Yesterday was my Open Class (Jake’s was last week), an event where, after several weeks of panic, Korean style, the students’ parents sat in our classes for a total of 40 minutes, watching their children be, well, children. No matter how hard they try to squeeze it out of them, darnit, it turns out a five year old’s will to party is much stronger.
But my kids were awesome. They sang their songs, did their dance moves, answered my questions, sat nicely, and no one cried or went crazy. I am so proud of them (and me!) for doing such a good job. And they were handsomely rewarded with, what else? 20 cent toys from China that probably broke on their way to the bus. But I digress….
Today is the final day of Open Classes, and I believe tonight there will be some to much celebrating. We’ve been on the wagon for so long, I am kinda nervous–like first date nervous–to hang out with Sirs Vodka and Tonic again. What if they have changed? What if I have? What if we don’t have anything to say to each other? Who am I kidding?
We are officially under three months to go here. We have decided not to go to China this summer, and just tour around Korea a bit. We have made a very grown-up decision here (Let the Record Show!!) to save money for the future blahblahblah instead of gallivant about Asia, especially considering that we have already had two fabulous vacations in the last 6 months. And truly who knows how long it will take us to find gainful employment? I worry that all the fruits of our sacrifice here will disappear into the ether shortly after our return home. Any suggestions?
We are going to hike Mt.Fuji before coming home though. It will be early September, and I hear that it is a night hike with a summit sunrise. We are so excited. I am really looking forward to clean air, crisp winds, and views. I did not realize how ingrained my need for open space was. We are nestled into a foggy, smoggy valley here, and even on hikes we are lucky to see to the next ridge over, at best. My mom always said that cloudy days made her claustrophobic, which I totally understand now.
This weekend we will visit a local temple/museum/park with some friends. I am looking forward to doing something out of the ordinary. These past two months has been a lot of business on the weekends and not a lot of playing. I hope everyone has a great weekend and does not spend too much time missing us.
Filed under: ESL, Kristin, korea, teaching, travel | Tagged: korea, Jookjeon, travel, teaching, ESL, South Korea, Jukjeon, Open Classes, parents, Mt.Fuji, hiking, fresh air, China, saving money | 1 Comment »