Wow.

So, this has been a crazy week so far, and it's only Tuesday.
Yesterday was pretty eventful. My school day was pretty standard. Classes, one good, one actually great. We covered everything that I wanted to, and on top of that, I taught my class a magic trick! sweet! Sure, it's the lame magic trick where you pretend to pull your finger off, but still, I finally know that I have imparted useful knowledge to them. They will be entertaining little cousins and nieces and nephews for decades to come, and it's all because of me!
My teacher's workshop was alright, but not great. The woman who dominated them last year is being eclipsed by a few others now, and I think she is getting shy because she's no longer the best in there. The woman who freaked me out in the first meeting is quickly becoming my favourite. Her level is good, vocabulary-wise, but her pronunciation and grammar needs work. She manages to communicate well though, because she keeps trying again and again. She also doesn't bring a dictionary to the workshop, which I really like. Everyone else is beeping and clicking away throughout, and she just asks for clarification.
She's planning on taking a test in the summer to try and win a trip to study abroad. She asked me yesterday if I would be able to help her study for the reading comprehension part by bringing articles and such for her. She's offering to pay, which I told her she had to ask about, so I guess we'll find out. I'd honestly do it for free though, it's a littl emore work, but I'd rather do a little extra work for an enthusiastic student than sit around and type in my blog all day/play kingdom of loathing (link).
Then I had a great piano lesson. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm learning things, rather than just memorizing, so my enthusiasm is THROUGH THE ROOF now. Well, as through the roof as it could possibly be with me wanting to leave after 45 minutes rather than stick out the hour.

Then I got home, and got to catch up with Jessie. I had been receiving e-mail updates all day, and combined with the previous conversations I have come to the conclusion that someone is playing a horrible practical joke on her.
Let me summarize the work situation:
She teaches at the school that has the lowest english levels in the province. I don't know, but I'm willing to bet, that Jeollanamdo, the breadbasket of Korea, probably has among the lowest english levels in the country. So, you can see where this is leading us...
Her coteacher is a cartoon. Not a loveable cartoon, like Garfield, but the unreal person-type cartoon like David Brent/Micheal Scott of the office. That person who always messes things up, forgets everything, seem totally self-centered, and then as soon as you are ready to explode, they do something sweet and/or pathetic that makes it impossible to be angry because you now owe/pity them. This woman forgets classes, doesn't help Jessie with her prep (or says she will, and then shows up for class having not done it), drops classes on Jessie fifteen minutes after they have started, can not speak english, and tells Jessie to teach her conversation class (which can't answer questions such as "What . day . is . after . Tuesday?") "conversation". How do you teach kids who don't know numbers and the days of the week "conversation"? If you know, please post a comment.
Her principal is clearly insane. He has every gimmick on the brain to teach english, and ignores the obvious problem of his Korean english teachers not speaking English in class. He wants an english-only zone (or, as the coteacher calls it "EOG! You know, Englishee onully Joan!") where only english may be spoken, and thus no students will be able to go. He wants Jessie to run an english conversation club after school (which she now does three days a week) sans coteacher to children who do not understand sentences like "Take out your books". And he has no idea how ridiculous any of this is... That's really the scary part. It's not that Jessie doesn't want to teach, it's that a person with no Korean ability has a little difficulty communicating to a class with no english ability without a Korean teacher to translate commands.
Oh yeah, and there's the whole issue of the commute being an hour longer (each way) than was in the contract. And the fact that Jessie isn't allowed to leave a few minutes earlier to get the first bus (rather than wait half an hour for the next one) because the teachers (who all leave early and drive home in their own vehicles) will get jealous. I'm sorry, they leave early AND are not a slave to the bus schedule? Yeah, and they might get jealous.

So the latest insanity on that front has to do with the visit of Jessie's parents. We're both getting pretty excited for the visit. I'm excited to finally see someone from Canada, show them some things, and go "THAT's what I've been talking about!". And then they'll say "I would not believe it if I had not seen it with mine own eyes!"
Anyways, they are arriving in Seoul on Thursday, and we are meeting them on Friday. Jessie runs her after school classes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Last week, being told on Tuesday that this was going to start on Wednesday, she was pretty upset (no notice, plus all the reasons listed above) and scrambled to prepare the first few lessons, including a list of class rules which her coteacher said she would but never did translate into Korean. ANyways, after scrambling to prepare (in her words, "running around like a chicken with its head cut off!") she has one class, and then has it cancelled on Thursday (not officially, just no students showed up, possibly because they did not understand when Jessie said "We meet again tomorrow" the day before) and on Friday for a school picnic.

Sorry this is jumping around, there is just so much random crap to say. More on the coteacher's cartoonness... The teachers at the picnic were responsible for preparing games for their homeroom's students. ome teachers had full games going, with water balloons, lots of fun. What does Jessie's coteacher bring? A handkerchief and a broom handle. Her games were a horrible shadow of "duck duck goose" with the handkerchief and limbo with the brromstick. The handkerchief game involved students in a circle looking forward with one student running around them with a handkerchief. He would drop the handkerchief behind someone, and then run aronud the circle with that person chasing them (goose!). The only problem was that the kids had to look forward, so how the hell do they know when the handkerchief gets dropped? Answer: they don't. The game went on for a really long time, apparently, and no-one ever won. The limbo game was a bust too, because Mrs Cheong started low and lifted it high... until someone corrected her. But there was no order, it was just kids sitting around while one or two showed off.
WHAT A GREAT PICNIC!

Okay, back to Jessie's parents. So, we were supposed to meet them in Seoul by taking the 4:09 train. But then yesterday, Jessie was told that she can't leave early, she has to do her extra class. So now we have to take a train at 7:30, and arrive late to meet them.
Now, you're probably thinking "Matt, teaching this extra class is her job. I really think you are taking this a little too personally. She's a teacher with a class she gets payed to teach, and it's her job to do it. She should just consider herself lucky that she got next week off."
Well, touche there guy, I guess I'll just shut up and go home.

BUT WAIT! NO!

This would be no problem if not for a few other reasons.

1. Jessie was already told she could leave early, and made plans.
2. After school classes are usually taught on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Jessie's is on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because she travels to other schools on Mondays. That means that last week, the reason why no-one showed up on Thursday was because a) they didn't understand when Jessie told them to come, and b) they usually have no class on Thursdays, they usually have it on Monday instead. Jessie was not travelling this week, so she came to her normal school on Monday (yesterday). She was told that she could not have her class yesterday because the paperwork was not correct for it, and the principal (remember, he's insane) would not approve the switch because of red tape, bla bla bla. So she has to stay on Friday. But wait! During after-school class time (Jessie's still there so the other teachers don't get jealous) her class shows up!!!!!!
   
   !!!
   
   She is told she must not teach them, but has to send them home, because of the paperwork, and lack of approval from above. Oh yeah, and she definitely has to stay on Friday now.
3. eh? EH?
4. C'MON!
5. I mean, COME. ON!

So anyways... her school is insane. Luckily, she is able on most days to have a good time even though she has lots to complain about. Something always goes wrong, and mistakes in communication are always made, whether it's about when a class will be or IF a class will be, but at least she has her grade ones, who seem to be pretty awesome.