Clap your hands, yall

Watched the Whitney episode of Glee last week and have been a Whitney kick since then. She's so good. And so pretty. So many amazing songs. I can't believe I didn't have My Love is Your Love on my ipod. Or When You Believe. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I was thinking I had to narrow it down to the best of the best when my mom reclaimed her ipod (booo) last year and I was reduced to the piddly ipod touch that only holds around 1000 songs. Lame. Maybe after Korea makes me rich, I'll buy myself an ipod. Yeah right, I'm going to spend all my money on shoes, food and traveling before I save enough for such things. (birthday present...July...wink wink)

Speaking of spending money, I discovered the best store ever today! Well, I didn't actually discover it...I had been there before but I didn't have the time to explore it to the fullest and I did today. It is FANTASTIC. It's kind of like a Wal-Mart, but more expensive. So like Target I guess. But with 4 floors. And with food. And a pet store where you can buy super cute puppies. I resisted. But the food is the best part...because guess what I can buy there?! ONE TOMATO!!!!! Best discovery of my Korean life, obvi. It also has a pretty nice selection of cheese, as well as wheat bread and tons of other things the grocery stores near me don't have. This place isn't too far...a 20 minute walk probably. Not so bad now that it's warmer. And worth it for the good cheese, if nothing else. Oh yeah, and there are tons of free samples of stuff, which is awesome.

Oh, and I love this Korean nonsense: We got a memo on Friday that lets us know we now have the day off on Tuesday. I love the ridiculous short noticeness of it all. It's the Korean Labor Day and our company I guess just decided yesterday we should have the day off...4 day notice. Love it. We were also supposed to have a teacher workshop with other schools in the area next Friday, but because of the new day off, we will now have off and the workshop is rescheduled for DECEMBER 12. Awesome. I mean, whatever, I wasn't really looking forward to the workshop nor did I have big plans for Tuesday, but it just cracks me up that they tell us Friday we have a day off the next Tuesday. Fantastic. I've learned to mark everything on the calendar in pencil..nothing is certain here. Not even 4 days before.

Last but not least, if you have Skype, you apparently have to update now to the newest version (5.9) in order to see video. So update and talk to me! I discovered that the ridiculously long way today EVEN THOUGH I had already checked on the website and it told me I had the latest version. Apparently not. I love Skype, but why can't they just have a little pop up that says, update here: blahblahblah or you can't see video. The end, thank you very much, problem solved. Ugh, whatever. Technology is really annoying sometimes. Especially when things think they have to constantly revamp their appearance and make everyone get used to a whole new set up that very rarely has any interesting/useful new features (ahem, blogger). I'm talking about pretty much everything but the biggest pain is the new gmail. I think it's because of my stupid small computer, but the new layout makes it SO annoying to read emails. I hate you, new gmail! Let me go back to the old way, please! Pretty please!

Anyway, I have an early morning tomorrow. Going on a tour of a prison and a hike. Exciting, but it sucks because I'll be getting up earlier than I do for work. Totally lame. So now I'm going watch Corrina, Corrina (throw back to 5th grade) and make birthday cards. Thrilling, I know. But I'm happy. :)

Dream big people!

The Tomato Saga

This is pretty much the worst story ever, but I'm putting it on here because I would feel too lame retelling it to people at school. One, I'm pretty sure no one would care and two, I will hopefully be over it by tomorrow.

Ok, so. Last week I bought some onions at the grocery store, as well as some balsamic vinegar, olives and feta cheese. Then I got the great idea that I would make myself a yummy Greek salad with these lovely ingredients, I just needed to buy a tomato. I didn't have time last week, so that was my mission for today: buy a tomato. Emphasis on the A. Just one tomato. So, after school today I was all excited about my Greek salad dinner and off the the grocery store I went. I tend to get fixated on ideas and once I decide I'm going to do it, nothing can stop me. Even if it's just making dinner.

