Leading the Meeting

It was a pretty interesting day.  I arrived at school at 11:45, but the meeting didn't start until after 12:30 because Terrence arrived late.  Nathan didn't come, and the Mugeo teachers are off traveling.  So the 3 Taehwa teachers and Terrence had a meeting!  It went smoothly, although we got off topic a few times.  Joelle was in mostly to observe, so that helped keep us on task for the most part.  Terrence has a really strong Australian accent, which doesn't help when he's talking about something completely unrelated to anything else that has been mentioned.  Joelle looked at me a couple of times as if to say, "What is he talking about?!" and I gave her a look in return, "I'm a native English speaker and I don't know, either!"
 
Terrence brought his Nigerian wife with him--his director drove them to our school.  His wife's tourist visa runs out as of Monday, and from what I understand, both Terrence and his director forgot about it until too late to do anything about it.  Because Korean immigration is as racist as it is, there's virtually no chance that they'll extend her tourist visa.  They assume that everyone from African countries is here to work illegally.  Terrence and his wife were married in Nigeria, which apparently has a lot of bogus documents, so all the Australian Embassy will do (according to Terrence) is provide a letter saying that a marriage between an Australian and a Nigerian is legal.  I'm no legal expert, but he should have gotten a marriage certificate from the Australian Embassy in Nigeria when they got married.  Terrence was very upset about his director not being able to do anything, even though he admitted that it took TEN MONTHS to obtain a spousal visa in Japan.  He kept saying that she had a spousal visa in Japan, and we all kept telling him that this is Korea.  I assume that Korea sees far fewer weird situations like this than Japan does, and everything in Korea takes more time because everyone has their own way of interpreting the law.  It's too bad for Terrence, but he's got to be patient and understanding of how things are done here.
 
I'm developing a real love/hate relationship with Joelle.  Yesterday she was the worst person that I knew, but today she wasn't so bad.  I led the meeting, but she chimed in supporting or confirming what I said from time to time.  I helped her and Terrence's director in trying to explain to him how things in Korea work. 
 
When we got out of the meeting a woman who struck me as a princess was hanging around.  I felt some tension from Joelle, but as usually happens, everyone walked around curious, but couldn't ask who the woman was.  (An unspoken cultural rule?)  Mona and Mina were talking in the lobby area, so I asked them who she was, and they said that she used to work at the school and wanted to see Mr. Kim.  Oh, really?  It must have been quite a long time ago, because I've been at the school for 2 years now!  Then Mona added that Joelle hated the woman, and then turned around with a guilty look on her face to make sure no one else had heard.  I later found out that it was 3 years ago that she worked there.  Either their standards in teachers weren't that high then, or she's forgotten all of what she used to know!  She brought a watermelon for the teachers, and after she cut it she told us foreign teachers, "Try!" as she motioned towards it.  Uh, I make my students talk in complete sentences.  Is that not possible for you?!  And, I have tried a watermelon before.  I think you mean, "Have some." 
 
Mr. Kim didn't show up until many hours later, so she didn't get to talk with him.  My first thought was that she wanted a job, but Joelle said she lives near Seoul now, so perhaps she just wanted to check in to leave the possibility of future favors open.  She acted like she owned the place!  Using the computers and the phone, sitting where she pleased, etc.  She commented to one of the Korean teachers about how many foreign teachers there were, and they explained that Terrence and his wife were only at our school for the meeting.  Apparently 3 foreign teachers still seemed like a lot to her, so she asked how many Korean teachers there were.  I understood all of it!
 
In my first class the 2nd-grade boys talked about the "balloon man" that was "very, very big."  I must admit, Terrence is a big guy.  They didn't pursue that subject for long.  Their next thing was copying everything I said for a good 10~15 minutes.  At first it was annoying, but then I just went with it--they were copying the words, the intonation, the stress....it was good practice for them.  In the next class Tomas did an excellent job of working with me on pronunciation.  He didn't lose patience, but continued trying until he finally got it.  All right, Tomas!
 
