Well to those of you either just waking up or just going to sleep (or checking this weeks later) I just wanted to make a quick post to say Happy Election Day and remind everyone to vote! Not that anyone will likely read this before the end of the day but I figured I'd take the opportunity to inform everyone, since I'm sure you're just dying to know, that I did in fact get a chance to vote this election, despite currently residing in Seoul, a 14 hour time difference from my registered district.
No clue what the day will bring as the past few elections (the only that I remember) have proven to be truly memorable. . .though not always in the best of ways! Who knows, but by the time I wake up tomorrow there will likely have been declared a new president elect. . .how wonderfully exciting it will be to check CNN.com or pick up a TIME without having to read about the two candidates anymore. . . I mean, seriously, had anyone really not made up their mind after the initial Palin wave swept through the media? Any whoo, as living proof that I did in fact vote absentee and "made freedom count" in the process, see below. Legality of showing you my ballot? No clue. But I'm hoping that it doesn't actually have to be counted as that would mean it is needed to break a tie in Michigan, which would be great if it didn't come down to that!
Why such a short post when there's so much to talk about you ask? Well, cause I don't feel like writing anything political, and in all honesty, am in no way inspired to do so. Perhaps its because I don't get the hype of watching CNN all day but more so because I had to force myself awake this morning after only three hours of sleep to attend a mandatory unpaid meeting at DYB headquarters in Daechi.
After being completely unable to fall asleep last night, I had to pull myself out of bed at 9:00 to hop on the subway, for an hour, to get to Daechi. We sat around for almost half an hour in a room with 25 or so other Native Teachers until a Oxford University Press representative began his lecture. We were introduced to a few 'creative' and rather mundane ideas on how to engage our kids in class and help them improve their writing. Unfortunately, none of the materials that we use are from Oxford and the speaker clearly had no clue as to the format or content of the material that we are expected to teach. In turn, the presentation felt entirely wasted.
We then had a brief discussion session with the director of research and development for DYB (of which he is the only one in the 'department). Though it was nice to hear other teachers voice concerns similar to ours, the session was rather unproductive as it appeared Steve's (I think was his name) role was less to absorb and head feedback than to to dispel negative attitudes. Even so, he offered some decent perspective in to the fact that DYB is certainly a business, not a 'school' and that the reason things are as they are is because a bottom line must be met. He agreed that it would be nice to tailor individual books for individual classes but entirely economically impossible.
For some reason, as much as I dislike the teaching class structure I'm forced to deal with, I seem to be dealing with it much better than a dozen or so teachers who had to stay after the meeting to discuss 'serious issues' with Mr. Lee. Whether these meetings were initiated by an upset director or by complaining teachers is hard to tell. However, it is nice to know that we "have no problem" as Yumi told Nate and I, although it doesn't make teaching any more enjoyable or less exhausting!
On the bright side, being back in our quaint little quasi-ritzy Daechi, Nate and I were able to locate our old home base, Hanti Station. It took us no more than 15 minutes from DYB to find the station exit outside of Lotte Department Store where we were quickly able to locate the TACO Chili Chili store we had eaten at during our first weeks in the city! Mmmmmm, nothing like a good enchilada for lunch after sitting through a pointless and time consuming meeting! In the end, was it worth it? No way! I didn't get to sleep last night until after six and am praying that I can stay awake in class today! Was it really that much worse than waking up and bumming around Junggye all morning until class, not really!
Happy Election Day, it'll be the Black House soon!
P.S. Halloween pix to come by the end of the week, though they'll most likely be posted behind this as I already started uploading. . .oops!
2 comments:
this is a short post? unlikely to read before the end of the day? i voted at 8 30 Denver time, son. do people vote in asia?
This is nice informative blog. As a citizen of particular country it is our duty to caste vote during election because each and every vote matters a lot. Thanks for sharing this and keep sharing.
Ballot Boxes Suppliers | Voting Booths China | Ballot box Manufacturer
Post a Comment