Ian's Fall from Grace

Today was the kind of day that prompts me to write Palin-esque notes for the blog.

When Ian got to school today everything seemed normal.  Then Gene came into his classroom to let him know that he would soon be emailing him the material for next week.  He sat down and a serious look came across his face.  First he asked Ian why he left school at 8:15 yesterday when he wasn't supposed to leave until 8:40.  Ian corrected him, saying that he had left school at 8:25; then he went on to explain that the 8 o'clock class wasn't even on his schedule, his students just showed up and sat down.  Ian hadn't been prepared for them and he said that he had "something he had to do."  The last part isn't actually true, but Ian was angry and it just came out with the rest of it.  Gene explained away Yoon's lack of professionalism by saying that, in Korea, one's job is very important and one must complete everything that is set before them, no matter what.  Ian felt that the subtext of Gene's speech was something akin to "In America, workers must be spoon fed their responsibilites and walked through their day to day lives, so I understand how you got mixed up."  Gene implored Ian to say nothing other than that he was sorry because instead of speaking directly to Ian, Julia and David (and the Goam staff) use Gene as a whipping boy and yell at him.  Ian agreed and said it would never happen again (because after no fewer than twelve revisions, Ian's schedule is finally concrete).

Ian's day got better, though.  Spending time with his spastic students brightened things up for him.

My day was pretty good.  I'm completely in love with my 6:30 Essential 2 class (the kids are 12 and 13).  The kids are Ashley (she spells it Asuley), Peggy, Kelly, Oliver and Gavin.  They are hilarious.  Today's class provided me with these laughs:

Gavin:  Where's Kelly?

Ashley: She threw the bus.

Gavin: What?

Ashley: She didn't know the bus time.  She threw the bus.

Me: Oh!  You mean she missed the bus.

Ashley: Yeah!

(All the kids started miming Kelly throwing a bus.)

I wrote some simple questions (with some "fill in the blanks" so that they could make their own question) on the board for a warm up (the kids throw a ball back and forth and ask each other).

Gavin: Who is your favorite human?

Ashley: I like everyone.

Me: Okay.

Ashley: Wait! I don't like... (stands up and starts miming a trenchcoat flasher) crazy man!

 (I start laughing from shock and embarassment)

Ashley: Understand?

Me:  I do understand, I just wish I didn't.

Later, the kids are still asking questions.

Ashley: Do you like pants?

My last class (Essential 1) isn't quite as fun, but there was one awkwardly funny moment.  The kids were taking turns asking each other "Where is...?" questions and practicing using prepositions.  I apologize for the transcribed crudeness.

Arthur:  Where is labia?

(silence)

Arthur: Where is labia?  (He gets up and walks to the map).

Me: Saudi Arabia? 

Arthur: No.  (Under his breath, scanning the map) Labia, labia, labia... (He comes to Africa and stops).

Me: Libya?

Arthur: Yeah!


Good night!

Forgotten Stories

But, first, an update.  The only news I received regarding Chun wha and Chang su is that they are still in the hospital (as of this afternoon), but they are "better" than yesterday.  I wish there was something I could do.  If I decide I have the gumption tomorrow, I may call Julia and ask her which hospital they are in.  But, I don't even know if they have visitations here.  And when I reached the hospital, how would I communicate?  It's a tough situation.  I really want to lend support, but I have very little agency to do so.

Living abroad has altered our perception of normal.  We are so used to the metaphorical ground shifting underneath our feet that we forget some of our smaller experiences might be interesting to other folks.  So, I'll share a couple of previously forgotten stories and then a short humorous one from Ian today.

Firstly, Ian and I met another foreigner when we were on the bus to Wonju.  The fact that we met him at all was a little amazing in itself because he was only on the bus because he missed his train earlier that day and we were only on the bus because we couldn't remember the word for train and decided to ask the cab driver to take us to the bus terminal instead.  Anyway, the guy's name is Qasim and he's originally from Pakistan, but he's been living in the states since his early teens.  He was heading to catch a bus in Wonju to go rock climbing.  He works in a tiny town called Jucheon (I'm not sure how to spell it).  It's very rural.  The town really only exists to have a school for all the kids living in the rural outskirts to attend.  He didn't seem to mind it much, but he did say that his fellow teacher (who was a woman) left because she couldn't handle the gender politics.  There's a new girl in her place who isn't having a much easier time.  I imagine that rural Korea is quite the mind trip.  Qasim was totally rad.  We talked movies and we seemed to have the same taste.  We discussed Wes Anderson, Tarsem Singh and Stanley Kubrick.  Unfortunately, I can't find him on Facebook.  With no last name, it's nearly impossible.

