Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA lately. With the holidays coming up, like right around the corner, I've been super busy. And honestly, I'm getting rather homesick and sometimes its easier for me to not remind myself of what I'm missing. =(
So, the last week as been really busy. I've met a slew of new people to hang with, so for everyone who was sending up good thoughts for me-- thank you. They worked. LOL. This past Wednesday, I went to a native English teacher workshop for the day at this Korean university. When I was first walking up the building, I was surrounded by Koreans and when I walked through the doors it was "Hello Middle America!" LOL-- There were TONS of people there from my province and they were all speaking English! It was like heaven for my ears.
I met my friend L there, the guy from Iowa, and we started mingling. Halfway through a conversation with someone, these girls came up and started speaking to me another language. I know my face was looking crazy for a second there, and L looked just as confused. I said, "I'm sorry, what?" And they were like, "You're American?" Uh, yeah honey. I said, "Yeah, from Michigan." Turns out they thought I was South African and were talking Afrikaans to me. I dont know what it is about me that screams "NOT AMERICAN!" but its starting to get a little concerning. That happened to me THREE times after that-- one guy even thought he knew me from Cape Town. Which leads me to believe that I dont look South African, only that I look like a CERTAIN South African person that everyone knows maybe. Who the hell knows?
We, L and I, end up spending the rest of the day with the South African girls, who are very cool and have awesome accents. The workshop ends at 5:30, and L and I go to catch the bus back to the subway terminal. So, we're standing at the bus stop and I turn around and guess what I see strapped on to some guy's back? A Morehouse backpack thingy. Immediately, I go wtf? I tell L that this guy went to my "brother school" and say I'm going to go and talk to him. So, I tap his shoulder and go-- "When did you graduate?" He says "May 08" I say, "Shut up! Spelman '08!" This immediately starts a conversation and we talk about Senior Week (he was drunk as was I), Homecoming (he wasnt at this one, I was) and how we've never layed eyes in each other before meeting in freaking South Korea. Luck would also have it that he is also in the same city as me too. Go fucking figure.
He tells his friends, "Hey guys, this is my Spelman sister!" and invites L and I to go out to dinner that night. L says he cant cause he's tired, but I say that I'm totally down. So, he and his friends and I go out to dinner and have an awesome time. One girl, a Korean American from California, is soooo cool and we become fast friends. She's hilarious too. She said her parents encouraged her to come over here because they want her to meet a nice Korean boy since she has a lamentable habit of being attracted to black guys. Ha! So, anywho, we make plans to spend the holidays together at Morehouse's apt and then hitting up another party later that evening.
So, that was part one of my week. That weekend, I caught strep throat but I didnt let that keep me from doing a little shopping. I met up at the mall with a new small town Canadian friend, who is also overweight, but this one is completely normal. She just walks reeeeaaaaalllllllyyyy slowly, which annoys me to no end. But she's really sweet, so that makes up for it. =) I bought two pairs of boots, a leather bag, a facial system from The Body Shop and some tights for about 130,000 won. About 95 American dollars. Whenever I'm down on Korea, shopping always takes away the bad taste in my mouth.
I'm going back to Seoul this weekend too. I'm headed to Itaewon, which is a huge foreigner district because its located right next the US base, and I'm super excited. Doubtless, I'll have plenty of stories to tell about that one. Its going to be interesting, cause it'll be me, A, Nice S.T. Canadian and a gay guy that I met going together. None of these people have ever met before, and I can only hope that they will all get along nicely. I dont know how thats going to work out yet, cause A has already started asking me, "So, is your fat friend going to be able to keep up? I mean, is the walking going to be a big problem?" And I havent yet mentioned that Nice S.T. Canadian walks reeeeaaaaallllllllyyyy slowly yet and dont think I'm going to say anything about it. She'll find out sooner or later, right? But I dont think, D, the gay guy will be a problem. Every girl loves a good gay guy, right? And he's from Michigan too. =) I'm planning on adopting him as my new gay friend since I dont have Tionne anymore. =( I miss that kid. Anywho, you have just been updated, my friends!!! Merry Christmas if I dont get to tell you later!!!! Love you all!

