2006-04-07 - Lalala:

Since I've been back at work, things have been kind of dull. I could tell you that today I made six students do push-ups, two of them twice.

I have this system to deal with students who are rowdy. On the student's first offence, he or she (fair's fair, after all) has to do ten push-ups. If the person re-offends, they do twenty. On the third time, I give em the "red card" that is, they get kicked out of class for the rest of the period (with the work that he or she was supposed to be doing).

Overall this system works pretty well. It skirts the issue of corporal punishment, which is still prevelant in Korean schools. All teachers carry these bamboo rods that they use to whip students' palms or calves if they misbehave.

Despite this, I've managed to make three students cry in the seven months I've been here - two of them boys, both of which were in the same school. Yes, I teach middle school. No, I'm not evil.

Basically I tell the students at the beginning of the term that I can be a fun teacher, or a mean teacher. I'd rather be a fun teacher, but I can be a mean teacher in a pinch, if its merited. To add further insentive, I sometimes tell students that I used to be a boxer in Canada. That usually gets their attention, hehe.

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ENOUGH ABOUT WORK

In other news, it is cherry blossom season in Korea, as well as Japan. It's pretty nice! And considering that most trees haven't got leaves yet, it's an encouraging sign of spring.

Also, it is sandstorms-from-China season. Basically, China gets a lot of windstorms, which sweep across the Kobe desert, and then over the Yellow Sea to the Korean pininsula. The result? Gross yellow haze that looks like smog but isn't. Also, its really noticable on cars, as they get a really filthy layer of yellowish sand on them. Sometimes these sandstorms are so bad that they make it all the way to the Western parts of Japan. But, since I'm in southwestern Korea, we get a good dose of yellowish air that, after breathing it in all day, makes your boogers brown when you blow your nose. Charming.

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WEIRD PICTURES

Oh yessssss.

I wonder what a turtle and a frog have to do with it...

I don't even know what to say about this one.