This week I’ve been trying to get my students attention with props. On Monday I brought a turtle and platypus finger puppets to work to help model dialogues and just in general to entertain the little kids. It worked for the fifth graders, not the second graders.
Tuesday was Show and Tell day and kids were supposed to bring their favorite toy (they were learning about how to say “favorite toys”). I brought my Mike Piazza doll, which turned out to be all any of the kids were interested in. One of the kids thought it was Chan Ho Park (or Park Chan Ho, as it took me forever to figure out).
At least four of the kids felt Mike Piazza’s hair, and then felt my hair to compare. They were very impressed. At least none of the kids’ toys broke. Only one of the kids cried! So I’d say show and tell day wasn’t a success OR a failure.
Tonight I went swimming at midnight in my khakis because of peer pressure and it seemed like a fun thing to do. Nobody brought their swimming trunks. There were girls in their lingerie but I didn’t notice because I took my glasses off.
My alarm is set for 9 am every day and I’ve gotten up then twice so far here.
The owner of Cafe Maybe (who is about 1/2 a meter away from me to my right as I type this but she’s not paying attention to what I’m writing) came back yesterday and threw a party of sorts at the cafe, giving everyone free “special cocktails.” She also brought back a wooden frog with a pick you can stroke the frog with and it makes frog noises. What an amazing invention!
It’s too bad you can’t make a wooden narwhal that makes narwhal sounds. Actually, I’m not sure what besides a frog you could do that for. A wooden cricket maybe?
I took some pictures of my kids and their toys, they will go up soon.
Every day I ask my director for the English name of my address, and every day he laughs at me and then forgets to do it. This is my school.
There is a new teacher, another girl of course. She is from Newfoundland. We went to a ride to Jeju city together yesterday to get our alien cards processed and had a wonderful conversation about Bill Hicks and George Carlin.
A new cultural reference I can use for my little kids: Thomas the Tank Engine.
One of these blog posts, I’ll get around to talking about what I did on the weekends. I’ll just mention that last Friday, I was taken on a very special tour (maybe too special) of Seogwipo. Walking home, the person I was with pointed out all the places I should go. Those barber shops? They aren’t really barber shops.
For now, I’ll take a pass on those. I guess it’s “nice” to know they’re here.
But first, I would like to get an education at LoveLand, the erotic “theme” park about 20 minutes by cab from Seogwipo. I don’t feel comfortable asking any of my lady co-teachers to accompany me there so I can take awkward photos, but I now know enough foreigners in the city to hopefully get a group going later this month.
My favorite Korean artifact of the last ten minutes? A computer mouse shaped like a neon orange fish. Hell yeah, Korea.
Culture Time 
Wear your contacts next time.
You are too funny, Aaron Dorman! I’m glad that things are going well over there.