At that break Tanya clued me in on why Jane wasn't at school today (I hadn't noticed her absence).  She hit either a bicycle or a scooter/motorcycle at the Taehwa Rotary.  Either one could be very, very bad for her, depending on the circumstances.
 
The rest of the day was good, although my stomach continued to bother me.  I feel like I'm being eaten from the inside out.  I only ate about half of my lunch; a little more of dinner.
 
The middle school girls were especially happy and talkative, as they're now on summer vacation (for a month).  The Harry Potter movie started yesterday, so I was hoping to see it on Sunday.  However, they said that they tried to get tickets for tonight on July FIFTH and they were already sold out.  I guess that means I'll be waiting for several more weeks before I can see it!  Some of my students have already seen it from internet downloads, and they say it's really good.  Some of them even saw it in their elementary school classroom!
 
In the blogosphere, the latest on the censorship is that some people are considering paying the MIC office a visit.  I wish I could go!  But Seoul is too far away to make it during the week, and I'm pretty sure the government offices have completed the transition to the 5-day workweek.

How My Students See Me

I was thinking about yesterday and what makes a good teacher and how my students see me.  I taught Anna (and her younger sister) for a year or more, then her family had some money problems.  Her sister, being both younger and not as motivated as Anna, quit first, but Anna eventually had to, as well.  A couple of times I saw her around the neighborhood or she'd be in school waiting for a friend to finish class.  I always said hello and made a little conversation—she's one of the students I'll never forget.  She seemed pleased that I remembered her.  Recently she started studying at our school again.  Yesterday amongst all of the bad students, Anna made a special point of finding me to say hello.  I think that in her eyes, I'm probably a good teacher whom she thinks very positive things about.
 
Then there are students like Steven and Michael.  They came up to me yesterday to ask me why I had taken their "points" away.  I explained that Steven had an extremely bad attitude, and that Michael had bolted out of class when the bell rang when I hadn't given them permission to leave.  They're both upset about that incident, but overall, how do they see me?
 
The incident yesterday made me think of one of my college professors.  She had quite a reputation in our college—tough, mean, almost impossible to make an A in her class.  I believe I put off taking her for a semester or two because of the rumors.  When it was necessary to take one of her classes, another student (Tolan, I think) told me that you actually have to study in her classes, but that she's fair.  Tolan was a really good student, while the rumors had been coming from only mediocre or poor students.  I still went into her class with a BIT of fear, wondering what kind of a semester it was going to be.  I thoroughly enjoyed her classes, even while other students were complaining about how she kept us for the whole class period (on a T/Th schedule, 80 minutes; some professors let students out 10 minutes early on a regular basis).  She always spent the first few minutes of class discussing current events, which made me keep up to date with what was going on in the world.  I went to her first test with LOTS of fear, and made a B (when As were my specialty).  I worker harder.  I kept up with current events.  I learned.  I went to another test.  B again.  Aww….I worked harder…..I continued to keep up with current events…..I learned more…..I went to another test….all right!  An A!  I continued to work hard…..I continued to keep up with current events (even during that pre-Thanksgiving crunch!)…..I learned more.  I wrote an awesome paper, with citations everywhere (she herself warned us that there better not be even a hint of plagiarism) and went into the final exam fully prepared.  That was probably the closest A I've ever gotten, but also one of the hardest ones to get.  But the thing is, I felt like I earned the grade, while in some of my other classes the A was a joke.  After that I was only able to take one more of her classes before graduating.  I had to work harder in those classes than in most of my other classes, but the thing is, I also learned more in her classes than in a lot of my other classes.
 
