Do you ever wake up and just know it's gonna be a bad day? That was my day. I should have just gone back to bed. I got up this morning like I always do and turned on my hot water heater so I could shower. I normally give the heater 10 or 15 minutes so the water can get super hot. I gave it about that much time this morning, but when I hopped into the shower (which mind you is actually just my bathroom because there is no shower stall just a shower head pointed over my entire bathroom) the water was freezing. I waited a bit longer and tried again and waited and tried and waited and tried. After having the water heater on for an hour, I couldn't wait any longer to shower. I needed to meet a friend at 10:15, so I had to get ready. Thus, I took an ice cold shower to start my day. On top of that, my internet simply would NOT work this morning....frustration number 2.
I met up with my friend, Dolee, at 10:15. He was going with me to the orthopedic hospital in my neighborhood to translate in case the doctor didn't speak English. I was so glad that he was going out of his way to help me, and as we walked and talked, I thought perhaps the day was looking up. We get to the hospital, put my name in and find out there's gonna be an almost 2 hour wait. But I really needed to have my ankle looked at, so we just decided we'd sit down and wait it out. After about an hour or so of sitting and talking, I hear someone screaming Korean and just absolutely freaking out. I look up and see this old Korean man at the front desk, screaming at the receptionist and then pointing at me and totally freaking out. It didn't take me long to discover that he was so furious, because I had apparently been talking too loud. Don't get me wrong, I know I can talk too loud. But I couldn't believe the way this man was acting. He was yelling at the top of his lungs and slamming things around on the counter and demanding that the front desk assistants come tell me to be quiet.
Needless to say, I was irate! If this man wanted me to quiet down so he could watch the Korean soap opera that was on, all he had to do would be walk over and ask for me to quiet down. I know I can get loud. I would have apologized to him and then quieted down. But instead, this guy made a huge scene; probably the biggest scene I have ever seen in my life. My Korean friend, Dolee, just sat there next to me so embarrassed that this man had caused this huge scene and apologizing over and over and over. It wasn't Dolee's fault so I just told him not to worry about it. The guy had an issue with me, not Dolee. This kind of thing happens all the time in Korea to foreigners. My co-workers, friends and I have been shushed on buses, in restaurants, in shopping centers, at doctors' offices, any public place you can think of. Koreans are very, very quiet in public. And generally speaking, I try to respect aspects of Korean culture that are different from my own. But I can't see the harm in having a conversation with someone in a public place, so I have a really hard time standing/sitting quietly next to my friends in public places.
About an hour after the drama with this Korean guy, I finally got called in to see the doctor. The doctor actually ended up being great, and he spoke really good English. He looked at my ankle/foot and decided that I should have a couple X-rays done. My X-rays revealed that I have 2 small cracks in 2 different bones in my foot. Since I fell almost a month ago, the doctor said they have kind of started to heal on their own, but I still need to wear a brace and be careful. He said that I can't run, exercise, or play soccer for at least another month, potentially longer depending on how fast the bones end up healing. Some more really annoying news on an already entirely annoying day.
My doctor was unhappy that I had waited so long to come see someone about my ankle, because he said it could have started healing improperly, which could affect walking/running/etc. for the rest of my life. The reason I hadn't gone to the doctor for my ankle is because my bosses kept telling me that they didn't think it was necessary and that I should try these alternative methods of medicine. Then after talking to a bunch of other people, I found out that the bosses of many, many private English schools deter their employees from going to the hospital because the bosses pay teacher's medical bills out of their own pockets; it's a lot cheaper to go to an acupuncturist or a family doctor than it is to go to the hospital. So bosses, mine included, try to encourage their employees to seek medical attention at places other than a hospital. This news, also, really ticket me off. I had trusted what my bosses had been saying, thinking that they had my best interest in mind, only to find out they had their pocketbooks in mind.
