here i am again

I'm back! Was there ever any doubt?
I just completed my THIRD day of teaching myself Korean. I relearned the phrases I was taught before leaving Bellingham. And by relearned I mean that I reviewed them said them a bunch and wrote them down. To me, learning means committing to memory and I'm not sure if that's happened. I try to put the phrases to a beat. It helps if I bounce a little in my chair and move my arms and upper torso in a dancing santa fashion (don't tell me you don't know what I mean.) That's how I'm remembering "How are you?" RIGHT NOW. right = owen, now = chigum. right now DOES NOT = owen chigum. shucks.
Today started out very well. I woke up not hating morning as much as usual. The shower stayed hot and I didn't burn my mandu (kind of like dumplings) lunch. I made it out of the apartment ON TIME and went to the first bank and tried out a new word--deposit (yegum) and it worked. But then I handed her a wad of cash so I guess it was sort of expected...That's when things started to go a bit down hill. I went to the second bank to buy travelers cheques to send home (cheaper than wiring) and FORGOT MY STINKIN PASSPORT. So I waited, holding my number, thinking of the heaven scene from Beetlejuice, when I remembered I needed it and left. I got in the first available taxi and asked to go to my apt--I have this down--and he promptly put back on the parking brake and motioned for me to get out and cross the street--using the over pass, in the RAIN--b/c he didnt want to make a few left hand turns!! Grr. This has happened before and it's NEVER fun. Does this happen in other places? Cabbies refusing to take you somewhere? I haven't used taxis many other places besides here or I've called them so I don't know.
School was fun the first few classes. Then my third to last class happened. I never know how this class is going to go. We have a love hate relationship. Somedays they are great and we get through the material and they are even talking to each other in English and other days they behave like animals and I can't get them to say one word in English. They are too busy holding their breath and making their faces turn red or stealing each others' things and blaming it on someone else. Today was one of those days. Finally, I said ENOUGH! YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY! (they know what this means, believe me) and walked out. They were saying--"No, Teacher!" I told Kate I had had enough of them today and she laughed and said OK. She knows how they are. My second to last class are 3 middle school boys. One speaks English very well and loudly. The other two--it's like pulling teeth. Most of the time the loud one is whining (in English) that he doesn't want to do work and doesn't want to talk and mo mo mo (Korean blah, blah, blah). I have to take coffee to this class to stay awake. Then my last 'special' class that I love. They were my students then started middle school and their parents moved them to a middle school academy but now it's break so they come to me for 2 months, every day. We can have conversations and they teach me some Korean slang.
After this class I found out I'M GETTING A NEW CELL PHONE on MONDAY!! I'M SO HAPPY. My phone shut itself off and was held together by tape. It was also only in Korean so I memorized phone numbers again (gasp!) and had to memorize which numbers to push to do what I wanted. 2-1-1 was to write a text message. Kate said the new one will be in English. WOO HOO!
Now to start the weekend.
Happy Friday the 13th.