TGIF

Since the school day during the Winter Intensive quarter begins at 9 AM and ends at 9 PM, the staff has been taking turns bringing lunch to school. This week we had British steak and potatoes, chili, Korean pork and vegetables in a red pepper sauce, and Chinese take-out. Today was my turn to bring lunch. Since I've been feeling a little under the weather since Wednesday and since it's cold outside, I thought chicken noodle soup and a big salad would be good classically American foods to share with my friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I actually like to cook when I'm not the only person eating.After classes were over, K, M, and T took a guys' night out and went to see Sweeny Todd. Catherine and I had dinner together and then went over to H-k's for a girls' night in. I'm really impressed by how much English E and L picked up while they were in England this month. It's amazing how quickly young children learn. L kept saying "Just a minute" and "There's something interesting in here." E informed me that she sometimes calls me "Daddy" by mistake. I was definitely able to have better conversations with them in English than before their trip. We had fun reading stories, playing with stuffed animals, and wearing plastic tiaras. T, K, and M returned, and we all sat around the kitchen table talking. It was a nice evening, and I'm glad to have good friends.

Bless Her Heart

Just before class this afternoon, I saw L, one of my kindergarten students, talking to her mom in the lobby. She looked like she was about to cry. When it came time for class to start and L still wasn't there, I sent S, another student in the class, to see if she was coming. S came back and reported that L was crying in the bathroom with her mom.

"Is she okay?" I asked.
"I think so." S replied.
"Is she sick?"
"She's sad."
"What happened?"
"I don't know."

Since I knew her mom was taking care of whatever the problem was, I continued with the class and figured I'd find out later. L came to the classroom about 10 minutes to the end of the class.

"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded but didn't look okay.
"Are you sick?" I asked.
She shook her head no.
"Are you sad?" S asked.
She nodded yes.

I let the kids go out the door. Since I had another class starting in just a couple minutes, I didn't go out to the lobby with the kids, but a minute later, I heard another teacher in the hallway ask "L, why are you crying?" so I went out to see what was going on.

L was just on the verge of tears, standing there in the hall with another teacher and L's mom. Her mom said that L had something to talk to me about with H-k, the director at my school.

L, H-k, and I went into H-k's office. L looked liked she was about to start bawling. H-k and I squatted down to her eye-level. H-k explained that just before class, L was in the classroom alone and saw a piece of candy on my desk and put it in her mouth. Her mom happened to be standing in the doorway and watched her take it. She took her out of the classroom and told her that she can't just take things that aren't hers and that it's a shameful thing to help yourself to other people's food.

L is a very sweet and sensitive little girl, and this apparently cut her to the core, hence the crying episode in the bathroom.

As H-k explained all this as the two of us squatted at L's eye-level in H-k's office, L lost all composure and these big tears poured down her sweet little face. She was barely able to mutter "I'm sorry." My eyes started to tear up, too, but I held it together because I didn't want her to misinterpret my empathy as anger or sadness with her. I gave her a hug, and she clung to me. "Don't worry," I said. "We're still friends, okay?" She nodded. I looked her in her eyes. "L," I said, "it's okay. I'm not angry. You," I said pointing to her, "and I," I said pointing to me, "are friends."

She didn't smile, but she did pull herself together. I gave her some cookies for her and her little brother, and she, H-k, and I walked out to her mom in the lobby.

"Don't worry," I said as she walked out the door.

"Okay," she whispered and walked down the hall holding her mom's hand.

God bless her.

Creepy

I was awakened at 3:00 this morning by the sound of someone at my apartment door--not just knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, but actually pushing the buttons on the keypad and attempting to come in! I had the keypad disabled from the inside, as I always do at night, so I knew that even if they knew the combination or guessed correctly, that the door wouldn't open, so I wasn't too worried. I could hear male voices speaking in Korean in the hallway. When the keypad didn't work, they banged on the door. I didn't answer. They finally went away but came back a little while later and tried again.

