Day 427: TGIFF

TGIFF = Thank God It's Fucking Friday!

Pardon my language, but lemme tell you it's been one of my worst working weeks in my entire working history. This whole Judy thing just keeps on going and going with no end in sight. She cried - once again - all damn day long today! That makes four straight days of solid screaming. My nerves are completely gone.

Despite being such a terrible week, things actually ended on a positive note today. During this week and last we've been having teacher observations where Trevor (POLY's Academic Coordinator) came in to watch some of our classes and evaluate our teaching style/classroom management skills. Well I had my review today with him, and passed with flying colours! His evaluation sheets were filled with nothing but great compliments and he was thoroughly impressed with my classes that he saw. He said I was an excellent teacher who is able to create informative lessons for the kids that keep them attentive and learning, yet still having fun. He went on and on about how great I am with the kids and what a comfortable learning environment I've created in my classrooms...it was exactly what the doctor ordered, I tell ya! To have him give me such a long list of glowing remarks really made me feel pretty damn good. After the week I've had I really did need this reconfirmation that yes, I am a good teache,r and that I shouldn't let this whole Judy fiasco make me doubt my abilities/wanna throw in the towel.

During Sixth Grade today I got another unexpected compliment from one of my students. We were talking about that Evil Gulmaek and what students in the class might be moving there in the coming months. Well Jinna piped up and said that her mom said that as long as I'm teaching at POLY, then Jinna stays there, but as soon as I leave, so does Jinna. WOW! The fact that her mom thinks I'm so good a teacher that she's keeping her daughter there studying because I'm there is one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive What a wonderful surprise to hear!

And what a really nice, positive note to end on what was one of the most trying and frustrating weeks that I've ever experienced as a teacher. For the most part this week was pure shite, but I'm going to just focus on that little shiny gem that I was given at the end of it. Now I need a weekend of escape and relaxation!

Day 426: Still Crying...

And she's still crying...and screaming...and sobbing...

Judy's become an unstoppable crying machine and I've completely lost my patience. The first it was cause she had a sore stomach, the second cause she didn't like her nickname, and today it was cause she was missing her mom or something. FUCK!!! Enough is enough! This child needs to learn that crying all day (and I'm talking continuously here) is not okay and that this has got to stop. With no solid explanation as to why this is happening (according to her mom this is just "what she does sometimes") I've lost all sympathy. It's gotta be a cry for attention/power struggle thing cause she doesn't seem to have any reason. I've tried talking to her, Sonya's tried soothing her in Korean, my Director yelled at her to try and get her to shape up... Her Mom even came in today to drop her off/help her get into class and she just ended up screaming at her mom and pushing her away. What the fuck?

And all this fuss from a child who a week ago was my star student. She used to be one of my brightest students, and my most well-behaved and polite by far. She always just sat and did her work quietly, helped out with me during class time, and never spoke a lick of Korean. She was the kind of student that all teachers wish their entire class was like. Now she's this little holy terror bent on hell on earth. She's even started to throw tamper tantrums in the classroom and halls, kicking and hitting teachers!

Honestly, I feel like I'm going to snap. You can't imagine how frustrating it is trying to maintain clasroom order and teach lessons to the rest of the class when she's pulling this shit. Sonya's at wits end as well, and her mom has been pretty much useless in trying to help improve the sitatuation. Once again another Korean family where the five-year old wears the pants and controls the decisions of the parents. I don't even know what to do anymore. I can't keep her in the class cause she just screams and disrupts everything, but taking her out of the classroom (Sonya) just takes Sonya away from her own busy workload, and confirms to Judy that she can get what she wants by screaming. She's also falling behind in Phonics class now. I mean, the point of schol is to be LEARNING, not to hang out in the library and hallway and Korean staff room all day.

Seriously, I'm gonna pull out my hair...or jump out the classroom window...or something!

Day 425: Taco Bell Salvation

So today was a *TERRIBLE* morning! Judy cried ALL DAY! I walked into class and she was standing in the middle of the class just screaming and sobbing. Oh fuck! Not again! I asked Sonya what was wrong and apparently her bus driver was giving nicknames to all the kids today on the bus (like Lemon Lucy, Mango Mandy, Juice Judy, stuff like that) and well I guess she didn't like her name. Seriously, the piercing screams that were coming out of her mouth were as if a velociraptor just chewed her arm off or something! Fuck, make it stop! We tried to get her to calm down so class could begin but it just wasn't going to happen. Sonya took her out of the class so that I could actually teach Phonics to the other 11 Parrots who were all looking at me like "Teacher! What did you do to Judy?"

