Bits and pieces.

Smalltown is such a doll and I'm going to miss him so much. It's time to finally just say that, as he's flying out in less than two days' time. He absolutely blew my phone to bits this afternoon, after he rang last night and I didn't answer, as I was at the study room. I got home at about 5:30 today and saw that my phone was ringing with an international phone call. I still haven't got my stomach reflexes under control about what that could mean, since my grandfather's series of strokes, news about cancer, and finally death this past year. I answered, heart racing, only to hear someone frantic and far-away sounding on the other end.

Eventually I managed to work out that it was Smalltown on Skype. His phone's already been turned off here (went off around 4:30 or so this afternoon, I would say, based on the ridiculous call records). Somehow, after speaking to me on Friday night and knowing there was someone in my apartment with me, who I failed to identify, hearing about what had happened with IDD and all the subsequent blogging nonsense that blew up, knowing that myself and the girls were going out on Saturday night unattended by any males.... well, somehow he cobbled all of this together, added in the fact that I wasn't answering my phone, and freaked the fuck out. Whiskey, I hear you even got a phone call, for which I sincerely apologize. Haha.

That's a good man, for you.

Another good man is my little Taeyoung at the study room, who I got to know (and who got to know me) on a whole new level, thanks to the fact that we were working on "wishes" last night. I failed to realize that the game we were meant to be playing together would mean that I would have to make "wishes" about my friends, family and, worst of all, future husband. Taeyoung ate it all up, and didn't fail to provide any shortage of follow-up questions. I, in turn, learned taht Taeyoung has a young girl he quite fancies at church, who gave him chocolate on Sunday, and to whom he plans to give chocolate next month on White Day. One of his wishes was to have a girlfriend. I explained that he is a man, now (fifteen -- har har), and he's in charge of making that wish come true. But he explained to me, patiently, that he is still too young for a girlfriend, and that their love, if it is true, will withstand a couple more years of waiting, until they are in high school and appropriate dating age. He then turned his questioning on me, and I responded essentially more like a fifteen year old boy ought to. I don't trust you all as much as I trust Taeyoung, so I will leave it at that.

At the end of our session, he insisted on walking me to the bus stop, as the world is a very dangerous place, and he is a man who must protect me. On the way there, he carefully formed questions about why I had come to Korea, and if I was ever going to leave. Even in his peckish English, he managed to make these questions sound warm and polite, as opposed to the off-putting way they can sometimes be formed.

Today, when I came out of the building, there were some unfamiliar high school students playing soccer on the pitch outside. Unfamiliar, until I heard one of them say my name, followed by "Teacher", and turned to take a closer look. Fuck sake -- last year's third graders. Just when I thought they couldn't possibly get any taller or filled-out, they've gone and proven me wrong. These were some of the students I was closest to last year, and I hardly recognized some of them, until they spoke. They all came over to shake my hand and I barely had time to recover from the shock of the state of them before I turned to head out. Unbelievable.

In other news, I'm sick again. And multiple people are now calling me. So that's it for now.