When I was home in March, I went to a lecture at the college.  I was sitting with a current student, and we were discussing my life in Korea and current things at the college.  The professor came over to tell her student what time they would be returning to the classroom (they were attending the lecture in place of part of class).  At first she didn't recognize me and started to turn away, but when I made eye contact she remembered me with no problem, and was thrilled to see me, surprising me with a hug.  We spent several minutes talking, then the lecture began and we learned together.  (Unfortunately it was a pretty boring lecture, but I still learned.) 
 
So all that to say, I loved her classes and thought she was an excellent teacher.  The bad students hated her classes (and perhaps her) and thought she was the meanest teacher on the face of the earth.  If my students think the same of me as students think of that professor, then I'm happy.  I don't really care if the bad students hate me, as long as the good students enjoy my class and everyone's learning a little something.

Internet Notes

I remember reading that Blogger was going to be down for a couple of hours for maintenance stuff, but I had trouble figuring out the time zone.  Last night around 10 PM when I tried to get on it wasn't working, then at 1 AM I tried again, and it still wasn't working.  When I woke up this morning (at FIVE AM—what's wrong with me?!  and finally got out of bed at 7) Blogger still wasn't working.  Hello!  I need to blog some stuff!  I'm up to six Word pages with only three days worth of stuff!  Paranoia starts to set in, too--what's the Korean government up to now?  (Note:  I was able to post everything on a break at work Friday afternoon.)
 
I was surfing on a new proxy this morning and got directed to an end-of-the-world site no matter what site I tried to visit!!  Even when I switched off the proxy it continued to happen, so I freaked out that it might be a virus.  I turned off my modem, then turned it back on and things operated like normal.  (I also ran my virus checker, despite it being on a schedule!)
 
I took part in a survey to study the habits of bloggers.  It had some interesting questions.  One that I thought was particularly interesting was if you think you portray the same personality online that you do in person.  I said that I don't think that I do.  I know I'm a lot more talkative when I'm typing than when I'm actually talking, and that some of the anti-censorship things I've said I probably wouldn't have said in person.  (Or if I said them, I would have been a lot more subdued in my manner.)
 
Dad sent me a really funny site—it's a parody on the song "This land is your land" and makes fun of Bush and Kerry.
 
On another fun site the computer guesses what you're thinking of by asking a series of questions.  It's pretty good!

I Hate Teenagers

Well, maybe not all teenagers.  Just some of them.  Or certain ones with bad attitudes and no respect for authority.  The ones who think the rest of the world should drop everything to do what they want.  OK, the truth—I hate one particular teenager.
 
To understand how I'm feeling, you have to know all of the other little things that happened today, the worst day I've had in a long while.  Ready for a good long rant?!
 
The adult class began the day.  Several students were late—nothing unusual there, but it's getting to be really annoying because they're consistently late, and miss instructions or the flow of what we're doing.  Class starts at the same time each day—rearrange your schedule so you can arrive on time!!  Grace wanted to end class at 11:30 and go out to lunch together.  We were originally going to go on Monday, but they changed their minds, then Tuesday, but one student wasn't there, so we put it off again.  Thursdays are usually when I get all of my daily reports entered into the computer, and if I went out to lunch with them I would have to do the daily reports over the weekend, plus I'd be rushed to get ready for afternoon classes, etc.  The other days I told them I had to be back by 1 PM, but in the past that means they usually leave the restaurant at that time, putting me back to school even later.  PLUS whenever we've gone out in the past they speak 80% Korean, so what's the use of me being there, anyway?!  So I told them I was too busy to go, but that they should go out by themselves anyway. 
 
Grace acted terribly disappointed, like it was my OBLIGATION, and asked when would be a good time for me to go.  I explained, again, that summer is a very busy time (what with getting ready for the extra class, and then normal stuff like the meeting, and the online journals that are taking longer and longer to correct, etc.) .  Grace ignored that comment, and asked if I could go next week.  I repeated, I DON'T KNOW—right now I DON'T KNOW what I'll be expected to do next week!  Grace so completely didn't get it (I don't think she's ever worked outside of her home to understand the concept that if the boss tells you to do something, you do it).  The mothers who have or have had kids in our school told her (in Korean, but I basically understood) that summer is, indeed, really busy at our academy.  Grace still acted hurt, but asked if we could have a party at school next week.  Yeah, fine, whatever, as long as it doesn't take up a lot of time! 
 
