Jonggak

So, I've had plenty of things to talk about, but very little time to do so. Hopefully I won't write another novel for this post.

(Points to you if you just scrolled down to see how long this posting was. Negative points if you scroll down now.)

Anyway, my coworker, H, and I went to Jonggak. That's the area around the government offices etc. in Seoul. It's really cool. There are plenty of little shops and stalls in the area (That's nothing new; Seoul's only form of tourism is shopping.) There was the Namsam tower, which I haven't gone up, but fully intend to. You can apparently see a lot of Seoul from there. That seems like something I can save for when someone (ahem!) visits me. Anyway, that tower is in a Korean TV show I like (Boys Over Flowers!! <3 arg, I can't believe I just made a heart. I must be turning.) There's also Bosingak Bell Tower, which has existed since the 1300's and still works. It's pretty cool looking.

We wandered to the man-made waterfall/source? and there was this cool screw sculpture thingie. In front of it, there was a taekwondo exhibition. In case you don't know, taekwondo began in Korea, so it's kind of a big deal here. The exhibition was awesome. They played music in the background (We heard Mulan and Pirates of the Caribbean) and did some dance/martial arts moves. Also, they broke boards and did incredible acrobatics. It was like extreme cheerleading meets martial arts meets glee club (though technically they didn't sing). When I put it like that, it sounds lame, but it was actually kind of awe-inspiring. Okay, I did giggle sometimes, but mostly I was impressed.

Also, we were wandering down the street, when this guy started talking to us in English. If you're in a foreign country and someone speaks in your language, that's guaranteed to make to you stop. Anyway, these people were opening a club, and they wanted us to go in. H made a joke about us getting sold for slavery, which I'm hoping went over his head. We tried to say no, but then he offered us free drinks, so naturally we went inside. It was pretty much what you picture when you think of a club. I've been to a few clubs by now, and they always strike me as kind of tawdry. But since this place still had the new club smell, it was kind of cool. Everything was white (except the staff, badum ching!) and the lighting was neon pink. It has the potential to be really swanky or really sleazy, depending on what happens to it in the next couple weeks. The most notable part of the club for me was the fact that the bartenders kept checking themselves out in the mirrors. Not to overgeneralize, but constant checking one's appearance is a common Korean pasttime. However, this wasn't just quick glances. There was this one guy who literally stood in front of the full length mirror and watched himself dance. I wouldn't have stared, but he was so busy looking soulfully into his own eyes he didn't notice.

Okay, I have lots more to talk about, but how about I keep it to Jonggak? I'll post some photos and later this week I'll share some more. Gosh, you're lucky.

By the way, I think I fixed the whole comment problem with my blog. So people should totally try to comment.

Mai Tai Monday

I've been pretty busy lately, but that's no excuse. I really should post more, if only to say "Hello, I'm still here, and no, I don't like corn yet."

So anyway, it's Thursday, and I can't help thinking of how colleges nickname this day "Thirsty Thursday." I know that there are nicknames for every day of the week, though I have no idea what Monday would be ("Margarita Monday?" "Muddle Monday?" "Moonshine Monday?"). Either way, as someone who is (finally) employed, I have to say: I didn't know what it was to crave Thirsty Thursday before now. A week of teaching children really makes me want a nice Mojito. (Ooh! Mojito Monday!!! That's perfect!) A few of us are going to celebrate Thirsty Thursday today. It's just so easy to buy a beer at the convenience store across the street and chat. Come to think of it, we've done that every day this week... If B is the number of beers drunk in one sitting, and S is the number of sittings in a week, then B times S is equal to the amount of BS we had to deal with at work that week. Perfect.

On another note, I did celebrate wing night on Tuesday. It wasn't on par with Taco Tuesday (which used to be my favorite day of the week), but it's still a nice break. We go to this bar in Itaewon called Rocky Mountain Tavern. It's a Canadian bar, and the guidebook says that the atmosphere "can be a little chilly if you aren't Canadian." Naturally, I don't understand where they got that idea, but I'm really curious about the writer's experience. Did Oh Canada come on the speakers, and he/she sat, humiliated, while everyone else sang? Can you spot a Canadian or non-Canadian on sight? What constitutes "chilly?"

