Duster

Duster. The word seems innocent enough. UNTIL you are a newbie to the area and you're at Mad Max. In which case, it involves three shots of liquor and three shots of beer (including Guinness). Also known as The Gus Train; Gus is the owner's son. Yikes.

Last night (Friday) my work had a Welcoming Party. The owner of my school took all the teachers out to dinner, Korean BBQ. I thought I was pretty flexible. But I had a difficult time sitting crossed legged for an extended period. I'll need to practice. After dinner, we went to sing Karaoke. My supervisor used to be a professional opera singer. He lived in Germany for 10 years singing and after last night, I know why. His voice is amazing. It was great fun and all the teachers, myself included, took turns singing. Everyone was singing semi-serious songs, so I tried to put some fun into the room. I sang "Good Bye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks and "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin haha. 

After karaoke, I met up with some western teachers at Mad Max. That's when the Duster sealed my fate. I only took two shots of liquor and two shots of beer. There were thirsty people at my table who were happy to take the other shots for me.

Turns out the construction continues on Saturdays. Ibuprofen please.

Feminism, Coffee and H1N1

Today was a very full day. First, I was told that I am responsible for all of the writing and speaking classes for all of the students at KKW. Sweet. Unfortunately, this afternoon while making Halloween masks with the little ones, I caught one of the girls saying "Yep!" "Yep Yep Yep!" In an effort to make them laugh I did the same thing, "Yep! Yep yep yep yep!" They were laughing but before I knew it, they were all saying, "Yep." Uh Oh. So while trying to continue the funny game, I had to work a small lesson in the correct way to answer a question is, yes, NOT, yep.

Second, I'm thoroughly enjoying the instant coffee mixes my school has. It's a single serving powder packet with coffee, sugar, and cream all mixed in. Just add hot water and it's amazing.

Third, we discussed the mandatory military service for korean men.  I was very impressed when one high school girl said, "Women have the children, and do everything. It's the least boys can do. They don't do anything." She then looked up the word for sanitary napkin and said that with all that women have to deal with, it's the least they can do. I was very impressed with two things: her English in being able to communicate about such a personal issue, and two, being so ready to give a strong opinion on the issue. Pretty awesome discussion.

Fourth, many of the local elementary and middle schools are closed this week because of the H1N1 (also known as, "the new plu"). My students have all had to write their thoughts on this and what they would do if they were principal of a school. It's split about 50-50 with whether or not closing school for a week is a good idea.

Last- Halloween Party tomorrow!!! Yippeee. We're having a Halloween party for the younger/elementary students. We'll be decorating the school, having a small "market" for the kids to do some "shopping" (which I'll be in charge of), and watching the film, Up! They gave me a black cat mask to wear tomorrow, but from what I've gathered so far, I think I'm the only teacher who is wearing any sort of costume. Interesting...

Oh, sidenote- walked by the local McDonald's today and there was a kid in a hospital gown, attached to an IV, smoking a cigarette. Korea is like the meca for people-watching.

Apt pics

Here's my kitchen and bathroom... once I get "settled in" I will post some better pics. The full size fridge is great and once I really scrub the cabinets, etc it's not a bad size space to cook. There is a small gap, on the left side, between the counter and the wall- any ideas of what to put there? It's kind of nasty right now... As for the bathroom, it's what it is. Toilet, sink, shower (sort of)... does the job!

This is the view out of my front door. All of the apartment doors are exterior and in the middle of the apt complex is a playground. I've noticed most apt complexes have some variation of a playground and sitting areas (wooden gazebos with benches). The kids in Korea are so busy with school and activities that I have only seen kids playing on the weekend. But I'm also not here from 2-10 every day, so what do I know?

Early Rising

Last night I went to Mad Max, a western-style bar liked by foreign teachers in the area. As soon as I walked in it was reverse culture shock. After going a week without seeing any foreigners, I was amazed at twenty foreign teachers all in one place. The bar was fun and it was nice to chat with other people in similiar situations, and while everyone had their stories, so far no one has encountered the cockroach/bed bug combo during the first week. I like to think of myself as a pioneer in dealing with high stress situations (flying for 18 years then given an infested living space... I'm doing my part for science). Overall, it was great to meet some other teachers in my area and I'm looking forward to more outings and stories.

Also, I've realized that no matter what time I go to bed at night (2am, 3am, 4am), the construction across the street always starts at 7am. And unfortunately it appears to be the framework for a very large structure, so this could be months. Ahhh. deep breaths!