Whoa! Check it Out!

Hello? Anyone still checking this blog? Hi Mom, Hi Dad, Hi one random other person I wouldn't suspect. My favorite blogger just resumed posting after a month's hiatus, and has inspired me to try it also.

I'm over my depression, but the urge to write still eludes me. I just don't feel like talking about Korea any more. I had my final to-do list of stuff to get to before I go, and I'm finding now that I don't care if I do it or not. And I say that without drama or Eeyorishness. I'm just done here. I'm satisfied. I feel like it's complete. (or been complited, as the transit card machines would say)

It's occurred to me to blog many times over the last couple of months. I went to a baseball game in May. That was especially fascinating for its platform of comparison. I actually choked up as they started playing and I realized I knew what was going on. It was amazing. I had a whole list of things to talk about surrounding baseball. The main snack is dried squid, which can be in little pieces, or it can be a 3' long, completely flat and foul-smelling thing. How do you carry one of those around? Fans were more involved than they get in the US, and cheerleaders for both teams were present, dancing throughout the game (though there is NO 7th-inning stretch). The most diverting habit is that of the Lotte Giants fans (all teams are named for the corporations that own them, plus an American sports team name--the rendering of "Twins" is amusing), who blow up yellow plastic bags, twist them off, and hook the handles around their ears. They look like low-budget cheeseheads. The game I went to was really exciting--the first batter up hit a home run--and I've been trying to get to another one, but have failed to appease the rain gods. We'll see.

In June, I went to Lotte World, Korea's answer (perhaps I should say "echo") to Disneyland. Of course, the climate here is more like Cleveland than California, so half the park is inside. Swinging on a pirate ship ride toward hotel room windows is odd. Lotte World's use of space is incredible. The whole park is nestled right in the middle of the city, and you wouldn't particularly notice it. It takes up less space than your average mall parking lot, but has enough attractions to easily fill a day and more. And the rides were FANTASTIC. Some were such blatant Disney knockoffs it was almost comforting, while others were unlike any I've ever been on. Our favorite was Atlantis, a roller coaster where the cars are like sitting on a motorcycle; I both feared and loved another one where we sat at the bottom of a huge pendulum simultaneously spinning and swinging (and our chicken friends waiting on the other side knew when we were getting on the ride because the safety announcement was suddenly in English); and I tried the Gyro drop, which swirls you up a massive pole, feet dangling, before bringing you down via free fall. A really fun day, lots of great Konglish, and probably worth its own post.

And then, amid a lot of other things probably worth mentioning, there's today--the last day of classes! I never have to teach again and I'm going to Japan tomorrow. No comprende. Actually, there is camp yet, and I really don't envision a life without teaching at all, but it still is a momentous day. I will actually miss the kids. For the most part, I won't miss trying to control them and impart information, but I will miss seeing them, being greeted in the halls, joking around with them, and hearing all the wonderful things they come up with to say. I love these kids, especially the 3rd graders, whom I've taught all year, and it's poignant to think that they're just going to disappear from my life (or I from theirs, as the case may be).

So for the next 3 weeks, I'll be teaching half days and half classes, with no co-teacher. Since I know what I'm getting into this time (as compared to winter break), I'm crossing my fingers for smooth sailing. 3 weeks (technically 5 'til I leave, but I've got some vacation time) is ample opportunity for more surprises and snubs, but I'm really almost done! And...I don't have to eat school cafeteria food any more!!! That alone is worth a party. If I could go back in time, I'd visit my elementary school cafeteria and tell my 8-year-old self to enjoy it while I could--I'd later find out how much worse it can get.

Headed to Tokyo for 4 days...I promise to think about blogging something.