So, overall, it has been quite a frustrating day! Before I came to Korea, numerous people that do or have lived in Korea told me how nice the Korean people were to Americans, because we have this bond of helping them in their toughest moments, and they appreciate us coming to their country to teach their children. I don't know what these people were talking about. I have met some great Korean people while here, so don't think that everyone I encounter is terrible. But there are a fair amount of people that I encounter on a daily basis that simply do not want me here and want me to remember that I'm a foreigner. I can usually laugh it off and move on, but today was too much. I'm leaving all of my negativity from the day right here on this blog. I intend to wake up renewed, refreshed, with a positive outlook on life again and thinking that people are generally good. So don't worry about me. I'll be ok. I just had to get it out!
Hugs and Kisses from Halfway Around the World!!!
It's ALL About Him,
KendallCooke
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Dear Korea...Kids Get Hurt. Deal!
I've been in the midst of dealing with an issue that would be much more of a non-issue in the States, and I'm getting to the state where I just wanna pull my hair out. Let me explain..
A couple weeks ago, one of my K kids got hurt during the break before our last class for the day. As I've stated previously, for every 40 minutes of K class we have a 10 minute break. During the breaks, English teachers are allowed to go to the teacher's room for a short breather and the Korean teachers/assistants are responsible for the children. So all my K kids were doing a science worksheet, and the bell rang. They all jumped up out of their seats, handed me their papers and then quickly exited my room to play in the gym/big room area. Like a minute into break, I was still in my room helping a student finish the worksheet and several of my kids came in and told me that Kevin Lee, another K student, had fallen and hurt his nose. I asked if Korean teacher was out there taking care of him, and they all said yes, so I just went on with what I was doing.
A couple minutes later, I walk out of my room and am immediately approached by Mrs. Kim, my boss. Come to find out that Kevin Lee had tripped and hit his face on the stage or something and his nose really took a hit. Then my boss proceeds to ask me at least 7 times whether I let my students out of the classroom before the bell rang. I told her over and over and over and over that we were working on a science worksheet when the bell rang so there was no way that Kevin Lee had left the classroom before the bell rang. It ended up turning into this huge thing, because apparently when Kevin Lee fell my Korean teacher wasn't in the gym watching the students, so she had told my boss that it was because I let them out early.
After wasting pretty much all my break trying to convince my boss that I hadn't let my students out early and that sometimes kids just fall and accidents happen, I ran upstairs to the teacher's lounge to grab some papers for my next class. And when I got up there, 3 of my co-workers were asking me how Kevin Lee was, because, get this, they had all seen him fall as they were walking upstairs to the teacher's room. So if I let him out of the classroom early, then that means 3 of my co-workers also were leaving their classrooms early, because they all actually saw the fall take place. For some reason, this has not cleared my name, however. I guess they just need someone to blame and why not pin it on the foreigner English teacher.
Since this accident, Mrs. Kim has approached me more than a couple times to talk about what I like to refer to as "the Kevin Lee incident." She is still convince I am somehow at fault. She is continuously reminding me that my students have to be in the room until the bell rings and that they shouldn't be running in the school and that I need to be more careful with them. You should have heard me during the school day before the accident. The number of times I said "Be careful. Stop running. That's not a safe choice. Change your play; it's too dangerous" was comical. I should have had my own PBS program as the Safety Police. I can't possibly encourage my 4 and 5 year-old Kindergarten students to be any more careful. Other teachers allow their children to stand on chairs and run in the building and wrestle with each other. But, of course, my student was the one who got hurt. So my school has been instilling all of these new safety rules and classroom rules to ensure that we are at optimal safety so that no child is ever hurt here again. It's ridiculous!
I love being safe and careful, don't get me wrong. But for some reason, my bosses and all the Korean staff think that Kevin Lee wouldn't have gotten hurt had we just been watching him closer or telling him more to be careful. Unless a Korean teacher was holding his hand as he frolicked around during break time, I don't see how this accident could have been avoided. It was an accident...an accidental fall that ended badly. I feel terrible that he got hurt. At the same time, I just wanna shake my bosses by their shoulders and say, "Chill out. Kids get hurt. It's part of being a kid."
That's my random rant for the day. I thought that with time this would all blow over, but it is unfortunately still looming over my every day at work. Hopefully, in time it will all be put behind us and we can move on.
