Honestly, now.

So my friend Sean arrived in Korea safe and sound.  I took him to work with me on Friday (my birthday) and gave him the tast of finding scheduling software.  I must say, it was a bit of a bipolar birthday for me.

I had to catch up on a whole ton ‘o work and get a few extra things done.  One teacher said she might be out on Monday, so I had to figure out what to do with her schedule.  Turns out, there’s just no one who can cover her second class.  So that’s a bit stressful.  Then, putting together the Friday writing book.   Finally, planning for next week’s classes. Oh yeah, by the end of the night, I was getting sick.  (More on that later.)

However, it was also a fantastic day.  Sean is here and we get to plan a trip to Japan.  Then, all of the assistants brought me roses.  Fridays also have all of my favorite classes, so that was nice. It seemed like just when my optimism about the day would start to wan, a student would give me some little gift or handmade card.  It’s these little gestures that really get me.

This morning I was feeling horrible.  (Sore throat, fever, aches) Back in the States, I would have just waited it out.  However, the combination of cheap healthcare and a visitor gave me proper incentive to get to the doctor’s office.  I love my doctor’s office.  Her English is alright.  Sometimes, she can’t understand me when I’m trying to say a drug name, but I just write it down and we go from there.  It’s a little unnerving not knowing exactly what I’m putting in my tummy, but whatever she gave me, it works.  I came home, took my medicine and promptly fell asleep for three or four hours. 

Well, that’s about all I know.  I hope this doesn’t come off as too spacey.  I’m going to go take a nap.  (Again.)

Alright, if anyone knows where I can find this, please, please let me know.  I would greatly appreicate it.

Scheduling Software for Teachers

Here’s what it should be able to do:

Our school is divided into nine levels.   There are two classes a day.  However, half of the class is taught by a Korean teacher and half of the class is taught by a foreign teacher.  So it is possible to teach four classes.  Here’s where it gets tricky.  Some classes are M/W/F, some are M/W, some are T/R/F, and some are T/R.  Basically, Monday and Wednesday’s schedule will always be the same.  As will Tuesday’s and Thursdays.  However, Friday will be a combination of the classes that go three days a week.

Now different teachers prefer difference levels.  It should also accomidate this.  The program should let me know when there is a schudling conflict.  (Basically, I want it to do the basic schedule and let me go in and make changes.) I also need it to tell me how much a teacher is working and what free time they have.

I would prefer is the software was free.  However, if it works well, I’d be willing to pay for it.  (I just want a demo first.)

And that is pretty much it.  If anyone has heard of such a creature, let me know and I’ll buy you dinner.

So I’ve been a very bad communicater as of late.  Mostly, I’ve just been busy.  Busy with the job (mostly busy with stressing out about the job), catching up with people, planning vacation, anticipating a friend’s visit, anticipating a new computer, trying to be a good dog mom, trying to learn Korean, and generally trying to figure things out.

My apologies. 

Fortunately, I’m currently on a four-day weekend.  Which is fantastic except that I now have even more time to slack off and not get nearly as much as I want accomplished.  What have I done the past few days?  Well, I got around to making my bed.  Oh, and I did the dishes.

I got a package from my sister (Becca)

this week. (thankyouthankyouthankyou!) Decent dog treats are rather in short suppy in the country, so most of it was for Badugi.  (That’s Badugi, darn it!  My friend S.B. insists that Badugi’s name is really Beondegi, which is roasted silkworm larva.)  The rabbit is by far his favorite toy, but he only gets to play with it when I have company.

Chris and I went to Insadong this weekend (it’s in Seoul).  It’s a pretty nice place.  For all the Lawerence kids, think Mass. Street meets Korea and you’ve got Insadong.  Complete with street musicians and everything.  It’s very artsy and there are a lot of tea houses that I want to go back and try.

Chris found a used book store (Korean books, unfortuantely) and we also wandered into an old toy story.  It was rather surreal, but I did pick up some postcards that I may get sent out sometime before I leave Korea.  (No promises, I still have Christmas presents that need to go out.)  Also, there was a parrot in the corner of the store.  And yes, the parrot’s Korean way much, much better than mine.

However, one of the highlights of Insadong was this building where there was a lot of handmade clothes and jewelry.  There was so many details in the building.  There was a giant rose growing in the stairwell and hanboks (traditional Korean clothes) hanging in the air.  Also, it is now the year of the pig, which called for massive amounts of pig art to be placed on the stairs.

I have to make a note to go back there before I leave Korea.  There’s somethings I’d like to pick up.

Well, not too much else to say.  Badugi needs his walk.  Take care.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

A blog.  I promise.  Really.  I mean it.

I know I’ve been a bad blogger.  It will get better, I promise.  It will help that I’m getting a new computer soon. 

One of my friends quit Avalon last month.  Yohan is going to New York this month (he is leaving on my birthday, that brat).  He’ll be there for about four or five years.  He’s going to study English.  Min and Chung (I have no idea how to write Korean in the English alphabet, so my apology) are also leaving on my birthday. They are going back to university.  I will miss them. (Yohan is in the first picture.  Min is in the second.)

And, of course, a picture of Badugi.  (I need to check to see if the spelling is Badogi or Badugi.)

So grading essays isn’t a favorite part of my job.  It’s not bad, mostly just boring.  However, once in a while I’ll come across something that one of my kids writes that makes it completely worth it.

Today’s essay topic was: What is your class schedule?  What teachers do you have?  What class is your favorite?

And here is the response that I got from George.  Now to really understand, you have to have an idea of what George is like as a student.  He is probably the biggest student in the class.  He sits in the back and I always get the feeling that he thinks he’s a bit too old to put up with any of my nonesense.  In other words, he rarely laughs.  He’s pretty quiet most of the time.  His speaking is about  average, but he still gets his ideas across.  However, I discovered that the kid can really write pretty well.  Here’s an exerpt from his essay:

I like science class, but the science class is a little childish.  I don’t like Physical Education because I have flat feet.  In my family, no one have flat feet.  Only I have flat feet.  I heard flatfeet people are very hard up in the army.  I worry about this because conscription is enforced in Korea.

Keep in mind this kid is about eleven.