Earthquake and tsunami may have been frequent buzzwords in the news, but I haven't really mentioned them much on Facebook or here. Some of the news footage is just devastating, and I know the people will be dealing with the effects for years to come, especially since so many lives were lost. Korea was largely unaffected by the tragic natural disaster that struck Japan, though a few side effects weeks after the fact seem to be making headlines now. Supposedly when the earthquake actually hit, it was on Japan's eastern coastline, so the side that faces the ocean, not the side that faces Korea. In other words, the country of Japan acted as a shock absorber for Korea. As a result, not many people could even feel the quake in Korea, though some of the Samsung superconductors in the middle of Seoul apparently have sensitive enough equipment that the machines went offline the day of the earthquake.
Today though, citizens were a little more concerned about the goings on, because of a possible weather forecast that could have allowed the wind direction to move from Japan to an air current that would carry wind and rain over Korea, and forecasters were concerned that this might bring trace amounts of radiation along with it. Parents were encouraged to make sure their children were dressed right to block the radioactive rain, and some parents kept their kids home from school. In fact, I think some schools even closed, and most schools canceled their outdoor activities for the day. I've never seen so many people with umbrellas since I've been here. A few people wore face masks, possibly in hopes of keeping the radioactive rain from getting into their mouths.
I wasn't actually notified of any of this, so either it wasn't actually a threat (and a news article I read on a Korean news website actually said the wind had changed direction today so even though there was rain, it was safe, and labs confirmed this), or it was another case like a recent evacuation drill: the native teacher just doesn't get notified of this sort of thing. I did use an umbrella, but otherwise I'm not going to worry about it. I think I was probably exposed to more radiation when I had the chest xray for my mandatory medical exam! If I have suddenly sprouted another arm by the time I get back to the US, I guess I'll know I should have done differently.
To change gears, this week has been particularly productive since my students were on a field training trip from Monday through Wednesday. I still had to go to work every day, so I spent my time planning an elaborate Guess Who game with laminated sheets, name cards, and color photos. I spent enough time on it that I probably could have planned three normal lessons, but this lesson helped me focus and not just sit on Facebook all week, so if the students get some enjoyment and learning out of it, then I think it was worth the effort and material cost.
I believe I wrote a while back (or meant to) that I supposedly have no limit to the number of copies I'm allowed make in a month. Apparently that's technically true, but when copy paper can no longer be found, and co-workers either don't know where to get more, or they've got a secret stash they'd rather not reveal (it's true! ^_^), this limits one's actual ability to make copies. So I'm allowed to make millions of copies, but I CAN'T actually make many at all. Since I finally got paid this week though (yeah... it was 18 days late, but God provided for my basic needs during that time), I was able to buy luxury goods like hand soap and copy paper, so now I'm able to make more handouts again. I don't think it'll be very affordable in the long run though, so I'll have to rethink a lot of my lessons and either do group work to use fewer sheets, or else skip the handouts and try to hold students' attention in other ways.
Also this week, I was taken out for lunch by some of my coworkers. Normally we just eat the school lunches, but they decided to go out for Japanese food and invited me to join them. Since it's rude to decline an offer like this, and I was curious anyway, I agreed to come along. What I didn't realize was this was more of a sushi place than a steakhouse place. And the sushi wasn't the little rolled seaweed kind, it was the giant slab of raw fish on a lump of rice kind. I can handle the former, but I have difficulty with the latter. Luckily, I could plead an allergy to some seafood, so my coteacher played it safe while ordering for me and just got me a mixed rice dish with spoonsful of roe (fish eggs) on top. It was cooked and served in a traditional Korean stone bowl, and I decided it was delicious! The side dishes (banchan) included a raw tuna salad, which I was encouraged to eat, and I did manage to swallow a few bites of it. At the end of the meal, my coteacher had saved a piece of sushi for each of the other 3 teachers at the table, including me, so I didn't escape after all. Since I've got a small mouth and a big gag reflex, I thought it wise to attempt the sushi in 2 bites, but I was informed after bite #1 that that wasn't correct, which was proved to me when the sushi fell apart and I had to smush together the misshapen glob of rice and bitten raw fish with my chopsticks to eat it. Just not really my favorite food ever, but it was an interesting and unique experience.
Last weekend was eventful and exhausting, but wonderful, with the church retreat on Friday night through Saturday afternoon, the weekly church trek, and pasta dinner after church. The church had graciously given me groceries leftover from the retreat since I still had no word at that point when I would be paid. I'm still using the food, and enjoying the new varieties. The bag was a little on the heavy side to carry back along the subway and bus route, so my knee bothered me a little this week. It may have been aggravated by running also since I was running a little more late than usual in the mornings this week. I did end up buying a small knee brace, and it helped a little. Still, as evidenced by my Facebook pictures, the weekend allowed for a great time and we had a good turnout.
This coming weekend I'm hoping to go hiking with a friend from church! Maybe I'll have more pictures after that event too. I'm sure people are probably avoiding outdoor activities this weekend, due to the "radioactive rain," but as I said, I'm not too concerned and definitely looking forward to another adventure!
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