email: flush

Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 22:10:0
dear mom and dad,

i got my voice halfway back today. i attribute it to the massive quantities of water. well, my mix of half water, half coke zero. i went into work today, rather froggy, but my students were absolutely wonderful.

the first class was was actually super DUPER quiet, too quiet! the major goal is not to get everything in the workbook finished, but to get the kids to talk! anyway, their parents did a good job with them, i had no discipline issues at all, they didnt get rowdy and stayed on task the whole time. pretty much the same with my second class. im a lucky lady.

since i couldnt work on saturday, i hung out with a fellow teacher (from a different school) that lives in the building across the street from me. she arrived in korea around two weeks after i did. she works for a public school (cdi is private) so her class sizes are upwards of 30-40 students! she likes the job, but doesnt feel as though she's making a difference, not with so many kids in so many different levels. another reason for me to like my school. anyway, i hung out with my colleague michelle, she has a cat. i spent the day with her and her cat, i about cried. i miss my cats so much!

michelle is really cool, it was nice to hang out with someone who's not so negative and about korea as many of my co-workers are. my friend Leah, as much as i like her and how much she's helped me, she sounds about ready to leave... everyone does. wow, so check in with myself 6 months from now, huh? maybe i will be changing my tune soon enough.

hey here's something i didnt know: youre not supposed to flush the toilet paper in most places! michelle did a teaching gig in thailand before coming to korea, and complained about how her current school here in korea has, just like the one in thailand, the smelliest bathroom due to the overwhelming build of pissy toilet paper in the trash cans. she explained to me that most new places are OK, but older buildings arent equipped to deal with all the paper and instead of flushing, you're supposed to toss it in the trash cans. it was then that it connected in my brain why there are often trashcans in each stall loaded with paper. i just thought people were some trash throwing people or something. well, we can add that to the list of reasons of why i like my job: no pee smelly bathrooms.