Max's Visit - Thursday

Thanks to the previously mentioned emergency darts game call, we failed to go hiking Thursday morning as we had planned. Instead, I took Max to sample some of the finest Korean cuisine . . . Bang Pane (pronounced pah-nay). It's a tiny little sandwich shop that uses a machine to make hot sandwich pockets. The lady who works there is super nice and all the sandwiches are 2,000 won or less. Max enjoyed it.

Next, Max accompanied me to work. Why on Thursday? Thursday is Subway day, when we all have 12" subs delivered for dinner. It's the best day of the week. Max got to sit in on a couple of my classes; fortunately for him on Thursdays I teach relatively high-level students so he actually got to see me teach and not just scream at kids to stop hitting each other.

Having Max there was a blessing for all of us. In my class, I was able to put his art skills to use. I'm a very poor artist but when I needed an illustration of a stalk of corn to discuss first-generation biofuels, Max was happy to oblige. In fact, one of my students (the Team HoMo girl to be exact) was so impressed that she asked him, "Max, can you draw a monkey that is similar to [James] Pedersen?" Mercifully, Max just drew Curious George instead.

Also, children tend to behave better when there is another teacher - particularly an unfamiliar one - in the classroom with you. Max was able to help James N. and Kate keep a couple of their more rambunctious classes in check. They told the kids that he was a teacher visiting from Seoul to observe them and he stood in the back of the class, glaring. Result: silence.

That night we just grabbed a beer at the fake German bar next to our apartment, Garten Bier. It's a cool joint because the tables have built in refrigerated slots that keep your beer cold. Almost makes it worth staring at the appalling stereotypical black figurines the place is inexplicably decorated with.