Friday: I slipped out of school almost as fast as my awkward preteen "drama" class (four of them, bespectacled and oblivious, staring at me for 40 minutes) and into the light of weekend bliss. Heather, Rebekah and I headed to Itaewon after a delightful dinner of pizza (curry chicken pizza with a cheese and sweet-potato filled crust and spicy mayo dipping sauce - yum!). We had margaritas at the bar with the sand floors and gossiped and marveled at the lack of Koreans in the vicinity. Once Anne and Danny arrived we headed to another place to meet up with Samantha's hoard of English-teaching friends. This was possibly the sketchiest bar I have ever been to, but the music was great and drinks were free for ladies until 2am. Free and unlimited! You can imagine how that went. But don't imagine too wildly.
Saturday: Quiet and slow with a gloriously late start. Indian food and room work covered in the previous post.
Sunday: Exploration of the fabulous Deoksugung Palace and the heart of metropolitan Seoul. We were treated to the second performance of a free Autumn concert series at the palace. It was a neo-traditional Korean music festival, and it was amazing. The extent to which music can connect people is staggering to me. I am a foreigner, a tourist. I don't understand when you speak Korean to me. But I understood this music.
Saturday is also the day everything began. A call from Hyo Jin informed us that a boy in Heather class (who had not been in school for a week already) had been confirmed to have...THE SWINE FLU. Is that the sound of the world as we know it ending? I think so!
We were told we had Monday and Tuesday off. And - what else would you expect? - we rejoiced! I mean to say - poor kid. But a four day weekend awaited us and we were giddy with the thought.
Monday: The day it all fell through. At 7am I got a text message from Anne from the hospital where she lay with 2nd degree burns from an accident with a large quantity of boiling water. At 10am I got a call from our supervisor (but not the boss) informing me that because the school was closed for these two days we were required BY LAW to offer make up days on two upcoming September Saturdays.
The resulting day? Heather, Rebekah and I braved an unknown corner of Seoul to find the burn hospital Anne was at. We brought her a motley assortment of books because she had nothing with her and ended up staying for 3 hours just chatting and giggling. She was in a room with four older Korean ladies and no one spoke English. It's an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. On the way there, the way back, and deep into the night we analyzed, schemed and brought into being a mini union. With the four of us roommates (the only English teaching staff at our school) unified in discontent over the sudden disappearance of two of our precious Saturdays I think things might happen around here.
With any luck, tomorrow morning we will meet with our boss and get some direct and reliable information about the situation. Tonight all I can do is wait and see.
Big week ahead.
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