Hambak Schedule Is Wacky

Geoff and I found out from Lydia that our schedule will be a bit weird over the next two weeks. I don't remember if I wrote about this before or not, but our school is contracted with three other elementary schools. Their kids come in every once in awhile and we teach them, too.

So this week, we're teaching third-graders from Mun Nam Elementary School. It's only a few blocks away and, depending on which way we go, we can walk by it on the way to school or home.

Lydia said the reason our schedule is always so uncertain is because the others schools are also uncertain. So they try to schedule a time for these students to come, and it's always getting re-arranged.

What this means, I think, is that we'll see our students even less than I originally thought. Geoff has been here two months and this was the first time he taught the Hambak sixth-graders. We thought maybe we'd see each class once a semester -- or twice a year.

Seeing our students possibly once a year? For the birds ...

But between the winter and summer camps and the three other schools who come in, I'm thinking we might see each class only once a year. That's kind of frustrating for me. It's always easier when I can make some connection or bond with the students. They learn better that way, and the classes usually run more smoothly.

That's just my style. I guess the upside is that if a class seems terrible, we're never going to see them again anyway. Just strange.

At least the weekend was fun. The usual crew went into Bupyeong on Friday night. Tim and Jeremy, two guys I became good friends with last year, came in from there respective towns. It's always good to see those guys again.

On Saturday, Hye Yun came over and we had dinner with Josh, Schwaby and fellow new Jungchul teacher Barry. We just hung around Yeonsu-dong. Hye Yun had one beer with her, then had to get home.

The four of us remaining then made a night of going to the various bars around here. We even met four western girls who were really fun. We played some darts, pool, drank some more and went to a noraebang. It ended up being a super-fun night.

Back to that weird schedule. Because of the other school students coming in and the specific times the students can come, we have no morning classes on Monday or Tuesday this week. We then have eight straight work days of morning class. By next Friday, I'm sure I'll be slightly annoyed.