Swimming, bikes, and some phone teaching

My day was a bit of a valley today. It started out okay I guess. I went swimming with all the kindergarten kids. It was really kind of strange. We have new busses at school I guess. We watched a video on the way to the pool. Or rather, I watched a video. It was Shrek 2 but it was in English and they forgot to put on the subtitles until halfway through. I usually object to dubbing but kids movies and cartoons I think, it's acceptable to dub. Especially the ones for kids. I don't know how well they can read Korean but probably not fast enough to keep up. They laughed at the physical comedy. They also all brought little inner tubes with them. We got to the pool and it turns out they weren't allowed or something. They don't tell us anything but the fact that they found some sticks and propped them upright and stacked tubes with them gave me some clues. Of course, it could be some bizarre Korean custom. Bring a tube and keep it outside the pool and it will keep you from drowning. You'd think they'd have called the pool or something before they bring 40 kids with tubes. The swimming part was alright. I realized that Erica doesn't trust me. I nominated her for student of the month today. The pool was only 3 feet deep or so, too. I could sit on the floor and still have my shoulders above the water, well about water level.

Then after swimming, we had to get changed. This isn't something I'd normally write about but I don't really know you people. I don't think people I know read this. Then again, maybe some of them do and just don't tell me they do. Anyways, Korea is very pro-same sex nudity. There's like nowhere to hide even if you wanted to. They also use towels that are about the size of a tea towel. I'm not sure if that's a Canadian thing or not, the dish drying towel. Maybe I just haven't heard people refer to it outside of Canada. Perhaps, it's only my parents that call it that. Nevermind, so I saw like 20 naked kindergarten kids. A few of them saw me, which is kind of....I'm not sure how I feel about it exactly. Anyways, one of my students grabbed 'it.' Can't get more obvious than 'it' right? So yeah, I was groped or molested even by a 5-7 year old. I don't know how to tell in Korea. Subtract one or 2 years. In January, you can pretty much subtract 2 but December only 1. Anyways, after that I tried to conceal myself as much as possible. I had my big towel and fashioned into what they called a skirt. Then they tried to rip it away from me. I was also pretty much useless. I really did nothing to help any of them get dressed. I helped the same kid who grabbed at me get his leg through the hole in his Winnie the Pooh underpants. What an odd experience. Matt undertook the majority of them. I had maybe 4(are these Freudian typos? I wrote hate. I'm back to edit that). My 3 and another one who feels like he knows me since I teach his 2 older brothers. His foreign teacher is Renee who needless to say is not a boy. I don't know whether he was manhandled at all. I don't think I'll ask. Our boss was there too. Fully-dressed helping kids and some guy from the pool. I was pretty useless though. I helped the one kid with what I told you about and asked one if these were his shoes. The answer was yes. I was fine helping them with shoes. Actually, I'm pretty useless in any situation with self-delegated tasks. I'm also much better at living in Dutch society. It's not that I want someone else to pay for anything but by the time I usually think to pull out my wallet the bill has already been settled.

Then, I got back to the school to enjoy my hour and 30 minutes. I did some evaluations and was pretty slow about it. I like having my desk against the wall. I write with my head leaning on it. I enjoy my location in the office. I don't have to worry about people walking past my desk, except to leave but there's enough room for the door. I just have to deal with kids poking me from the door. I remember growing up that the teacher's lounge was like the one forbidden place in the school. Not in Korea. They run in and out of there all the time. I listened to music and felt retarded. I was reading some science manual written in English by a Korean. You can always tell. Anyways, I couldn't make sense of the directions. It was a combination of strange wording and my lack of mental energy. I had to read it like 10 times. Then I did science with 2 classes back to back. The first got bored with it after 10 minutes. The second class really loved it. It was just a piece of foil wrapped around a cylinder. It was about reflections in a curved mirror. Andrew (different from kindie Andrew) just loved it. They kept saying Bravo and trying to tell me things. They love the phrase "this and this and this" as they either draw or mime. It was kind of fun just being around energy of people who get so excited about shiny things wrapped around tubes. Usually, I just stand up there and yell. Science class though I let them do pretty much anything as long as they fill in the lab report that takes 20 seconds to do. Plus after a field trip I don't have energy to yell. My Nobel class went fine today I guess. They were still loud but this time it was all good humoured. Usually, there's some kind of fight. Kipper gets upset when I write his name on the board but not others. I've really got to become less subjective about it. I don't like doing it but it's got to be done I suppose. It's hard though when the next strike puts them in the corner and they said one Korean word. Anyways, today instead of being a pain about it, he decided to go crazy. Making weird faces and all. The others thought it was funny. So no fights and I yelled less. It's really hard to get them back to work once everyone's been laughing. Then I need to bring out my angry voice and strike others, well on the board. You know what I mean. I've never had the temptation to actually do that. Then I had Columbia and got to go home. There were only 2 of them. They would hate when I would ask about their weekends. I found better ways to get them speaking. Their answers would be so deliberately dull. "3 things." "I ate, I slept, and (struggle with the 3rd)....I stayed at home or something else completely useless." Maybe it was because Wendy, the ringleader was absent. I enjoyed that class today and got to come home early. 7:20. Sha-zaah. We played Guess Who for the last 15 minutes. I don't know why they can't use the word blonde. I was a little peeved that I still had to explain that blonde meant 'yellow hair' for the 5th time. Facial hair was equally funny. They called it special face. 'Does he have special face?' as they stroked their chins and cheeks.

Moving on. On my home I impulsively decided to buy a bike. Actually, I'd been thinking about buying a bike for awhile but suddenly today was the day I would act. I went into the place that I walk by slowly to check out prices. Lespo. There all over the place. I can think of 3 that are less than ten minutes away on foot and I don't really live in a commercial area not that any part of the city is that uncommercial. Anyways, the first bikes were like 165,000 or 210,000 won. Then I found the crappy ones they kept at the back. I bought a new bike for 80,000 which included a free lock and a free little vitamin drink that I got to enjoy as they got the bike ready for me. Then I went riding for about 30 minutes. I actually don't know how long it was. I rode past Daegok station even (the last subway stop), not that far though considering I'm 3 from the end. It felt nice. I was so speedy and the breeze felt nice. I rode to the new school location. It only took me about 3 minutes. 1 of the minutes spent at the crosswalk. I hate the crosswalks here. They take forever to change and seem to have some time-out on the green. It stops after 15 seconds or something even if the traffic continues for another minute. I don't get it. I rode back a different way avoiding to light. I was a bit worried I'd be hit by someone. Some many little alleys and I slowed down at all of them. Anyways, I felt so free that what used to be like a 10 minute walk takes no time at all now. If I want something, I can just go to E-Mart without contemplating it. Soon of course, a 4 minute ride will seem like a long time. It was nice to see a different part of town. I only go to the same places now. To and from school and the weekend trip downtown. It was liberating. I wonder how long it will take me to get to school now. For all 3-4 days that I have left there. Well, I probably shouldn't take my bike on moving day. I can walk one last time. I might never see that area again. Matt and Renee live over there but I've been to there place like 3 times maybe over the last 3 months. I don't know why they don't want to move. They've convinced themselves that 4 months is no time at all.

So phone teaching week was last week but I called a few of the kids I didn't call last week. I had nice little conversations with all five of them. With some of them I just call to hear myself speak and answer the questions for them when they aren't quick enough. Well multiple choice style. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "....pause....uhhh....uhhh....." "Do you want to be a doctor, a musician, a teacher? What do you want to be?" Teacher. Ok. I did find out that in that one class that 3 out of 4 wouldn't be coming to school tomorrow. One was a maybe. Of course, I think I used school instead of Wonderland once. They have summer vacation (1 whole month) from their elementary schools. Some of them are going to skip out on their hagwons that much too. My boss complained about on the drive to my apartment yesterday, A ride home without a hidden agenda (except to make me feel more comfortable at work or maybe he lost his courage to bring up whatever it was he wanted to take about), imagine that? Then I called Bin, whose English name is Robert, he's such a Bin though. I talked to him for like 2 minutes then asked something about his sister who is in my Columbia class. Anyways, suddenly Sandy was on the phone. I talked to her for about 10 minutes or something. It turns out that David, the kid I don't like, thinks I'm just so goodlooking. Like a moviestar. It's a common compliment here. He says I look like Tom Cruise. Similar hair colours and we're twins. Actually, it's not that similar at all. Sometimes, I wonder if they can tell us about at all. Not that I'm that adept at distinguishing between Asians I see on the street. If I only meet them once, I might not be able to recognize them if I saw them again. I don't think they all like Lucy Liu or Jackie Chan though or one of the other 5 Asian celebrities. Let's see who I can name off the top of my head: Jet Li, Chow Yun Phat (however you spell that, I'm not looking it up), Connie Chung, Judge Ito, David Suzuki(Cdn Environmentalist, I may or may not have seen him in Banff once), Xiang Xi (also don't know spelling), Michelle Yeoh, that one Korean who pops up in a lot of sitcoms, Karate Kid guy, Tia Carrere (though she's not really typical Chinese looking), the guy who played her dad in Wayne's World (you don't know his name either), Bruce Lee, Sandra O or Oh. I'm sure there are several other obvious ones that I can't think of. Anyways, phone teaching didn't go too badly. I really hope none of them show up tomorrow. It would feel so nice to leave work before 7:20 one day. Even 7:20 is great. 8 isn't that late but 6 classes back to back is too much to take at times. 5 is such a relief. I'm sure there'll be one kid who shows up and it will be in the class I teach during the second block. I wonder what it would be like if no one in either class signed up for August. I would be paid exactly the same too. I shouldn't get my hopes though.

I was also feeling more active than usual I guess after my bike ride. Usually, I feel like I should already be at the 3rd floor when I get to the 2nd but today I kept right on walking. This doesn't look like the 3rd floor. I guess there's a penthouse or something on the floor above mine. Then I climbed another flight just because the stairs were there and I was in a Magellan mood. Anyways, I ended up on the roof. Another liberating moment in a way. Just some plants and lines for hanging laundry. I walked under them as if they were electrified. I don't know why. I should go up there during the daytime. Sometimes I feel boxed in by the buildings and I never get a good view of anything. My buildings maybe one floor above the ones in front of it. I didn't realize how unparallel my street was to the main road before. So that's why there's no shortcut to the subway station when I'm coming from work. So that was my thrilling discovery of the day.