Anyway, other than a few nights of relaxation, some swine flu hysteria, and Boys Over Flowers (I love you, Jun Pyo!), I haven't done much beyond work. And to be honest, the hysteria wasn't me, so it doesn't really count as something I did.

I'm still here, and I don't like corn yet.

Situation: Normal(ish)

Well, it's been pretty much exactly a week since I posted last, and though I don't have much to report, I figured I may as well report nonetheless.

It's a good thing I've little to report. I still have a job, though now I spend my mornings typing and inserting clip art. Afternoons are a little more interesting. We started a new semester this week, and that means I teach almost all new classes. Some of them are pretty exciting: I get to teach older kids! It's amazing how nice it is to not have to worry about tears every time I raise my voice. And yes, I still have to raise my voice. I also have two private lessons, which is nice.

Though I have to say, I was kind of spoiled with the girl I had as a private lesson before. Her name was Sylvia, and she was twelve, interested in English, and always gave me presents. She, however, is now in boarding school in Canada. I'm teaching her little brother now, but he's just not interested in English at all. Unless he's lying. He told me he had a pet alligator, and I was so excited he was talking that I let him tell me all about it. Of course, there are much less entertaining students to have. At least if I keep him lying, we'll have some moderately interesting conversations. Likely, they'll all revolve around dinosaurs and reptiles.

The stress levels at work are high. Everyone is getting ready for open class (except me) and the new semester. I have this surreal separation from everyone else since I no longer have a morning class. At first, it felt a little like I was a leper (like maybe it would spread). But now we're kind of back to normal. Normal for us anyway, which means lots of tempers, one bitch out, a mild revolt from the foreign teachers (that's us!), one firing (the new girl replacing O.), and emergency meetings. Please don't think my school is in constant uproar or anything; last week was really bad, and this week was all about sandbagging. Plus there may or may not be some rather dramatic personalities within the school walls.

I've also been around Seoul a bit more. For the most part, I keep to the places people have taken me before (Hungdae, Itaewon, Insadong, Dongdaemon). There aren't many places for a tourist to visit here. I asked someone about that, and she said that most of the tourism involves shopping. There are a couple things like the city wall, or a palace or two. But for the most part, it's open markets and strange shops. I kind of prefer that, to be honest.

Okay, there's not much else to say. It's a Sunday, and I spent the day relaxing and watching old movies (To Catch a Thief, It Happened One Night, etc). So I'd better go before I get more inane than usual.

Lemon Class ... :(

First of all, I'd like to point out that last week would have been nuts, even without my drama. After all, it was the end of the month. The end of the month issues with it a great deal of paperwork and stress. There are student evaluations, monthly plans, and various other things to fill out. But this wasn't just the end of the month; it was the end of a semester. So the whole week was spent finishing our books and lessons for each class. Plus, the administration was trying to figure out what classes everyone would teach next semester.

Everything’s changing because we had some people resign (as in sign again), so their contracts were negotiated and classes got swapped. Plus a large number of afternoon classes were getting completely restructured.

By the way, we started open classes (classes where the parents come to watch and judge your teaching) and the August show is on Monday. There was plenty for each of the teachers to think about. This didn’t exactly make for a happy work environment; there was enough bitching in the teacher’s lounge that I had to stay in my classroom between classes or risk despair.

Lots of things to worry about, right? Well, that wasn't enough. Because not only were we dealing with the end of the semester, but one of our English teachers ended his contract (this was planned), and one of our Korean teachers (let's call her O.) resigned (as in quit). We met the new girl on Wednesday.

If only that were the end of the drama. But alas, that is not the case.

Well, O. decided to leave our school, and she gave them a month's notice. They didn't find anyone until this week, and the girl began training on Wednesday. That's when all Hell broke loose. O. was my partner teacher for baby class. On Wednesday, she started calling all of the mothers to inform them of the change in teachers.

I'd like to take this moment to point out a couple obvious things:
1. Three days is not sufficient warning for mothers to adjust to the idea of a new teacher.
2. My school had told them that teacher switching isn't common.
3. The Korean teacher doesn't really have much to do with teaching (she's a liaison between the English teacher and the mothers. Very little interaction with the students).
4. Korean hagwon mothers are nuts.

