Wednesday Pre-Blog

I'm splitting this week's entry up into two parts, as there's lots of random tidbits I want to get down here. Today should be relatively short, the next entry may be a little long though.

My school has undertaken new steps towards keeping the building clean - they've now started cleaning the floors with kerosene. As far as I know, this is a practice not done in any country outside of Korea, and possibly not anywhere outside of my school, and at first I thought it had to have been a janitorial screw up. But no, three times now they've broken out the kerosene, slopped it on the mops, and scrubbed down the school floors. Not only does this make our school a tinder-box-lawsuit waiting to happen, but it makes the floors slick as could be. When freshly cleaned, I can "skate" to my classroom. Kids are running and bailing all through the hallways, getting flammable liquid all over the clothes, turning them into tiny, mobile combustibles just waiting for a spark. And if that wasn't enough, it leaves the whole school smelling like a leaky gas station; the floors, however, do look nice and shiny.

Just today I was helping two of my favourite teachers judge students' English skills to attend an out-of-town English camp. Despite how much I like these teachers, I still end up at a loss sometimes for how they perceive the world compared to me. Students were judged as much for their class behaviour and personality as they were their English skills. The only student who was able to answer questions in full sentences was not considered to be a good choice to attend the camp (he's a nice kid, just a little reclusive). And the one kid they did choose was given big bonus points for being shy, since he was Rh+0.

What? Rh+O? The teacher wrote it out for me, and explained to me his "blood type" didn't let him speak as well in public as others, so he should get a second chance. He's a nice kid who I'd love to see do well, but wow, if blood type can double your English score, I wonder how it helps with your university entrance exams...

Anyway, it's time to jet now. I'm teaching the teachers English this afternoon, which is not without its own hiccups. 2 minutes before class started, my principal told me that the English textbooks he ordered did not arrive, and I would need to make up lesson materials for today. Of course, this wasn't a problem, since he never told me there was an English book coming anyway, so I lucked out and just happened to be ready. Sheesh, if I'm not able to understand most of what's going on with my Korean teachers, I wonder what they think is going on in my brain?