I spent the weekend watching Seasons 4-6 of Sex and City, rounding out almost 2 weeks of effort to complete the series. By Season 5 (or IN Season 5), Carrie began annoying me-- bad, I know, since I usually love Carrie. But it occurred to me that important shit happened in Season 5-- pregnancy, divorce, etc. and all she could focus on was her very non- important love life. I think it reminded me of myself and that’s why it annoyed the hell out of me. So, if I ever brushed anyone off or made your relationships and life minor because of my own unimportant musings, I apologize. =)
So, that was my unspectacular weekend… I stayed in all weekend, ate dumplings and watched SATC. I probably put on about 5 pounds, which I will likely drop during the school week when I have to eat snails, octopus or something similar during school lunch. Yummy. =P
Okay, if I tell you something, you must PROMISE that I will not become an object of ridicule and speculation. You cannot call one another and say, “Awww, Lacey is so sad.” Because I’m not sad, necessarily, just mildly desperate. Which all resulted in the story that I will now tell you. =) LOL.
So, about a week ago, I began feeling desperate for company when I realized that my closest friends here are two Korean students who keep me company during class breaks. Granted, my Iowan and Canadian friends are awesome, but they are miles and miles and miles away in the country, while I’m firmly rooted in the Korean ghetto, right?
So…I put out a personals ad. Yes, I did and I am not ashamed to admit it. Not a “Hey, lets fuck!” personals ad, but a “Hey! If you’re as bored as me and live in my city, lets hang!” one. It was strictly platonic and placed on a Facebook group aimed toward that sort of thing as well as on Craigslist. Was it a moment of sheer insanity? I don’t know, but I will say I was bored, having read all of Perez Hilton, People.com and watching all the new videos on Youtube, and it seemed like a capital idea!
So, I began getting all these hits back from different people. Some were indeed perverted, some misguided, but most seemed to echo my feelings exactly. The feeling of “Well, if you speak English and I speak English, why the hell don’t go shopping together or something?” I emailed the normal people back, deleted and blocked the pervs and began my friend search in earnest. I mean, I don’t want to pat my own back, but I’m pretty awesome friend material. I mean, I kind of like hanging out with myself, and I’m ME…although the relationship has gone sour because I’ve been spending too much time alone in my own company. Bleech.
So the Great Friend Search, as I like to call it, began with a bang. I got a couple of emails from girls and guys who are pretty close to where I live, but decided to play it safe by emailing only the girls first. One, who I’ll call AG, seems really cool. She’s 22, from Maine and said that we had almost identical interests and should get together to go Christmas shopping. Which, of course, I love-- English and shopping seem pretty wonderful at this point. She seems, dare I say it, normal. The other girl who emails me, I’ll call her Small Town Canadian, seems fine at first. She’s 25 and, well, from a small town in Canada. She emails, says what her interests are, and follows it up immediately with a ranting email. She says how much she cant stand Korea, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so we all know I’m not IN LOVE with Korea, but I require any company I keep here to at least tolerate it to help keep MY morale up.
So, Small Town Canadian emails me and I email back and she friends me on Facebook and writes me a message there too. I’m like, wow she’s even more desperate for company than I am…I mean, and she has 2 native English teachers at her school to hang out with too. So, on this message she says, ‘Well I was emailing this one girl here but then she wrote me all of the sudden and said that we couldn’t be friends because we don’t have similar interests! How fucked is that?!’
