School Clubs

Thursdays are a pretty easy day for me.  Very easy actually, but I do slightly more than just deskwarming all day.

In the morning, I'm charged with the duty of saving lives.  Well... not really, but I do have to stand outside and act as a crossing guard while simultaneously greeting the students with an endless stream of "Hello"s and "Good morning"s and maybe once out of every 15 students I can go as far as to ask "How are you?".  

I think my crossing guard duties are more about having a foreigner outside for the world to see, but I don't mind because every Thursday the Kim twins come and talk to me.  

They were in first grade last year and since Korea does not "officially" start English education in public schools until the 3rd grade (in first grade they only learn/practice English once a week - reviewing the alphabet, writing the letters and learning simply songs), this year I am not their teacher.  So the small chats we have each Thursday morning are something I really look forward to!  And aren't they so cute!?!

My only other duty on Thursdays is to run a reading club for 4th graders.  This is also pretty easy thanks to Dr. Seuss and Korea having zero copy-right laws (or at least none that apply to schools for the use of "educational purposes").  

After lunch we read about 10 pages from The Cat in the Hat, we've been at it for a while now (there are 60 pages!); but we have a specific process we follow:

1. the boys read the page and circle words they don't know (I usually have to stress that they have to circle words they don't know the meaning of - they're a pretty clever group of 4th graders and can easily read Dr. Seuss, but it's understanding that we're going for!)


2. one student reads the page aloud


3. words that were circled are translated


4. we go through the page, one line at a time -  I read a line in English, the boys and my co-teacher, Seoyeon, translate it into Korean, I read a line.... and so on

We should finish The Cat in the Hat by the end of June.  Slow and steady said the tortoise. 

However, today (5/31) I did not get to go to reading club.  Instead I had to monitor Kpop dance club.  

Let me just say: I love being a girl, I love girlie things, I even love Kpop.  But I do not love tween girls.  They squawk like chickens and for the most part are boy-crazy-annoyingly-loud-silly people (I admittedly am probably still all of these things, but I'm not a tween.  Sorry to those who knew me when I was).  Needless to say, I prefer Dr. Seuss and my group of boys.  

For an hour I watched as 9 girls practiced the dance to 'The Boys' by Girls' Generation and (sadly) imitated all the hip swings and booty bounces.  

Here's the dance they are learning.  I actually do like the song and Girls' Generation - just not as a tween performance.  Can't kids just be kids?!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9YFncRmZdM?wmode=transparent]

The Opposite of Loneliness

I saw this recently on one of the blogs I visit.  

I thought it was so ... yeah!  That's how I've felt, that's how I will definitely feel again in my life and that's a feeling that will never leave us.  

Even though my life isn't changing now, within a few months more people will be leaving Korea as others come in and life will once again be forced to shift.  

So I thought I'd share it because it's a great explanation of feelings that hold us together, build our families (both blood and friend) and hopefully make us all a bit more sensitive to the love that is always around us.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The piece below was written by Marina Keegan Yale ‘12 for a special edition of the News distributed at the class of 2012’s commencement exercises (in late May).  Keegan died in a car accident on Saturday (5/26).  She was 22.  

 

We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life.  What I’m grateful and thankful to have found [here], and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up [one day in the future] and leave this place.

It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together.  Who are on your team.  When the check is paid and you stay at the table.  When it’s four a.m. and no one goes to bed.  That night with the guitar.  That night we can’t remember.  That time we did, we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt. 

[This place] is full of tiny circles we pull around ourselves.  A cappella groups, sports teams, houses, societies, clubs.  These tiny groups that make us feel loved and safe and part of something even on our loneliest nights when we stumble home to our computers — partner-less, tired, awake.  We won’t have those [when we leave].  We won’t live on the same block as all our friends.  We won’t have a bunch of group-texts.

This scares me.  More than finding the right job or city or spouse – I’m scared of losing this web we’re in.  This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness.  This feeling I feel right now.

