End of Semester (Whoo-hoo!)

Today was my last class of the first semester--second semester begins on August 22. Usually, I would have to do two to three weeks of "camp" before the actual vacation begins, but yet again my camp offerings proved so unpopular that too few students signed up for the camp classes to "make".

What this means is that I am more or less free to enjoy an amazing twelve days in Bali with a return date well in advance of visa renewal strictures--remember, kids, it's only CHINA that requires Americans to have six months remaining on their Korean visas before visiting!

I made sure my classroom was spic-and-span today by having the last class empty the desks, sweep up papers and trash, and put up their chairs. I wipe down my horizontal surfaces every few weeks--window ledges, countertops, teacher's desk--and make sure the student desks stay clean, so we were all done by 3:00.

My "handler" Mr Oh let me know that I will do a Q&A with teachers and administrators from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore next Friday. We do this every year, on account of my school won some award blah blah. This is the only firm commitment I have, other than medical check and Immigration visit, until next semester.

Speaking of next semester, I have been asked by Nam-bu District to teach the Public Speaking and Debate class on Saturdays that I did last year. I am very happy to do it again, for three reasons:
1) the money is as good as it gets, including good pay for worksheets and ppt slides;
2) I get to use my expertise in this subject area, which is part of my BFA degree;
3) the students are awesome: obviously good at English, but also just plain smart--scholarly, thoughtful and opinionated. It's like having a whole class full of the three or four best students of my usual classes at Young-il go.

To be honest, if this kind of thing continues, I will find it harder and harder to think of reasons to leave Korea!