Well, it IS pretty fucked, but if Small Town Canadian is acting anything like she is now then I can kind of see where this girl is going with the ‘nothing in common’ route. She was probably trying to spare her feelings, instead of saying ‘You may be a psycho, so its best we not meet.’ So, I check out her Fbook profile, to see if I notice anything that, even vaguely, says “I’m crazy”-- I find out that she is….well, really overweight. Like, maybe ¾'s the size of Ora Monet or Liz Purnell…for all the non-Spelmanites who don’t know who Ora or Liz is, I will say that she is probably a stone’s throw away from the size of a baby orca whale. And I say that with a straight face. No laughing, because I am entirely serious.
I am surprised by this fact, but in no way prejudiced. And then I begin to look through the information section of the Facebook, where her about me says “I am the beacon of fashion and class in my community.” and “People always tell me that they envy my style and sophistication.” And I see that despite being the size of a large salt water mammal, she is clearly not lacking any self confidence, which I think it rather impressive. I mean, something’s gotta be said for that, right?
Until I see the “Very Conservative” under her political views…I begin wondering “Exactly HOW conservative?” The only conservative person I talk to on a regular basis is my dad, and I love him, so I kind of have to. I mean, I can deal with conservatism, but when I see a “very” before it, I start to think that it may be a bit extreme, which I would find very hard to tolerate. We can have different opinions on things and that’s fine, but if we have TOTALLY different beliefs and we’re not related then I don’t have to be bothered.
I shamelessly look through her photos. She poses with rifles at Canadian NRA meetings…she’s protesting against gay rights at a rally, wearing a t-shirt that has two “F”s on top of each other on the front and on the next photograph there’s a picture of her rather large back with the words “Uck” and “Ags” in the same position as the two Fs are on the front….I’m sure you can get the picture…then, she’s double fisting beers and licking some fat Asian guy’s stomach at a bar after what I am assuming is a body shot…she’s holding up a furry animal by the tail after shooting it…and….she’s at a John McCain rally in Michigan holding up a sign that says “Barack HUSSEIN OSAMA-- Leader of the Free World? Fuck no!” And no, there is no misspelling on the “Osama” part-- that’s what the sign said. And she crossed a border and went through customs just hold that sign up. Cheers!
So… I guess that means we could have different interests, then right? After seeing such “style” and “sophistication” I then begin to think I understand what this other girl meant when she said that she and Small Town Canadian have un-similar point of views. I mean, frankly, I’m surprised she even left her small town to come to Korea-- doing something like that would require a slightly more open mind than it appears she possesses.
I decide not to respond to any more emails, after a brief message that it appears I will be transferred to the Korean countryside and wont be in the area any longer. I de-friended her and quietly continued on with my day. Okay, so if I didn’t do crazy shit like post for friends on the Internet then this kind of stuff wouldn’t happen. But you guys also wouldn’t get any stories like this, right?
Ha! You know you love me and my antics. =)

So, guys, you know Christmas is coming up just around the river bend and I have to ask you for a favor. =) Be the ghost of Christmas Kindness and please grant my request if you're able. If you have a) a webcam or digital camera and b) 3-5 minutes to spare would you mind recording a Christmas-type greeting for me? On Christmas Eve, I will be forced to come to school so I'm throwing a huge American-style Christmas party. The students here LOVE to listen and look at American people (they're always asking me to call people on Skype) and I want to link all the messages I can get from friends and afmily together so that they can see it in a sort montage-thingy...so, let me know if you can. I'd like to have everyone who can do one sent it to me by the 20th, so keep updated! Talk to you soon!

