. Sometimes (like now) it takes 2 days to dry. My clothes rack is always open and at attention. I would really like a bigger apartment. I am tempted to bring up this topic with Kelly but if I'm going to cut and run, then I shouldn't. I think I need to decide soon on whether to stay in Gwangyang or to seek my fortune elsewhere.

Speaking of fortune, when I was talking to one class, a student asked me what I did during the day. I was telling them about my day and I mentioned that I did computer work for a small computer company I have a partnership in. She said that I must be a "high roller". I thought that was neat how she used the term (where do they learn them) but I assured her that I'm not.

I started my taxes today finally. They are due by Monday. I've been putting it off long enough because I find it very taxing.

And on that note I wish you all a good night and good luck.

THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU COURTESY OF

Peter, Paul and Mary. Thank you and keep on singing.


They are playing on my IPOD now so I thought I'd mention them. I just can't get enough of "Puff the Magic Dragon". I have always loved that song and it's timeless. "Leaving On A Jet Plane" gets me almost teary-eyed every time. Yes, you can't go wrong with Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Now down to business. I got an email from Kelly today before work letting me know what the final cell phone bill for her phone that I was using was and letting me know that she'll be deducting it from my next paycheck. That's how we do the things that are direct billed to her. So I had no problem with the email and her letting me know about it. But, I did reply to it. I told her that I wanted my 1 more hour of overtime for the Saturday class I taught. I also told her that I wanted my final pay a week before my contract was up because I have to leave immediately for Toronto for Jarston's Bar-Mitzvah. I phrased it this way so the edge of the knife would be showing. "As far as the final pay in February/2007, I would appreciate if I received that and year's completion bonus (if I'm still there) by February 1st, 2007." I love the "if I'm still there". I hope she gets the idea.

When I was at school today I asked her if she had read my email yet. No she hadn't. No problem. I told her about the hour I wanted credit for. I told her that I understood that she was within the contract to dock me for being late but I didn’t like it. I told her that I was used to a give and take and that I wasn’t going to mention the overtime because sometimes I would work overtime and not mention it, and sometimes I’d be short some hours. At the end of the year these things tend to balance out. She said she understood and then blamed Miss Moon because she was keeping track of everything. She went into some song and dance and I just looked at her like “yeah, whatever”. She then said it’s her fault because she’s the director. I told her that was right and that from now on I’ll be tracking everything and be expecting to be paid for every hour I’m there. I then said she needs to look at my email and let me know if she has any problems with the 2 other issues I mentioned which were being paid 1 week before the end of my contract, and making sure I get paid on time without me having to nag anyone for my pay. She said she would tonight and write me back. It’s midnight and I haven’t heard anything. I’ll make sure she reads it and replies tomorrow at school if she hasn’t by then.

I find that at school now I’m in a no-nonsense mood. I try to be reasonably friendly when it’s called for, but usually when I speak to her it’s brief and to the point and rather cold. I’ve cracked down on some of my classes. I’m much more stern with them and I’ve even told one class that if they annoy me then I will throw them out of class and call their parents to come and get them. They looked appropriately scared. Of course if they were smart they’d know I can’t call their parents because I don’t know Korean. I know you are supposed to come in to class on day one and be strict and if all goes well, then ease up. That’s not me. I start out treating everyone with respect and as adults. I don’t yell at them or get annoyed but I find I have this “don’t mess with me” voice that seems to work. So even though I’ve gone at it backwards (soft, then hard) it seems to be working.

I feel embarrassed for my 18 year old student. She’s in the class now with younger kids and she’s the worst. She sits beside this tiny girl who is about 11 or 12 and sometimes asks her to translate for her (younger child translates for older child). This little girl is a doll. She does homework that I don’t assign and asks me questions about what she doesn’t understand and to check her work. If only all students were like that, but to even find one is a minor miracle. Anyhow the older girl said yesterday that the class was difficult. At least that’s what I think she said because her English is so awful, and her vocabulary so limited, and her accent is so thick that I’m not 100% sure I understood. I told her it would get better and she’d start to understand more and it was good for her to be in a class with other people and get used to hearing some English. She looked like she understood but who knows. I asked her today after class if today was better for her and she said yes. I can’t be sure that the yes was to my question exactly though. It’s like when I ask some kids, “what did you do today” and they answer with “Tuesday” or whatever the day of the week is.

