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This is going to kill me! Morning classes have begun now that the kids are on winter vacation. I have been up at 8:00 every morning this week and with the exception of last night in bed by midnight, and I am a mess! I don’t know how I am going to get through the next 3 and a half weeks.
Yesterday was particularly bad (although I was a little hungover on top of being up bleeding early on it.) I threw a tantrum because one of my students who I have been having problems with for months continues to give me the shits during class. Hopefully he is getting moved to another class…but we will have to wait and see.
And it just feels like everyone is on my case for this, that or the next thing. I don’t know why I feel so grotty, I have been getting a good 8 hours sleep…maybe it’s just the shift in times that is fucking me over. On top of this I have an extra class twice a week so I am back to only the one free period a week.
One of the (few) upshots of working in the mornings is lunchtime - a whole hour in which I get lunch bought for me. Good Korean Nosh.
Anyway - HAPPY NEW YEAR! it was a relativly quiet night in retrospect. Had a few beers and came home to watch the clock pass midnight and then went to bed. I had entertained ideas of waiting up for the sunrise to take a few photos of the first sunrise of the year but the weather was pretty shitty and it was bleedin’ cold - so no joy.
And so the new year began and already I have fulfilled one of my New Year’s Resolutions in that I hae started taking Korean lessons from Sophia, (Who I seem to be seeing a lot of lately.)
So now, with only 3 lessons I can say heaps of useful things like:
나는맥주를좋아해요
I like beer.
나는토마토를별로안좋아해요
I don’t like tomatoes much.
서울은매우복잡하다
Seoul is very crowded
And I can ask useful questions like:
뭐하고싶어요?
What do you want to do?
And I can reply
나는신문를읽고싶어요
I want to read the newspaper
(And no! These aren’t Google translations)
Wholly useful phrases to know. But as I have come to learn if you start saying stuff in Korean readily assume you are a true linguaphone, have a complete mastery of the language and start speaking at you at 100km/h expecting an answer, to which I usually have to reply with a stupid look on my face. Nevertheless Learning a language is fun and Sophia is a pretty good teacher. I have offered to pay her but she is happy to receive some English tuition in return - We’ll see how long it lasts after she figures out I’m one of the dumbest asses on the planet! (Or am I just abjectly lazy?)
In other news
I managed to go out and have dinner and get half a bottle of J&B into me with Ken and James on Monday night. "Long time no see" was the mantra of the evening and a good time was had by all. Due to many requests over the course of the evening because I kept flashing the new phone please find below a picture of "International Star" (His words not mine) James Kim:
Ken eating 갈비.
Mmmmm! Pork rinds.
The Aftermath!
James - in that he often travels to Japan for work brought me back some good (i.e. stronger than Korean durries) cigarettes.
And finally for the picture roundup…who is that guy on the right?
Ken is moving his family to Shanghai in early February. He will still be in Nonsan regularly since is manufacturing plant is here and we will be able to catch up, moreover it gives me a good excuse to head over to Shanghai sometime this year - I am thinking Chusok.
‘The Boss’ stumbled across a cheaper airfare to New Zealand through Lotte Tours (Only W912000 as opposed to W1339000 quoted by Korean Air) so we booked that this morning. Jolly good that. It, after all, only 59 days until I go. (oooooh Yeah!).
And Finally I have to say Google Earth is the bestest new funnest Toy I have. Go you good Google Go!
