long time no update

i wrote this like a week ago or so but i'm just now posting it:

long time no write. i don't write as much as i used to because blogspot is always blocked at korean schools and i don't have much time outside of work. i've been trying to stay busy so i can get through the rest of my contract here in korea.

first of all - i've said it before and i'll say it again, i do not regret coming to korea one bit. sometimes i wish i had only stayed 2 years instead of 3 but that would have meant that we wouldn't have saved more money, we wouldn't have gone to japan a second time, we wouldn't be going to se asia this winter and we wouldn't have had all the fun times that we've had with our friends here. plus i might not have realized just how much i don't want to be a teacher or how much i'd like to be an event/wedding planner :o) so it's good we stayed a 3rd year.

i've experienced so much while living in korea i wouldn't change it for the world.

but...i'm ready to leave lol it's time! teaching has been driving me absolutely bonkers. what i can't stand is when i tell a students to do something like 100 times and they still act like they've never heard of what i'm talking about before. such as, bringing a pencil to class. it's quite simple- this is school, you need a pen or pencil! lol it's not rocket science. yet everyday i have to send students back to their classes to get a pencil and they act all put out. another thing is when i am standing at the front trying to explain the lesson and i know not everyone is listening. some of them are even talking over me. i can get them all quiet at the same time for about a nanosecond. so i say each directions at least 2-3 times and then it turn to my co-t who then explains everything in korean because they didn't listen to me. and then! i go around to see if the students need any help and about half of them are sitting there doing nothing. i say- why don't you start? and they're like what? how? i don't know! and i'm like...you've got to be kidding me. we just spent 15 mins. explaining this to you in english AND korean with visuals and you just flat out didn't pay attention at all. i don't have time to go around and explain everything to each individual student. i can't hold all their hands through everything ya know?

and it just comes down to them being lazy smartelics. they literally never want to do anything ever at all period. so what do i do with that? how do i do my job exactly? the answer is: i can't. i can stand up there and babble all i want but it's not gonna change a thing. the students are overworked and they have no respect for teachers. i blame the teachers and the parents. the parents work so much because they think everyone in korea MUST be rich or you should just kill yourself. so the parents aren't there for the kids. they have them stay at school or a private academy day in and day out for hours and hours at a time. my high school students are at school from 7am to 10pm everyday. i think they get to leave at 6pm on sat. woohoo. so my job is basically impossible. i'm getting paid to go through the motions. most students are probably not learning much. some of them may find my lesson interesting at the time but they won't remember any of the info later. it's ridiculous. so i've gotten to the point where i don't care anymore. i just have to churn out a lesson and get through my time here. sad but true.

my main co-teacher is still driving me insane. as soon as i start to feel for her and maybe even kinda like her she'll do something else completely insane/rude/clueless and i'm back to wanting to avoid her. again, sad but true.

some of my other co-teachers are cool. one of them is married and has a one year old son and she invited me over to her house for dinner one night. her husband had to work late and she doesn't like eating dinner alone, or cooking lol so i picked up some food and took it over there and cooked it. her apt. was SO NICE! i had never been in a korean's apt. before (believe it or not, after almost 3 years of living here...koreans just don't invite people to their houses much). well i take that back, i had been to ONE single korean guy's apt. once which was fun and interesting but going to a married couple's house is different. they have more money and bigger places lol she had a HUGE kitchen! it had a 4-burner stove, a normal built-in oven AND a dishwasher! none of a which a foreigner's apt. ever has. which i of course understand. the city/schools aren't going to pay for foriegners to have nice apts. with all the amenities. it was just so shocking to see a normal apt. in korea for the first time. lol i made moroccan veggies with couscous and she liked it. her one year old boy is so adorable! he has really chubby cheeks :o) after dinner we just hung out, talked, watched tv and the baby. it was fun :o)

anyway, here's what else i've been up to: we had a huge halloween party here in mokpo at p club. proceeds went to the local orphanage. jens and i dressed up as bond and a bond girl, honey thighs rushing lol at the party there was a bake sale, jack-o-lantern contest. costume contest, a dungeon, tarot cards readings (by jens lol he doesn't actually know how to read them but he made up funny stuff :o) there were drinks and dancing and lots of fun had! it was a great time!

we had a picnic on yudal with some friends one day. it was the last really nice day of the year. quite warm and sunny :o)

we've been riding bikes/taking the bus to and from school since we lost our scooter. i'm still pretty depressed about losing the scooter but biking and busing hasn't been too bad. i haven't biked in a while because it got cold but the buses are really warm.

jens got some guys together to form a band. they call themselves the amazing sex lol they had a concert on the 21st at a bar called moe's. it's owned by a canadian/korn couple (i think he's canadian...might be american). anyway, the show went pretty well. the sound system wasn't very good but it was still fun :o)

jens has also gotten some guys together to play dungeons and dragons once a week.

i had a betting pool going with some girls for american's next top model. we all put money in and bet on the girl we thought would win. if you picked the winner you got the money! we've done it 3 times now. it's pretty fun. i one the first time but not this time. we just watched the finale last weekend.

this weekend jens and i are hosting thanksgiving and we're making all the food! we got a turkey and everything! it'll be the first time we've ever done this - the first time to host it at our place, make all the food and make a turkey. hope it all goes well! abby and jason are gonna help us sat. so that'll be good :o) about 15 people will be joining us sunday for a late thanksgiving lunch :o) i can't wait! i love t-day food and festivities :o)

a couple days after that we'll decorate for christmas which i also love! it'll finally be ok to listen to xmas music ALL THE TIME! yaaaaaaaaay! lol i think the christmas season will really help me get through dec. without losing my mind lol i'm just really homesick and tired of teaching.

but we've got a lot going on in dec. every weekend and then some is already booked! the first weekend i'll be going to my friend amanda's baby shower/ girls night out on this island where she and her family lives and that should be fun. it'll be nice to get out of mokpo. we pretty much haven't gone anywhere since the scooter was stolen.

then dec. 8th is abby's baby's 100 day party (they have those parties for babies in korea because back in the day it was a real feat for a kid to make it to 100 days.) 2nd weekend we'll be having a big xmas party with two of our friends at their apt. we want to re-create jens's parents xmas party they have every year with lots of food, music, a mini talent show and christmas caroling. funfunfun! i can't wait! i think it's gonna be great! then the next fri. amazing sex will be performing an electric show at moe's and the next night on sat. they'll do an acoustic show at moe's costume christmas party. i dunno what costume i'm going to wear yet...can't think about that now lol then of course the last weekend in dec. is christmas! and thank goodness it's on a friday this year so we get a 3-day weekend. korean teachers/students only get xmas day off of work and that's it!

i dunno what our new year's plans are yet. two of our best friends here (abby and jason) are leaving dec. 30th so we can't spend it with them :o( but i think some of our other friends might be around so i'm sure we'll be able to celebrate with with someone. the reason we have to stay in mokpo is because jens might have a winter camp. we're not totally sure because they might cancel it due to swine flu. but all the kids at his school recently got the vaccine so they may have it afterall.

after that we'll be on vacation! i can't wait! it's gonna be so awesome! we're going to laos, cambodia, thailand, malaysia and singapore! :o) won't be back til end of feb. still in the process of confirming dog-sitters but i think it'll work out!

anyway, i'm tired of typing so i'm gonna go now!