At the first grocery store, you can't buy just one tomato. You can either buy a bag of 6 or a container of cherry tomatoes. Here's the problem: I don't really like tomatoes except in a Greek salad or caprese situation. So I definitely would not eat the 5 other tomatoes. I just wanted one. Next grocery store...same problem, only this time the only option was this huge box of tomatoes with like, 12 inside. You would have to be some sort of tomato loving fool for all those.

Now I'm getting frustrated. I just want a damn tomato, I'm hungry and my feet are hurting. Then I remember there is a guy that sells fruit and vegetables from a truck across the street from my apartment. I was kind of trying to avoid this option because I didn't want to attempt trying to talk with this man, but my options were limited. So I go there...he's not there. I mean, who leaves their veggies truck abandoned? I was sooo tempted to just take one and leave a 1000 won bill there, but I didn't want to get questioned by anyone watching. So I wait and wait and wait and finally he comes back. His tomatoes are in these bowls with like, 10 in each bowl. I say "hana" (that means one) and point and put up one finger, just in case I'm not saying hana correctly. Through some rude gestures and exasperated facial expressions I learn you cannot buy one tomato, you have to buy the whole stupid bowl. WHAT THE HELL PEOPLE?? Why can't I have just ONE gd tomato?

Of all the stupid nonsense that has gone on in this country since I got here, this is the first time I got truly upset and frustrated. I think it was a combination of looking forward to it since last week, being hungry, striking out at two previous places and overall, just putting way too much time and energy into something really stupid and insignificant. Bah! Plus, the man was so rude! What a stinker. And again, why the hell can't I just buy one tomato? The grocery stores here are so small and frustrating...I have to go to one for chicken and another if I want carrots. I'm going to make it through this grocery store situation, but I kind of miss one stop shopping.

Whatever, over it now. I also tried the corner convenience store, and while they have individual apples, onions, dried fish heads, and assortment of other completely random products, they did not have just one tomato for me to buy. So I had chicken and onions for dinner instead.

Again, sorry this is the worst story ever, but there is no one else around to listen.

For some good news, my kids were super cute as always today and it's starting to warm up! Hooray! Also, putting my ipod on shuffle is awesome.

Dream big people!

Considerably Ferocious

The past few days have been pretty exciting! Thursday, my class went on a field trip to the Seoul Olympic Museum. It was a pretty interesting place to visit. They have a simulator ride for Kim Yu Na, who is a Korean gold medal ice skater that we did. It was a little strange, but the kids liked it. The kids also made an Olympic pictogram, which I don't think they understood what was going on, but whatever. We also wandered around the museum some. Sadly, my co-teacher is kind of anti-fun so we didn't get to stay outside and enjoy the awesome weather like the other classes. Instead, we got right back on the bus and headed back to school. It was a whirlwind of a trip...I guess it's a big pain to take lunch with us but to me, it seemed stupid to go the 45 minutes there and only stay for 3 hours. Oh well. Most of Korea makes no sense to me. 

Friday the weather was fantastic again and we also had a birthday part at school! I was really looking forward to the party, but it turned out to be super lame. Apparently it's really stressful for the teachers because the moms come in and we have to make sure the class is clean, the kids are behaved, basically that everything is perfect. I didn't really care, but the moms don't usually talk to me, so I'm not the one that gets fussed at. Anyway, the kids mom brought in a cake and food for everyone. All the students have to bring a present for the birthday girl/boy and he/she stands at the front of the room and each kid comes up with their present, says "happy birthday!" and gives him/her a hug (that's a requirement). It was reallllly awkward. The poor birthday girl was sweating, she was so nervous to be in front of everyone! Then everyone sings happy birthday and we all ate in silence. It was sooo weird. The mom didn't even really talk to her child! Or me, even. She might not speak English, I don't know but she didn't even say hello! There are no games or anything...it's so bizarre. I finally put on some music because it was getting uncomfortable. I don't really remember what birthdays were like in elementary school (I never got one...stupid summer birthday), but I think it usually just involved cupcakes at the end of the day. We had cake, watermelon, chicken nuggets, grapes and cherries (in one container), cookies and juice. This was like, an hour after lunch. Korean birthday parties weird me out. Whatever...it was a nice little break from school work at least. 

