I have seen more sunrises in the past two months than I have in my entire lifetime. It's kind of nice. It's kind of distracting. Half the commute each morning has me going north, so east is off to the side and if the sunrise is nice, I keep turning my head to watch it... as I drive. It's probably not a good plan, but how can I help myself when the sky looks like this?

So, my school still sucks balls, but that's besides the point. I just can't seem to take it out on the students. The easy thing to do would just be--stop trying, take it easy, let the kids do whatever. But I think about how nice some of their moms are, or how hard the students work, and I realize I had to keep trying hard for their sake. I guess this means I still have a conscience, no matter how much I tried not to.

But, just to clarify.

ECC SONGPA STILL SUCKS. And they are forcing me to move a week earlier now. And the Kindergarten manager gave me the worst schedule, because "only the teachers who are staying get the benefits of a good schedule". To which I replied, "You realize that I'm not just leaving on a whim, but because of a difficult situation, right?" Her response was a breezy, "Oh yeah, I know." But apparently, it doesn't matter.


Okay, okay, trying to tone down on the bitterness. Good things are in store. I have a nice Lunar New Year holiday, I'm going to visit my relatives, I'm thinking of getting another tattoo? Maybe. Oh, right, something funny.

My students have to write a book report every two weeks. The book report is always about the story we've been covering in class. The most recent story was about Jane Goodall, and how she observed chimpanzees, and gave them names like David Greybeard and Mr. McGregor.
The students decided that these chimpanzees counted as characters in the story, and so they had to fill out a chart describing the character's name, gender, appearance and personality. But the gender part was giving some of them a tough time.

"Teacher..." Darren asked, finally. "Is Mr. McGregor a male or a female?"
"...'Mr.'" I said.
"McGregor." Darren replied.
"'Mr.'"
"McGregor."
At this point, the other students were watching us like you'd watch a tennis match, their heads swinging back and forth.
"'MR.'"
"MCGREGOR.....ohhhh."

The recent events from my life really don't have much bearing on my overall outlook on Korea, or on my perception of my time in this country. I can honestly say that I've had a great time here, and have really enjoyed living in Korea. I learned a lot about myself, and a lot about this other culture. Some things have been good, and some haven't. But overall, I'll always remember my time here with fondness. So much so, that, I'm planning on coming back sometime in the future. Only at a better school. A MUCH better school than YBM ECC. And a better area than Songpa.

So I'm not down on Korea. I went through a week of EXTREME BITTERNESS, as my coworkers can attest. But today I was normal. I played with my students. I taught them simple past tense. I had coffee with friends. I cooked a fabulous dinner. I am ready to move onto the next stage. And fortunately, I have the next stage pretty well planned out. I'm just ready to get there.

Today, Kevin, who's about 8, asked me what I do when I finish working. I thought about it for a bit, and said I was going to make some hot chocolate and read a book. He said with all sincerity, "Wow... that's nice."

And yeah, it really is.

Well, almost. I am ready for spring. Spring is going to mean big changes for me, in 2010. Changes that I won't discuss just yet, but there is something that I will discuss. In depth.

My academy had some days rescheduled in the past few months. One week was due to an H1N1 scare in October, and another day was due to the outrageous amount of snow we got in January. The school altered the schedule a bit so that days that had previously been off were working days, and most of the time had been made up by the time I made it back from my vacation, except for two days. And they decided to make up those two days on the two Saturdays that fell at the end of January. So for two weeks, I got to work 6 days. Working 6 days is painful, especially with only a paltry Sunday to try to refresh you.

But it gets worse.

On the Friday preceding second Saturday workday, my manager took me aside and told me I'd have to switch apartments. I moved to this specific apartment for several reasons.

The first reason: I just moved to this apartment in August. I had previously lived in a place on the first floor, but when my friend's contract ended, I asked to move myself to her apartment. Her apartment was on a higher floor, which meant it was easier to heat and cool, and also safer, as it's pretty easy to break into a first floor apartment. My school agreed so I moved everything ON MY OWN to her apartment.

The second reason: Her apartment is marginally nicer than my old one. I rank the apartments from nicest to least nice (....) in my head, and this apartment was ranked #2. My previous apartment was #3.

The third reason: This apartment is warmer in winter. I guess it has something to do with the fact that an upper-level apartment is surrounded by apartments that have heat on all sides. Anyway, my bills are much cheaper since moving here.

But it's all for nothing. Because I'm being told that the apartment's owner chose not to renew the lease with my school. Yes, I emphasized being told on purpose. I do feel that there are aspects of this that my school is not telling me. And I feel like a lot of that has to do with money. That could just be the bitterness talking.

