Warm up that Desk!

Now begins a very special time of year for public school teachers in Korea: a month-long brain vacation during which we are expected to be at school during normal hours but not really do anything. There are no students at school, no classes to teach or prepare for, no meetings, no lunches, nothing to be responsible for, no nothing. There is no lunch served, and every door is locked except for the doors to my office, and to the currently non-working bathroom. Officially, this excessive time and money wasting policy is called "desk warming," and it's almost universal to (public) foreign English teachers. (Note: Korean teachers do not have to do this. I am currently alone in my office with the secretary, who is only here because she has to lock up after I leave.)

Initially, I couldn't believe this was expected of me: I kept asking, "You REALLY want me to take the two-hour long (round trip) journey every day, just to be at school, alone, all day, and not do anything?!?!" I was almost offended by the idea! How ludicrous! Why couldn't they just NOT PAY me, and I just wouldn't come in?!? Was it really that difficult to obtain some unpaid leave?!?!! I did NOT want to do this; I desperately kept looking for some kind of loophole. After all, a month with no working would mean I could definitely fly home and see my family for a little while!

No matter how I tried to plead my case to my co-teacher, she just couldn't understand how my argument made any sense. Frustration beyond belief eventually subsided, and I accepted my fate with a quiet ambivalence. I did a lot of sighing during this time. Alas, there was no way out of it: apparently, obtaining unpaid leave in Korea means a mountain of paperwork, asking the state for permission, and causes a lot of unnecessary stress for everyone. I was flatly told, "no," followed by a lengthy account of how my predecessor, Caleb, had tried to fight this for months, and ultimately, it caused such a rift between he and the principal that Caleb was not invited to complete another contract with my school.

I thought about it a long while, and I had to remind myself that at my last job, while rubbing down my sore feet after literally dripping sweat, up and down stairs for 10-12 hours a day, I prayed for this kind of opportunity. As such, I've decided to embrace the fact that someone is stupid enough to pay me to eat snacks, sleep, and watch episodes Downton Abbey all day long. I mean, to be quite honest, it's probably what I'd be doing if I weren't working anyway :)

And now.... I think I'll take a nap.
<3M

Korean Kristmas

Christmas!! It was a lovely, wonderful weekend, chalk full of fun events.
My friends and I decided to be together as much as possible, and being with all of them really made it so much easier to be away from home. I am so thankful for these amazing people!!

Saturday began with 35 minutes of potato peeling and a stiff drink. Then I had a shower and got ready for.... a ballet performance of The Nutcracker by the Seoul ballet!! They came to Jinju (conveniently) for one night only- Christmas Eve. Luckily my friends and I knew about it early on and managed to score ten tickets. It was a wonderful performance, full of incredibly talented dancers. The only thing different about this particular performance (from the ones I've seen previously) is that there were a few interesting dance sequences inserted in.... Korean themed dances, in full hanbok. I did not recall ever seeing that before, but it was enjoyable nonetheless :)

the gang! at the nutcracker :)

After The Nutcracker, the lot of us went for dinner at Outback, pretty much the only place in Jinju to get a nice steak dinner. It was lovely to have a big juicy rare steak!!  Truly scarce around these parts.  After dinner, we went to a local bar called Soundgarden and had a dance party.... with sadly almost no Christmas music.  Yes, it was Christmas eve.... but it was just another Saturday night in Jinju! We danced until the wee hours of the morning and retired en masse to CR's place for a sleepover. He graciously agreed to host seven of us, squishing everyone into two beds. It was wonderful to wake up sandwiched between two of my friends.... even though they had to listen to my snoring all night :)

dancing fools!

morning!

so much love, so little mattress 

We all woke happily in various states of disrepair, and those of us whose families were awake were temporarily glued to computer screens, Skyping away. I got to see my family, all together, and it was exactly what I wanted on Christmas morning (so cheesy, but true!). Seeing their faces, even for a short time, made me so happy :) I even got to meet my friends families, which was also really awesome! We spent the morning in and out of the beds, drinking coffee and eating all kinds of treats sent by our families. Caroline made crumpets! There were so many different kinds of high quality chocolate floating around, it was wonderful. We laid together and ate and slept and sang and laughed and watched movies all morning, it was super.

Bryn and Eoin, demonstrating what most of the morning looked like

Some time later, we were hungry enough to begin cooking a tremendous Christmas feast. Everyone pitched in (including me!), and voila! A tremendous meal, including basil roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, eggplant lasagna, even pigs in blankets! After cleaning up, we all left overstuffed, groaning and clutching our stomachs, the way a good holiday should always end in my opinion. (Although... we skipped dessert. Too full!)

All in all, it was one of the best Christmases ever. I'm so lucky to have been able to spend it with such a fabulous cast of characters.

More so soon!
<3M

Plans!

