My title is from Maroon 5. It seems fitting since I actually don't want to leave my bed or go out. Anyway, since my last post I haven't really healed like I expected. My cough came back with a vengeance one night last weekend. I had to go back for more and stronger medication this past week. The pain came back and it became pretty unbearable. I am happy to say that the medication is working and I am actually feeling as though I am recovering. Obviously, there is still a lot of pain when I move or even sleep, but my cough is, for the most part, gone and the pain is back to being tolerable. Believe it or not, this has been a pretty big hindrance in my daily activities. It makes me grumpy, really tired, not hungry... a zombie would fit my description pretty well. I didn't want to go out on weekends, I'd sleep as soon as my food digested from dinner, I didn't want to play StarCraft or go shopping for clothes I needed for fall, and I would be irritated at writing my personal statement every night.
I'm a very lucky girl, though. Ryan has been very patient and helping me pick up slack around home/school, albeit very worried and understandably stressed. My stress tends to rub on him and my stress level goes pretty high often. So I'm very appreciative of him letting me get porridge when he wants to have beef soup or something tasty. Good sport. :)Anyway, juicy news as I promised! I can't recall where I left off, but I remember stating that our school is supervisor-less. Well, just when we thought that was the worst of our news, the Korean staff lady, who is probably the last person able to help the school function and communicate with us, told us she was going to quit by the end of this month.
This was two weeks ago. Ryan and I started freaking out thinking we might need to look for another job ASAP, but we weren't too worried since we now have our TEFL certificates. (Thanks Mom and Dad for paying for that!) A week later, the Korean lady and I were talking as I was getting more medication and I casually asked what the other Korean lady she worked with was going to do since she would be the only person working at the school other than us. (The lady also doesn't speak English so we wouldn't be able to run things at the school smoothly.) She told me the other lady was also planning on quitting. So, my initial thought was, "Peachy." I couldn't believe how much drama goes on between adults. We heard lots of screaming and yelling from our boss behind walls, and we saw lots of frustration from the Korean lady that helps us with whatever we need.
To an extent, I feel sorry for the ladies that want to quit... but sometimes, I don't. The things they do aren't hard. Ryan and I observe these ladies as we switch every hour planning lessons: grading homework with answer keys (which takes all of 5 minutes a kid) and here's a shocker...shopping for clothes online! The lady packs a child's backpack, then sits down, goes "Ahh!!!" Mutters "so hard" in Korean, puts her head down and massages her back. Ryan and I think: "What??" This happens at least 10 times a day-- I will never understand it. I try giving her the benefit of the doubt by thinking she is trying to learn English as she grades, but at the same time, it's not her job to learn English. It's to look at an answer key, correct 14 multiple choice questions, and answer phone calls. Unnecessary stress or overly exaggerated is what it all seems like.
This past week, they stayed at the school til 12 decorating/making block signs. Ryan and I looked at each other thinking I could've done all of that in 1 hour at least. 2 hours max. It was crazy. Yesterday, however, was pretty hectic I admit. She didn't have time to slack... so I offered to help her grade, write in the kids' journals, and clean up. She was so stubborn about letting me grade for some reason... as if she didn't think I could do it or she just really wanted to do it even though she didn't have time?? So strange, but she eventually gave in because it only made sense that I do it and she was crunched for time. I finished it all in 10 minutes for five kids. Makes me wonder how much I would get paid if I had her job on top of teaching.
Things aren't bad here, though. These are just some pet peeves and worries.
Anyway, last week, we went on a field trip with the kindergarteners to a park near Bundang, which was fun. This week, two students that moved out of my class into Ryan's for a month, transferred back in because his class was too hard. Now my MWF 2-4 class, which is already tough to control, has 6 kids again. Whooo! Always up for a good challenge. :P Yesterday, the "hectic day" I mentioned was an early Halloween party for all classes Monday through Friday. They do something called Market Day where they have cards earned from the points Ryan and I give them, and they buy toys, stationaries, and other things. It was pretty fun and it made the week go by a lot faster.
Tomorrow, we are going to Yonsei because Ryan wants to show me around. I've only been there once and that was with my family a couple years ago. Should be fun, and I'm feeling well enough to do it! Long update and quite overdue. I can't remember if I'm leaving anything out, but if I remember anything it will be edited in this post with a big **EDIT** sign. :)
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