TOSEL Tests in Jinju

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This week has been eventful and interesting as I regained my strength from the stomach bug. Students had questions on questions when I got back on Monday, but seemed glad I was back. Two fairly smooth days of teaching led us to Wednesday, when me and Shin Teacher left early, around 8 o'clock and drove an hour and a half to Masan on the coast to finalize my alien registration card. It was a cool drive as it had rained all night and there was an almost eerie mist hanging in the air as we drove through the emerald green mountains and beautiful tiered rice patty's that stretched into the fog. We got back early enough for me to take a quick nap before we had to be back for afternoon classes at 2. At the end of the day I received my first 'paycheck' which happened to be an envelope with two stacks of cash. I felt kind of like a criminal, as I received 1.7 million bucks in the rubber banded envelope, like I was involved in a scheme on some TV show, but it was awesome to be paid.

On Saturday (yesterday) their was an official scheduled TOSEL (Test Of Skills in the English Language) test in Jinju. We took a pretty nice charter bus and drove about an hour to a college campus. The whole time Mommy Teacher insisted me and Shin Teacher quiz the kids over the buses announcement system. Whenever Mommy Teacher spoke she certainly did not need the voice amplification and shrill loud syllables pierced every corner of the bus. We overran a small establishment and had some lunch before finding the language school and the students test rooms. Students had fun trying on my sunglasses until Mommy Teacher yelled at them for taking them (the language barrier strikes again, oops). We arrived about forty minutes early to the test rooms and I had a job trying to keep the noise down as we waited for them to be unlocked. A few pictures and good lucks and me and Shin Teacher left with his son and the two kindergarten students who weren't taking tests (they had siblings who were) and took a taxi into town. We bought movie tickets (Night at the Museum 2) and waited for about an hour for the tests to finish and the students and Mommy Teacher to make their way to the theater. I was looking forward to the movie but found it hard to enjoy as I struggled to keep students quiet and stop them from kicking the backs of the seats of the people in front of us. When we returned Mommy Teacher took me and Shin Teacher and two parents (three kids) out for a delicious meal of udon noodles and rice patties in a sort of stew flavored sauce with pork buried beneath. I walked home full and satisfied with some hilarious student pictures, some good sight seeing on the ride home and most of the students saying the test was easy. A successful Saturday (and week) to be sure.

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