It's that time, people,

time for yet another bitch session.

Today was day 2 of training Marcianna, my sainted replacement, who I believe has a magical effect on my 1st graders PKB: the little hellions for 2 DAYS IN A ROW were doing work! She is right on them about opening their books/not speaking Korean/paying attention, etc. Oh and I got the cutest goodbye notes, including a longer one that I was not expecting! One was so sweet & heartfelt that right after she gave it to me, she hid under the table, lol!

Marcianna is black with long braids, which most of the kids love. But I've been wondering which ones would be freaked out by her race. This morning we found out it was Jessica, in Clifford. She's 4-5 years old, and while she had Sara-teacher (who's true African descent, not African-American), apparently her memory is short because we had Hessed with her class yesterday. We "made" beaded necklaces, with cheap elastic string that will NOT stay tied, no matter how many knots you tie and how tightly you tie them. We spent the whole class retying necklaces. But Jessica had a different take at home: she started crying and told her mom that the new teacher hit her on the hand.

I immediately knew this was bullshit because that is not this girl, there was no one upset or any scenes/issues in class, and I've been waiting for the race thing to come into play. While I know that Hetty has to investigate, I also thought she should know that her race was almost certainly the real problem.

I went to Jessica after we assured management that nothing like that had happened, and asked her what happened. Did something bad happen in class? Was she hurt? She shook her head no.

Nathalie, her homeroom teacher who knows a TOTALLY different Jessica from the girl who wouldn't breathe without making sure Lydia did at that exact moment, said that wasn't like Jessica. Righhhht, because little kids don't lie for attention or because they're upset about one thing but blame something else? Anyway, Nathalie and their Korean teacher, Emma, whom I like, talked to her and, yep, turns out she's just freaked out because she's black. Or at least wanted to act like she was. Who knows, lol.

Just as being the owner of a hagwon that hires teachers from other races means Hetty should be aware of the racial thing, I am seriously wondering how she's going to manage such a place when she doesn't understand culture shock, its inevitability, and how to be supportive or at least understanding of it and not assume, or say, that the teacher is not adaptable. Jesus, I foresee a lot of bs like this, and disguised bullshit, taking place there, and really hope that I'm wrong. I think Marci is going to be a good teacher.

In other news, yesterday (TRUMPET BLARE!) I received my letter of release for Friday, and took it and my other stuff to the school in Anyang that I decided on. Seriously, in my contract it discusses parties entering the contract with integrity and honesty and, should problems arise, which are inevitable, that both parties should try to discuss and work through them respectfully and amicably.  I really like the owner (who makes homemade Korean dinner for everyone) and head teacher... I even like the way they speak Korean: at ILS, Hetty and the receptionist, especially, are shrieky and shrill, talking overly high-pitched because of the kids. These 2 talked like normal human beings every time they spoke in Korean. So I'm officially signed and got what I needed from Hetty!

And I also got the other bullshit of being a foreigner in Korea when I found out that transferring from another school means you have to get the health check done again. Ashling said she'd only been here 3 months but had to do it again when she changed to this school. As you know, we foreigners are dirty, impure, and apparently can contract communicable diseases by reading their names, I guess, since we couldn't possibly catch anything from the pure Koreans! It's irritating as hell that this is a belief here (last night, Tausha went to the corner store and an older, drunk Korean man started following her and yelling at her about foreigners. He wouldn't stop when she turned around & said something to him, and followed her to the store. He followed her INTO the store, and yelled until the owner told him to leave. He did, but waited outside for Tausha! Luckily they called the police, who escorted her home, but of course, no report was filed, because as she said, she's just a foreigner and he was drunk).

There. See? I feel better. I was annoyed about the health test redo, mainly because of the attitude you know is behind it, but am much better now.

Funny though: that whole woman issue/foreign woman issue has been huge here. Not long ago, an Australian girl was roofied, gang raped, and then found a totally unconcerned police force and first responders. At the hospital, they didn't even have rape kits!

Then about a month ago, a guy stabbed a woman to death at the Gangnam train station because women had always ignored him. When women were leaving notes and gathering in her memory, men stood around and harassed them. so this has all come to the forefront here recently... interestingly just as the Stanford rape case is causing big waves in the US.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In any event, it is now Thursday night, not Wednesday, and I am pleased to say I am mostly packed. My favorite girls Danielle and Leah are coming over WITH THEIR VACUUM to hang out for a few, then take this bottle of wine with them for when I get to spend all of Saturday and that night with them. And tomorrow? Tomorrow it is all OVER!!!! I am not done with the tests I needed to finish before transitioning completely to her, but got everything else done, and am just ready.

I did get another goodbye surprise. I was saying goodbye to the 3 preteen girls and 1 boy Mason. I was hugging Kayley, the Korean girl who lived in NZ and talks a ton, when all of a sudden the quiet girl jumped on my back! After I stood up, she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. So sweet and surprising that the quiet, somewhat strange one really liked me... oh wait. Lol. Nope, not strange at all.