Sorry I haven't been able to post more. Things are crazy around here, but at least they are simply lots-of-different-things happening crazy, and not so-much-work-it's-driving-me-insane crazy!

On Tuesday I had what should be my final open class of the year, which is where we rehearse a class to the point of absurdity and then teachers from all around my part of Korea --- sometimes more than two hours away by train --- come to observe. Preparation can be very stressful, and the formality behind the proceedings is unlike anything you would see in the States. It all went well, though.

The hilarious part is that I am the non-Korean face of the pilot program for Digital Textbook Afterschool English, in which my school is taking part. I seriously had three 40-minute photo sessions last week, mostly with children from grades 3-6, and that was after having already had multiple photo sessions and a slide show for open classes just three weeks ago. This time, however, our master teacher (third in command, just under the vice principal) made a fully professional looking multimedia presentation that included such things as a still photo of me holding hands with several children, which was put over a background of foggy hills, with dramatic music playing. A Korean historical figure --- don't ask me who --- then shared the screen with us, and I think he was talking about the importance of Koreans learning English. Suddenly, a flock of black birds flew into the scene over our heads (think of the animated opening titles to Hitchcock's "The Birds") and were then replaced by white doves! Unbelievable.

Then, no less than two dozen photos of me and the kids were shown, with dramatic music and an equally dramatic live lecture in Korean. Many teachers from my school and visiting teachers complimented me afterward about how I was a wonderful model for my school. And before and after the photo sessions --- two of which naturally occurred at the drop of a hat --- teachers were cheering me on because "you are our school's official model. We appreciate your hard work and handsome photos!" Ha ha ha --- I heart Korea!

Yesterday my city hosted an English Festival for schools in my city and neighboring cities. About 500 students and their English teachers attended. It was a lot of fun. Each school had a booth, and the students rotated every 20 minutes. Our booth hosted Aboriginal dot painting, and the kids loved it.

On Friday I finally get to visit the kindergarteners for the first time since arriving, to have a Halloween party with them. This will be a lot of fun. They are so cute! They have only seen me once before, when I came into their room to laminate some stuff. They were amazed, and two of them said "Hi" about 20 times, because it is the only English word they knew, ha ha! But some know more English than many of our sixth graders.

I am going to my first Korean Basketball League game this Sunday, and it should be a blast. I watched the playoffs when I arrived in April, and there were all sorts of breakaway layups (as opposed to breakaway dunks), a game in which both teams at one point had shooting percentages of .97, and another lopsided game that was like 72-24. In the "it's a small world" department, a former Portland Trailblazer for two years, Ha Seung-jin, is the league's #1 draft pick this season. I have a front-row courtside seat that set me back a total of 20,000 won --- just under $15. That gets you a seat in the last four rows of the Rose Garden for a Blazers game. Sure, the quality of play is different, but I have a feeling the overall entertainment factor won't differ that much.

The fifth graders --- about 200 of them --- and I went to Lotte World this month for a field trip. Lotte World is like a miniature indoor/outdoor Disneyland, one of three near Seoul. I need to go back, because the long lines and our tight schedule prohibited me from going on more than two rides. But it was a fun day, as you can tell from the picture.