A significant day...

Not particularly really, given that I worked from 11:00 until 9:00 on what had to be the most beautiful Sunday we've had in a while. There was a little rain last night, but not a cloud in the sky today; I'd imagine the beach was lined with people as far as the eye could see, but alas, I was going through the motions, practicing TOEFL speeches with students for the umpteenth time. My workday ended with my delightful Asia Pacific University hopefuls at the Foreign Language High School.

I've never been there on a Sunday, so I wasn't really sure what the students would be up to. My class had made a plan to order Domino's, which led me to skip lunch and only down two bananas over the course of the day. Since all the students do on Sunday is study by themselves (with only a few Third Grade teachers watching over them), a group of guys and I decided to head out to the field and play a quick game of 3-on-3 basketball.

The kids thought they would take it easy on me by teaming me up with the two tallest guys, one of whom is fittingly nicknamed "Sea Lion". He's all gangly limbs and hang-dog face, and his striking inability to dribble made me smile all game. When the ball was in his hands, he didn't quite panic, but instead held it in the air like he was given a pole with plates spinning atop it. Most of the students at the high school are remarkably coordinated, but occasionally you'll find one who you'd think would even have difficulty standing up from his chair; "Sea Lion" fit the bill.

The game itself was just as awkward. First of all, Korean schools rarely (actually, from what I've seen, I'd say never) shell out the dollars for paved basketball courts, so we had to play on sand-covered ground. On top of that was the fact that I was probably a little more aggressive a player than what they were used to; I pulled a near-Bowen-on-Nash knee to the groin against one of my favorite students (Joshua) when I mistimed a jump to block his shot. You can tell you're playing with some passive guys when you're dominating the boards standing a mere 5'7". Also, there was a soccer game (far more popular with students here) going on right next to us, so periodically a wide shot on net would sail dangerously close to our heads. Somehow, we played for an hour in these conditions, and all I could think of was how popular Shaun Lee would have been if he moved out here. The kids treated me like I was an And1 star simply because I explained how to run a give-and-go and taught them the "Airball" chant.

From there, we feasted on two pepperoni pizzas and practiced our interviewing skills. I'm a little nervous teaching this class because unlike 99% of everything else I've taught in Korea, the ability of my students to use what I'm teaching will have real and immediate ramifications; maybe even more-so than in the States, the university application process seems like do-or-die for kids here. I feel as close to this group of students as I have any class I've taught here, so it'll break my heart if even one of them isn't accepted. (But that's not gonna happen.)

I need to get some photos of "Sea Lion" up. He showed me this portfolio he made today, and in it was a photo of him at the school singing competition, where he sang "A Whole New World" with a girl, who I naturally asked about upon seeing the picture.

"She is my female friend."

I nudged him. "Do you mean your girlfriend?"

He looked at me as if I was deaf. "No. Her gender is female... and she is my friend. She is my female friend."


(Minor Question: Is Youtube working for anyone yet? I changed some settings on my account and am hoping that did the trick. Anyone?)