9/52. 2 months gone already. Another pay day looms.

I woke up this morning to gun fire, the kinds of sporadic bursts of shells which you normally here from Iraq or a similar war-torn region on TV news. There is a firing range in Changwon, near the first mountain i climbed, but it seemed closer than that. There was also dogs barking and the usual banging from next door - lots of activity, moving furniture and so on, so I''m glad it's Sunday as I have woken up feeling quite disturbed.

Turned on the TV and Channel 400 was showing yet another Middlesbrough FC game - it's because of the 'Lion King' (Lee Dong****) - a Korean who plays for the wearsiders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Dong****

Things have settled down. I am into a routine now, being on top of my lesson planning. I still have the occasional disruptive student but I simply report them to one of the Korean teachers or the boss - all are quick to discipline them. They possess the language and intonation which us native speakers don't.

There are big school tests coming up for most of the higher level students, so I can expect a quiet week ahead, a lot of absentees... already i've noticed a dwindling number of kids in my classes, and their thoughts are elsewhere. Doing supplementary English lessons is not their priority right now and it shows in their behaviour. I have developed a philosophical approach and try not to worry about lessons that don't go to plan now. (You just can't plan anything, can you Tom?) We have another day off soon - as there will be a Presidential Election in Korea on 19 Dec, followed by 'Talent Market Day'' at the school, 21 Dec, which is a kind of fun day with no formal classes.

In the meantime, I have been marking diary entries on eating dog meat. There appears to be a generational difference, with parents and grandparents tucking in, but not so the kids, who think dogs are friends, not food! (Finding Nemo ref, there!)

Anyway, it might get more interesting again soon, in the run up to Christmas. Meanwhile you can check out an edited video of two of my phonics classes, taken in week 2 and week 5 respectively. The former features one of my ducks being thrown around. The latter features my calendar variation where the English names of the 12 kids neatly fits into the months of the year as follows:

Janu-Kelly,
Febru-Eric,
Mark (March),
Anna (April),
M-El (May),
Jane,
Justin (July),
Aug-Lizt (August),
Sunnytember,
Olivertober,
Nov-Ellen,
Decem-Herena.

pxx