A couple of weeks ago I inadvertently made a student's mother cry.  We weren't face to face or anything.  In fact, I never even spoke with her.  Her son (Gabriel) is a real pain.  He often doesn't bring his book and is usually either sleeping or playing games on his cell phone during class.  So, at least every other week, I get tired of barking at him and send him out.  Well, one time he didn't sit on the couch as directed.  Instead he went straight home.  His mother called and cried to Chun wha.  I'm not sure if she cried because she felt I was treating her son unfairly or if she was frustrated with him as well.  It's most likely the former.  Actually, I sent him out of class again today and he ran off leaving his bag and pencil case behind.


You may or may not remember that Ian has a mentally disabled student in one of his classes.  His name is Logan.  Usually he's pretty harmless, just grunting his answers.  Sometimes, though, he suddenly gets up and starts kicking and hitting Ian.  Today was especially bad for that.  Finally, Ian got fed up, grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully sat him back down.  As he did so, a huge glob of drool fell onto Ian's hand.  Luckily, he had tissues and hand sanitizer near by.  As soon as he poured some into his hands, the students began to beg for some.  Kids here are obsessed with hand sanitizer.  Actually the whole society is.  It's a little disturbing.


Here are a couple of photos I took of the unexpected snow yesterday.  My forecast is always predicting snow showers lately, so I never know when it's actually going to happen.

The reflective surface of the play field (this is Sinback Elementary) always makes it look like we got much more snow than we did from our window.

Guy pushing the rapidly melting snow off the Tous Les Jour awning.  Tous Les Jour took the place of the corner bakery (the sign said "bay-kuh-ree" in Hangeul).  We call all these places fakeries because everything is made from the same prepackaged dough mix.  Every place (whether it's a giant corporate chain like Tous Les Jour or Paris Baguette or a tiny one off place) has exactly the same things to offer.  It's like the Korean government set up a committee to decide what bread products should be popular and they handed out a memo to everyone.  Though, I do like the sesame bread and the sweet potato cakes.  There is little else at these places worth eating.  Bagels simply should not be soft and squishy.

Good night!

Bad News in Broken English

It was a bit of a strange day at Haso.  When I got to work, Chun wha was not there.  Instead, there was another woman in her office.  I recognized her because she used to work at Sinback when I first started and she's floated around Yoon's doing different jobs.  I don't know her name, though and she doesn't speak any English.  I figured that Chun wha was either doing something else for Julia today or that she had taken a much needed vacation.  I went about my day as usual with the substitute principle loudly calling students names to make them put their (unnecessary) name tags on and occasionally interrupting my classes to give students their new books for next week.  Chun wha speaks English and so we talk a little throughout the day.  It was oddly alienating having someone else in her place.

At the end of the day I found out from Eun wha (the teacher that gives me a ride home) that Chun wha and her husband (whose actual name is Chang su, by the way) were in a car accident this morning in the Goam neighborhood.  Apparently they are doing alright, but they are still in the hospital.  Chang su hit his head on the windshield and has been in and out of conciousness.  I don't know if there are any other serious injuries or exactly what his condition is.  It's difficult to get concise and accurate answers through a language barrier.

So, my thoughts are with them this evening.  I work at Haso again tomorrow, so I hope to hear that everyone is recovering well.  I'll keep you posted.

Good night!

Disapearing Act

Tuesdays are nice.  My classes don't start until 3:30; so I don't have to be to work until 2:30, an hour later than usual.  Yesterday at our meeting, Julia told me that my last class on Tuesdays was canceled as well.  So, now I only have four hours of class and I can leave an hour early.  

I also don't have a final class on Mondays this term, so I leave an hour early on that day, too.

I'm perfectly happy to spend less time at work (though I stayed 30 minutes after my last class helping Michelle with her kids tonight).  But, I'm a little concerned about the amount of students I'm losing.  Granted, they all just started a new school year and many of them have quit Yoon's simply because they're moving on to middle school and need more time for regular studies.  I still can't help but worry about what part my performance is having on enrollment.  We may not be in love with our jobs here, but we still want to do them well.  I work really hard on my classes, but as they get smaller it gets more difficult to make them fun and fulfilling for the kids.  It's tough to run a lesson plan on two students for 50 minutes.

I suspect, also, that the Goam change has taken its toll.  With all the resources and focus thrown at that campus, Haso and Sinback are just skating by.

Ian and I have never seen an advertisement for Yoon's aside from the signs on the campus buildings themselves (not in Jecheon, Busan, or even Seoul).  We see advertisements for GnB everywhere and I've even seen a couple for Wonderland and some less famous academies.  With tuition at Yoon's as expensive as it is, you'd think that they'd have more money for marketing.  Without marketing, how are they expecting to draw kids in?

