First, last weekend.
All the teachers at the school except Tara went to Hongdae, which is a party section of Seoul. We stayed in a hostel, all in one room. Kristen, Cally, Tween, and I went a bit earlier on Saturday than everyone else (because Tonya and Shannon had to work) and hung out for a bit. We got some gkalbi and just relaxed and played drinking games. Then everyone else got there and we got ready to go out (even though we weren't leaving for hours) and played more drinking games. While we were chilling, other people who were staying in the hostel showed up and were hanging out in the living room. We were in the dining room, and a few guys were loitering nearby, and being Kelsey, I yelled at them to come drink with us. They were a couple of Americans who are here in the army and live like, twenty minutes away from Suwon (where we live, obv.). They also ended up being pretty cool, so we invited them out with us, and met up with their friend at a bar down the street. We started at one bar and then went to a couple of clubs.
The first club SUCKED. First of all, they had a "no G.I.s" rule, so the guys couldn't come in. Then we get downstairs and the entire place is so smoky you can't really see anyone's face, and the dance floor is so packed that you aren't so much dancing as just rubbing your butt all over random people. It was tiny and cramped, and HOT, and I in general hated it. But I figured, make the best of it and dance for a little while, you know, why not? Why not? Because Korean men do not understand "no I do not want you to grind yourself on me to your hearts content get away from me right now please thank you." I actually would move away from them to a different part of the floor and they would follow me. I shoved one guy because he was getting too handsy, and it didn't deter him even a little. Tween and I eventually went and sat in a corner of the club and drank water and tried to avoid people altogether. Finally, everyone was ready to leave and we met back up with the guys from before. Shannon, Holly, and Chris all went home because they were tired and it was about 2 a.m. at this point. We decided to go to another club and had a really good time. And then, at about 5 a.m. went home. Most of us weren't that drunk, though a few were. When we got back, e hung out with the guys at the hostel for a while before going to bed. It was fun in general. I think Kristen went to bed at about 7 a.m. I wouldn't know. I was a good girl, and was in bed by 5:45.
So now onto the rest of this stuff. On Monday afternoon, the director of the school came down to meet with us, and informs us that they're converting the basement teacher's offices into a parking lot. I'm sorry, what? Right, and then the first floor that is currently a parking lot will become a bank. Okay.... so where do we go? We're getting new offices upstairs, and will have to be out of the basement by the end of the day on Tuesday. Okay, and we move upstairs? Oh, no, the upstairs was recently a restaurant, but they have to gut the whole thing and do construction to turn it into offices and a library. It won't be done for at least two weeks, more likely a month. Okay... so where do we go? Our classrooms. No more offices. The gym room is being taken away to hold the lunches, which used to go downstairs, so we have to have gym in our classrooms. How, I don't know. And what about breaks? What about the 15 minute unpaid break we get in the middle of the day when the kids are still there so that they can work us 29.6 hours and not have to go over 30 hours and pay us overtime? We take that break in the room. While the kids are there. So, really it's not a break. How do you tell a child whose first language isn't English that you can't play cars with him because you're on your break? On Monday she told us to plan through next Wednesday. Then Tuesday, at 11:30 while we are all teaching, she sends us an email. It's actually going to be at least the next two full weeks that we will need to be planned for, because we won't have internet access or access to printers or copiers for at least that long. Also, pack up everything in our desks by the end of the day. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE!
Then, they made the TPs (our Korean teaching partners) move the entire supply room up two floors, and got mad at them when they couldn't finish it in one day. Mind you, they were supposed to use their break time, not paid time, to do this. Honestly, the administration at this school is completely horrible. If it weren't for the fact that I love the kids and the other teachers I wouldn't even consider staying. Ugh.
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