We studied, and then after class ended I went to the teachers' room to correct some papers, etc.  One of the students (my guess is that it was Grace) bought several of the dessert things from Lotteria.  Whoever the mystery student was, she gave it to the secretary, who brought one to me.  It really hit the spot on such a hot day—ice, various kinds of fruit, red beans, and topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream=delicious.  It made me feel slightly guilty about declining the lunch, but at the same time, they have no clue how it is to teach here (or to work at all, actually).  They think they're doing me a favor by taking me out, but it's actually more work for me to understand them and make myself understood by them.  It's not fun, especially when I have other things that I should be doing.
 
So that was the morning.  I got a good bit done before the afternoon classes.  The first class was great.  Clint's out for a few weeks getting ready for a piano recital, so it's only 5 of the cutest little 2nd graders on the face of the earth.  They use lots of Korean—probably too much—but I usually understand.  Hey!  I can understand a 2nd grader!  : )  But I speak like a 3-year-old.  : (     Anyway, I help them by providing the English words for what they're saying.  They're completely comfortable with me, which is a bad thing, sometimes!  Kate was talking about how bad her school bathroom smells—that when she walked in, she threw up, and her friend was next to her and was surprised.  When I asked them about the weather Penny pointed out that it was sunny and rainy today, "The han-ul (sky) is crazy!" 
 
The lesson was on various kinds of food.  We learned the "I like ____" and "I dislike _____" forms.  I had them ask each other what they like and dislike, and Danny said, "I like Beth."  I thought maybe he was confused, so I asked him, "Do you eat me?" and added some motions.  He smiled an evil smile and said that yes, I was delicious.  Maria said that she likes everything.  I asked her if she likes bon-dae-gi (silk worm larva), she said yes.  I asked her if she likes dog meat (bo-shin-tang), and she said yes.  I don't believe you, Maria! 
 
Maria was eating candy before I came into class, and as they were greeting me (up out of their chairs surrounding me) Danny found a candy on the floor.  He showed it to Maria and said something about how she must have dropped it.  I could see his brain thinking if it was OK to eat it (the floors are always FILTHY!) but she took it from him as if to look at it or something, then I saw the same thought process going on in her mind as she wiped it on her shirt before popping it into her mouth.  That class was good, but as always, takes a lot of energy to keep them engaged in the lesson.
 
The next class was so-so, with Ally being way too talkative, and the others being rather more dense than normal.  The following class was also just OK.
 
Here's where things get bad.  The 5 PM class is extremely small so is usually easy to handle.  Previously it had two 8th grade girls who are very motivated, and a 5th grade boy who is very advanced for his age but is sometimes a little too silly.  Well, the solution the administration worked out to the Monica/Rooky fight was to put Monica into this class, which is almost at the same level as the class she was in before.  So add Monica (7th grade) to the mix.  The three regular students were in the front row—girls on one side of the aisle, boy on the other.  Monica sat in the second row behind the two girls.  The bell rang, I came in, we greeted each other, I asked them about their week and anything special they've done recently, and then we opened our books.  We started with a listening exercise.  The tape was playing, the three good students were listening, and Monica's head was down on her desk.  I looked more carefully at her—is she writing what she's supposed to be writing?  What is she doing?  I arrived at her desk at about the time she looked up and hurried to hide her headphones.  SHE WAS LISTENING TO MUSIC WHEN SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COMPLETING AN ENGLISH LISTENING EXERCISE!!!!!  I told her to give me her tape player; she did.  I moved her to the front row, which she protested because it meant sitting next to a boy.  For most of class the two of them elbowed and/or hit each other.
 