I know a lot of Korean women and some Western men, but I only know a few Korean men, none of whom would be anywhere near my apartment at that hour of the morning, so I figured they were probably drunk and at the wrong place. Nevertheless, the sound of someone trying to enter my apartment was disconcerting. It made me realize that even though I know how to call the police, fire station, ambulance, etc., I don't know how to contact the security guards in my own building without actually going downstairs to the lobby. Why is this the first time this has occurred to me in the two years I've lived here?

Today I learned some important things. First, I learned that the "경비" button on the intercom in my room calls the security guard at the front desk of my building. Next, I learned that the "현관" button turns on the security camera at my door and allows me to see who is out there.

This evening H-k wrote a letter to the building security guards explaining what happened. When I returned to my building, the main security guards were taking a break, so I gave the letter to the man who was filling in. He read it, gave me a thumbs up, and left the letter on the desk. About 30 minutes later, the intercom rang. It was my favorite security guard saying I should come down to the lobby right then.

It was 10:00 PM, and I was already in my pajamas, but I got dressed and went downstairs. He was obviously concerned. He doesn't speak any English, but he told me that if it happens again, I should push the "경비" and someone will come up immediately, anytime day or night. Then he tried to tell me something else, but I didn't understand what he was saying. I asked him to call H-k and tell her so she could explain it to me, but he didn't understand what I was saying. He asked three or four people coming in or out of the building if they could speak English, but no one could. Finally a woman about my age came along and interpreted for us. As it turns out, she lives just down the hall from me. We've run into each other on occasion, but I don't really know her.

Through her, the security guard told me that his daughter lives in France, so he feels a special responsibility to help take care of the foreigners who live here. He was really sorry to hear what happened and said that anytime I need help, all I have to do is push the "경비" button and someone will come up.

T was also very concerned about what happened and gave me a short lecture for not calling him when it happened. He said if it ever happens again, I should call, and he'll be here in 5 minutes. I'm really not sure how he'll do that since it takes 10-15 minutes to get here from where he lives, especially at 3 AM when the buses aren't running and very few taxis are out, but nevertheless, it's nice to know that I have friends here who would try even to overcome time to help in an emergency.

Too Busy

2008 is off to a more than busy start. Korean public schools are on their winter break until the end of February, so our school is offering extra English classes. Elementary and middle school kids who usually come to our school 2 hours a day, 2-3 days a week are now coming for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. It's hard to keep track of the constant coming and going of kids throughout the day.

I'm teaching a special writing course for my bilingual 3rd-5th graders during our Winter Intensive and am so impressed by their progress even in this short time. I'm pushing them hard to develop their writing skills, and so far, they're rising to the challenge. Today, however, my 3rd-4th graders were acting burnt out and zombie-like, so I only assigned two sentences for homework. I usually assign a page of writing everyday. It amazes me how accustomed I've become to the Korean educational system--that I assign substantial homework, knowing their other teachers are doing the same, on their vacation. I sometimes need to remind myself that respecting Korean culture and trying to adapt to it doesn't mean I have to give up my own Western understanding that play time is an essential part of childhood, and Korean kids seem to get far too little of it.

I want to challenge my students to do their best, but I don't want to see them burnt out. I don't want them to become so hardened by tedium that they start to shut down that natural childlike curiosity that makes them such eager learners in the first place. I want my students to be confident readers, writers, speakers, and listeners but not at the expense of their enthusiasm. That balance can be a challenge to achieve, especially given the competitive nature of the educational culture here, but that's my goal as the person who has been trusted with this portion of their education.

A Year in Review

After 4 hours of sitting on the runway at O'Hare and 13 hours in the air, I have completed my 11th trip across the Pacific Ocean and am back in Korea. I had intended just to take a short nap so I could go into Seoul tonight. My short nap turned into an 8-hour nap, and I woke up at 11 PM, having slept right through my alarm clock. It looks like I'll welcome 2008 from my cozy little apartment.