Well, the moms weren’t happy. To demonstrate just how unhappy they were, they decided to have a meeting with the administration. I was working, blissfully unaware of this until 6:15 pm when a staff member interrupted my class to warn me, ala: "The Mothers are coming! The Mothers are coming!"

I had class until 7:00, and proceeded to get more and more nervous. Apparently they arrived at 6:30 (as was evident by the screams of my baby class as they and their mothers walked down the halls. I don't know where they learned that behavior, because they never screamed and ran amuck when I was teaching them.) They were there for an hour and I stuck around in case they wanted me to join.

Everyone was incredibly stressed by 7:30, and I was anxious to get out of school. The mothers got their kids and left, saying nothing to me (though the kids all said goodbye and whatnot). I had no idea what all was said in the meeting, but I knew that it didn't have much to do with me.

I tell you this long, long story because I want you to fully understand the situation that I walked into on Thursday morning. When I strolled in to work, I wasn't sure what exactly had happened the night before. If anything, I figured the moms might be mad for a while. But when I stepped inside, my boss waved me over to the front desk and said, "Janette, six of your students were pulled from Lemon class. You'll only have three today."

This is why I say Korean hagwon mothers are nuts. They were upset enough with a change in staffing that they pulled their kids out of our school overnight. I had ten minutes of warning before I had to go start my class. What a difficult thing to do! I had to go into the room, pretending everything was okay, being perky and cheerful and teaching vegetable vocabulary. The three kids kept on asking where everyone else was, and I just said that they were gone that day. I was so afraid of pissing off the remaining mothers that I felt like I couldn’t discipline or yell at them. By the end of the day, the remaining three were pulled (I don't blame the mothers for not wanting to have a three student class).

Lemon class is officially disbanded.

Obviously, I'm still kind of upset. I can't imagine something like this happening in the U.S. If U.S. private school moms were angered, they'd have a whole bunch of meetings, and if they couldn't agree after all of that, maybe they’d take their kids out. It would take weeks, or at least days. But hagwons aren't exactly the same as private schools. Plus, not to stereotype the mothers or anything, but these are very wealthy women, most of whom have never worked, and are very used to having their own way.

But it all happened so fast. It actually had nothing to do with me or my teaching (my coworkers have been telling me how much the kids have improved since I took over). However, that does leave me without a morning kindergarten, which is a five hour long class.

My school has been pretty good to me, considering. They told me that until December, when the next English teacher leaves, I can fill in my morning class times with workbook writing and paperwork. Obviously I'd prefer to have a class, but they didn't fire me or reduce my hours ... That’s something.

Anyway, aside from the pity from everyone, missing my kids (I was really attached to all of them), and general dismay at the situation, I'm doing fine. I've still got my job, I no longer have to be cheerful in the morning, and I can probably milk this for free drinks from my coworkers.

Hey, a girl's got to have her priorities.

Corn!!

What is up with Koreans and their corn?

I don't really like corn. It's fine on the cob, but anyone who's ever lived or eaten with me, probably knows that I don't care for corn.

But for Koreans, it's a staple. Seriously. They put corn on their pizza, in their sandwiches, and just about anywhere you wouldn't expect it. It seems like they like to put corn in foreign food. Today I bought a ham and cheese sandwich (they call it toast) and it had ham, cheese, eggs with corn in them, and kiwi sauce. It's not bad or anything, but I'm kind of sick of discovering corn in everything. Lots of egg things have corn in them. Bah.

Just thought I'd share that rant with everyone.

Wednesday ...

I totally jinxed it with my last post. I swear, this job is a roller coaster ride. Except that cliche doesn't fit completely because you can get off roller coasters. And even in a roller coaster you know that you're pretty much safe.

I'm not implying that it's unsafe here (please don't freak out!). It's very safe in Seoul. But you're strapped in to a roller coaster. I'm kind of operating without a clue. Or a seatbelt, if I feel like riding the cliche train (I don't. Is riding the ___ train a cliche? Yargh!!). Anyway, the point is, every time I think I've got a handle on my job, something happens to yank me off my feet (cliche count: 6).

Last post, I felt like maybe I was getting a feel for the kids (cliche count:7). And that's partway true; they do like me more. But the reason the class was so much easier to teach last week was that one of my students was on vacation. She's not a problem child (8), but still. The minute Amy was back, she wouldn't stop speaking Korean, and everyone else started up again. I would say something about bad apples, but I'm trying to avoid more cliches (nice try, Janette, cliche count: 9).

