Soft Tofu Stew and Tuna Fish

If I ever have kids, I promise to try to teach them about patience from a very early age. I know it's tough. Kids are all, like, "I want it I want it I want it NOW." (Or for the less polite, "gimme gimme gimme. Now.") Lack of patience in children is wearing me out. I'm still trying to manage my classes in a way that doesn't make me crazy. The kids are always screaming at me "teacha, teacha!!" even when I'm obviously engaged with another student. When they've finished their work, they all scream "I'm done!" or "I'm finish-eed!" and keep screaming it until I've acknowledged them by holding up a finger (no, not my middle one) and saying "wait a minute, please."

I mentioned last week how the lesson with the boss went very well, and it did, at least in regard to lesson-learning. What I wasn't so impressed with was being interrupted by the boss's kid, who wanted to take our orders from his pretend "restaurant" (a wheelie office chair.) I ordered a couple bottles of soju from him. When we weren't playing restaurant to his liking, he hit me on the head with an over-sized inflatable mallet that squeaked every time it came into contact with my noggin. Excellent. His mom did tell him to cut it out, but then he'd devise a new way to get our attention. This week wasn't as bad, the little guy sat in between the two of us at the table, eating a soup made of hot cocoa powder and a smidge of water. He ended up wearing most of it on his shirt.

This is the same kid who I watched have a nervous breakdown yesterday because his mother was talking on the phone to one of the student's parents and not focusing her attention on HIM. He had something to show her; something made of popsicle sticks. It was important, man.

I'm going to devise some sort of double code word with my kids, and I mean my not-yet-concieved-fruit-of-my-loins, not my students. If I say "tuna fish," the kid will know to go find something else to do, because mommy's busy, or wait quietly and patiently until I can attend to him or her. Of course, he or she will be able to trump my "tuna fish" by saying "baby lamb" if they are, say, on fire.

Tonight's lesson was good, and afterward we went out for some yummy soon tubu jjigae

and some more conversation. I didn't get home until about 10:45 (our lesson starts about 8:10) so dinners a good deal for both of us I figure. I get some yummy Korean food and Karen gets extended conversation practice. Her son is very well behaved at dinner, either eating rolls of gimbap, or watching kids outside play video games or the crane game. Throughout my neighbourhood, usually outside stationery stores, there are loads of video games kids sit around playing for 100 won (about 11 cents Canadian.) Good deal!

Elizabeth dropped a bit of a bomb on me tonight, leaving me with about 25 quarterly reports that are due tomorrow, so I've got a couple more hours work ahead of me, as well as marking Karen's homework.

So, "tuna fish" for now!