Well as I said above she ended up crying for *ALL FOUR BLOCKS OF PRESCHOOL!* Holy mother of God my nerves were gone by the time lunch time came around! I was completely frustrated and frazzled and the slightest noise just set me off. Thank God I had a gift - right out of heaven - to help me calm down. Jeannette - who used to teach at POLY but left for a teaching job on the military base - had popped by to say hi to everyone. And brought with her three bags FULL of Taco Bell!! OMG!!! Jeannette I love you!!!

Everyone at work was absolutely ecstatic about it! Katie actually *frolicked* down the hall when she found out what Jeannette had brought. A few of us at work love Taco Bell, and often spend time commissserating over the fact that us civilians down have access to it as it's on military soil. Well this was the best surprise lunch ever, and the timing couldn't have been better. After a couple bean n cheese burritos in me I was feeling in much better spirits! It was an amzing scrumptious lunch, nearly reaching the point of culinary orgasm! God bless Jeannette! God bless smuggled Taco Bell!

Day 424: Judy

So my morning was going all fine and dandy and everything was great...until Computer class....

The kids had just sat down to play their Blues Clues game when all of a sudden Judy breaks out into tears. I go over to her to see what the matter is and at this point she's sobbing now, the waterworks pouring down her face like an abandoned garden hose. She wouldn't (couldn't?) tell me what the matter was and so I did what I normally do when I'm not fully equipped to handle a situation like this - I went and got Sonya. Sonya took her away to comfort her and find out why she started crying all of a sudden while I went back to watch the rest of my kids.

Well she ended up crying all through lunch as well, and even into gym class! What the hell? The only thing that Sonya could get out of her was that she was missing her mom/had a sore stomach. It's not unusual for kids to cry a little over stuff like this, but half a morning gone cause she won't stop sobbing? Wow, that's pretty emotional, even for a Korean five-year old!

I have to say that I'm good with kids, but I'm so not good when it comes to crying. There's something about a crying child that just destroys my nerves for the rest of the day. That sound just pierces all consciousness and makes me feel so irritable and helpless. Myabe not the best reaction for a Preschool teacher, but in the last 9 months of teaching I've gotten fairly used to crying. It's the sobbing for hours-on-end deal that I just can't handle. The language barrier makes it that much harder to help cause when they're upset they tend to revert right back to Korean.

I feel bad for Judy, but man I hope this is the last of this! No more crying, please!

Day 423: The Burberry Legacy Continues

Just when you thought that you had seen it all in the Burberry line here in Korea, another addition has been made. I've seen Burberry shirts and sweaters, skirts and dresses, toques and caps, scarves and gloves, bags and purses, hairclips and earrings, notebooks and folders, backpacks and briefcases....

Well today I was given a surprise gift from Laney, one of my Parrots. I opened it up, and was greeted with a nice gift box of... Burberry - THE FRAGRANCE! Yep, they now make perfume and cologne in addition to everything else under the sun they had come up with already. It even came wrapped in Burberry gift wrap inside a Burberry gift bag! Oh boy!

It wasn't really my scent, but a kind gesture indeed, and I got a good chuckle out of it. I make fun of Burberry all the time, so it was just a matter of time before I became victim of it myself. Honestly, what can these people come up with next that they haven't done already? I guess now, thanks to this present, I can say We Are Living In A Burberry World, and I Am A Burberry Girl....errr....Boy. ;-)

Day 422: Wastin' A Day

Okay, this weekend was so not the most productive weekend I've had lately...

We slept in today and Michael was seriously hung over. Oh, that silly boy! I spent *another* afternoon on Michael's laptop playing SimCity while he lay on the floor and moaned all day. The worse thing was today was an absolutely bright, sunny, beautiful day outside, and yet we spent pretty much the whole day indoors. Ugh. Oh well, it's just the beginning of spring - there'll be plenty of other warm afternoons to hang outdoors soon enough.

Later on, like around evening time, we finally headed into the city. Mike went off to go and meet up with some school friends or something, and I went to Jongno to do some shopping. I went to WAU and bought myself two fun t-shirts and some cool patches to sew onto my backpack for when I go travelling. I then headed back to Ilsan to meet up with Addie. We went and saw the movie 'Be Cool' (not necessarily a 'good' movie, per se, but a fun one indeed) and then I headed on home. Maybe next weekend will be a more productive/motivated one?

Day 421: Rain, Rain Go Away

Today was a whole lotta nothing. Well, the afternoon anyway... It absolutely poured all day long, and neither Michael nor I were feeling like going out in that weather. I had one of the laziest afternoons I've had in recent memory. I played SimCity 4000 *all day* while Michael watched TV. Woohoo! Too much excitement there! ;-) Actually it was kinda nice, and it's been far too long since I've been able to play the best computer game ever.