After school I headed to Seoul to hang out with my friend and her coworkers and we just hung out down by the river for a while. It got a little chilly at night, but it was a really nice day. It was fantastic because we were just chilling next to a free standing 7 eleven (I've never seen a free standing one!) so we could just wander in and get whatever we fancied. I had some ice cream and most people were drinking beer. Then we had fried chicken (Koreans LOVE fried chicken) delivered right to our table! Pretty awesome. We also saw a literal giant....he is a Korean boxer and he is like, 7 feet tall. His hand was the size of my torso. I reallllly wanted a picture because I'm pretty sure I would have come up to his waist, but I didn't want to ask. Lame!

Saturday my friend and I went on a tour of the DMZ (the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea) and it was really really interesting. It just sucked a little bit because it was cold and rainy the entire day, but it was still fun and a little on the crazy side. I am not going to get into all the history of the area and conflict between the two countries, but the whole thing is just nuts. And very sad, really. I mean, the country was basically just divided for no real reason, families were torn apart and now there is this really tense conflict between the two countries. Some people have no idea what happened to their family on the other side because they are not allowed to communicate. It's totally insane. 

When you go on the tour, I found out you don't actually go into the demilitarized zone (I was kind of glad..seems a little scary), you are right outside where the DMZ technically starts. It's about a 2 miles wide and there is a fence in the middle where the North and South is divided, at the 38th parallel. We went to about 5 different spots where you get out and do different things. The first stop was a peace park sort of area. It has a wrecked train from the Korean War, a memorial garden, a peace bell you can pay to ring and a fence where a lot of Koreans put messages for people in the North. It's really interesting and moving but at the same time it's a little bizarre because it's really touristy. There was an amusement park and a Popeye's chicken! And you can buy DMZ t-shirts! 

The next place is still touristy but it was more like a national park with an information center, rather than stuff you can buy...or rides. At this stop you could go into one of the tunnels the North dug in the 70s. The tunnel itself, like the whole thing, is just crazy. I know I sound like an idiot, but I really can't think of any other way to describe them! I think it's just a hard concept for me to grasp too. You hear about people digging tunnels in like, the Vietnam War, but this is current. I mean, this is the present reality of this country! The Northern army wanted to invade Seoul and they dug a tunnel through the earth to try and do it. The tunnels are really narrow and small. Most people had to duck, but I fit through pretty nicely, haha. The one advantage to being short, I guess. They are also pretty far underground so you have to walk down this really steep incline, which was not fun to come back up! The tunnels have "coal" painted on the walls so the North could claim they were just coal mines, and not part of an attack plan. Good try, North. This stop also had a video and a museum. Again, the whole thing was really, really interesting. 

Next, we went to the last stop on the train before you get to the North. There, you can buy a "ticket" to NK and get it stamped. You can also take some pictures with the guards there. A few years ago, they were a lot closer to reconciliation and the station was built in hopes they would be able to continue into the North. According to our guide, the election of George W. Bush ruined all that, so the train stops there. Hopefully things will get back on track (literally) because if the train is able to go through the North, it would be possible to take a train from Korea all the way to Europe. That would be a pretty cool trip. Long as all hell, but cool. 

Then, we went to a viewing area where you can use binoculars to look over into the North. There are two towns in the actual DMZ, one in the North and one in the South. The one in the North is rumored to be fake. Apparently if you look close, you can tell there is no glass in any of the windows

After that was lunch, which was also quite an experience, since we were in a tiny little town that I think rarely gets foreigners. The waitress person didn't really know what to do with us and kept yelling at one guy that was with us because he was being rude by sitting and eating the wrong way. It was so weird...she kept trying to turn him the right way. I thought it was strange she was doing that, but the guy was being such an ass about the whole thing. It was just uncomfortable and awkward. But, on the plus side, the food was really really good!