At the end of class Monica asked for her tape player back but I said no, I'd give it back next week.  She protested that it wasn't hers.  I said I didn't care, but I did ask whose it was—her sister's.  Younger or older sister?  Older sister's.  "Teacher, she will hit me!"  Well good, you shouldn't have been listening to music in my class!  She followed me into the teachers' room, continuing to whine.  Miro gave me a questioning look, so I explained, and Miro completely understood and supported my decision 100%.  Finally Monica left and I went into my next class.
 
That class was particularly stupid and blind and deaf about everything today.  About halfway through, Joelle came in and said that Monica's mother had called, and I had to return the tape player today.  Joelle's justification was that Monica thought it was "10 minute writing time" so that was why she was still listening to music.  Joelle, the bell rang……I came in…..we greeted each other…..I asked them about their week and anything special they've done recently…..then we opened our books…..we were doing a listening exercise…..the tape was playing…..the three good students were listening…..Monica's head was down on her desk.  HELLO—what an outright lie!  Joelle's next justification—the tape player belonged to someone else.  Well, that someone else was stupid to let Monica borrow the tape player!  I told Joelle that Monica's attitude sucks, and that if I returned the tape player to her just because her mother asked me to, then she'd think she can do anything she wants to in my class and get away with it.  As usual, nothing I say means anything, because Joelle's opinion is the only one that matters.
 
I told my students to put their heads down on their desks and not say a single word while I was gone.  I went to my desk, retrieved the tape player from where I had carefully stored it for safe-keeping until next week, and gave it to Joelle—I wasn't about to hand it directly to Monica.  I could see the triumph in the devil's eyes—"Ha Ha!  I won, you lost!  I don't have to listen to you!  Wait until next week and see how I'll behave in class!"
 
I returned to my classroom, angry that the administration hadn't supported me and that my class had been interrupted.  I entered the classroom to find a couple of students talking.  I yelled at them, asking them why their heads weren't down on their desks and their mouths silent like I'd told them to be.  The next several minutes I took some deep breaths, erased the board, and straightened some books while not a single sound came from the ten 5th and 6th grade students with their heads firmly on their desks.  Finally I felt composed enough to conduct class again.  Of course, what with the interruption and me being so angry, I didn't get nearly what I wanted to get done finished.  When the bell rang perhaps one person moved slightly, the rest continued on the group activity.  I kept them about 4 minutes after, gave them homework, and asked them to open their ears and eyes next class and close their mouths. 
 
As that class left (quickly, both to catch the bus and before I yelled at them any more) the next class (which I teach on another day) came in.  Paul (my favorite little 5th grader who I used to not like, that's weird) asked me how I was.  I replied truthfully, "I'm angry."  He asked me why, and I said that the class was bad and the students weren't listening.  He said something like "That's too bad" or "I'm sorry" or something, I didn't pay much attention to his response.  What struck me was that this little 5th grader is sincerely concerned about his teacher, while the rest of the world couldn't care less if she lived or died.  (OK, maybe not the rest of the world, but certainly the rest of the school.)  I dropped my books in the teachers' room, careful not to make eye-contact with anyone, then high-tailed it to the bathroom which I was glad to find empty.  There are way too many people in this country!!!! 
 
I wanted to be away from everyone, yet at that moment I don't know if I've ever felt more lonely and far away from anyone who meant anything to me.  I tried to hold back the tears, but only partially succeeded.  The bell rang way too soon, and when I returned to the teachers' room to grab my books, Matt was still there and gave me a funny look.  Yes, I'm aware that with just a few tears my face looks terrible and I can't change it or hide it.  He asked if I'd had a hard time with a student and I said, "Yes, something like that."  I didn't want to get into it at that moment, because one of my hardest students was next.  A class of 12, but Brandon alone is a handful.  I walked into that class, determined not to take any of his misbehavior, and hoping that I wouldn't cry in front of the kids.  The best thing that's happened all day—he was absent!!!  The other kids either didn't notice my face, or decided not to mention it.  Their behavior was pretty normal, so I think they didn't notice it.  Annie attacked me as I walked in, wanting to know how to write cursive letters.  I showed them, and then they studied decently.
 