I truly hope things are going well for you all back home. I've read that you've had some incredible weather as of late. I'm jealous. Seoul is slowly, ever so slowly, warming up. I can't wait for the real Spring weather!
I love you and miss you all more than words could say!!!
It's ALL About Him,
-KendallCooke
A couple weeks ago, one of my K kids got hurt during the break before our last class for the day. As I've stated previously, for every 40 minutes of K class we have a 10 minute break. During the breaks, English teachers are allowed to go to the teacher's room for a short breather and the Korean teachers/assistants are responsible for the children. So all my K kids were doing a science worksheet, and the bell rang. They all jumped up out of their seats, handed me their papers and then quickly exited my room to play in the gym/big room area. Like a minute into break, I was still in my room helping a student finish the worksheet and several of my kids came in and told me that Kevin Lee, another K student, had fallen and hurt his nose. I asked if Korean teacher was out there taking care of him, and they all said yes, so I just went on with what I was doing.
A couple minutes later, I walk out of my room and am immediately approached by Mrs. Kim, my boss. Come to find out that Kevin Lee had tripped and hit his face on the stage or something and his nose really took a hit. Then my boss proceeds to ask me at least 7 times whether I let my students out of the classroom before the bell rang. I told her over and over and over and over that we were working on a science worksheet when the bell rang so there was no way that Kevin Lee had left the classroom before the bell rang. It ended up turning into this huge thing, because apparently when Kevin Lee fell my Korean teacher wasn't in the gym watching the students, so she had told my boss that it was because I let them out early.
After wasting pretty much all my break trying to convince my boss that I hadn't let my students out early and that sometimes kids just fall and accidents happen, I ran upstairs to the teacher's lounge to grab some papers for my next class. And when I got up there, 3 of my co-workers were asking me how Kevin Lee was, because, get this, they had all seen him fall as they were walking upstairs to the teacher's room. So if I let him out of the classroom early, then that means 3 of my co-workers also were leaving their classrooms early, because they all actually saw the fall take place. For some reason, this has not cleared my name, however. I guess they just need someone to blame and why not pin it on the foreigner English teacher.
Since this accident, Mrs. Kim has approached me more than a couple times to talk about what I like to refer to as "the Kevin Lee incident." She is still convince I am somehow at fault. She is continuously reminding me that my students have to be in the room until the bell rings and that they shouldn't be running in the school and that I need to be more careful with them. You should have heard me during the school day before the accident. The number of times I said "Be careful. Stop running. That's not a safe choice. Change your play; it's too dangerous" was comical. I should have had my own PBS program as the Safety Police. I can't possibly encourage my 4 and 5 year-old Kindergarten students to be any more careful. Other teachers allow their children to stand on chairs and run in the building and wrestle with each other. But, of course, my student was the one who got hurt. So my school has been instilling all of these new safety rules and classroom rules to ensure that we are at optimal safety so that no child is ever hurt here again. It's ridiculous!
I love being safe and careful, don't get me wrong. But for some reason, my bosses and all the Korean staff think that Kevin Lee wouldn't have gotten hurt had we just been watching him closer or telling him more to be careful. Unless a Korean teacher was holding his hand as he frolicked around during break time, I don't see how this accident could have been avoided. It was an accident...an accidental fall that ended badly. I feel terrible that he got hurt. At the same time, I just wanna shake my bosses by their shoulders and say, "Chill out. Kids get hurt. It's part of being a kid."
That's my random rant for the day. I thought that with time this would all blow over, but it is unfortunately still looming over my every day at work. Hopefully, in time it will all be put behind us and we can move on.
I truly hope things are going well for you all back home. I've read that you've had some incredible weather as of late. I'm jealous. Seoul is slowly, ever so slowly, warming up. I can't wait for the real Spring weather!
I love you and miss you all more than words could say!!!
