Ok, now that I am over my momentary glee of having the winter break, I can explain more fully...

We were going to approach the management about getting a winter break on Tuesday. The day before, I assume that word of it got to the director of our school. She preemptively announced that we would in fact be getting our winter break. I was pleasantly surprised - not only for the winter break, but also because it would mean that we wouldn't have to confront.

What else is new? Well, Terri and Chantel from Canada have arrived - Chantel has been here for about 2 or 3 weeks now and Terri is up to about a week now. In the past little while, I have been showing them around Korea - hopefully to get them accustomed to things so that they don't go screaming back to Canada with horror stories of how awful it is here. Chantel has had a rough time, I think. The foreigner teachers at her school aren't that friendly and the management seems to be especially nuts. Foreigners here joke about how every management team at every hagwon are pretty much a few bricks short of a full load, but I think Chantel's school are especially so from the stories she has told me so far. Comparatively, I think I'm pretty fortunate to be working at my school - I was singing a different tune a short while ago, but that's how it is here - you have ups and downs.

Terri seems to be liking it here (as far as I can tell). Her school is waiting for the old teacher to move out of her apartment, so she is staying in a hotel at the moment. Luckily, she will be teaching in Migeum and living in-between Ori and Migeum, so I'm looking forward to having another friend close by to go do things with.

I also got paid yesterday, which was nice. Really, I'm having a really good week.

Something is happening with my youngest students as well - I am lightening up and acting like a complete clown with them. It works WONDERS for keeping their attention and makes class much more enjoyable - it's a LOT more exhausting being energetic all the time with them, but I'm more able to handle it these days because I have been eating breakfast (which I don't normally do), and that gives me an extra boost of all-day-energy.

Other than those things, not much is new. I would like to go do some more travelling, but I need to work up the initiative to plan somewhere to go. The weather isn't as warm these days too, so travelling becomes a bit more of a unpleasant experience, and that drains my initiative even more... (drains my initiative... hmmm... sounds vaguely like an AD&D campaign with Michael M., Tom, Michael S., Dawn, and Trevor).

Right now, I'm on a break from school, but I need to head back soon. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I work from 10am to 12:20, then go for a 50-minute lunch, work from 1:10-2:30, have a 50-minute break, then finish the day by teaching elementary classes from 3:30-6:00. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my morning classes are the same, but after 2:30, I have a break until 5:30, which is great - except that I have to come back to school to teach another 50 minute class... it's nice to look forward to, but crappy when you don't want to come back to school. So, the whole point of this paragraph is to say that I am due back at school in about 15 minutes... *sigh*

I miss everyone at home, and wish I could spend a bunch of time socializing. Take care!