Wednesday November 3rd 2010

So Sunday was a bit of a wipe-out... tried really hard to get to sleep early but that wasn't going to happen, turns out m body clock either likes to be awake all night and asleep all day or the other way round, it doesn't seem to be a big fan of changing! So at mid-night I was rattling around my apartment feeling guilty about the fact that I couldn't sleep and knowing I was going to feel awful in the morning! I wonder how long it will take to adjust to only getting a few hours sleep a night? I wish I was like the Korean kids who can just put their heads on their desk in the middle of a class and go to sleep - they have made an art form of it - and I am slowly getting used to the fact that if I want them to work I just have to poke them and point at the paper in front of them... The last couple of days have passed by pretty quietly, I am still amazed by the fact that there is so much activity at night, its like the city / town comes alive after about 7pm.

Went down for a coffee with my aussie friend from Osan on Monday night at about 8pm and there were people everywhere - but its like that every night - and it's normal to have a really late dinner. My co-teacher told me that she loves that everything is open so late because it means she can have her own life after she finishes work - I can definitely see the value in this - other than the fact that I have had very little sleep in the last 2 weeks! Classes are going really well - the teachers mentioned they thought I was doing too much work, especially for the 3rd graders who dont care about school anymore because they already have the results they need to get into high -school, so they thought I should show some video clips of Mr. Bean and then ask them some questions.

I hesitated about this at first, thinking that it didn't really count as teaching, but when I realized they were serious I was more than happy to oblige - very little work involved for me and I don't have to talk as much! Funny thing is the kids absolutely adore it! They laugh like maniacs through the whole thing like its the funniest thing they have ever seen! Went to the E-mart on Monday night as well - I can tell I have been eating dumplings too often because the taste-testing ladies in the dumpling aisle recognize me... I tried some new ones and liked them, so when I went to grab a bag the lady took some other little bags that had come off something else and attached them to what I was going to buy, basically free stuff! She knows I always try different things, and I asked her for help once, either way I think she feels like she knows me because she pinched my cheeks and said "so cute! Always smiling!" Hehe...free stuff!

 I have also been systematically working my way around the restaurants in Osan, with some very good company, and trying out some different foods - still haven't found that much that I don't like - I may have mentioned that I am not a huge fan of boiled seaweed but fortunately there are not too many places that serve it up - not the places I have been anyway! So, tonight, I am being taken out by the Principal and all the head teachers for a welcome dinner, we are apparently heading out to a restaurant in the country that is really famous in Korea, and very fancy. It will be an interesting night as there is only one teacher going who speaks any English!

I am, however, feeling a lot more comfortable with the Korean chopsticks - can even pick them up and start eating with one hand now, and I manage to make it look like I know what I am doing...most of the time - got a bit distracted at dinner last night and accidentally flung one onto the floor, much to the amusement of my charming dinner companion! (Who I might add spent the next 15 minutes laughing at me... while I went bright red and fervently hoped that the waitress hadn't seen it!) I am supposed to be leaving in about 10 minutes so I should probably go and get organized - will post another update soon!