Next was another tunnel. This one was not as difficult to get in and out of, and it had a TV at the end of it, which I thought was pretty hilarious. I thought the tunnels were so cool. I wonder if Northerners ever still try to use them to get to the South. This place just had a small little store and you could buy Northern money and alcohol. My friend bought Kim Jung Il cognac, which I thought was totally hilarious. Our guide also got some and gave everyone on the bus a shot. It was supposed to be blueberry flavored, but it just tasted like whiskey. Warmed us up a little, at least! 

Another place was where you could really see into North Korea, and see a few guard posts and roads. This place also had a museum that focused more on the lives of North Koreans, which is what really interests me. Obviously no one really knows what goes on there, but it's well known that food is hard to come by and they are no where near as advanced as the South. I also really wonder about the mindset of these people. They are fed propaganda from day one, and what little they do have is given to them by the government so I wonder if they truly support the regime or if they are faking it because they have to. 

Last we stopped at a famous battle sight that also has a mini museum and a memorial statue and peace garden type of thing. There is a guard stationed there that can speak English so he gives a tour of the area. However, at this point, it was pouring down rain so the tour kind of sucked. It was really cold and hard to hear, so we got an abbreviated version. The soldier was cracking me up though, because I don't think he can really "speak" English, I think he just has his speech memorized for tourists. The phrasing of some things he said was hilarious and when someone asked him a question he was just like, ummm, no sorry I don't understand. Poor guy, though he tried to give a tour but it wasn't working out. We also got a brochure telling us about the battle there (White Horse Hill) and the English in that is atrocious. It's hysterical. An exert: 

"Next day ROKA recaptured after 8 times hot fight on Oct 10. It's considerably ferocious."

Another: 

"As using cooling system, pouring water on hottest canon, it is possible to support firing of our force. So quelling was completed." 

I'm not hating, because I wouldn't even know how to start translating English into Korean...but it is pretty entertaining. 

So that was the tour. Like I said, really interesting and informative. The secrecy that surround the North just fascinates me. Again, it's a little on the scary side, being so close to it. But, according to our guide, being at these touristy places near the DMZ is one of the safer places to be because there are lots of Chinese tourists and the North would never harm the Chinese since they are really their only ally. He also thinks an attack on the South is pretty unlikely since there is a lot of business between the two countries and if they attacked, it would pretty much be a suicide mission since they don't really have the back up support for it. I obviously have no idea, but that seems a little reassuring, at least. 

I would love to do the tour again, when it's not raining because that made some parts of it pretty miserable. Also, we didn't have a very good view into the "fake" town and I really wanted to see that. Another time, maybe. Now it's time for dinner and a movie. 

Dream big people! 

Everything is Grand

In a super fantastic mood right now. First off, I made myself dinner. Turns out, I'm awesome at making dinner. Even with a limited selection of ingredients. Good cheese in Korea is hard to come by. It's quite sad. It's hard to find it and most of it is only in specialty shops so it's expensive. And you have to buy it in these insanely huge amounts...like, Costco style. Who is going to go through that much cheese?! I am trying to work on a sharing situation with some people but there are a lot of people into organic only here and that complicates things. Losers. Anyway, my quesadillas were fabulous if I do say so myself. Since I'm the only one that ate them, I'll have to vouch for myself. And this is even without cheese! I'm a culinary genius, obviously. Anyway, I also have a yummy wrap all ready to go for lunch tomorrow. Even though school lunch today was quite tasty...we had gimbap, which is the Korean version of sushi.

I also did laundry, did a bunch of stuff for school and cleaned my apartment tonight. Extremely productive evening. I started on a series of bombass birthday cards for my students. Seriously, they are awesome. I did tell myself I would go to bed at 10:30, but that is not happening. It never does. 1:00 is more realistic. I get going and just can't stop. Plus I am getting so many great ideas for school! There are a million things I want to do and songs I want to sing. However, the school admin is a little bit on the crazy side and gives us like, 10 side projects to do each week. This is in addition to the set curriculum and books we are supposed to be doing.

