Lazy Saturday

After some not so careful financial planning we transferred money back home to Canada and left what we thought would be sufficient for two weeks and a weekend. Well - on Wednesday we realized that it would be a staying home weekend as there was only about 30 bucks left to our name in Korea. We still have about $20 in the bank - but we'll keep it there for an emergency.

So yep - no crazy adventures this weekend. I'm glad though. I woke up late, went to e-mart to get essential groceries had a great lunch and then finally connected with Erin on her cell phone! It was amazing! I haven't heard her voice in so long! I shrieked when she said, "Hello?" I've been able to speak with quite a few people so it was bumming me out that we were having such poor luck connecting. She's doing well and is living like a free spirit. She has so many amazing plans and is really enjoying herself. Just for an update - she's now in Melbourne and will probably stay there for the next few months. After that she's travelling with some friends around Australia and then she's going to learn to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef!! Yeah- I'm just a bit jealous! After that she's headed to Scotland and England to work and her parents and sister are going to meet her there. From there, only the wind knows where she goes. :) It's funny - but hearing about her adventures make me feel like I'm traveling the boring way! I know, I know it's ridiculous! It's just so nice to hear that she's well and enjoying herself.

Work has been kinda topsy turvy lately. For starters, we're finishing one semester and starting a new one. That means three months have past. Erin we knew was leaving, and MK told us about a week ago she's be leaving too. She is going to university and won't be able to have a full time job. Yesterday was their last day as well as Jin. We just found out for sure that Jin (our male Korean teacher) is leaving! I haven't talked about Jin much because we haven't hung out too much outside school. He's a crusty bun really. He's got a tough exterior but the inside is warm and soft. It takes a while to get through that exterior too but in the last month we've had some great moments. I'll miss them all for sure. It's really sad to see them go.

Also, because it's the end of the term many kids will change levels and I won't be their teacher anymore. It's difficult. They'll still be at my school but they won't be my students. I have a few students that don't get to level up but then my schedule is changing too so I may not get to teach them either way. Then there are kids who are moving or who can't come back to school next semester or who are changing schools. It's a lot of goodbyes all at once!

Mixed in with all this sad is a bit of happy too. In one of my classes I let the students choose what they want to write about in their journals. One student has the privilege of picking for the rest so that they all write on the same topic. The student that day was Jenny and she has no shame about being the most adorable teachers pet you ever did see. She tries her best all the time and she's always practicing her English with me. She thought it would be good to write about me in their journals. These kids are all really good so I didn't worry about too many bad comments from them. When I was marking the journals this week I almost cried! All the kids were so sweet and honest! One said " Dana teacher has a big body" another said " Dana teacher is a clear English teacher" and "Dana teacher loves her students". (I'm really glad they know it) One of my best students wrote about how he usually plays tricks on teachers but how Dana teacher is a hard English teacher and he works very hard for her and she is a good teacher. It was really great. I won't teach any of these students next semester. The bitter and the sweet always seem to come together.