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sorry, I haven't been in a writing mood lately. the job search is going well but it exhausting while still working full time. sometimes its an interview at 9 in the morning and then off to work and then classes till 9 at night but I have some good prospects so it'll get better soon. it's still quiet secret, which I hate, but I don't think I have a choice. The new teacher is totally pro Ye Ol' Eikaiwa, which is all and good for him but it's starting to get on my nerves. he has a 20 min commute and could bike to work and has a secure job. and an easier schedule. so I've been feeling like sucker punching him when he grins cheekily and tells me that things could be worse. yeah, they'll be worse for him when HE looses one more student and head office decideds to close MY job. which everyone is just holding their breath waiting for. but just all rumors, no solid information....

plus he keeps saying that my English is wrong because its not British, which is no longer funny. it implies that I'm stupid, and I'm loosing patience with this joke. ha ha. kori's a hick.

I suppose if I lost my temper and punched him it would prove his point... damn. can't take the country out of the girl I guess... buck a bail into his face.

in other news, I devoured two books recently. "Neither Here or There" Bill Bryson and "River Town" Peter Hessler. Both are autobiographical clips of life. In the first Bill, now solidly middle aged, retraces his journey through Europe, seeing how it's changed since his backpacking summers in college. In the second, Peter goes to a small town in central China with the Peace Corps to teach literature at a teachers college for two years. I identify with Hessler's culture shock and attempts to understand and assimilate something so very foriegn and the contrast is not flattering to Bryson. in comparison Bryson seemed kinda wimpy. I started Bryson when I was in Korea and as he tries to find a hotel in Italy, I'm relieved taht I think I got on the right bus since nothing is written in even the same alphabet.

I guess it just feels like the backpacker of my parents generation seems rich and sheltered to the backpacker of my generation. Europe now has a reputation for being too expensive--compared to SE Asia--for the young and carefree. and kind of too easy, or not mind openign enough. like it isn't THAT different...

I don't know, my thoughts aren't coallessing, but I'd read parts of Bryson's book and wonder if he could manage Tokyo or Seoul or Bangkok or Beijing. Maybe it's just that the world has become much smaller in 40 years and we young people aren't as intimidated.

I have a new friend who I met through the couchsurfing site, another tokyoite who is saving 20grand to spend a year+ travelling the silk road from Eastern China to Europe. she's inspired me to believe taht I can get to all the places I want to see. and not just see them but really get there and be there. for instance, there are CELTA/TESL certificate programs offered in Buenos Aries that may be a possibility in the future. the tango hall have been calling recently...