I was feeling pretty sick all day yesterday, so being hit with my late afternoon class on a day I had been told I wouldn’t have to teach was not exactly what I was hoping for, or even expecting. Perhaps predictably, the students I’d been told I was holding the class for (the ones from other schools) didn’t even show, so I just had my sixth graders. It wasn’t entirely bad because I do like those girls and this would be my last time with them, since they are going to middle school next semester. I had them make Christmas cards while we listened to Christmas music. Probably not the most productive lesson, but both parties are burnt out on learning, so it seemed only fair to end with something easy and fun. “White Christmas” came on the internet radio station, so I explained it to my students and one of the girls commented that we were having a “black Christmas.” Now there’s creativity with foreign language! I will definitely miss talking to them. Hagwon must have taught them a lot, because they can understand me better than anybody! (These are Korean academies that students begin attending as early as third grade—they add dramatically to a student’s workload, for by middle school already, most of them are at school or hagwon from 8 am to 10 pm!!) I am more and more certain that this is where students learn most of their English, because they certainly don’t learn much at school!
There was a farewell and congratulatory assembly in the morning, of course, and then all of us teachers and staff members went to the chairman’s house for lunch. He has a nice place in the mountains where many people stay in the summer—a guesthouse of sorts, I suppose. I was fed far too much, as usual, though I think we all had food comas of a fashion. It was a really nice meal and a good end to the year. I won’t be seeing any of them until March, I think, unless they come in during vacation (unlikely!) and some of them I won’t see ever again! It’s a little sad but the end was more anticlimactic than I anticipated. Maybe I’m just too used to goodbyes in my life to feel sad I won’t see some of my co-workers.
Today I just spent relaxing at home, trying to get over my cold and recover from my awful week in time to enjoy my Christmas and prepare for a third and fourth grade overload on Tuesday. Three hours a day of the suckers…I am not really looking forward to it. I just feel so defeated and done with teaching for now. I need a longer recovery than three days! Alas, that’s all that’s afforded me. I went on a long walk this morning and was joined, unexpectedly, by Ye Eun and Eun Ho. I have no idea why they wanted to come, but they did provide some amusement, even if they lagged behind and complained a little bit. Eun Ho laid down on the road a couple times, even, but he was always quick enough to jump up when I told him a car was coming (even if there weren’t cars for miles!). It was some good family time, at any rate. I’ve been slacking in that respect lately.
Tomorrow I am going to finish my Christmas shopping. I’m not really looking forward to it because it requires me to go to Daejeon, a big city that is a good two or three hours away by bus, but I can’t seem to find anything suitable nearer to home. Plus, I have gift certificates to a department store there, so I can get some nice things for them. It’s going to be a long day, though. Oh, I loathe Christmas shopping!