We have a thing called "open class" coming up at the end of May and everyone is already freaking out about it. Being the newbie, I obviously have no idea what it means but apparently you have to plan way ahead and rehearse and blah blah. It's when the moms come in and observe a "class." I say "class" because like I said, it's rehearsed, and we have to sing songs. So it's more like a play. I wasn't really worried until today when I realized my kids are a bit on the slow and shy side and we might have some problems. In open class you have to make sure every child speaks. I'm worried my kids will freeze up with an audience. Plus, they are not very good at answering questions. They are excellent at repeating things, but asking individuals questions poses a problem. We have a few weeks, so hopefully we can get it together. However, I'm not too stressed. I mean, I want the parents to like me, but this whole thing seems way ridiculous and blown out of proportion. But, that is the Korean way, I'm finding.

Anyway, I am going to watch some SNL online which will continue to make me happy. Now I just need to figure out how to stream Ellen and Jimmy Fallon. Anyone know?

Dream big people!

Another source of happiness: watching The Muppets Movie online. It was fantastic in person and it was equally as good on my computer. The sound quality suffered a bit, but other than that, amazing. Jason Segel is a genius. Hilarious and precious...a difficult combination, I think.

Minor Complications

Korea seems to be the land of secrecy. Or, land of omitting vital information. For example, I asked the administration at school the other day if I would get a health insurance card. I was told it should have been mailed to me a while ago. This information irritated me. No one ever told me I should be checking the mail. In fact, I didn't even know where my mailbox was located until recently (it's in a separate building) and since I wasn't expecting any mail, I hardly ever check it. I was asking another foreign teacher about this and she was like, yeah, and your bills get mailed to you as well. Wait, what? I also was unaware that I was going to be getting bills (I assumed the school took them out of my paycheck), that they needed to be paid and that I should be looking for them in the mail. WHY would no one tell me this? Furthermore, should any bills come, I have no idea what they would even look like because I cannot read Korean. I realize this is my own stupid fault, but seriously? I feel like someone should have told me. Also, and again, this is my fault for being stupid, but the few things I have picked up from the mail didn't seem to be of any importance, so I threw them away. Had I known I was going to be getting bills and health insurance cards, I would have brought it all in to be translate by someone. Oh well, hope they don't turn off my power!

I also recently found out that 2:10-2:35 is the my designated break time. Again, why would no one inform me of this? Not that I am in desperate need of a break, but it would have been nice to know that I didn't have to hang around my class if I didn't feel like.  It's especially helpful if I have to get stuff ready for my afterschool programs. There is also no sort of schedule and/or curriculum given for the afterschool stuff so I just hope I don't get in trouble at the end for not doing anything right.

I am beginning to feel like this happens a lot. I often find myself saying or thinking, "no one told me that!" Another example, there is a guy that works in administration at school...I don't know what his official title is, but anytime I needed anything, I was told to go to him. Also, he handled all my paperwork when I got here, so I assumed I needed to speak with him if I had questions. Problem is, his English is terrible so we can never understand each other. This is especially problematic since he is supposed to be the one helping me with important legal matters like documents I need for my visa, apartment, health check, etc. He also just started in the last few months so he isn't always super knowledgeable. So whatever, I always go to him even though he never has any idea what is going on or how to tell me, even if he does. Again, today, I was talking with other foreign teachers and they were all, oh, you are not supposed to go talk to him, you are supposed to talk to Melissa (our supervisor). Well, dammit! No wonder he always looks so flustered! I mean, why has no one told me? Why hasn't HE told me to talk to her?! And the other thing that irritates me is that his desk is next to the accountant, who speaks better English. When he and I are doing are ridiculous communication dance, she doesn't offer any help until like, 20 minutes into the conversation. At which time she basically says everything I've just been told and/or said is wrong. So frustrating! Why not say something earlier?! Save us all this trouble.