We met up with Meghann and Angele in Itaewon for a little dinner at 3 Alley Pub, and then headed out for a night out on the town. The streets were drenched and water was running *everywhere* in Itaewon. Yuck. Not a good night to be out running around town in the dark. Thankfully we were able to catch a cab right away and headed over to Route 66 in Hongdae. We had a few drinks there and were later joined by Nick, Kim, and a couple of Nick's friends from Quebec. After a few Long Island iced teas and June Bugs there we decided to change venues and go to Tinpan just around the corner. It wasn't all that busy there either but dammit the music there is awfully fun! We stayed until around 3:30amish...I think...and then cabbed it on home. Still raining...

Day 420: Biting The Bullet

Now we all know that Scotty's a little on the techno-phobe side, but I've decided to stop being a baby and finally bite the bullet. I'm going to buy a digital camera! Hey, I was brave and ventured out into the electronics world by buying myself an iPod, and look how great that turned out! That iPod has become like a new appendage or something, I'm always plugged into that thing. Now it's time to join the rest of the 21st Century and buy myself a digital camera.

I figure that since everyone and their dog has one, how bad could they be? And plus they've really come down in price in recent years so it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to get one. And let's be honest, regardless of that fact I can afford it now anyway. With Project Wanderlust looming on the horizon it really does make sense to get one now. I'm guessing that I'll be thanking myself a million times later once I'm on my trip and see how easy and convenient they are. As long as I don't drop it into the Mekong River, I should be all good! ;-)

I've decided not to buy one in Korea as surprisinly, they're actually more expensive here. I'm gonna buy one in Canada online and have it shipped over to me (thanks Mom and Dad in advance for being Mr.Postman for me!) I've got my oh-so knowledgeable friends Luke and Cindy on the case and digging up info so I needn't worry about making the wrong choice. But hey, if anyone has any reccommendations, I'd love to hear 'em...

Day 419: "Lost" In Translation

Besides 'The OC', Addie and I have another addiction. And that's the TV show 'Lost.' The show was never aired in Korea (well, until this week) but we heard about it from people back home and decided to download it and check it out. Well beginning with its super-traumatic introduction with that plane crash on the beach, we were Hooked, Line, Sinker right from the start.

Well for those of you who don't watch the show, there's a Korean couple on the show. And so naturally this show has been brought to Korea as people here are quite excited about 'their presence' on this American TV show. The funny thing is the 'spin' that the TV network has placed on the show...

Lost is a show that's twisted, complicated, dramatic, and at times quite dark. All of the characters have a story and secrets about their past to hide, and every week we find out a bit about everyone's less-than-rosy history while they try and survive on this strange and dangerous island.

Well the TV channel that is going to be carrying Lost has made up these commercials that show all the survivors running around laughing and dancing and splashing in the waves of this beautiful tropical island. They call it 'Lost: Hawaii' (even though it's set on some unknown remote island in the South Pacific) and make it look like Baywatch or something! Yes, there's certainly fun and happy moments on the show. But also don't forget that the show opens with charred bodies lying scattered among the burning wreckage of an airplane, and that some of the subsequent survivors are later killed by monsters and psychopaths! This isn't spring break in Cancun or anything like that!

They also make it out to look like the Koreans are the main characters of the show! 75% of the clips for the show focus on the Korean couple, when they're not even among the main five characters, I'd say! Too funny! It definitely looks like something was "lost" in translation here, and that the Korean viewers are in for quite a surprise when they tune into the show with completely different expectations from what they're actually about to be delivered with! ;-)

Day 418: Disconnected

I haven't been on Messenger in a really long time - some of you may have noticed that already. We're not supposed to use it at work, and it doesn't work on my home computer, so hence my online absence. Well this morning before class I decided to just say 'fuck it' and go up online for a bit. I popped in and was excited to see a couple of my friends online. I started to chat them up but it turned out to be a conversation that left me feeling more saddened than anything else.

I started talking to a friend (who I'll keep nameless) who I hadn't talked to in quite a while, and this is a friend that I consider to be one of my best back home. Well the conversation took a dive right off the bat. The most 'exciting' news this person had to tell me was some silly ridiculous completely unimportant Hollywood gossip that apparently I 'just had to know', and then proceeded to fill the screen with stories about local drama and parties and nights out on the town back home... blah blah blah...

This left me feeling kinda shitty for two reasons. Firstly, that the most pressing news they had for me was tabloid trash, and secondly that during the entire conversation I don't think they once asked me how I was doing or what was new with me here in Korea. Sadly, this is not all that unusual. Most of the time when I talk to friends back home (either on the phone or online) all they do is talk about themselves. They natter on and on about trivial insignificant shit back home and could really not care less about what I'm up to here. I'm not saying that their lives back home are trivial or insignificant, it's just sad that when I haven't talked to someone in months they really have nothing new to tell me. And then don't care at all about my life here. I mean HELLO I'm here in fucking Korea! How often do you get to talk to a friend overseas? Not that my life is the 'be all and end all', but I think it's pretty darn cool. Does it completely bore you?

