Conjunctivitis February 26, 2009

Today was the next to last day with our students before a new session starts and we get a whole new batch of cute little pestilence bearers. After the winter break it seemed as though we had finally acclimated to the revolving door of respiratory infections that go along with elementary education. With the constant cycle of recovering from an old cold while catching a new one, it’s like our bodies reset themselves so that the old 80% became the new 100%. So, in spite of our drippy noses and the occasional bout of coughing, we’ve been working out regularly and feeling pretty good about things. Well enough to even figure out how to do our taxes.

Accustomed to our seeming immunity to illness through constant sickness, we were a little surprised when we woke up this morning and found that someone had been kind enough to wedge itching powder under our eyeballs and then glue our eyelids shut. Following a long, squinty day we managed to keep our eyes open long enough to find our way across the street to a doctor.

Turns out we’ve got a mild case of the old pink eye. Who knows, maybe we can get head lice and ringworm next to close out the complete dirty kid trifecta.

On the plus side? Korean health care continues to impress.

The Rapture February 25, 2009

This is a new band to us, and they are really really good.  Some songs sound a little like The Cure, which is a nice relic sound.  And other tracks, especially on “Echoes” make you stop what you are doing and dance.  It’s a good thing we don’t have a car over here.  Here is the link to their website.  The squares at the top of the page are different pages you can click on.  I tried to directly link to the song I wanted, but their website does not allow that.  So surf around, and find the song “Echoes” and “Get Myself Into it.”  Hoo Boy!

Perpetual Juvenile February 22, 2009

We often come across such misspellings in our students’ writing, and I would like you all to take note that we have restrained ourselves until now from spoiling your delicate sensibilities.  We’ve held on to this one since Christmas, not wanting to spoil that time of year for my mother, who doubtless would have told me to go to the bathroom and stay there if I was going to talk about potty things.

be sure to mak them, teacher

Survival February 17, 2009

Well, we made it through the most anticipated dog and pony show in Korea, relatively unscathed.  We had Pad Thai to celebrate, and now we are going to have a nap until tomorrow in continued celebratory manner.  Good night.

Pictures to follow.

Free Rice February 11, 2009

Morning all, We just added a link on the side bar that we urge you to check out if you fit into any of the following categories:

1. You’re bored

2. You’re wicked smart

3. You want to be wicked smart

4. You like helping people

5. You like games

6. You’re not a selfish jerk that wants all the rice for yourself

freerice.com

Bird Watching February 10, 2009

Bird Watching, originally uploaded by Jake & Kristin.

After elephant trekking we stopped at a little restaurant in the middle of the jungle to have a bite to eat. After lunch, we noticed this spider hanging out at about face-height near the path. Apparently spiders like this one sometimes catch and eat birds. It was as big as my outstretched hand.

Serenity Now February 5, 2009

Saffron Buddha, originally uploaded by Jake & Kristin.

This is one of the Buddhas we saw at a shrine while we were in Thailand. The shrine is famous as a home for long tailed monkeys, which our guide described to us as “not so clever” as their short tailed cousins. She also warned us about a variety of activities that would almost certainly lead to receiving monkey bites.

Thankfully we are charged with educating a troop of short tailed monkeys, most of whom are much less prone to biting. We’ve been working on preparing them to give speeches, sing songs, and do dances to show off all the things they’ve learned this year. They’re quite clever indeed, and they’ve done very well.

Still, there are moments when even “serenity now” barely keeps us sane.