First Concert

Last weekend was pretty subdued for many reasons, but Saturday stood out because it was my first concert attendance in South Korea.

The week was bad. Not so much for me, but for all the teachers. Kitty's last day was on Friday because the company screwed her out of the last month of her contract. Mr. No apparently told her it was because of the economic issues.

But I doubt getting rid of your longest serving teacher will do anything to help your finances. These students build relationships with teachers. And I would think parents would trust teachers with long records, understanding that it means that teacher is doing a satisfactory job at the school.

Having a bunch of teachers with less than one year of experience wouldn't make me, as a parent, want to send my kids there. Especially considering the price for these parents is outrageous to begin with. I would want seasoned teachers whom my kids could trust.

And what's done is not necessarily done, apparently. Other teachers have had private conversations with the management about their desire to keep their jobs. This has caused a ton of stress for everyone in the office, which has affected me. While my job is relatively safe, compared to theirs, I still get mad to see my co-workers and myself treated poorly.

On Saturday, Vicky and I went with Minji and Songug to Seoul to see a band called Emerald Castle. I guess they're relatively famous in Korea. Their music was sort of like heavy metal Korean. So put two genres together that I don't like and guess the result. I was kind of bored during the show.

The best part was during intermission when another "famous" Korean singer came out and did two Queen songs. And he would've made Freddy proud. The guy had a great voice.

Now, I felt a little bad because I was sitting their uninterested while the girls seemed to be having fun. When we went back to Minji's house, I told Songug that I didn't like the band that much. He responded by saying he hated them! Haha. It was great. I was so relieved. The girls said they didn't like the music much either, but were trying to have fun.

That is my problem over here. I need to just forget about some things and get into the moment. I've become really emotional here and sometimes it's hard to control.

Either way, we had a really fun night at Minji's, just drinking and hanging out.

The next day, we went to get lunch. They ate disgusting Korean sausage and ordered me a chicken soup. The chicken soup was pretty awful. Koreans have found a way to take any food that is delicious in America, and ruin it. It's the way they prepare their meals. It's never satisfying in any way, unless you're satisfied to feel sick and hungry.

This week has been pretty mundane. That's not a bad thing. The recent job stress has exhausted everyone. I'll see my college students tonight, and the weekend is still up in the air.

The teachers, after being forced to observe the PELT exams last Saturday for the whole day, are now being forced to do a two-day workshop for eight hours each day on Saturday and Sunday. Mr. No's cruelness knows no bounds. I used "no/know" three times in that sentence and all with different meanings!

Anyway,they'll all be locked up from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days, but I'm sure I'll see the teachers at some point. My guess is they're get together for a bit Saturday evening. Even so, a little more rest wouldn't hurt me.

I hope everyone is well!

Sorry about the delay.
Here are the concert pictures!