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?