It's ALL About Him,
-KendallCooke
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The DMZ
ImjinGak is the northernmost point you can travel to in South Korea without special permission from the government. At ImjinGak, we saw the Freedom Bridge (the bridge used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War), the War Memorial (an altar where those who cannot go back to their homes in North Korea get together on special holidays and pray together) and the Peace Bell (an enormous bell which is a symbol of the wish for peace and reunification of the two Koreas). It was really cool!
Next, we went to Tongilchon. Inside the DMZ, there are 2 villages. Tongilchon is one of those villages. In Tongilchon, we ate a traditional Korean meal and walked around for a bit. Then we climbed back on the bus and were given a brief tour through the actual village. The village is really small, but the people make really, really good money there (close to $100,000 annually which is a lot in Korea). The village is famous for rice, soybean and ginseng, so maybe that's how they make their money. I'm not sure what exactly their professions are or why they are there; I didn't understand a lot of what our tour guide said. But the people we saw are the South Koreans living the closest to North Korea. Also, at Tongilchon, we watched a brief documentary on the Korean War and the DMZ since the war. As you all probably know, North Korea attempted building several underground tunnels after the war to infiltrate Seoul and South Korea. Throughout the 1970s, the South Korean government found 4 of these tunnels. The 3rd tunnel is the most famous in that it was the closest to Seoul and the biggest. They estimated that the tunnel would allow 10,000 armed soldiers to invade Seoul within 1 hour. We had the opportunity to go down into this tunnel and see it. It was so wild to think about all these soldiers building this tunnel for so long and the possibility that there are other tunnels out there that are yet to be discovered.
After Tongilchon, we went to the Dora Observatory. The Dora Observatory is a high point that allows you to look over the DMZ and into North Korea. It was unfortunately foggy today, and, honestly, I could barely see anything. You're supposed to be able to see the Propaganda Village of North Korea, as well as Kesung city (North Korea's 2nd largest city). I did see the South Korean and the North Koreans flags facing each other where the two countries meet at the DMZ. It was pretty neat. The North Korean government intentionally built their flag tower taller than that of the South Korean flag, which is apparently quite a sore spot for the South Koreans. At the Observatory, the South Korean government is very strict about where you can take pictures. Picture taking areas are depicted by these big yellow lines on the ground. Apparently the reason is that the South Korean government worries that the North Korean government will find pictures that have been posted online of the way the South Korean guard posts, security, etc are set up and then the North Korean government will be able to use it to their advantage. Thus, you are allowed to see a lot of stuff at the DMZ but not allowed to take pictures of some of the really cool stuff.
The last stop of our trip was Dorasan Train Station. Dorasan is the northernmost train station in South Korea. Something like once a week, a train crosses from the South into the North to take supplies to North Korea (don't quote me on this....the details are really foggy in my mind). It was like a total ghost station. Apart from my tour group, there was 1 Korean family of 4 waiting to take that train one stop south.
Overall, the day was really cool and a lot of fun. I loved walking around and hearing all the stories of the significance of the places we were visiting. And it was really nice to get out of Seoul if only for a couple hours. Plus, the people I was with today were really great. It was an all around enjoyable day!
I love you and miss you all!!! Hope all things are going well in the States.
It's ALL About Him,
KendallCooke
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
When in Rome...
So as I told you all yesterday, I rolled my ankle pretty terribly. Today when I got to work, all my co-workers were freaking out about my hobbling and how gross my ankle looked. And when my boss saw me taking like 10 minutes on the stairs, he asked me what was wrong. I told him the whole story from yesterday, and he somewhat casually mentioned that I should go to an acupuncturist for my ankle. He told me that a lot of times when people in Korea, twist or sprain their ankles, wrists, etc. they go have acupuncture done to help resolve the problem. He asked me if I'd be interested in going to see the acupuncturist, and I gave him a half-hearted sure as I continued into my classroom to set things up for my kids. I didn't really think much more of it.