Anyway, my job doesn't suck, but it's quite the challenge. And if just one of my children is gone for the day, everything is so much easier! Today the sweetest, most obedient student was gone, and everyone was easier to handle. That doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't her shining example (10) be lifting the cumulative goodness in my class?

Also, Wednesdays are Science day. The kids love science class. I don't know why, because they have the lamest projects, and they take ten minutes. We're supposed to stretch it to half an hour, and most teachers manage to make it last all afternoon. I still haven't gotten that far. Anyway, I have nightmares (11?) about science class. Today was a good example of why. The kids were good, I had control over them, but our project involved a dark blue dye. What kind of idiot decides that they want to give three and four year olds their own bottles of dark blue dye? Who is trying to ruin my life (cliche count: 12) ? Thank goodness, no dye got on anyone, but that was because I doled out ink with the miserliness of Scrooge (maybe 13; it's hard to say).

Okay, so that's about it. I'd better stop whining before I make anyone think I'm unhappy. Or the count gets too old (too late! Just for that, we're bumping you up to 15).

Down by the Bay ...

It's getting harder to update nowadays because I've gotten a little bit busier. But here are some of the highlights:

I don't want to jinx it, but this week was the first one so far where I felt like my kids and I actually got along. It was only a slight change; they listened a little better and smiled a little more. Somehow, though, those tiny changes made a huge difference in the week. Also, I've had this problem child (she kind of bullies the other students) from the start. But I've punished her enough that she doesn't even argue with me anymore. For instance, when a child does something wrong, I make them put their head down. She used to moan and stare at me until I literally put my hand on her head. Now if I say, "Head down!" she does it and will wait until I say she can put her head up. This is a big accomplishment, silly though it may sound.

We also need to decorate our rooms by the end of August. The girl who taught before me didn't really do anything, so I'm stuck with pretty much an entire room that's bare. So far, I've put up a calendar, the days of the week, weather, seasons, the alphabet, numbers, and colors. I made a tree using cutouts of the children's hands, and I designated a section of wall for their art. There's still so much to fill, so if anyone has any bright ideas, please let me know. Oh, and here's something I'm kind of proud of: we sing Down by the Bay in class, and for their new nametags, I put different animals from that song next to their names. For instance, I made a whale with a polka dot tail. I think it's cute, but it took a long time, so I hope the mothers don't object for some reason.

Also, I went back to Hungdae during the day. My coworker, D, and I had mexican food and gelato. I also discovered that I like Hungdae quite a bit in the daytime. It's cute; it doesn't look like the rest of Seoul. They have all sorts of restaurants and such, and it's relatively close to where we live, so I have a feeling I'll be there during the day more often.

We also went to Hongik Univ. area. Apparently, that's a women's university. You can kind of tell, because the place is full of little stores. There were scads of boutiques, some western, some Korean, and streets full of the outdoor vendors. I really wanted to buy a pair of shoes (only 5000 won, aka $4) while we were there, but being that I had 4000 won to my name, it was mostly window shopping. I did end up buying this key ring for my phone. It has a picture of Gu Joon Pyo from Boys Over Flowers on it.

Boys Over Flowers is a Korean drama that isn't on anymore, but is still wildly popular. It's hilariously bad, so it naturally sucks you in. There are four main guys and one female lead. As a result, you can find all sorts of things with the guy's pictures pasted on them (Dunkin Donuts ads, makeup bags, cans of Coke ... ). In case you're wondering, Gu Joon Pyo is far and away the most attractive. There are a lot of really beautiful Korean men out there. It's enough to make a western girl feel like the elephant man. But Gu Joon Pyo is the most gorgeous. Plus, he has curly hair, which is kind of unusual for a Korean (I'm thinking perm). Anyway, given that I'm already regressing to middle school mentality, I may as well have a picture of a tv star attached to my phone.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but apparently women in Korea always have keychains on their cell phones. There's actually a special spot on the phone so that you can attach a chain there. The key is to find the biggest, ugliest, brightest thing possible. I may have gone in the other direction, but I think I get points for picking a Korean tv star.