35/17. 8 months gone, and I have finally got round to signing up for Korean lessons at Changwon college. It was not really possible before, as there didn't appear to be any suitably-timed classes available. I get a little frustrated by not having enough knowledge of Korean to have decent conversations when I am out with non-English speakers.

I have been put to shame by Garry, who has a private tutor, who sets him homework. His ability to converse in Korean has certainly come on a lot in the last few months since he applied himself. So, I think I need to apply myself more, rather than sit back and be content with a handful of Korean words that I can remember.

Last night we sat in a bar for about 4 hours chewing the fat, setting the world to rights and chatting to Korean Bar Staff, practicing conversations (Garry) and singing (me). I even treated myself to a drop of Macallan Whiskey (10,000 won for a large shot) and some Drambuie (8,000), flavours which instantly reminded me of the Corner House.

I am trying to take care of a pot plant of Basil given to me my Eun-jung. Having taken her home by first class (the Basil, not Eun-jung) i have been watering it and seeking advice online from Matthew Tullet, a keen gardener. I need to go to Home Plus soon to get a bigger pot and some more earth.. I might also invest in some more plants to make my sun-trapped windowsill look prettier. You know sometimes we need a female influence on our immediate surroundings.

Yesterday three of our students were in the YWCA Speech Contest. Two went very well. They were confident and delivered their speeches clearly and without faults. Then came Yeon-ji, for whom I had written a particularly difficult script, about carbon emissions. Having practiced and practiced for ages... she had almost nailed it... and after setting off like a train, she came off the rails about 1 minute into her speech. She made several more faltering attempts to get back on track. It all ended in buckets of tears and I felt awful, admitting it was all my fault for writing such a difficult speech. Oh well, it was still a good experience and she will recover quickly.

I have also begun taking a purely speaking class at the hagwon. A former writing class of mine, Zenith 1-4, have become the TEPS Speaking class. I chose the book and each lessons we tackle a new topic, although the topics are interlinked. The first topic was growing pains, the second was Korean vs North American education and the third was Co-Education. Coming up, we will be discussing animation, depression, dating and sex. Yes, it will be my first sex education class... with 4 talkative teenage Korean girls and 2 quiet boys. Just how much of the birds and the bees we will go into detail on remains to be seen...

Phil.x