The school shuttle didn’t pick me up (again) today so I took a cab to work. It only costs about $2. The school is a few seconds from the bus station so I get in the cab and say “bus station”. Usually they understand because Koreans say “bus station”. Today the driver didn’t understand. I said it at least 10 times trying to get the right accent for him. Finally a light clicks on in his head and he says, “bus station”. I say yes. I have to get a Korean accent to make my English easier to understand by Koreans. I don’t find it annoying, just kind of humorous. The driver apologized for not speaking English which was quite classy of him. I find a few people apologize for not speaking English. Of course I tell them that it’s okay and I apologize for not speaking Korean.

I think I fell asleep in Yoga today. I was so tired and I thought I might have dozed off for a second or two but wasn’t sure. After class the teacher came up to me and with a smile said to me, “don’t sleep”. So I guess I did and wasn’t subtle about it. Maybe I should be in the back row instead of the front row. I know it’s getting repetitive but I just can’t express how nice and thoughtful and kind most Korean people that I’ve had any dealings with are. Maybe it will be time to leave when I no longer notice the kindnesses and just start taking everything for granted. Isn’t that what always happens?

For you Canadians out there who enjoy crime/police novels I highly recommend reading the books by Giles Blunt. His stories take place in a Northern Ontario fictional city named Algonquin Bay and are as good as anything in the genre that I’ve ever read. I just finished his 3rd novel and once again it was well-written and engrossing. He’s so good that you can even find his novels in Tyler, Texas and not all Canadian authors are sold there, nor are novels set in Canada.

I received my first piece of mail yesterday so I know my address works. For those of you who wish to send me tribute (or letters), just ask and you can be the proud owner of a copy of my address. Send me a cherry pie if you must.

Passover begins tomorrow evening. I’ll be going to the Gwangyang Synagogue for the congregation Seder. It seems like 87% of the population in Gwangyang is Jewish. The rabbi is said to lead one mean Seder. I’m looking forward to meeting Rabbi Kim Ju Dong and discussing religion in Gwangyang and the whole province of Cheon Nam. It should be a fascinating evening for all concerned. It seems that they even put kimchee on the Seder plate.

(The preceding paragraph was just a lie. If you scored it as such, give yourself 3 points).

We’ll have to wait and see what tomorrow brings but I hope it brings everyone a little bit (or more) of peace and happiness. And if you find yourself with some free time and need something to ponder, then ponder this: how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?

I'M A SEOUL SHOPPER

What an expensive weekend. It wasn't meant to be, but sometimes things happen. As it is often said, "shopping happens".

The weekend was great. My visit was great. Of course I didn't want to leave, but all things must come to an end. Of course I could never live in Seoul. It's about 13 million people which is about 1/2 the population of Korea. Boy, are there a lot of people all over the place.

I woke up at 5:15 Saturday morning to be sure I got to the bus station in time for the 6:30 bus. I go to the taxi stop and get in a taxi and tell the driver that I wanted the "Gwangyang express bus terminal" because that's what I was told. He takes me to the bus terminal near the school which is called "Juma-dong bus terminal". I'm semi-freaking. He doesn't speak English at all. I'm trying to tell him there is no express bus to Seoul from there. As far as I know the buses that go from there to Seoul make a lot of stops. He doesn't have a clue what bus terminal I want. Finally he asks me if I want the "Gwangyang bus terminal". I say yes and off we go. It's an expensive (for here) cab ride because it's not close. On the way there he asks me if I have a bus ticket. I say no but now I'm worried. Did I need to buy one in advance?

We get to the terminal and luckily I get a ticket. There were only 3 left. I know this because the person who sold me the ticket showed me her computer screen to point out where my seat was so I saw what was available. I boarded a very new and clean looking bus that surprised me. I was expecting a broken down bus, but neither was I expecting this.