I guess I'm also a little over-sensitive because the rest of the conversation is full of stories about events that I'm no longer involved with, with people who I haven't even heard of. Life does carry on when you move away, I certainly realize that, but it's still a hard pill to swallow. I use to be the front and centre of my social circle back home. Now I don't have a ticket for the show at all. I've left the play and actors I've never met have filled the position and taken the show in a whole new direction. I feel completely disconnected from most of my old friends back home. I hardly ever talk to the vast majority of them, and they've all moved on. There's only a very small handful that I still feel like I'm really in touch with. I've been gone for over a year now, and it's not like I expected everyone back home to be sitting at home crying their eyes out cause I'm gone, but do they have to be doing *so well* without me? (Yes, Scotty can be a selfish bastard sometimes...)

I'm making this sound like I'm sitting here all sad and depressed and suicidal, but I don't mean to. I've got an amazing life here, I love living in Korea, I've made tons of wonderful friends who I've become truly close to. Some of the closest friendships that I've ever had in my life are with people I've met here in Korea. Taking that plunge and embarking on The S2H World Tour has been the best decision I ever could have made - it's just that it does come with its fair share of side effects. I knew that leaving home and going overseas for a few years was going to change my life. I just didn't realize how much I'd be giving up when I decided to pack up my bags and leave.

If I'm feeling this disconnected from the people I know back home now, what it's gonna be like in a year when I go home to visit? I guess it's not entirely true what they say. You can always go home, but don't expect it to be the home it was when you left.

Day 417: Burning A Hole

We all slept in today and then it was time for Ryan and Christine to pack it up to get ready to go back home to Taiwan. I walked them to the airport bus stop and we said our goodbyes. I had a really great time with those two and was sad to see them go. They're both really cool people, a helluva lot of fun, and the kind of folk that I'd love to spend more time with hanging out. If only they lived in the same country as me! Oh well, I plan on swinging by Kaohsiung during Project Wanderlust and can look forward to seeing my two friends soon enough. 'Bon Voyage!' Ryan and Christine!

After a leisurely breakfast Addie and I headed back to Ilsan to relax and hang out at LaFesta. Plus, I had a burning desire to do some shopping. Today is Arbor Day, which is a national holiday here in Korea, but luckily all the malls and stores still stay open. I have 150,000 worth of Won in gift certificates for Lotte from Dennis' Mom that I still have, and it's high time I spend it! It's a sizable chunk of 'free money' and let me tell you, today it was seriously burning a hole in my pocket. Time to hit up Lotte!

LaFesta was an absolute zoo, no surprise there, but we pushed our way through the crowds to go to the department store. I had in mind a few things to buy - some shoes, a new shirt, a badly-needed pair of sunglasses, and a sports watch for my trip. I ended up only getting the watch. They didn't have any shoes I liked, it was too crowded for me to actually get near any of the clothing racks, and all the sunglasses they carried were 200-300$ plus designer sunglasses (no thanks, I'll lose those in the Mekong River, for sure!) But I got a great sports watch from Timex that was on sale and cost 50,000 Won. Another thing checked off my list of stuff to get for my trip, and still 100,000 won left to play with another day.

We had some coffee at Starbucks, and then took a nice walk to Aroi Aroi for some deelish Thai dinner. Mmm.... We had a quiet night of TV after that and then it was bedtime. Back to work tomorrow!

Day 416: Got Bacon?

I had to work all day today, which sucked for two reasons. Firstly cause tomorrow's a holiday and it would've been nice to have a long weekend instead of a day off mid-week, and secondly cause Ryan and Christine are still here in town and I would've liked to have had the time to hang with them. Ahh well...

After work I met up with Ryan and Christine and we went to have a Game Night at Mikey's, and then to crash the night. First we went and had some dinner at this samgapsal restaurant that Michael raves about, and happens to be right in his building. Sampgapsal is a Korean dish very popular among foreigners, and I thought it would be a lot of fun since it would be Ryan &Christine's last Korean meal. It's a pork dish where you're given a plate full of pork strips and you cook it yourself on a grill that's in the middle of your table. Essentially, when you think about it, it really is just like eating a massive mound of bacon for dinner. It comes served with a million and one different side dishes and is a great meal to sit and chat away. I don't eat this dish (obviously), but enjoyed the meal nonetheless.

Afterwards, it ended up being quite the little party! There was Michael, myself, Addie, Eric, Ryan & Christine, Pauline & Tim, and Meghann too. Right on! We broke out the board games and ended up having a great night playing Scattergories and Cranium. Gotta love those board games! (Lord knows we sure do!) We spent the night there since it was closer anyways for Ryan and Christine to get to the airport. All in all, a great night!

