Oy vey.

Sorry I haven't written in a while; January's been a little crazy thus far. I'm now teaching straight through M, W, F - a two-hour speaking class was added into my schedule - which isn't really so bad A1.) because it will be over in February and B2.) sort of helps the day go by faster, though it is frustrating not having any sort of curriculum outside of "just speak and have them present." Ok... so there's been speaking about family, sports, the Olympics, the world (this last week will hold.... global warming, things to do on vacation, and professions), but I can usually only keep the two boys' (M, W just them - they're 8 Western age; F's we're joined by Esther, 6 Western age - she's good, but shy) attention for about 15-20 before we have to bust out the crayons and draw a picture about what we just talked about, then there's a lot of playroom time followed by round after round, after round of 'hangman' - money well-spent; I'm a glorified babysitter. The boys are best friends; David is the ideal student: polite, funny, smart and he pays attention, whereas Jake is loud and easily distracted. It's actually a good balance for the classroom time. "Jake, sit down." "Jake, don't touch that." "Jake." all the while having a conversation with David. I did find something that Jake liked to do, though. We made-up a story together with these mammal cards I had, it was about a bear living in a zoo and he ate a bomb for breakfast. Jake must've liked it because he retold the story for another class later in the week. Oh, Jake. That's not what I signed in to talk about though...

I thought I had it all figured out... in that I was figuring myself out. I've been here almost five months now, and I'm really enjoying myself; my job is decent, my kids are incredible, I couldn't ask for better co-worker/friends, and while there are little things the directors pull that really irk me, things could be a lot worse. I love that I'm finally overseas, and I'm not just traveling, but I'm working/living here!! China was dirty, yeah, but I was able to experience it for myself rather than taking someone's word for it. And for the tentative future travel plans: Russia for summer vacation, then Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and India after my contract is finished (I know, I know, but I'm crossing my fingers that I'll find some way to work it out without leaving me in deeper debt than when I left on that first jet plane overseas), and throw Japan in there somewhere, too - I've read far too much Murakami and dreamt of that far Eastern Asian island far too many times to not go there while I'm here. And yeah, then there's the Philippines and Malaysia, and Singapore, and everywhere else... maybe all of those places would be possible to visit if I did two years, but I'm not sure I want to do another year  - in fact, I [think] I'm positive I don't. Life is good over here, although sometimes I worry that it's too easy, but then again, that's another reason I came - in addition to the travel - to save money and pay off loans above the monthly minimum. At the same time, it's not easy at all; it's not easy that I can't speak the language as well as I want to (my own fault); that no matter how long I decide to stay here I'll always be viewed as a foreigner; that I can't breathe without feeling like I'm sucking on a bus's exhaust pipe. I'm not writing as much as I should be, especially creatively, and I miss volunteering, and having time to do my own thing during the week... and I feel like I'm complaining now, but I'm not... I just miss things, but mostly I miss people. Outside of missing people (and I do get to see/talk to most people with the help of Skype) I am really happy here, every day. I'm happy that I took advantage of this opportunity to challenge myself and see the world and have a job that means something to me, something that I'm able to see actual results in - my kids are soooo great, I cannot express in words, and it's really exciting to see them trying out their phonics and actually reading(!), and starting to speak in words that are closer to sentence form. And! I just found out that I get to move up with my kids come the semester change in March!! Also, I'm apparently getting another girl student this coming Monday, and maybe Arthur will come back (Christmas Eve was his last day because his mother wasn't happy with the curriculum, and I don't blame her because it is crap!), and there might be two more girls joining in March... I'm skeptical about all of these things because Mrs. C (the "co-director") said them to me, and I'm pretty sure she's told me about new kids before and I haven't received any, and I feel like a big part of Arthur leaving was Mrs. C's bad attitude, but he's a great kid, and I'd love to have him back in class, so I'm going to try to remain as optimistic as possible. Where did I go...?

Basically, I hope this experience will equally afford me with an opportunity to get a job (with full benefits) closer to what I'd like to do (writing in any capacity) when I get back home, as much as it has afforded me the chance to see a part of the world, and myself, that I never thought I would. That's the jist of my ramblings right there.

And pretty much unrelated, but in the category of "oy vey!" I was trying to free up space on my hard drive and I deleted my pretty Fall-time Kyung Hee University pictures that I hadn't shared yet, I thought they'd be saved on my external hard drive, but no go... and I'm bummed that I can't have pictures through the seasons (they were really! really good, too *sad face*)... man!

Ending on a good note: we're having "graduation" in the end of February and we have to have the kids sing and perform for the parents. Luckily, my kids only have to sing three songs: one with the whole school (Beatles' "Yellow Submarine"), one with the other 5 and 6 y.o. classes (Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye") and one for our class (KC & the Sunshine's "Boogie Shoes"); whereas the older kids have to sing three songs and perform plays and/or memorize speeches. Oh, and we (the teachers) have to wear ball gowns and perform with the kids, too, so that will be fun, and awkward, and ridiculous.

Speaking of song/dancey time, here's a video of my kids practicing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" it was one of the first practices of many, so don't judge too harshly, though they seemed to only get louder and not so much better as the practicing went on. (I like this one because Roy - the tall one - keeps trying to put his hands in his pockets, Olivia keeps lifting up her dress, and Arthur - in stripes - is picking his nose. Also, I was talking to my brother, Alex, about their weird move for "town" and he was saying how maybe they're confused that "town" is "chimney" and how it's going to open up a can of worms when they're older - the school taped the performance for parents.) It's a facebook video, so all you have to do is be signed in to have the clip below work for you.