Heartbreaker (or, The Cruel Injustice Of British Rock Reunions)

Would I pay $2,000 to fly to London to see the one-off reunion performance of a forty-year-old band whose members are either well passed their prime or dead? The answer of this absurd question would usually be a resounding no, but in this case, I feel like I will always regret missing Led Zeppelin's first show in 22 years. This is of course despite the fact that I have about a 1 in 500,000 chance of winning the privilege to purchase the tickets, as they are being raffled off in an online drawing, and that I have far less than the ridiculous amount of money needed for such a venture. Having been in nearby Spain when Pink Floyd reunited for Live 8, this is not the first time I've missed out on Britain's seemingly endless string of "not to be missed" London-only concerts. Just this last summer, I had to view Spinal Tap on a tiny little browser window, while a stadium of indifferent limeys half-heartedly watched them live. Enough is enough, England. This time you've gone to far.

...Anyhow, despite such saddening news, things are going well here in Korea. Earlier this week, I taught a series of 9 fifth grade classes, giving the same powerpoint presentation about myself, and mostly expecting a dramatically lower level of both proficiency in English and general interest in learning. I was wrong on both counts; the fifth graders were far more enthusiastic, easier to control, and much easier to impress (you would not believe how much the kids love barbeque, though I don't know where on the island they would have tried it). My co-teacher in fifth grade speaks English well, and it was an easy process sharing the class with her. Next week, I have been told to prepare a presentation on Thanksgiving, as the Korean version, Chusok, is coming a week later. I need to come up with Thanksgiving games as well, but short of drawing hand-turkeys, I am stumped.

Third graders, of whom there are mercifully only two classes per week, are nice enough but their level of English is tragically lower; after showing them my powerpoint (necessarily toned down to their level) I answered questions for around 25 minutes, all of which were in the format of "Do you like ...?" (they just learned this). There are 8 third grade classes, and since I have only 2 per week, I'll be repeating this experience for the next month. I'm not one to complain about easy work... so I won't. I was just hoping to be done with that damn powerpoint by now.

There is a delicate balance between eating healthy and saving money, one which was often a problem for me back at home, but has become much more pronounced here in Korea. Everywhere there are snack shops with fried everything- fried chicken, fried pork, fried rice rolls, fried quail eggs... just about anything that can fit on a skewer. And they are, like most fried street goods, very very cheap. On the other hand, anything that is remotely healthy is pretty costly, and comparatively rare. I have found myself going out on a particular night, eating a healthy but pricey meal, and thinking "wow, this is great, I'm gonna lose so much weight!". Then the next morning, I wake up and look in my wallet and, despairing, think, "It looks like I'll be eating fried dumplings and ramen tonight". Maybe this will subside when I get paid, and am not watching my stack of 10,000 Won notes shrink down to nothing. Just one more week, I guess.

I've got to go teach class now (my first two were moved to later this afternoon because of class elections, though no one told me). I'll write more later, see ya!