Day 415: A Full Day

Ryan and Christine got up at 5:30am today and were out the door by around 6. They were heading into the city to meet up with a tour bus for a half-day tour of the DMZ. I slept in and the extra sleep was delicious. I wandered into Seoul to meet up with them for 2pm. I grabbed a caramel frappuccino first and then had some time to kill while waiting for them at City Hall. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and it was nice just to hang out for a bit in the very centre of this megacity, feeling its energy revolve around me and that plaza.

When Ryan and Christine arrived we made a b-line for Changbok Palace to join the 3:30pm tour. This was my fourth time touring this palace, but it's so calm and peaceful and beautiful I really do enjoy it every time. After the palace tour we took a cab over to Itaewon to go and check out What The Book? Apparently Kaohsiung is lacking in used bookstores and both Ryan and Christine were excited to have the chance to wander through one. After they had their fill of used English literature we cabbed to Insadong for dinner. We went to a traditional Korean restaurant and had quite the feast! More ice cream was needed again after that so we went back to the same BR as last night.

After dinner we (or maybe just I?) were feeling a little adventurous so we decided to hike it up Namsan to Seoul Tower. The view from the top at night is breathtaking and something not to be missed by any visitors for sure. There is a gondola that goes up the mountain, but I think it's way cooler to hike it up yourself. We got about three quarters of the way up and found a viewing platform that looked out over the downtown area of Seoul. It was a magnificent view with all the lights down below, the cars swirling below, the towers stretching out for infinity, the dark sillouettes of mountains just beyond the city's grasp. It was beautiful. Seoul Tower loomed above us but appeared to be dark and closed for the night. We decided that this was high enough and walked back down to catch a bus home.

Talk about a full day for those two kids! The DMZ, Changbokgung, Itaewon, Insadong, and Namsan! Phew! All of that, *and* me as their charming and uber-informative tour guide! What more could any visitors to Korea possibly ask for? ;-)

Day 414: Guests!

I was super excited about today. I've got guests coming in today! (and we all know that Scotty loves to play host!) ;-) Ryan and Christine were flying in from Kaohsiung, Taiwan and I was really stoked about hanging out with them for the weekend and showing them around Seoul. I've actually never met Christine before, and hadn't seen Ryan in almost three years. I met Ryan in June 2002 when I was the best man in my buddy Greg's wedding. Ryan is Greg's cousin and was a groomsman in the wedding party. Ryan is now a fellow English teacher in Taiwan, and Christine is his girlfriend who also lives and teaches down there.

On my way to the airport I was disappointed and disgusted to notice that today was one of the worst yellow sand days that I have ever seen. ("Yellow Sand" is that nasty spring phenomenon in Korea where winds blow dust clouds of yellow sand from China's Gobi Desert over the peninsula bringing horrific air quality and very limited visibility.) While on the bus going across one of the bridges over the Han I could barely make out the next bridge, less than a kilometer downstream. It's so gross!! And SO not the first introduction that I wanted Ryan and Christine to have of Korea!

I picked up Ryan and Christine and we headed back to my place to drop off their luggage. We had a quick bite to eat (their first introduction to Korean food!) and then rode on into the city. We tried to go and visit Gyongbok Palace but arrived mere minutes after it has closed for the day. We spent the evening wandering around Insadong instead. Addie joined us later and we had a loud and lively dinner of dakkalbi at the dizzingly busy restaurant in Neon Lane. It was good stuff! Ice cream was definitely needed after such a spicy dinner so we indulged in a little Baskin Robins. We did a little more walking around Jongno after that and then headed on home. It was a great day and everyone was really tired. Plus, those two gotta get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow!

Day 413: Even More Evil

I hate them! I fucking hate them! I seriously honestly really truly hate them!

GULMAEK IS SO EVIL!

Just when I thought they were evil enough already, that sinister hagwon across the street has made itself even more evil than before. They've gone and stolen two more of my students. Jim and Helen, two of my brightest and most chatty students in 6-1, have been swept away from me by those evil bastards who loom from across the street. No, they weren't satisfied enough with having stolen some of my students last year, now apparently they've got to steal even more of my prized class. Gulmaek needs to be destroyed!!

I honestly upset me so much today, as I kept wondering what the hell that does this school have that we don't? I mean, come on, we're POLY for Christ's sake. We're the creme de la creme. The belle of the ball. We're the #1 English Academy in Korea (as voted by readers of one of the major Korean newspapers last year)!!! In terms of English academies, our school is seriously the Harvard of them all. So why would anyone leave our school for...*cough* *spit* *choke on vomit*...T-H-E-M? I mean our school is so clearly obviously unabashedly better than their's, with our superior curriculam, our breathtaking dedication to our students' education and overall well-being, and the fact that they don't even have foreign teachers! What gives?

