HJS

For the past month we’ve been joking about how this thing we refer to as “winter vacation” is anything but. It’s the students’ winter vacation from regular school, which means long hours for us, since the after-school academies expand their class time to fill the gap in the poor dears’ schedules. I know we must seem lame complaining about eight and 12-hour days, but try lecturing, engaging, nurturing and cajoling a room full of teens or pre-teens for 50 minutes. Can you imagine doing that 10 times in a day, every weekday for a month? I hate winter vacation.

But actually, I shouldn’t say that: I don’t hate it anymore. It’s over now, and the words “winter vacation” can resume their rightful meaning: a break between school or work sessions, or a vacation one takes in winter. It’s both for us now. We’re off until Monday, and we’re FINALLY going to Seoul!

Joel’s schedule for this week was changed to later in the day (of course), preventing us from taking the midnight train tonight. But we made up for that little disappointment by booking two first-class seats on the 7:25 a.m. train tomorrow morning. It was just six bucks more than economy–$46 each. I’m not expecting luxury, but it will be fun to look out the window. Daylight’s good for that.

We’d planned to go to bed as soon as Joel gets off work at 11, but (of course) the bosses arranged a last-minute, sort-of-obligatory dinner to celebrate the end of this hell session. We’ve warned them that we’re only good for an hour, but who knows if we’ll have the guts to leave early. Forced socializing is a huge part of Korean business culture–we see drunken businessmen out together almost every night, paying their dues. You MUST have a good time, or make a really good imitation of one who is having a good time, lest you seem ungrateful. Thankfully it’s dinner, not a soju party. We can probably eat and run…

We’ll post pictures and reports of our trip when we return next Sunday or Monday. Take care, everyone!

Heather

We knew that this job would come with two intense periods–one in January, one in July. We knew this month would suck. It does. One moment we were cheers-ing in the new year; the next we were starting our first day of a four-and-a-half-week hell that still has six days left. Exotic locale or not, work is work. Or w-UHR!-k, as Maynard G. Krebs used to say.

All the little things that bug us about this job are amplified during this period. The Friday before New Year’s, Mr. Kim gave me a book–or, rather–a collection of stuff he’d had the staff print off the Internet–and told me to use that as a curriculum during the period we call “winter vacation,” which does not mean that at all. (It’s the students’ winter vacation from regular school, so the parents put them in this intense English training for a month because allowing a kid an actual vacation is unheard of in this society.) Anyway, I griped about having to use a book–I usually just wing it–but I gave in and figured it out and used it for the first week and a half. Then he came to me telling me to stop: “The students are complaining.” I flew into a rage–I’m good at rages now–at the mere suggestion of criticism, and punished the kids by making them give long speeches on topics from Mr. Kim’s tired, boring list: i.e. “Are computers good or bad for society?” Of course, I eventually figured out from their confused little faces that they were trying to compliment me by complaining about the book: They missed our freeform bull sessions. So we went back to bull and everything’s fine. Except Mr. Kim; he’s a little scared. Heh heh.

Working full time is not good for my soul. Joel’s either. We’re absolutely exhausted. Our overtime is different every week: Sometimes I work four 12-hour days, sometimes Joel does, sometimes we both do. Our contract says that overtime’s mandatory during this time, so we’re sucking it up with the knowledge that we can refuse it all come February.

We might do a little bit of overtime later if it’ll get Joel over to the older-kid school full time. He started at the junior campus, thinking it’d be easier. Nope. They’re rascals. Pantleg-clinging, “teechah, teechah” screaming, ketchup-smeared rascals. They’re cute, but it takes every bit of charm he has to keep them from jumping out the window (literally) for seven classes. If he gets put at the older school–with me–we’ll work the same schedule and enjoy the same sanity. Cross your fingers…

Listen to me. What a nasty complainer. It’s just the crappy month talking; I’ll be fine this time next week! It’s funny: We always find ourselves saying “I love Korea” and lapping up the culture on the weekends, then cursing Koreans’ bali-bali (hurry-hurry) mindset during the week. With a better job, this could be so idyllic. That’s why people come back for more: They can’t refuse the opportunity to do it right. (”Right,” for anyone who’s considering following our lead, is coming to Korea on your own dime, staying in jjimjilbangs for $10 a night, and interviewing potential bosses in person. Native English speakers are so in demand here that we can call the shots, but you can’t enforce a promise made on the phone by your recruiter who is nice but assumed too much. It’s worth the 500-buck flight! Anyway, that’s why people come back.) We might come back. But first, we MUST see our new little niece. She’s set to arrive in Sacramento any day!

Stay tuned for happier posts. We’re actually, finally, for-real going to Seoul at the end of this cursed period. We’re getting a four-day weekend beginning next Thursday, so we’re taking the night train Wednesday after work. We can’t wait!

Hey, all. Well, this week we’ll officially hit the 1/3 mark. It’s sad to celebrate time’s passing at our age, but it IS nice to know that we’ll bask in the sun in a slim eight months. Actually, we’ll do it sooner than that: Spring is supposed to be gorgeous here. But that’s not CALIFORNIA sun, and there’s a difference. I’m looking forward to September.

But don’t read that and feel sorry for us–please! We’re enjoying ourselves. I probably only long for salsa and sunshine because I’m taking saunas and kimchi for granted right now. A week after I get back I’ll try to recreate the jjimjilbang experience, and I’ll go to some fancy day spa and sit in a tiny tub with nudity-phobic prudes in robes (like I used to be) and choke on the $35 price tag–if I even get that lucky. No, I LOVE Korea. I just miss you guys. And salsa. And real coffee. And Netflix.

We had an uneventful New Year’s. Some of our friends went to Seoul, but since everyone in the country was doing the same thing (and since we’re loners who really like sightseeing together), we hung out in Ulsan and went to one of the foreigner’s parties. It was okay. Nobody knew the words to Auld Lang Syne, though.

Now the holidays are over, and our intense period–the student’s winter vacation from regular school–is beginning. We’re working normal-person hours this month: 9 to 5 some days, 9 to 7:40 twice a week. I actually saw the sunset today–something you miss when you’re working the swing shift. It was pretty.

I’m making Joel bean burgers tonight, and he’ll be home any minute (today was his 9 to 7:40 day). I’ll sign off for now.

Hope you all had fun New Year’s celebrations. See you in 2007!

Love, Heather