During lunch, my co-workers convinced me I should go see a Dr. because I was having a lot of trouble getting around on my ankle. There is a Dr. who speaks English about 2 blocks from the school, so I headed that way to see him. After waiting for an eternity to see the Dr., I walked into his office, took off my shoe and sock to show him my ankle, and was quickly referred to another Dr. in the area. Frustrated I walked back to my office as lunch was up. When K classes were over, my boss walked up to me and asked if I was ready to go. I had no idea what he was talking about and looked around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on. Then he reminded me that he thought it'd be a good idea for me to go to the acupuncturist. I instantly began freaking out on the inside. For those of you who don't know, I HATE needles and despise Dr. offices. I couldn't imagine willingly walking into an office all the while knowing that the Dr. was gonna stick a bunch of needles into my body. My boss and his wife were adamant about me trying acupuncture, as they were both just sure that it would heal my ankle. And you know the old saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So I decided when in Korea, do as the Koreans do, and I told my boss I would go.
We got to the office, walked in and immediately the smell of medicine/doctor offices overtook me. My boss had come with me as I speak no Korean and they spoke very limited English. The nurse took my blood pressure and led me back to a little cubicle with a curtain where she told me to lie down and wait for the Dr. The doctor came in, took one look at my ankle, and began yanking and pulling and twisting like he hated me. It was so painful, I had to really, really try to not kick him with my good leg. After all his pulling and twisting, he asked me through my boss if my ankle felt better. It didn't, but I was worried what he was gonna do to me next. So I hesitated before saying it still hurt the same. The Dr. decided I needed acupuncture. He rolled up my pant leg, told me to relax and began sticking needles in me like a pin cushion. Surprisingly, after the initial pain of having someone stab like 10 needles into your leg and ankle, I couldn't feel the needles once they were in my leg. The Dr. finished, put a heat lamp on my ankle/the needles and told me to lay still for about 25 minutes. I just sat there staring at my leg and all these little needles that were sticking out of it. After 25 minutes, a nurse came in and removed the needles. Then she put these little electrodes on my ankle and began sending electricity through my ankle. It actually hurt more than the needle part. It was like a bunch of constant little pricks. I went through this for 15 minutes; after which, a nurse came in took them off, put some Bengay on my ankle and sent me on my happy way with a few simple instructions.
Overall, my ankle felt a lot looser and easier to move after going through acupuncture. I couldn't believe it helped! I definitely still have some pain and can not move my ankle much. And my entire foot is still hugely swollen. But I can certainly tell a difference in how much better it feels after the acupuncture. I guess nearly giving myself a panic/heart attack was worth the visit to the acupuncturist.
Love you and miss you all!
It's ALL About Him,
KendallCooke
During lunch, my co-workers convinced me I should go see a Dr. because I was having a lot of trouble getting around on my ankle. There is a Dr. who speaks English about 2 blocks from the school, so I headed that way to see him. After waiting for an eternity to see the Dr., I walked into his office, took off my shoe and sock to show him my ankle, and was quickly referred to another Dr. in the area. Frustrated I walked back to my office as lunch was up. When K classes were over, my boss walked up to me and asked if I was ready to go. I had no idea what he was talking about and looked around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on. Then he reminded me that he thought it'd be a good idea for me to go to the acupuncturist. I instantly began freaking out on the inside. For those of you who don't know, I HATE needles and despise Dr. offices. I couldn't imagine willingly walking into an office all the while knowing that the Dr. was gonna stick a bunch of needles into my body. My boss and his wife were adamant about me trying acupuncture, as they were both just sure that it would heal my ankle. And you know the old saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So I decided when in Korea, do as the Koreans do, and I told my boss I would go.
