it has been 9 days since my last entry. whoops. & it’s not like i don’t have anything 2 ramble on about ‘cause i do. & now that i have 9 days of stuff 2 ramble on about i fear i’m not gonna be able 2 do it. why? well, ‘cause i don’t have the time. honest. i’ve been kinda busy recently. yep, the koreans seem 2 have found stuff for me 2 do. bless them. btw, i’ve given up wondering when they are going 2 stop fussing over me ‘cause @ this stage i don’t think they are. anyway, yeah... i have stuff 2 do on these getting-colder, late november days. the preparing-for-camp intensity level has ramped up quite a bit over the last week, although i’m spending most of my time in the office reminding the new camp director – numero uno on the camp pecking order - that i’ve done this shiz not once, but twice before & that “i’m all over it... boss.” my reputation for being shit hot @ this stuff aside (that is why i'm here after all), i think my laid back style in the office might be worrying her a bit. yep, i still haven’t mastered the skill of looking like i’m as busy as the koreans, even though these days i surely am.
but work for me isn’t, & never was, all just about the ck office, even though i realise my posts 2 date would indicate otherwise. so on that note let me introduce you 2 my 2nd, non-camp related ck role, jes island. sounds almost tropical... almost idyllic, eh? well, it definitely isn't either of those. what it most definitely is is a noisy, colourful, glass-walled, pokey, alice in wonderland-esque private kindergarten & elementary school (known @ home as a ‘primary school’) that is jointly owned by the ck boss (he of the still-woeful golf swing). the fact that i don’t really have a lot 2 say about the place is an indication as 2 what i do there, which doesn't amount 2 much (although as with the ck office i’m getting busier). i spend a bit of time there each week being a sort of (unofficial) union official/rant sponge for the 10 (slightly) aggrieved foreign - like me - school teachers, mediating between them & the next-2-useless korean school managers (next-2-useless when dealing with foreigners that is). although i seem 2 have a knack for that sort of thing (that thing being striking the right chord with foreigners & koreans alike) it’s still a thankless role considering i’m pretty much powerless 2 implement any kind of changes that would make any difference 2 the teachers present lot (trust me.. koreans are allergic 2 change, however trivial... which makes me question why they gave me this task in the first place). i'm not 2 sure what the teachers think of me just walking around on the other side of those glass walls pretending 2 look all important, or how they feel about me wasting their time by chairing meetings that deliver no good news @ all. i do like 2 think that, @ the very least, i provide them something they didn't have before, that being a foreign face for them 2 moan @. hey, an oh so wise sage once said that a problem shared is a problem halved, right? right. anyway, halving problems in jes leaves me ample opportunity 2 witness this sort of stuff. i challenge you 2 watch the video below, a video of some jes island kindergarten students getting ready 2 go home after a hard day of abc's, without saying awwww. go on, try. you haven't a hope... & you have been warned.
‘livin' with seoul’ ailment update... & more
i stretched my 5 day course of antibiotics out 2 8 days, taking a break for the weekend (yes my weekends tend 2 span 3 days.. & they would span 7 days if i could handle/afford it... i couldn't on both counts). & while i feel super now, i’m fully aware that the latest weekend is only 9 hours away (7pm on a Friday marks the weekend), meaning in 24 hours i’ll be battling the latest, all 2 frequent ailment... the saturday hangover. & i’ll have 2 battle it, & not 2 mention sleep deprivation, while interviewing another excessive number of koreans for the upcoming camp. omg.... if i’d have know not working last saturday was going 2 be such a rarity then i might have gotten out of bed before mid-late afternoon 2 savour a seoul saturday. but that’s easier said than done, especially when there is an all 2 good reason for staying in bed.
what i’m listening 2 right now
collective soul, december
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