I hate the school toilets. There are just two - male and female, obviously. They're crap. They're used by both staff and children alike. The urinals are ok, I suppose, but the actual toilets are just these damn awful squat/hole in the ground affairs, the likes of which give me shuddering memories about my time in Albania and the insect-infested campsite of Budva, Montenegro.
A proper toilet you can sit down on, relax, and let it all expel gently. A squat toilet means you've got to position yourself, aim and pray you don't cover your clothes in excrement. And being shared with tiny kids ensures that the toilets are far from sparkling. There's as much brown as there is white, often.
Also, the kids seem to find it quite intriguing if they catch me at the urinal. One time, little Mikey (currently with an eye patch to adjust his squint) was so fascinated in the white man next to him, that he made a grab for my cock.
So often I just make the trip back to my apartment, if I've got time. It may not have a deluxe bathroom, but at least it's not covered in crap and have small kids trying to grab my dick. And I can evacuate with the door open and music playing too.
Wednesday 31 March 2004
Sunday 28 March 2004
My Last Couple of Weeks, in brief
I've actually been very busy recently, but have been very neglectful of my diary duties. For the record, the last couple of weeks has seen:
- A great party at The Manor, where everyone was instructed to drink only red wine. We received about 30 complaints from neighbours and everybody was obscenely drunk. The following day we cleaned the place and said goodbye to The Manor, and I've moved all my stuff back into my apartment.
(from left) Kristi, Mik and John doing God knows what at the party.
- My apartment has been revamped. Cleaned, new furniture, new layout, and it's now looking great. Really cosy. I'm happy to be back.
My petite apartment.
- I scored a surprise victory with regards to the accursed phone teaching. I spoke to Mrs Kim, my director, telling her that on top of all my classes, my new phone teaching schedule was just too much. I was pessimistic of much changing, but hoped I'd get the number reduced. To my great surprise, later that day, I was told that I now have NO phone teaching at all any more. And either does David. This is great news, and makes work far far better.
- A school trip to the zoo. The chimpanzee pissed on David.
Leo, Fiona and Bonnie of Ocean Class.
Ocean class.
Sally and Rose of Rainbow Class.
- More passing out in subways and restaurants.
- Great weather. It's warm, sunny, clear-skied, extremely pleasant.
- I'm considering starting up a Korean Child Fight League.
- My night of anally penetrating stray dogs. No, just joking.
- General nights out, eating and drinking, mostly with Eileen, Maebh, Kristi and Matt.
Matt and "Jesus" Chris.
Kristi in a phonebox.
- I was meant to start yesterday but didn't, but believe it or not I'm going to help out at an orphanage. I know some others that do so, so I said I'd come along. Of course, as you might imagine, my motives for going are not the well-being of poor Korean children without parents, who are alone in this world with nothing or nobody on their side, but that it will look good on my CV and it's a good way to meet attractive girls (I hope) and seduce them by demonstrating my caring side.
- There was a monkey in the pub last night!
- I have decided to only be friends with people from interestingly shaped countries from now on. So Italians, British, Canadians and Indonesians are ok with me, but the Irish, the Austrians and the damn Swiss are no friends of mine. I told this to some rather shiny looking girls last night and they were deeply unimpressed. I could see in their eyes that they were thinking "Oh go away you annoying man" so I persisted with the point until there was nothing more I could say.
- My favourite CD shop in Daegu has closed! I am devastated by this. It had a great and quirky dance section, and they had a foreigner discount.
- Carrefour, as well as excellent pizzas which have become my entire source of nutrition, also do an amazing range of milkshakes. As well as the holy trinity of chocolate, banana and strawberry, they also offer mango, apple, tropical fruits (not yet sampled) and the divine melon. Melon milkshake is possibly the best thing I have ever tasted. I drank 8 in one day last week.
That's all I can think of for now.
- A great party at The Manor, where everyone was instructed to drink only red wine. We received about 30 complaints from neighbours and everybody was obscenely drunk. The following day we cleaned the place and said goodbye to The Manor, and I've moved all my stuff back into my apartment.
(from left) Kristi, Mik and John doing God knows what at the party.- My apartment has been revamped. Cleaned, new furniture, new layout, and it's now looking great. Really cosy. I'm happy to be back.
