Wednesday November 27th
Picture Day!
We took class pictures today, and pictures of us teachers. Basically very little work got done. My kids all acted pretty well. Some of course was hard to make smile, but in all, good.
Christine talked to me once again about the jackets in France. I am not sure if I mentioned it before, but for some reason, the superiors decided that instead of the kids hanging up the jackets in their cubbies, they were supposed to hand them up in the 2 unused cubbies. Most classes have 2 over-sized cubbies to hang jackets. Not France. We just have 2 standard cubbies. A standard cubby is about 8 inches across. So they wanted 8 kids to hang their winter jackets up in 16 inches of space. Not easy, especially when you are dealing with kids that are energetic. It got to the point where Julie did not want to bring her jacket to school (kid logic). The moms even complained about the jackets during open class. One mom suggested buying a basket to put them in. Christine told me that ECC would not. Not sure if she actually checked or if it was just an assumption. Well, I am one that solves problems. Yes, you could sit and complain that you can not get the round peg in a square hole, but you could hammer a round peg into a square hole (damaging both), you could also either make the hole bigger, or get a smaller peg, or take the round peg back to the store and just buy a square one that fits. All of these of course are dependent on the reason you are trying to get the peg in the hole in the first place.... but I digress. I went to the hardware store after work and bought a 15 dollar rolling coat rack. Should I have to? No. Did I have to? No. But sometimes 15 dollars for a peace of mind is great. I probably would have just bought beer with said 15 bucks anyway (Yes, I know that beer gives you peace of mind also... but the next morning the problem at hand still exists). My 2 afternoon classes had test day, so noting happened with them.
Ronnie talked to me again today. He made me an offer I could refuse. But I didn't. It was the same thing they offered Rob. Could I push more? Of course I could have. But I'd rather always have an ace up my sleeve if I needed something instead of pushing for something rather mundane in the grand scheme of things. I resigned for year number 2. So, sometime next summer I will fly home and fly back.
At night after the Hardware store, Taylor, Hudson, Sam, Carrie and I drank an little and played Mortal Kombat in Hudsons room.
Thursday November 28th.
Thanksgiving Day! But when I tried to tell my students they argued with me. They told me it was Friday. I mean, I know that the US is about half a day away from Korea time... They were not thinking that complexly. ECC change the day that we were celebrating Thanksgiving to Friday. I of course did not know that. To them... they don't know what Thanksgiving is... Even trying to explain it went far over their heads... even trying to easily... not easy.
Gym Day. I missed one period of Gym because Scott had to get his medical check for his ARC. They switched the gym times. It was good getting an extra period with France. A break would have been nice. But also I think teaching Scotts class would have been super fun. Oh well.
Nothing else much happened with my Kindy kids. I got all of the diaries and book reports checked and I sent them home with the kids on Thursday. Not a big win, but still nice. I also watched the afternoon musical program preform their musical. So adorable and cute!
My afternoon class was okay. Nothing too exciting other than a vocabulary test... and that is not anything exciting. But we did have fun talking a little, so that was good.
After school, Taylor and Hudson invited me to their Thanksgiving dinner. It was mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, ham sandwiches, asparagus.
I brought 3 bottles of wine that were made in the USA and some Lays Salt and Vinegar chips. No turkey (incredibly hard to find in Korea... even sliced turkey). But we celebrated, drank wine, listened to music, and just had a good time. Eventually Mortal Kombat came out and we played. Not traditional by any means... but still a good time to be thankful.
Friday November 29th
ECC Thanksgiving. Nothing got done in my morning Kindy classes today. First period we made Indian Headbands. Then until lunch, we had thanksgiving games. Granted, no thanksgiving games I ever remember playing in the states... But it was fun.
(Denmark- Soo, Chloe, Regina, Jayden, Erica, Angelina, John(font), Joshua)
I was bleh all day. Not because of Thanksgiving night... but because some bug has been going around ECC teachers making them feel ill. Friday was my day. Deep congestion, stuffed up everything.
