My Third Knee

A couple weeks ago I got injured while playing soccer. Surprisingly enough, I was going for the ball, and instead of the guy kicking me, I somehow ended up kicking him in the bottom of his shoes with my left leg. A few minutes later, I had a huge bump on my leg the size of my knee!

Anyway, I went home, iced it and took some ibuprophin, and it seemed as though my leg was going to be okay soon. However, after about 5 days, nothing had changed, so I decided to go to the hospital.

The doctor did some X-rays, and as I assumed prior to going, I didn't have a broken bone. The doctor then recommended that I do some physical therapy, so I went to the physical therapy room at the hospital.

When I got there, there was a group of nurses at the front desk, and they seemed very surprised to see a foreigner. Their English also wasn't the best, so it took them awhile to tell me that I should sit down and wait until they were ready for me.

The experience ended up being both funny and inexpensive. When they were ready for me, one of the nurses escorted me to an area sectioned off with curtains. At this point, I was of course assuming that they would now be doing something to my left leg, so I thought perhaps she wanted me to roll up my left pant leg. However, I also thought maybe she wanted me to take off my pants instead!

Now I can't remember the last time a girl asked me to take off my pants, but the thought of this young girl struggling to ask me in English to take off my pants was quite amusing and a bit awkward. But considering I was in a hospital, it seemed like a pretty ordinary question to ask someone. I think because of the whole language barrier it made it seem a bit awkward, but also amusing enough that we both stood there in silence, with me having a big smirk on my face :)

Jesse: Hello

Nurse: Hello

Jesse: So...Umm...should I lay down or something?

Nurse: Ah...do you speak Korean?

Jesse: Not really. Do you speak English?

Nurse: A little. Ah....모라고지? Umm...okay.

Jesse: (Does she want me to take off my pants?)

Jesse smirks. The Nurse feels nervous

Nurse: Short pants!

"short pants" is a Konglish* expression for shorts. So she brought me shorts and left so I could change into them.

Amazingly enough, after everything was over I paid a total of about $15 for X-rays, doctor consultation, physical therapy and medication for my leg. Wow! Why can't healthcare be this cheap in the US?

*Konglish means English words that Koreans use, which are actually not correct expressions in English, despite the fact that they are using English words. Another example is the word "Fighting", which is a Konglish expression for "You can do it!" as well as other things.

I forgot I had a Blog

Well... not really. I've just been busy with work and everything.

In late December our head teacher Soon-Jae made an announcement saying that she had decided to leave Connexus in January. Her reason was because she and her husband Harry had decided to move to Chile. (Harry is actually Korean. I forgot what his Korean name is.) Harry's mother and some of his siblings live down there, so I think the plan to move was motivated by that fact.

Anyway, this has of course left a vacancy in our staff, and I was asked to possibly take her position as head teacher. However, due to my busy schedule as a full time teacher, I wouldn't be taking this position until my contract ends at the end of July. So for the time being I would remain as a normal teacher.

But after thinking about it more, I don't think it is something that I want to do. The advantages of the head teacher position would be that I would be overseeing teachers, scheduling classes, conducting monthly workshops and teachers meetings, and I would be in the classroom less, which sounds like something I could do. This would also involve less teaching time, but more responsibility. But the disadvantages that I see though are that their wouldn't be much of a pay increase, and I would continue to do the same thing. I like teaching English, but I don't see teaching as a long term career for me. Maybe teaching is something that I could see myself doing long term, but for now I'm not sure.

So probably I won't be taking the position, but this raises a different concern, which is what I plan on doing after my contract is up. At this point here are my options:

1. Stay at Connexus as head teacher for an additional year starting in August.

2. Leave Connexus and find another teaching job in Korea. (This would also mean that I would have to stay for an additional year)

3. Leave Korea and try to find something new to do, whether it be back home or another country.

I think for me though it's a really hard decision to make because nothing seems to be pulling me in any particular direction. On the one hand, living in Korea is good, and there are a lot of conveniences to living in Seoul (such as good public transportation, cheap food, and job stability). On the other hand though, I feel like if I choose to stay longer, I might find myself regretting staying because I think for me teaching English is not my long term goal. Also I'm a little homesick, so going home also sounds like a good choice.

Anyway, I'm not sure what my plans are at this point, but I'll try to keep everyone posted on what I plan to do.