2007 Year in Review

January--I returned to Korea on my 7th trip across the Pacific Ocean. Complications from a root canal sent me to the endodontist, my new hero. I experienced my first earthquake. I got my own classroom at the school.

February--I celebrated Lunar New Year with Catherine and her family. My pants split in class one day. I started teaching full time.

March--I traveled to Jeju Island for a 4-day vacation and climbed Mt. Halla, Korea's highest peak. I started working at the preschool in addition to my regular school. I stopped working at the church.

April--I watched the sunrise from the east coast of Korea and almost watched the sunset from the west coast on Easter. I helped coach Miss Korea. The staff of my school spent a weekend in the mountains.

May--Adorned with lanterns and spring flowers, May was Korea's prettiest month this year. I was the English-speaking MC for the inaugural ceremony of Educators without Borders. I watched the Lotus Lantern parade and visited two big temples in Seoul for Buddha's Birthday.

June--I walked through a big public market that got creepier the deeper I got into it. I moved to a bigger apartment that has a full-sized refrigerator and washing machine. I went to Chicago on my 8th trip across the Pacific Ocean.

July--I spent the whole month of July in the U.S. with my family. We celebrated Mom and Dad's 30th wedding anniversary by going to The Color Purple in Chicago. We drove around Lake Michigan on a family vacation.

August--On my 9th trip across the Pacific Ocean, I returned to Korea. It was a very hectic month at school.

September--The month for traveling. I visited the DMZ, North Korea, and China. The highlight was spending a day hiking on the Great Wall.

October--Beautiful weather meant October was the month to be outside. I went hiking at Songnisan and Gyeryongsan National Parks and took field trips with most of my students. I ended the month in Samsung Medical Center's emergency room with pneumonia and a kidney infection.

November--I joined the gym with Catherine and was very dedicated--for about a week. Everyone came to my apartment to celebrate Thanksgiving.

December--I helped clean up the oil spill at Mallipo in Taean County and was misquoted in a major Korean newspaper. I made my 10th trip across the Pacific to spend Christmas in Chicago. I made my 11th trip across the Pacific Ocean and am back in Korea.

While having lunch with friends in Galena last week, I broke a tooth, which means that the year has come full circle. I'll begin 2008 in much the same way I began 2007--I have an appointment with the endodontist on January 2nd.

Lunch

What: lunch
When: Thursday, December 27, 11 AM
Where: Happy Joe's, Galena
Questions: Call me at Grandma Shirley's Thursday morning. If you don't know her phone number, call Jane N. ;)

Pass it on! I'd love to see anyone who can make it.

Merry Christmas

I'm wishing all my friends and family a very merry Christmas and a healthy, happy, holy New Year!

It's been wonderful to be home in the Chicago area with my family this week. Last night, Mom, Dad, Sal, Grandma, and I went to church. This morning we opened presents. Later, the extended family came for Christmas dinner and more presents. It's a blessing to have such a loving, supportive family.

Christmas EveChristmas Day

Back to the Land of Lincoln

I flew to Chicago yesterday (Korea time), today (Chicago time). It was my 10th trip across the Pacific Ocean, not counting flying to Hawaii in 1990 and back in 1993. It was a thankfully-uneventful 14-hour nonstop flight. I had a window seat, and no one sat in the middle seat, so I had a little more room than I usually have on these long flights. Since I left Seoul in the evening, it was dark outside during the first half of the flight. However, just as we were flying over Alaska, the sun started to peek over the horizon. The light was perfect as we made our way over the Alaska Mountain Range. I looked out the window for over an hour, transfixed by the rugged, snow-covered mountains changing from dark blue to white to pink to orange as the sun came over the horizon. This is why I ask for a window seat. Interior Alaska in winter is not something I'm likely ever to see from the ground.Now I'm in Chicago. It's a very short trip this time, but I'm happy to be able to spend Christmas with my family.