But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us.  They’re part of us and they are set for repetition as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn’t live in New York.  I plan on having parties when I’m 30.  I plan on having fun when I’m old.  Any notion of THE BEST years comes from clichéd “should haves…” “if I’d…” “wish I’d…”

Of course, there are things we wished we did: our readings, that boy across the hall.  We’re our own hardest critics and it’s easy to let ourselves down.  Sleeping too late.  Procrastinating.  Cutting corners.  More than once I’ve looked back on my High School self and thought: how did I do that?  How did I work so hard?  Our private insecurities follow us and will always follow us.

But the thing is, we’re all like that.  Nobody wakes up when they want to.  Nobody did all of their reading (except maybe the crazy people who win the prizes…).  We have these impossibly high standards and we’ll probably never live up to our perfect fantasies of our future selves.  But I feel like that’s okay.

We’re so young.  We’re so young.  We’re twenty-[X] years old.  We have so much time.  There’s this sentiment I sometimes sense, creeping in our collective conscious as we lay alone after a party, or pack up our books when we give in and go out – that it is somehow too late.  That others are somehow ahead.  More accomplished, more specialized.  More on the path to somehow saving the world, somehow creating or inventing or improving.  That it’s too late now to BEGIN a beginning and we must settle for continuance, for commencement.

When we came [here], there was this sense of possibility.  This immense and indefinable potential energy – and it’s easy to feel like that’s slipped away.  We never had to choose and suddenly we’ve had to.  Some of us have focused ourselves.  Some of us know exactly what we want and are on the path to get it; already going to med school, working at the perfect NGO, doing research.  To you I say both congratulations and you suck.

For most of us, however, we’re somewhat lost in this sea.  Not quite sure what road we’re on and whether we should have taken it.  If only I had [done this]… if only I’d gotten involved in [that]… if only I’d thought to apply for this or for that…

What we have to remember is that we can still do anything.  We can change our minds.  We can start over.  Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time.  The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical.  It’s hilarious.  We’re so young.  We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.

...

We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I’d say that’s how I feel [here].  How I feel right now.  Here.  With all of you. In love, impressed, humbled, scared. And we don’t have to lose that.

We’re in this together. Let’s make something happen to this world.

 

 

*I edited it to make it general and applicable to everyone's place and life wherever they are and whatever they're doing.

 

The Long Weekend

It's not quite Memorial Day here (Korean Memorial Day is June 6th (this year)) but we still had a long weekend; and for a very Asian reason. 

Buddha.

His birthday to be exact.  Happy Birthday Fat Man!! Thank you for the extra day and the beautiful weather we had.  

Here's a little look at how I spent my holiday (5/26-28) 

 

The majority of the weekend was spent on the beach (~7hrs each day!!) with a little day drinking.  

See the full gallery on Posterous

The weather was amazing; and thanks to it, my tan is starting off nicely this year! 

Sunday night, we celebrated Kyle's birthday with a few (more) cheap drinks on the beach before taking it to the bars.

See the full gallery on Posterous

But as I said, most of it was spent on the beach, and despite my raging-Soju-fueled-hangover we headed back to the beach for a bit more sun on Monday.  

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

 

*photos were taken with Instagram.  You can follow me at inroom 203

 

Demotion. Promotion. Termination.

It all started with a demotion.  "Meagan, you are not allowed to play volleyball this season.  You are an unfair advantage."

I'm a what?  I'm pretty sure I finished last season with stats so low no pick-up team would even choose me, but I'll hear this out.  Go on, how am I an unfair advantage?  Ohhhh because I'm... foreign.  

Officially, I was demoted because I'm a contract teacher and we have special skills that give us an advantage.  The gym teachers are also included in this category because they majored in sports.  However, my demotion was only partial.  I would not have to sit the season out thanks to some quick thinking and low numbers.  

My school's gym teacher attended a league meeting and pleaded our school's case - if the contract teachers are not allowed to play, Daepyung will not have enough players to participate in the league.  They thought it over and decided that contract teachers could play after all.  Yay!  We just had to play in spots that had lower offensive advantages.  Oh.  Bora, our gym teacher, was no longer an attacker - she was now our setter.  I was no longer strong side hitter - I was the libro.  

Demoted.

To all the libros out there, I mean no offensive.  I just haven't played much back row.  I was always partnered with a shorter, stronger passer.  So being told that all I was going to do was pass was not the greatest news to hear.  