We got to the office, walked in and immediately the smell of medicine/doctor offices overtook me. My boss had come with me as I speak no Korean and they spoke very limited English. The nurse took my blood pressure and led me back to a little cubicle with a curtain where she told me to lie down and wait for the Dr. The doctor came in, took one look at my ankle, and began yanking and pulling and twisting like he hated me. It was so painful, I had to really, really try to not kick him with my good leg. After all his pulling and twisting, he asked me through my boss if my ankle felt better. It didn't, but I was worried what he was gonna do to me next. So I hesitated before saying it still hurt the same. The Dr. decided I needed acupuncture. He rolled up my pant leg, told me to relax and began sticking needles in me like a pin cushion. Surprisingly, after the initial pain of having someone stab like 10 needles into your leg and ankle, I couldn't feel the needles once they were in my leg. The Dr. finished, put a heat lamp on my ankle/the needles and told me to lay still for about 25 minutes. I just sat there staring at my leg and all these little needles that were sticking out of it. After 25 minutes, a nurse came in and removed the needles. Then she put these little electrodes on my ankle and began sending electricity through my ankle. It actually hurt more than the needle part. It was like a bunch of constant little pricks. I went through this for 15 minutes; after which, a nurse came in took them off, put some Bengay on my ankle and sent me on my happy way with a few simple instructions.
Overall, my ankle felt a lot looser and easier to move after going through acupuncture. I couldn't believe it helped! I definitely still have some pain and can not move my ankle much. And my entire foot is still hugely swollen. But I can certainly tell a difference in how much better it feels after the acupuncture. I guess nearly giving myself a panic/heart attack was worth the visit to the acupuncturist.
Love you and miss you all!
It's ALL About Him,
KendallCooke
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Here's to a New Year
I remember when I was growing up and even into my adult life, in early August Mom would start heading back to school to get her classroom/library ready for the upcoming year. It was always a process. Those of you who are teachers know it takes awhile to get everything ready for the next school year. This idea that prepping for the coming school year takes time to gear up physically and mentally is totally lost on the hagwons (private schools) of Korea. Yesterday (Monday) was the last day of the previous school year. Today is a national holiday. And tomorrow (Wednesday) is the first day of the new school year. I honestly don't know how we are expected to transition into the next school year that fast.
As I wrote earlier, I am lucky enough to be able to stay with my K kids from last year. Many teachers will be getting new students tomorrow, who have never attended school. So I guess I'm lucky in that respect. But since I'm moving up with my K students, I will be teaching an entirely new curriculum with a new schedule and new classes. It's a lot to take on after just getting used to my previous curriculum and schedule. Not to mention, my K kids are still behind where they need to be according to my school's curriculum. We weren't even able to complete everything from the previous year, but we are supposed to blast ahead full speed. I foresee tons of extra hours at the office in the next week or 2 as I try to figure out lesson plans, scheduling and try to get my classroom set up the way that I think it should be.
Though I am staying with my K kids, as of tomorrow both of my E classes will be changing, and I will be getting brand new E students. I guess I'm ready for a change with my E kids, so I see this as a blessing. My issue is that classes are tomorrow afternoon, and we are yet to be notified of exactly what class/age/level of E students we are going to be teaching. One of my biggest issues with Korea is that EVERYONE waits until the very last minute to make a decision and then just expects everyone to be able to adequately react to said decision. I don't operate this way. I like to plan in advance. I like to know what is going to happen and what is expected of me. I'm the person who took all my syllabi back to my apartment after the first week of college and got out my calendar to highlight and write and give myself early due dates for hours and hours to ensure I was ready for the coming semester. So I often find myself overly stressed and frustrated because it is 2 minutes before something is supposed to happen and the Korean staff has no idea what is going on. I do not understand how this society functions like this, but they all do. And I think I might be the only person I have encountered to have a problem with this mentality. So that's that.
Woah, Kendall....enough of the negative rambling! You guys wanna hear something funny now? Today was a national holiday in Korea, so I didn't have to work. I woke up early and got the apartment cleaned and had this huge to do list of things I needed to run around Seoul and do. So I leave about 11 and take the bus to Itaewon (another area of Seoul) to go to the Foreign Food Market and pick up some stuff that I can't get at my local grocery store. I finished there and needed to take the subway to another place to get my cell phone fixed, because it's been messed up for awhile. I get into the subway station and start heading toward the escalator to take me down to the subway. But before I got on the escalator, I decided I'd take the stairs for a little bit of exercise. I usually try to take the stairs unless I'm with people who refuse to do so. So I'm going and going...there were like a million stairs. I swear I blink, and the next thing I know I'm like flying through the air, dropping the 2 bags I was carrying and throwing my cell phone several feet further down the stairs. I must have missed a step or something; I have no idea. But I took a serious spill. It most definitely was not funny at the time, but looking back I bet it was pretty hilarious to watch. I was airborne with everything I had flying around me and scattering to the ends of the Earth. (It's ok to laugh...I am). Once I gathered myself, I realized that I'd really really hurt my ankle. So I just sat there on the steps at the subway station trying to recover enough to get myself home and cracking up at how ridiculous my life is. That whole incident kinda ended my daily early, as I could barely walk and didn't feel like hobbling around Seoul to finish my other errands. I'm such a klutz!!!