Over dinner Matt asked what had happened, and I was able to fairly calmly tell him.  He agreed that it was bad that I was forced to return the tape player.  I was wondering how I was going to deal with Monica in the future, and whether to treat her really harshly or just completely ignore her, relegating her to the back of the classroom, and work with the students who make an effort to learn.  But that's not an issue anymore!  Monica quit our school!  Hooray!  Apparently the mother made a pain of herself.  The mother admitted that Monica has a bad attitude, but was upset that Joelle actually told her (the mother) that.  Well, the point is that perhaps the mother could do something to change that, as in, tell her daughter to show proper respect to people in charge!  But apparently Monica is another little perfect angel who can do nothing wrong.  I'm worried about Korea's future! 
 
The bus ride and walk home weren't the most difficult I've ever done, but the littlest things annoyed me so much more than normal.  A middle-aged woman stayed firmly seated, munching on dried ramion while an older woman struggled with packages and no place to sit; people bumped into me and formed a roadblock on the sidewalk so I couldn't get through; a van ignored me walking in the crosswalk; cars were parked on the sidewalk, forcing me to walk in the road; the uneven sidewalk tried to trip me, as it does every day; the ever-changing TV schedules left me confused; the high humidity makes everything perpetually damp; the guy on the floor above is still practicing to become an opera singer; the drunk people walking down the street scream at each other.  This is definitely one of those 
I HATE KOREA days.

Work Visa (3rd reminder)

The website meeting this morning was really productive.  The strawberry shake hit the spot for breakfast, then a free refill replaced lunch (we talked longer than we had planned).  And only 4000 Won ($3.50).  We got through everything we wanted to do, with plans to edit the stuff on the website and hopefully be ready to meet with the website people before the end of the month.  I arrived at school at 2:15, giving me plenty of time to get ready for class.
 
In the 5 PM class as part of the review unit there was a scavenger hunt and they had to find someone new to answer yes to every question.  No one in the class had a cat or a dog, so the students went out into the hallway, the computer room, tried to go into the teachers' room (I stopped them) yet still couldn't find anyone with a cat or dog!
 
At 7 PM they asked me if I ate cockroaches.  NO!  I'm glad they remember the word, but they could quit reminding me about the incident!
 
Mr. Kim was in for a while, so I asked him about my resident ID card (which I've been without for about 2 weeks now).  He gave it back to me, explaining that they didn't need to note the academy name change on the card itself, but only in the computer.  I reminded him, again, about my work visa expiring on August 2nd.  He said he'd probably go back to the immigration office next week to extend the visa, so I left my card with him, thinking it would be easier that way.  However, looking back on it, I should have kept the card; that way when he asked for it I'd know that he was taking care of it.  Now I'll have to remind him about it again next week, and then probably the week after that, too.  What's wrong with getting things done early?  It makes the foreigners feel a lot more secure!

Impact Topics

We started the new book in the adult class today. Grace insisted that it was too difficult, and I insisted right back that it was at a good level for them. There's a lot more listening, but they all can use that, especially Grace. If she's not challenged, then she's not going to get any better. There is, however, a danger that she'll get frustrated and give up, so unfortunately I'll have to give her extra encouragement to keep her going. (Or let her give up--hmm....) I was going to start with chapter 1, but the book can be used in any order, so to show them that, I started with chapter 25. Of course they freaked out about that--after all, you're supposed to use a book from front to back, right?! I explained that each of the chapters was at the same level and independent of each other, so we'd be skipping around. That way I can pick topics that I like or that I think will work best for them, and more importantly, they won't know what chapter we're doing next. That way we can do the "get ready" part, read the question, and listen to the CD once to see if they can answer the question. If they knew what chapter was coming next, they would probably start on it ahead of time and read the passage before listening to it, which would give me no indication of their listening abilities.

