10:30 AM
Just listened to the most hilarious argument between two of my favorite kids, BY and HH. They both came to sit with me and chat, and they got into an amazing debate over the relative confusingness of the Seoul subway system, with BY regaling us with stories of how often he got lost on Friday when he went to Seoul to listen to a speech given by a famous author.
HH retorted that the Seoul subway system was easy-peasy to follow, and began to write BY a map to illustrate his point. I could follow most of their banter and I was nearly laughing to the point of tears at my fluent-English guys getting into verbal brawls in fast-paced Korean which I could mostly understand. Also, BY and HH are patting shoulders and holding hands like best friends, so I get some happy feelings from seeing that, too.
I'm just doing movies for the kids this week, because I'm only at school for 3 days, the 2nd-graders are having speaking tests, the 3rd-graders have been in the same chapter for 5 weeks and need a break, and I still have a headcold that's been going strong for a week.
My mama had to remind me not to do anything special this weekend--not even ministry at my church, because it's only tons of medicine and constant rest that's keeping my cold at normal levels. I've been indoors a whole lot, downing endless fluids and taking naps between bouts of studying Korean. My language test is coming up in two weeks, and I want to be ready for that.
It's been a nice morning with good, quality talks with H-Sol and SG2, the latter of whom is having serious problems with one of her homeroom students who has anger issues. I told her I'd pray for her, because I know this is a huge issue for her. At various times, I've been in exactly the same place, worried to pieces over a student's emotional health,
Saw Jeongminnie over the weekend, walking downtown with his family. I got to introduce myself to his dad! That was a pretty nice moment.
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1:45 PM Hahaha. Saw Jeongminnie and I was really excited to talk to him about running into him yesterday, so I was just rattling on about how good it was to meet him, and he interrupted darkly, "Was that guy your boyfriend?" I had completely forgotten that when I saw Jeongmin I was waking with a guy friend (honestly just a friend--he feels like a younger brother). While that detail didn't seem important to me, it was the only one Jeongmin cared about.
I quickly reassured him that my friend was just that; a buddy, but it got me laughing. I forget how the kids see things through a different lens than I do, and they have different priorities than I do.
In my 1st grade class, I sat int he back with SG2 and Jaehoon and Minjin came to the back to talk to me for 20 minutes. They quizzed me on Korean and taught me a few new idioms.
After lunch, I started putting together a puzzle with Yeongchang. I had learned that my boys love puzzles, so I bought a 300-piece one, hoping it would bring delight to someone, and it has certainly done that.
Last night I had to turn on my floor ondol heating for the first time because I was getting cold. My apartment never gets properly cold, but I was sick and I had made the mistake of washing both my blankets that morning. And since apartments here don't have dryers, when you get something wet, it's out of commission for two full days usually. There is no "oh, I'll just wash these jeans and wear them to the book club meeting tonight". Nope. you'll wash those jeans and wear them to the grocery store in three days.
The blanket-washing was part of my resolution to live like an adult in my apartment, not like a college kid. I'm buying bookcases, coat racks, and umbrella stands. I'm dusting. I'm making sure nothing ever "lives" on the floor--not bags, not socks, not anything. I'm trying to keep my laundry constantly going and my bedding changed out regularly.
But sometimes being a grownup means having the foresight to wash your blankets one at a time so you have one to keep you warm while the other is being cleaned.
Aside from blowing my nose a zillion times, i'm holding together pretty well at school. Playing videos certainly helps. Teaching full-length classes would drain all that pleasant energy right out, at this point. I'm gonna go home after afterschool and eat and sleep. And that's about all I'm going to do for the next four days. On Friday, there's a big special culture trip to go on, and I need to be 100% for that, which means nothing taxing in the meantime, maybe even no hanging out at cofeeshops.
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