The last week was amazingly lucky for me at work. Each day I was scheduled for six classes, but massive cancellations dropped me down to four (and one day three, if I recall correctly). It was nice to have the extra time, because the previous weeks had been so busy and also because the National Program Manager came down from Seoul to observe each of us teachers using the new curriculum in a class. I was observed on Wednesday and the student in my class was brilliant. She had just recently returned from a few months in Ireland and so her conversation skills were higher than average and she made very few mistakes. Thursday all of the Korean staff had to go to this computer training for about two hours, so several teachers and the NPM manned the front desk to handle student bookings. I learned how to make reservations and more about my company's booking policies, and as mundane as it seems now that I'm typing it, it was pretty enjoyable.
Friday was my day off. I lazily got up and piddled around my apartment washing clothes and dishes, then around noon I took off for Pohang, where Jenny teaches. I got there around 2p, and thus had a few hours to kill before she got off work. I went to one of the six or so beaches in the area and walked around for a bit, but the weather was chillier than I thought so I just read a book at a coffee shop. We then met up at this 'mall' for dinner and a movie--Slumdog Millionaire. We both enjoyed the film and talked about it over gelattis afterwards. That night I stayed in a jjimjilbang and I overcame my final cultural apprehension. While I've stayed in these places before, I was never fully accustomed to the male nudity that is expected of inhabitants, and thus I stayed covered and necessarily more awkward than anyone else. However, I got over it and acted (almost) just like the Koreans, enjoying the spas and pools and showers sans clothing. I decided that staying in a jjimjilbang is the benchmark in cultural adaptation: if you can feel comfortable with fifty other guys while striding around a pool, spa, and shower in your birthday suit, you can handle just about anything else that comes your way.
Saturday Jenny was feeling more sick than before, but she was a trooper. We ate some duck for lunch (actually, alot of duck) before boarding the bus for Daegu. The bus dropped us off right by an E-Mart (the Korean version of Super-Walmart) so we picked up some groceries in anticipation of cooking a meal at my place. When we arrived, I promised to cook up some spaghetti for us for dinner, and so began the preparations. However, Jenny soon realized that the mastery of cooking I had previously alleged was more bluster than substance and she immediately assisted my flawed efforts. So we worked together with the few ingredients I had to make a decent meal, but to our mutual disapproval. Jenny was also none too pleased with the fact that I had only one fork, one knife, and two spoons. She (oddly enough) expected a bachelor living in a foreign country to have a full set of silverware. The following day when she came back to cook spaghetti 'properly,' she arrived with a bagful of extra silverware from her mother, so now I'm more adequately equipped to handle guests.
Sunday was a re-do. I went to a department store before church and got some better groceries, and after church and a special shopping trip + hair cut we again cooked spaghetti. This time the result was much better and the sides and desserts and coffee were all perfect. We spent the better part of the evening talking over plans and making big life decisions.
When I look back on these days I see myself as different, much different, than the previous months in Korea. I'm still the happy, jovial, fun-loving, adventurous person as before, but I feel a gravity about my decisions and behavior that didn't exist previously. It's definitely not a bad thing, but it's a noticeable difference in my life. I guess I'm just transitioning from the last vestiges of carefree youth towards the more serious phases of life.
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