Phone teaching is such a joy

I was really going to try to be less negative but things keep popping up that make it really difficult. If you don't want to hear me bitch about work, then I advise you to stop reading where you come across this symbol **********. Not really one symbol but I'm sure you're intelligent enough to understand.

I woke up today at about 5. Surprise, surprise. I'm going to have to ask for AC I think. Anyways, that part wasn't so bad. I got up early and took my time getting ready in the morning. Usually, I have to rush to do everything and leave a few minutes after I should've. I'm supposed to be at work 30 minutes before my first class. I'm pushing it to 25 and 20 these days. I can't believe I used to show up 45 minutes ahead. It's not as bad as it sounds though. At most I have 2 classes in the morning so I still have time to prepare and relax for a few minutes.*************** Anyways, during my break this morning, when I was prepping for my afternoon classes, Amy informed me that Alex's mom (Alex, one of my students) had complained that I had not called for several months. Well monthces.Usually I wouldn't make fun of her but I've had unpleasantness with her today. I've only worked here for several months. I know I've talked to Alex every single month. I called him last week but he wasn't home. I hadn't gotten around to calling him again until tonight. She told me like 3 times to make sure I called him tonight. She told Alex's mom, I would be calling at 8:15. Anyways, I get home tonight around 8:20. I called. No answer. I called 3 times between 8:20 and 9:30. No answer. She had better not complain that I didn't call tomorrow. Why put up a stink about it and then bother to be home when you know I'm going to call. Maybe Amy didn't tell her.

That's not the worst part though. I was complaining about it to Renee. Oh wait, there was another part I was complaining about too. This part is on me really. There's a new boy in one of my classes. I figured I would skip him this month since my phone teaching plan is based on last month's lessons because I have to prepare it like 4 weeks in advance for some stupid monthly newsletter. I'm sounding pretty bitter aren't I? Anyways, Mia asked if I'd called the new boy (my Korean partner teacher for this class), I admitted I hadn't. I was more upset about being caught trying to get away with a small thing I guess. Anyways, I was complaining to Renee about the demanding/un-informed (with a hyphen since I accidently spelled uniformed) mother, having to do another student this month, and the futility of the whole phone teaching exercise. I understand the commercial value of it but really, what is your kid going to learn in a 3-5 minute conversation had once a month? I guess I wasn't talking low enough. It really wasn't anything that I wouldn't have minded them overhearing. I wouldn't have brought it up but if they asked my opinion I probably would've told them the same things, in a more subtle, much more polite way but still. Anyways, Amy like mid-conversation asked to talk to me about my phone teaching schedule. She brought me into the little conference window room. She brought out some schedule, I have never seen before, never even heard of before and asked why I was following it. 'You are supposed to be calling Nobel class on Wednesdays. Why haven't you called 2 of the students in this class?' I knew I'd called that class. I explained that I had called them on Thursday. I didn't have one of their numbers (because I figured I could get away with it for just this reason) and the other one wasn't home and I know, I am 100% positive or in a Maury Povich way 500% sure that I called this kid. Pull up the phone records and you can behead me if I'm wrong. Assuming the phone records are accurate or that they even have them at all. Anyways, she was really upset that I wans't following this stupid schedule. I guess it's not that stupid but if you think it's that important shouldn't you have hinted that there even was one before you just berate me like this. It was seriously like her saying:

Her: The man upstairs is upset that you never visit him?
Me: What man?
H: The man upstairs.
Me: I didn't know there was a man upstairs.
H: Well there is and he's been waiting for you to see him. I'm very angry about this.
M: Had I known about him I would've gone to see him?
H: Why don't you know about him? Why didn't you ask if there was a man who needed to be visited? Don't you think it was your responsibility?
M: WTF (not that I ever say this but seriously, it's ridiculous)

It's seriously retarded. Why would I ask if there was a schedule if you never mentioned a thing about it except that I had a week to call all these students? Anyways, it turns out there is a schedule but they only give it to the students and their mothers because the people doing the calling don't need to be told about it. They need to ask about it because it was their responsibility to assume it existed. It turns out mothers make their kids wait by the phone during this hour when they were told I would be calling. No wonder this mother thinks I'm not calling her kid.

Then she mentioned how she didn't appreciate it, well worded completely different but I don't remember how, I actually don't think there was an opener, that Renee, Matt, and I talk badly about the school sometimes in the presence of Korean teachers. I think she thought it was because we thought their English level was too low to be able to understand us. I'm guessing this because she made a big deal about how some of them have studied for seven years. It's beside the point really. It's more that I really don't care what they hear. I didn't feel like being discrete about my dislike of phone teaching and how useless it actually is. Also, Renee does the most badmouthing of anyone but she caught me and I was trouble for something else so why not make me the scapegoat for this. I've said maybe 2-3 bad things while Korean teachers were around. They weren't even that bad. Anyways, she didn't like how the foreign teachers just talked amongst themselves. Yet, it's perfectly acceptable for them to speak Korean to each other at all times and exclude us from everything that goes on. It really is hypocritical. I know that they talk about us while we're there. They even go out of their way to mask their conversation. Eunice, when she used to call and keep me on the phone for an hour every night, told me their make sure to use Korean words only. Ones that sound nothing like their English counterparts. Korean is so full of Konglish words. Don't they do this in North Korea? So I didn't appreciate that bit of hypocrisy. If you really wanted to integrate us you wouldn't speak only Korean and never try to initiate conversations with us. It happens maybe every other week. I'm not to bother to try. It's too hard to tell when a discussion has ended when it's in a foreign langauge. I apologized for that.

The funny thing was that ordinarily, I would've been so submissive and just bowed my head in shame while she lectured me. Even if what she was saying wasn't really applicable and I was completely unapologetic it's just what I would've done. I really felt nothing though. I wasn't even embarassed about being called into the little room where foreign teachers are given all kind of advices. That's right they call it advices. I just really didn't care at all.

Oh another thing. According to the schedule, I'm supposed to be calling students during the teachers' meeting. What kind of crap is that? I think Amy also thinks that crap has much worse connotations than it actually does. This based on her comment that we use bad language. Renee's the one who freaking said it, I just happened to be the nearest round-eyed person you felt like sharing this with. Amy actually apologized about not sharing the schedule but in a way that mostly said, 'I'm sorry you are such an idiot because I am truly wonderful and could never do anything wrong.' Amy by the way is the last link to old Wonderland days that you can read about at this link:

www.prisonerofwonderland.com

This is seriously the exact school where I work. They've changed a few things and it sounds like it's better than when she worked there. I at least get paid on time. I can't believe there was a time when it was worse than this. So now that the school is moving, the last links to it are all but gone to Western eyes. I didn't really want people to know the exact place where I worked but since it'll only be there until Tuesday, next week, there's no point hiding it. The move coincides with the first day of my scheduled vacation. Fantastique, non? Sarcasm really is a good coping mechanism. My BS level is near critical level. One more event or if I receive nothing when I am forced to sacrifice a day of my paid vacation, and I will have had it. I will quit and not be such a pushover about it. I am hoping to get air conditioning as a reward for my help. He doesn't even lose any money for the vacation either. The kids all pay for their 20 days a month. This is why my vacation stradles 2 weeks and 2 months. Paid vacation, my arse.

I'm feeling better now. Maybe it's time for some chicken. Smiley face, well at least an undecided face. I had better hear nothing about Alex's mother tomorrow though. Otherwise my feigned smiley face may sprout horns and a little goatee. Eyes the colour of rubies perhaps. I'm not sure.

Disturbing photos

So here are some really unflattering photos of myself. They're from about 10 days ago. The guy in the middle brought his camera to the gym and decided I was an oddity worthy of photographing. Actually, he's a nice enough guy but I would have never met him had I been Asian. I wrote about it a few posts back I think or maybe I just thought about writing it. Anyways, the first pic is really bad. I don't know if I've ever seen a worse photograph of myself. Well, some of my grad photos were pretty bad. I look really unhealthy. I looked at it again. Definitely the worst picture. I look like some kind of backwoods yokel with cancer or like I've just been released from a concentration camp(I would say in but those people don't smile much). I need to start wearing my retainer again. My teeth look all crooked. I like how it looks like I'm touching myself too. Had I known it was a full body shot and I would've sat differentlly. Who photographs your whole body from 3 feet away. The larger photo looks much worse. Click it and then hit 'all sizes' right above it. So that's where no food and sleep has taken my appearance. Nice.

The second one isn't so bad. I don't look quite as deathly ill there. My hair though has either gotten bigger or my head is shrinking. I don't really know. Look for his hand wrapped around my waist. (I somehow wrote 'despite' instead off weight. See look, I can't type. Why can't I type waist? There we go. Took some concentration.) I know why I wrote despite now. Look for his hand wrapped around my waist despite him having to really extend his arms. The other guy is the other guy at the gym I would not know if I were Asian. I'm still not sure what his name is. Chen maybe. This is the guy with whose family I went out to eat.

Two posts in one day. What a feat.

A failed attempt, pig rectum, bungee jumping and a new superpower

It's been an interesting week but for some reason it doesn't actually feel like it has been. Anyways, shall I start the narrative?

I forget when I last wrote. I don't feel like checking. I'll start with Monday. It was another humdrum day. I don't remember what I did during my break. Something useless to be sure. Actually, I think I checked job postings. I had decided to quit the next day. We had our usual staff meeting. Maybe I wrote about Monday already. Let's jump ahead. Monday and Tuesday weren't interesting. I did have to miss my Korean lesson on Tuesday though so I could go to the presentation. This seems familiar too. One more day.