I didn't say that

The father of one of my students called the school this afternoon to tell us that he read about me in an article about the oil spill clean-up in one of Korea's national newspapers. H-k found the article on the internet by searching google with my name in Korean. They got some facts right--my name, where I live, my age, and where I'm from--but the quote is completely wrong.

I was asked why I volunteered and what I thought about the clean-up effort. I said I was there for three reasons: 1) I use oil, so I have some responsibility for what happened. 2) I enjoy being outdoors and am concerned about the environment. 3) Though I'm not a Korean citizen, I am a resident of this country and have as much of a responsibility to help this country while I live here, as I do to help my home country when I live there.

I also said that I thought it was encouraging to see so many people working together to assist with the clean-up effort, and although it felt like slow progress and could be discouraging, we have to start somewhere, so I was glad to join everyone and help out.

That's what I said. H-k interpreted for me, and I have no doubt that she's a trustworthy interpreter.

However, I was quoted saying that I was amazed by Koreans' ability to come together to overcome this crisis, just like Koreans came together following the IMF crisis and while hosting the 2002 World Cup.

Huh? I've never in my life talked about the IMF crisis or the World Cup. So, Chosun Ilbo, thanks for thinking of me, but at least get my words close to right.

They published an interesting photo along with the article. It shows a section of beach near where we worked to show the progress that's being made to clean things up, mostly by hand. The first photo was taken on Dec. 9th and the second on Dec. 16th.Here's a link to the article, but it's all in Korean: 해변이 다시 숨쉬기 시작했다

Oil Clean-up

Today H-k and I joined nearly 32,000 other people from around Korea to help clean up the oil that has covered nearly 170 kilometers of Korea's west coast since a Hong Kong oil tanker and a Korean barge collided 8 kilometers from shore last Thursday, dumping 10,500 tons of crude oil into the West Sea (known outside Korea as the Yellow Sea).

We left our town at 7:30 AM and traveled by bus with an environmental group to Taean County where we spent four hours mopping up oil from the rocky beach with absorbant cloths and scooping mounds of oil-covered oyster shells into burlap sacks for safe disposal. It was cold and windy, and the sky occasionally spat snow and sleet on us, so we had to wear bulky layers of clothing under our protective suits, giving us an amazing resemblance to the Marshmallow Man. They don't let you work for more than four hours at a time because the exposure to the fumes and chemicals is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.

I felt fine while I was working, but on the bus on the way home, both H-k and I had a headache and felt dizzy and a little nauseous. That passed once I got off the bus, ate some dinner, and took a shower. Now my arms hurt from scrubbing rocks and bagging shells, and my legs hurt from squating on the rocks. The beach we worked on was not the hardest hit among the beaches on Korea's west coast yet the progress was just so slow, even with all the people working. We'd clean one section of beach and look down and see more oil. This spill is devasting to the natural environment, which consists significantly of coastal mudflats and is an important habitat for migratory birds, and also the local fishing, marine farming, and tourist industries. It felt hopeless, but as H-k said, we have to start somewhere.

I'm no dummy either

Today I overheard this conversation, in Korean, between two of my five-year-olds.

Laura: Ms EMH can speak Korean.
Aaron: No, she can't.
Laura: Yes, she can. She understands it, too.
Aaron: No, she doesn't. Watch this. (yelling) MS EMH IS A DUMMY!
Ms EMH: AARON! Don't say that!
Aaron: (whispering to Laura) Wow, she does understand Korean.

I was so pleased to have understood it all that I didn't mind being called a dummy so much.

More Christmas Tree Love

We've been taking class pictures in front of the Christmas tree this week.Finally, here's the Christmas tree in the center of town.Merry Christmas!