xoxo

Before I start on my very, very eventful weekend, let me note that I, in fact we ALL, are very misinformed. For some reason, America must attract that cast-off Koreans, the Koreans that Korea doesn’t think is very pretty. Cause these Korean boys are CUTE. Well, pretty would be a better description. No, seriously before I came over here I thought, “Well, there wont be any eye-candy, but at least I’ll have money…” Wrong. About the eye-candy part, anyways. Cause every time I go out, I see plenty of delicious Koreans for every eye. Hehehe. You have the preppy ones, the hipster ones, the corporate ones, the hip-hop ones, the laid-back ones…and they all dress well too. While I don’t think I would date a Korean guy, rest assured that I am not lacking for nice things to look at while I‘m abroad. ;-)
Hmmm, so my weekend was pretty eventful indeed, chicas. Saturday, I showed up at school in the early am for the class-showing get together thing. Mrs. Lee basically shooed me away anytime I attempted to help (she could probably smell my un-enthusiasm OR my distinct lack of decorating flair), so I was relegated to the office where I surfed CNN and face book all day. You know, I was reading in my contract where it says I’m definitely NOT supposed to work on Saturdays…which I will be showing Mrs. Lee tomorrow, cause unless I’m getting paid for being there, then I will gladly stay at home sleeping in. =P So, I left the school early to meet my new friend A at Suwon Station, so we could go into Seoul and do some shopping. I came unprepared for the bitter cold and she…just wanted some new winter clothes I guess.
(Background info: A is probably late 20’s--I don’t know for sure-- and a 6-foot tall white girl with a penchant for wild makeup and clothes. Example: When I met her at the Station, she was wearing glittery-gold and black Adidas Classics and brightly pigmented fuchsia Mac eyeliner. She’s from Canadialand, but has been living in the east for about 4 years. She spent two years in Taiwan and has been in Korea for almost two years. She said she liked Taiwan way better then Korea-- its cheaper, the weather’s nicer, the people are nice and the women aren’t stooped-- but she now has a way cute Korean boyfriend who plays semi-pro golf so she will probably stay in Korea forever. Whew.)
A is super funny and says whatever the hell she wants wherever she wants to say it. She has a dislike for Korean women, because she says that act stupidly just because they’re expected to. She says “retard” in all seriousness and yet makes it charming. And for once, its nice to be a part of the conversation that no one ELSE understands. Ha! We’re on the subway train to Seoul and everyone is staring cause theres this tall white girl and a short black one speaking rapid-fire English and, damn, its nice not to be stared at alone. Hehehehe. She was very…free with her opinions, probably because no one else could understand that she was talking major triz-ash about Korea’s educational system, old ladies, women and alcoholic men. Whoopsie….
We get to Seoul, popping my Seoul cherry BTW, and its ammmmaaazing. I realize its kinda a blessing I’m not in Seoul, cause if I were I would be broke. Ha! There are sooo many stores, with things dirt ass cheap.
Side Note: For all you Econ majors, the exchange rate in $1.00= 1,700.00 KRW. Yes, Korea is probably the ONLY place in the world where the dollar is expensive.
So, I went wild. I had withdrew about 200,000 KRW from my bank account (around 175.00 American), and I had a surplus of money. I bought probably 8 sweaters, 5 camis, a pair of jeans and leather gloves for about 70 bucks…
After we finish our shopping extravaganza, we go to meet A’s boyfriend at this electronics district in Seoul. We go there for the express purpose of boot-leg DVDs, which a year ago used to be a thriving, open business until the Korean government put the smack down on it. So now, you have to know exactly where to go to get bootlegged DVDs. Now, when they we were first talking about bootlegs, I’m thinking “Oh, lord, please don’t take me to a jack-legged bootlegger….there are enough in Detroit. Not interested.” We go to this guy, A’s favorite boot-legger, and this guy has EVERYTHING. No seriously, all the seasons of Friends, House, and even Martin! Basically every other major network American show plus movies that have just recently made it to theaters to old-school classics. I have to admit that I’m impressed. Impressed, but still wary cause these could be low-quality movies, like the ones back home where you hear people laughing and see heads moving in front of the screen…but I succumb and buy season 1 through 6 of Sex and the City, Eagle Eye, and the House Bunny for 38,000 KRW (about 28 bucks). This was a freaking STEAL, but I was still nervous about the quality. So I get home and pop in DVD 1 of Season 1, SATC, and its perfect. No, seriously, its like watching the $250 set from Target. I even have menu options, language settings and scene selection. I pop in the movies and they are also perfect, like I purchased them from Blockbuster. WTF? So, I officially love Korea right now. Is that positive enough for you, Ren?