The best part of this situation is that the apartment that I'm moving into is terrible. Literally, like the set of a horror film.

Okay, I'm exaggerating. But the two previous tenants were both boys who didn't care either way that the ceiling was tiled with linoleum, and that linoleum was peeling off the corners. Boys who didn't care that the floor didn't actually stick to the ground. Boys who didn't care that the cabinet falls apart when you open it, or that there were giant brown stains on the wallpaper, or that the front door doesn't close properly, or that the toilet leaks and has a huge chip missing from it.
Those kinds of boys.

My coworker thought I was overreacting until she visited the place last night to pick up some stuff the previous teacher left. When she got to her place, she said she felt sick and started to clean everything in her apartment. She said it was because she didn't want her room to even start to resemble that one.

My future home.

I've had some discussions with my school detailing my reluctance to move into this pit of despair. I was presented with a handful of non-options. Those options were...

Take the non-housing contract. The non-housing working contract gives the employee 300,000 won in lieu of housing. The problem is, an apartment in my area requires 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 in key money (basically like a fully refundable deposit) as well as AT LEAST 500,000 a month. My school doesn't provide key money, and as I don't have the equivalent of 10 grand lying about, that option was out.

Move into the terrible apartment and then move into a worse apartment in May. I could take over a different coworkers apartment after a few months of living in Hell, Songpa-gu, Seoul. I asked my coworker about this other apartment and was promptly informed that it was worse than the one I was being forced into.

THAT'S JUST GREAT.

Have the apartment repaired. Now this sounds like a good option, right? Maybe we could replace the toilet and the floor, and paint over the stains on the wall. My school thought it eminently reasonable to offer me this, inform me that only the absolutely worst parts would be repaired at the lowest possible cost, but that was good because I WOULD BE PAYING FOR IT.
That's right. Me. I could shoulder the cost of a new floor, cabinets, door, bathroom ceiling, wallpaper and toilet.

Can you guess which one I chose? I'll just tell you.

None of the above.

I'll be leaving the country at the end of my contract. And believe me, that's created a whole new mess.

I'd rather not go into too much detail about that, but basically I was accused of breaking my word to work for another year at my school. The thing is, I agreed to continue at my academy because I was satisfied with my quality of life at that time. I had no idea that my apartment would be ripped away from me with scant notice. Living environment is a huge issue for me. I need a haven to come to after teaching all day. I like being in my apartment now. In a few weeks, that will not be the case.

There are some complications with this. My school is making me pay back the cost of the flight for the vacation I took in December. That's fair enough. They are also telling me they are withholding my contractual "severance" bonus in spite of the fact that I am completing my contract.
Trust me, I have contacted a lawyer about this and have a backup plan in place. More than one backup plan, actually. I like to be prepared.

I honestly never expected something like this to happen. I truly believed I would work for another year and leave in everyone's good graces. But I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to returning to the States. I've been in Korea now since August 2007. That's a long time, if you ask me.

However, the next 8 weeks are going to feel like an eternity.

YBM ECC SUCKS.

Neighbor. =[

That's pretty self explanatory. I switched apartments this summer, moving to a nicer apartment on a higher floor. Or so it seemed. Now, I had known about the crazy neighbor before I moved in, I just never realized how crazy she was. Now, I do.

Crazy #1. She's deaf.
This wouldn't seem so crazy, except for the volume that she has to keep all of her electronics. TVs, Stereo, computer, everything is audible through the CEMENT WALL THAT IS INCHES THICK that separates us. Cement folks. Audible through cement.

Crazy #2. She likes music.
In case you didn't read about #1 (and why wouldn't you, considering... well, it's right there) then I'll reiterate that she's deaf. But this doesn't stop her from loving music. And it's mostly 트로트 aka Trot music. Basically, it's the original Korean pop music, and it isn't so bad in its updated form. However, my neighbor likes to kick it old school with some freaking trot from the 70's or 80's. It's terrible. Just terrible.

Crazy #3. Her online gambling.
OHMYGOD this is the worst part. She plays some sort of slots game or something, I'm not sure what it is, but I'm conjecturing based on the sounds that are AUDIBLE THROUGH MY CEMENT WALLS. I basically here the same 40 second loop of bass-heavy techno music, accompanied by bells and whistles and dings, then a blessed 2 seconds of silence before it repeats. It sounds like Vegas on crack. THROUGH MY CEMENT WALLS.