My petite apartment.- I scored a surprise victory with regards to the accursed phone teaching. I spoke to Mrs Kim, my director, telling her that on top of all my classes, my new phone teaching schedule was just too much. I was pessimistic of much changing, but hoped I'd get the number reduced. To my great surprise, later that day, I was told that I now have NO phone teaching at all any more. And either does David. This is great news, and makes work far far better.
- A school trip to the zoo. The chimpanzee pissed on David.
Leo, Fiona and Bonnie of Ocean Class.
Ocean class.
Sally and Rose of Rainbow Class.- More passing out in subways and restaurants.
- Great weather. It's warm, sunny, clear-skied, extremely pleasant.
- I'm considering starting up a Korean Child Fight League.
- My night of anally penetrating stray dogs. No, just joking.
- General nights out, eating and drinking, mostly with Eileen, Maebh, Kristi and Matt.
Matt and "Jesus" Chris.
Kristi in a phonebox.- I was meant to start yesterday but didn't, but believe it or not I'm going to help out at an orphanage. I know some others that do so, so I said I'd come along. Of course, as you might imagine, my motives for going are not the well-being of poor Korean children without parents, who are alone in this world with nothing or nobody on their side, but that it will look good on my CV and it's a good way to meet attractive girls (I hope) and seduce them by demonstrating my caring side.
- There was a monkey in the pub last night!
- I have decided to only be friends with people from interestingly shaped countries from now on. So Italians, British, Canadians and Indonesians are ok with me, but the Irish, the Austrians and the damn Swiss are no friends of mine. I told this to some rather shiny looking girls last night and they were deeply unimpressed. I could see in their eyes that they were thinking "Oh go away you annoying man" so I persisted with the point until there was nothing more I could say.
- My favourite CD shop in Daegu has closed! I am devastated by this. It had a great and quirky dance section, and they had a foreigner discount.
- Carrefour, as well as excellent pizzas which have become my entire source of nutrition, also do an amazing range of milkshakes. As well as the holy trinity of chocolate, banana and strawberry, they also offer mango, apple, tropical fruits (not yet sampled) and the divine melon. Melon milkshake is possibly the best thing I have ever tasted. I drank 8 in one day last week.
That's all I can think of for now.
Friday 26 March 2004
The Greatest Dancer
I was out last night with Eileen, Maebh and Kristi for some food and then a few drinks. We ended up the main Westerner hangout - Communes - which is always pretty quiet on weekdays. But the hardcore alcoholic Jesus-lookalike slow-deep-voiced Chris was there as always, plus a few others.
One of the other guys I'd met before but only in the passing. Criminally, I've forgotten his name but for ease of reading let's just call him Pneumatic. I can confidently say that Pneumatic is one of the best people I have ever met.
He doesn't drink, which doesn't favour him in my eyes, yet he is a Communes 6 days out of 7. He doesn't have much to say either, and to be honest, what he does say isn't of great worth. But all this is compensated for.
Because he is The Greatest Dancer.
About 1am, and I was a little drunk, and everyone else had headed off but for some reason we decided to go to Bubble Bar, my favourite bar/club in Daegu. Busy on weekends but dead on weekdays. There were about 12 Koreans there.
He's a regular there and all the staff knew him. I soon found out why.
As soon as the song "Hey Ya!" by Outkast came on, he was off that seat and dancing on an empty dancefloor. And not the useless foot shuffle that I've mastered, but full-on body bops. It was the most fantastic, crazy, physical, enthusiastic and genuinely bona fide insane dancing I've ever seen. He was on stage as myself and the Koreans watched on with awe and wonder, joyously uninhibited. Such energy and commitment to dancing I've never seen before.
When the song finished he sat back down, and I congratulated him. He seemed pleased, and quite proud of his dancing, and explained that there's a few songs that he always dances to, and the DJ in Bubble Bar now knows them well. While at first impression his dancing was plainly ridiculous, after speaking to him and seeing it for a while, it changed into something of real joy and innocence. He just loved dancing to some songs, hip hip mainly. What others thought of his dancing just wasn't a consideration. And I actually really admire the guy for that. For his uninhibited pleasure of dancing.
