Another Monday. I can’t believe it’s only week four…I feel I’ve been trapped in school FOREVER!! I’m waiting for my afternoon club class to show. Incredibly, 29 third- and fourth-graders signed up, which equals nightmare for me. I don’t even have enough chairs…I have no idea how I’ll manage when a) I can’t control a normal-sized class and b) they’re always exponentially wilder in these extracurricular classes. Sigh. I can tell already this is going to be a big headache.
I finally got the school schedule today, which I’m in the process of deciphering. It’s looking okay so far, with quite a few days free, but apparently I’m expected to teach a summer English camp at the end of July. I am getting tired of fighting my school to uphold my contract. I am so done by then and if they’d ever read the contract they would know this. But no…I have to visit the principal and beg him to bestow favor upon me. It’s absolutely ridiculous. And this doesn’t bode well for my plans for early departure, either…I was hoping last year had set an iron precedent, but I should have known better—when it comes to taking advantage of me, my school is master.
I have enjoyed my classes so far today, surprisingly. I suppose I only had two, and they were just alphabet lessons, but still…I’ve always hated teaching kindergarten before, and this year they’re wonderful! So attentive (for the most part), so cute, so interested in English…it’s not the torture it was previously, for sure! And my second-graders, though a little wild, are still fun. They, too, are sweet kids and it’s fun to teach them…they actually WANT to learn! And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the class is cut short for lunch. Thirty minutes is more than enough for them, anyway. I wish all my classes were thirty minutes…I kill ten of it, anyway.
The fourth-graders have just showed up demanding to know what time English class is. Same time every other after-school class is, dolts! Guess this means I won’t be getting out of class this week. Usually I don’t mind these kids, but they’ve been annoying me this afternoon, barging in and out of the room, yelling, and never ever ever closing the door behind them. I know I can’t blame them—it’s not even a kid thing, but a Korean thing…no one seems to understand basic principles of science regarding heating and cooling here—but it’s aggravating. I will break them in, even if I go hoarse.
This past weekend was pretty nice. It was cut short by rain, but I can hardly complain…I seem to recall that the majority of March was rainy last year, and this is the first rain we’ve had since I’ve been back. I know the land needs it, too…the rivers have dwindled to nothing and everything is still brown and grey. I did see a few trees in bloom down south this weekend, though, and the spots of color and delicate beauty on the hillside made me smile. I tried to take pictures, but they didn’t turn out well. The camera never captures anything the way I see it.
On Saturday I did a long hike through the Yeongnam Alps, starting from Seongnamsa Temple, working my way across five peaks, and over to Pyochungsa Temple…over 20 km and 2000 vertical meters. I was tired and sore afterward, but really pleased. I worked out some of my frustration and anxiety and explored a new part of the country. The first part was not so great—the trail was crowded and steep and not particularly scenic, in my opinion—but the second part was much more enjoyable. The crowd dispersed and I was left virtually on my own, wandering on an enchanting tree-lined path. It later turned into a road, true, and the trees disappeared, but even that was beautiful…I was alone on a high grassy wind-whipped plateau. The stark landscape and grey skies suited my melancholiness—soothed it, even.
I was a little disappointed to wake to rain on Sunday morning, but it was just as well—I was pretty sore and not at all certain about the route I’d planned for the next day. I couldn’t find a map and I wasn’t sure where to go or how long it would take me or how I would eventually extract myself from the countryside. So I returned, slowly…a bus, a bus, a train, a bus, a movie, lots of snacks, a bus, a walk. Somehow I returned home late, still.
Last night I was really irritated with my host family. Their late-night rambunctiousness is getting out of control. I haven’t slept through the night since I’ve been home, what with late night TV, top-volume conversations and/or TV at random intervals throughout the night, early morning dish-washing and telephone calls…I am a light sleeper, but still…am I the only one who needs sleep? I know I am tired all the time…I can’t imagine how the kids feel! We can’t nap all day like host father does! This morning I was awakened at 5 am by host father shouting, over and over, “Eat it!” I was so irritated that after a few minutes of trying to ignore it, I eventually got up, peeked out the door, and glared. The lights were on and everyone was awake. This is so strange! I learned at breakfast that Eun Ho was sick, so perhaps they’d been up giving him medicine, but still…what’s with them lately? This never happened last year! I blame satellite TV. But how am I going to make it through the spring without sleep? I feel I’ve been very accommodating in that I’ve learned to block out a lot of the late-night noise and I can deal with the early-morning stuff. Is it too much to ask that I not be awakened between midnight and 5 am?