I went and talked to my bosses tonight to get the inside scoop. It turns out that Evil Gulmaek - *shudder* - does have an edge over us...in just two areas. They offer math and science classes for the older grades, which we do not, and they also gear their kids up for the TOEFL/TOEIC tests which we don't. They prep the kids for this ridiculously-intensive test that any kid needs to ace if they want to get into the best high schools, and then therefore the best universities. Basically it comes down to what the parents have in store for their child's future. If they plan on moving the family back to America or Canada or the UK or whatever one day, they keep their kids at POLY, as our overall English comprehension/transformation to fluency program is untouchably golden. And if they plan on staying here in Korea, they switch the kids over in Grade 6 to get them ready for the mountains of tests that the kids will be going through to get into the good schools. Ahhhh...now I get it.

It still sucks losing kids, but at least now I understand. Still...just because I understand it better now doesn't mean that I have to like it. I can still glare at that school from the inside of my classroom and hope that a random meteor blows up the school some day soon (but at night, of course, so that none of the students or less-than-mediocre staff are hurt!) ;-)

Day 412: Seeing Double

Double the flavour, double the pleasure, DoubleMint Gum?

No, I don't have gum on the brain, but rather have been seeing a lot of 'double' these days. And by that, I mean that in my classes I teach a lot of twins. A LOT. I don't know what it is, but there sure as hell seems to be a lot of twins in Korea. I don't know the stats, but the average here certainly seems higher than Canada's. Check out these pairs that I teach, *just in my classes alone*:

Samuel and John in 3-5 and 3-6, respectively

MinKyung and SeungWhan in 6-1 and 6-2

ChungHyun and ChungMin in 6-2 and 6-3

Janet and Annie in 6-3

Lila and Sarah in GT4B4-3

There's a lot of siblings that go to POLY, but there also seems to be a lot of twins. Almost every single class at POLY, it seems, has a twin or two. I alone have five pairs of twins spread across six classes! I don't know, maybe these stats are normal? What's interesting to me is that, in most cases, the twins are not in the same level of ability. That must kinda suck, being the twin that's stuck in the lower level while your identical sibling is one level up from you. Talk about constant comparison, that must bring on!

Day 411: Steerin' The Wheel

Man, I love teaching Grade Six! It rocks big time!

My Grade 6ers are such a joy to teach, they really are a treat. I teach the very young and the very very energetic and demanding Grade 2's and 3's for the first part of the afternoon, so when I walk into Grade 6 and they're all mature and super smart and pretty much fluent in English and eager to learn and chat and share ideas, I just breathe this huge sigh of relief. For the Grade 2's and 3's I gotta rule the class with an iron fist, and keep discipline firm in order to keep things on track and moving forward. It takes a lot of effort and patience to keep those kids interested and focused, especially since I teach Level 5 and 6 (the bottom levels) of Third Grade right before.

But when I'm in Grade Six it's like I've only got one finger on the steering wheel and I'm just barely glancing forward at the road as we cruise along. The subject material is really quite advanced, so we get to read and discuss about a wide variety of interesting topics, like politics and history, other cultures and nations, science and geography. They're incredibly bright kids, and we go off on some really cool tangents sometimes with our conversations. I can talk to them about nearly anything and I don't have to slow down my speaking or choose a really basic vocabulary. The kids just get it. And they're always eager to tell me their thoughts and opinions and what it's like to be a 12-year old in Korea. They're also at the age where puberty is just starting so they're all curious (yet still horrified) by the opposite sex, and there's always a sassy banter going on between the boys and the girls. It's a lot of fun.

It's a great way to end my Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, and I really feel like I'm bonding with those kids. I'm gonna miss 'em a lot when I'm gone!

Day 410: Into The Void

I really do hate goodbyes. And later on this week I'll have to go through another one.

Young-Seok is about to be abducted and disappear from our world. He'll vanish one day very soon (Monday, actually) and I may never see him again. He'll be here on Earth, in Korea, but uncontactable (a new word, I know). And there's nothing we can do to avoid it. As much as we all desperately want to, we cannot save him.

Young-Seok is about to join the Korean military.

All males in Korea are required to serve in the Korean military for 22 months, and by law there is almost nothing they can do to escape it. Conscription may no longer exist back home, but here's it's still a reality for Koreans. Techically only at an armistice with North Korea, and therefore still sorta at war, or at least in theory could be at a moment's notice, the Republic of Korea keeps a large and active military at all times. Generally accepted as a males 'rite of passage' into adulthood, most Korean guys serve their time in the military mid-way through their university degrees. Some do end up staying in it longer and making a career out of it, but most just try to get it over and done with before they return to academia and then the corporate world.

