Playing in the Mud

So, once again, I write a post about 10 days too late, but whatevs.  Last weekend was my trip to Boryeong for Mudfest 2010. And what an unbelievably awesome and fun weekend it was.  I have never been so dirty in my life and I loved every second.

My Desk Is So Hot, It's On Fire

I have the urge to write something, even though I have absolutely nothing of any import to say.  I've had that weird sensation of creeping malaise that I get sometimes for most of this week, particularly today.  I hate when I feel so uncomfortable and listless and I can't place my finger on why.  It drives me crazy from the inside out, like I wanna crawl out of my skin or something.  I think a big part of it is just generalized anxiety about Matty's visit, piled on top of total utter boredom at work.  Today, for example, it is so ridiculous that I am even here at school.  There is no class or summer camp or really any reason for me to be here whatsoever.  But the Korean school system will be damned if it's not going to claw those 8 contracted hours out of me every single day, even if it reduces me to a prisoner in a desk chair.  I keep trying to tell myself that I was given fair warning, that I was told straight up front before taking this job that I was just going to have to deal with these deskwarming days.  But man do they make time crawl.

This weekend Anne and I are joining a group of ~450 people heading to Boryeong for Mudfest 2010.  We basically will spend 2 days getting muddy on a beach with thousands of other foreigners (and I guess probably a few Koreans).  I'm really not sure what to expect from this event, but at least it'll be an experience.  It's just too bad that there probably won't be much photographic evidence of it since no one will want to bring cell phones or cameras out to the mudflats just to be destroyed.  Then 2 weeks of summer camp, and then finally summer vacation.  I really just need Matty to be here already so I can stop stressing about it.  I'm also glad I found a cheap ticket to Hong Kong for the week after, since I've really been hoping to go back (I left over six years ago already!!) and at least I have a friend from SF I can stay with.  Too bad the heat and humidity will be disgusting, but hey, I'll be in HK!  I have the feeling my summer break is going to go by far, far too quickly, which only makes the current state of time that much more frustrating.  Hurry up and get here, August 2nd!!!

Life Lesson # 513,768

One thing I've noticed that this job has taught me in just 3 short months:  I am getting really good at adapting to sudden changes of plan with little or no notice, and more importantly, not getting angry about it.  In the past, I would get very worked up when I'd show up somewhere to find that a class had been cancelled or that a friend was going to be an hour late to meet me.  ....Didn't they know how rude it was to leave me hanging?  Didn't they think to tell me when the plans were changed?  What was wrong with them anyway?  I would certainly never do that to someone.

Well, not anymore!  If I still got angry every time my expectations or plans were suddenly flipped, I would spend every freaking day fuming out the ears and frothing at the mouth.  My co-teachers change things on me so unbelievably frequently that it's almost comical.  I seriously just have to chuckle to myself and walk back to my office shaking my head.  If I get nothing else out of this experience, at least I have been able to learn this one life lesson, that it is useless to get angry over other people's lack of consideration and a heck of a lot easier to just roll with it.  Thanks for the personal growth, Korea!  :-P

The Old Razzle Dazzle

Today I was reminded of that scene in "Chicago" when Billy Flynn sings "give em the old razzle dazzle," referring to the courtroom as a big three-ring circus that can be manipulated and fooled with the right amount of smoke, mirrors, and trickery.  That is totally the high school education system in Korea.  It is one giant dog-and-pony show that gives the illusion of learning but really produces anything but.

I am writing this blog post from a cafe in Bucheon, two and a half hours by bus from Haseong.  I had to come here today to attend an open demo class at Bucheon High School, minus my co-teacher, who is supposed to accompany me, but I'm ok with this considering he gave me his tacit approval to just take the whole day off (of course, the vice-principal doesn't know that).  Open demo classes are a requirement of the GEPIK program (GEPIK = Gyeonggi English Program In Korea, the educational department which brings English teachers like me to Gyeonggi province).  Every GEPIK teacher must attend and perform at least one demo class each year they teach in Korea.  Mr. Lee and I are performing our demo class in October, but he wants me to have a full lesson plan put together by the end of August, so I attended one today to get an idea of what to expect.  And what a total joke it was!

Six Months

It struck me today that it is officially July.  2010 is halfway over.  On the one hand, I believe this must be impossible.  New Years' Eve was just the other day!  On the other hand, I don't understand how 2010 isn't over already.  Where was I six months ago?

Well, I still lived in San Francisco for one thing.  I still worked for Best Buddies, expecting an imminent pay raise and promotion which never materialized.  The idea of coming to Korea was a nugget buried in the back of my mind to be realized at some much later, indeterminate date.  I had just moved into a new apartment and broken up with Matty, and I was incredibly incredibly depressed.  And, as a result, frequently not sober.  I had no idea what I was doing with my life nor any inkling of what the future had in store for me.

Now?  I have been in Korea for two and a half months already.  Best Buddies feels like a (thankfully) distant memory.  I've applied to a masters program that doesn't start for an entire year still, which means if I get accepted, I'll have the next 3 years of my life pretty much on lockdown.  I skype with Matty almost every other day and I am bursting with excitement for him to come visit in just one short month (!!!).  And I am very rarely not sober.  I feel like I've gained a lot of perspective in just my short time here and I think leaving Best Buddies and San Francisco (as much as I miss it) was the best thing I could have possibly done for myself.  I may get frustrated sometimes (I mean, just today I was cursing my 3-5 students and wishing I could smack the little animals in the face) but it's interesting, and nice, to see how much has changed in just six months.  It makes everything feel ok.  And for the first time in a long time, I'm excited for the years between now and 30.