Well I should probably stop stalling and get back to these lesson plans I need to write...yuck!!! (I totally understand why my mama is a librarian now!)
Hope everything is well back in the States!
It's All About Him,
KendallCooke
As I wrote earlier, I am lucky enough to be able to stay with my K kids from last year. Many teachers will be getting new students tomorrow, who have never attended school. So I guess I'm lucky in that respect. But since I'm moving up with my K students, I will be teaching an entirely new curriculum with a new schedule and new classes. It's a lot to take on after just getting used to my previous curriculum and schedule. Not to mention, my K kids are still behind where they need to be according to my school's curriculum. We weren't even able to complete everything from the previous year, but we are supposed to blast ahead full speed. I foresee tons of extra hours at the office in the next week or 2 as I try to figure out lesson plans, scheduling and try to get my classroom set up the way that I think it should be.
Though I am staying with my K kids, as of tomorrow both of my E classes will be changing, and I will be getting brand new E students. I guess I'm ready for a change with my E kids, so I see this as a blessing. My issue is that classes are tomorrow afternoon, and we are yet to be notified of exactly what class/age/level of E students we are going to be teaching. One of my biggest issues with Korea is that EVERYONE waits until the very last minute to make a decision and then just expects everyone to be able to adequately react to said decision. I don't operate this way. I like to plan in advance. I like to know what is going to happen and what is expected of me. I'm the person who took all my syllabi back to my apartment after the first week of college and got out my calendar to highlight and write and give myself early due dates for hours and hours to ensure I was ready for the coming semester. So I often find myself overly stressed and frustrated because it is 2 minutes before something is supposed to happen and the Korean staff has no idea what is going on. I do not understand how this society functions like this, but they all do. And I think I might be the only person I have encountered to have a problem with this mentality. So that's that.
Woah, Kendall....enough of the negative rambling! You guys wanna hear something funny now? Today was a national holiday in Korea, so I didn't have to work. I woke up early and got the apartment cleaned and had this huge to do list of things I needed to run around Seoul and do. So I leave about 11 and take the bus to Itaewon (another area of Seoul) to go to the Foreign Food Market and pick up some stuff that I can't get at my local grocery store. I finished there and needed to take the subway to another place to get my cell phone fixed, because it's been messed up for awhile. I get into the subway station and start heading toward the escalator to take me down to the subway. But before I got on the escalator, I decided I'd take the stairs for a little bit of exercise. I usually try to take the stairs unless I'm with people who refuse to do so. So I'm going and going...there were like a million stairs. I swear I blink, and the next thing I know I'm like flying through the air, dropping the 2 bags I was carrying and throwing my cell phone several feet further down the stairs. I must have missed a step or something; I have no idea. But I took a serious spill. It most definitely was not funny at the time, but looking back I bet it was pretty hilarious to watch. I was airborne with everything I had flying around me and scattering to the ends of the Earth. (It's ok to laugh...I am). Once I gathered myself, I realized that I'd really really hurt my ankle. So I just sat there on the steps at the subway station trying to recover enough to get myself home and cracking up at how ridiculous my life is. That whole incident kinda ended my daily early, as I could barely walk and didn't feel like hobbling around Seoul to finish my other errands. I'm such a klutz!!!
Well I should probably stop stalling and get back to these lesson plans I need to write...yuck!!! (I totally understand why my mama is a librarian now!)
Hope everything is well back in the States!
It's All About Him,
KendallCooke
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