But as they say: When life gives you lemons, throw them back.  Hahaha no, just kidding.  Make lemonade.  And I did.  I'd even say I made killing, because my demotion turned out to be a promotion in the amount of plays I was involved in.

Last season, being a hitter, I had to wait for the 3rd ball to hopefully, probably not, God willing, make its way to me. This didn't happen much.  But this season, as the libro, I started 90% of the plays.  

Promoted.

It did at times get a bit stressful.  Being told to cover 80% of the court, having your name called out when the ball was NOT yours, NOwhere near you and just a plain bad idea for you to go for it can start to weigh on you.  Eight other people are counting on you to start off every play, pass up every return volley and lead the team with pickups that leave you laid out on the floor.  I can't get there!!  I'm one person!  And moreover that is NOT MY BALL.  

Luckily, my school views volleyball matches as a source of enjoyment more than hardcore competition.  So even my bad returns were still cheered for, I was given endless high-fives and the Principal kept telling me over and over that she "believed in me".  Overall, a pretty good promotion.

But it was short lived.  Start to finish it all took less than a month.  3 weeks to be exact (5/7-5/25).  The 2012 season of elementary volleyball has now ended for the Daepyung Elementary School women's Fighting Giants with a record of 1-2.  

Season terminated.

Dang that's funny

Laugh out loud.  Rolling on the floor.  Laughing my ass off.  And all the other text-speak word shortcuts there are - this site deserves all of them!!  It is one of the most amazing things I've seen recently!

http://kikinitinkorea.tumblr.com/  

I don't know if it will be as funny to people not living in Korea, but for those of us here - it's so spot on I'm falling out of my bed, tears running down my face, sides splitting with laughter.  Ok, I'm not actually laughing that hard, but it's pretty freaking funny.

It so perfectly describes the ridiculousness that life can be living and working in Korea, and the pictures are just soooooo much better at explaining life here than words could ever be.  

I hope they continue to add more and more.  

 

I love this one

When my school tells me my classes are randomly cancelled for the day…

I break into...

Making A Happy Life

I've learned two things this week:

1. If you are a native English speaker, Koreans assume that you know the laws of grammar*


2. It is considered rude to say you are busy, but if you do not say you are busy you will only become busier!

I only just escaped a horrible week of mountainous work and stress!  I thought I was free.  I thought my pace had reset and I was at a comfortable level for managing classes, lesson planning and any extra small bits that came my way.  

What came my way was:

• a 5-page lesson plan my VP asked me to edit (which turned out to be for a Korean English teacher at another school!  WTF?!)


• editing 10 students' English essays about "Making a Happy Yeongdo" or "Making a Happy Mind/Life"


• and a request to turn in a complete and detailed lesson plan along with supporting materials for my summer camps (which are still 2 months away!)

What they got from me was a blank stare, while my mind ran through the conversation my lips should have been saying - "You want me to do what?!  By when?!  Oh that's funny.  Let's share a laugh!  No.  You're serious?  Well that sucks."  Instead I took the lesson plan, and the essays and drained all the ink from my red pen correcting the errors that occured everywhere!* 

I haven't gotten to the summer camp lesson plans yet.  Those I'm not too bothered about.  Last year I was never asked for a lesson plan.  I don't remember if we even talked about what I wanted to do.  I know we definitely did NOT talk about it two months out.  So for those, they can just wait.  Should they need anything from me, I'll write them a note saying "Still too soon to tell".  ^^

One gem that did come out of all of this was Jae's essay.  He's 12 years old (11 years old International age) and I love him.  He's an amazing student.  He tries so hard.  His English is great for his age/grade.  And he's so damn nice.  He's never annoying, loud or disruptive and he is never boastful about his skills.  Just chats to me in English, always smiles and thinks my jokes are funny.  What is not to love!?!

Here's his essay on "making a happy life".

jae.docx
Download this file

 

* I do NOT know the laws of grammar.  I start sentences with conjuctions, use a comma wherever I like and mix tenses like I do my alcohol.  It's all not good.

Untitled

Updated:

The Korean Bucket List link up top has now been updated.  A full list is given including information regarding the when's, what's and where's for each goal/accomplisment.

Also the About Me bit has been finished as well. 