Young-Seok does NOT want to go in at all. Things between him and Michael are really great. He enjoys his job as a swimming instructor at the pool. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends. And now his life has to go on pause for two years. It sucks. The hardest part is that for the first 100 days he isn't allowed *any* contact at all with the outside world. No visits. No phone calls. No letters. No email. This isolation process for all new recruits is done to 'break in' the new young men, and to reinforce to them that their world is now the military world, and so they better get used to it. Talk about a harsh introduction.

So in just a few days Y-S will leave us, and what sucks even more is that by the time he's allowed contact/visits, I will have left Korea already. I consider him a true friend of mine (not just Michael's boyfriend) and I will certainly miss him. Off he goes into the void, into that parallel military dimension, into that world within our world. I wish him the best of luck. Hang in there Y-S! Our thoughts are with you! :-)

Day 409: Interpret This

So call me crazy, but I think my subconscious may be trying to send me messages from the great beyond. (ie: my inner thoughts that only come out when I'm sleeping...) And apparently these messages all seem to have one common theme. And that theme is Delany's on Denman.

Delany's is the coffee house in Vancouver that I worked at for four years before departing the home country. It was a great job and I really did enjoy it, but it was definitely time to leave when I left. I was Assistant Manager at that point and was making, well, okay money I guess, but it wasn't all that challenging and it certainly did nothing in the way of nourishing my soul. Nourishing my love of great coffee, oh yes indeedy, but nothing that was 'The Alchemist' worthy in terms of pursuing my Personal Legend or anything like that.

But yet, I can't stop dreaming about it! Honestly, it's almost every night now...

And all the dreams are essentially the same. It's my first day back in Vancouver after being away for god-knows-how-long, and all I can think of is getting down to Delany's to see how the ol' coffee joint is doing. There's always this urgent need, this near-desperation, of having to go there right away, accompanied with a knot in my stomach over the excitement of just strolling in unannounced and seeing who's there and checking out how it all looks. Seriously, the crescendo of anticipation as I walk through those doors is almost unbearable.

But then all that excitement comes to an immediate crashing end. I walk through, but either no one is there who recognizes me at all, or those who do could not care less that I'm there. My old bosses barely blink an eye that I've magically reappeared back into their world after being gone for so long, and neither my old coworkers or customers even want to chat me up. They couldn't be more blase about my presence. In a few of the dreams I even throw on a Delany's t-shirt and get back to work behind the counter in an effort to make myself noticed, but even that doesn't raise an eyebrow. I've been all but erased from care or concern. "Oh what's that? Scottie Too Hottie's back in town? Whatever? Pass me another bag of espresso please."

Apparently I've left some unattended mental baggage back at the old coffee house. I don't miss that job, nor do I feel at all like returning home to Vancouver, but I guess I'm worried about being forgotten in my past life...? (despite forging ahead on the World Tour at full-speed ahead...) Hmmm...it's food for thought anyway.

Day 408: It's A Small World After All

It may be the lamest ride at Disneyland, but there's a lot of truth in that line.

Addie and I decided to "do Sinchon" today, since I'm in love with that place and Addie's never really been. We met up at the subway station and then headed to Subway. Mmmm....gigantic sandwiches crammed chock-full of....sandwichy goodness! After lunch we decided to just wander around and explore as much as we could in an afternoon. We cruised the shops, and I ended up buying a shirt at Eigenpost.

We cruised up the main drag, just past Krispy Kreme, and ended up running into...Chris! And Kate and Cecilia! And Sally and Jason! Wow the gang's all out! It was a fun reunion since neither Addie nor I had seen Sally and Jay since they lift POLY at the end of February. We spent the afternoon all hanging out together and had a really good time. We had donuts at KK, got cheesy stickers made of ourselves in a photo booth, relaxed on the grounds of Yonsei University for a while, and just took it all easy while soaking up the beautiful sunshine.

I just thought that it was way-cool that in this gigantic city of nearly 22 million people, where us foreigners are few and far between, lost in a sea of black hair and eyes, you can still run into people you know. How neato is that? It must be a small world, after all. :-)

Day 407: The Best Days Of My Life

So it's that time of year again - workshop time! POLY's bi-annual mass production of window-dressing. The time when all of us teachers gather together from all the different campuses on mass for a whole day of...well...not a whole lot actually. There's always presentations and group discussions, but most of the time they're not all that useful. Half the time you're stuck in a workshop for a subject/class that you don't even teach, and that's not exactly a productive use of a precious Saturday. Ahhh well. Whatever. We're all bound to do two a year so really it's not that bad.