Wednesday. Wednesday was an awful day. I stayed up too late the night before. Maybe I was writing this. Hmmm. I don't know. Anyways, my Melons were a bit of a handful that day. I had them for 3 of their 4 English classes that day. I hate Wednesdays. I have 2 - 1.5 hour breaks between 10 and 8. So basically Wednesday I do nothing but work. I was going to quit on Tuesday but my boss was gone by the end of the day. Why do I stay later than the boss? There are only 5 people in the entire school from 6:30-8 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 3 students, myself, and one Korean just waiting to lock the door behind us. Anyways, I don't know why Wednesday was so bad. My last class I had had it. No outbursts or anything but it was very exhausting. It really is the hump in my week. If I make it through Wednesday, the week is practically over for me. Leave early on Thursdays and come in late on Fridays. I get to escape the school for 15 hours or something. Most days it's only 13 or something. I really wonder what it's like saying goodbye to your work environment for 16 hours......everyday. That would be nice. Anyways, I had my class of 3 boys. I went through their pages practically screaming out all the vocab words. I might as well be invisible in that class. After about 20 minutes of that I just gave them some paper. They like drawing.

So after that, I filled out my daily report and went to talk to Jupiter. I told him I was unhappy with my hours and that I wanted to give my 40 day notice. Actually, I put it a bit too politely. "I think I might have to give my notice." Anyways, he told me he knew it wasn't the best schedule, that in 2-3 months it would be different, he had big plans for the new school, etc. Being the passive person that I am just went with it. The decision to quit was made rather suddenly and I can always try to quit again. I've decided to give it at least another month. Because really, if I need to give 40 days notice that's over a month and if I make it to 6 months, I don't have to repay the initial airfare. I guess it's worth putting up with to save $1000. I have no idea how much the ticket was. Things seemed to get better after I tried to quit. My boss gave me a ride home the next day (never happens). He apologized again about my schedule and even asked if my apartment was hot. I downplayed it though. Why do I feel like I can't ever be demanding? Anyways, so that's that about work. It's starting to get hot again. Maybe I'll have to give an ultimatum during the week. This no sleep business makes everything so much worse. David was absent on Friday. I actually felt fine walking home.

So that's enough about work. I went out with Alex after trying to quit. We were pushed out of Starbucks (closing time 10:30) and walked around and went to a jazz bar. We had gone to this one bar before called Jazz on Jazz. No Jazz. This place was called That. There was no band playing but they actually played some jazz music. I also stumbled upon a painting there called 'Silence give consent.' I think I should try to incorporate that one into my life. It's actually a quote by Pope Boniface VII or some pope with a name like that and a number attached. I think it was really a quote about people doing unchristian things and the need to punish them for it probably. I was thinking about making a little plaque, well writing it on paper, and posting it above my work station. People complain about cubicles all the time. I would kill to have a cubicle.

The next night, I went out again. Alex, 2 of his Korean friends (30ish, I guess), and I went to a hotel that had a brewery in the basement. It was pretty good beer. We didn't stay there for very long. The Koreans decided to take us somewhere else. We ended up going to some little restaurant and eating Makjang (I don't know how to spell it so that's my guess). It's the specialty dish of Daegu. So here's how you make it. Find pig rectum, cut it up with scissors, put over flames, and consume. I really can't believe that I ate it. Nor could many of you who know what kind of eater I am. It was something about just being in the moment, I guess, or to say that I ate pig rectum or anus. Also, I need to eat more and had had a fair amount to drink. I also had little bugs of some kind that grossed out even a Korean. She spoke Italian. For some reason, it didn't seem the least bit strange that this Korean was speaking Italian. Sometimes, my life doesn't seem real. It was probably the surreality (if that's a word) that made me eat pig asstube. It turns out that the Koreans had actually hijacked the evening and destroyed Alex's plans for the night. That's really not for me complain about though.

Friday night, I didn't do much of anything. I hung out at home. I was going to do this but decided to order a pizza and watch my season finale of Alias. It was very disappointing, I must say. Worst episode ever. So that was Friday basically.

Saturday I had to go to work for a stupid speech contest. They told us to be there at 1:40 so the kids could rehearse. I started getting ready late so I was about 5-10 minutes late or something. I even took a taxi to get to the school. It's really kind of disappointing when you rush to get somewhere thinking you are late and then find out you'll just be sitting at your workstation for 40 minutes. I guess it was the Korean teachers who needed to be there that early. I really don't know what's going on half the time. After the speeches were over, they handed out little prizes to the kids. We had to go up and hand them out. Anyways, I go up and then go to sit back down again. Nope, I was supposed to stay up there. Then after handing out some more prizes, I decided I would stay up. Nope, I was supposed to go sit down. I wasn't really looking at the stage and Amy had to tell me to sit down over the microphone. I swear sometimes, I'm just like a chicken without a head or something. I have no clue what is going on. Matt and Renee mentioned that we should go out afterwards. They're nice people and all but their word means absolutely nothing. Jupiter 'invited' everyone to go out for supper. Renee said sorry but they had plans. So there I was stuck with a bunch of Koreans. That's when I discovered my superpowers. It turns out that I can become invisible. I'm not sure how I activate my superpowers and I think it fades every 15 minutes or so. It's a useful power though. I'm really glad I'm not the only waygook(foreigner) at my school. I can't even imagine what that must be like.

So afterwards, I came home. I wasn't feeling great. Alex was supposed to be spending the day with this Korean he met. Leaving the city and everything with a guy named Dragon. Yes, Dragon. It turned out not to be a great day for him either. We went out and got pretty drunk off Jack & Cokes. I met some non-North Americans and we all ended up going to Gypsy Rock. I'd never been there before. It's basically a foreigner bar with dancefloors and what not. There were a lot of Koreans though. I had a good time. I got drunk, I danced, I ditched my friend, I cut my leg somehow, and came home. Twice now, I've told the cab driver Wolbae Yok and he drops me off way past the station and just says Wolbae and points around to show me we're in Wolbae. Didn't you hear my 'yok' man? It's too much of a hassle so I just walk from wherever they let me off. It was only a 3 minute walk or something but still. I had the foresight to buy some water. I'm not sure how I managed that. I was shocked when I left the bar and it was dawn. I was surprised not be doing too badly today. I don't understand how mixing alcohols can make so much of a difference.

So today, I talked to my parents for a bit and then went to Woobang Towerland. It was a very surreal day. Maybe it was from the night before, I don't know. It was much more themed than I'd imagined it would be. Oh yeah. Woobang is an amusement park. It was very disneyfied. There was a haunted house there. It was so scary. I almost had several heartattacks let me tell you. Walking through a tunnel filled with slow moving hydraulic monsters sure is exhilarating. Anyways, I went with Alex and a guy from his work. We went on a few roller coasters. We went on one and on it I just felt like I wasn't there. I've really got to start eating and sleeping regularly. My world is definitely becoming more dreamlike. I wonder if my dreams are becoming more real. I'll be happy when summer is over and I can actually sleep well for at least one night. I'm so glad I'm only a temporary insomniac (I hope).

So after not feeling very alive, I decided I would shock myself alive by going bungee jumping. It was pretty fun actually. I wanted to do it again right afterwards. It went by so fast. It was only about $25 which is so much cheaper than it would be at home. I don't know how high it was. Maybe 20m or something. Not all that high. Maybe less. I'm a really bad judge of stuff like this. It was strange though. They made me put on this striped polo shirt and fitted me up at the bottom. I had to walk up an absurd amount of stairs feeling like a prisoner in my uniform and foot shackles with the attached rope being held in my hands. I was out of breath when I got to the top. It actually started to feel real when I got near the top. What the hell am I doing? So anyways, I was out of breath and the guy just wanted me to jump right away. He had to do the countdown twice. 3,2,1, bungee, nothing. I didn't jump. I don't know why I didn't. It became a bit too real maybe. Plus, I wanted to relax a bit after my strenous stairclimb. I jumped on the second countdown though which happened only 5-10 seconds later. It felt pretty cool to just free fall like that. It didn't last very long though. After the initial drop though it was almost relaxing to just bob up and down. It felt nice. I was just totally limp, not in control at all. Like a ragdoll, I was. I can't believe I went bungee jumping today. I felt like a bit of a fool afterwards too. I just wanted to smile. It was probably because of the massive amount of blood that had gone to my head or a rush of adrenaline or something. Maybe I should just spend more time hanging upside down.

This doesn't sound nearly as interesting as I thought it would. Maybe it's because I've gone back to feeling detached. I wonder if it's the no sleep, no food thing or whether it's just from living in Korea where I don't understand the reasoning behind many things and I can't communicate with like 99% of people. I'm going to start regimenting my diet. Ok it's 3 o'clock. Time for a sandwich or whatever. I'm down to 64 kilos. This can't be good.

It'll have to be tomorrow

Well, I was going to quit today but I couldn't. At the end of the day, I couldn't find the director anywhere. I really hate Tuesdays. Everyone else goes home at 6:30 on Tuesdays. I'm there teaching the only class of 3 bratty teenage girls. I suppose technically, they are tweens. I'm not sure how old they are exactly. 11 or 12. Anyways, they drove a boy out of their class. They were so mean to that boy. I sided with him one day and made mortal enemies out of the girls. I was actually doubting whether or not I should quit today. I had a really good class with my kindies. I think it was mostly because I'd resigned to quit so I didn't feel as stressed as I usually would. Plus it was just science, so they run around having fun and their experiments didn't work at all. I don't know how the designers expected us to make whistles from straws. Anyways, that was kind of fun. Then I planned and came home for about an hour. It could've been 2.5 hours but I had to go back for a presentation at 2. A time that works well for those who had been teaching right before 2. I understand and all but during lunch on my Tuesday. I'm supposed to be free during that time. The presentation was ok. We had to pretend to be 8 year olds. The presenter was demonstrating a lesson for one of the classes we share. It was full of games and fun exercises. I doubt she does that normally. It was just like my presentation. An idealised version that's too time consuming to actually prepare as a real lesson. Why bother really?

