So as I'm typing this and I'm in class with my students and carrying on a conversation on FB's instant messenger.
"But Oscar, aren't you supposed to be teaching, how are you doing these things at the same time?"
I'm glad you asked. Well it's simple. After being gone for 3 weekdays from work and Songtan, I came back to find out I'm on a final exam schedule starting tomorrow. That means that this upcoming Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I have half-days were I get to leave at lunch time. Because these kids have some not-so-exciting exams the other English teachers and I decided to allow all English periods to become study time. Having just come from a "I just took my comps for grad school" world, I understand. I'm having dinner at a new place with the other English teachers today so I'm looking forward to that. I like seeing my collegues outside the workplace...I have that habit at every job.
Well let me backtrack to those 3 days I've been away from work. Well I guess I wasn't really away from work because it's part of my job. I was at a GEPIK teacher training retreat with the other teaching abroad teachers by Pyeongtaek, not far from where I live at all. Getting there I thought it was a nice place, but it's not what you see, it's what you feel that left me with a huge impression of the facilities. The training center looks nice, like a non-fancy hotel of sorts, and it reminded me of the Cross Cultural Retreats that I used to go to with CSUDH's Multicultural Center. The nature was there...but that was also part of the problem. It's been very humid this week, and let's face it, in LA humidity is a non-issue. So it was hot and sticky. Each room was equipped with A/C's that I thought would be my salvation, but because these machines had a mind of their own, their functionality was very limited. So it was hot in the room (but not where the workshops were held, functional A/C's were there). Well hot weather and humidity means sticky skin, which means bug bait. I still have this bug bite on my finger, which I must say looks a little better than before, but I'm still super tempted to scratch. The 2 bites on my back and the one on my side are still there and I feel them, but they are not scratch-worthy. A fellow teacher who lives nearby, Audrey, got bug raped, especially on her foot. I felt so bad for her and how much it swell up. So those were the downsides.
This is a signal that this paragraph will be about the positive aspects of this retreat. Well some of the workshops were indeed useful, while others would've been a heck of a lot more helpful had they been given before I hopped on the plane here. The best part was getting to meet people. I met some awesome people in my area that I could find convinient to hang out with, and people in other areas I wouldn't mind meeting up with if the occasion called for it. I can say I liked 96% of the people I met there (good stat). Now for the awesome part. This training center has coffee/tea machines at every turn. That's awesome in and of itself. What made it more awesome was the fact that they were all free and unlimited. I think I've had dreams about this kind of stuff happening. It made me happy.
Quick recap
Good: people, coffee, ping pong tables, activities, Korean performers, Tae Kwon Do session
Bad: no A/C in room, bugs, greasy breakfasts
Next week some of the other teachers and I have made it a point to watch Knight and Day. First Korean movie watching experience....at least in a theater.
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