Physio for me, Therapy for you

Still pretty wrecked today and, in my determination to avoid this turning into a whinge-frenzy, I'll keep it short and sweet. I've had a busy day of teaching so far this beautiful, sunny Wednesday and just got back from my latest physio session about a hour ago. It's so funny the conversations you find yourself involved in with the most random people here. I may have mentioned before that my physiotherapist is learning English and so, when I arrive, her eyes light up at the opportunity to get a bit of extra practice in. It does me no harm, as I certainly seem to get more time and attention than the average patient there.

In the few weeks since I met her we have talked about travel, religion, education, career, her love-life (or lack thereof).... it just amazes me how open people are in a situation where the only real thing we have in common is the fact that we can communicate (barely) in English. She told me today how she's getting cosmetic surgery on her eye-lids on Friday at the behest of her family! I've been here long enough not to be too shocked at someone getting unnecessary surgery (it's not uncommon here), but I can't say that people are usually so open about having it done themselves. The topic comes up quite a bit in class, but it always seems to be some 'friend' that the stories are about. For the record, I can't get my head around cosmetic surgery at all. I know that appearances are so important to 'success' in Korea, but a hell of a lot of the time, I think people looked better before. Also, where do you draw the line? First the eyes, then the nose, then a disgusting-sounding reshaping of the jaws for a more 'V-shaped' face? No, no, no. Take what you've got, make the best of it, be comfortable with what you've got rather than thinking about what you could have. Wow, that sounds easy... Mind you, I mightn't think this way if I wasn't so really, really, ridiculously good-looking myself....

Regarding the 'issues' I was having about working next week (either side of Chuseok), I've decided to just teach the classes on Monday and Friday and avoid the necessity of 'make-up' classes at a later date. I won't get to go away but, considering my bank balance this month, I probably wouldn't have been doing much anyway. Now that I've had a chance to clear my head and get over my initial frustration at being mucked about in terms of my expected schedule, I know that I'm not going to just let it all drop. At the appropriate time, I'm going to request that we have more information and notice about our teaching schedule, and I'll be finding out about the ninth vacation week my contract clearly states that I'm entitled to. It's about finding the balance between being too serious and doing my bit to fit in, but I'll be requesting that the school upholds it's terms as I do mine.

Ok, I'm starting to moan again so I'm going to stop for the day. I'll leave you with a reminder that even if you think you've messed up pretty badly, that karma is coming to bite you, that you've finally got in way over your head, it probably won't really be that bad. Nothing all that drastic really ever happens. Even if you were to get so messed up on drugs that you crash into a store and barely have any recollection of having done it, you'll probably only wind up in prison for four weeks. It must be great being famous...