Crazy #4. She's OCD.
It's not just that she clearly adheres to a schedule every day of every week of every month. I hear her doing her little rituals. Like when she locks the door to her apartment, she has to jingle her keys for 5 seconds, then click the lock 3 times, then check the lock 3 times, then I'm pretty sure? that she walks away from the door, halfway down the hall, then walks back. I can't be for sure because I can't... open the window and watch her. That would ruin the ritual. Then she'd never leave her freaking apartment and I'd hear the ridiculous trot music and the dinging and the bells, oh and..

Crazy #4.5. She sings.
She sings. She sings opera. But she sings the SAME TWO LINES from the SAME SONG and always misses the SAME HIGH NOTE. Every night. EVERY NIGHT! I'm getting agitated just thinking about it. I haven't been able to identify the song, because it's in Korean, but I think it's Josh Groban? Once I figure it out, I am going to sing it back at her THROUGH THE CEMENT WALLS and see how she likes it. Anyway, back to the OCD.

OCD cont.
She realizes that she's crazy because she usually turns her music and TV and computer and NOISE down eventually, but only at the same exact time every night. I've tried politely tapping on the walls to get her to quiet down. I've tried banging on the walls with my fist.
I even tried hitting the wall with a baseball bat.

Just... don't ask about that one.

But she won't turn her noisiness down! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, she'll quiet down at 11:00. Thursdays, she'll turn her gambling noises down for a few hours, I'm not sure how long but long enough for me to fall asleep... then when I wake up in the morning (at 7:00 am, I may add) I hear the SAME.FREAKING.TECHNO.LOOP. All morning. Until I go to work. Friday and the rest of the weekend, it's just constant noise.

....

I got my manager to write me a note to show the security guard, so on one of those nights when I really am tired of all the sounds infiltrating my apartment, I can go down and show him the note and hopefully have him deal with her craziness. I'm thinking I'll save that for Thursday when I'm truly at my wit's end. I'd never realized how much I appreciated silence before, but now I do.

Silence. It's so beautiful.. My apartment is so beautiful when there's silence. When there's no cacophony emanating through my CEMENT WALL.

Cement, folks.


Cement.

I make no promises here, people. I am only a woman in this big, crazy world. And gosh-darnit, sometimes I don't have time to write.

Well, that's a lie. Sometimes I don't have anything to write about.

Okay, that's not exactly true, either. The truth is... I'm lazy. There, I said it. I'm kind of busy on some days, so the days when I am not, I feel like it's my right... no, my duty to sit around and play Scribblenauts.

Well, the Scribblenauts is a recent development. But SERIOUSLY HAVE YOU PEOPLE PLAYED IT? My most frequently used items are a slingshot and a pterodactyl. Yesterday I used a Pegasus to pick up a Genie's lamp and return it to Aladdin. It was tremendous!

Anyway, that's a portion of my life in Seoul. I'll update later about sight-seeing, my aborted paragliding trip, and the Lotte World capers. But for now, my students...

I dearly love my students. Well, most of them. But there's one in particular. Well, there are several in particular. It's hard to play favorites when they're all so cute in different ways. And they really try so hard, and they're so earnest, and so well-meaning. Again, I say most of them. But this one has worked his way into my heart.

Ah, Sean.

It started when I sat him next to me, because he has a tendency to play during class... mostly like he's shooting things. He also likes to draw ninja stars, and pretend he's Kung Fu Panda.

He came into class one day, with a shock of hair dyed bright orange. He held it up and said, "Teacher, what's this?"
"You dyed your hair,' I said.
"Oh. Teacher, my hair died," he said.

Sean likes to stroke my arm. Now, this is not unusual, since most kids are very touchy, and arm stroking is the norm in my school. With Sean, it's different. He touches my arm and then asks me to make a muscle. If I pick up a chair to move it, he promptly says, "Oh, strong woman."

We were sitting in class one day, and Sean was coloring. He's a haphazard color-er at best. I think he likes to finish quickly so he has time to chat, or daydream. This day, he chose to chat.
"Teacher, you're married?" Sean asked, as he was putting down his crayon.
"No, I'm not." I said,
"Teacher, you'll marry me?" He asked.
"Okay, let's get married."
So I grabbed his hand and hummed the wedding march and announced to the class the good news. They were enthusiastic about the whole marriage idea. I now have 6 husbands and 6 wives. But Sean will always be first.
Plus, I have his parent's approval!

Yeah right. I wish I had a sponsor. Or basically someone who will pay me to do stuff. Er. That's not, like, an employer.

Anyway.

I love this drink.

