One of the nices features of my neighborhood is this little riverside path that cuts through the high-rise apartment buildings. I'm a fan of the shoebox leaving because it makes room for green.
Did I mention Korea has very beatiful flowers?
This is my lovely co-teacher 양 선숙(Yang Seon-Suk). We often joke that she is not a fellow 선생님 (Seon-saeng-nim, teacher), but my 비서 (bi-seo, secretary) because she's always helping me with lesson plans, doctors appointments, and lots of paperwork. She's amazing.
I got home from school today at around 5 pm and fell asleep until now, midnight.
My English co-teachers (all but one are married women) sometimes regale me with amazing tales of how they can suckle two children, maintain a household, and come up with daily lesson plans even as they work an 8-6 job.
To be fair they are only required to teach tops 4 hours of actual class a day, but some teachers stay until 9 with the afterschool programs. Although I consistently teach 4-5 classes a day, I teach a different English class every day and never stay past 5, only necessitating the need for 1 or 2 lesson plans a week and of course I have no children to nurse when I get home.
One of my co-teachers is quite pregnant. Not that I have anything against pregnant women translating my lectures. I just don't want anyone's water to break while I'm discussing past participles. At least she gets a whole 3 months off for maternity leave.
Another interesting thing about teaching in Korea: going on strike is illegal, so no matter how bad things get, it's reassuring to know that we can grin and bear it as a harmonious group.
Check out this existentio-religio-claymation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqi5F5MqqTQ
Todays Hanja:
The first word is the native Korean word. The second word is the Koreanized Chinese pronunciation.
子
Child, son (see, it looks like a little baby!)
아들 자 (a-deul ja) The first word is the native Korean word. The second word is the Koreanized Chinese pronunciation.
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