put some music on while I pour

I bought my winter coat last week, and just in time. Baby, it's cold outside! And this cold is miserable, and from what I keep getting told, not the worst it will be. Yuck. I also keep getting asked "Aren't you used to it? Isn't Chicago known for bad winters?" Ok, so Northern IL winters do suck, but they aren't THAT bad. Plus, I spent my last two winters in Bordeaux, where I think one time in two years the temperature got down into the twenties at night. Winter in Bordeaux was the short little season when my fingers would get cold if I wasn't wearing gloves while riding my bike at night. I got very spoiled. Korea has thrown me back into winter reality, where my ears are aching by the time I finish my walk home.

So this is what I don't understand. It is COLD. I spend most of my classes teaching while standing in front of a space heater. But the hallway in the building the school is in, as well as hallways of other buildings are cold. There is a simple explanation for that. And it's not because they are not heated. They are cold BECAUSE THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN. Why Korea? Why? Why? Why when it is 25 degrees outside with that wind blowing straight in from Siberia do you think it's necessary to air out the hallway? WHY? I'd rather deal with the smell of rotting fish or kimchi or whatever it is that makes the hallways at work smell so bad. And the hallways are not even the worst cold. I can deal with a brisk wake you right up hallway. The true day ruiner for me is the open window in the bathroom. Brrrr.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after my preschoolers leave at 2:30, I teach 3 classes of older kids (the oldest are 11 years old). I only have these classes for 45 minutes a period. The lesson plans are already made up, with work we have to complete every day. I have some really great kids in my afternoon classes, but the job is pretty thankless. There is not a lot of time to do anything fun, it's all business. But despite that, I do enjoy afternoons from time to time. The kids have some interesting things to say. Like today, in my class of 11 year olds, we were talking about countries, transportation, and directions. They were given a map of the Korean Peninsula. Then there was a list of the major cities, and they had to say where each is in relation to Seoul, and how they could get there. For example "Busan is south of Seoul. I can go there by car or train. Incheon is west of Seoul. I can go there by subway or bus." I kind of just had to shake my head and laugh when I got this answer for Pyongyang. "Pyongyang is north of Seoul. I can't go there because it's..." then she did the off with your head fingers across the neck motion, complete with the tongue out.

That's all I've got.

I'm going to the Philippines in 58 days. Oh heck yes.