But I mainly admire him for the most mental bops I've ever seen a man do.
One of the other guys I'd met before but only in the passing. Criminally, I've forgotten his name but for ease of reading let's just call him Pneumatic. I can confidently say that Pneumatic is one of the best people I have ever met.
He doesn't drink, which doesn't favour him in my eyes, yet he is a Communes 6 days out of 7. He doesn't have much to say either, and to be honest, what he does say isn't of great worth. But all this is compensated for.
Because he is The Greatest Dancer.
About 1am, and I was a little drunk, and everyone else had headed off but for some reason we decided to go to Bubble Bar, my favourite bar/club in Daegu. Busy on weekends but dead on weekdays. There were about 12 Koreans there.
He's a regular there and all the staff knew him. I soon found out why.
As soon as the song "Hey Ya!" by Outkast came on, he was off that seat and dancing on an empty dancefloor. And not the useless foot shuffle that I've mastered, but full-on body bops. It was the most fantastic, crazy, physical, enthusiastic and genuinely bona fide insane dancing I've ever seen. He was on stage as myself and the Koreans watched on with awe and wonder, joyously uninhibited. Such energy and commitment to dancing I've never seen before.
When the song finished he sat back down, and I congratulated him. He seemed pleased, and quite proud of his dancing, and explained that there's a few songs that he always dances to, and the DJ in Bubble Bar now knows them well. While at first impression his dancing was plainly ridiculous, after speaking to him and seeing it for a while, it changed into something of real joy and innocence. He just loved dancing to some songs, hip hip mainly. What others thought of his dancing just wasn't a consideration. And I actually really admire the guy for that. For his uninhibited pleasure of dancing.
But I mainly admire him for the most mental bops I've ever seen a man do.
Thursday 25 March 2004
Why Taxis Always Take Me To Stripclubs
I discovered last week that some of my very limited Korean was flawed. For the last few months, when in taxis, I've been telling the driver "Chi chi", which means "Straight on". Or so I was led to believe by that deviant, H. To trust H on matters of a foreign language when he can barely speak his own is a foolish thing to do.
According to Maebh's Korean maybe-boyfriend, "straight on" is, in fact, "chig chin".
What I've been telling taxi drivers for the last couple of months is the English equivalent of "titties!"
According to Maebh's Korean maybe-boyfriend, "straight on" is, in fact, "chig chin".
What I've been telling taxi drivers for the last couple of months is the English equivalent of "titties!"
Wednesday 17 March 2004
Tuesday 16 March 2004
Wednesday 10 March 2004
My Korean Girlfriend Phones
My girlfriend phoned me last night.
In case you can't remember who my girlfriend is, you may want to search back for the night preceding my first hungover day of teaching. At the fabulous fish restaurant with dental nurses, I made a highly drunken "boyfriend-girlfriend" agreement with one of the girls.
Unfortunately, Matt sees her sometimes as he gives private lessons to a colleague of hers. And so what was just an evening of drunken jest has been fuelled by him into marriage in waiting. He's told her (Diana is her English name) that I'm in Korea because I'm looking for a wife, and a few weeks back got her to phone me when they were all out.
Now I've got my mobile phone, he's given her that number, and so last night I got a call from an unknown number. Her obviously, drunk on soju with her sister (possibly). Her English is terrible and my Korean is limited to hello, thankyou, beer, and now I can slowly count to ten, so our ten minute conversation was a fragmented beast but nonetheless fairly amusing.
But she's got my number now. There's no hiding from her. She thinks she could be my wife and nothing will stop her from hunting me down, like a sniper picks off a panicking dog as it runs for shelter.
Oh well, if I've got a stalker and might as well take advantage of it...
In case you can't remember who my girlfriend is, you may want to search back for the night preceding my first hungover day of teaching. At the fabulous fish restaurant with dental nurses, I made a highly drunken "boyfriend-girlfriend" agreement with one of the girls.
Unfortunately, Matt sees her sometimes as he gives private lessons to a colleague of hers. And so what was just an evening of drunken jest has been fuelled by him into marriage in waiting. He's told her (Diana is her English name) that I'm in Korea because I'm looking for a wife, and a few weeks back got her to phone me when they were all out.