Matt is just a little too curious about my blog. Yes, I know, solution is to not blog at work. But I have so much time between the morning and afternoon classes! I'm careful to clear the history off the computer after I use it, but he might eventually stumble upon it on the net—oh well.

The air conditioner in Pineapple classroom wasn't working again this afternoon. Luckily I only had 2 students at 5 PM, but it was still sweltering. By the 7 PM class I have in that classroom (with 13 students) it was working again—excellent!

Mistakes in English today: at 6 when I asked Tom to describe the picture, he said, "A woman bite a crab." Really? "Yes, really, teacher!" I don't think that's what you mean! I explained how "A woman is biting a crab" and "A crab is biting a woman" mean very different things. When Cleo came in to class, several of the boys asked him, "Why are you late?" before I got the chance to. He replied, "Math-uh." Harry screamed, "HE SPOKE KOREAN!!" I replied, "No, that's English." Harry said, "NO! 'Math' is English; 'Math-uh' is Korean." Don't worry about it, Harry!! I'll decide if someone needs to stand in the corner! Cleo, speak correctly!

In the next class we read a dialogue between two boys—one pretending to be Superman. I was sitting, half listening and half out-in-space when I heard, "I'm having a baby" from the student reading Superman's lines. WHAT?! I looked at my book and saw, "I'm helping a baby." Be careful with pronunciation, kids!

I tried a little jogging this morning-perhaps a bad idea. I usually do around 50 minutes/3 miles of walking. With the little bit of jogging added in, it was the same distance and 45 minutes. My face was red, red, red, and sweat was dripping off of me. Great picture, huh? I drank a small glass of water before starting, but maybe should have had more? I was still sweating (profusely), but felt ill. I grabbed some water to drink and used the shower head to spray myself down, then just sat in the bathroom sipping water for the next 10 minutes or so. I think I must have gotten overheated or something—it was only in the mid-80s, but with around 90% humidity, it was hot. I'm going to have to wear a hat, and maybe drape a wet hand towel over my head like about half of the people out walking had done. (What's the reason behind that, exactly?) I guess it's also not a bad idea to get some sports drink to drink after I finish.

Fighting Kids

Last Friday Monica and Rooky had quite a fight--I guess it was before Jane's class, although I don't know for sure. They had been swearing at each other on the school website, then got into it at school, too. From what I understand, Monica threw a chair at Rooky or something like that, and it hit Rooky rather hard in the stomach/lower regions of his body. Rooky was absent today, and only a few minutes into class Jane came in to get Monica. Rooky's mother came to school, and for the entire class period the mother and Mr. Kim yelled at Monica. She came back into class to get her bag as the bell was ringing. She looked terrible from all of the crying. She's just a kid, give her a break! However, she is in the 7th grade while Rooky is in the 4th or 5th. BUT!!! Rooky is one of the most annoying kids you'll ever meet--I've come close to strangling him a few times. And I've seen/heard him in class--he'll say something nasty to one of the other kids, then when I call him on it ("Hey, Rooky, what did you say?") he'll act so innocent like he didn't just call them any of the worst names available in the Korean language. I'm sure he plays that same game with his mother--"Mom! This mean girl Monica hurt me for NO REASON!!"

The adults were happy with and surprised by their test scores (Melissa 79, Grace 82, Vivien 96, Nicole 98, Jennifer 99). I was satisfied, although their essays could have been better.

Weekend

As I was getting ready to leave my apartment rumbling started. I looked out the window and it wasn't particularly sunny, but it wasn't very cloudy, either. Was it thunder, or was it construction work? Within a few minutes it got darker, the sky let loose with torrents of rain, and thunder and lightning were everywhere. Thunderstorms are so rare here that I would have enjoyed it if I didn't have somewhere to go! I waited about 20 minutes past when I had planned to leave. Most of the lightning had stopped by then and the pouring rain had lessened to a drizzle.