Then since the presentation ended around 230. I still had an hour to kill before starting my afternoon. You see, if I thought of it as an hour off it would be fine but it seriously just feels like time to kill. I took a little walk. I found a school that I had sent an email to. It was an ad posted online somewhere. You'd think in a city of 2.5 million people that the school wouldn't be 5 minutes from where I work now. It's actually further from where I live now too. The only nice thing about where I live is its proximity to the subway station. Then I went back to work and continued my downward spiral getting more tired and angrier. I don't remember the last time I walked home not being angry. I wonder if I ever did. I think maybe once or twice when I felt so free being released at 730. I had recharged somewhat during the weekend. Not enough to feel rested but I was getting there.

Yesterday, we had the staff meeting. Same as always. Korean, Korean, Korean, stuff we could read off the agenda, Korean, Korean, ask for some suggestions about something, korean, dismiss our suggestion and do something completely different, more korean, then a bit more, then a lot more and then 'thank you teachers, goodnight.' Then that mother was back today to ask more of Renee during her break. I also found out that I have to stay late on Friday moving stuff out of the big room for the speech contest. I thought it was going to be downtown with other schools. I hope I at least get to sit down at a real table in real chairs. The preliminary rounds where they weed out all those that make the school look bad(like 75%), I had to sit in a tiny little chair made for 3 year olds. It was seriously a foot off the ground. I don't know how the plan changed or why they didn't bother telling us the plan had changed. They told it to us like it had always been this way. Maybe it was. I really only learn information from the meeting agendas. Occasionally, something will be put on the calendar but that's always some unexpected piece of not-so-good news.

I forget my phone teaching stuff at work today. It's so sad that I won't be able to talk on the phone tonight. I would really like to look at my daily schedule or weekly one whatever without mumbling obscenities to myself. #$#$#% Phone teaching tonight. @#$# phone teaching next week, evaluations, presentations, etc. etc. At the end of the day, I knew that quitting was a good decision. I don't know how long it will take to find another job here though. So far, I've only seen ones listed online, which I'm sure aren't the best ones. Maybe though, I know enough people that I can get some word of mouth jobs. Ones so good and well sought after that no one ever knows they're available. I can hope anyways.

I'm definitely going to quit tomorrow. Maybe at the beginning of my lunch hour since I pretty stuck there all day on Wednesdays.

I'm going to quit

I've decided that the time has to come to abandon my post. I think I'm probably going to give my notice on Tuesday. I'm just not happy working there. I just keep getting angrier day by day. I was such a bad teacher on Friday. My terrible class again. May, the one who wanted to learn, quit and I don't blame her at all. She wasn't going to learn a thing. It's 3 boys now. None of them listen to me. They draw constantly in class and don't listen. I took their notebooks away and then their pencils. One fought to keep it and I ended up just breaking the lead. Same effect. He cried and I felt satisfaction. What kind of person delights in making someone cry? I really don't want to become this type of person. I would really love to make David cry. How sick is that?

I also can't sleep, which is probably influencing my thoughts a lot. To put me up in an apartment in the hottest city in Korea without air conditioning just really reflects how they treat their employees I think. Last night, I lost my mind a bit. Nothing really seemed very real to me. I tried to sleep and couldn't. I don't know why. I ended up laying in my bed with headphones on and singing loudly. It was about 4 in the morning I guess. I'm sure people could hear me and all but what difference does it make. I hear them having arguments at 3 in the morning. There are windows so close to mine. I used to think it was coming from the street. I don't know why. Then some guy started watering the street and brushing it or something.

I thought about quitting at the 6 month mark so that I wouldn't have to repay the airfare but if I'm not happy now, I won't be any better the next 3 months. I hate this downward spiral and quitting is the only way to make it stop I think. I enjoy a few of my classes. I even enjoy my kindergarten class but the hours are terrible. I feel like I'm working from 9:30 to 8:00 everyday. The mornings are light I guess. I only have 2 classes. One hour class and the other is 30 minutes. The problem is that they are spread out over 4 hours. Which really means that I have to stick around for a bunch of hour breaks, 40 minute breaks, and all this other stuff so I'm basically just stuck at the school. Then there's the lunch break 1.5 hours. Not much to do with that really either. From 3:30 to 8:00, I am in the classroom the whole time. I don't get to sit down and have maybe 5 - 5 minute breaks which is just enough to time to grab stuff for the next class and sit for maybe a minute or 2 just waiting for the little chime of doom to ring. How could the same sound be both the sweetest sound and the one I dread the most? It rings at the end of class too. I have too many monsters in my classes. I spend more time raising my voice than I do any actual teaching. I have yelled more in the past 3 months than the entire rest of my life. Actually, it's probably 3 times more than the during the rest of my life. I can't think of anytime in the past 10 years where I have actually yelled except the past few months. I used to be so easy going. Even when my friend turned onto a one-way highway going the wrong way (a sure recipe for death), I just said 'I think you are going the wrong way.' I could see cars coming right at us. I'm surprised I was so calm. Now I'm just a pissed-off yelling machine who enjoys the sound of crying children. I hate it.

I really don't feel respected at the school either. They gave the kids speeches and passed them to the foreign teachers to correct. I corrected them and made them sound like something English speakers would say. They changed a few things but it was still full of mistakes and odd expressions that made no sense. Why ask me to correct it just to keep it the same way? I guess they just want me to say 'yes, this is an excellent speech. It totally sounds like a native speaker wrote this. This is seriously award-winning material.' I feel embarrassed for some of the kids that will be doing their speeches. They aren't good but I'm not going to waste more time on them. They have a speech contest next Saturday for all the Wonderland schools in Daegu. I can't imagine the others would be better though. If there are kids that show promise in the school, I feel a bit sorry for them and like telling their parents that they should send their kids elsewhere. One of their speeches actually had this line it 'I can get the best english classes which korean teachers lead. I have interaction with foreign teachers too.' It really is just like I'm there for the kids to look at and make the parents say. 'Wow, foreign teachers, my kids won't respect them and neither will any of the other teachers but they're enough to fool me into think my child will get a good education here.' My boss has stopped smiling when he sees me and his wife is always looking through the windows of my classes. I really try to do my best but there's only so much I can do. I yell too much for it be effective anymore. Then there are teachers meeting which are 95% Korean and we just sit there waiting for them to talk a bit of English. They'll ask our opinion and just dismiss it. It's such a waste of an hour and a half. They feed us and then talk about us. One of the other teachers, who used to call me just to practice English, told me they would discuss why I wasn't eating the food or some other trivial thing about us. Why do we have to sit through that? It's only once a month but it's during our week of phone teaching too. They expect me to call 30+ students 3 times (until we get a hold of them, only once for each kid) when I get home at 8:30 and they eat up all my Monday night. There's no way I'll be calling on a Friday or a weekend night. So that's 3 hours total to have 150 minutes worth of conversation. After 3 kids, I don't feel like doing it anymore. This is another part of the show to impress the parents and it really only shows me how little they are learning or retaining in class.

Then there are other things that bother me too. First, they feel like they can just demand things of us. We had to sacrifice our vacation basically to help the school move. They gave us 5 days off from Wednesday to Tuesday. Why can't I have Monday to Friday? Two halfweeks blows but it was acceptable, I guess. Then our boss tells us not to make plans for Wednesday or Thursday because the school is changing locations and we need to set-up the school. Does he give us any kind of incentive? Any compensation? Nope, it's just a demand. It'll probably be accompanied by some meal or something. Unpaid days helping rewarded with a lousy meal. Thanks. Then, the other day the mother of one of Renee's students needed some paper of hers corrected. Was she asked if she would mind doing it as a favour? Nope, just you're going to do this and there's nothing you can do about it. She was rewarded with some kind of pastry. Oh boy. Her and Matt worked on it and they said it was actually kind of fun and interesting. Luckily for them. Really though, why should we be forced to do this extra work? They do pay us on time and give us housing but that's not a free pass to give us no consideration. Then, on Friday, when I was signing my pay slip, I noticed this 200,000 won or $200 US deposit deducted from my wages. I didn't know what it was for. I looked in my contract and found that they are going to deduct 200,000 from our first 3 paycheques to cover utilities for the 2 months after we leave. Why do they need 600,000 won to cover 2 months of utilities? I think I pay like 50,000 a month in utilities. It's supposed to make its way to our home bank accounts 2 months after we leave. I can just imagine them keeping it. What are we really going to do about it a whole ocean away? Matt and Renee believe it's just 200,000 total. They were discussing it a few days before this incident. I doubt they know they have a collective 1,200,000 being held from them. I wonder what other aspects of the contract we are supposed to forget. Then, my contract states that I will receive my one month bonus after the completion of the 12th full teaching session. I started on the 5th day of the first session maybe so I'm sure they could use that to screw me out of it. I never thought they would but this deposit issue, which sounds really illogical and easily a way to just trick us out of $400+, really makes me question that. As does, all the talk about me that I'm assuming is going on behind closed doors. 'Some of his classes are really out of control but let's not help him and just keep discussing it and give him disapproving looks when we see him.' Amy did talk to Jessy the other day about his behaviour. I write something about him in my daily report everyday. He was good on Friday but I'm sure it was just a one day effect. I would love to see him cry too.

Matt and Renee, I think, have just resigned to accept things. They only have 4 months left and don't want to rock the boat. Renee would've gone to him about the vacation thing if it had been in her first few months. She isn't afraid to say what she is thinking. It makes her a bit unliked at work but I really respect her for it. One of her students stole from her and was then made student of the month. Renee refused to give it to her for that month. She just flat out told them no. Next month was fine but not this month. They talked to her and Renee backed down and ended up writing something. I don't know what was said but the fact she said no to begin with was nice to see. I get the impression that Renee is respected as a teacher and Matt is well liked but they don't like Renee and think Matt isn't a great teacher. It really would be nice to be part of couple. At least they have each other. Meanwhile, I have no better half to make up for my shortcomings or to make me less lonely. My schedule just really keeps me from doing anything during the week and the only people I seem to meet all live downtown. I can't go on like this. Spend the weeks, tired, angry, and lonely and then continue feeling too tired to do anything on the weekend. I get just enough rest to just make me think that I can possibly put up with another week. Life's too short to go on like this. There are better jobs here that pay better, have no split shifts, no phone teaching, no occasional weekend crap do to. I wonder what the teachers from the other Wonderlands think. Renee was thinking of drinking during this contest speech contest next week. She was kidding mostly but it really doesn't sound like a bad idea. I think if I did have friends in this part of town, I'd end up drinking every night and just bitching about work. I do that here instead and there's no alcohol involved.

