주말에경주 (weekend at Gyeongju)

The grammar is probably all wrong with that Korean, but I say meh. This trip was the prize for placing in the teaching contest. It was a bit of a throwback to the EPIK day trip, as it included a temple and some EPIK teachers, but that's about where the resemblance ended. We saw a temple, a cave where a stone sitting buddha was inside. The original buddha was destroyed by the Japanese (and my friends upon hearing this all replied with "of course!"). I had a hotel room to myself because I didn't really make friends with any of the other female native teachers that day, and Sunday was mostly a bust to me because the museum we went to wasn't really my thing. Artifacts and architectural history doesn't thrill me. 


The process of planning Thailand is slow. I added flights from Bangkok to the island of Phuket on my credit card. Getting online banking set up with my Korean bank has been super lame dramz. If I see my co-teacher today, I'm going to enlist his help with this... The process of signing in online is complicated to put it lightly. First I have to "issue a certificate" online- which I think means download and save to a usb. I can't get past the first step as of right now because entering my information yields a "we're sorry, but you are not registered for PC/internet banking." Bull. 

This week the school has been undergoing finals. Today's the last day and a normal schedule resumes tomorrow. Next Wednesday to Friday is a "training" trip for students. Teachers go, too. yay. And the last week before Christmas, I've been forced into singing an American Christmas carol. If I can get my other co-teacher to lend me his guitar I'm cool with it. I don't do this a cappella stuff. 


There really isn't a whole lot going on right now. A teacher lifted up his shirt the other day to reveal a sign that said "I <3 MG" (MG for MeGan), a stunt between him and another teacher. His brother suggesting (joking of course...) the 3 of us room together for the school trip because it'd be fun, to which I replied that his wife just might not approve. My heating pipes (they fill with hot water and warm the floor) breaking for a second time, forcing me to move out for a week while the entire floor is destroyed and fixed. I've been staying with John, but really, his apartment is too small to accommodate 2 people for extended periods of time. We're tripping over each other's stuff all the time, and it's just. Crowded. My pipes were first fixed Thanksgiving day in a hurried 1 day thing. So now it's new cement in the entire apartment, and I'm wondering if they're going to put everything back where, or close to where it was originally when they finish. I visited yesterday to get my passport, and I hadn't before thought about the extend to which they were uprooting all my stuff. Which was to the maximum. 


Unless they plugged in my fridge, which is sitting outside my door, all my food is gone. My stuff has been stuffed into suitcases and boxes that were around, and who the hell knows where my furniture when. And who the hell knows if I'll find everything again. I guess more has happened lately than I would've considered. 

There's been some drama about what native teachers can and can't do during winter break (the equivalent to summer). New rules were imposed as of yesterday, the school year ends Christmas Eve. After being told that we can apply for "home research"- a glorified way of saying I'm not coming into school to work, but will "work" at home instead- during a city wide "training" day (and yes, all these quotations are valid and necessary) the new notice said native teachers aren't eligible for this. Nor are we allowed to stay home even of the Korean teachers do. Native teachers are expected to work from 9-5 all through break, in addition to the English camps most schools hold, and any other additional things that principals want us to do. Many of my friends have an extra week of camps tacked on to their original 2 weeks, and aren't happy. I think a lot of it is the fact that if we were told sooner, and if this were more organized, we'd roll with it a little more. But it also feels like they're really pushing the limits with us, and continuously adding on more job requirements. 


Fortunately for me, my co-teacher didn't like this notice, so as he put it, he begged the principal and vice principal not to make me come in during break. His argument is there's no one here, no English camps at my school because many live in other cities, and thus not a lot to do during break. I think something may be arranged so I don't have to be in school, but there will be a work plan because the MOE (ministry of edu) will be doing check-ins to make sure we're doing what they want us to be doing. So if I do get to stay home, I have to stay nearby so I can make an emergency trip to the school in the event of an MOE visit. At least after 5 and weekends, I'm free to do whatever.


On a happier note: 

it's almost FRIDAY. The school year is winding down, and I'm looking forward to Christmas shopping this weekend. Because that stuff seriously needs to be in the mail next week. My feet are going to be toasty warm again this winter thanks to John and my new chocolate Uggs! (ugly, yes. Warm, a more important yes) The clothing is glorious here, and a constant tempter. :( I'm thinking about saving a chunk of money for a shopping trip in February- in addition to the cost of Thailand and money to send home as savings. Yeah. Possibly doable.