Now I've got my mobile phone, he's given her that number, and so last night I got a call from an unknown number. Her obviously, drunk on soju with her sister (possibly). Her English is terrible and my Korean is limited to hello, thankyou, beer, and now I can slowly count to ten, so our ten minute conversation was a fragmented beast but nonetheless fairly amusing.
But she's got my number now. There's no hiding from her. She thinks she could be my wife and nothing will stop her from hunting me down, like a sniper picks off a panicking dog as it runs for shelter.
Oh well, if I've got a stalker and might as well take advantage of it...
My Korean Girlfriend Phones
My girlfriend phoned me last night.
In case you can't remember who my girlfriend is, you may want to search back for the night preceding my first hungover day of teaching. At the fabulous fish restaurant with dental nurses, I made a highly drunken "boyfriend-girlfriend" agreement with one of the girls.
Unfortunately, Matt sees her sometimes as he gives private lessons to a colleague of hers. And so what was just an evening of drunken jest has been fuelled by him into marriage in waiting. He's told her (Diana is her English name) that I'm in Korea because I'm looking for a wife, and a few weeks back got her to phone me when they were all out.
Now I've got my mobile phone, he's given her that number, and so last night I got a call from an unknown number. Her obviously, drunk on soju with her sister (possibly). Her English is terrible and my Korean is limited to hello, thankyou, beer, and now I can slowly count to ten, so our ten minute conversation was a fragmented beast but nonetheless fairly amusing.
But she's got my number now. There's no hiding from her. She thinks she could be my wife and nothing will stop her from hunting me down, like a sniper picks off a panicking dog as it runs for shelter.
Oh well, if I've got a stalker and might as well take advantage of it...
In case you can't remember who my girlfriend is, you may want to search back for the night preceding my first hungover day of teaching. At the fabulous fish restaurant with dental nurses, I made a highly drunken "boyfriend-girlfriend" agreement with one of the girls.
Unfortunately, Matt sees her sometimes as he gives private lessons to a colleague of hers. And so what was just an evening of drunken jest has been fuelled by him into marriage in waiting. He's told her (Diana is her English name) that I'm in Korea because I'm looking for a wife, and a few weeks back got her to phone me when they were all out.
Now I've got my mobile phone, he's given her that number, and so last night I got a call from an unknown number. Her obviously, drunk on soju with her sister (possibly). Her English is terrible and my Korean is limited to hello, thankyou, beer, and now I can slowly count to ten, so our ten minute conversation was a fragmented beast but nonetheless fairly amusing.
But she's got my number now. There's no hiding from her. She thinks she could be my wife and nothing will stop her from hunting me down, like a sniper picks off a panicking dog as it runs for shelter.
Oh well, if I've got a stalker and might as well take advantage of it...
Battles With T7
7 doesn't appear to be my lucky number, when it comes to teaching classes at least. First it was M7 that caused me hassles (they're tamed now) and now it's T7.
T7 are a class that have been getting gradually worse and worse. There's a bad chemistry in that class and they're not the most charming of kids. About 8 years old all of them, Matt is the worst. Cheeky, know it all and unfortunately much brighter than the rest.
The class have become a running battle, but for from being a pain, I'm actually beginning to enjoy my twice weekly confrontations. Teaching as in life, I'm pretty laid back, but you push me too much and eventually I'll lose patience. T7 have pushed me and now I'm laying down the law.
Esther got it yesterday. There's 7 students and 6 desks and each kid takes a desk to themselves. And so Timmothy was left standing in the middle of the class, like some kind of retard, just standing and unwilling to sit anywhere. Esther happens to be his cousin and they've sat together in the past so I told Timmothy to sit next to her.
And Esther grizzled and shook her head and refused to let Timmothy past. So I let her have it. Her English is poor but she understands "Are you a baby?" and "Out?" Very reluctantly she let Timmothy past and proceeded to burst into flood of tears that took 20 minutes to subside. She gave me a look of pure hatred, one of the most evil looks anyone has ever given me (no exaggeration).
