This weekend was maybe a little boring, especially to recap, but I enjoyed the break from all this doing immensely. I was a little upset on Saturday because I was afraid I had sustained a major injury to my shoulder doing rolls in TKD, of all things, but I finally called my co-teacher about it and he sent the school nurse to my house. I was hesitant to call him because I knew they’d make a big deal about it, but since I wasn’t sure if it could heal itself, I had no choice. I actually forgot that we actually have a nurse…in hindsight, I should have just gone to school that day (they have school every other Saturday), but then again, hopefully this will be the last time I hurt myself! All she could do for me was give me some tape, but Kyoung He Sam called after lunch and insisted I go to a doctor. While I was waiting for her, who shows up at home but Eun Ho and some of his friends, chief among them my favorite little boy! I forgot to mention that I ate lunch with him last Friday (he came up to me and asked me to do so while I was in line) and gained some firsthand experience with the kid’s womanizing skills. First, as soon as I sat down, he tried to give me some of his hot dog, which I regretfully had to refuse. Then, he gets me a special glass of water (mere seconds after another student did the same, but I was thirsty, anyway). He took my empty tray for me and also pushed in my chair. He’s got mad game. I finally asked him his name (it’s Ju Hui) and we all had a good time playing together. Well, mostly they wreaked havoc on my room and I was desperately trying to salvage my belongings, but it was a nice diversion. Those twin boys are seriously TOO cute. Yoo Jin was there, too, and what do you know? She finally wiped out on her rollerblades and was bleeding all over. I’m not surprised, with the coordination she exhibited on those beasts, but she didn’t seem too concerned. I was forced to leave them when the nurse and the sixth grade teacher showed up to take me to the doctor. We actually had to walk quite a way back to the sixth grade teacher’s car, where the P.E. teacher was waiting, because they were harvesting rice on my wagon trail of a road and there was no room for a car. I figured that there probably wouldn’t be a REAL doc in Hongsan and that they’d be taking me elsewhere, so imagine my surprise when we just drove straight into town. Guess I could have figured this all out myself, huh? It was good to have a translator there, though the doctor probably spoke better English than the nurse did. I had an X-ray and got some meds, all for the unbelievable price of $15!!! I was very impressed with this visit…perhaps the Korean medical system isn’t quite as faulty as I initially assumed. I took a walk with my new sling later and I’m sure I got some stares, but probably no more than usual, to be honest. And then I watched obscene amounts of Full House. I’m almost through the series now. It’s getting very sappy and dragging in parts, but it’s still a good diversion. I can also pretend to be cultural by watching TV in Korean. I actually am picking up a few words and proper usage for the words I do know, as well as becoming more adept at picking out Korean names. It is amazing what subtitles can do to further my understanding!
On Sunday, I had quite a bit of work to do. I had neglected to plan any Halloween activities because I didn’t realize it was coming up so rapidly, and I’d been so busy on Friday afternoon that I didn’t have the prep time to which I am accustomed. I’d been dreading it all weekend, but it wasn’t really as bad as I thought. I really get into planning lessons in a way I’d never experienced with other assignments. Guess it’s because I love my students so much and want to do whatever I can to help them. I have their wellbeing to motivate me (which is linked to mine as well, because a bad lesson really brings me down), whereas before I only had abstract pride and a desire for good grades. I just really hate to bring my work home. Now that I am a working woman, I like to have a place where I’m can cut loose and relax, like I never had when I was studying. But sometimes, and especially with my new schedule, I just don’t have a choice. The rest of the day I spent reading and in general fooling around. It was raining buckets so I couldn’t even go out for my walk or to try to look for the Halloween supplies I needed. We went to Buyeo for dinner , and imagine my surprise when we pulled up to the restaurant I’ve been to five times now! Good thing I really like that place! It’s really funny to me that we don’t have a car everyone can fit into. Whenever we go somewhere (which is VERY rare), Apa has to borrow a car from someone. We all can’t exactly fit in his benchseat farm pickup.