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

Joy put the Christmas tree up while the rest of us were teaching last night. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to help, but at least there were still a few Christmas ornaments left to be hung when my last class of the day was over. I love having the Christmas tree up at school. It's immediately in the entry way (and right in front of Joy's desk), so it's a cheerful welcome to the school. It makes the kids happy, too. Catherine, Grace, Joy, and I took some pictures in front of the tree tonight after all the kids had gone home.I'm not sure why we're doing this with our hands. It was Joy's idea. I told her I thought it was funny and that I would tell everyone I know that this is how Koreans smile for photos. That made everyone laugh.I love having the Christmas tree up at school. I know there are a gazillion versions and verses to the song, but this is the one that's stuck in my head these days:

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

I think one of the reasons I'm so happy to have the Christmas tree up is that it's a visible reminder that very soon I'll be in Chicago celebrating Christmas with my family. I bought my plane ticket a month ago, but Joy just helped me make my seat assignments today. I'm flying nonstop and have a window seat. Oh yeah.

And for a slight aside that only my family will understand, I also have Uncle Tuney's choir singing "Hurry home for Christmas. Don't stop (stop) until you get there. Yeah." stuck in my head.

Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon City

I met Jackie in Suwon this afternoon to take a walk around the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon City. I was there barely over a year ago with one of the teachers from my previous school, but we only saw a very small portion of the fortress on that visit. Today Jackie and I were about halfway around the 5-kilometer fortress when someone from behind us called, "Hey, waeguks (foreigners)!" We turned around, and much to our surprise, there was Scott, a hiking friend who lives in the far southwestern part of Korea. The three of us continued around the fortress together. Then Scott caught the bus back to his city, and Jackie and I checked out a store and then talked over ice cream in the train station before heading our separate ways home. Some photos from the trip.

Jackie, Scott, and EMH:Traditional Korean archery--I sure wouldn't want that guy's job.Hwaseong Fortress and Suwon: Some displays in the windows of a Chinese medicine shop:It was a good day. I always enjoy the opportunity to see more of Korea, chat with friends, and eat ice cream. Throw some exercise and fresh air in there, and it's a great combination. It's a good start to my week.

Weariness

Ever since my pneuomina-kidney infection combo a month ago, I find that I get tired a lot more easily than usual. That's been especially true this week. It's the end of the month again, so in addition to my usual 12-hour school day, I've been working on monthly progress reports and lesson plans. Toward the end of the day, I can actually start to feel my brain start to shut itself down. I remember learning about different types of brain waves in a psychology class in high school. Is it possible actually to feel your brain waves change? I think I can.

When I get home at night, I'm tired. I'm not able to think clearly enough to read or write or study, so I'm not making anywhere near enough progress on my geology and math courses or my Korean, and my journal entries and email messages go unwritten. Honestly, at the end of the day, I no longer want to communicate. It's almost as if after a full day of trying to communicate, I have no more words left to exchange--none to say, none to hear--in English or Korean. I don't even turn the television on. I just want to sit in quiet.

My brain feels a little more fried than usuaul today. In my morning classes at the preschool, I have no control over the curriculum. I am simply given a lesson and am expected to teach it. However, the lessons are frequently inadequate--insufficient material or an inappropriate level or simply a poor quality. Today I was given a science lesson that was designed for 2nd graders in the United States, and I was expected to teach it to 5- and 6-year-olds whose English is so limited that they sometimes still have trouble answering the question "How are you?" with the pat response "I'm fine, thank you." At the preschool, I'm supposed to have a Korean coteacher in the class with me. Some are very sweet and helpful, but others surf the internet with complete disregard to the fact that the kids don't have any idea what I'm saying and chaos is beginning to ensue.

Today the lesson was obviously too difficult for the kids, but I had to teach it anyway. In one class, this resulted in 12 children holding up papers and screaming "MS EMH, 어똫게?????????????" ("WHAT DO I DO???") With no common language, I had no real way to explain to them what they were supposed to do, and even if I could have explained it, the lesson would have been too difficult for them anyway. The Korean coteacher, completely oblivious to the deafening noise level, didn't try to help with the explanation. She was too busy keeping a child, whom I suspect to be autistic, from wandering out of the classroom (why his assigned seat is closest to the door is beyond me), and no matter how may times I said, "Raise your hand!" or "Don't yell!" the screaming persisted.