There was one stop on the way to Seoul. Guess where? Yes, at the Juma-dong bus terminal where the taxi driver originally took me. I thought it was funny and felt a little stupid. But I was happy that I was on my way.

The bus makes one stop for the bathroom and snacks and the trip takes about 5 hours. I slept most of the way so the time went quickly. I get off the bus in Seoul and go to the terminal information desk to ask them where I can find a motel. They tell me there are none in the area. They mention one hotel and that's it. So I set off to search for a place to stay on my own.

I find no motels. I wanted to spend no more than $40 a night and was sure it would be easy. I stop in at a Pizza Hut and ask them if they know where a motel or guest house is and they give me some convoluted directions to some place that I never found. They also pointed to a hotel that was across the road but I didn't want a hotel. They're more expensive than motels or guest houses. After not finding a motel I decide to go into the hotel to see how much it is.

I ask the desk clerk lady how much a room is. She says $117 a night. I tell her that's too expensive so she says I can have the special rate of $84. I tell her that's more than I will spend and could she come down a bit. She brings me the translation machine (you may know it as a calculator) and I key in the price I want. I put in $60. She settles for $65.

We spend some time chatting as she asks me how I came to be here. I tell her I wanted an adventure and to try something new. She asks me how old I am and can't believe when I tell her 50. (I love her). She asks me my religion so now I think I'm back in Texas. I tell her Jewish and she seems impressed and tells me she's a Christian. She then tells me she'd like to do what I've done and see different places. She says she has a vision and prays every day about seeing some of the world. I tell her to just do it. (Maybe I'm a Nike spokesman). She was very nice and just another small pleasure I have in talking to a stranger.

Where I'm staying is just a couple of minutes walk from Techno-Mart which is a huge multi-storied electronics store. Think "Best Buy" on steroids. I walk over there because that's where I'm to meet Robert and Nuong. I get there and phone Nuong first. We're chatting and my phone dies. This phone is garbage and buying a cell phone is number one of my list and that's why I'm at Techno-Mart. I can't get it going again. Fortunately I was able to find a pay phone and make contact with Nuong and Robert and made arrangements where to meet them.

While I'm waiting I go to start looking at cell phones. I think the big city is quite different than the little city. Whereas here the employees of a store can't do enough for you, everyone in Techno-Mart doesn't seem to give a damn about you. Some fellow shoppers would talk to me and then talk to the employees about what I was looking for. (I really like most Koreans. They are so thoughtful). And some of the people who work there are so stupid. One person told me that I couldn't buy a cell phone. I showed him my alien card. He says I have the wrong type of visa (it's on the card) to get a phone. I tell the person beside me who wanted to help me that the person was wrong. I can buy a phone. The store person calls headquarters (or wherever) to learn that I am right. Where do they find these people? There are about 100 or so places on the floor where you can buy a phone so I am not stressed about finding a phone, just stressed by the idiotic help.

I go outside to meet Robert and Nuong and enjoy the sights of the big city outside Techno-Mart. There are the bowing girls in boxes to look at:


There is the traffic/pedestrian coordinator:


And let's not forget the Barney tree:


Robert and Nuong arrive and we go to look for a combination microwave oven/toaster oven for Nuong. I've never heard of such a beast and neither has Robert, but Nuong assures us there is such a thing. Unfortunately for her, Techno-Mart doesn't have one because I suppose they haven't heard of them either. I get a decent 2nd hand phone along with the charger and an extra battery for $60 so I'm happy. Now I have to go sign up for service with the company that the phone works with. The phone itself is a Samsung. They make everything and are one of (or the) largest companies in Korea.

Now I'm expecting most people in Seoul to know some English (I don't know why I'm expecting that), but they don't. Signing up for the phone was hell. She takes my $10 and we're done. I don't understand anything. I try to find out what calling plan I'm on. We are all trying to communicate when it dawns on one of us (I forget which one but I don't think it was me) to call the tourist line and ask them to translate between me and the KTF (phone company) people. This works. I have a prepaid phone because without a Korean credit card I can't have a calling plan. But I now understand what's what.

