Monday, September 10, 2007

manic monday



it's just another manic monday....oooohhhhh....i wish it was sunday.....ooooohhhh


my mondays at yeungnam university are a neverending story. 13 hours at school. i don't think i've ever had a job that entailed 13 hour days...or nights (i have been very lucky)....but, i realize that when you are at work for 13 hours, you get ALOT done. i taught four 75 minute classes and one 130 minute night class, graded papers, ate two korean meals at the cafeteria on campus, had my first beginning korean language class which will meet at 6pm every monday through friday for the semester, a couple of my colleagues carried out the "operation rescue jessa from the chaotic and noisy office that is oozing testosterone" mission today - i now have a sweet, little cubicle in a much more serene environment where there is a collective respect for quiet amongst the worker bees who all sit studiously in their own cubicles and the men keep to themselves (what a blessed relief), i walked to the bank in the sweltering heat (the monsoon rains have ceased and the heat of summer is back) and FINALLY hit the correct buttons (that are all in korean) on the ATM so that some cash actually came out of the machine, i bought another international phone card at the bus stop (which is the only place you can get them), i went to the bookstore looking for books in english and discovered that the two most popular authors on the shelves are mitch albom (tuesdays with morrie) and john gray (men are from mars, women are from venus). not exactly compelling material. i also visited the university's vision store and began assessment for which pair of sassy specs i will soon be purchasing. glasses are super inexpensive here...for about $70 or so you can get fantastic frames. hmmmm....what else....ah, i found out that the police officers here are UNarmed. that tells you a little something about korea. this is the first time that i can ever remember walking in the dark of night alone and not feeling on the edge of fight or flight, ready to claw the eyes out of whoever jumps out of the bushes. korea is a very special place. people leave their cars running while they go into the store to shop.

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