On a quasi-related note, this is my life ( Read more... )

Next month is the Korean election. This means that a lot of banners popped up around town yesterday; and one candidate, in an attempt to garner support, has parked a truck playing his theme song RIGHT OUTSIDE MY BUILDING. It plays the "Jeong Dong Yeong" song repeatedly (seriously, the guy's name is the chorus. It's repeated about seventy times ( Read more... )

Today as class started, a second grader pulled out a disposable razor and started to shave his face. What the-?!? I burst out laughing. No one in the class has anything remotely resembling facial hair, and this student and his friend didn’t even notice I was laughing at them, so intent were they on shaving away nonexistent bits of fluff. It took a ( Read more... )

Heheh. So... it turns out I was mistaken. The exam started at 8:40 a.m. The last of the third-years arrived around 7:40, and the gates were locked at 8:10, at which time instructions commenced. Now that I've talked to my students and heard how amazing it was for them to arrive at school and be saluted by their juniors, I'm really sorry I missed ( Read more... )

As I write this from the comfort of my apartment, my third-years are at school taking the 수능, the university entrance exam. I walked down to the school this morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of the hoopla surrounding this vital day. I had heard the underclassmen would be cheering, and I had seen pictures of police escorts; parents standing outside ( Read more... )

It seems word is spreading about the KAYP program, and the boys are interested! Yesterday, I gave my co-teacher a description of the program and a proposal for selecting students; today, one of my non-bonggi bad boys approached me at lunch. “Teacher! I want to do the camp,” he told me. I stared at him in disbelief before replying with a laugh, “But ( Read more... )

Just wanted to draw your attention to this charity run by gaming geeks online ( Read more... )

I wore my school uniform to school today for Halloween. It didn’t generate quite the stir it did last year (or maybe I just didn't notice it as much), but the visiting officials who had stopped by to evaluate the school were thoroughly nonplussed when they saw the random foreign (boy? No, wait. Girl...?) wearing a Korean student’s outfit and ( Read more... )

Here’s a hypothetical conundrum for you: You’re sitting in English class, and your leg is bleeding a little (why?? I have no idea.). Do you a) do something rational, like get some tissue to clean up the blood, or b) blot the blood using the worksheet you’ve just received ( Read more... )

For anyone who's interested, here's the Jeju KBS special that features me and my school:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7282569792837615684For the first couple of minutes, the news anchors are talking about the typhoon that had just hit Jeju-do; my ( Read more... )