I don't blame the kids. They're just little and asking for help in the way they know how--repeating themselves with increased volume when they don't get a sufficient answer to their question. I don't blame the teacher. She's usually helpful and was obviously busy assisting the special needs child. I do, however, blame--or at least question--this culture of ultra competitiveness that makes people believe that it's somehow beneficial to their very small children to push them past their ability to comprehend--to give beginning English students materials designed for native English-speakers who are several years older than they are. The sad thing is that this completely wasted valuable class time during which real progress could have been made in their English education. It's even sadder that this isn't the first class we've had like this.

Discipline, or Lack Thereof

I was a little on edge today, so things that normally don't bother me too much grated on me more than usual. I have one student who is particularly rude and annoying. Most of the time, I believe I deal with this student well and ignore as much as I can, but today, I actually yelled in class. Normally, I think yelling is a waste of time and energy, but on this particular day, nothing else seemed to get this student's attention. When the rude, annoying behavior continued after repeated warnings, I completely lost my cool. The student was startled and almost in tears and the rest of the class just stared at me. "I think Ms EMH is serious," one of the kids whispered to another.

"As opposed to the times I'm not serious when I say this behavior is unacceptable?" I thought. In my mind, I could hear echoes of my mom saying to my sister and me when we were kids, "Do you think I yell because I like to?!"

Most of my students are sweet, but a few, like this particular student, have already bought into the aspect of Korean culture that essentially gives a foreigner no status in society. While most of my students are respectful, sweet children, it's frustrating to the extreme to encounter those who already view foreigners as somehow less deserving of respect than Koreans and who view foreigner teachers as having no real authority.

I'm not sure yelling earned me any respect in this student's eyes, but since nothing else I tried seemed to work, if this at least communicates that being rude and annoying is socially unacceptable, then maybe something important was learned this week.

I wanted to talk to this student after class and say something to the effect of, "We didn't do too well together day. Let's work together better next time," but the student was out the door faster than I've ever seen this student move. I sighed as I watched the little head of black hair disappear down the hallway with remarkable speed.

My project for the week: learn some new discipline strategies because what I currently know clearly isn't working in this case.

I'm thankful . . .

. . . for my family and friends.
. . . for my teachers and mentors.
. . . for my physical and emotional health.
. . . for the peace and prosperity in which I live.
. . . for food on my table and a roof over my head.
. . . for my students who challenge and inspire me.
. . . for a life that is full of people and places I love.
. . . for clean water to drink and clean air to breathe.
. . . for access to quality healthcare and trained physicians.
. . . for my education and life experiences which have molded me.

I had a happy Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment with my friends from work. Instead of turkey, we ordered some Chinese delivery. Great food and good company. As the only American at the table, I did my best to explain American Thanksgiving traditions, or at least those of my family. I also tried to answer T and M's historical questions, which at one point required pulling my copy of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower off the bookshelf to check facts. It was fun to celebrate an American holiday with my friends here, but at the same time, I missed being with my family.

Here's our Thanksgiving dinner, including a rare recent photo of yours truly without glasses.

We thank Thee, Lord, for this our food,
For life and health and every good;
By Thine own hand may we be fed;
Give us each day our daily bread.
John Cennick, 1741

November Highlights

I've been too busy to write much this month. Among all the other things on my plate, I began the mammoth project of editing my Korea journal for consideration for publication--as if teaching, recovering from pneumonia, taking two university courses, joining the gym, and studying Korean weren't enough to keep me busy.

