For ever and for ever when I move

Last week my new round of extra English classes began, after school on Fridays. Unlike last semester’s round of extra classes, this one is only once a week, and they go from 4-5:40.

Also new this year, we have to have two native teachers at the school to teach, because I said that 40 students for extra class, on my own, was too much.

Consequently, I recruited my friend Dylan, a Canadian that lives near me and teaches at a different high school. He is tall, has a beard, and is male.

Consequently consequently, after he entered my all- girls’ school, nearly every teacher has asked me, in one form or another, if Dylan is my boyfriend. Just to clarify, Dylan is not my boyfriend. Nope. Nope nope nope.

But, the best form of the question just happened again… One of the older, new teachers, whose English is very poor but who very much wants to have conversation with me, just asked…..

“Before… Friday… your… love-man?”

Nope, just a tall white guy I’m with. Not my boyfriend.

Sorry to disappoint, Korea.

Well, I reckon it’s time for a new post.

Things have been really crazy lately. We’ve got midterms next week and I had to prepare questions for those. I had extra classes start last Friday, and had to impromptu provide full lesson plans for those. And then, to put the icing on the busy school cake, or so I thought at the time, I had to prepare for an open class within one week.

An open class is when you open up your classroom, line the back of the room with chairs to be filled by the other teachers in your department and by the Principal, provide very solid and foolproof lesson plans, spend evey hour of free time the week before planning for the perfect lesson that demonstrates your incredible ability to introduce a topic, flawlessly exhibit practice and student understanding, and conclude with meaningful interaction and supplementary material after the lesson.

The story continues, but I think we’ll end it here.

I spent last weekend on a tour trip down to Tongyoung, proceeded by a seven-hour hike around the island of Saryang-do. The hike was lovely, intense, intimidating, the full day of bus rides back to Seoul on Sunday was awful.

A handful of pictures from the weekend.

Waiting for the sun to rise at Yi Soon Shin Admiral Park, Tongyeong, South Korea.

Sun rise at Yi Soon Shin Admiral Park, Tongyeong, South Korea.

One of the peaks on Saryang-do, a small island off the coast of Tongyeong, South Korea.

Halfway through while we're thinking that we're almost done, hiking the island of Saryang-do, South Korea...

Picnic at the top, delicious. Hiking Saryang-do, South Korea

Scattered purple blossoms suggest that Spring is on its way.... Saryang-do, South Korea

The colors of all the seasons together, at one of the peaks on Saryang-do, South Korea.