And I smacked a kid today. In gym, one of the new kids got into some nonsense fight with another. It was clearly him to blame and him just being selfish are kids are inclined to do at that age (about 4). So I pulled him away and scolded him. He tried to hit the kid again so I pulled him back and told him again. And he started trying to hit me, over and over, so I grabbed him and walloped him on the backside. Not hard, but enough for a warning.
They don't hold grudges though. 10 minutes later he was running around, as happy as anything.
So gradually I'm becoming a hardass teacher. Only with a couple of classes. I treat each class as they deserve to be treated. Most are nice kids and as a result they tend to enjoy the classes. But asshole kids have got to learn that if they behave like assholes they'll get treated like asshole.
T7 are a class that have been getting gradually worse and worse. There's a bad chemistry in that class and they're not the most charming of kids. About 8 years old all of them, Matt is the worst. Cheeky, know it all and unfortunately much brighter than the rest.
The class have become a running battle, but for from being a pain, I'm actually beginning to enjoy my twice weekly confrontations. Teaching as in life, I'm pretty laid back, but you push me too much and eventually I'll lose patience. T7 have pushed me and now I'm laying down the law.
Esther got it yesterday. There's 7 students and 6 desks and each kid takes a desk to themselves. And so Timmothy was left standing in the middle of the class, like some kind of retard, just standing and unwilling to sit anywhere. Esther happens to be his cousin and they've sat together in the past so I told Timmothy to sit next to her.
And Esther grizzled and shook her head and refused to let Timmothy past. So I let her have it. Her English is poor but she understands "Are you a baby?" and "Out?" Very reluctantly she let Timmothy past and proceeded to burst into flood of tears that took 20 minutes to subside. She gave me a look of pure hatred, one of the most evil looks anyone has ever given me (no exaggeration).
And I smacked a kid today. In gym, one of the new kids got into some nonsense fight with another. It was clearly him to blame and him just being selfish are kids are inclined to do at that age (about 4). So I pulled him away and scolded him. He tried to hit the kid again so I pulled him back and told him again. And he started trying to hit me, over and over, so I grabbed him and walloped him on the backside. Not hard, but enough for a warning.
They don't hold grudges though. 10 minutes later he was running around, as happy as anything.
So gradually I'm becoming a hardass teacher. Only with a couple of classes. I treat each class as they deserve to be treated. Most are nice kids and as a result they tend to enjoy the classes. But asshole kids have got to learn that if they behave like assholes they'll get treated like asshole.
Tuesday 9 March 2004
Slipping Into The Stability of Normal Life
My life's started to settle into a bit of a routine now. Unlike travelling, where every day can be an absolutely new experience, living abroad can be much like living at home in many respects. I work till 7pm, then on weekdays go home most of the time, to my apartment or the Manor, and just relax.
The Manor will soon be no longer, by the way, as Kristi is moving to a place nearer her work. A shame, but it was fairly inevitable as the distance she commuted and lived frm downtown made things very awkward for her.
So it's just teaching as usual. Mostly going quite well - I feel I'm beginning to become a fairly good teacher. I'm a very laid back teacher and the kids like me. I'm finding it very non stressful too. There are moments when a rowdy class might get a bit wearing but I find I'm gliding into classes feeling very calm.
As I'm now a Monday to Friday man (11-7, not 9-5, but close enough) the weekend has become my drinking time. Not Friday last week actually, then I went to a DVD room with Greta, Matt, Laura and Tim and watched Battle Royale and Finding Nemo (again). Saturday was an excessily drunken night though. Just general drunken enjoyment although it did end with a bunch of us in a restaurant at about 6am and me taking a photo of some Korean girl who was with us. And she grabbed my camera and ripped the film out. I was furious so laid into her angrily, before storming out. I think I've made an enemy.
It was 4pm on Sunday before I was able to leave my bed fully, I was that hungover and destroyed.
But life is fairly calm and stable right now. It's all settled. My main group of friends has formed in the last few weeks and so it's quite nice having a reliable bunch of people to hang about with. They are: Matt, Kristi, Laura (maybe flatmate Tim), Greta, Mik and maybe the Irish girls Eileen and Maebh, and with a number of other people closely associated.
Ok, I've got 6 straight lessons now so I'm going to get ready.
The Manor will soon be no longer, by the way, as Kristi is moving to a place nearer her work. A shame, but it was fairly inevitable as the distance she commuted and lived frm downtown made things very awkward for her.