When I got home. I went right to bed. I slept from after ECC till nearly 11pm. Then I was awake for several hours, and went right back to bed.
Saturday November 30th.
I slept till nearly noon. I woke up. Decided I wanted to clean. I had no energy after like 20 minutes I slept, I woke up around 5:30. I slept a lot. I guess I needed it.
I weighed myself... I have gained nearly 20 pounds in 2 months. I think it is because of Hagwon, because we all went out and ate a lot of food afterward. I weigh 112kg. Shocking. I am technically according to BMI obese. That being said, my clothes all still fit me, and my pant size is the same. But I decided I would start a diet December. Basically I will cut my portion sizes.
I was meeting up with Eva and her friend for dinner. We had Jjimdak for dinner. Then went to the barket, had several drinks. We moved on to Gogos. Danced, drank, had fun. I had to be responsible because I was going to Jeonju the next day to watch FC Seoul. I was going to leave early... Eva started to feel bad, and her friend was macking on some guy. So I stayed with Eva. Not drinking, just talking and taking care of her (ie getting her water). After a while, she started feeling better and was dancing again, so the next time her friend came over, I let them know that I was going. I got home at about 3am.
Sunday December 1st.
I got to take a nap (at best you could call it) My bus to 전주 left at 6:30. I had to meet Karen at 6:15. This meant I had to leave my apartment at about 5:30. We get out bus. I want to sleep, but I had a hard time. I did take these pictures at a rest stop. (Who doesn't like life sized squirrels)
The trip to Jeonju took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. We get there. We take a cab to Korea's largest Hanok village (a Hanok village is a traditional village with traditional buildings and houses). Jeonju was the birthplace of the Joseon Dynasty (that ruled Korea for 600 years). So we viewed the historical museum and the remade village (a small part of the hanok village) that housed the paining of the king. It was intense how much was done for this paining. It was super important. This whole little village was made for this one thing. Very interesting to see this. Its like, if there was a picture of George Washington, and building a whole neighborhood around this picture, houses for the caretakers, a fire department, cooks, servants, scribes, artisans.... It was that important.
We also took a picture by one of the original gates of Jeonju. While we were looking at it, some fellow FC Seoul fans came up to us and wanted to take a picture.
We then went to the FC Seoul match. We lost with about 2 minutes left. There was a penalty kick. Even the announces said it was a questionable call. The dude that took the penalty kick was retiring after this game... so he kicked and it was a goal. Bah. First FC Seoul loss.
Karen and I went back to the Hanok village. We explored. We had delicious Teokgalbi (떡갈비) at a popular place in the hanok village, We hiked a little. We then got went back to the bus terminal and got on the bus back to Seoul. It took over 3 and a half hours to get back.
(edit 12-3-13 several more pics)
Monday December 2nd.
Another picture day. These were the graduation pictures for the 7 year olds. I had no France classes. Australia class was good, and we got done with everything I wanted to. Denmark we only had one class. We got through none of what I wanted to. We started one of the things... but did not complete it.
While we were taking pictures... there was one set with the kids in their graduation gowns. I had a tear come to my eye. Ya, they were were cute... but it really drove home the point that quite a few of these kids I will never see again after graduation. Some will still come back to ECC, but the rest... nope. I have been with these kids for 9 months. Its amazing how much you connect and start to care for these kids. As cheesy as it is, these kids are my life. I spend so much time with them, thinking about them, and everything else... it was a very surreal moment for me. Graduation is still 3 months away, but I know these 3 months are going to fly.
My 2 afternoon classes were okay. I graded the exams from last week. Pretty good, all things considered. The one kid that was not able to write his name did the worst in my England class (not much of a surprise) Their range was 0 wrong to 11 (out of 28). My 3rd graders all did pretty good. Their range was from 1.5 wrong to 5 (out of 35).
I cant believe this is already December. My mind is absolutely blown. All months have gone quickly... November especially so.
I came home. Rested for a little. Then exercised (as part of my diet December). Did not eat any snacks nor drink any beer. Spent some time updating this and also time doing nothing!
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