Ian's schedule changed twice again today.  That makes about ten spontaneous changes in the last week.  I really hope this company gets it together, as Ian and I would go down with it if it sank.

Good night!

Monday Movie Recommendations

We had our 11:30 meeting at the Goam campus today.  Even though Ian's schedule is a mess, it's tough not to be a little jealous of the new set up.  His desk and computer are in his classroom which means that he is set up like an actual teacher, not just shoved in the corner (or closet, in the case of Haso).  And he has Rahee and Angela (who speak very good English) if he ever has a moment to be bored.  The campus looks really nice.  I'm interested in what sort of changes will happen to my campuses at the end of May.

The meeting went normally.  Everyone is still confused about the Goam schedule and no one really has time to care about what I'm up to, which is a bit of a relief.

Ian and I have decided to make our way through the "Greatest Movies Ever" book that Justin gave us for our wedding.  We plan to watch all the movies on the list that we haven't seen; it's doubtful we'll make it throught them in six months.  We started a week ago with "The Graduate" and we'll be watching "The Godfather: Part 1" tonight with the second part following tomorrow.

In that spirit, I wanted to recommend a few Korean films to you.  Well, the only three Korean movies I've actually seen, at least.

Gwoemul or The Host in English.  The literal translation of the title is "Monster."  You may remember it's limited release in the states.  The plot follows a family as they deal with the catastrophic events following a very large mutant's emergence from the Han.  It's a blockbuster, but it has political bite, especially regarding American military presence in Korea.

 

Oldboy.  It's phonetically the same in Korean ("oldaboi").   It's probably one of the most famous Korean films ever made.  It's actually part of a trilogy, falling between Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.  The plot follows a man who searches for answers as to why he was imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years.  It's dark, but empathetic and it has an excellent reputation with critics (including Western ones).

 Treeless Mountain.  This film is my favorite of the three that I've seen, mostly because it depicts the Korea that Ian and I know and see on an everyday basis.  The film follows the two sisters after they are left behind by their mother, who tells them she is going to look for their father.  They're left with their aunt, a caricature of common people in rural Korea.

You can watch all three films instantly on Netflix.

Good night!

Sundays are Meant for Sitting

And Ian and I have mastered that.  After a quick trip to the market, we spent the whole day just like this:

It's strange living without a couch or different rooms to wander in and out of.  I imagine this is what it would feel like to live in a hotel.  We've been watching "t.v." and munching on fruit and veggies all day.  Very Roman; or at least that's how I've imagined Romans lived ever since I learned that they took their meals in a reclined position.

We have our meeting tomorrow at 11:30.  It's been changed to the Goam campus, which means there's some chance that Julia will be there.  Maybe she'll have remembered my name.

Good night!

A Change of Scenery

We had a fun day today.  We got up and ran our Saturday 5k and when we got back there was notice of a package on our door.  I walked down and asked our building super if the package was here or at the post office.  At first he thought it was here, but it wasn't.  We had just missed the mailman, so he called him up and they turned around and brought me our package.  It was pretty darn convenient.  For me, at least.

 

Ian's birthday present from me.  Luckily, the straps adjust, so it gets longer.

Mom sent us chia seeds and some info on staying away from GMOs.  Thanks, Mom!

After the package excitement we ate lunch and hopped a bus for Wonju.  Ben and Amy were originally going to come with us, but she's come down with bronchitis, so they decided to stay home.  I hope she feels better soon.

We didn't do anything in Wonju that we couldn't do in Jecheon, but the change was nice.  We were hoping for lunch at Subway, but we never found it.  So, we had Mr. Pizza instead.  Their salad bar was much better than the one here.  More traditional salad options and better yogurt toppings.  It didn't turn out to be the healthiest day, but it was a good time.  We saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D at Lotte Cinema.  The popcorn was disappointing.  Same strange fake looking and tasting popcorn we have here in Jecheon.  And they only had regular soda.  But, the movie was enjoyable.  Not as deep or as stimulating as we were hoping, but fun and a decent look at Alice from a new standpoint.  I think the 3D (as it was an afterthought on Disney's part) was a little distracting for this film.  There's a lot to look at (it is Tim Burton, after all) and the 3D forces you to zero in on the foreground.  I think it's worth seeing on the big screen if only for the visual rhetoric.

 They didn't let us keep our glasses.

That's about all we did in Wonju.  We never even made it out to the outlet mall.  There is a cheap shop with cute women's stuff in it near the cinema which we may visit again.

Other than a morning trip to the market, we intend to be hermits tomorrow, living off apples and cherry tomatoes.

Good night!