Summer Plans

Come August I'll be walking, scooting, riding and sweating through the streets, fields, temples and sights of Vietnam and Cambodia.  I'm so excited!!  I cannot wait for every single minute and part of it!

I started planning this trip back in October of 2011 - I had originally thought I would visit these countries during my winter vacation, but plans changed and instead ideas of Nam-Cam were put to the side while I got busy planning for Thailand and Malaysia.  

Then when it came time to think of a summer (2012) holiday - the unused plans resurfaced, dates were adjusted and Nam-Cam was back on the table!!  All that was left was to find a travel partner.  Enter Brittany.

I contacted a few friends back home who had mentioned they were interested in coming to Asia and within a week's time travelmates were found and plans started to really be discussed.

Books were read and information was (higlighter) color-coded...

notes were taken...

and a preliminary itinerary has been devised.

 

In two months I'll be flying through the evening sky heading to Hanoi to meet up with Brittany (who actually decided to come to Asia all the way back in January - I did a little super-nerd-Facebook-backlogging to check) and two other travelmates.  

I really could not be more excited!

 

Subtitles? No?

Busan loves a show*.  They love a show just as much as they love a festival!  In fact they love them both so much that twice a year they've made festivals for the shows!

I've been fortunate enough to attend both show-festivals!  The first show-festival I attended was during the fall, when Busan hosts the International Film Festival (BIFF).  The second show-festival I went to was a few weeks back (4/4) at the Busan International Performing Arts Festival (BIPAF).  

At BIFF I saw an animated movie about a Parisian flea that gets transformed into a giant, musical version of his smaller self - 'A Monster in Paris'.  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkkNJYhZlHA?wmode=transparent]

Turning 26 has only increased my love for animated movies, so of course I thought it was brilliant.  The music was fun, the idea behind it was cute and it's a cartoon!!!  What's not to like!  It was awesome. 

My taste in entertainment genres is limited, but it does extend to other areas besides animated films.  Live performances.  Mainly musicals, but I have no hate and would not turn down a play, opera, dance, mime, magician... anything really.  I love performing arts.  

So when Jill asked me if I'd like to be her date to the opening ceremony/show of BIPAF I was so excited.  Yes, please!!  Take me now!  Right now!  When do we go!!  Yes, yes, yes!!  

BIPAF's purpose/goal:

[A]ims to inspire Busan citizens' cultural pride by holding excellent Eastern and Western performances and cultural events and offer entertainment.

And it did.  It just was difficult to understand.

The opening performance was a Chinese Opera.  Xui Ru Ji.  

Jill had been told "subtitles would be provided".  And they were.  However, they were provided in Korean and Chinese.  

It makes perfect sense that there were Korean subtitles, but why the Chinese!?  The show was in Chinese.  I don't speak Korean and I sure as hell don't speak Chinese - so my understanding of the show was limited to say the least.  

Thankfully a good synopsis was given in the program so we knew the basis of the show, but other than that all we could do was watch, laugh when the audience laughed, and enjoy the colorful display of outfits while enjoying some Mentos during our night out at the Chinese Opera. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Jill got to see a second performance, and I'm not sure if it had spoken words or not, but she loved it.  You can read about it here at her blog. 

 

 

*'show' meaning movie or live theatre performance 

 

Sports Day

[wpvideo T941fIjm]
[wpvideo em53E32a]

Slammers:

I even decided to give it a try.

See the full gallery on Posterous

5/6! Must have been beginner's luck!

Spring Cleaning

I did some additions, deletions and made a few updates to *Bibimbop.  It's nothing huge, probably won't even notice it; but if you do fancy taking an extra minute to look around, feel right at home.  

The 'Sites I Like' links are gone from the right and have been moved up top into new, categorized pages.

Just trying to keep it neat.  :)

SOS

I don't usually post events out of order.  Actually, I never do.  It's one of the reason why my posts are so long in coming, but today I'm breaking from that because... well, I was sinking.  

Truth of it is, I felt like I had been sinking all week.  None of my classes seemed to be running smoothly, my students were more monster than children and my workload was growing higher and higher without even a moment to get anything done.  

I know that in the big picture of life, these issues are not Titanic sinking icebergs; but to me, this week they were large enough to create an overwhelming sense of stress and emotional angst. 

