I jumped out of bed looking for the cannon-armed infantry that must have just marched into my apartment. No, no, only the loudest thunder I've ever heard in my life. With my heart and adrenaline rushing so fast, it took me a bit to come out of my sleepy haze, realizing it to be 5am. The lighting which accompanied it, lit up my apartment, often causing me to squint. I couldn't see any of the bolts, but damn were they bright and flashing quite often. The downpour proceeded the light show for the rest of the early morning. Perhaps there is a bit of the rainy season still left. At least I have my basketball hoop, books, and even a little Cutty Sark model to put together ... wait ... errr... cough ... I mean super adult things to do like watching CNN, drinking black coffee and scotch ordered "neat", and start early menopause. Yeah, that's totally what I meant.
I completed my first week of summer camps with about 26 students each morning for almost 2 hours. The kids were great, and it was a nice change of pace to work with primarily 1st graders. Their English level was awesome, allowing me to talk at my normal pace the majority of the time. I had them do debates and learn cool English words like stoked, psyched, screw loose, and hoodlum. They learned about the genius that is Tom Petty. I had one lesson all about emotion words. Nearly every time you ask a Korean how they are, they are guaranteed to respond, "Fine, thank you. How are you?" Purely textbook. They are no longer allowed to say this in my class. We went around the room saying how we all felt and why. I called on Mac. "Teacher! I am wonderful!" With a slight chuckle at his enthusiasm, I took the bait and asked why. "Because teacher, you are so sexshy!" (<-- no typo; that's how he said it) Haha As a reward for their hard work, and constant compliments, I let them watch Goonies Friday morning. They absolutely loved it. Data, Chunk and the continued use of the word "shit" throughout the movie had them rolling. I explained how the movie was filmed back in my home state, to which they demanded to know which house was mine throughout the movie.
I now have the next two weeks off to relax and explore some more before heading back for 2 more weeks of summer English camps with the students. Sleeping in is grand.
While talking with Dad the other day and he asked what my favorite part of living in Korea is. While I don't remember my exact answer at the time, I feel like my answers are more reflective of the question, "What is your favorite part of not living in the United States?" My answers would include: Not working to make someone else money, slanging shoes, convincing self conscious 14-year-olds that their whole image was dependent on the latest Jessica Simpson or Steve Madden shoe. Possessions are now more irritating, cumbersome, and constantly questioned, rather than comforting. However, I'd say my ultimate answer would be the removal of the metaphorical glass ceiling of my life, and not just set to the side, but shattered. I don't have to just sit at home and experience things "outside the box" vicariously through the Discovery and National Geographic channels. I don't have to wonder why there was no career path I wanted or even imagine buying something such as a house, and can keep my promise to myself that, at least in the foreseeable future, to not be surrounded by cubicle walls again. My biggest worry, if you even wanna call it that, is what country, what experience, is next. Peru, Greece, South Africa, Thailand? Or perhaps just on a boat somewhere, or everywhere. Actually, it's not even the question of what I'm going to do next, but rather in what order.
I went out and took a few picture of my neighborhood:
MY APARTMENT BUILDING
THE INTERSECTION OUTSIDE MY BUILDING
THE BLOCK WHERE MOST RESTAURANTS I EAT AT
NEARLY ALL BUILDINGS HAVE BUSINESS ON EVERY FLOOR, SO THEY'RE ALL COVERED IN SIGNS
THE OUTLET WHERE I DO NEARLY ALL MY SHOPPING
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1 comment:
You said it!!
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