KABOOM!

So yesterday can only be catagorized as a craptapulous day.
In the Village, to control the students we work on a red sign/blue sign basis. When a child does something good, we give them a blue signature in their passports, and when something bad is done... a red sign. At the end of the week, both the student and the group with the most blue signs in their passports get a prize. Similarly, once a student receives 3 red signs, they are forced to miss out for an hour of night activities (aka detention).
So yesterday, I was walking around the room giving the students 2 blue signs and I picked up a kid named "Erin"'s passport. This girl already had 2 red signs so I said... "oh you need to be careful. One more red sign and you will get detention"... then I continued on my way.
A few minutes later... out of the corner of my eye I saw the girl giving the boy in front of her the finger. "Eh!" I shouted... in my French Canadian angry voice. The girl jumped and then I promptly advised her to take out her passport and gave her a red sign.
Because she had already had 2 red signs and this one would be her 3rd... I took down her name and told her that she would be having a detention... then she began to sobb... and sobb... and sobb. My heart was broken... but I knew that if I retracted the punishment... she would never learn... so broken hearted I let her cry.
Then...
later that afternoon I was chatting with a kid next to the oven in cooking class. When our conversation was done... I told the kid to return to his chair... when suddenly.... the oven blew up!!!! (Yes you read me right... the oven BLEW UP!)
I heard a loud bang... then a crack crack crack... then smoke... then I quickly went and unplugged the oven. The oven is an electric oven (industrial) and it had over heated and then all the heating lamps inside blew up!
I didnt even notice that I had been hit... until I went over to the stunned children and checked on their safety.
"Teacher... teacher... your arm is all red!''
I looked and I was quite burnt. During the explosion of the heating lamps... I had been standing next to the open air vents of the oven. Not only was I hit with glass from the oven.. but had managed to burn my hands and my upper arm.
It sounds a lot worse than it actually is. I had to go to the nurse and I have burn cream on my right hand and left arm... and I spent the night taking glass slivers out of my fingers... but considering the alternatives... I am fine. It doesn't even really hurt that much.
But OY! was it a bad day! When it rains... it pours in my world!
Oh well! Bound to have a few crappy days.
Anyhoo... thought I would share my story... I mean now I have a cool story to go along with some of the burn scars on my hands! :)
Cheers!

Scariest morning

So this morning I woke up at 6:30am and rolled over to look at the clock. Since I did not have to get up until 7:30am, I tried to lift up my hand to pull the drapes closed and.... I couldn't. I quickly sat up and tried to move my arm but my arm went limp and I could not feel, let alone move my fingers. I quickly started to panick... oh my G-D I am in Korea and I will have to go to the hospital... I have no use of my right arm (I am right handed). Needless to say the panick button was hit and I was completely freaking out. After 10 minutes, my arm started to tingle and finally I was slowly able to move my fingers and arm from below the elbow.
I think that I may have cut the circulation to my arm by the way I was sleeping on it... but it was still the creapiest thing I have ever had occur to me. My arm is till stiff... but at least I can move it and have feeling.

Internet in my room

So I just got the internet in my dorm room... on my little Canadian laptop... and I am pretty psyched. Now I can leave on my msn and get messages from home (hint hint nudge nudge wink wink).
Things at the village are going really well and I am quite enjoying myself. I have made some pretty good friends and we are getting along famously.
Since the dress code here is changing (to a more formal attire) on Monday I am going to have a couple of suits made at the tailor. The tailor made several of Paula (friend from Australia)'s suits... and well I am impressed with their work... that and the tailor is reasonably priced. I am actually having a charcoil grey coat made right now.
I have been thinking more and more about my standing here... and well.. how things here feel like home. It is so odd to feel at home here. I mean sure I miss my parents and sister... but I think that I have finally found a job that suits both me and my personality famously... and well.... I can help but repeat myself in saying that it just feels like home. I really think that if things continue the way that they are going now... I may sign on for at least another year. Since this is a pretty new and developing program... the opportunities for advancement are pretty high and imput is always welcomed to help improve the program. Well I refuse to count my chickens before they hatch... but I can see myself here for a while.
Oh well.... my parents will just have to journey to my side of the world for a vacation (hint hint nudge nudge wink wink).
Anyhoo... things are coming along famously. I get paid on Monday... so I will go back to the tailor and pick up the cashmere (sp) coat I had made (not too expensive) and get fitted for a couple of new suits. Then money goes home to pay off the student loan (almost debt free there) and the credit cards. I think that if all goes according to plan, I will have paid off all of my Canadian responsabilities by January... and from then on my paychecks will be bank. I am thinking of getting then... and only then... a new laptop (I have had my eye on the MacIntosh IBooks)... but who knows.
Anyways... that is what is basically new with me. Hope all is good on your neck of the woods.
Cheers!

So they are a little late... but here are some of my photos from my trip to Fukuoka Japan.

This is the temple in Fukuoka

This is the Hotel that I was staying at. The Sunlife 2.3 at Hakata Station

I will post more pictures tomorrow.

Cheers!

Busy Busy Busy

So things are steadily moving along here in chilly Korea... rainy season has now passed and has given way to frost filled mornings and brisk afternoons. Things at the village are going good... I am still teaching children how to teach pizza (I swear I can now recite the recipe and step by step instructions in my sleep) and a lot of new people have recently arrived since the oldies are leaving. The atmosphere here is still a little tense since some of the outgoing teachers are leaving on a sour note (this is a new program... so there are a few bugs still to work out)... I think though that once those teachers that no longer want to be here.. leave... well the atmosphere will greatly improve. Though the newbies have taken a lot of innitiative to improve the moral around here... we have decorated the staff room (with a social butterfly calendar to keep everyone informed of social gatherings and excursions and have started to price out SEV sweaters). All in all... this place is turning out to be a real great place to be. Next month I am going to be teaching Hip Hop with DeVika (you can stop your snickering now... as I am going to try to make it both fun and educational).
I think that I am going to go to Thailand in January for my first vacation... and well... it should be both fun and relaxing.
Anyhoo... I know that it has been a bit since I last updated... but other than the above mentionned... nothing has changed since I am basically working... then hanging out and sleeping.
If anything else changes... I'll let you know.
OOOO!!! I did go paintballing last Saturday. It was a hoot! I swear in my previous life I must have been a sniper since I got so many good shots on people. I have a couple of good welts from the pellets hitting my arms (even with the protective stuff it still hurt like a bitch when you got shot)... but all in all it was a great and amazing time!
Cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So today is Thanksgiving in Canada... but at the village we will be celebrtating the festivities on Thursday. To all those eating Turkey, gravy, cranberries and more.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
The trip to Japan was really nice... it was extremely busy... and insanely expensive... but nice all the same. I don't think I would go back though... well perhaps to Hiroshima... but otherwise I have had my fill of the expense that is Japan. Once I have a chance I will upload some of my photos. Overall it was a really great time... I met up with some other ex-pats going on the VISA run and we hung out for our 2 day stint. We went to Asia's largest ferris wheel and the zoo (the zoo was actually pretty depressing... since all the animals looked like they would have rather been dead than in those 2 sizes too small cages they called home). But it was fun all around.