Caught Red-Handed

I had a hilarious experience with one of my kindy kids yesterday.
I have a system in my classroom where, if the kids do well they get a star on the board and for every three stars they get a sticker on a wallchart thingy and for every 20 stickers they get a prize.
It's been going for a month now and my top students have just started getting their first prize, they absolutely love it and are constantly counting there stickers and working out how many more they need.
I came in after lunch and my Korean counterpart tells me Roger has got 21stickers and needs his prize.
However I had remember counting about 18 the day before for him and he hadn't got anymore from me, or from her.
And also none of the kids would have got to 21 before realizing they had got 20.
So after a couple of minutes of umm what do we do, I confronted him, a 5 year old boisterous little boy, whose answer to Brad teacher's question "Did you take stickers out of my drawer and put them on the chart was a completely uncharacteristic complete silence, he looked like he was going to wet himself.
Eventually after my counterpart had to ask him in Korean, we got hm to take 3 stickers off.
It was hilarious... for me.
I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened more often, actually it probably has, just not so conspicuously.
Nice Try

Things I've learned babysitting small children (updated)

1. Don't EVER give a high five within half a metre of your crotch, it's gonna end in tears.
2. Drilling into children that in America the high five is the standard hello/goodbye greeting makes life so much easier.
3. A bear hug turned tickle can fix anything, if not, the kid sucks anyway.

NEW 4. A class of 11 5 year olds can clean a room in no time flat (I'm thinking a field trip to Brad teacher's apartment is in order.)

It's fucking Christmas outside, pretty damn intense.
My bike has been at work for the last week cos I've been lazy and it's too cold, so I decided I'd finally get it home today and leave it here.
So I went to Kung Fu and twenty minutes before it finished, it starts snowing, really snowing outside.
I got destroyed on the bike home, but I'm good now.
It's too cold here, but at least i can enjoy the snow for a day
It's actually kinda creepy, cos as I was leavig work today, I was in the elevator with one of the Korean teachers Kylie, and she straight out said, the first snow is going to be tonight.
Not I think, just it is. Koreans are pretty certain about their weather here.

Also I went to the DMZ on Saturday but that's tomorrows post

It's Snowing

More to follow after I shower

A sad day

Went to Kung Fu tonight, was a bit of an experience.
Walked up to the place and got harassed by Korean school girls.
"Hello" "Hello"
"Hi" "Hi"
"Handsome boy"
Anyway, that's nothing that new.
It was funny, however, 5 minutes later when they walked into my dojo.
Turns out a couple of them train there. Luckily they got bored pretty quickly.
I'm in a new training centre at the moment, a Hapkido place and it's been awhile since people have been so fascinated by my skin colour.
Anyway to the sad story, as I've already alluded to.
The Kung Fu gym is no, found out last Thursday the master lost a legal battle with the landlord and must be out by this Thursday.
It's a sad day, so for a little while we're training at the Hapkido gym next door, just keeping out of the classes' way.
The master is looking for a new one.
Went to see the master at the old gym today after training. It was kinda depressing, boxes everywhere, and instead of an eclectic playlist of 60's pop, 90's pop and Korean rock, there are these absolutely painfully sad Korean ballads, and the master is just plain in the dumps.
He gave me a training uniform and a pair of his old training gloves as a gift.
It was not a fun experience to see him like that, but I'm sure he'll find a new place soon

Happy Pepero Day everyone

Happy 빼빼로 데이
I officially have less than 3 months left.
I am also officially hungover as fuck.
Went out to Hongdae, the student area of town, actually just full of foreigners
Got quite drunk, and went to a hookah bar, was fantastic, not so much now though.

Ouch

Here's my story in MSN form, just for a change

Me: hi
Carloona: hi brad!
Me: you wouldn't believe my evening
Carloona: try me anyway
Me: Well, i finished work, and me Dave and Birgie went to Costco
Carloona: ok, so far believable
Me: so we get there and Dave decides to chill on the first floor looking at a new camera, and I wait with him
Me: anyway this has nothing to do with the story, Birgitta goes home
Carloona: still believable
Me: me and dave finish shopping have some dinner and head to the subway unnecessary overladen
Carloona: don't tell me you guys left your stuff on the subway
Me: so we're standing there and I check my pockets and wonder where my entire paycheck in cash is
Carloona: oh god
Me: after a frantic tearing through my stuff I realize it ain't anywhere there
Carloona: oh my god
Me: so I just leave everythin strewn next to the train with Dave and start sprinting, up outta there, outta the subway and off down the street, scanning and running.
Me: Eventually I realise I don't recognise anything so I assume I went the wrong way so I cross the street and start running back in the other direction
Me: then I spot Costco, I had run right past and then kept going about twice the distance again
Me: I dash across the 6 lane road
Me: and run into Costco
Me: the front gate is chained up and the staff are cleaning up
Carloona: and did you find it?
Carloona: aaaaaaaaaaaah
Me: Im looking at the bottoms of all the trolleys, and I run into the bathroom, not anywhere there
Me: so i run to the front desk and ask "English?"
Me: and she replies "Englishee"
Carloona: good enough
Me: apparently she doesn't she grabs the nearest guy, he speaks about the same English as my Winnies class
Me: I'm like I was just shopping here, I had a white Shittibank envelope with a lot of money in it
Me: and he looks at me half blankly and grabs the phone and starts calling around
Carloona: oh god
Me: about 4 or 5 calls later he passes me the phome
Me: and a guy says hi, I explain whats happened and he's like okay, put me back on with my staff member
Me: so I do, they talk for thirty seconds
Me: and he gets out from behind his desk, I'm like what
Me: and he says something something elevator, and I have no idea so I follow him
Me: We go to the goods elevator which subsequently takes the longest 20 sec of my life to drop one floor
Me: He waves and yells at some guy and we go into the office where some guy is crawled under the desk reaching into their safe,
Carloona: ....!
Me: part 2 will cost you 39.95
Me: plus gst
Carloona: gst?
Me: silly americans
Carloona: phft.
Me: anyway, he comes out with my envelope and I almost kiss him, they ask for the normal, my name number and how much is in there
Me: fucken stoked
Carloona: jesus fucking christ brad.
Me: 1.7m won
Carloona: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.
Carloona: tell me please you'll never be that BONEHEADED again
Me: pretty intense huh
Carloona: yah. and I wasn't even there

I just had the most intense experience of my trip, details will follow, but lets say I came so close to losing 1.7million won (about $NZ2600)