Busy Busy Busy

It's all go this week since our Duksung Dynamic English (DDE) intensive classes started. My teaching schedule is usually pretty light but, a few times a year, we have these intensive sessions during which time we are pretty much under pressure all day everyday with class, prep, marking, conferences and lesson planning. On top of that I'm still trying to apply to as many schools as I can for August (Cameroon, Honduras and Sri Lanka today), keep finding research subjects for my MA dissertation, sort out my tax return documents for Friday, learn songs for an upcoming Muse cover gig with Cheon, keep on top of my other classes, and trying to grab a few moments for myself here and there too.

The classes themselves are going very well. We are preparing our homeroom for the TOEIC Speaking test, which is fine because I have taught it before. The students don't have a textbook for that class, which is a challenge, but they are an eager bunch. This is actually their first experience out of High School (they are freshmen due to start Uni in March), so it must be a daunting experience for them all. They're doing well. It's interesting to note how much more submissive they are than the older students I taught last term. They have clearly had all their creativity drummed out of them at school and it'll take a while for some of them to claim it back, it seems. The other classes are using a new textbook created by Tom, one of the teachers here. We have only been using it since Monday, but I can already say that it's a brilliantly useful book, rich in resources, varied, cleverly linked together, and perfectly suited to it's purpose. Tom leaves in late-February, but he will certainly have left his mark here.

Last weekend was, quite simply, the best of the year so far. Eleven of us made the trip to Gwangju, in total, and it ended up being two days filled with laughter, music and card games! The gig at Speakeasy was packed and the crowd, as usual, were amazing. Cheon had a bit of a blow when his bass took a tumble and picked up a scratch. The result was that he ended up getting more hammered than I have ever seen him, and it's a credit to him that he made it through the gig, let alone pulled off some stunning solos. I'd say Jeff also had his best 'Dead End Friends' gig so far. There was a period towards the end when he just closed his eyes, tilted back his head, and was very clearly right in the zone. We don't have anything as a band until late February, but this gig was just what we needed to give us the confidence to add a bit of swagger to our step.

That's that for me tonight. Looking forward to relaxing a bit on Saturday night with a few beers and Korea V Iran in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals. Korea were as frustrating as ever in their 4-1 win over India last night, although Son Heung Min, Ku Ja Cheol and Ji Dong Won all impressed aside from their goalscoring contributions. Not taking more of their chances resulted in ceding top spot in the group to Australia and facing a tougher quarter-final opponent than they might have otherwise expected. I hope it isn't something they live to regret...