Wait, so let me backtrack, cause a big hunk of my Seoul experience is missing. We leave the electronic district (which has cheapie cheap everything electronic there-- I will be going back soon) and A tells me that we have to split up cause her and her boyfriend are going a different way then me. I experience mild panic, cause in the ride there, we had to transfer a few times and I cant read or speak real Korean. I’m like, “Shit, are you serious?” She tells me the train I have to get on and says it’s a straight shot, no transfer necessary and it will only take about 50 minutes. I’m nervous, but I’m a big girl so I say its fine I can do it. Of course, I end up getting lost on the Korean subway. I ride until the absolute end of the track and a Korean cleaning lady comes in and I say, “I’m lost! Suwon Station!! Suwon!” LOL. She speaks like rapid Korean and I say that I don’t speak Korean, only English. She is trying to explain to me, showing me the subway map and the conductor comes into the subway car. He speaks elementary English and explains that I need to stay on this train as it heads back to Seoul and tells me where I need to get off to transfer to the Suwon train. I sit and ride and when I get to the transfer point, he gets out of the little conductors’ box-thing and escorts me to the Suwon train and tells me how many stops it takes to get to Suwon and says “Be careful, okay?” I was like, “THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH.” Ha! Another thing to appreciate is that there are kind people everywhere. I mean, yeah, some of the Korean women can be nerve-wracking and look mean as hell and the men like to drink a little too much, but there are nice people here regardless.
I ride the train to Suwon Station and thankfully get on my bus home and am…happy. For the first time since I’ve been here, I feel braver and bigger almost like I can do anything. I just got lost on the Korean subway and made it back home. John Mayer had it right-- I’m bigger than my body gives me credit for.

Ha! Good idea Ren! I should totally go full Gossip Girl on your asses. Hehheee. Maybe not. So, today, AGAIN, I'm at school. And a little pissed, cause today should be an off day...but its not. And then I remind myself about the cash, right? So this week has been interesting. One the bright side, my principal hasnt farted or burped in my presence for like 4 days straight, which is a huge accomplishment for him. Mr. K is still annoying, but he's not annoying me with the fervor that he has before.
I now have friends guys-- and they're my students! Ha! Seriously, I like them better then the teachers and some of the other foreigners I've met here. Two of the students, Happy and S. Ah and I went to dinner last night, which is really nice. Where I work is kind of a low-income area, so I enjoy being able to do things with them that they cant do all the time. The meal cost like 18,o00 KRW, which is like 13-14 bucks American and they were like "Oh, no teacher, its so expensive!" I had to tell them, "I feel like its cheap to spend 13 dollars just for my OWN meal, let alone a meal that is more then enough for the 3 of us!" They're so sweet. And they're teaching me Korean, which is like the most confusing language ever.
Theres this other kid, who I call K.P. who is a piano prodigy. No, seriously. =) He is this adorable, smart, sweet and cute 15 year old kid who is just like my favorite boy at the school. One day he's like, "Teacher, do you like classic music?" I say "Yeah, I like everything. I really like Debussy." And he goes, "I like Chopin. I play classical music." So, of course, I drag him to the music room and make him play. He kept saying, "Lacey, I am so nervous." So I turn my back, so he wont feel anxious and all the sudden he starts playing. And he is freaking AMAZING. I literally feel my jaw drop, which I thought was only an expression before until it happened to me. This kid is SUPER talented. So I ask him after if takes lessons. He says, "No, I learn solo." I'm like, "You dont have a teacher????" He tells me that a teacher taught him Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, De, Do and after that he taught himself. Isnt that the craziest thing you've ever heard?!