I was first introduced to yummy carbonated lemon-flavored beverages when I was in Japan, land of the vending machine. While there, I purchased a lemon drink that looked not at all similar to this one, except that they were both yellow, and when I opened it, it made this delightful popping noise. Kind of like when you pop some bubble wrap, only better. I felt like it was a carbonated rocket, or something. The next time I went to Japan, a year later, I sought out each vending machine in hopes of finding the same yellow soda. And I did. Except, it was less poppy than I remembered. I guess that's life, right?

So, what was I to do in my bouts between being in Japan? I mean, a girl can't always fly to another country for her carbonated citrusy drinks. And then this baby came along.

This is OranC. Lemon. +Vitamin C* That's a heck of a long title for what I simply call "Refreshment". While this lacks the exploding noise of those other lemon drinks, it makes up for it by not being located in Japan. AND, since I guess it's a new product and they're promoting it, every time I buy it, I seem to get something free! Twice, it was chocolate filled cookie things, and then, today, it was a sort of cracker. None of which I've actually eaten, which means that, if I ever get snowed in by a blizzard that drops enough snow to reach the 5th floor of my apartment building, I will have snacks to sustain me until help can be reached.

I really like lemon sodas. It's like lemon-lime soda, but without all of that pesky lime business. If you're ever in Korea, you should pick one up. Plus, it has Vitamin C!



*Yes. I know.

It's weird, but I can pinpoint the day each year when living in Korea becomes pleasant again. It's the day when the heat finally breaks, and you can feel autumn in the air. That day was today. I think. The weather could be a jerk and heat up again, and get all humid and stuff, but I sincerely hope not. I actually like going outside and doing things, just not when it feels like I'm swimming in humidity when I leave my apartment. So I'm looking forward to being able to cross some things off my list of "Things to Do Before Leaving Korea".

Also, my birthday is soon. I don't usually do too well on birthdays. Last year's was pretty fun, there was a picnic on the river. But I guess I usually want a FANTASTIC day, with balloons, and strobe lights, and a little indie rock band to follow me around and make a soundtrack to every event, from sunup to sundown. Like, "Ohhhh, she's eating her breakfast. Cereal and a banana, oh yeah!" "Whooo, my girl is looking pretty, she's combing her hair, oh yeah!" Or, well, you get the idea. Instead, I usually get a pretty fun day, and some cake. But many of my days are pretty fun. And some of them do include cake. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe, it's like my birthday every day.

Then I would be freakin' ancient.

Man!

So yeah, I basically made an entry about the weather. But what weather it is!

Life is happening, folks, whether I like it or not. I have now, unceremoniously, marked my second anniversary of life in Korea. That's TWO YEARS, people. I'm not sure exactly what that's gotten me. Let's reflect.

In my time in Korea, I have:

Learned a bit of Korean. Functional things. I am really good at ordering food in a restaurant. Or not in a restaurant?
Gone skiing. Got a concussion.
Fallen down a great deal.
Weathered two winters with one more to go. Also, am on my third summer. My skin may or may not be melting as we speak.
Read a great deal of books, and spent a great deal of time on my computer.
Taught myself to play 2.5, yes, count 'em, 2.5 songs on the guitar.
Laughed nearly every day. Either at myself, at a coworker, at a student, at some dude wearing ridiculously tight pants on the bus.
Traveled to Japan (twice!), Taiwan, Philippines, Busan, and Jeju Island, "the Hawaii of Korea".
Worn out dozens of shoes with walking.
Heard "Hello! Where are you from?" from students a few hundred times.
Taken thousands of pictures. Deleted approximately half.
Breathed in million particles of yellow dust. Masks are for wimps.
Been to the emergency room once. I got an IV!
Learned a lot about the kind of person that I like. Realized that there aren't many of them.
Taken half of the GRE exam in preparation for grad school.
Gotten my passport renewed.
Been to Everland twice, and Lotte World twice. I'm gonna make it four times before I leave!
Jumped off a bridge into a pool of water.
Hiked up a mountain. Three. If you want to count them.
Gotten my picture in a magazine, and my name in the newspaper.
Been spotted on TV in a music video!

And more things, which are either too trivial, too incriminating, or too good of a secret for me to share.

I still have 7 months here. And an entirely new list of things to do. Somehow it just doesn't seem like enough time.

White water rafting is dangerous, and river trekking leads to gnarly sunburns, and I'm going to Boracay in 2 weeks and 2 days, and the second Transformers movie was less bad than I expected it to be. It's been a busy several weeks, and I still haven't managed to clean my apartment.

Also, I love teaching Kindergarteners. Way better than middle school kids, nevermind that I have to teach approximately 8 times as much as afternoon teachers. These kids hug me. And draw me pictures of spongebob. And propose marriage. I accepted, of course.