All's Well on the Eastern Front

The name pun is pretty lame, I know.

Let me get this out again: I'm not fond of blogs. It's so hard to avoid sounding pretentious or self-involved because you're talking about YOURSELF. As much as I like talking about myself, actual physical evidence of my pomposity makes me cringe. That's why I've failed with the DMZ.

The DMZ is an amazing, terrifically uncomfortable, and (for lack of a better term) eye-opening experience. But I haven't really been able to figure out how to do it justice. So I guess I'll have to table that posting for when I either gain talent or no longer feel so intimidated by the subject.

That said, the primary purpose of my blog is to keep folks from home updated on my life (as a substitute for the dreaded mass-email). That point has been an even greater failure, because I've not remotely done that. My last posting informed everyone (rather late, too) that I was unemployed. The next day, I got a job.

THE NEXT DAY.

So even though I knew my contract would end a month in advance, I only spent two weeks unemployed. For those of you who were concerned about my well-being but didn't talk to my parents, sorry about the lack of info. This new job is amazing. It's at a public school, which is kind of the promised land for foreign teachers in Seoul. Good hours, job stability, good pay, and most importantly: lower expectations. My previous employers had kind of insane expectations for teachers who had no experience. They didn't train us or tell us how to do anything. Instead, they'd say things like "You need to make your class more fun, but push them."

Sounds good. HOW???

"Don't play games with them." One week. Next week, "Make sure they have fun!"

You get the idea. My current job is so much better. I actually have a partner teacher I discuss lesson plans with. I don't have to do evaluations or monthly plans every month (during my free time and without pay). I'm allowed to play games and talk with my students. I only teach between 1:00 and 6:00pm.

Overall, it's a nearly ideal situation. I'd continue, but I have to stop before I go on a greater tangent. But there's more to the story. I need to tame the Korean rental market. AISH...