8/23: F.U., ddeokbokki, and a pity party

Yesterday I had a pretty bad day. The stars aligned and everything just seemed to start working against me. Honestly, my deteriorating attitude probably had something to do with it, too.

I started the day by spilling water on my laptop. I mean, a lot of water. Since then, I have looked up what to do if you spill water on your laptop, and I failed in every respect (unplug it, turn it off, set it upside down to dry, don't turn it on for at least 24 hours, etc.). As punishment for my lack of common sense and patience, my only keyboard keys that work are now F, J, U, and Z, which I'm pretty sure are the keys I use least. 

Then, I had my hardest day of morning classes, including a class for which one of the other teachers neglected to make my copies, so I didn't know what I was doing at all. To top off my rough morning, lunch was ddeokbokki (duck-bo-key) -- my least favorite Korean food -- which is a rice cake in a spicy sauce. It's the strangest texture; it takes forever to chew and is really slimy. It definitely isn't a Korean dish that has grown on me as others have. Here's a stock photo of some ddeokbokki -- it's the cylindrical noodle-things.  

Long story short: I didn't have much to eat at lunch. 

Then, I thought I had the good afternoon class, but really I had the hell raisers, AND they were worse than usual. One kid in particular really challenged me, even yelling mean things at me in Korean. The worst part was that I haven't had any behavior problems yet, so I didn't know the protocol for discipline. I eventually just made him sit in the opposite corner of the room. (In our afternoon classes, there aren't any Korean teachers around.) I ignored him the rest of the period and made him apologize to me before he could leave. I thought he was going to cry at that point, but I waited for the other kids to leave so hopefully I didn't scar him for life. 

I got a self-pity pizza on the way home and ate way too much as I rehashed the day. Finally, I settled in with a su doku and went to bed. I had awful nightmares throughout the night (thanks for nothing, True Blood) and tossed and turned all night. Needless to say, I woke up in a funk. 

Despite the early morning remnants of yesterday's perils, today was pretty alright. I got a new keyboard at Lotte (only 17,000 won!), figured out the discipline protocol, and had the good afternoon class. In my first grade class, the kids were surprised break time came so soon -- they wanted to keep playing my game! And at lunch, the lunch lady told me (via the VP) that I "eat well" and that I'm pretty, so I know that will make my mom proud. The other lunch lady told me (via another teacher) that I "eat well" within my first week here, so I definitely got that going for me. Any job offers for next year?

Anyway, I'm finalizing plans for the weekend and getting my Kindle on tonight. Shout out to literacy.