What a wonderment I must have been to the tiny 1st graders as they walked past me in the hallway as the pressure got to be too much and the tears were unleashed.  

But I wasn't left to sink.  My co-teachers, who I think I've been underestimating their care and support for me, were quick to rescue me.  

And although they don't read my blog - or know about it (which is probably a good thing) - I just wanted to write a short bit about today and say that although my students are still monsters and my workload is just as high, my co-teachers have helped lift some of the pressure from my shoulders and for that I'm so thankful!

 

"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater the effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders - what would you tell him to do?  I don't know.  What could he do?  What would you tell him?  To shrug."

"Fashion" blog

Since starting my blog, I've become a daily reader of several other blogs.  

It's a "community of bloggers" as they say.  Although I don't think my blog has tapped into that yet.  I'd like to think that I'm passing by, having a look at some places and seeing if I want to buy - a potential new neighbor to the community - if you will.  However, what I'm seeing - I'm liking.  

I've been using other blogs to learn different layouts, develop new ways of sharing and to find even more blogs.  But the most important thing I have gotten from this community is a new source of enjoyment and a whole lot more brains contributing great ideas to my life and especially my closet!!

 

When living in Asia, the part of your brain that controls your sense of fashion is hijacked.  Things that you would never, ever, never-never do or wear back home, start to creep into your mind and whisper softly that "you could do that.  It'd look good on you!"  Oh!  Such silly foolish words.  You must remember: you are not 5'2", you do not have the weight and body frame of an Asian.  You actually canNOT do that.  But your brain is overwhelmed; it simply can't fight these thoughts!!  

And that's where these blogs come in.  

They give you ideas on how to restyle things, how to style new things and also keep you in check with what is being worn back home.  They restore your twisted mind to a shape that resembles a small bit of your "normal self" and tell you that although you might really want a pair of black/neon running shoes, it is not ok to wear them with dresses - because you aren't Asian!!  

 

So when I did some shopping recently, I thought I'd pay tribute to these new beloved blogs and give you a little look at what I learned.

 

I'd like to thank Kendi, Linda, Lilly, Kristine and especially Jill (who took all these pretty pictures) for helping me and my closet! ^^

Seoul Goes Gaga

[wpvideo umnIAlpB]

Part concert, part freak show, part cult meeting.  That's how the Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball (concert) was.  

It was a mess of a show (4/27).  In all ways positive, curious, confusing, WTF-is-happening kind of mess.  I'm really glad I went, but I'm still not sure what I saw.

When Jeff asked me if I wanted to go I was all in, won ready.  
(sorry there's only one, my blog site won't let me upload more, and really the rest of the videos I took are super horrible, This one is the best I got - and also my favorite song.  "Juda-as! Juda-ah-as! Juda-ah-as / Juda-as! Juda-ah-as! Juda-ah-as")

The Nightmare of an Open Class

Every teacher working in the Korean education system must have at least one Open Class a year to evaluate their teaching skills, their classroom management and their ability to plan an appropriate lesson.

During the Open Class, other teachers from your school, the Vice Principal, the Principal, teachers from other schools and even parents come to observe and remark on how well you performed.  Special care is put into this lesson - painstaking care!!  Every detail is overly thought out, planned, practiced and tailored to make sure that no hiccups occur during the live show.

This is how Koreans do it.  

For foreigners, it is a little different.

Our lessons are also open for anyone to come see, they are also overly thought out and planned; but no practice is allowed as tailoring only occurs on the day of the class and the majority of your evaulation comes down to prayers... "Please God, make sure the students aren't little shits today!!  Make them listen!  Make them pay attention.  And please, pllleeeease let this be over with quickly!"

However, I wasn't too worried for my open class this year.  I felt as though I had a handle on my lessons and my students, my co-teacher and I had a well-practiced system of teaching together that rarely experienced any major problems and I thought the school liked me.  Pressure was at a low.  Even when my co-teacher asked me a week out (4/16) what I had planned for my open class - What do I have planned?  Nothing!  It's over a week away!  I plan one day at a time.  Are you crazy? - I wasn't stressed.

I started to feel a little stressed (4/19) when I learned that the grade I had requested to do my Open Class with was being taken by the other Korean English teacher.  And I was a bit more stressed when she seemed blind to the slight setback she had just given me...

