Contracts and Thailand

#133.  Koreans throw tissue away after they've used it.  Let me rephrase that.  In Korea, toilet paper is commonly referred to as "tissue."  Most Koreans do not flush the tissue, they trash it.  Now, I understand that they are likely trying to put a stop to sewage problems and alike but to the average foreigner it's just plain gross.  Another person's waste is not what I want to smell when I walk into the bathroom.

#134.  Koreans are helpful when it comes to romantic indiscretions.  At most hotels, there are garages with a curtain that falls just low enough so that the license plate of a car cannot be visible from the street.  Say, you have a wife or husband who routinely checks on you to make sure you're being faithful?  Park your car in one of these handy, dandy parking garages and you're safe from the prying eyes of your clearly-not-so-loved one.

Well, quite a bit has happened since my last post.

As many of you know, I have been grappling (love that word) with the possibility of staying in Korea for another year.  I have weighed the viewpoints from my family and friends, the monetary gains and future experiences and have decided to stay.  Here are the most important parts of my new contract:

1.  I will have an (almost) 2 week vacation from February 2-12 to go home.  Actual flight times will be posted later after the flight is booked (hopefully sometime in November if funds allow)
2.  I have an end date of November 21st, 2011.  Yes, I know that is extremely specific but if you are a member of my family (Comer, Siemonsma, Hay or Brewer) you know how important Thanksgiving is to us. We go all out for the entire week.  Complete with a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, shopping (Black Friday is our own little version of crack cocaine), parade watching and plenty of card playing. It took me the better part of 2 weeks to convince my director that I would not stay until Christmas but eventually he saw the light.  Either that or he realized I wasn't going to budge and decided it was just easier to cave and let me have what I wanted.  My bet is on the latter.

I have also booked my tickets for a THAILAND Christmas.  From December 25th-January 2nd myself and 6 friends will be on the beaches of Bangkok with a cutesy little umbrella drink in hand, soaking up the sun.  While I do enjoy Bing Crosby's classic, "White Christmas", this year I will enjoy the white of the warm beach sand instead of the colder-than-a witches-tit-in-a-brass-bra snow.

What better way to welcome in 2011 than from the beaches of Thailand.

For now, life is good.  Kids are good.  Work is good.  Friends are good.  Family is supportive.  What more could I ask for?

To close, here a few pictures of the cutest kids you've ever seen.  Ok, well maybe the cutest kids I have ever seen.

Sunny stole her crayon.  Christina is not happy. 

The kids showing their multicolored weiner dogs.

Helping Matthew make a fish.  The one artsy thing I can do!

Wendy showing off her "smile."  She was still drinking out of it 3 days later.

How Christina sees me.  I have long, floor length hair, heart shaped
earrings, a crown and a gun at my side.  When she was asked by Jenn Teacher had a gun her reply was,
"But Jenn Teach-uh.  You are from America.  Americans have funs.  Right?!

My whole class.  They loved those straw mouths!