So, this week I was especially invited to another teacher's 'workshop' (aka drunken karaoke) by Mr. K. I said I was sick and I couldnt go. I mean, wtf is up with all these old ass people wanting to go and get drunk every other night? Shouldnt you be tired of doing that at that age??? I certainly hope that by the time I'm 40+, I'm over going out and making an ass out of myself. Mrs. Lee acted like I should go, but I was firm, saying I didnt feel well and going out was only going to make my cold worse then it was. This did not deter Mr. K, who planned another teacher's outing for next weekend. Only, this one would last the ENTIRE weekend. It was be at a really beautiful Korean province, which I would have gone had Mr. K and some of the other skeevier teachers not had accepted the invite. And the other English teachers had a workshop to go to so they wouldnt be able to attend, which means that I would be spending a weekend with drunk Korean old people who dont speak much English. Uh, no thanks honey. So, I told Mrs. Lee, "You know, I would except thats a bad time of the month for me, if you know what I'm saying..." She nodded all solemn-like and said, "Oh, now I have to make something ELSE up to explain why you cant go." I dont care, as long as they know I wont be there. Tell them I'm going to have a corn removed from my baby toe, I dont give a damn but I wont be on a bus with Mr. K speaking broken ass English to me and trying to make me take shots on the ride there.
On the bright side, today is my shopping trip. I definitely some warmer clothes, so I'm excited. What pissed me off a little is that I was supposed to have today off and at the last minute they told me that I had to come to school and conduct a class-warming party at 8:30am. I'm not the most social person that early and knowing that by all rights I should be at home sleeping in is not helping. What I've learned about Koreans is that they tell you things at the last minute, that are like mandatory, and expect you to drop all your plans and be there. Ugh. Its sooo irritating, but I'm fortified thinking of all the new things I'm going to buy....sigh

Is that positive enough for you, Ren?

Just name dropping, ahem Tat, too. Muah! love ya, miss ya all! I'll report back soon.

Hello, all. =) Okay, so I should address a few things before continuing with this post. Yes, we all know that I can light an entire birthday cake STORE when I have consumed eggplant. I can, indeed, be toxic and unfortunately, some of you have been on the receiving end when I happened to have a California Panini from Corner Bakery during breaks at work. My bad, you know I loooooove you. Hehehe. However, I would UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES FART OR BURP in the presence of a CO-WORKER, EMPLOYER OR SOMEONE I HAVE JUST MET. Especially during a meal. So that completely removes me from Mr. K’s category. I mean, this isn’t an argument about whose shit don’t stank, but rather one of who lets it out at more inappropriate moments. At least I could do it, knowing I have the enduring love and support of everyone who had to smell me. LMAO. Mr. K had no such assurance with me, so there. =P
Whew. Okay, now that THAT matter has been addressed (reni and bijul), I should also tell you guys the explanation I got from a fellow teacher about the “Mexican” incident. Hehehe. So, Alison (another Korean English teacher at my school, who speaks near flawless English) felt the need to explain Mrs. Lee’s nationality gaffe today. I didn’t know anyone was still talking about it, but apparently Mrs. Lee felt really bad about calling me Mexican. Like, during some random time during my first week I was on the phone with my mom and I said “Te amo” or something and Mrs. Lee assumed I was South American or something. Which still doesn’t completely explain the “Mexican” thing, since South America and Mexico are two entire different places, but it does somewhat explain it. She, however, then told the entire staff I was South American, or Mexican, or whatever which is kind of gossip-y, no? So now she probably has to explain to everyone that, No, I’m not Mexican, South American or anything with Spanish involved. Just a garden-variety black American. Hhehehehe. I almost feel bad for her.
So, that effectively clears up some of the more annoying things that have happened in the last week. I mean, Mr. K is still my boss so that will be an annoyance I have deal with for another 11 months but I am now on a plane of maturity where I wont let him bother me. Unless he burps over my food or in my face again. Or farts while I’m on the phone. Right.