Seoyeon: Meagan, I am taking your Open Class.

Me:  What do you mean?

Seoyeon:  I am taking your Open Class.  I will do my Open Class with 5-4.

Me:  Why?

Seoyeon:  Because I have to teach alone.

Me:  But you're Korean.  They are Korean.  You can communicate with them!

Seoyeon: But I am teaching English.

Me: Yes... but you're Korean.  You speak Korean.  The students speak Korean.  How is that hard for you?

Seoyeon: tilts her head and smiles.

Me: (#$%^*&**&^!!!@!@!@!@~~!@%%$&%*&*^_++)_()(*&^%$@##$%^&) Ok...

You need to understand that 5-4 is probably the best class in the entire school!  To have them taken away from me was a small slap in the face, but Mrs. Jang got us the second best class in the school, 6-2, and things were back on track.  My stress levels were lowering.

We worked together throughout the following week to prepare a lesson plan that was fitting to our style of teaching and accomodating to the Principal's style.  This is where the stress really started to pick up.  Not because I was nervous or anxious, but because I was annoyed.   I never make a lesson plan.  I'm sure a lot of teachers would drop their jaw at that admission, but I don't.  I make a PowerPoint, maybe a worksheet, plan a few drills to practice the vocabulary and key expressions and I'm done.  I use what's on the screen and how my students are getting on to direct my pace and agenda for that class.  So to have to come up with a lesson plan that needed to be itemized, scripted and planned down to the second so that our Principal would accept it was driving me nuts!  I can't work like that!! I can't be fake and controlled and robotic.  It's not happening!

Thankfully Mrs. Jang is an amazing teacher/person/partner to work with.  She felt the pressure from the Principal for a moment, but in the end she fought it and said we were going to teach our Open Class how we teach all of our other classes - using a natural approach.  It's our goal for our students to learn the target list of words so they can pass the exam, but that is only a secondary goal for us.  Our primary goal is to get the students' English comprehension to a level where they are able to understand everything else I say.  And for the most part, it's going pretty well.

But even though we said we were going to teach our Open Class like normal, when it came time for our evaluation (4/27), the pressure was on overdrive.

Our first class was a fail, we only made it half way through what was planned.  The second class was a bit smoother, but things were still awkward and unnatural and you could tell we didn't have it together.  We sent our second class back 10mins early so we could regroup and get things ready for our third and final class, our Open Class.

This did the trick.  By the time kids came and sat down I was ready to go.  I was taking back control of the lesson and going to get things done.  I was ready, but apparently no one else was, because no one showed up to do our evaluation.

About 15mins into the lesson one teacher showed up, 5mins after that two more teachers came, half way through a 4th teacher walked in, and finally with 15mins left in the entire lesson the Principal came strolling in and took a seat at the back of the room.  So glad you could stop by!

We were nearly done.  Just had the game to finish.  Should have been an easy ride to the end.  But our Principal didn't seem to understand what we were doing.  5 times she spoke out during our class.  5 times she interrupted to ask questions and project her input.  5 times she drove me crazy!  I was in such shock over what had happened I couldn't even talk.  Mrs. Jang was in the same state.  We both just looked at each other and said a bunch of "Why?"s "What!"s and let out exasperated sighs.  There goes my evaluation.  The goes any chance of a high score and any thought I might of had about teaching a third year in Korea.



I don't remember how the next class went.  It was a fourth grade class.  What I taught, if they were good, if we finished the lesson - I have no idea.

I do know that I when I went to the lunchroom I was unprepared to face the Principal.  But what little bit of my prayer that wasn't answered during my Open Class was answered during lunch - the Principal wasn't eating with us.  I was so happy that I took my chopstick and made stabbing motions at the rice.  This did relive some of my stress, but unfortunately the other teachers knew I had my Open Class that day and they also had no trouble interpreting my body language.  Ooops.   They got a laugh out of it though and we all moved on to our Kimchi.



Sadly, the drama from our Open Class didn't end that Friday.  On Monday (4/30) the Head Teacher and Vice Principal had a loooonng conversation with my co-teacher regarding her desire to bring up the Principal's actions during the teacher's meeting that day.  They both thought it was a bad idea and that Mrs. Jang should just let it go.  But Mrs. Jang didn't have a chance to bring it up OR let it go, because the Principal attacked her once again.  Only this time she did it in front of the entire staff!  Shit really went bat crazy!!