So it's just teaching as usual. Mostly going quite well - I feel I'm beginning to become a fairly good teacher. I'm a very laid back teacher and the kids like me. I'm finding it very non stressful too. There are moments when a rowdy class might get a bit wearing but I find I'm gliding into classes feeling very calm.
As I'm now a Monday to Friday man (11-7, not 9-5, but close enough) the weekend has become my drinking time. Not Friday last week actually, then I went to a DVD room with Greta, Matt, Laura and Tim and watched Battle Royale and Finding Nemo (again). Saturday was an excessily drunken night though. Just general drunken enjoyment although it did end with a bunch of us in a restaurant at about 6am and me taking a photo of some Korean girl who was with us. And she grabbed my camera and ripped the film out. I was furious so laid into her angrily, before storming out. I think I've made an enemy.
It was 4pm on Sunday before I was able to leave my bed fully, I was that hungover and destroyed.
But life is fairly calm and stable right now. It's all settled. My main group of friends has formed in the last few weeks and so it's quite nice having a reliable bunch of people to hang about with. They are: Matt, Kristi, Laura (maybe flatmate Tim), Greta, Mik and maybe the Irish girls Eileen and Maebh, and with a number of other people closely associated.
Ok, I've got 6 straight lessons now so I'm going to get ready.
Thursday 4 March 2004
World Drought
The 2/3 year old is still crying. I've started collecting his tears in a metal bucket. I'm going to tour the earth and solve world drought.
Wednesday 3 March 2004
My New Classes
I'm really enjoying the start of term. I was oddly nervous before it kicked off, but now I'm finding it great fun. The last couple of months I realise I was a little like a fill-in teacher, just picking up where the previous teacher left off, and to be honest I feel my predecessor made a bit of an arse of some of the classes and I'd my work cut out just getting everyone to the same level, and to behave a bit better.
But now I've got all new classes - some absolutely new kids and some classes that are the previous classes jumbled around a little with a smattering of new kids, Some old faces from my first few weeks have returned too. Best of all, most classes are starting new books afresh, so now I can dictate the pace. The classes feel like MY classes now, which makes a big difference.
I got the Forest class today. They're the new class, about 8 of them. And my God they're young. One child, who has done little else but cry, is possibly the smallest thing I've ever seen. If he's 3 years old then he can't have been for long. None of them speak any English. Fortunately I had them for gym and I did surprisingly well - just getting them to "catch the ball" and "throw the ball". Most of them were very well behaved. We had the tiny crier who didn't even make it to the gym, and we had another crier who spent his entire time looking lost and forlorn in the gym, mostly crying. Every time I tried to involve him he just shook his head.
He was the same kid that gave me one of my most personally amusing moments of teaching so far. I went into my Rainbow class to begin a lesson yesterday. Rainbow are a bit older, maybe about 7 or 8. They're quite bright and with good English, and there's about 11 of them, sitting behind desk arranged in a horse-shoe shape in the classroom. In the middle of the horse-shoe and the class was this little boy, looking baffled, confused, upset, slightly traumatised, while all of Rainbow sat looking and pointing at him in wonder, some laughing. So I walked in and he looked at me as if to say "What's happening, help me, help me" so I carefully led him out the room to somewhere less upsetting.
I'm still on 42 classes a week, even though there's been a few changes to the schedule. I think the director has the sense not to push me up any more.
David, however, has been upped to 45. That may only be 3 more classes a week, but believe me when you're up at the 40 level, every extra class makes a massive difference as it can be the difference between 6 straight classes and 2 classes, 40 minute break, then 3 classes.
I think he's feeling the pressure already. All he did yesterday was whine. Just bemoaning his situation and how exhausted he was. My pity for him has waned somewhat, as it's all very well whining and whining about it to himself and when I'm around, but he says nothing to the director. Of course she'll screw him if he'll just lie there and take it.
Today, he actually yelled at another teacher, which is unimaginably out of character for him. He's a 50 year old man, and I think if after less than 2 days of this schedule he's like this, he may not make the rest of the year.
But really, he's got 20 years English teaching experience. If he's just going to accept whatever he's given then it's his own fault.
