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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?