The bus wasn't horribly crowded, but I wasn't quick enough when seats opened up, so I had to stand the whole way. I took the bus directly to the foreigners' compound, and with the rain and the many students getting on and off, it took a whole hour. My arm muscles felt a good bit stronger after holding myself up for that long!

I arrived right at 2 PM. The teacher and the Japanese girl had just arrived; the two guys came later. Wen-loo has family visiting, so is in Seoul, I think. The test was not what I expected. I thought it would be matching the English and Korean or something along those lines, but there were a lot of adjectives listed and we had to write their opposites (in Korean!) on the line. For several of them I knew what they meant in English, but couldn't think of the opposite in Korean. Others I got the spelling wrong. As usual, her tests are more like quizzes, anyway. Immediately after taking it, we went over the answers, and in so doing learned them a little better. The rest of the class we did the review chapter, including 2 reading passages and a listening part. For next week (actually 2 weeks because of the national holiday) she's going to explain "라거" better. It was in the reading passage at the very end of class, and she didn't know that we hadn't studied it before.

David and Clemens drove me downtown. It was definitely time for a haircut! I told the guy I wanted a haircut that was as cool as possible, so he gave me a Japanese-style haircut that he called "shag." It basically amounted to thinning my hair out by about 50%. It's a lot lighter and dries really fast--perfect for the summer. Then to KFC for a late lunch, then to Wal-mart to get some groceries. There were even more foreigners than usual there. Back at home I did some laundry before spending the rest of the evening relaxing with the computer and TV.

On Sunday after church Kendall and Scott and I arranged to meet on Wednesday to discuss the church website. Sarah (the high school senior) wants to go to the orphanage on Saturday with our group, but needs help getting there. I'm meeting her at the University gate so we can go together. At Shinbok there were only 3 students, so the Bible study went fairly quickly, then they asked me some questions about cultural things in the USA. Octavia asked me if I could help edit something that she had translated for someone else. Uh, OK, but I still have things to get done at home tonight. I thought it was for a student, but it was a UK visa application for her friend and the friend's two children. It took 90 minutes to wade through all of the paperwork. I think it's weird that people will spend so much money to study/live overseas, but then be cheap about doing the visa application. After all, doesn't she want it approved?! I'm not familiar with UK immigration laws! She's been accepted to a university in the UK, but when her conversational skills are barely adequate, how will she be in a classroom trying to take notes?!

After we finished we went to the nice restaurant near Mugeo-dong yet out in the countryside about 5 minutes. It was a nice dinner, but nowhere near the going rate for 90 minutes with a native English speaker!

Back at home I did some more work on the censorship--I posted on Korea Life Blog advising people to check out the petition and forum, then returned to Mikerowesoft with a censorship update and request for them to sign the petition. I added my ideas to the forum, then sent some emails--this time to WTVT, Tampa Tribune, and Bay News 9. Yes, small papers/stations, but I figure that the big organizations haven't responded, so I might have more of a chance of being heard at a smaller place. There was no further response from the GOP site (from June 30). Apparently they either don't care or don't know whether it's them or the Korean government blocking me from their site.

F.U.C.K.

Blinger started a forum for Folks Undermining Censorship in Korea, the acronym invented by the Big Hominid, who is neither the leader nor the founder of this non-existent organization. Hopefully it will help everyone to be more cohesive and productive in ending the censorship.

If you haven't signed the petitions yet,

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

It doesn't matter where you're from or where you live now. Show support for free speech, free access to information, constitutions, democratic societies.....Especially for those living in the USA--Korea is often referred to as one of the USA's closest allies. If such censorship exists here, then what can you expect in the future of the USA?! Go ahead, sign the petitions, and then email everyone you know and have them sign, too! The petitions: Joel's and Gumbi's.