email

<--- soul food potluck attendees.
Subject: RE: LIFE
Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:54:32
dear mom and dad,

uh oh, i let ten whole days pass with out an email?! *GASP!* actually my computer at home was down again, but wonderful ed was in the neighborhood and fixed it, and slapped my wrists for not doing what he said to do last time he fixed my computer. ive learned my lesson, really, for real this time.

i met some friends for a "soul food potluck" a couple weeks ago, pictures attached, oh it was wonderful! i didnt cook, of course *hee-hee!* but i surely ate my fair share. all this time i thought i didnt like collard greens, but im sorry dad, i think i just dont like your collard greens. im not sure why, but zhaleh's greens were the bomb. i felt so happy and full of iron and lots of other vitamins. other people brought/made mac and cheese, jerk chicken, sweet potatoes, vegan banana pudding, oh it was the dinner of my dreams, good friends and good food, best day ever.

check out that spread! i cooked nothing, but i bought/brought the kyochon chicken.
it's interesting you suggest putting aside money once this key money shizz is over with; one of my coworkers has been giving workshops about money management. he majored in finance, and has been teaching us about stocks and bonds, mutual funds, credit cards, mortgages, etc. i actually understand about 1% of what he talks about, but hey multiple exposure is key when youre trying to learn something that feels beyond you; i dont understand much this time, but maybe when i run across this info the next time, it will be more clear. anyway, one more month of key money, and then ETFs, so says Mark, Money Guru/coworker.

you know, i used to email ninong cooper, but his inbox was always full! im not so great a goddaughter for forgetting fathers day, but really, if i even did send a message, wouldnt we ALL have bet money that it wouldnt even have gotten through? im just sayin.

anyway, it's not raining as much as was expected so that's good, i got lots of splenda for my tea, so that's good. work is, of course, very good. i mentioned to you how i give the kids stickers for motivation? we do a question/answer bit each class session, and i give stickers out for correct answers, and more stickers for full sentences, full summaries, etc. Last week i was in one class: and this class is sharp, like, they get mad stickers every day, they're geniuses. and i went to give a sticker to little Liz, and she looks at my sheet of stickers and saucily says, "What else you got?" i straight stepped back and was all, "say what!?" ah man, i been spoiling them! i gave NO stickers the next class day and hey whaddyaknow, the stickers i had were all of a sudden good enough again! nothing but, "Teacher, please, give sticker!!!" well, maybe i should try to find some sparkly stickers now or something, to change it up.

loveyoumissyou, ~daughter.

email

Subject: RE: NEXT
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:33:51 +0000
uh oh, spaghettios! i guess i dont win the daughter of the year award this time around! im sorry dad :( happy belated fathers day, thanks for giving in to mom's begging for a child and thus giving me life. i appreciate it. :)

So i'm in week 4 of the new term, im so glad for these new classes, i had too many "Johnnys" last term! as fun as they are for those first few weeks, it was exhausting during those LAST few. this term i have Dan, who is 13 and cracks me. i dont think he'll be a "johnny" b/c he doesnt step out of line when i do a stern face, tho it rarely gets to that point. dan is super cute and speaks gently, but always with a smile and slightly shaky voice, like he's about to start laughing, so it always makes me laugh too. he's has a strange borderline obsession with toilet things. after i got back from the break two weeks ago, his eyes pop as i catch him writing in huge letters on the blackboard "POO" and "DIARRHEA" and last week, when i got back from the bathroom (there's no toilet paper, so if people see you carrying tissue, they know you're going to the bathroom. dan saw me on my way), when i got back, dan asks me,
"Sister Sha, did you have a poo?"
i reply, "No, dan, i would've been gone a little bit longer had that been the case."
holding in his laughter, dan shakily says, "Maybe it was an easy one."
whole class laughs. including me.

i got a top score on my teacher evaluation last term, actually, for the last two terms, im pretty pleased with myself, AND with the bonus on my paycheck for it! it was a welcome surprise since i've had low paycheckds due to key money. i dont remember if i explained key money to you? when you move into an apartment here,you have to put down a deposit, called "Key money," it's given back to you when you leave the apartment. for my place, the key money is 5thousand USD. When i first arrived in korea, my job paid the key money. when i renewed my contract, they wanted it back... SO... i've had $1,000.000 pulled from my paycheck every month for the last 4 months paying this key money. i got one more month left, and then HURRAY i'll be done and i'll get full paychecks again. i probably didnt tell you b/c i didnt want you to worry, and really there's been nothing to worry about, but LAWD I'M SO EXCITED to soon be getting full pay again!

i got a message from my friend Jude, he didn't get a part in dreamgirls. ah well. he said he was ok with it, it was his very first time doing an audition. i told him to keep me posted for when he lands his first gig, b/c i want to see him perform. im not so sure now that i'll go see dreamgirls here tho, if jude wont be in it.

