*with 3 pages left*

it's getting very close to the end of the chapter. i am antsy at these points, constantly wishing either to pause or fast-forward.

though the weather took a turn for the better today, my students all acted shocked to see me in short sleeves. it's so funny to me how they are avidly interested in my appearance. they'll shout out these abrupt announcements whenever they notice i am wearing a new shirt or have on two necklaces instead of one- and they're directed at me, not about me- like if i walked in with my fly down; they're informative and urgent statements. so, today, i entered 5 classrooms to be greeted by kids racing to tell me that i'm wearing short sleeves:
"teacher!! no arm!"
"teacher! cut shirt!"
"teacher!!! i see teacher elbow!"
"teacher! not cold?"
yeah: one kid remembered elbow. i was impressed.

i'm going to miss my time with them. what a great group of kids i have here! well-mannered, bright, studious... and best of all, they all seem to possess a terrific sense of humor.

in interest of preserving the memory, i will take note here of some favorites (i won't be insulted if you skip ahead a bit here):

philip- small, young, darker skin, big eyes, big dimples. he celebrates his name every day. 'teacher, what is my name?'- not because he forgot, just because he likes me to say it. other times he asks me to spell it, or says 'teacher, i am wendy student, so you are...' so i play along with, 'philip teacher' and he giggles like a crazy-man. this kid is a prime example of bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed. i can't ever be upset with him for not paying attention or forgetting his homework. he just melts me.

sam- a newer student, but one i'll remember. she wears a gold-colored coat. on her second day at the academy, she saw me chatting with another teacher outside of our lunchroom, and waited patiently for my attention. i had taught her for just one day at that point, and with all the new students i didn't especially recognize her. however, when i noticed her watching me, i stepped over and cheerily said 'hello', and she said 'hello, teacher', and i said 'how are you?' (which i always ask- all the time- and they 99.9% of the time reply with 'so-so' or 'fine, and you?', as they've been taught) but sam was not fine-and-you or even so-so, and she told me so. she was sad. why, i asked? and she struggled linguistically to explain her favorite grandpa had passed away. i wanted to hug her, but wasn't sure if it would have been ok or not- so i went to the lunch room and snatched an orange, brilliantly colored and fat with juice, from a box of oranges for the teachers. i quietly put it in her hand as i passed her a moment later in the stairway. she seemed to take it like the hug i wanted to give- and she turned out to be one of the most positive, eager learners i've encountered. she was a joy to teach.

sangwoo- an older student i had the privilege to teach for almost the whole year. smart? yes. attentive? usually, yes, absolutely. but best of all, he's open. he isn't trying to be cool or putting up barriers. he makes me laugh a lot, he puts his best effort into his work, and he loves to overreact and get loud. there's just not enough noise here, so i appreciate this about him. he enjoys playing the highly offended role, and scream in indignation through a restrained smile that's burning holes in his cheeks. totally entertaining. i just find myself hoping for him. i hope he gets everything he wants in life.

tim-tom-tim - i thought he was my problem child. he turned out to be a really cool kid, and to show more respect than the 'good kids' from time to time. he would have a slingshot in his back pocket and a frog in the front if he were a cartoon.

betty- one endearing and hyper kid. she can't listen, though she wants to. she is so friendly and so in love with attention; like some puppies i've known. you know how the lickers find someone who doesn't push them away so they get extra excited and lick and hop and wag until their zeal knocks their balance off and they fall over. that. and she just laughs at herself and brushes the hair out of her face, gets up, and goes back to it.

collectively; the girls- cecilia, angela, amy, amber, ann (tasha used to be a part of it, too) these are my tues/thurs. toefl students, and they have shown me such warmth and sweetness! they are a great group, and i have loved my time teaching them the most because they show real interest in me as a person, they listen, and answer, and act genuinely, and remain angels. they could have been making this pretty hard on me, but they chose not to... for that, and the snacks they've shared (yeah, this is the ice-cream getting group), and for all the laughs they've given me, i am eternally grateful.

i love how the lower level kids will get so excited as they learn- when things click, it's palpable.
i love how the mid-level kids are brave and look so proud of themselves when they succeed in each little task.
i love how the advanced kids realize they are teaching me, too, and are not put off by it.


tomorrow, there will be a 'ball' for the academy at the ramada inn.
we will listen to a lecture for an hour (in korean) and then we will all feast and mingle. everyone's asking me what i'll wear. i may have to buy a pair of heels to fit in (they're a great souvenir, anyway, since they are the most common ladies' footwear, no matter the location or occasion)

which brings me to a point- korea has made me more aesthetically feminine than i've ever been. just yesterday i wore both a headband AND a flower-barrette in my hair at the same time. i'm still not getting manicures or fake lashes. but there's a new appreciation for accessories and floral prints, i can't deny.

more importantly, there have been some great internal changes: a firmer understanding of how i best operate in the world, less feeling in some old battle scars. good changes.

other details i don't want to forget:

i had two rum-n-cokes with mr.song yesterday. he's still working on opening his new place- i hope for a tour if i will miss the grand opening. it will be gwangju's first in-house brewery, and i am sure it will be beautiful to see... all that copper in the middle of all his woodwork. i played a few songs for him last night, feeling embarrassed i haven't played more lately. we discussed nazi germany and he helped me understand how a short weirdo like hitler had been able to dupe so many people. on the way home, i purchased a double-battered corndog from a street vendor. the vending carts are nighttime eye-candy. steam rolls off them here and there. the various snacks are usually arranged in square compartments. lots of things on sticks: hot dogs, corndogs, fish, shrimp, tofu, chicken, steak, veggies.... all poked through with a stick and arranged in a box. and ddokk-bekki (i probably misspelled this)-- little cylindrical pieces of dough floating in ponds of sticky thick red sauce. every day's a carnival in korea!


places i frequent:
kimbap naras (cheap/quick korean food places frequented by kids between school and academy) boy-on-bike-gets-hit-by-car, the CBC, the place with the chinese girl, the place across from the chinese girl, kevin's place, and the place where the guy loves me. (that last one is my favorite, and always means we're getting free snacks in addition to our order)

grocery stores: the one on the corner (previously the place with eggplant), the other place (previously, the grocery store), family mart and home plus.

coffee stops: cafe province (that lady, i-min-gin, french decor, solid tables, blt/spaghetti on the menu, piano, guitar, a wine collection), serendip (skylight, sweet woman, kevin's discount, swings and lattice), florida (great americano, the artsy girl who always remembers my order and gives me treats), brown's cabin (beautiful), stephanie (tree-houses)

foreigner spots: the speakeasy, the german bar, the lemon tree, the alleyway, tequilaz, first napal, bottle.

the post office (people are always helpful), the underground mall (passing though is hard when you could be shopping), the book store, u-square, the movies (love the old one), arcades, the wii cafe by chosan, the dentist (haha), shinae = downtown... just travelin' the streets, usually.

things here i didn't take enough advantage of: the mountains, buddhist temples, art galleries, art supply shops, mokpo, the bus station, the traditional markets, the g.i.c., the stream downtown, jimjilbangs, photo ops.

well, a couple of weeks left. i'll see if i can remedy any of that last bit.