I've been meaning to write more about my weekend as the more I think about it, the more I realise it was a pretty mental one, especially the Friday night with the Korean nightclub and the norebang with random Korean girls. When I mentioned it to Daniel (the Korean teacher) he said he'd no idea who the girls were, and to keep my lips sealed about the whole thing. Why? What happened? Sometimes I wish I had better drunken memory.
(most of the time it's definitely a blessing)
But now I've got all new classes - some absolutely new kids and some classes that are the previous classes jumbled around a little with a smattering of new kids, Some old faces from my first few weeks have returned too. Best of all, most classes are starting new books afresh, so now I can dictate the pace. The classes feel like MY classes now, which makes a big difference.
I got the Forest class today. They're the new class, about 8 of them. And my God they're young. One child, who has done little else but cry, is possibly the smallest thing I've ever seen. If he's 3 years old then he can't have been for long. None of them speak any English. Fortunately I had them for gym and I did surprisingly well - just getting them to "catch the ball" and "throw the ball". Most of them were very well behaved. We had the tiny crier who didn't even make it to the gym, and we had another crier who spent his entire time looking lost and forlorn in the gym, mostly crying. Every time I tried to involve him he just shook his head.
He was the same kid that gave me one of my most personally amusing moments of teaching so far. I went into my Rainbow class to begin a lesson yesterday. Rainbow are a bit older, maybe about 7 or 8. They're quite bright and with good English, and there's about 11 of them, sitting behind desk arranged in a horse-shoe shape in the classroom. In the middle of the horse-shoe and the class was this little boy, looking baffled, confused, upset, slightly traumatised, while all of Rainbow sat looking and pointing at him in wonder, some laughing. So I walked in and he looked at me as if to say "What's happening, help me, help me" so I carefully led him out the room to somewhere less upsetting.
I'm still on 42 classes a week, even though there's been a few changes to the schedule. I think the director has the sense not to push me up any more.
David, however, has been upped to 45. That may only be 3 more classes a week, but believe me when you're up at the 40 level, every extra class makes a massive difference as it can be the difference between 6 straight classes and 2 classes, 40 minute break, then 3 classes.
I think he's feeling the pressure already. All he did yesterday was whine. Just bemoaning his situation and how exhausted he was. My pity for him has waned somewhat, as it's all very well whining and whining about it to himself and when I'm around, but he says nothing to the director. Of course she'll screw him if he'll just lie there and take it.
Today, he actually yelled at another teacher, which is unimaginably out of character for him. He's a 50 year old man, and I think if after less than 2 days of this schedule he's like this, he may not make the rest of the year.
But really, he's got 20 years English teaching experience. If he's just going to accept whatever he's given then it's his own fault.
I've been meaning to write more about my weekend as the more I think about it, the more I realise it was a pretty mental one, especially the Friday night with the Korean nightclub and the norebang with random Korean girls. When I mentioned it to Daniel (the Korean teacher) he said he'd no idea who the girls were, and to keep my lips sealed about the whole thing. Why? What happened? Sometimes I wish I had better drunken memory.
(most of the time it's definitely a blessing)
Tuesday 2 March 2004
Tiny Tot Mullet
It's very exciting. Some of the new "Forest" class are very very young indeed - David claimed one was about 2 years old. So we're talking babies almost, and all expected to be fluent in English within 3 weeks. Well, not exactly. But most excitingly, one little girl who looks so small as to almost not exist, has a MULLET.
Yes, a tiny Korean girl mullet. She's been crying almost all day, like a few of her compatriots. I don't know why she's crying though, if I had a mullet like hers you'd never be able to wipe the grin off my face.
Yes, a tiny Korean girl mullet. She's been crying almost all day, like a few of her compatriots. I don't know why she's crying though, if I had a mullet like hers you'd never be able to wipe the grin off my face.
New Term
It's the start of a new term and I'm sitting waiting for my first class - I don't start till about 11am now. For the last hour a young child has cried loudly continuously. I'm feeling strangely nervous about the new term, as it's a whole set of new classes and many new students. But at least I'm not a hysterical wreck like the crying child. Though I don't think it would be terribly appropriate for a teacher to be howling uncontrollably in the main entrance.
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