Monday August 7, 2007

Today was the first day of Summer School. These kids haven’t failed any courses or done anything wrong. They’re in summers school because they are lucky. For our good little capitalists in training, there are no days off.

New Faces in Class

One of my new students is Emily. She is 9 years old. She wants to be a movie director. But her dad says she’s going to be a lawyer.

Hard Luck

I have a new student in grade one named Bum Suck.
Like the birds and the bees, I figure he’s not ready to know.

The Reviews

We got the feedback from the spring semester and the “parents’ observation day”.

The parents were unanimously disappointed with the program. No surprise.

One father told me – “it was almost good”.

Koreans misuse the word “almost”. I think he actually meant it as a compliment.

The parents said my classroom was too small, too hot and too many chairs were broken. Things like that.
(I’ve been saying this all along)

They were unhappy with the class because – the kids were having too much fun.
(in my defense, this is exactly what I was told to do)
My response – fine, give me a stick.

But as it turns out, we passed our quota for enrollments and re-enrollments. So the program lives on.


Acupuncture

I spent most of my summer vacation sick with stomach trouble. So needless to say, gone are the days of eating fearlessly in Asia. But it turned out to be a bit of a learning experience. I learned a hell of a lot about acupuncture, as well as the benefits of fasting. Don’t knock it till you try it.

When you walk into a hospital in Korea and say that you’re sick, the first thing they’ll do is put you on an IV drip, give you a wheelchair and wheel you into a big waiting room full of people moaning and groaning. Been there done that.

So this time, I went to acupuncture instead. No worries about the money either. I’m not in Canada. This is mainstream medicine here. They operate out of private clinics but it’s fully covered in the medical plan.

The principles are standard but each doctor has his own style. I went to two different clinics, seven sessions. So I’ve been peppered with holes.

The body is mapped out on your foot. So the foot can be used as a control panel to activate certain parts, like your stomach.

The first doctor I saw used four pins almost every time- three in my left foot, one in my left hand.

The second doctor I saw used about 15-20 pins - three in each foot, one in each shin, three in the stomach, two in each hand, one in each arm. Much more intense.

One misconception confirmed – it does hurt.

The doctor pops the pins in. Then he twists the pin, winding it deeper into you like a screw. Sometimes you feel a tingle. And some just plain hurt.

Confirmed – it does work.

My doctor doesn’t really speak English. So I didn’t get a detailed diagnosis - “stomach bad…yes” But he has a dictionary and tries so hard. So I appreciate the effort.

An example of our conversations…

Doc: Do you know “bloodletting”?
Me: maybe
Doc: ok. Do you know “much…fast….bleeding”? or “sucking of the blood”?
Me: maybe
Doc: ok. I will do this to you.
Me: Wait. I’m starting to feel better now.
Doc: don’t worry. I think you like this.


For this one, he has a needle that pops in and out like a pen. He punches about a dozen quick holes into the palm of your hand – the fleshy part just under the thumb.

Then he covers it with a suction pump that has an end like a shot glass. The holes all start bleeding the “bad” blood out of your system. The shot glass fills. You get a head rush. And your stomach freaks out.

I didn’t like it.




My ugly foot.

The new diet - rice noodles.