it's raining a lot here lately. boo. last week it was so sunny and warm and perfect! i walk through the park everyday to get to work, and it was some holiday on monday a couple weeks ago... memorial day in the states, i dont know what it was in korea.... but i was walking through the park, and families were picnicking and flying kites, children were on little race cars and splashing in the fountains! it was so nice, i straight got pissed off that i had to work when everyone else was playing! my mood just went from "oh, look how cute the little children are!" to "how come i gotta work today and everyone else doesnt! grr!!!" then i remember that my life is not at all hard and i can just shut up now. but it was a really really beautiful day for the park that day.

anyways. my love to hector!~daughter

oatmeal

RE: NEXT
From: sha curington (shacurington@hotmail.com)
Sent:Sun 6/15/08 3:35 AM
p.p.s.
please send me instant oatmeal. i like quaker oatmeal, brown sugar. i think there is one that is "low sugar" or "low sodium" or "weight control" and/but i will happily, gratefully take anything you send me. btw, i have found oatmeal here at costco (the big box for $26 i think) and slimfast at costco (one can for $20) but none of the stores are in my part of town and i am lazy to do the one hour ride on the subway. i know how much you love to send me things, so, ya know! :)

email

Subject: talkin, schmalkin
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:04:52 +
dear mom and dad,

im enjoying a day off with my magazines and sipping on tea with splenda, thanks to you :)

my computer is still working, so i am writing an email. i met this brotha.. actually, he's not a "brotha" per say, his name is Ed and he's white, but he's from kentucky and talks a little bit like dad, so i still want to refer to him as family; anyway, this brotha Ed is in the military and knows all about computers, he's the one who fixed my computer. and actually, later in the day, fixed my friend Zhaleh's computer too! my gosh, it' so nice to meet nice people. it's so nice to meet computer people who are willing to help, im at a loss without brother dave around. i didnt do anything for ed but say thank you, but zhaleh cooked for him, which was nice b/c she's an incredible cook.

on tv just now were some highlights of a bboy competition that i actually went to a couple weeks ago with two friends. it took a while for us to get there: it was in suwon, which is almost an hour away on the subway, and then the taxi took us to suwon world cup stadium, instead of suwon sports complex... or something... i dont know. it's always a gamble when i go somewhere, not speaking any korean. after wandering around the wrong stadium for a while, we figured out the proper name of the place we were supposed to be, and dara wrote it out IN KOREAN to give to the cab driver, and then no problems!

now, i do my best to not hate on anything korean b/c i but a guest here, but oh wow, i'd seen better dancing back home. maybe i dont know as much about a bboy competition as i think i do. maybe i just think san diego bboys reign supreme. maybe it was just the vibe? maybe i was bitter, thinking there'd be some black people there, b/c it was only me and the two homegirls i was with representing there.teams from many places came to dance: south africa, russia, brazil... i remember south africa and brazil most b/c they were the only teams with black people. and the music was music for competition, i heard but little tiny snippets of hip hop music. but it was still a good time, me and my homegirls got to be on the teleprompter for a split second, lip syncing and yelling that we loved "gyeonggi-do" (the area of town we were in), and afterwards we went out and got some kyochon chicken. what a practically perfect day!~daughter.

email

Subject: RE: That's It
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:23:37
dear mom and dad,

today i got a knock on the door from the delivery man, and he had a package for me! you guys dont know how much i appreciate it, it's the only mail i get and i feel so loved!!! thank you for the vitamins, slimfast, fiber pills, tampons, mail, newspapers and plastic bags galore!

i got a message from jude, the boy my friends and i met on the subway auditioning for dreamgirls. he passed the first two auditions, and had a third audition for dancing next. again, he's auditioning for the part of Jimmy Early, played by eddie murphy in the movie version. if he gets the part, then i'll really need to see what the korean version of dreamgirls is going to be like. i saw vagina monologues while it was here a few months ago, only b/c my friend Zhaleh was in it. it was pretty ok, and it was in korean AND english, so i could at least understand half of it. i wonder if dreamgirls will hve the songs in english? i guess we will see.

we're in week 3 of my 5th term here at the school. i love these new classes, ive got uber geniuses, they're so great, and so cute. i give stickers a lot in class for motivation, even more so now taht the school doesnt give prizes for good grades anymore. tho i think i need to lay off, b/c last week i was pulling out stickers, giving them out every time someone gave me a correct answer, and little Liz looked at my sticker collection and said to me, "What else you got?" my head jerked back so hard! i done spoiled them, these kids are getting greedy! :) nah, it was cool, liz is in one of my best classes and they get stickers all the time b/c those kids really strive to learn.

i still speak NO korean at all, i only made it to the korean class one time. *blush* BUT the new director at my job has arranged for korean classes to be at our office, so im very excited, and i really will go this time! fo real! really!!! they start tomorrow and im going!

and of course, a story about one of the students to finish my email:referring to my curly hair on monday, one little boy said to me, "teacher, your hair looks so delicious b/c it looks like ramen."