the good news

Allright, now the happy news. I'm glad about this anyway.

After talking with my boss, I went online to look for work. Then it occured to me that the temple has a kindergarten and that the monk once asked me to teach there in the mornings. I told him I couldn't because the contract I signed with my boss prohibits working for other people.

So I talked with my friend Sunmi that evening. She asked a lady who works at the temple. That lady asked the head monk. The head monk said okay, he's interested in hiring me.

So this past Sunday evening the monk, my boss, Sunmi, and I sat and talked. I will probably start Monday the 9th.

Teaching little kindergarteners. There are 90 kids. I might teach elementary school kids and some adults too. I don't know what times of day or anything.

The day starts at 9am and goes until 3pm. I don't know how many hours I'll teach or what hours. We've got some talking to do. There's no big rush on anyone's part to get organized.

My boss has been super helpful, cooperative, and understanding. I don't know if he's angry with me or not. He hasn't said he is, doesn't express it in any way. On the contrary, he expresses frustration with kids' parents. Saying this about them and that about them and how hard they make it to run a school. I haven't asked if he's angry with me or not. If I did, and he were to answer, I can imagine him telling the truth, but I can also imagine him lying about it. So I don't ask. It's not so important anyway. We're on good terms at least superficially.

The situation at the temple will be much different than at the school. At the school, I'm on my own with kids who very often don't listen to me, who understand what I say to varying degrees (pretty often many of them don't understand much), and, the great majority of them would never come to "study" if their parents didn't tell them to. I've asked many and it's always the same. Even with the kids who seem to have some interest, their parents tell them to come so they come. They wouldn't otherwise come.

At the temple, the Korean teachers will be there in the classroom. So they'll keep some semblance of order! Plus I've met many of the kids already and we've taken to each other pretty well. Not in a classroom setting but I don't expect a lot of difficulty either.

I don't speak that much Korean and I suppose most or all the teachers speak little or no English. No worries. Nobody who works at the temple seems to speak much English. I study Korean though and will study more when I'm there. Plus such immersion is the fastest way to learn. And Sunmi speaks great English and goes to the temple often. So I don't expect a lot of difficulty with communication.

I'll get less money for sure, but I'll also spend less money. I'll save less than I have been saving but I'm not so concerned about this. I will be able to meet my savings goal. Easily.

I don't yet know the details of my daily life. Regarding sleeping and food. Those are the two things that I'm thinking about most. I'll meditate every evening for two hours, joining the group that "sits" (does sitting meditation) from 8pm to 10pm. I want to do yoga at least a few times a week. I want to work in the garden. I want to study Korean for various reasons. I want to have a better understanding of Korean Zen (or Seon in the Korean language).

My two reasons for coming to Korea are to make money and to learn Seon. This is ideal. I can do both. Okay, this is not ideal. There's no enlightened monk here who speaks English.

Enough. One more entry in a minute to reflect on life in general and my life in particular.

Troy.