"This is Billy and Brian, they're brothers. The little one with the long hair is John, Chloe's brother. Meet Benjamin's dad, he speaks good English(English well)."
"Hi nice to meet you...(small talk)."
Regina, my boss, continues, "The big one overthere is Kevin."
"The one running around, screaming 'I'm a monkey, I'm a monkey'?"
"Yeah. He's 7 years old but he'll be joining the Pisces class."
I feel a finger probing my ass crack and I spin around. There's little Daniel giggling, and speaking Korean gibberish. How do I know it's gibberish, because I ask the Koreans to translate and I'll I get is a shrug of the shoulders and a 'I don't know.' Daniel's a cute kid, he sports the only rat-tail I've seen in Korea and sometimes rocks a leather beret. Steeze for a four or forty year old.
"Have you met Phillip?"
"Is he the one that's been crying endlessly?"
"No that's Tony, Phillip is the one with the trains."
"Oh Yeah, I know Phillip." How couldn't I. The whole time at orientation he walked around with his toy cars and trains. I don't think he actually cares for the trains much. He just likes knowing that you know he's got trains.
"Who's that little guy?" I ask, gestering towards the back of a 3-footer whose in amazament of the colorful gadgets that remind me of toys I used to play with at the doctor's office as a child.
"Nick."
I thought to myself, it's nice to see at least one chiller.
We just got a new hoard of youngins. They're in the morning kindergarten classes. That pushes the total up to 18. Great for the business but an extra weight upon my shoulders. I'm now working from 9:30-6:30 and nearly teaching all the way through. It's quite a load. Let's just say I've been valuing my weekends like never before. Fortunently, my income will rise significantly this month, which means I'll be able to buy many half-full glasses.
A lot of these kids are young. I mean 3 or 4 American age(In Korea they use the Lunar New Year calender and when a child is born they already are a year old. One tacks on a year not on their birthday but at the start of a new year. Currently I'm 26.) I like all my kids and the young ones do the darndest things, from accidently falling out of their seats to giving you a kiss on the cheek when you least expect it. And although I love them, I'm making a statement now that I will live by for the rest of my life: I will never,ever work with small children for an extended period of time again. It's too draining.(period!) All you parents out there, I respect and partially understand everything, the sacrificies, the temper, the love and the frustration, it takes to raise a small child. Hats off to you. I'm years away.
The large influx of pre-schoolers threw me somewhat of kilter. But, I've regained my balance. My energy level is up, I'm teaching well, I can feel it. Students are learning, listening, and laughing. All the signs a teacher needs to know class is an enjoyable and productive environment. From counting your fingers to global warming, I'm covering the spectrum and enjoying it.
Outside work? Still reading a lot. Just finished an awesome travel book, "A Fortune Teller Told Me." An Italian internatioal journalist sees a fortune teller in 1976 that tells him not to fly in 1993. The Ital heeds the advice and travels Asia by train, boat, rickshaw, foot, and transidentalism. Now I'm working on a classic: "Adventures of Huck Finn." Awesome book. I'm on the wagon for the month of March. For a number of reasons: 1) I was tired of feeling like shit on Saturday morning. Bars, liquor stores and restaurants don't close out here. Weekend nights rarely end early. 2) I want to use the weekends to reenergize. Like I said the weeks can be draining, and I felt like my battery wasn't be recharged during the weekend. Quite the contrary. 3) My health. I may be young, but I'm not eager to grow old fast. 4)$$$. A trip on the horizon that will take me across two continents, 11 time zones, and a dozen countries. You think I'm gonna spend my money on shitty beer in Korean and be frugal in Prague. Yeah, right.

I don't know if anyone will read this anymore, I've been lazy, tired and sick, and haven't gotten a post out in some time. If no one is besides my folks that's alright. I like practicing my writing.
Peace and love from 350 miles south of the most militarized border in the world. Good Night and Good Luck.