Another interesting thing I learned recently...Koreans will pretty much never tell you "I don't know" or "I don't understand." Apparently that is not an acceptable answer. So, when I ask a child a question and they just stare at me blankly for 5 minutes, it's because they don't understand. Instead of saying that, I just get stared at. Which, in my opinion, is a little rude, but it does make more sense now. I mean, I figured they didn't understand but sometimes it doesn't occur to me that is the problem. Also, sometimes I'm like, it can't possibly be you don't understand. I mean, when we do book work in class we do like, 10 examples of it AND I put the book up on the touch screen and actually put the answers on it. So, when a child does 3 questions and just stares blankly at the 4th, I don't understand (I'll admit it!) what the problem is. You just did 3 exactly like it, and you basically just have to copy off the board. Are you being lazy or do you not understand? Say something! Instead, it's a stare down until the kid snaps out of it or I physically take their hand and show them how to circle the answer. Very strange.

I guess I should also keep in mind that they are 4, are leaning a new language and are getting a lot of new, confusing information thrown at them all day, every day. I don't really get angry with them, but it can be a bit frustrating. But then they're super cute so I get over it.

But for some good news, my friend and I just booked a super fun trip to Jeju Island for next month. Jeju (it's at the bottom of Korea) is supposed to be really beautiful and nice so I'm really excited about it. There are so many places I want to see and go, I don't know how I'm going to have time for it all! Maybe I'll just have stay on for another year or two! We'll see how things are going next year, haha. It's a little too early to be making those kinds of decisions now.

Anyway, my cold seems to be on the way out, finally! Hopefully the same can be said for the chilly weather. There is a nice little roof area on top of my building that is just begging to be partied on. Things just keep getting better, so I'm excited for what's ahead. :)

Dream big people!

No Hugging

My Korean co-teacher told me today I should stop hugging the students so much. Especially my little buddy Lay since he has been getting worse recently. A no hugging policy is obviously never going to work for me, since the little boogers are so dang cute, but I am going to have to start getting a little stricter with Mr. Lay. He has started saying "no" to everything I ask the class to do. Unacceptable. The other kids all laugh, but thankfully no one else has started down his path of rebellion as well. They rest of the class is doing pretty well, behavior wise other than some getting a little too worked up for their own good sometimes. But, it is a pretty long day for them, so I can understand when they start getting a little stir crazy.

Anyway, I finally went to the doctor here. He spoke really good English and it was really really cheap. About 11,000 won..that's like $10 and some change! To see a doctor! Amazing! And the meds were cheap too. So fantastic. I did have to pay $11 for some honey, but it's all relative I guess. Anyway, I feel a lot better, but I have a cough that will NOT QUIT. It's so annoying. Especially when it wakes me up at night. Or when I have coughing fits on the subway or in front of the class. Not fun. The meds have not taken care of that quite yet, but I'm hoping soon. The doctor said the coughing at night is because of acid reflux...but I'm not so sure. I mean, he's the doctor and all...but I cough all day and it's not any better/worse at night. Who knows. Apparently I have to stay away from chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, ice cream and peppermint. The caffeine is kind of a problem, since I get such bad sleep and the meds make me tired. Doesn't really work well when you have to teach and be happy all day. I have never eaten so many Halls in my life. They don't have the heavy duty Ricola here, so I've stocked up. For a good thing, they are only 1,000 won ($1 about) so I can buy lots. For a bad thing, the package says "cherry candy" on it. Which kind of concerns me. I can't read the rest, so I'm thinking they are probably chock full of sugar. And even though they do soothe the coughing, they don't work for very long. Oh well, I haven't found anything else helpful. Do they say that in the states? I never paid attention. And where they that cheap? I don't ever remember being sick for this long. I usually have allergies, but they only has a few days normally. This is getting ridiculous. Although, I was warned since pretty much everyone told me I would be sick for a while. The "Korean Crud," or just "The Korean," is what people call it. I think I'm going to call it the "Korean Funk."

