Such is Rife

All is well with the universe these days, my own at least. I am now a white man with a bicycle. Though riding around my neighborhood invites more attention, I have gained some mobility and this is good. In fact, I would go so far as to say that me rikey. One of the brakes is squeaky, and I've already lost the key to the lock, but I'm pleased nontheless. Teaching continues to be interesting. My responsibilities have been expanded from repeating asinine and obscure sentences involving hamburgers and basketballs to administering tests and quizzes, and even grading them should the occasion arise. I'm climbing up the rungs of the hagwon hierarchy from token foreign commodity to pseudo-legitimate teaching-entity, which is novel. A minuses for everyone!
We are only allowed to grade as low as a "C," so no one's feelings get hurt, but only those receiving "A's" actually pass the tests. Not surprisingly, those who don't pass sit in the lobby after class and take it until they do pass. So in order to minimize hurt feelings, and reduce congestion in the high traffic area of the lobby, a lot of A-minuses are being distributed by this bicylce-riding foreigner.

Why is it that hangman so clearly reveals the ugly homogeny of Korean culture? On Sunday one of my students drew three consecutive dashes indicating a three letter word. I grew tired of haphazardly guessing at vowels and so I asked for a hint. He replied that there was only one in Daegu, and that there was one in the room. The two boys and I scanned the room for rare artifacts, looking at the china closet, the bookshelf, anywhere. We were at a loss, and then I remembered a conversation I had had with this student many months earlier. I decided to end this mystery and the lesson at the same time. "Jew" I said quietly, and then I waited for him to explain to his dim colleagues the origin of the seed of Abraham and Sarah, and the sad plight of the chosen people in Korea. I took my $25 and left, I had a bicycle to pick up.

I had my first, marginally-successful house warming party on Sunday, for some of my students and their parents, and despite my profuse sweating and a lot of embarrassingly dirty dishes, it went rather well. 14 people in a room with no chairs and an overworked airconditioner, with only beer, soju and grapes to amelliorate their growing claustrophobia. It was fun.

T-minus 5 days til the birthday.