We then go to a teaching materials store to look at English books and games. I spend money on teaching things. I have no idea if I'm going to get reimbursed. I had asked Kelly if I bought things for teaching would I be reimbursed. She told me that the school had lots of books. That's not exactly true. We have the textbooks we use. I have not seen any others or games or anything. It was left with a maybe but I don't really care. I saw things I felt might be good and if they are, great. And they're mine too, so they leave the school when I leave the school. If I don't get reimbursed, I would just give them away to the kids to take home before I left them at the school.

We then head to some other part of the city to visit a bookstore. On the way to the bookstore we were planning on going to, we stopped in at a different bookstore. We spent a couple of hours in there and I was in heaven. I bought some more teaching books and some novels. The day is getting expensive. Nuong seems to disappear and Robert and I stand in the same spot for 1/2 an hour hoping she'll walk by. She doesn't. I tell Robert to stay there and I'll go look upstairs for her. No luck. I then go to the front information desk and ask if they have a paging system and if they ever page people. They tell me they do and they use it for lost children. They want to know if I've lost a child. I say, "yes". They say, "how old". I say, "23". They laugh and say that's not a child but I tell them that it is to me. They call someone else who comes over. It seems they'll do it, but they really don't want to speak English. I tell them that I'll do it and it might be better because my voice might stick out rather than the usual Korean's. We go to the sound room and it's decided that they will do it and if it doesn't work, then I'll do it. So through the giggles they do the announcement. We go back to the front desk and Nuong is there because she had run into Robert and he let her know where I was. It was cute I thought.

After this unscheduled bookstore stop, we headed to the bookstore that we originally planned on going to. On the way we made a bank stop. (The money was flying away). I bought some more novels and we headed to a diner that had been recommended to Robert. It was a 50's style hamburger diner.


The menu was great:


And the waitresses were classy:


I had a burger and fries and was quite happy. It was good. Of course, if I was in the States and had this burger it would have been okay. But in Korea and with what I've eaten, it was the best burger ever!

After that I just had to stuff some Dunkin Donuts in my mouth so I had some of those and then it was into Starbucks for coffee. It was fast approaching midnight so time to head back to the hotel. We go into the subway and I ask for a ticket to the station I need and I'm told the trains are through running to that station for the night. What! It's not even midnight. I take the train that will get me closest and then take a taxi which was over $12 (which is a lot for here).

The next day (Sunday) I met Robert in an area called Itewon. (Nuong was going to meet up with us later). It's a shopping area with a lot of foreigners. I saw more white faces than I've seen since I left the States. Everywhere you turned there were white people (and even some black people). They were taking over as you can see:


We figured we'd be there for only about an hour. If only. I bought some gifts for people and even got myself 2 hockey sweaters. They were the real expensive official kind (not knockoffs). I got a Leafs sweater (Mats Sundin) and a Penguins sweater (Mario Lemieux). They were $25 each whereas I'm sure they go for more than over $100 in North America. I wanted to buy hundreds and bring them back with me and make my fortune. Everything in this area is negotiation. I had a couple of long haggles with people over price and unfortunately for me they gave in so I spent, spent, spent. I got my nieces traditional (claimed to be hand made) Korean outfits and I got my nephew a Leaf sweater. I won't say what tacky things I got my kids. I want it to be a surprise but I think they'll be impressed by my exquisite taste.

Shopping is hard work so one has to eat, and what better place to have lunch than at a Subway. (That's Robert gleefully rubbing his hands in preparation for his meal).


Robert and I bought some movies on the street for a low price. Needless to say they are all illegal copies. There are a lot of movie sellers lining the streets along with fruits, vegetables, and assorted junk.

My bags were too heavy at this point so we went back to my hotel so I could unload. From there Robert took me into a PC Room. Just cubicle after cubicle of computer tables. The first one we went to was full but there were some computers available at the 2nd one. He tried to teach me Starcraft but I'm not much of a kill game person. (I still haven't cracked my copy open).

After that we met Nuong at the Coex Mall which is huge mall with lots of Restaurants including a "Jackie Chan's Kitchen". I bought a new earring because I wanted something different to wear for a change. And it will look good with my tux at Leah's wedding. Then it was dinner time and what better way to top off the day than with a visit to Bennigans.