However, I did have some energy today and I cooked myself a nice little dinner! It's amazing what a little energy, motivation and grocery shopping will do for you! As always, though, I have to buy more food than I can use before it goes bad so I'm going to see if anyone is interested in some onions tomorrow at school. I also looked into how to freeze veggies, but it seemed pretty complicated with blanching and blah blah. Can't deal with all that, sorry.

Oh, and I finally got paid! So fantastic. I have a bank card and everything! Korean banking is a little on the wack side, though. Setting up online banking was a pretty arduous and ridiculous experience. They have like, 10 different security things you have to install and use..it's a little much. Which also means you can't just sign into online banking just anywhere, like at school. Also, you can't make transfers into foreign banks unless you actually go into the bank, with your passport. Seems a bit much to me. But whatever. My money is going fast though! I can finally buy groceries..which includes some expensive "foreign" groceries..like honey and pesto sauce. Luckily, I got a hook up at the commissary on base and he has provided me with 3 boxes of Crispix!!! So excited! Also, there are pretty much a million trips I want to take and things I want to see, so money is just flying out of that bank account.

Well that's it for now. Got some cool trips coming up, including a DMZ tour next weekend! Excited! And now I'm going to watch the last Harry Potter movie. Also very exciting! I really like it here. Once it gets warm, I think things are going to be even better. Can't wait!

Dream big people!

Danger!

That is what my buddy LAY (Ray) says every time a picture of something "dangerous" comes up....in a book, on the TV screen, in a powerpoint, a flashcard, whatever. Things like sharks, anything sharp, like a saw or a knife, big animals or anything that is pointy that my co teacher has warned them about the evils of what can happen if they wave it around in the air, like a pencil or fork. There is lots of danger in the classroom! We are trying to get him to say dangerous, but I think he is pretty proud that he knows the word danger...I also don't think he realizes there is a difference. He looks at us like, yeah, that is what I said fools.

Anyway, the kids have been cracking me up this week. Today we had "Uniform Day" and once again, the same kid didn't get the memo. I guess his mom doesn't like to conform or something because this kid NEVER wears the uniform on designated uniform day. He wears a track suit instead. So 70s and awesome like.  All the classes had to get on stage and sing a song in front of the rest of the school and oddly enough, the child that sings the loudest in class refused to go on the stage. Stage fright I guess. He didn't want to share his gift with the entire school. There have been other funny things going on, but I cannot remember any of them right now. My brain is a bit foggy since the last few days have been the return of the mucus attacks. I'm kind of glad the kids have no idea what I'm saying because some dumb shit has been coming out of my mouth this past week. I know they think I'm a little strange, but now they also probably think I'm crazy since to them, I am always laughing for no reason.

I seriously cannot believe how many times I have blown my nose over the past two days. I had been feeling a lot better too, dammit! You know who else is sick? LAY!!! That little booger! Buuut, probably my own fault for catching it since I am always touching everyone. Most of the class has a runny nose. Probably because it's still FUCKING FREEZING HERE. Such nonsense. Can't even talk about it anymore. WHERE IS SPRING KOREA?!?!

For some positive news, The Hunger Games opens here today! I am going to see it this weekend, woo hoo! I am also going to a birthday party tomorrow where my plan is to drink my cold away. I have also been downloading movies and need some suggestions. I am about to watch "Say Anything" because I've never actually seen the entire thing. I decided to first catch up on 80s classics I've never seen or need to re-watch. This past weekend I re-watched "Pretty in Pink" because it's so damn good and "Annie Hall" because they talked about it on "How I Met Your Mother" and I felt I needed to see it. Wasn't a huge fan. I've also never see "Star Wars"  or "ET" so those are on the list.

So I'm going to go watch that now and go to sleep soon (it's 9:00 here). I wanted to go to bed at 7, but I knew that if I did, I would never sleep the whole night. Last night I went to bed around 11, woke up at 1 and again at 5 and ever really went back to sleep. That suckkkeeedd. Crossing fingers tonight is better.