A lot of people, end up just hating Korea by the time they leave. By the time you realize how much you're putting up with you just want to get out of there with your bonus as quickly as possible. Why quit and start at month 0 again? I could put up with all the crap at work if it weren't for my schedule or location I think. Or I could put up with my schedule and location if it weren't for all the other bullshit. Give me downtown and no split shifts or make it a really nice work environment. The school's not going to change so I'm going to go. I could care less about the bonus or return airfare. I'll just work for 9 months or so in Korea and leave. If I do end up really liking wherever I work next maybe I'll stay. I always told myself I'd never do anything for money that I wouldn't do for free. The bonus, while a nice incentive, wouldn't be enough to make me stay if I were miserable. I have no illusions about it. That's something I don't understand about Renee. She hates almost everything about Korea and says she would be gone if someone else paid her return ticket. Why come here for money if you have no sense of adventure and hate everything else about it? My sense of adventure has been slowing dying but I'm going to reclaim it.

Usually, I just take whatever I'm given and then complain later. I'm not very good at being assertive. I think it's time to do something about that. I can't spend another 9 months ( or even 3, I was aiming for 6 to avoid repaying airfare) living like this especially at 23. I spent many more months being miserable in Corpus Christi. My youth is slipping away and I don't want it to be full of times like these. I admit my job could be worse but I've resolved to make it better. I don't want to end up as an insurance salesman in Nebraska for the rest of my life, if you know what I mean. Why put up with something because it's one step above completely intolerable?

You'll have to see where it goes

I'm never to going to sleep again, I don't think. At least not well, and definitely not while I'm in Korea, well this little block of it. I was feeling tired yesterday and went to bed at a decent time I think. I guess 1am isn't decent but it's better than other nights. I was just dozing off I think and then someone starts welding or something outside of my apartment at 1:30. I really don't know what he was doing but it was either some kind of grinding noise or engine revving. Actually, it was an engine, probably some bike. I thought welding though would add something even more ridiculous to it. I don't know how long it went on. I was semi-conscious the whole night. Maybe I should just become an ether addict or something. I imagine it's about the same and should at least be enjoyable. After the bike, there was arguing, and then neighbour's lights and more arguing. My curtains aren't as awesome as I thought but I can at least move right next to the window now and I'm fine. I used to be able to sleep the whole night through and now I just wake up and want to cry. Too bad no one will come to feed me or bring me drinks now. Perhaps, I'm regressing. I don't actually want to cry, I'm just really angry.

I'm a much angrier person these days. I've never been pissed off so many consecutive days. Usually, I'm so mellow and will get depressed and bored but not angry. I think it's only every few months that I have something to be angry about. I come home from work now and feel like just being mad for several hours. I think it's related to my sleep. Let's say I have a magical fuse and it's very long. Usually it's unlit but if it is lit it will burn down very slowly so that the explosion is very unlikely. It also grows back to it's original length everynight or overtime anyway. These days it's much easier to light, it burns much faster, and continues to shorten at night or at least grows back very very little. I've hardly exploded though. I wonder what day it will be where I finally just become the hulk or something. These days, I just lean my head back and take a deep breath and then shake it in a sad, kind of annoyed, yet slightly amused kind of way. How could this be my life? If I ever do kill anyone in this country though it will very likely be on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday night between 7:25 and maybe 10. Most likely a Wednesday. It's been building and there's no weekend to immediate look forward to.

I was thinking about it yesterday though as I was walking through E-Mart looking for a shower curtain (for a kitchen window) and some index cards, how did I end up walking through E-Mart looking for a shower curtain and index cards in suburban Daegu, Korea? I know you could probably stop at just about any time in life and ask yourself that. It's something you probably never thought you would do but it just seemed very weird to me. I wonder where I will be a year from now.

It is a bit pathetic though that I spent more time thinking about potential vacation destinations than I did making enormous decisions. Korea only being one. I considered it and thought it was too impractical an idea. I had just got back home from a trip to South America and was going to find a serious job in Edmonton and just live at home for a year to make more travel money. I, my parents rather, had just got me a new car. There was no real reason to leave. I was prepared to have a boring year at home. I had a bad interview, went back to that ad I saw, and thought I'd apply. What would be the harm? I'd probably never hear anything anyway. Less than 24 hours later, I had a call. At first the idea of teaching English in a foreign country seemed appealing. It had everything I was looking for except it was in South Korea. I had this 3rd world view of Korea in my mind for some reason. I think it stems from the fact that they eat dogs. I just imagined a big alley with some stray dogs and garbage. I knew it wasn't really what Korea was like but that was my image. Then, and this will be embarrassing to admit. I saw Lost and there was a Korean couple. I don't think I'd seen anything set in Korea before. Anyways, it made me reevaluate my view of Korea. Maybe it really was a very developed country, practically like Japan (never having been to Japan). I've realised that it's probably in between. At least, my little part of town in Dalseogu. Even though Tokyo is probably just a bunch of bright lights it really does make it seem more modern. I wonder if my opinion would be different if I was walking through a very central urban street everyday instead of walking through a series of alleyways everyday to get to work. It's depressing walking 10-15 minutes without seeing much life. I walk through 2 little parks on my way to work. Those parts are alright but the other 10 minutes are quite ugly. I think they have some trees and whatnot but they are all behind big walls so I don't see any of it. Concrete and not much glass isn't pretty to look at. How did I end up here? Not Korea, just this train of thought.

Anyways, I contemplated Korea for a couple days and then all of the sudden I'd signed a contract.

I had a strange experience today. I was going back to work after my Korean lessons. I was going to be there 5 minutes later than I would've liked and I crossed the one street I cross everyday that isn't a big intersection. Anyways, I crossed and then this woman yells out from her car 'excuse me.' I had walked in front of her car to cross since there aren't lights on that part of the street. She would've never hit me but I thought either she wants me to help her with directions or was concerned that I might have thought she rude for not slowing down more or something. That was really only when she didn't get out of car right away. She just stops her car in the middle of the street really and comes over to talk to me. It turns out she has started learning English. I'm so naive sometimes. Of course, it had nothing to do with the situation only that I look like an English speaker. Anyways, I have a hard time being forward with people so now this 40 something woman in my area has my email address and I have her cell number. It's really just easier sometimes to give people what they want. I should've never stopped. I'm going to start pretending I'm French, Spanish, or Danish from now on. I hear there are a few Russians in Korea but mostly in port cities. If only I knew a more Russian sounding language. It would be hard explaining what a Dane would be doing living in Korea without any English skills. My Danish is pretty bad at the moment but it's good enough to confuse a Korean. French is probably a better option. It sounds less Germanic and I speak it better but I don't know, French isn't exciting to me.

Also, the other day I was at the gym and my middle aged guy was there and this other guy. Short story, the other guy had a camera and now he's going to email pictures to me. What a strange place where I could end up having pictures taken by some guy that I've hardly spoken to just for looking the way I do. I've spoke to him twice before. Once he asked where I from and the next time to tell me I should eat protein. He says hello to me though. Sometimes I wonder if I'm this minor celebrity in my area. That woman told me she had seen me several times before. I don't know how. I would've never thought I'd make a memorable impression before. I guess it's because I'm white. I am much more noticeable than a local I guess which is probably why I'd never recognize her if I'd seen her before.

I guess that's all for today. 친고를 만나요 (Probably completely wrong).

Curtains are awesome!

I was feeling very irritable and pissed off during my kindergarten class today. I keep waking up around 5 in the morning and have a really hard time falling back asleep.I just spend about 3 hours in a some state of semi-consciousness having dreams about people suddenly being my bed or something happening in the kitchen, 3 feet from behind my head. It's really not an efficient use of 3 hours. It's scheduled as sleep time though. I don't seriously do that but I go to bed at 1 or so thinking that gives me 7 hours of sleep, not the 3-4 hours that it actually becomes. Going to bed earlier doesn't really help either since I can't sleep in this heat most of the time. I still don't know whether it's heat or light that keeps getting me up. Anyways, after I finished my one kindergarten class, I came home and threw some laundry in the machine and went to E-Mart to buy some curtains and or an AC unit.

It turns out AC units are ridiculously overpriced. Well, maybe not overpriced but way too expensive for me for thhe 2-3 months I'd imagine using it. I'm not going to $250 a month for the stupid thing that doesn't even include installation or energy costs, etc. Some were over 2 million won. That's a month salary, well more even and my gross pay too. I found some decent curtains though. They're kind of wooden and there's space enough to let air in but keep out all the heat. I swear one minute after I had them up I felt so much better. It wasn't so light or bear and felt cooler even. Then I realised that there's a pipe over my kitchen windows, for the gas line so I threw an old blanket over that for the time being. I'll probably get some shower curtains or something and use the pipe as a rod. I don't know why it hadn't occured to me before. Maybe madness is necessity for brilliance. I was seriously going batty. On good nights, I'd get maybe 6 hours and that's on the weekend. Plus, I figure shower curtains are cheap and it won't matter so much if oil splatters on them. Much less likely to catch on fire too. I never used to right in fragments. I wonder why there's such a disconnect between written and spoken English. People speak in fragments all the time. Maybe I just don't know the correct punctuation or something. Seriously though, what you would write formally and what you would just say are completely different. I'm sure people could easily spend 5 minutes speaking in what would be considered an obscenely long run-on sentence.

So anyways, I have curtains and they actually match stuff. They were only 23,000 too or $23 US or $29 Cdn probably. Putting money into my own currency depresses me. It never feels quite as cheap as it did initially. The won to US dollars is so easy. I just have to remove some 0's. I hardly ever take the time to put it into Canadian. Maybe I'm spending too much money. Probably at least 1.25 times as much at least or whatever the current exchange is. They are decent though and cover both sides of my double window. I did buy two and that was the whole point. They don't exactly go to the floor like the saleswoman told me or at least I think that's what she was telling me. I was going to get another one for over one of my sliding glass doors since it's right behing my head but it still leave about 15-20 cms so there would still be a gaping hole for light to shine right behind my head. I hope they sell shower curtains in Korea. I don't think most Koreans have them. Actually, I have never seen them but seeing as I've only been in a few apartments the sample size isn't all that large. They'd be nice though. Easy to clean and I could cut them without feeling guilty.

