Amanda Takes Off...

Yesterday I was walking to the bus stop from school and some middle school boys said "HI!"

I turned and said, "Hi!" I thought maybe they'd attended my school before I was the teacher there. "How are you?"

The boy who'd spoken looked confused and his friends translated.

We chatted a bit. They were all 14, none had gone to my school, they all did taekwondo. How did that come up? One said out of the blue, "Taekwondo!"

I said, "Yes, I do taekwondo."

"Ung! Ung! Really?"

"Yes, why did you say 'taekwondo?'"

They pointed to my jacket. I was wearing the jacket Master gave me. It doesn't say 'taekwondo' or 'Tongil' or anything else on the back, but apparently it's a taekwondo jacket.

I bid them goodbye and as I got on the bus I realized it's always the kid with the worst English who speaks to you when he's part of a group.

Last night, after class, I was changing in the closet with Crybaby Gold Medal Girl. Suddenly water started splashing on us through some holes in the ceiling and wall.

I finished changing in the bathroom and found Master outside. Water was pouring down the steps from the third floor. Months ago he told me that he'd put a small swimming pool up there for his kids.

"Um, Master. Did the swimming pool break?" I asked in Korean.

"What?"

"Swimming pool?" His blank face told me I was going in the wrong direction, so I switched tactics. "Master, there is a lot of water! Why?"

"We're cleaning."

"Why?"

"We always clean."

I put my hand on my hip, "Cleaning, OK, I know. But Master, I've been here 1 year and...4 months. And I have never seen this!"

He laughed, "Oh! I understand. Usually we do this during the daytime."