Such great heights

I'm writing from my desk in the teacher's room, though I'll be posting this to the site probably later tonight. I found that I can't view my blog, or any other blogs for that matter, from the school. I heard something during orientation about it. The rumor is that the government blocked a lot of access to American blogs from schools, because that was where images of the Korean executed in Iraq were popping up, and they didn't want students to see it. So I can write and save messages on the blogger website, but I can't read them, and have difficulty posting them.

Yesterday was a sort of tiring Monday. I'm apprehensive about my volunteer teaching that I'll start on Thursday (teaching English to two small classes of SOS children for two hours total) and last night I also did my first night of tutoring So Young and Seo Young. On top of that I found that another English teacher, my desk neighbor and former co-teacher of last year's ETA, wants me to help with her weekly club class---and last year Brandon wrote all the lessons and she just observed. So Monday morning I was suddenly feeling very overwhelmed.

I'm feeling better now--I think Thursday will go fine, and last night tutoring was fairly painless, though my host mother sat there the entire time and watched us (and also corrected her daughter). But we just played a couple games, and for some reason they really like Hangman. And Mrs. Kim is still bringing me small gifts. She gave me something just now that I think is a food product, since it appears to have some kind of nutritional information on the side, but inside the rectangular box is a gold-colored foil pouch, slightly squishy. I have no idea what it is. I guess I'll save it for later. I've added it to the crackers, cookies, brownies and roasted chestnuts sitting on my desk, which I've been given by teachers and students.

Next week is the Korean holiday Chuseok. The actual holiday is Tuesday, but we have almost the entire week off, Monday-Wednesday. And Thursday for my school is a picnic, which only students and home room teachers go to. So I only have class on Friday. When I asked awhile ago, Mrs. Lee told me I should stay around for Chuseok, but then last night she asked me if I was going to travel. Because of our prior conversation, and because Chuseok is a huge travelling season and tickets are harder to get, I'd just assumed I wasn't going to go anywhere. A lot of ETAs are going to Jeju Island. I sort of wish I was going, because it would be nice to see it while it's still warm, but it's definitely going to be a zoo, and plane tickets sold out over a month ago. Rachel wants to go hiking this weekend, so hopefully I'll take a bus to her town and join her.

The weather has cooled down lately, though we had a thunderstorm last night, with lightening and everything. I'm currently planning a lesson involving the song "Such Great Heights." It's a recent pop song by the Postal Service, but I have a cover by Iron and Wine that is slower and sort of folky. The students will listen to the song and fill in missing words on a worksheet, and then maybe sing it. I got another ETA to send me the original version, which is fast and upbeat. I'm looking forward to seeing how the girls like the songs. I'm in the mood for a lesson that's more fun and interesting. Sure, the "Two Truths and a Lie" lesson I'm doing this week is interesting, and some students find it really fun, but I think a song will grab everyone's attention even better.

Reading: almost finished with 'East of Eden.' At first I sort of didn't like it. Steinbeck sort of reminds me of Hemingway, except he can't get away with as much. In the first couple hundred pages the only female characters either were really good at cleaning a house "down to the grain" and didn't do much else, or were evil sociopaths. But it got better later on. It is a pretty intriguing book, especially the character of Lee, a servant who turns the stereotype of the Chinese immigrant on its head. It seems to be a very purposeful, political move on Steinbeck's part, and it's historical context makes it all the more interesting. More interesting than the whole Cain and Abel theme, maybe.

Fiction written: Nothing. Maybe over Chuseok.