I was going to go back to E-Mart tonight and finish my wild and crazy curtain binge but I went to Matt and Renee's to retrieve the umbrella I'd left there on Friday night. I ended up staying a couple hours. We had pizza, watched some bad TV, and bitched about work. I met some girl who really hates Korea and can't wait to leave. Renee hates it here too actually. I've decided there are many things that I don't like but I don't really hate it. Sadly, the thing I hate most is my job where I end up spending most of my time and the lack of social interaction (which has been radically different the past week or so) but there's still enough interesting things or potentially interesting things that make me not dislike the place. It could be better, which is basically always the case anyway, but I know it could be a lot worse. Anyways, I might go back to E-Mart tomorrow night. Of course, these curtains might not help a damn and there's no way I'm spending more than $200 on any kind of fan. There was something there for 115,000 that I thought about getting. It was larger than a fan and had all these buttons but I think it was just a glorified air pushing machine that didn't cool anything at all. I've been swearing a lot more in my head too. I'm not a big swearer but these past few weeks I've been finding the inability to use other words or euphemisms. Instead of, oh I wish so and so would behave better in class I've been finding that I only say, fucking so and so, I hate him/her. I'm sure anyone who knows me could attest to the fact that an obscenity uttered more than once a month is very excessive. Some people, I don't think have ever heard me swear except for when I'm drunk and say things for shock value. Sometimes, I think I've got to outgrow this 11 year old mentality about my own use of obscenities. I really have absolutely no problems with anything anyone else says but it always feels so shocking if I use that kind of language. My mother would be proud I suppose. Then I think that I'm just reserving swear words to maintain their power. Like 'oh, Tyler, said the s-word. He must really be upset,' but then I just go and say it in my head but remain silent or make some strange comment. Maybe I should make a resolution to swear at least 2-5 times a day. You know, a couple shits and a fuck or something. I feel like I'm not optimizing my use of the language. Profanity though, my Jesus's and God's aren't a problem. I have no problem taking the lord's name in vain. I remember once, Armand Weller, this girl I went to school with went on some big kick in grade 5 or 6 about not saying 'oh, my god' or anything. I think I actually have a vague recollection of receiving a bible in school. I remember we used to say the daily prayer in grade one either before or after the national anthem. Talk about seperation of church and state. One of the relicts of growing up in a small French Canadian town, well formerly French Canadian communities. It is the only officially bilingual town in Alberta though. My parents were among the first wave of city folk to come and destroy most of that. Until like 1978 or something there were only 700 or so people in the town and today it's over 8000, I think. It definitely doesn't feel like the place where I grew up anymore. There's an actual grocery store there now and fast food restaurants. Actual chains within the past couple years, not just some local grad starting her own burger place. I wonder if Burger Boss is still there. If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could find the exact place where I grew up if you googled it but I won't tell you. I will tell you that I used to live in the golden house near the old Big Way. It was a pretty recognizable house back when Big Way was the only place in town where you could buy cheese. I would've said milk but technically I think there were always gas stations to sell milk. It's funny we had all these weird little businesses but there seemed to be an over abundance of gas stations, liquor stores, and dentists. Only 2 banks, but at one point I think we had like 8 different liquor stores. It had to do with privatisation and know I don't know how many there are. I find it hard to believe that it was once the government supplying us with all our booze. It was a decent place to grow up. I think in either 1995 or 1997 or sometime around then were ranked as the safest place to live in the province. Anyways, that my bit about my home town. I should probably go to bed now so I can make it to Korean class tomorrrow having prepared all my classes in the afternoon between 9-10. Not likely to happen but I can imagine it happening.

I feel funny

I had an action packed weekend. This is where I contradict myself and tell you it wasn't that action packed. I went out both nights though. Very unusual. I went to work on Friday, on my national holiday. It's funny, I haven't been home for Canada Day since 2002. I doesn't feel like such a special day for me anymore. Not having fireworks makes it a regular day. My classes went fine I guess except for maybe 2. My Nobel class has a new kid in it. Dan. So now I have a class of 7 boys. Everyone wanted to sit next to him and one of them ended up crying. I don't know why. The new kid doesn't seem all that interesting to me. I took so much time trying to control them. They had 3 pages of easy math to do. I was going to give them a game to play for the last 15 minutes of class. I forgot the game though. Anyways, it took them such a long time to do. Actually, I don't think it took them that long but I decided to make them go through each answer. I figure the only reason I could possibly be teaching a math class is to improve their fluency with numbers. So they had to tell me numbers like 592, 934, 253, etc. It was a bit painful but it was probably better than them going nuts for 10 minutes at the end of class with nothing to do. I really hate one of the kids in that class. I probably shouldn't say that but oh, well. It's like he enjoys being stupid and when the bell rings he runs out of there so fast. I was going to make a simile but I can't think of a reason to actually run that fast. Maybe it's because he looks so happy to leave. Running away from some kind of disaster usually isn't associated with smiling faces. I love it when that bell rings too. Of course all it means is that I have another class in 5 minutes.

I hate a really great class that day too. I love my 503 class. Mary, Lisa, Lize. All of them are good but Sami who speaks only in Korean for most of the class. He's not really a problem though. I felt like I was on fire. They were asking questions and I was giving them great explanations. I think that's the only class where most of them actually enjoy learning English. There's usually only 1-2 students per class with an actual interest. They don't come everyday. Maybe that better. There's nothing like my 403 class to make me feel like such an utter failure. They speak Korean, don't listen to me, hit each other, basically every kind of unacceptable behaviour. I've given up on them. I also have a new book to teach them. I don't like it. It had maybe 5 words on the page and some flags. How am I suppose to possibly stretch this into 40 minutes. I preferred the Smile book. There was more to teach, I was given more pages, and there was a workbook. At least I could pretend to teach by giving them the answers and have them copy them down. The only girl in that class actually wants to learn so maybe I'll just teach her during the class. There's one boy in there. His sister is in the most advanced class and speaks really well. Her brother though can barely put a sentence together and spends the class drawing in his textbook. He doesn't understand what I tell them. If they don't start early, there's no point giving them a foreign teacher. They don't pick up on as much and should know enough about language, what a verb, adjective, etc. are. I feel it's useless for them to be there with me. I gave them a test though and corrected it in front of them. I was surprised they realised they had made mistakes. I would have thought it would all be meaningless to them. Maybe I'm wrong. I hate one kid in that class too. He used the biggest word I'd ever heard any Korean use. He asked me if I was transgendered. Fucking David. He also hits the others and is a few years older than them. It's also the last class of the day and hardly anyone is left in the school, especially on Friday, so there are even fewer things that could be done about it.

After my painful class, I went over to Matt and Renee's. There was some Canada day party going on at this bar and we were getting a ride. I invited Alex and of course, instead of going to the bar right away, we made all these detours. I also told him to go to the wrong bar. It all worked out in the end I suppose. It was alright I guess. The music was a bit too loud but it was bettter than what I usually do on Friday nights. I had a bit too much to drink. I stopped at the expensive 24 convenience store and got something to drink for the next morning. I don't know why she doesn't sell water. It's all flavoured water and sports drinks. Last time I drank too much, I laid in my bed knowing that I needed to drink something but needed to get up and go downstairs for that. I bought a bottle of coke. I really don't like coke all that much but somehow I end up drinking a lot of it throughout the day. I never thought that caffeine had much of an effect on me but I feel like I need it to get through my afternoon classes. It's so tiring for so many different reasons.

I've resolved to try to live a bit healthier. I've been going to bed too late. I haven't been eating enough. I don't drink enough water. This weekend I feel like I had more alcohol than anything else. Actually, I probably did. I just feel so tired sometimes that the prospect of making food to eat seems like to much effort to bother. I could list what I've had to eat in the past few days but it's a bit too disturbing how little I've been eating. I went out for pizza last night and I should've been so hungry but I could barely finish 3 slices of pizza. My stomach has shruken I think and I'm becoming immune to the sensation of hunger. I'm going to try to have at least 2 decent meals a day. Something like that anyway. Also more water.

I've managed to go 2-3 days without TV. Actually, that might be a bit of an overstatement. It's Sunday afternoon and I haven't watched TV since Friday night but it wasn't at my house so I don't know whether to count that or not. I can't remember if I watched any on Friday morning while I was getting dressed. Actually, I don't think I did. Let's see at what time today I break down. I've been listening to music instead of having the TV on for background noise.

I spent most of the day yesterday on my bed. There's really nowhere else to place myself in the apartment though. I have a couch on the other side of the room but can't imagine a reason to sit on it. I spend my life so close to the ground now. The other apartments I been too are based like 3-4 feet above the floor. I'm maybe 1-2 feet. I don't even have a chair. Of course, I don't have table either, well I do but a chair would put my knees about 20cm above it. There's nowhere to put one. I really don't mind it but it's very strange to see where other people live.

Last night, I was supposed to go to some party at a hotel on the outskirts of the city. Actually, I have no idea where it was. That's just what I was told by a source who it turns out is not 100% reliable. We had to take a bus there. I ended up missing the bus but wasn't too upset about it. I really wasn't in the mood to drink for another night. I didn't have energy energy and just kind of droned along for the whole night for probably the reasons I listed above. The heat too played a factor. We went downtown and tried to find a restaurant so we could get something to eat. We went to three of them that were just closing. Why do restaurants in Korea close at 930 or 1030 on a Saturday night? They were western restaurants. I'm also a bit embarrassed to go to western restaurants. The chains anyway. I was caught at McDonalds the other day but a coworker. It was only my 3rd time there. I wasn't hungry on Friday (I think this was Friday) but I knew I had to eat something. McDonald's just was there and I wanted something I could eat without feeling hesitant. On Thursday, I went out to a Korean restaurant without a Korean. We had this giant bowl full of food that was much too spicy for me to actually be edible. Good thing I wasn't too hungry despite not having had anything to eat. Yes, at least 2 decent meals a day. It was interesting though and gave me a chance to refill my fluid levels. Yesterday, in the cab ride home, I just felt like a machine. I had no mental energy left. I watched Around the World in 80 Days. I'm happy to say it wasn't my choice. I wanted to see Mission: Cleopatra but it was probably just as bad.

