As one simply assumes that the sun will make a daily appearance, so I've always assumed that it was simply a natural law that a person cannot contract more than one miserable illness at a time.
Then, this weekend, I found myself host to the stomach flu AND walking pneumonia.
I must admit, I opened the curtains this morning a bit worried that the sun might not be there either.
;)
When I can consume more than toast and sleep less than 12 hours, I will write all about Seoul and post a miriad of pictures. Until then, be wary of all those so called "natural laws" :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
A day of firsts...
When I arrived at my school, nigh seven months ago, there were many things impressed upon me by the outgoing English teacher I was replacing. But there were two things she made extra sure to impress upon me
1) The Japanese staff absolutely dislikes the foreign staff. Do not attempt to befriend them, as such attempts will be in vain. You'll be lucky if they say hello to you in the morning and goodbye to you at night.
2) While there are many wretched students to be dealt with, the most wretched, the most horrid, the most evil is one little 7 year old boy named...Itsuki. He is a nightmare and incredibly (and I quote) "dumb dumb DUMB" so the best advice is to not try to teach him at all. Just keep him distracted so he doesn't destroy anything or anyone.
Those are not particularly the most encouraging things to learn on your first week in a foreign country, in a new job. I distinctly remember writing home to my family, absolutely depressed at the situation I was walking into. But at the end of my letter, I told my Mom that I was resolved to have the best attitude possible. Just because the Japanese staff was cold didn't mean I had to be. And just because Itsuki was bad didn't mean I had to treat him badly in return. When Dawn arrived, I filled her in on the situation and she came to the same conclusion as me.
In the beginning, it seemed a hopeless cause. When I asked the Japanese staff to lunch, they'd just smile and shake their heads. When I said hello to Itsuki he might reply with a "How are you?" if he was in a good mood. But slowly...ever so slowly...Dawn and I started to notice a change.
Then today...today...
Every Friday, Dawn and I go to lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. And every few weeks, I invite one of my co-workers to join but she always turns me down.
But today, she stopped by my classroom to confirm a meeting for later on in the afternoon.
"Will that work?" She asked "You and Dawn will still have time to go to lunch?"
"Yep!" I replied
She paused for a second and then said "Maybe I'll come with you..."
I nearly fell out of my chair.
After what was, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable and laughter filled lunches, I returned to work. A few hours later, Itsuki trotted in the door. To my delight and surprise he leapt into my arms and unprompted asked "How are you?!"
I almost burst into tears.
This has been an unbelievable day of firsts, of things I was told were impossible. Dawn and I keep joking that we're taking an "accelerated growing up" course - but in part it's true. Today, I learned that sometimes things can change if you are dedicated and loving, inspite of everything. As silly as it seems, I feel like...Christie or Anne of Green Gables.
And now, to another first....
packing...for KOREA!
1) The Japanese staff absolutely dislikes the foreign staff. Do not attempt to befriend them, as such attempts will be in vain. You'll be lucky if they say hello to you in the morning and goodbye to you at night.
2) While there are many wretched students to be dealt with, the most wretched, the most horrid, the most evil is one little 7 year old boy named...Itsuki. He is a nightmare and incredibly (and I quote) "dumb dumb DUMB" so the best advice is to not try to teach him at all. Just keep him distracted so he doesn't destroy anything or anyone.
Those are not particularly the most encouraging things to learn on your first week in a foreign country, in a new job. I distinctly remember writing home to my family, absolutely depressed at the situation I was walking into. But at the end of my letter, I told my Mom that I was resolved to have the best attitude possible. Just because the Japanese staff was cold didn't mean I had to be. And just because Itsuki was bad didn't mean I had to treat him badly in return. When Dawn arrived, I filled her in on the situation and she came to the same conclusion as me.
In the beginning, it seemed a hopeless cause. When I asked the Japanese staff to lunch, they'd just smile and shake their heads. When I said hello to Itsuki he might reply with a "How are you?" if he was in a good mood. But slowly...ever so slowly...Dawn and I started to notice a change.
Then today...today...
Every Friday, Dawn and I go to lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. And every few weeks, I invite one of my co-workers to join but she always turns me down.
But today, she stopped by my classroom to confirm a meeting for later on in the afternoon.
"Will that work?" She asked "You and Dawn will still have time to go to lunch?"
"Yep!" I replied
She paused for a second and then said "Maybe I'll come with you..."
I nearly fell out of my chair.
After what was, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable and laughter filled lunches, I returned to work. A few hours later, Itsuki trotted in the door. To my delight and surprise he leapt into my arms and unprompted asked "How are you?!"
I almost burst into tears.
This has been an unbelievable day of firsts, of things I was told were impossible. Dawn and I keep joking that we're taking an "accelerated growing up" course - but in part it's true. Today, I learned that sometimes things can change if you are dedicated and loving, inspite of everything. As silly as it seems, I feel like...Christie or Anne of Green Gables.
And now, to another first....
packing...for KOREA!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Poker Face
Last week, I asked one of my semi-bilingual students to bring her favorite Japanese comic book to class. I figured we could go through it and she could tell me the story. So yesterday, she arrived and, after telling me about her preparations for her first in year highschool (the Japanese school year starts in April) she excitedly pulls out her comic book.
She flips to page one. A young girl is sitting on a bed, with a man standing over her.
"This is a story about a girl who is...a..." She pauses and says the word in Japanese. "Do you know?"
I shake my head. "She's a what? Can you tell me what she does?"
And that's when I look over at page...two, which in absolutely no uncertain terms, shows me exactly what she does.
"Oh! She's a...prostitute?!" I say, trying my best to control my face from contorting into any number of shocked expressions. My student nods eagerly and moves right onto page three, while I sit there wondering if she even knows what she's looking at and what parent would let their 14 year old have something like that.
She happily left her books with me and within 15 seconds of her leaving class, I raced over to Dawn's room, turned to page one and waited for her reaction. Luckily, she was allowed to react the way I wasn't. I believe it went something like "What's she doi-OH MY GOD..." and then side splitting laughter.
Sometimes, if you don't laugh, you'll cry.
Anyway...things are going well. It was 60 degrees this weekend. I went out without a coat and almost wept with delight. But the temperatures have dropped back down to the 40's. Bleh.
Two weeks from today, I'll be just returning from Korea! Ah, the countdown begins. Anyone have any suggestions for our tour of Seoul?
She flips to page one. A young girl is sitting on a bed, with a man standing over her.
"This is a story about a girl who is...a..." She pauses and says the word in Japanese. "Do you know?"
I shake my head. "She's a what? Can you tell me what she does?"
And that's when I look over at page...two, which in absolutely no uncertain terms, shows me exactly what she does.
"Oh! She's a...prostitute?!" I say, trying my best to control my face from contorting into any number of shocked expressions. My student nods eagerly and moves right onto page three, while I sit there wondering if she even knows what she's looking at and what parent would let their 14 year old have something like that.
She happily left her books with me and within 15 seconds of her leaving class, I raced over to Dawn's room, turned to page one and waited for her reaction. Luckily, she was allowed to react the way I wasn't. I believe it went something like "What's she doi-OH MY GOD..." and then side splitting laughter.
Sometimes, if you don't laugh, you'll cry.
Anyway...things are going well. It was 60 degrees this weekend. I went out without a coat and almost wept with delight. But the temperatures have dropped back down to the 40's. Bleh.
Two weeks from today, I'll be just returning from Korea! Ah, the countdown begins. Anyone have any suggestions for our tour of Seoul?
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