I woke up feeling Monday morning feeling happy and generally stoked about the future. It's not a feeling I often get; excitement is mostly smothered by anxiety. But it's Wednesday morning and the feeling still hasn't gone away. There are so many things happening- very soon- to look forward to!

For starters, this weekend is Christmas :) It's my first Christmas away from home, and though it makes me sad to not be with my family, I'm happy to be with my friends here in Jinju. I feel more and more lucky to know them as the days go on :) Friday at school, I'm throwing my students a proper school Christmas party, and I'm going to surprise them by dressing up as Santa, haha. Saturday night, my friends and I are all going to a performance of the Nutcracker at the Jinju Art Center, and then to a big steak dinner at Outback. Then we're having a group sleepover at CR's house, followed by a big breakfast and potluck lunch! The weekend can't come quickly enough.

The next week, I have two days of vacation to use however, and then of course it's New Year's Eve! Plans are still solidifying for that week/end, but I know whatever I do, I will be with my people, and it's going to be 100% great.

The Monday after New Year's, January 2nd, starts two weeks of "winter camp" for me, which is basically a continuation of school, but with less students (I'll be working with only about ten students, instead of my usual 110). I really wasn't looking forward to this initially, but I made a plan today to make it a "Hollywood Camp," and for two weeks, I'm going to teach my students how to write scripts, act, direct, and make movies in English. I've scoured the internet for tons of materials, and I feel prepared and excited about it. I'm predicting it will yield hilarious results.

After camp, I will have my first visitor in Korea- Ian is coming! I can't wait to be a tour guide.
After Ian comes, we will fly out of Busan together, and I'm going to Thailand for a week!!! Even better, I get to see my sister in Bangkok the night I get there!! It will be my first solo vacation, and I could not be happier about it. I can't wait eat heaps of delicious street food. The good things just keep coming.

I know the next two months are going to just fly by with so many amazing things happening. After I get back from Thailand, six months will have passed since I've been here! Winter will be almost gone and the events and destination weekends will start piling back on (March is the beginning of festival season, which lasts until late November). Then comes the time to start evaluating things....

More soon!

Ding Dong....

Monday morning was going on as normal. Three classes, then as I sat down to my computer before lunch, the news broke that Kim Jong Il, the arguably insane leader of North Korea, was dead. The office was pretty quiet, and I assumed no one had heard yet.

The article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/18/world/asia/north-korea-leader-dead/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

I told the Home-Ec teacher (seated next to me) and pointed at the article on the screen, with a big picture of his face on it. I said, "Kim Jong Il..." and mimed a throat cut/dead move. She cried, "Chincha?!" ("Really?!?!") Within seconds, every teacher in the office was crowded around my desk. After minutes of lively chattering, laughing, even hugging and jumping up and down, then quietly letting the news sink in, they retreated to their respective desks and googled the news in private. Eyes were glued to screens. Students began pouring in, asking if the news was true. Facebook statuses were update by the dozens. It felt similar to when Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were captured and killed, even though this man died freely and naturally (or so is being reported). I didn't know whether to share in their excitement and relief or just simply not care. Afterall, behind one man, there is another, and another.

Though it could have happened at any time (the guy was super old, and more than likely suffering from several diseases), I feel lucky, in a sick way I guess, to be here in South Korea and watch the events of the next few months unfold. At this point, it's pretty unclear whether power will pass to Kim Jong Il's son, Jong Un, or something else altogether. Maybe some changes will be made, maybe nothing will change at all. Regardless, it will be very interesting to follow this story. Only time will tell!

Peace in the far East,
<3 M

Visions of Seoul

As predicted, my weekend in Seoul was wild and crazy! All in all, there were probably about 700-800 santas, cramming into a subway, caroling, and generally spreading the Christmas spirit. It was beautiful!! It was super fun. But rather than further cheapen the experience with words, I present to you a slew a photos:

the bus ride down. everyone is lively, happy, and excited!

santas in action, hongdae

here we are, watching a complete lunar eclipse in hongdae, seoul. it was amazing!

we quickly made lots of new friends, haha

attempting to navigate the streets....

this lovely old man pulled my hand to sit down next to him on the subway. we cuddled for a little while.

surely more to come soon!
<3 M

A Sunny December

Thanks to fistfuls of vitamins, a good amount of luxurious napping, and a generally positive outlook, I'm feeling 1000% better today! The sun is shining, and so am I. I still have relatively no voice to teach with, but I'm making do with powerpoints, pictures and movies. This afternoon I'm showing Home Alone to my students.... my favorite Christmas movie! They better appreciate it, haha.

Time is moving so fast, I really can't believe I'm approaching four months away from home. My co-teacher says that when you're in your twenties, time moves 200 kilometers per hour. When you're in your fifties (like her), it's 500 kilometers an hour. The weeks seem to fly lately; I'm nearly a third of the way through!