We had our first snowfall of the year last night. It didn't last long and was followed by a thunderstorm, but it was pretty while it lasted. It signals that fall really is on its way out. The trees are looking pretty bare right now, but just a couple weeks ago, they were the most beautiful yellow and red. These shots are of the ginkgo trees right outside my apartment building.November has been a good month. I attended the baptism of one of my students early in the month. It was an honor to be invited and very nice to be back inside a church. It was the same church that I stood in front of several months ago and contemplated having become an outsider. Here is beautiful Irene, dressed her in hanbok for her baptism.The following weekend Catherine, M, and I went along with T and H-k to E and L's ballet recital at the local culture and arts center. Another two of my students were also in the three-hour performance. The little kids were clumsily cute as they basked in their prima ballerina glory, and the middle and high school students who performed a combination of ballet and traditional Korean dancing were elegant.As usual, I'm thankful for my friends here who give me little glimpses into the celebrations and routine of Korean life. To share some American culture with my friends, I've invted them to my apartment for dinner this Friday to celebrate Thanksgiving with me. Since I don't know where to get a turkey in Korea and couldn't cook one on my two-burner gas range anyway, I'm opting for the alternate American tradition--Chinese take-out.

Reminding Myself Why I Took PE Pass/Fail in High School

P.E. was the downfall of my otherwise straight-A year in 9th grade. I was uncoordinated, out-of-shape, asthmatic, and entirely unmotivated when it came to athletic endeavors. When I transferred schools midway through high school, I was relieved that my new school offered the option of taking P.E. pass/fail, which meant I could show up, don the uniform, make a fool out of myself, and not suffer any academic consequences.

I like to think I've come a long way since then, but today I joined a gym for the first time in my life, and I'm not so sure. I'm still a little under the weather from my round of pneumonia a couple weeks ago, but I'm feeling like it's time to get moving again to shake what's left of this bug, so when Catherine suggested joining the gym with her, I decided to give it a try.

Since I've done absolutely no physical activity in the past three weeks, I was surprised that I didn't do too terribly on the treadmill. I'd never used one before, so it took a while to figure out how to keep my balance on it, but once I got the hang of it, I kept going for longer than I thought I would. However, stretching was another matter entirely. The trainer at the gym gave Catherine and me a stretching lesson that was a little too complicated for me. I couldn't follow the instructions in Korean, so I did my best to watch the trainer in the mirror and do what she was doing. What a flashback to adolescent uncoordination. At one point, Catherine noticed me struggling to figure it out and stopped what she was doing to reposition my arms. The whole ordeal made me laugh, which didn't help. Yeah, it's a good thing I went for the pass/fail option in high school.

We're going back again in the morning, and they're going to do something or other to analyze our body fat and water balance. Other than no breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm really not sure what that means.

Zapped

This week has been a blur. I stayed home from school on Monday and felt too miserable to do anything. I didn't read, didn't watch tv, didn't even sleep. I just sat on my couch and wrapped myself up in a pretty pink shawl that my new friends S and B, whom I met in North Korea in September, gave me for my birthday.

On Tuesday I went back to school. I taught my morning classes, but H-k taught my afternoon classes, and I just helped out. I was really beat at the end of the day. I went home at 7:00 and was sound asleep by 8:00. I only woke up twice in 12 hours! On Wednesday I taught my morning classes. H-k taught two of my afternoon classes, and I taught the other two. On Thursday and Friday, I taught all of my classes by myself.

I had a follow up appointment with the doctor on Friday. H-k gave me a ride, and we had to leave here by 6 AM, which was not a lot of fun. They did blood tests and chest xrays. The doctor said there's a lot of improvement but still some sign of infection, so I'm not supposed to exert myself for another two weeks, and I'm supposed to keep pumping fluids. It's frustrating because I want to be better NOW. The fall colors are at their peak now--beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds--and I want to be on top of the mountains. I know not to overdo it, however. I don't want this bug coming back. I was actually starting to feel close to normal on Friday, but I'm feeling really lethargic and just generally ill again today. No plans for the weekend except staying warm and sleeping.