Hi everyone!
Hope you all keeping warm and well in the cold winter I keep hearing about over there. Don't forget to take your vitamin C and stay dry and warm! Weather this side, is almost Cape Town-like. It rains a bit which cools things down - feels like the start of winter in CT. But then in a day or 2, the sun comes out and burns like a CT December, so the parasol comes out, then things heat up to the point where it becomes a bit humid, and then it rains again. So you see, not too different to CT but the worst is yet to come. July and August here get hot, sticky and unbearably humid. Definitely NOT looking forward to that! In the classrooms already, we have started switching on the aircon and fans. Without it, you might as well go home. And its not even the height of summer yet!
Usually, when people start talking about the weather, it's an indication of having run out of things to say. I fear I might be on my way to running out of things to say! (Heaven forbid!)
I spent another quiet weekend at home since I was absolutely exhausted from a long stressful week. There was a get-together in Seoul with African drumming in a park somewhere, but I didn't have the energy to make the trek up north. A quiet weekend in the country was just what the doctor ordered, and boy, what a difference it made! On Saturday morning, I went for a walk and ended up in the cosmetic store, bought some products, ended up having coffee with the saleslady in the store. We struggled our way through a mini-conversation. Fortunately, some of my students popped in to use the sample eyeliner (teenage girls are the same the world over!) and they could assist with our conversation. LOL! And yet again, I was baptised in piles of samples!
Back home and I spent the rest of the day vegetating in front of the tv, dozing, eating....ya well, just being a lazy slob! Best medicine ever!
More of the same on Sunday, but this time, I had some prep work to do for the following day. Even then, it was pretty chilled.
I had a demo class yesterday morning. Teachers sit in your class, as well as the Vice-Principal and the Foreign Teacher co-ordinator from the local Education Office. The whole thing is recorded on video. It went very smoothly and was a huge success, enjoyed by both teachers and students. Now before, you all start praising me like the good friends you are....it was a joint effort. The lesson was meant to demonstrate how co-teaching works between a Korean English teacher and a Foreign English teacher (me). We came up with the lesson plan, together and worked well, together.
After that was a feedback session, conducted mostly in Korean; whenever I started drifitng off in my own little world, focussed on the tempting smell of the biscuits and chocolates placed before me, the Education Office guy would start talking to me in English! Darn! So I couldn't relax too much! Plus, the inevitable camera kept snapping away, so I had to look more interested in what he had to say instead of more interested in the food!
Then it was lunch. We went out for lunch, which included beer and soju (spirits akin to vodka). And this in the middle of a school day! My co-teacher and I were 10min late for our next class together, but we managed to keep it together, barely! Needless to say, I was extremely sleepy for the rest of the day! Thank Goodness, I only drank the beer and didn't touch the soju, despite my VP insisting I drink soju! I am now beginning to dread outings with him...he is convinced I just want to drink soju!!! Koreans will drink alcohol at lunch, during the day, anytime, no problem, even at work, and still go back to work after that! (Then again, their beer is very light, nothing at all like SA beer, which is why I can drink it. Its more like a cider back home.)
Anyway, so as you can see, I am integrating very nicely into the Korean culture: drink alcohol with your lunch, go back to work, sleep it off at your desk!
Ya well, no fine!
Till next time..... (I have to attend 3 birthday parties this weekend - fortunately they managed to co-ordinate things so everyone can do a 3-in-1.) Hectic party weekend coming up!
Love you guys....
Stay in touch,
Andrea
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