Tomorrow will definitely be better because I will finally get PAID!!! YAY!!!! I am marching myself straight to the grocery store and buying whatever the hell I want! Damn straight. And then I have to pay back everyone that bought me stuff while I was poor.

Ok, dream big people!

I Laughed, I Cried

Today was a mixed bag. First off, let me just say that I am (for the moment) genuinely excited about seeing my kids every day. I went to sleep Sunday night pretty pumped about seeing all their goober selves Monday morning. Waking up Monday morning was another story. I have discussed previously my dislike for mornings and Korea is no exception. I don't think there is anything I hate more than waking up to an alarm....any morning, for any reason. I know I should be grateful for the day and all that jazz, but horrible, horrible thoughts are in my mind when that alarm goes off. Horrible thoughts and reasons why I should hit snooze 1...then 7 more times. Every night I decide tomorrow is the morning I'm going to get up a little earlier and have a little extra time in the morning to make coffee, get to school a little early, whatever. And every morning I decide how long I can feasibly stay in bed and make it to work on time. I hate it, but I am a night owl and that's that. The absolute latest I can leave my apartment is 8:50...8:55 and I feel guilty about being late, even though no one would say anything. My alarm goes off at 7:40, I usually get out of bed at 8:20 and leave around 8:45. I've given up on trying to look decent. I like Korea, but it's freezing and it's making me ugly. I don't know what is happening, but whatever small amount of good looks I had before I got here have been sucked right out of me. It's very sad.

Anyway, point is, after my initial anger of having to get out of bed (seriously, this happens every morning...even weekends when I can get up when I want. And even days when really great things are going to happen. It's bizarre), I get pumped because I get to see all my little goobers. I stress a little about what I'm going to teach that day, but I usually manage to get my shit together. Monday mornings we have a teachers meeting so I don't get to greet the kids as they come in and it makes me a little sad, but I get to see them later and I get a "Good Morning Jacky Teacher" so I'm good. Well, today, we had snack (fried cornbread with some sort of honey glaze) and then it was off to the bathroom for hand washing. We go on class bathroom breaks probably 6 times a day. I noticed one girl was wearing her headband around her neck so I took it off and tried to put it back on her head. And that son of a bitch broke. It just snapped right in half! Apparently it was made of plastic and not the flexible rubbery material mine is made out of.  All the little girls in the bathroom were just staring at me, silent. And then the little girl burst into tears. OMG-I felt SO terrible. And the worst part was, at first I kind of laughed. LET ME EXPLAIN. First off, that is what I do when I get nervous/uncomfortable/awkward. I didn't think it was funny at all, but it did make me super flustered. I was basically thinking in my head: FUCK. This is not good. Plus, all of them were staring at me like I had just chopped off her hand so it was horrible and I had an audience. And she didn't stop crying for like, 30 minutes. She also refused to look at me and wouldn't come write on the board when I asked her too when we got back to class. Oh my, I just felt so awful! But, later I got her laughing and I gave her a sticker...she seemed pretty pleased about that, so I hope I'm forgiven. I also wrote her mom a note and made an "I'm sorry" card. I think she and I are good, I just hope the mom is cool with it. I'm kind of nervous because a lot of the families have a lot of money and the other teachers are always talking about how demanding the moms are. So, I'm nervous she'll be mad AND I'm nervous that the headband cost a lot of money. I wrote the mom that I would replace it, so I'm just hoping it wasn't a Burberry or Prada headband. Because some of them have Burberry and Prada jackets and clothing. No joke.

So that was the crisis for the day. But at the end of the day, I squatted down to give a little boy a hug goodbye and he gave me a kiss on the cheek! Then my heart exploded. So everything ended on a good note. :)

Also, I have been coming up with some bombass ideas for my class and I'm pumped about using them. I haven't gotten everything 100% ready, but those kids better be prepared to be stunned and amazed. And I also hope they like it because they sometimes don't get into things I think they'll be excited about. We'll see.

Well, I'm tired. Time to go to bed all excited about tomorrow and then wake up grumpy and cursing the world. Yay!

Dream big people!