On the downside, H’s mom was in a pretty crucial car accident last night. She was in critical condition, but they’ve stabilized her so she’s in the clear. When H called me, it was in the middle of the school day and I was so shocked to see his number. I’ve only spoken to him once since I’ve been here and it so awkward. But he calls, and I answer and he sounds like so freaked out that it terrifies me. I couldn’t understand him at first, he so incoherent and when I finally hear the story, I was shocked. I mean, I love Mrs. S…she has been literally like a favorite aunt to me. Even when H and I were going through our bumps, she and I still spoke over the phone and went to lunch a couple times. And then I realize that I completely useless, in Korea…so far from H and Mrs. S and I can do absolutely nothing but wait. I couldn’t comfort him or hold him or anything. AND on top of that, I totally had to co-teach 4 more classes and act like nothing was wrong… so on all my breaks, I would call H and see what was happening and he called me after school had just ended and told me the news that she was fine and I felt like a took my first breath of the day.
Oh, yeah so I am slowly making English speaking buddies. I mentioned my friend L, who I met at the immigration office. He’s like this small, nerdy, style-challenged white kid from the Midwest, but he’s sweet and smart so it doesn’t matter that he has no fashion sense. Hheehehe. Ok, I’m being mean. Me and L went out to celebrate Thanksgiving the day after Thanksgiving at Outback Steakhouse, which was super cool. While I was there, I saw like 15 foreigners so it made me feel a little better, but I’m the only black person I’ve seen so far. LOL. But, its weird because a lot of the Western people are kinda of clique-y. You almost feel like you have to pledge to hang out with some of them. And since I don’t need friends THAT badly, I don’t bother with the ones who want to make me work to be their hang-out buddy. Ya’ll know I’m lazy. =) I am, however, going out with this girl A this weekend to do some shopping since it gets pretty cold here and I didn’t bring my serious- Michigan cold gear. I bought my Atlanta-cold stuff which WOULD be okay if the school had better heating. The hallways feel like someone turned on the fucking AC when its already 30 degrees outside. I think its actually colder inside the school then it is outside. And these Koreans are FIERCE dressers. I feel like I have to step my game up just to walk to market. I mean, heels and peacoats everyday. Even the guys dress well…At least I know I’ll leave here with some nice ass clothes, right?
Note: Nae, you were right about some of the toilets here. For those who don’t know, Korea used to have these gnarly ass bathrooms, where theres only like a hole in the ground you pee in and then flush or some shit. MOST of these bathrooms no longer exist, since they got up on the smart, cleaner, better smelling method of toilets instead of popping a squat all the time. Since I live and teach in the Korean ‘hood, my school hasn’t got up on that trend. The school bathrooms are NASTY. LOL. Most smell like fish since you basically have half of the school population having to pop a squat every time they have to pee and there always seems to be shortage of toilet paper. And there are porcelain holes in the ground that are supposed to be…well, a toilet I guess. Its pretty vicious. So, basically I don’t drink anything at work and if I do have to use the bathroom, I walk back home during the break and pee.
Another thing they do that makes me sick is brush their teeth during the school day…they walk around the hallways after eating lunch with toothbrushes hanging from their mouths as I try not to run or visibly cringe. I mean, I can understand because they eat some pretty serious, spicy stuff for lunch so they feel the need to brush their teeth, but DAMN could you keep it in the bathroom? I haven’t told them it makes me nauseous to see that yet, but I’m sure it will come up soon. I wish I weren’t so weird…
I’m sure I’ll have a lot to report later, as not a day goes by when something absurd doesn’t happen to me. =)
PS> I’ve decided to make this a positive post, despite all the crazy shit. I mean, at the end of the day, I adore the kids. If I hated the kids AND my principal, please believe I’d be on a plane home now. Hhhehe. =P