It might sound like it, but I didn't eat as much as I wanted to. The stomach can't hold as much food as it used to. I did no sightseeing but I will the next time I go to Seoul. The only time I enjoy the big city is when I don't live in it. Then it's a treat. Maybe next time I can go to TGIF's. God Bless America and their chain Restaurant exports.

We parted company and I came back to Gwangyang on the 6:30AM bus today. When I got home I called Kelly to ask if my salary had been deposited. Of course not. She came the excuse that Miss Moon didn't do it because she didn't know how much pay to dock me for being late the one day I was at the hospital in Suncheon trying to get the proper medication. Kelly said she was taking care of it later this afternoon. I told her I was counting on it and she said if I wanted she would wire me money from her account and then deduct it from my salary. I told her I could wait until later but I wasn't happy. It's not that she's trying to avoid paying me, it's just that it's not a priority of hers to meet her commitments. When in Seoul I bought her a children's watch as a gag gift, but guess what? I didn't give it to her.

When I was at a school she gave me a breakdown of deductions from my salary and let me know that the money was transferred. My 1/2 of health insurance was taken out along with my phone bill and internet bills (that go to her directly to pay). But they docked me for missing 4 classes. I had called Kelly earlier and told her that I had worked 2 extra classes this month so the net was being docked 2 classes. Now I wasn't going to even mention the 2 classes even though I'm to get overtime. I prefer a give and take rather than nitpick at every little thing. I forgot to mention the Saturday I worked a class for when I was in Japan. That's overtime as far as I'm concerned because I was in Japan on school business. I wasn't going to mention that, but I will tomorrow. I will also tell her that I wasn't going to mention any of the extra work and I'm surprised that she felt it necessary to watch every minute. It's kind of strange because I'm not even angry about it. I'm used to these stupid things and I don't really care what I say about them any more. I told her today that me doing the 1 kindergarten class and the 1 class of idiot children a week will be really lousy because I can't control them. She said I had to because she'd promised the parents a native English speaker. That's what she advertises. I knew that and told her I understood. And I do. I'm considering just mentioning quickly to her that maybe it's not working out. And I would be doing that just to be cruel and put a little scare in her. I'll have to see the mood I'm in tomorrow.

Well, it's late and I need to drag my creeky back and knees into Yoga tomorrow. I didn't get to talk about my new student and my 18 year old in with the 12 year old and other exciting school things. Oh well. If I didn't like so many of the kids as people, I think I would have blown this pop stand.

"SHOW AND TELL" OR "BUY ME A SILK, LACY, NIGHTGOWN"

I couldn't decide on the title so I went with the 2 I wanted. I only slept about 2 hours last night but I am dedicated to Yoga. I went for the 5th day in a row. I still stink at it. The older man was there with his wife and he fell asleep. Boy, was he snoring loud. The woman on the mat behind me was sleeping too. Don't these people have homes? If I wanted to sleep, I'd stay in bed but that's just me. Maybe it's a little known Korean custom to sleep during Yoga class. Or they reached the maximum relaxation point and just passed out.

After surviving the class I was waiting to get my shoes. One of the teachers comes up to me and starts carefully looking at my neck. I figure she's looking at the scars from the biopsy and the carotid endarterectomy. Then she sees the scar on my chest and asks me what it is. Now she doesn't speak English but I knew what she was asking. Actually she does know a few words in English such as "relax", "eyes", and "you have the makings of a great yoga master".

With motions and easy English I explain that I had heart surgery and they replaced 4 arteries. I lifted up my pant leg to show her the scar where they took the vein from to replace the arteries and I told her that it went from my ankle to my groin. (I wasn't going to take my pants off to show her). She was quite amazed. I then put my pant leg down.

Then she starts talking with some of the other women in the class and lifts my pant leg up to show them. What am I, a show and tell piece? Actually I didn't mind but I was quite surprised because that's something North Americans don't do. And Oriental people are supposedly modest and reserved and picking up the pant leg of someone is neither modest or reserved. I asked Jason if what the teacher did was typical of Koreans and he said it wasn't strange. However, I don't trust anything he says or even know how much he understands what I say. His English is good for someone who has never been outside Korea to an English speaking country, but I can tell by some of his answers that he doesn't understand the meaning of what I say.