Maybe it's all this social activity that is burning me out. I used to come home and just laze around for a few hours and go to bed. Actually, I was going to the gym for like an hour a day. I'd get too tired by Tuesday to go on Wednesday though. It's probably very good of me to go. I don't know why I'm writing so much today. It's probably just an excuse for me to avoid getting out of bed. That's right, I type in bed. I think I'm leaving elbow grooves in the mattress. I really should get up though, do some laundry, clean my apartment, go grocery shopping, pretend to look at curtains and a/c units so that I can still complain and avoid criticism for doing nothing. Maybe I will find something. I could use my savings from my utilities. Matt and Renee spend over $100 dollars a month on electricity I think. Mine is about $10. I feel as though I might have some giant bill that goes directly to my employer and is just deducted automatically. Utilities are cheap here I think. I don't know what my water bill is though and my cable is probably a bit too much. It includes internet though and I need at least one or the other to maintain some semblance of sanity. Maybe they are having the opposite effect.

Waiting for water to boil

I've decided I'm wasting too much time on my computer and with TV. I've become an expert on korean commercials, well not exactly but I already know what commercial it's going to be from the first 2 seconds of music. I could be doing so many more productive things. I could do my laundry or clean my apartment, or wander around my neighbourhood aimlessly. Actually, I don't think I'd do the last one. My neighbourhood isn't all that interesting. I really do keep expecting to happen across something totally amazing but that hasn't really happened. I really don't know what I think will happen. I don't know if I've said this before but I secretly I believe that I have a destiny. Believed is maybe a bit strong, can you subconsciously assume?

I'm actually not really a wordsmith, good thing I was never an english major. It's also good I'm only teaching language and not literary devices. I had to teach 3 math classes today actually. I don't understand why we teach that. Isn't math the only universal language? I assume it has something to do with learning numbers and I only teach it twice a month (to each class that is).

Anyways, TV is taking up too much of my time but I don't know what to fill it up with. I could read but it feels like it makes solitude more intense. I need to listen to something in order to read. Maybe I'm a stimulus junkie. I wrote stimulation junkie before but that has sexual overtones, which is completely unrelated. I tend to have the tv on while listening to something all the while doing something else. I'd feel like an energy glutton but my electric bill was only about $10 this month. Maybe it's because I'm only home for a couple hours a day that don't involve sleeping that is. I wonder how much energy this fan is consuming. It's really just something rotating endlessly so I can't imagine it's tons of energy and it's completely justifiable. It's so freaking hot.

I was never a sweater before coming here. I remember when I was amazed at having a bit of wetness on the small of my back. Yesterday, I was at the gym and my hair actually started to get wet. I've also felt beads of sweat. That happened maybe once before I moved here and it was something really intense. Why is it that so many things have sexual overtones? It's definitely unpleasant. I can't even sleep at night anymore. I did have a dream last night though. I forget what it was about exactly. Sometimes, I feel like dreams are the only proof of actual sleep. Well, that's not true. I remember being on a bus once with a bunch of Australians it Turkey who there for Anzac day. I didn't know them, we were just all on a tour. Anyways, it was a bit strange. They showed a movie on the bus. It was, well I forget the title, some Bruce Willis movie about terrorism in New York so they lock up all the Muslims. What a weird movie to show in a Muslim country. Granted they aren't ultra-muslims but still strange. Some man also got out of his seat and just sat on the floor beside my seat to watch the movie. It felt like a dog or something sitting beside me. I felt like I should've pet him or something. Anyways, it was an overnight bus and you never feel like you sleep on those. I've been on more that I'd like. This is a long drawn out way to say that drooling is also a sign of sleep. There was seriously this huge dark spot on my shirt. Realising you've been drooling is always so embarrassing. Can you even be embarrassed about something if no one even finds out or is that just a sign you're too self-conscious.

I would write more but I'm off to meet someone. Sexual overtones or no?

It is a small world after all

I had actually did something with someone this weekend. Last weekend was pretty bad. I didn't end up doing anything. I was supposed to go out on Saturday night. Matt and Renee invited me and said they'd call on Saturday. I felt like such a loser waiting for the phone to ring. I could've called them I suppose but would've been even more depressed to find that they weren't home. They didn't end up calling me at all. I was pretty upset about it that night but by Monday, I was only mildly so. I think it bothers me that they didn't even apologise for it. Just an 'oh, if you didn't guess, we didn't end up going out on Saturday.' Well, thanks for telling me. There must be some couple-mentality where they just forget that other people don't always have someone to hang out with. I could've made other plans, too but didn't because I thought I already had plans.

I did something with them on Friday night. We went out for hamburgers and then to a movie, Batman Begins. It was alright but the movie was either too long or the seats were too uncomfortable.

On Thursday we had a field trip. We took the kindies to an ancestral tablet house. It was a little disappointing. We didn't even see any tablets. It was alright, I guess. It would've been nicer if I could understand what the tour guide was saying but alas, the field trips aren't really for me. Painfully obvious. I just end up leading my 7 melons behind some other class. I have the urge to call them melonheads sometimes, not in a bad way...well just a little bit negative. It was better than the last field trip. I never did talk about that. We went to a children's museum. It was fun science, I guess. Pulleys, mirrors, and what not. I remember when that stuff was fun to watch. I've lost a lot my childhood wonder I think. After that was alright, just tiring. It was a bit too hot and I was exhausted all afternoon. In July, we are going swimming. I am just really hoping the kids know how to dress themselves. I don't want to spend 30 minutes helping kids put on their socks.

On the field trip, while we were on the bus, I saw this guy that I had met at some eslcafe gathering. I feel so weird meeting people from the internet. I've only done it twice. That time and yesterday. The first time there were about 10 people. Anyways, I'm not sure that was him but then I saw the same guy on Saturday and made me think that it must have been him. The universe is funny sometimes. I really don't believe in fate or destiny or any of that but sometimes I wonder. Not about that guy though. A couple weekends ago, I went downtown to try to find this korean language school. I knew the general area and walked around but couldn't find anything. I went to a PC bang and tried looking for directions. I ended up finding some posting online about some guy wanting to meet some people. I wouldn't have replied but he was the same age and his wording sounded a bit like mine. I ended up emailing him. We tried to schedule a few things but they didn't really work out (these were the other potential plans I could've made for last Saturday).

We tried on Tuesday. He told me the Starbucks beside Dong-A Dept store downtown. I found it on my map and got there. The starbucks was kind of inside the store, in a corner. I thought, that's strange I thought he said beside. Anyways, he didn't show up and I just flipped through a Korean magazine and left. It must have looked strange to other people since I couldn't read and didn't order anything. It turns out there is another Dong-A dept store, that also has a starbucks, that is also downtown. What are the odds of that? The thought had never even occured to me. Anyways, I met him yesterday and the other starbucks. It turns out we are seperated my only one person in the 6 degree sense. He actually went to the same college as a friend of mine and we know a few of the same people. Well 3, since I don't know that many people at Whittier. This friend of mine, let's call her Smalia, had told me she knew someone else who was teaching in Korea. I thought that's funny but Ijust figured that he would probably be somewhere else in the country since there are english teachers all over the country. He mentionned that he had gone to school in Los Angeles and asked where. I half-expected him to say Whittier and he did. I was even at Whittier the day he graduated, or maybe it was the day before. I think I was and was taken to the airport early or something. Anyways, very strange. It also turns out he was at the same bar that opened last weekend, the one I would've gone to but that's more of a small Daegu story and isn't that exciting. We ended up spending all day together. We had coffee, played some boardgames at Jumanji (they have boardgame cafes here), had supper, and drank quite a bit at quite a few places actually. The boardgame place was strange. We played the Game of Life in Korean. It wasn't much fun so we switched to ones without words. I sucked at geister and was unlucky in Labyrinth but I was the chicken cha cha cha king. My capilisation is very inconsistent. One of those rules I teach but don't always follow myself. My printing has improved and my little u's are back to having tails. I lost them so long ago but if I miss them the kids tell me they are wrong. My 7's with the crosses are wrong too.

I got home last night at 3. I was pretty drunk too. It is too hot here though. My apartment is 32 degrees all the time now. I didn't turn my fan on last night and woke up at 10. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep well until maybe september. I might get used to it. Yesterday, I didn't have much luck sleeping either. There was some yelling korean man right at my window, well outside on the street. I don't know why he was yelling but it really sounded like he doing some kind of military exercise. I really wish I had air conditioning. My fan just isn't cutting it in this heatbowl of a town. You'd think it would be mandatory in a city like this. Then again, I don't think I even have a smoke detector or a fire extinguisher. Maybe I have one somewhere.

Today, I haven't done much at all. I've started a load of laundry. I've been awake for 7 hours too. I need to go downstairs and buy some water but this heat has zapped away my energy (mind you, alcohol is partly responsible) and it doesn't make me want to put real clothes on.

Only one more thing, I know these posts are too long, I have some hardboiled eggs that I just keep on the ledge. Yesterday I went to have one and instead of being white, the egg was this unnatural green colour. How did this happen? Is it something in the egg? Was it the water? Or the heat? It wasn't a rotten green colour it was like a neon green easter egg colour. I just don't understand how the universe works.

Meet Erica

Erica
Originally uploaded by blueshoewhotwo.

It's been awhile since my last post. There are so many other things that I should probably be doing. I have all this work stuff that I should be doing. I haven't finished grading all my tests. I need to do evaluations for about 26 students. I also need to do phone teaching and have to call 26 students I think. Not the same 26 though, well a lot of them are the same. Unfortunately, or luckily enough, I forget all the stuff I needed at work so I can't do it tonight. Well, I could do some of it but I've decided to take the night off. This is such a busy and stressful week. I have to grade tests, write evaluations, do an open class for all the kindie mommies, another presentation, a teacher's meeting, and do phone teaching, and teach all my regular classes. Usually, I have to do only the very last thing.

