Quiet week, great weekend!

So very very sorry about the lack of regular posting. It may get better. Or it may not. Like the Cardinals "offense." No one can say for sure.

The early part of the week was real quiet... nothing doing on Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday...

Actually, that's kind of a lie. Thursday I went out for drinks with Mi Sun, which was really fun. We went to a place called I Love Hoolala -- it's got cheap bear and expensive but tasty chicken. On our way from car to bar, we actually met another foreign teacher who had been to our center sometime in March, this Aussie guy named John. He was out shooting pool with a Korean teacher at his school, so they joined us for a couple of pitchers.

Yesterday I had a fan-freaking-tastic day at work, believe it or not! We had a new school after three days of the worst-behaved kids I've had the pleasure of meeting. I actually threatened one group of kids who wouldn't shut up. Not physically, mind you. I just told them if they wouldn't listen and participate that they'd have to sit there and copy the dialogues instead of roleplaying them and having fun with the metal detector, the airplane food and the taxi. Anyway, Friday's group was much better! Quiet, friendly, pretty solid English skills for the most part. And the best thing -- we've got more classes from this same school coming all next week. Should make for a much more enjoyable work week than the last one. And, my extra classes on Friday went really well. I've been struggling to find something that interests my fifth-graders enough to actually get them to try and learn something new. Well, I think Dr. Seuss is it. We've been doing "Green Eggs and Ham" for the last two classes. We've learned about rhyming words (which is sort of a foreign concept in Korean, I gather), and also interrogative vs. declarative sentences: "Do you like... ?" vs. "I like..." and "No, I don't like..." This is actually a big step forward for this group. Happy times. I think next week I'm going to have them read the story, and then on Friday... well, not sure yet. Maybe I'll bring in some foods and we'll move from I like to I want or I have. I dunno, but the outlook is good, let's leave it at that.

Last night, Mi Sun and I went out again -- this time for kalbi, then beer for dessert, then a walk down by the river which wasn't as pleasant as I'd expected due to the bugs (boo), and then ice cream for 2nd dessert. Good night. Super bonus best part: She invited me to join her, her sister and sister's family at Everland today! So, yeah -- Korean amusement park day! Whoo-ee! =) I'm not really sure what all they have there, but I'll definitely report back on the wonder that is Everland. I know it's like roller coasters and stuff, and apparently they do fireworks after dark, so it sounds like it should be pretty cool. More to come on that, for sure.

Also -- great day in sports yesterday. Cardinals won, which it seems is becoming increasingly rare. The Lakers won also, which I don't really care about. I just don't much like Orlando. For no reason, actually. It's like how I feel about Portuguese people. Then, there were two absolutely amazing matches at the French Open. Robin Soderling, the man who "did the impossible" (in his own words) by beating Rafa Nadal, is into the final after beating Gonzo in 5 sets. Then, Federer battled through 3.5 hours of mediocre tennis interspersed with brilliance (i.e. the 4th set, a couple games in the 5th) to finally beat Del Potro and get into the finals. This is his best chance to not only tie Pete Sampras for most Grand Slams ever, but to also complete his Career Slam -- winning all four majors, something Sampras never did. Regardless of whether or not he got off easy by missing Nadal this year, if he wins tomorrow I think he has to be called, officially, the greatest ever. And he deserves it. Good for him.

OK -- time to hop in the shower and get ready for the magic and mystery and fairy dust and insanely long lines of Korean Disneyworld. Hope ya'll have a great weekend! Peace.