Today was payday. I haven't been paid yet. They do an automatic transfer to my bank account and when I asked Kelly she said she had to ask Miss Moon if it was done. She knew it wasn't done yet. Then I asked again and she said Miss Moon had left. I told her it had to be in the bank by Monday and she assured me not to worry. I have to transfer some money to the States and I want to do it on Monday. I know what will happen. I'll go into the bank on Monday and the money won't be there. Then I'll have to stand over them while they deposit the money. Of course I could be wrong, but I wouldn't bet on it.

There were no exciting language lessons today. In fact, I'd say I barely taught. I wasn't in the mood or have the energy. I was getting a little annoyed with the 4PM class because I'm trying to teach them how to read (which they should have known before they ever met me). I have 6 kids in the class. Three of them know the letters and the sounds and the other 3 are slow at it. Two of those can be taught (I think) but it will take a while and I have half the class who already knows so that's a problem. Then there's one girl who is either an idiot who never pays attention or has A.D.D. I wrote Kelly a note about her because I think she should find out if this girl has a "real" problem and isn't just a pain in the ass. She's not wild, she just has no attention span. Kelly said she got the note when I asked her and looked at it. LIAR! I wrote A.D.D. on the note and I would wager she doesn't know what that means. I'm not even covering my ass, I'm just trying to do a good job and keep her up to date with what I learn about the students. However, she'll give the kid A's and make the parents happy. Of course, if I was a parent I would want the truth about my child. But there I go again wanting too much.

As I was leaving school tonight Kelly told me to have a good time in Seoul and to buy her a nightgown. I said, "what kind, silk"? She said, "yes, silk and lacy". Yup, top of my list. She's not flirting (I'm 99% sure of that) but it annoys me when she says things like that. I'm far from a prude and coming from someone I liked it wouldn't bother me. But because it's her, it annoys me. I really need to ease up on my dislike or I'll have to leave the school.

Kelly finally took the kindergarten kids away from me. I only have to spend 1 day a week with them and I'm sure that's just so the parents know the foreign teacher spends time with them. However, all I'll be doing is babysitting and ignoring them. I have no desire to try any more with them, and I don't really like most of them. I know that's not right but what can I do. Jason is in there with me at the moment and he can't stand them. He says they have no respect. But ha, ha, he's their teacher now. What they need is a real kid's teacher to work with them, but you can't hire someone for just an hour class a day.

The downside of losing these kids is my hours shift. I was basically working 3 to 9 and now I'll be working 4 to 10:30 with an hour off some days in the middle of the day. That means I won't have dinner until 10:45PM and that stinks. I've tried to switch to a more normal schedule because I have to get up for Yoga and it's worked mostly. However, 10:45 is late for dinner and wind down time. I will be too hungry by then too. However, I'm still within the agreed 30 working hours and I realize if I don't do kindergarten I have to teach some other class to make up the time.

My 8PM student (18 year old girl) is really horrible in English. I know I said that, but every time I see her I just can't get over how little she knows. I like her and wish I could just wave a magic wand and she would be better. She'll be going to university next year to study theatre but I don't think she'll be doing any English acting. We are now moving her to 7PM because she's the only 8PM student. She'll be in a class with kids between 12 and 15 who are all far better than her. I hope being around these kids will be okay and she picks up some things. I'm worried it might be a touch awkward. But I won't worry about it too much.

Six hours and 20 minutes until my bus for Seoul leaves. I'm excited. American food. Donuts. Mmmmmmmmmmn. I'm not taking my computer (I'm so good at leaving it behind) so no posts this weekend. I'll have to save them up for Monday. And hopefully I'll have some decent pictures to share.

Leah has 2 wedding showers for her this weekend. I hope she has a great time and knows that I'll be thinking of her as will her sister who will be in Cuba and her Bubbie who feels awful to not be there with her at this time. I'm really looking forward to seeing Elana and Leah in June. I love you two so much and I don't care who knows it. (As if everyone didn't know already).