If only everything were so easy…

This week has been FABULOUS!! I’ve already mentioned the weather, now I should mention my work week. In a nutshell, 1/2 my classes had quizzes ~ they write for about 30-35 minutes, hand in their papers, and are done for the day. The other 1/2 of my classes had MT’s, which means they’re not there at all. From what I can gather, and MT consists of 1st year students milling about between piles of small suitcases, rows of big busses, and stacks of beer cases. Eventually, the students get on the bus, the suitcases go under the bus, and the beer follows behind on a truck. Everything disappears for 2~3 days.

So today for example, I showed up for my 9am class. Only 5 students were there. I chatted with them for a bit, then sent them home. My next class, I gave them a quiz, then sent them home. My last class was entirely empty, so I sent myself home. As I was leaving the building, I saw my students and their luggage spilling out of a returned bus. The beer was gone. They called me over for a few minutes and I discovered that they had spent the last 3 days at Pohang beach. A few of the more bleary-eyed guys also revealed where the beer had disappeared to. And there you have it. It looks as though, whether I like it or not, the work “hangover” is going to be in next weeks vocabulary. I’ve done almost no teaching whatsoever this week, and Monday is a holiday. (However, I’ve now got 300 quizzes to mark….)

Incentive…

My tutor is awesome. The other day he says “Janice, I made you a present. If you get all the answers on this page right, I’ll give it to you.” sweet. So, I concentrated as hard as my little brain could, and got everything right. He reached into his pocket and handed me a beautiful earring. Just one. Then, with a laugh he tells me that if I want to be able to wear them as a pair, I need to get the next page right as well. So, eventually, I prevailed and now have a gorgeous pair of black earrings as a hard earned reward! I still despair that I will never be able to hold a decent conversation in Korean, but I’m studying much harder than I expected I would!

In horticultural news, the cherry trees are in full blossom, and line every lane and path on campus. Absolutely beautiful. For those of you familiar with the sight, it looks similar to Anne of Green Gables and her first drive with Matthew through the orchard. Not quite as breathtaking, but close enough.

Oh, and for those of you concerened either with my safety, or the safety of nearby pedestrians, I didn’t buy Chris’ scooter. I’m still riding my little Marry Poppins basket-in-front bike.

Too many nipples…

Yes, you read that right. There are too many nipples. 27 to be exact. The new office has now been decorated ~ with a whole lot of nude paintings. There are 27 nipples between the elevator and my desk. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any objections to art. And the pictures are quite nice. But there are SO many of them lining the hallway. However, in the stairwells, there are some fabulous photos. There is a whole series of black and white photos from the late 19th, early 20th Century Korea. So, combine the excrutiatingly slow elevator with the fascinating photography, I’ve been taking the stairs pretty often. Unfortunately, I’m still subjected to ‘nipple row’.