A Generic Week in Tongyeong

I realize I have jumped around quite a bit in previous entries, and I haven't really given a feel for the week-to week experience here. The following is my half-assed attempt to remedy this malady. Actually, there is a lot of structure to my weeks so, I will approach it on a day to day basis.

Monday

My Mondays are good, as Mondays go. I get up and do a couple of sun salutations. I usually run, because I probably didn't get drunk on Sunday. When I run I feel good. I may or may not go into work early, depending on whether or not there is an unexpected burden of extra work. This week, we are entering the final stretch for open classes, and its the foreign teacher's month to do student evaluations. Like every other part of the job, Pamela has not told me a damn thing about it, and like everything else, has just expected me to pick it up on my own, or harass other teachers for the requisite information.

Monday night is basketball night. I like basketball night. Basketball night means I get to hang out with lots of colleagues and not feel pressured to drink. Also, many of my peers wear short shorts.

Tuesday

Tuesdays are much like Mondays. I get a break from six forty-five to seven-thirty, and my last class is full of "problem children". There is no scheduled evening-time activity, so sometimes I walk home and listen to music or Korean language lessons (this takes about an hour). At home I might meditate for half an hour (and usually get nowhere), or do some stretches or work out a little, otherwise I read. Right now I'm reading a book on the world history of economics. It's fascinating as hell.

Wednesday

Wednesday is the hump day. But my job is pretty easy, so I'm more excited about Wednesday for morning time basketball. Fewer people show up, but we get to play in the day light. Afterwards, some of us usually go the the jimjil bang (Korean bathhouse) to shower, soak in the tub, sit in the steam room, etc. You can get a massage and a scrub down for 20K won. I have avoided it thus far, out of reluctance to have another man scrub my taint. I might walk home or take a cab, for 4 or 5 thousand.

Thursday

That's today. Like on Tuesday, I have a break, and in my last block, I teach a class full of "problem children". Thursday night is bowling night. I have mixed feelings about bowling night, mainly because I am a shit bowler, which is why I am writing in my blog instead of sticking it out for a 3rd or 4th game. After this, I will watch an episode of Lost on this computer (I'm at a PC bang) and take a cab home. This is fairly non-typical behaviour.

Friday

Hey, that's tomorrow. I will wake up at nine-thirty, like I always do, but instead of going running ( I forgot to mention I cut my foot on a barnacle, and cannot run) I will go directly to the school to work on the student evaluations that are due on Monday. After school, I will either not drink, watch my colleagues act like assholes, and think long and hard about punching Tim Zasly in the face. Or conversely, I will get drunk, act like an asshole like everybody else, and think long and hard about punching Tim Zasly in the face. I will flirt with some girl or another and go home alone at two if I do not drink, or go home alone at four thirty if I do.

Saturday

Saturday is quickly becoming the "lets go to and island and hike day." Or, if I am hung-over, the "wake up at eleven, and then go hiking by myself day." If I go to an island, I will come back in the afternoon, and party in the evening. If I spend the day alone, I will probably call someone at six and figure out where the poker game is.

Sunday

See the latter scenario  for Saturday.

So maybe that's a typical week. Things are always changing, but that should give you a feel for what the day-to day is like. The weekend after next, I am going to Seoul to meet a former colleague from CJSF and native Korean. On that Sunday, I plan to do a 5 hour meditation workshop. If it goes well, I might make Seoul a bi-weekly thing.

Okay, time to become enlightened of the final mysteries of the island. The last season isn't that fantastic, and the characters are starting to annoy me. But I can't stop now, and at least I'll get to watch 'em die!