Oh, and my vacation is being cut short so that we can help the school move all their stuff. This is completely unfair. First of all, my vacation "week" is spread over 2 half weeks so instead of being able to take 2 weekends, there's just the one. My boss told us not to make plans for the first 2 days of the vacation. The schools been there for as long I know of and they happen to move during MY vacation. I'm entitled to those 5 days off and shouldn't have to do anything during those days. If only I was more assertive. I feel like just telling him I won't be coming but most of you know I'm not that assertive. I also don't want to make trouble but that's my vacation damn it. A total of 5 days and if I fly anywhere than it's really only 3 full days. Enough about that though.

I had an open class this week with my Melon class. I thought it went alright but what do I know. Some of the mommies had some complaints. I don't speak loudly enough, slow enough, and my volume declines too much over the course of my sentence. The kids don't have a problem with it. If they don't understand, I do speak louder and slower. I wonder if it's just because some of the mothers thought they should be able to understand what I was saying and couldn't. Who knows? I'm also too nice and too friendly with the kids or in other words aren't strict enough. That's all because of Andrew. He's my newest kid. He's completely thrown off the class dynamic. He's been there 2 weeks and is a bit of a problem child. I gave them an activity and Andrew took the box and dumped all the materials on the table. I guess I didn't get angry enough with him. What am I going to do with his mother right in the room? Then I'd just get a complaint that I was too strict or too angry. He and Justin are becoming fast friends too. Justin, I'm afraid will be turned to the dark side.

Justin's been annoying me a bit lately too. Kids are just allowed to come into the faculty room as much as they want. I sit right by the wall with the door on that same wall. They open the door and poke me. There are at least of my students that do that to me. It's so annoying, especially if I'm doing something. I also wish I never taught them 'tickle, tickle.' Now, my Melons do it to each other can get mad. They say "Teacher, Paul tickle tickle" or Paul's tickling me for those not fluent in the art of broken English. I almost don't even notice how bad my kids' grammar is or their pronunciation. Their writing reminds me though. Stuff like 'day' instead of they. Grading takes so long, I meant to do it today but I got sick of doing it. It's exhausting when they make so many mistakes. I only like grading the smart kids' stuff.

Maybe I should go get a pizza since I'm being so lazy today. I went to the gym yesterday and the day before that. I could still go today but I don't feel like it. Yes, I'm going to get a pizza.

Mmmmm, yummy pizza will be coming soon. If only I could use my willpower for useful things. I could've said, yes I should go to the gym tonight. Actually, something weird happened there yesterday. That guy, Chen, was there. Somehow I ended up giving him my phone number and have general plans to do something with his family the first weekend of July. I really need to meet some people. I shouldn't be hanging out with middle-aged Koreans who are just using me to practice their English.

I think I'll probably end up taking some Korean classes downtown. It's twice a week and only required me running downtown for 2 hours during my lunchbreak. It might be a little hectic but I think I can do it. I haven't done anything in weeks. Actually, once the school moves at the end of July, it will be a lot better for me. The school will only be a 5 minute (well 7, I timed it) walk from my house instead of 15. It's also right next to a station so I don't have to worry about the 15 minute walk to the subway station during my lunchbreak. Also, if I'm feeling very lazy I could just catch the subway one stop from home. It would take just as long, I think, waiting for the train to get there but it would require virtually no walking.

I'm probably going to be going downtown this weekend. One of the local teachers, who Matt and Renee haven't introduced me to, has a friend who is opening some kind of bar. I should get a chance to meet a few other foreigners. I wouldn't mind meeting Koreans if it weren't for the thought that I was being used. I'd much rather be used for company.

Originally, I thought I could make it until the end of my contract. It was my goal at least but when my two bosses were telling me about the complaints that some of the mommies had (I just like to call them the mommies) I realised that I'm really not cut out for teaching. I'm probably not outgoing or funny enough. Nor do I have the energy to add extras things to make the class more fun or entertaining. Well, not for 6 classes a day at least. I'd be at the school working non-stop for 10 hours a day. At least, I imagine I would be. Maybe, I wouldn't but I don't want to put in the effort to try.

Part of it has to do with my social life though. I don't like having weeks where have no time to do anything outside of work and weekends where I have way too much time and nothing to do. If my social life doesn't pick up, I don't imagine I'd be able to finish my contract. I think I need something to look forward to on the weekend aside from the idea of being away from work. I really shouldn't be writing during my busiest week. It really makes me complain a lot more. I don't love my job but I don't hate it either. It's so-so. Plus my never having had a full time job, makes me feel overworked. I do prefer being a student to a teacher though. I'd be so much better if I could control the students. Renee said the other day that her open class was more stressful than any presentation she ever had before. That is so true. There are so many variables teaching kids. Amy said my lesson plan and the timing was great at least.

So after all of that, I'll tell you Erica. She's in my Melon class. This picture is from a field trip that I never told you about. Erica's very cute but she never says all that much. She answers my questions and everything but never tries to tell me anything else like the other kids. The first day while I was observing, she and I played little games behind Amy's back. Whenever she sees me though, she saws Shawn Teacher and she giggles. She's very friendly but just not a talker, at least in English. She's also the sticker page queen. I'm sure I've talked about the sticker pages. After so many stickers they get a prize. Erica's always asking for her stickers. She also stays behind and collects everyone's page. Then she puts them all in the folder with hers on top. It's all very cute though. She just loves those pages. Actually, she showed me her page a few times. She was so proud and tell me how many stickers until her prize. She doesn't create many problems in class but if something bad happens to her she gets a little violent. Probably from having 2 older siblings. That's mostly how she loses herr stickers. She's also really into flashcards and loves any flashcard game. She also takes Paul as her partner because he couldn't care less and she just takes all his cards. Maybe, I'll introduce you to Paul next.

A whole year now

Ok so maybe it hasn't been a year. I am another year older though. I feel so old now. 23 just seems like such an adult age to be. I'm 4 years older than a 19 year old. I've managed to have my last 3 birthdays on different continents though. That's impressive I think. I wonder if I can keep that going. Well, I know I can't given the limited number of continents.

My parents have come and gone now. I think I've posted once since they've come. We didn't really do that many exciting things since I only saw them for about 2-3 hours a day most of the time. We went to Gyeonju on Sunday. It was too much walking I think. We also went to a museum only because we all felt obligated. It was alright though. It was a bit strange that the English translations were only 3 lines when the Korean was maybe 20. The Chinese was short too but given that each word is only one symbol long (as far as I know about Chinese) I don't think it was quite as concise as English. Some Koreans also askedif we had seen the bible. They gave us a pamphlet of a paradise where you can handfeed bears. Matt and Renee have Jehovah's Witnesses that pay them regular visits. I'm glad I don't have any of those.

Then I was back to work. The nice thing was that I was eating out every night. Lots of yummy western food. It was mostly a bunch of meat. Bennigan's, Outback Steakhouse, hamburgers. One night my boss took us out one night for authentic Korean food. That was a good night. I burnt my tongue on some grilled pork though. It hard to tell how hot something is when it's still on the grill and you only have chopsticks and don't have the skills to test it. I did it a few times actually.

I was pretty tired by the end of the week. I was still sick. Friday was nice because I got to sleep in a bit later than usual. I had to wake up earlier on Saturday so we could catch the train. I bought the wrong fare on the way to the station. It was only one past my usual downtown stop. I put in the coin and then the gates closed and yelled at me in Korean. Well not really yell. I wasn't that embarassed actually. A guy came out and I knew I owed him an extra 100 won (10c). It seems a bit ridiculous for a dime. Then we hopped on the train and headed for Busan. I slept most of the way. As soon as we got there, we jumped in a cab and headed for the Marriott right on the beach. It's the most popular bit of coastline in the country. It was alright but nothing stellar. I felt upscale though staying at the Marriott. Usually, the most upscale place I stay with my parents in the Holiday Inn. It was only because my parents were too afraid to show up somewhere without reservations. I've never been worried about that. It was a long weekend though and once we got there, there were no extra rooms. Or at least the kind we wanted. We had a room with 2 twins and I got to sleep on a cot. It was still a lot more comfortable than my mattress in Daegu. I think I slept over 11 hours both nights we spent there. The days weren't that exceptional though. We just walked up and down the beach on a sidewalk that was semi under construction. We saw the little mermaid though. This one is more glamourous and bigger than thee one in Copenhagen but almost much less nice. We hiked for about 10 feet up to the top of this little hill. Somehow though, instead of going back the way we came, my mother and I were climbing over railings over rocks. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. My mom just didn't want to admit we couldn't climb down that way. We walked around that part of the city for a few hours. Mostly though it was walking on the beach between meals. A nice relaxing weekend but I didn't see very much. I'll have to go to downtown Busan some other time. Haeundae beach was very touristy. There were so many white people there. By so many I mean like 50 of 2000 probably. Some of them were so loud. Definitely American. Probably military. They made me embarassed to be white. Just loud and obnoxious, you know the type. They might have been Canadian but I doubt they were and prefer to remove myself from them by another step. We kept seeing the same white people though. Funny, how they just stand out so much more. I almost felt like I was Hawaii though only because of the hills, western chain restaurants and more white people than I had seen in a while. I was actually looking forward to going back to Daegu to get away from them. Only because I feel less representative here, if that makes sense. Just a white person instead of 'one of those white people.'

I think I'll close this chapter of the story and write more later. I always say that I will and then just start writing about something completely different. Maybe this weekend or tomorrow perhaps. I should've been grading some tests tonight. I made them too hard today. They took the whole class to finish and some didn't finish at all. Mostly, because they are slow (aka stupid). Actually, it's because they kept talking to each other instead of writing their tests. I don't feel that bad for them but I think I should probably let them work on the tests a bit more so they don't completely humiliate themselves. Some only did 3 of 5 pages. I have to make tests for so many classes this week. I'm looking forward to regular classes again.