Lather, Rinse, Repeat

6:00 am - Wake up to my alarm.
6:00 + 30 seconds - Convince myself that I can be afforded only 9 more minutes of sleep. Sleep commences.
6:09 am - Wake up and make my bed (yes, I make my bed in Korean to please my host-mother).
6:10 am - Shower with Julius Caesar.
6:20 - Beautify / dress myself and clean my room.
7:00 - Eat breakfast with my host-mother and host-sister. Breakfast usually consists of 2 slices of bread with peanut butter and jelly (which is absolutely fantastic), half of an apple, 2 Korean grapes, and a glass of orange juice.
7:20 - Wait for my host-sister to get ready for school by awkwardly sitting in either my room or the living room in my grown up teacher clothes.
7:40 - Get driven to school by either host-father or host-brother. Conversation in the car does not ensue.
7:50 - Arrive at school and make my way to the teacher's lounge.
7:51 - Put on house slippers.
7:52 - Turn on my computer and get out my notebook
7:53 - Sit for 1 hour and check e-mail, play mahjong, read a book, pointlessly waste time on Facebook.
9:00 - Teach first class. Get gawked at by students who are extremely impressed by my: height, brown hair, and overall Western appearance. Impart wisdom upon the children by answering questions such as: "Do you know David Beckham?" (no) "How do you spell curry?" (c-u-r-r-y) "Why did you come to Korea?" (still haven't really figured this one out)
10:00 - Teach second class. Get gawked at by a whole new classroom of students. Answer the same questions.
11:00 - One hour or free time in the teacher's lounge. Amuse myself with the computer: blog, play more mahjong, try to look important and busy to the other teachers.
12:00 pm - Teach third class. Gawking continues. Male student professes his love for me. Feel extremely awkward. Thank him and walk away.
1:00 - Lunch time. Try not to die in the mob that is referred to as the student body. Fight my way to the food line. Become disappointed when realizing I will once again have to stomach rice, kimchi, and more rice. Awkwardly find a place at the teacher's table. Sit and nod as the teachers all speak in Korean, point and me, and occasionally drop my name. Take up my tray and head to the water station. Again become disappointed when the water is actually hot tea.
1:10 - (yes, lunch is only 10 minutes) Head back to the teacher's lounge and continue to look busy. Chat with friends from home.
2:00 - Teach fourth and final class for the day. New questions are answered: "How old are you?" (22) "Are you married, teacher?" (yes. To David Beckham). Gain respect.
3:00 - Return to teacher's lounge and get in one last game of mahjong. Attempt to bond with fellow teachers by eating whatever type of food they bring as an afternoon snack. Sometimes successful ... sometimes choke on grape seeds.
4:00 - Call host-brother and ask him to pick me up from school. Basic conversation is as follows:
HB: (lots of korean words)
Lauren: (in Korean) "Hello. I am at school. Come. Now."
HB: (more Korean words)
Lauren: "Ok?" "Goodbye?"
4:02 - Wait for host brother on the side of the street. Receive even more weird looks from the people of Hwasun.
4:10 - Am delighted to see host-brother's car and ride with him home. No conversation ensues.
4:20 - Arrive home and tell host-mom about my day. (my day is always fun, but difficult)
4:30 - Eat an apple and drink a glass of brown "water".
4:45 - Nap for about an hour.
6:00 - Wake up and attempt to talk with host-mom as she makes dinner. Offer to help make dinner and get denied.
6:30 - Defeated, retreat to my room and read.
7:00 - Eat dinner with host-mom and sometimes host-brother. Am delighted that the food is always delicious. Am not forced to eat kimchi. Become full.
7:30 - Study Korean with my host-mom. Attempt to understand what she is saying, and end up recognizing about 25%. Am somewhat satisfied. Stumble over more Korean words and wonder if I will ever be able to feel comfortable with the Korean language.
8:15 - Talk with family / friends from home. Am relieved to see America is still functioning. Delight in familiar faces.
9:30 - Read or watch American television on the Interwebs. Attempt to do laundry.
10:30 - Harry Potter date with youngest host-sister ... read 5 pages. Enjoy teaching her new English phrases / metaphores / wizzard vocabulary.
11:15 - Tell the host-family good night as I watch my host-sister trudge into her room to study for about 3 more hours, while my host-mother and host-father watch Korean dramas upstairs.
11:20 - Brush teeth with Julius Caesar.
11:25 - Fall asleep instantly.

Repeat every weekday for one year.