This weekend a large group of friends and I are travelling to Seoul together. I'm so excited! This will be my first time in the second largest city in the world. Though I've never really felt a penchant toward bustling, large cities (ie, New York), and I am more than a little nervous about getting lost on the winding labrynth that is the Seoul subway system, it will certainly be amazing to visit. We're going to be going to "Santacon Seoul 2011," which is, quite simply, hundreds of people dressed in Santasuits, parading through the streets of Seoul caroling/bar crawling. Last year, there were about 500 santas, both foreign and Korean, and this year promises even more people. I bought my santa suit last weekend (complete with beard!!) and I can't wait to wear it!

Pictures coming soon to a computer screen near you!

Sick

Well, the day I have been dreading has finally come. Despite the handful of vitamins I take on a daily basis, I'm sick.

For the past month or so, I've been watching several of my friends drop like flies, spend their afternoons, feverish at the doctor's office, lose their voices and cough up buckets of phlegm. Ignorantly believing I was, in some way, untouchable, I've continued to wear my body out in every form imaginable, all the time in close proximity to those affected, preaching the gospel of vitamins to them.

This morning I woke up, shivering, and could barely lift my head. There was a searing pain shooting through my skull, knives in my throat and a wet, disgusting cough. My eyelids were so heavy that it seemed my body was screaming at me to stay in bed. For the first time ever, I was lulled to sleep on the bus ride to school (the same ride that usually makes me fear for my life on a daily basis due to the bus driver's insane maneuvering).

I'm one of them now. Well, too bad. "Sick days" in Korea are virtually non-existent; they are indeed written into my contract, though, if I'm sick, I must first come to school (an hour long trip) and let my co-teacher decide if I am indeed too sick to work. Today when I came in, she said, "Mandi, you are sick?" When I meekly replied, "Yes," she told me she would take me to the clinic tomorrow after school, then swiftly moved on to discussing today's schedule. The clinic.  I hear stories of what happens in the clinic. Bloodletting, strange unnecessary injections, hell, my friend Eve went in recently for the same thing, wet cough/sore throat, and the doctors diagnosed her with allergies. Weird.

More soon, (if I survive!)
M

The Best Student Festival I've Ever Been To

Yesterday.... the festival. It was a lol'rcoaster of a day, from start to finish.
When I arrived at school in the morning, everything was chaos. Teachers and students were buzzing around like mad chickens, cleaning, "getting dressed" (?!), preparing snacks, and generally being stressed out and upset. It was really weird. I just kind of sat at my computer and calmly stared into space for a good three hours.

We had been scheduled to perform sharp and early at 9AM. Shockingly enough, the schedule changed last second (not once, but three times) and the performances ended up beginning after lunch.

Everyone had been walking on eggshells to please "the parents." I had never met my students' parents before, and there was a lump in my throat thinking about it after I had witnessed my co-workers change from happy, normal people into crazed nervous lunatics. It's funny that the second the parents step foot in the school, all of the sudden, we have toilet paper in the bathrooms again, a giant snack spread has been laid out, and the garbages have been emptied. Haha.

So, I walk into the gym, pretty apphrensive, and I look over to the "parents' section" which is basically three rows of chairs in the middle of the gym. And there are five pleasant looking people sitting there, including one infant, eating their snacks on their little perfectly arranged plates. They weren't scary.... at all. They just looked bored.

parent "snack plate"

"the parents"

It was just about this time that Ellen came up to me and said, "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you." (Her most overused line) "Tonight teachers will eat pork together and sing at norebang." (Not optional)

So the first few acts go on, most of them the exact same performances I had seen two weeks earlier. Then it's time for our "songs," which were supposed to be sung in Korean (I never learned the words properly) and our guitar player "dropped out" because he was "too busy" to practice with us. I'm set to sing acapella when, whoosh, out of the shadows, comes the art teacher with a guitar! We sing the songs, my microphone wasn't even turned on, and soon the humiliation was over. Phew. I've already blocked it from my memory.

Next was a weird, hilarious, and humiliating act by the boys of Youngcheon, the Ms. Youngcheon pageant. I was a judge.

the happy panel of judges

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Things took a sharply awkward and sexual turn of events as soon as the boys hit the stage, dressed in drag. (In the end, the slutty dancer with the big boobs won, furthering the lesson that the right moves and a big rack will get you just about anywhere in life. Above is first, second, and third place respectively. All three actually made pretty decent women.)

Next scene: 6:00PM, an eternity later, dinner with the co-teachers, who are getting wasted and stuffing their faces (and mine) with pork. I compete in a "one shot" game (exactly how it sounds) with my 65 year old Vice Principal and start winning.

the unsmiling reaching man is my terrifying principal. 

We then go to the norebang (karaoke) and stay there until 10:45PM. I did things I'm not proud of, I sang a few hilarious songs, my Principal (whom I've never even seen SMILE) slapped me on the butt with a tambourine, we all grew closer.

@ norebang..... it got very late.... very quickly

Ah me.
<3M