Whack-A-Mole

This week was pretty trying. The minute I thought I had one situation under control, another would spring up. It was kind of like playing whack-a-mole on 5 machines at once. God did give me many encouragements throughout the week though. I was constantly reminded this week of how God will not give me a trial too great to handle. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, he would pick me up.

On Tuesday, I had to deal with a lot of unprofessional behavior that happened on Monday from both the teachers and the Korean staff. Joe vs. the world. Dealing with the teachers went well. They were very receptive and acknowledged their fault and agreed to perform better in the future. The Korean staff was a different story though. I started by taking the person aside and in private telling them what I thought could have been done differently. That suggestion sparked an inquisition. I had a meeting with my manager which was interrupted by the branch manager coming in to talk with me about it. After classes that day, I had a meeting with the owner about it. The owner was surprisingly understanding about the whole thing, and ended up siding more with me than anything else. The other meetings didn't go so well. It brought back memories of being on death row, I mean seeing the dean of men at BJ. Whatever the result, I know that I did the right thing, and I remained very respectful during each of the meetings.

When I met with the owner, she actually gave me a very good compliment. She said I had "the blood of a Korean." I really had no idea what that meant until I asked a friend. It means the following: most foreigners come into this country and have no regard for its customs or rules; however, I conduct myself differently from all other foreigners so that even though I'm not Korean, she considers me as one of them. I was kind of taken aback. I walked into the meeting expecting fire and brimstone to rain down on me, but instead I got compliments and validation.

High fives are a big part of teaching. I use them to wake students to just get them motivated. The minute all the students start coughing and sneezing, I always hate myself. Why did I just high five you? It's the whole college dorm feeling all over again. Once one person gets it, you can just start the count down. I got hit pretty hard on Saturday. It was a combination of evils. First, I was invited out to dinner with the owner and some others on Friday night. When you're invited out to a Korean dinner, you shouldn't expect to get back before 2:00 AM. For some reason, I didn't sleep well at all on Friday night either. When I woke up on Saturday, I couldn't really speak.

I eventually found my voice and trained 2 new teachers. I was impressed by how professional they were. I was explaining something to them when they interrupted me, "Excuse me, can I take notes on what you're saying?" Why yes. Yes you can. (My name is Joseph Lee, and I approve of this message.) They practiced teaching their lessons in front of me, and before I could start giving them feedback, they were asking how they could improve and become better teachers. As a whole, I was very pleased with their attitude towards everything. I finished training just in time. About 30 minutes afterwards, everything I ate came back out. Yes Dad, there were chunks, and yes, I'll be sure to chew my food better next time.

I skipped church this morning and slept instead. I woke up with a pounding headache, but after some good ol' Campbell's chicken noodle soup and Tylenol, I was feeling better. I went out for a walk and say this bad boy. The picture doesn't really show how big it is, but I would say it was about the size of my thumb. I would not want to be one of those bugs.

I'm currently looking up different visa options for my stay in Korea next year. The owner pretty much offered me a job next year if I decide to come back. I think researching has to be the most mundane part of anything though....