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Subject: RE: Next Time
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 03:50:09 +0000
dear mom and dad,

i got the box with the magazines, etc. Thank you so much, i always love getting mail. i LOVE the stickers you sent, thank you!!! everything here is peace, i think the snow has stopped for the season, thank goddess.

btw, i am not the one with the university job, my friend Jinny is. she used to work at the same company as me, but she now has a new job, north of seoul. But actually im NOT moving, as i'd hoped. there is no room for me at the branch i want to transfer too, i will try again next term (in 3 months). so im staying in the same place in pyeongchon for now.

last night some coworkers got together to celebrate birthdays, we went to some dingy club in anyang and everybody drank and i socialized until i got bored and left. it was nice to hang out, all of my coworkers are really nice and none have ever been anything other than great to me, but im just on a whole other plane, i guess. partly age difference, partly culture, who knows... but above all, they're nice people. i had a good time.

we're in week 12 at my school, which means in 2 weeks we start anew: new classes, new students, new books, new everything. i will miss jason soooo much!!! i want to take pictures, but for some reason i dont feel like it's appropriate, like unless i can ask their parents first, which is way too complicated, so i'll skip it altogether. You know, i am the most uptight teacher at my school: i dont let the kids tease each other, or make jokes about soju (the local liquor of choice), or bash japan (the korean/japanese tension is THICK), or anything else that i explain to them as "not proper class room behavior/discussion topic. Im very G rated, and some colleagues think it's too much, but i think they dont understand.... i clearly remember when i was in elementary school, and the things my teachers have said that just... well, weren't cool... anyway...

but lucky me, i WILL get some pictures, b/c there is a contest at my school for funniest class/teacher photo. it ate up 30 min of class time but it was fun taking the photos. the elementary students crawl all over themselves to get in front of the camera, and the middle schoolers all hide their faces behind their books. i hope i can get copies of the pics soon.

so i'll leave you with my favorite moment of last week: adorable 3rd grade student john whispered to me, "teacher, i memorized one paragraph of obama (inauguration) speech." i smiled and told him i would be very excited for him to recite it for me during break, which he did, and it was just as wonderful and adorable as you can imagine!!!