September in the Rain

Once again I have found myself distracted from writing clever and interesting
updates about my experiences here in Korea. I have also been trying to write
something befitting the love of my dear Aunt, who passed away just recently. Unlike
my usual behavior, I have been rather self-conscious about redrafting. So while that,
amongst other ideas, percolate inside my caffeine driven mind, I thought that I would
share just a few things that have been happening around town.

The days are counting down to Rachel’s last day at school and I can tell that she is
getting rather impatient about getting out. Not in a bad way mind you, but just like a
kid who sees the end of school and the oncoming light of summer vacation, Rachel
has been quietly bouncing in her chair (Or at least that is my belief).

We have been invaded. No, not by North Korea (they just took a whole ton of
financial aid from the south and have permitted the mini-skirt though), but by
mosquitoes. Rachel has had to defend herself against the flying hordes of the little
critters, which have somehow discovered a free pass and a free lunch in the shape
of Rachel. Somehow (I think due to persistent intake of alcohol) I have been spared
the worst of it. Rachel though has been waking up with numerous bites. It has
almost become an (annoying) game to us. As soon as we come home, Rachel will
don her helmet and begin searching the skies for Jerries. Armed with paper towel
and bug spray, we have been defending our little island as fiercely as we can. But
they do keep coming. So we shall fight them in the kitchen, on the bed, and in the
air…too much?

Fall has officially come to Korea. Just how fast and how on cue the temperature
changed was amazing. Quite literally, after September 1st the temperature dropped
5 degrees. Naturally, since I am starting to become more comfortable, with regards
to the temperature, Rachel has begun to become more uncomfortable. We’re still
alright, I have a nice light blanket and Rachel has taken to using one of the cheap
quilts that we have.

Along with a change in seasons comes a new semester at school. We have a
couple of new faces in the office, and I am happy to see people who are so different
and filled with enthusiasm and life. However, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop,
as it were. They are nice people, but I wonder how long it will be before we start
singing Another One Bites the Dust.

But it most certainly hasn’t been all Schadenfreude. There have been some rather
pleasant moments. I am really getting into the swing of the curriculum. Along with
the passing of my more baboonish students to other teachers (sorry Rachel), I have
a whole new group of kids to corrupt. I’ve been rather pleased with some of the
things that I’ve been able to do and teach. One of my higher level young groups had
a story about a young girl who loves music. So I being the kind of whacko that I am, I
decided to actually play some of the music that the book talked about for the kids. I
thought it was kind of cool to be teaching kids who Billy Holiday and Dave Brubeck
are. I also had to teach a short lesson on Flanders Fields and Remembrance Day
(Veteran’s Day in the US), and I was a little amazed how easy it was for the kids to
understand trench warfare, once I separated them into a German team and French
team, using the rows of desks as makeshift trenches. It was a little amazing how
their expressions changed from amusement at the idea of people running across
a field at a machine gun, to horror after they were hit with the fact that it lasted for
years.

I’ve also been given some TEFOL test prep classes to teach. Now, I was sure that
I had known what the definition of despair was, but after being in this class for a
couple of weeks, I have had to modify my definition. These poor kids are getting a
lot of pressure to get high marks on this test, and they are most certainly not ready.
Now you would think that this is the reason to send them to me, right? The problem
is that the prep class is leaps and bounds above them. A couple of these kids have
this sort of resigned look, and try to muddle along as best they can. I think that they
will improve, but they’re already so tired by the time that they get to my class that
there is little energy left in them.

On an unrelated note, I have been going through a frightening amount of non-
fiction. I don’t quite know why I suddenly became so interested in things such as
currency history, economics, and neo-liberalism, but I have been devouring material
like mad. Rachel has commented that I am becoming a bit of a technophile. She
made this observation as I was plugged into my ipad, via headphones, checking the
weather on my smart phone, and ordering some box lunches. Seriously, I’ve been
devouring this stuff like mad. I am fairly certain that I could give a short informal
explanation of the financial crisis of 08’ and the debt crises in Europe without using
too much double speak. Well, at least I think I can. By the way, we really are all
doomed…O.K. were about 70% doomed. Maybe…

On a more positive note, the Korean holiday Chuseok (chew –sock) is coming up
around the 1st of next month, and everyone is going to be getting nearly a week off
of work. I’ve got a few ideas of trying to find some of the sights around the city. I
am not sure if some of the national museums will be open or not, but I do know that
there is entirely too much of the city that I have not been able to get my hands on.