I wasn't there, but I heard it was bad.  So bad that Mrs. Jang walked out of the meeting and was called to the Principal's office the next day (4/31).  She was gone for 3 hrs.  I finally saw her again when I was leaving school.  All she said was "I'm still alive" and then told me how they had had it out, both parties apologized and that the Principal admitted she was wrong.

All because of a fake, useless, generic Open Class that gives no true insight into a teacher's skills or abilities.  And I have to do another one! >.<

All In A Week

I was unwise to leave my rabbit's foot at home.  Or more correctly, I was unwise to stop carrying one around in the 3rd grade!  How could one be so foolish?!  I could have used a rabbit's foot a few weeks back when my luck ran out.  

I had heard countless stories of friends who had endured the unpleasant effects from food poisoning.  But I - with a stomach as strong as tissue paper - had not yet suffered!  Until one unexpecting night out for dinner (4/16).  

Of all the things you could possibly get food poisoning from, I got it from Carbonara pasta and Potato pizza.  How does that even happen?!

I woke up early the following morning with a nauseous feeling I couldn't fight.  I hate barfing.  Hate it.  Hate.  Hate.  Hate.  But it's how I spent several hours Tuesday morning.  Dying over the toilet, curled up on the tile floor, face down in the bowl, hugging the bowl, then laying exhausted on the floor again.  It was not my best night.  Needless to say I called in sick (4/17) and my luck had really run out.  Food poisoning had finally gotten me.  

The rest of the week wasn't much of an improvement.  I didn't feel better until Thursday evening, but even so it wasn't much to lift my spirits and get me ready to go.  A few rounds of violent vomiting can really take it out of you!  

 

Thankfully, I did feel much better by Friday (4/20) and didn't have to break my dinner plans with Ally!  I hadn't really eaten since Monday, so not only was I eager to hang out and spend the evening talking and catching up with her, I was excited to eat!!!  Or I was until Ally took me to an Italian restaurant.  OmFFFFFFFFFFFffffffg just the thought of it made my stomach twist in knots!!  Italian?  Just three days after getting food poisoning from Italian food?!  I don't know if I can do this.  

But I did.  I ate small amounts, very slowly and thankfully I did not relapse!!  Looks like my luck was coming back!!

 

However, luck was not with the weather that weekend.  All of Saturday (4/21) was blanketed with misty, grey skies that rained endlessly and flooded the ground.  It didn't stop me though!!  I pulled on some boots, grabbed my umbrella and headed down the block to meet up with Jill and Aaron and Jill's friend from back home, Katie - just new to Korea!

We got hangover soup for lunch (even though no one was hungover) and followed it up with a little ice cream.  Rain can't keep you down with an ice cream cone in hand!!  After that we went back to Jill's to hang out for a bit, before I braved the rain once more to go into Nampo to meet up with Mallory for a little pre-parents-visit shopping.

Once Mallory was loaded up with new items - me with none - I crossed back over to the island and rested for a minute before rejoining Jill, Aaron and Katie to watch 'Mission Impossible 4'.  

Let me just say that I am NOT a Tom Cruise fan.  I'm not even a 'Top Gun', 'Risky Business' or any other of his shit movies fan.  But Korea seems to love two things from America - Bruce Willis (who I dooooo love) and Tom Cruise!  I don't personally own a TV, but every time I'm at Mallory's, one of these two men is ALWAYS on.  So it only seemed natural, fitting and maybe in some way a curse breaker (if you watch it, he will leave - type curse breaker) that I finally saw the newest/last (probably not) 'Mission Impossible' film.  I love Simon Pegg - he's so funny.  Jeremy Renner - lay on top of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And, well... alright that film was good.  But really Tom?!  Enough!!!

Mission completed, the world saved, it was time to eat.  Umbrellas ready, we all made our way to the street, grabbed a cab and crossed back to the mainland.  Since Katie is new to Korea and this was her first trip down to Busan, we took her for a walk through Jagalchi Fish Market.  Looking turned to buying and soon we were being lead upstairs by a fishmonger awaiting the tasty delights of BBQ fish, steamed crab and raw fish (aka sashimi).

