Just a typical Monday

Mondays are usually my long day I'm at school by 8:05 because I have to be on the school English broadcast by 8:25am. Honestly I am usually typing out my book to read right before I go downstairs for it. This week I'd gotten everything done the week before so I was ready when I ran to the broadcast room at 8:20. I got there and the four students who usually run things were trying to set up. They'd had a few mistakes the last couple of weeks so I was going over things with them that might need to get checked. Then I started to read. The announcer was next to me and asking for a pen so while I was reading I quickly handed it to her. Then one of the 6th grade boys who is the president of the student body was acting silly on the other side of the camera trying to make me laugh. About the time the Third Billy Goat Gruff went across the bridge I had the two announcers both petting my hair cause they liked the curls. I somehow managed to get through the rest of the broadcast without losing it. There was one swift kick under the desk at one of the students petting my hair.
After the broadcast I come back to the English Center where I planed my lessons for the day with Miss. Kim. It was an easy lesson for the sixth grade so not much to worry about. We taught the three classes and nothing to strange happened, just the usual student antics. One of the classes got punished because they think they are the worst class. They are going to be better this month we hope because if they aren't they get to do a whole period of squats and chanting that they are the best class.
Lunch was the usual collection of young students really excited to see me and talk and older students trying to be cool.
Back in my office once more I was visited by three 6th grade girls who practice their English by helping me practice my Korean. They went over my homework for Korean class and then talked with me in English about Pepero day which is Wednesday.
I then had 2 periods to plan a lesson for the teachers. I used the books the school has assigned and came up with a short lesson that should have been relatively straight forward and easy. Of course nothing goes as planned. The class was to start at 3:30 and go for 20 minutes. My part got started around 4:00 and lasted till 4:20. My regular Miss Kim was out at a training so I got my old Miss Kim to translate for me. This lesson is done in front of the principal, Vice principal, head teachers and basically the whole faculty of the school.
The first round of giggles started when I made the comment that I really liked the next saying. It was "Are there any tickets available on the Monday morning flight to Atlanta?" I swear it was in the book and I didn't change it at all. Miss Kim turned and looked at me with wide eyes going Why?!? Do you like that! All the other teachers were partially confused because they don't all remember I'm from Atlanta. I said don't worry I'm not going to go home right now. I just like the idea of it. She then had to fill in everyone. Who started laughing at the idea that I was going to take off for home.
The next dialog I was teaching talked about wanting to take a trip to swim at the beach. I'd spent 30 minutes one day after school helping my translator for the day practice the right way to say "Bitch" (she'd been watching too much gossip girl.) So when we got to the line and all the teachers and principal said Beach as Bitch... there was laughter. Miss Kim then had to explain that this was one of those words where one letter mispronounced could make a HUGE difference. Of course in the middle of this one of the older female teachers who I really respect busted out with "OH! Son of a BITCH! Asah!" She had made the connection very loudly... and anyone who wasn't laughing before was then. I had to have them practice saying both words so they could hear and feel the difference in saying both of them. By the time I headed home at 4:30 I was exhausted. Having a cold, teaching, and trying to keep both students and teachers interested in English all day can be exhausting.

Love Motels

From Busan with Desi

If you travel enough in Korea you will eventually stay in a "Love Motel" I just hadn't had the guts to do it yet. Mainly due to the stereotypes I had about them. I guess I should give a little background here. Koreans live with their families till they get married, unless they get into one of the SKY colleges (Big universities in Seoul.) So if they want to have sex outside of marriage or just before they get married they have devised many places to have a little privacy to do so. They have DVD bangs, which are rooms with huge padded sofas and big movie screens so you can either a) watch a movie or b) cuddle in private with your special someone. Then they have Love motels where pretty much all pretense of doing anything other than having sex is given up. They are designed for anonymity. Garages and parking lots have curtains or barriers up so that you can't recognize the cars that might be parked there. You check in and pay in cash through a small window so your face can't really be seen. There is a light up board with pictures of the rooms available and you choose your number pay the money and they hand you a key and toothbrushes.

From Busan with Desi

The rooms are pretty nice but you know they are designed with one thing in mind. Huge beds, nice tvs, large spa tubs and showers, and a selection of condoms and porn on the tv.
Desi and I stayed in one in Busan this weekend right near the beach, it was cheap, clean, and thankfully fairly sound proof once we closed the second set of doors. Since we were only going down for one night and most of the hotels in the area where we were spending most of our time cost over 200,000\ a night. A love motel at 120,000\ was a pretty good deal since it was less than a block from the beach. I may crash at a few more of them in the future, purely to save money and they are fairly nice so long as they have good sound proofing so you don't hear your neighbors all night.

It's my parents and National Geographic's Fault

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I have been very busy recently. Along with my regular teaching and trying to make sure I see my friends here in Daegu, I've been planning. Well, really planning, plotting, saving, reading, researching, and trying to make some general plans for this coming winter break.  So where am I headed?
I leave New Years day for Beijing, China. It's a short 3 day 2 night tour but it covers the highlights.  I'm going with a good friend here who will probably head home next fall,  we wanted to do a big trip together before then.  I've wanted to go to the Great Wall since I was in Elementary school. I would sit and read and look at the pictures in my parents National Geographics and think that I'd really like to see that but probably never would. Heck, I didn't really like the stir-fry when Mom made it so how would I survive traveling in a country where that was like most of what they ate. UGH! YUCK!! Not for me. Of course I grew up and I've discovered they eat a lot of different things and stir- fry is not the only thing.  Of course when I was in seventh or eight grade... I can't remember which I just remember it was Social Studies with Mrs. Grierson. We talked about China and the riots in Tienanmen Square.  I still had that hang up about the food but, kept thinking that would be so amazing to see.  So now it's twenty years later and I just paid for my trip to Beijing. I'm actually going to see those things I sat and dreamed about when I was about 10 years old. Some of the people I've talked to about this have been going... um it's two months out... if you're this excited now you're going to be bouncing off the inside of the plane when the time gets here.  I know... I'm working on trying to stay focused on work and not build it up too much... but the inner 10 year old is winning some days.

I'm also taking a second trip in mid or late January not sure which thanks to having to wait on my winter camp assignments from the DMOE. This one is more my Mom's fault. Around the time I started getting really burned out teaching in Atlanta, she handed me a book "Eat, Pray, Love" told me she thought I'd like it.  What came from it is another little kernel of a dream to travel to Bali. Add in a couple of years of cold weather and craving a beach and warmth in the middle of winter and you have my second destination this winter.  I'll be there for around a week and try to see a good chunk of the island and relax and get ready for the new school year with a new co-teacher.

Along with those two big trips I've been doing short trips to Busan and Seoul, trying to soak up as much as I can in short periods of time. This weekend I'm going to Busan on a "Girls Weekend" with Desi, since she'll be heading back to Atlanta for good in February. Hopefully the weather holds and we get sun and maybe something warmer than the 55 degrees it's been averaging most of this week.