And actuall this season's was okay. Both of the presentations I went to had speakers who were friends of mine, so that was kinda cool. And there was more 'let's share ideas and common challenges' as opposed to 'these are things that annoy me, and here's the way you need to do it blah blah blah' like last fall's was. And also this year it was Ilsan that hosted it so we didn't have to go for some god-awfully long bus ride this time either. I was home back in my apartment at around 5:30pm.

Tonight I was planning an absolutely massive get-together of just about all my friends and I was really, really looking forward to it. Meghann and I wanted to do a massive night out at The Bar where we get all our work buddies and our non-POLY comrades together for a big ol' fashioned night of rippin' it up! It turned out to be an awesome night!!! The guest list was massive! We totally took over that place! That night it wasn't The Bar, it was My Bar. Meghann couldn't come cause she wasn't feelin' up to it, and Michael was busy traipsing around Beijing, but just about everyone else was there. Check out the cast of characters! Me, Addie, Nick, Angele, Darryl, Paul, Lorraine, Jake, Shannon, other Paul, Dana, Julie, Katie, Jessica, there two friends whose names I forget, Young-Seok, Eric, Pauline, Tim, Laz, and their friend Kevin... Seriously, everywhere I looked all I saw was another gaggle of friends.

Everyone ended up having a total blast, including Addie and Katie who *never* come out to party. We stayed out late and danced/drank the night away. There was one particularly memorable moment - albeit awfully cheesy I have to warn you - where we were on the dancefloor and Bryan Adams' 'Summer of 69' came on. We all broke out screaming and singing along, and in my alcohol-fuelled bar bliss I looked around at all my friends, all come together for one super night, and I realized that that yes, it's true, just as the song declares, these really, truly *are* the best days of my life. I know that sounds like major fromage, but I really do mean it, and it did feel pretty exhilirating.

I went home with Pauline that night (*wink wink*) - just kidding!- and fell asleep with cheesy over-played but much-adored 80's pop rock anthems on permanent rotation in my head. Man, I love my life! ;-)

Day 406: Altered Reality

So Friday Night TV Nights have again moved venues. From Sally & Jay's to Chris', and now it's Mr. Peter who's playing host to our weekly ritual of reality TV and major relaxation. It's all good - as long as I'm there, good times all around can be guaranteed, right? ;-)

So we got our pizza ordered (we even splurged and got super-expensive Pizza Hut), our drinks ready, the guests all arrived (Peter, me, Addie, Julie, and Dana), got our butts on the couch and feet up on the automan and were all ready and set...when half way through Survivor AFN just blacked out! What the hell!!??

Thinking it was just a temporary bout of techincal difficulty, we sat and waited (im)patiently for our beloved show to return. A few minutes later transmission was back in gear, only we had Diane Sawyer on screen instead of Jeff Probst. Now what the hell is going on?

Survivor never came on, and neither did the meant-to-be-following Apprentice. Instead we got to watch Diane Sawyer camp out and natter on about life in a women's maximum security prison. Buff and toned scantily-clad sun-tanned bodies running through muddy obstacle courses and sea-green tropical waters VS. big and scary and nasty ghetto black chicks making arts and crafts behind bars in lovely grey prison garb. Hmmm... This is SO NOT the kind of dose of reality trash television that we were looking for! Argh!

Luckily we had The OC back at Addie's to rescue us from boredom and disappointment. Thank heavens for Orange County! ;-)

Day 405: Not Eggsactly Easter

Another Thursday night, another get-together with friends. After work tonight I went out for Thai with Addie, Katie and Jessica at our much-beloved Aroi Aroi. How lucky are we to have the best Thai food in Korea right here in Ilsan? (Answer: Very Lucky!)

After dinner we headed back to my place for a little pre-Easter game night. Michael and Young-Seok drove in from the city and arrived with a special treat - Easter baskets for us all! Michael had received an Easter-themed care package from his cousin in America and had more than enough treats to share with us all. Jelly beans, Reese peanut butter cups, chocolate eggs, even a marshmallow Peep. Major yum! Thank you Michael! (And thank you Michael's cousin!)

Included in Michael's care package was also an egg-colouring kit! He brought it out with him and our plans were to brew up a batch of colourful eggs, just like back in the day when the best part of Easter (well, at least for me) was colouring the eggs. Well that didn't exactly work out. Don't forget, we are in fact in Korea, and that little detail can often throw a monkey wrench into your plans....

...all the eggs in Korea are brown! And you can't colour brown eggs! Well, you could try I guess, but they wouldn't take to the dye very well, and then that would just be really disappointing. All of us sat and thought about it and realized that not once have we ever seen white eggs in Korea. They're all about the brown here, and so that's how Korea trumped our egg-colouring ambitions.

Ahh well...we still had Scattergories and Cranium and Scotty's magical iPod as the DJ to keep us occupied for the rest of the night. We'll have to save our egg-colouring dreams for another time I guess.