See the full gallery on Posterous

It was such an amazing dinner!  Jagalchi really can't be beat for its seafood; but what it can be beat for is its service!  Freaking tourist trap!!!  Koreans do not inflate prices on anything!!  Cab rides cost a few dollars, dinner a couple of quarters, beers a nickle or two.  But Jagalchi!!!  Go in knowing that you're going to pay at least 25% more than what you originally calculated the price to be.  Or I mean, I'll go in knowing that now!! Geesshh.

What was supposed to be a 93,000won (~$80.00) was nearly 130,000won (~$115.00) by the end of the meal!  Hidden fees included: table service, fees to steam the crab, cut the sashimi, cook the fish (we had already paid the man downstairs 80,000won to buy the freaking sea creatures!), beers (normally 2,500won (~$2.00) cost twice that IN Jagalchi) and a small serving of rice.  ***Jagalchi is worth a look, but just keep in mind that should looking turn to buying and buying turn to eating you are going to be paying a bit more than what's originally "agreed on".***

 

Stomachs happy and wallets empty, we needed cash.  Where else do you get cash at 10 o'clock at night without having to hit up an ATM?!  Why the casinooooo.  Jill and Aaron are of a status just below regulars at Lotte Casino in Seomyeon so they took us there to try and win back some of the won that dinner cost us.  

I've been to Vegas three times.  Twice underage and once old enough to put my quarters in the slots and hope for big money.  But even that time I didn't do much gambling.  It's all about the shows for me!!  Cirque, David, Sigfreid, Celine, Chippendales (jk).  I love the shows!!  However, Busan, South Korea doesn't have the shows, but they do have roulette - so that's what we played for a few hours while sipping on free drinks and hoping for big money.  

At one point I did manage to double my money!!  But since that lucky rabbit's foot is decomposing into oil somewhere, I didn't have its luck to tell me to 'quit while you're ahead'.  By the end of the night I was up three drinks and down to my original pot.  Ah rats.  No money lost and a small buzzed gained is great night to me though!!!

With only a few more hours to go before school started again, I passed Sunday (4/22) back over in Nampo having lunch with Michael.

All in a week here in Korea. ^^

Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.  ~R.E. Shay

Shuttlecock?

Looking back I can see the trap that was laid for me.  Ok trap isn't really the word to use, but I'm using it!!  They had already got me once with Ping Pong!!  You'd think I'd know better when my Pricipal asked me if I wanted to play badminton.  But I didn't.  Face meet palm.  Again.

 

I was asked about a month ago if I'd be interested in playing.  I said yes... " Sure that sounds interesting".  Like an eager fool.  **Always approach questions with caution and apprehension when in Korea!**  However, nothing came of this for about a month.  

My school had just finished a random volleyball practice and all the teachers were gathered eating chicken (as you do after playing volleyball), when both the Principal AND the Vice Principal asked me again if "I'd like to join in playing badminton".  Signs were flashing all around - other teachers were lowering their eyes, my one co-teacher was giving me a concerned-run-for-your-life-look - but there I was faced by the two leaders of my school as they did all they could to withhold their claws from reaching out and pulling me in!  Run!  Say no!  Get out now!!!  "Sure, that sounds great!"  Ohhhh you poor lost soul.

For 70,000 won a month I had just signed up to play badminton 3x a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with an instructor, my Principal, Vice Principal and Byuhn Suhng-jin (homeroom teacher of 2-1) - who had probably never said more than 'Hi' to me in my entire time at Daepyung.  Awesome!!  Where's my raquet!?!

To be fair, it's actually not too bad.  I was complete crap at ping pong, but with badminton, I'd go as far to say that I'm alright.  I can return a volley and I do well to cover the court ("Two-step" as the instructor loves to tell me.  I think it's all he knows in English!), but despite my original hesitiation, I do like going to practices.  It's a great workout to be sure!!  And my lazy ass needs that!

 

I even understand how this is an Olypmic sport (although I still don't - and never will - understand how ping pong qualifies).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w97-G6cumhA?wmode=transparent]

 

 

**hoping to get some pictures soon