Erin is the Winner.

I was up early this morning- beyond nervous- waiting for my second first day of school to start. Remembering the first time we did this, I don't think a little anxiety was unreasonable. I still didn't even know which Sibling I was going to be sharing New School with, but I knew tension would be running high for them, too. This is New School. This is what we've all been waiting for.

Around 2pm, Grunter shows up. SWEET. Sharing a school day with just Grunter would be super easy. Being the least scary of the three, she would probably make this the easiest transition yet. So my nerves calm down enough to attempt watching where the car is taking us. I will eventually have to figure out how to get there on my own, after all. The fact that it was raining, though, made me truly grateful for the ride. No one wants to get lost in the rain. Been there.

We get to school and I see Ruby out in the hallway sweeping the floor. Maybe she's just visiting? No. Today will be spent with both sisters. Everyday will be spent with both sisters. This seems like a real nightmare, right? Well, I had a lot of first day of school optimism and I was only thinking one thing: Phew. No Narky. Sucks to be the other teachers!

I start to make my way back to the teachers' room and was told that I had to be the receptionist (or "counter teacher," as the kids say) so that I could keep an eye out for the students. (Ruby: "Receptionist is foreigner, haha, people will think is strange school!") Ruby and her sister had a lot of cleaning to do. They weren't cleaning the inside of the school, though, they were cleaning the hallway out into the rest of the building. They didn't want anyone to think that the school was in a bad area because the rest of the building was dirty.

Speaking of the rest of the building, there doesn't seem to be anything in it. It's three floors and the only one that's hoppin is the first floor. There are three restaurants down there- fish, judging by the smell. Up on the 3rd floor, where the school is, there is only one office space filled. It's probably the only space that's even finished. Looking through the glass walls I saw a lot of crumbled concrete and broken chairs. There're a lot of glass walls to walk past before you get to the school. Mega eerie. The hallways aren't lit or heated, either, so it's like a scene straight out of a horror flick. I couldn't walk into the school fast enough. Once in the school, it's very nice and clean. There are lights aplenty and just as soon as they turned the heat on, I knew the goosebumps would go away.

So back to being Counter Teacher. I sat behind the desk for 2 hours shivering. Like, when are we going to turn the heat on? Am I the only one wearing a coat and gloves? For goodness sake, I can see my breath... Grunter poked her head out of the office every now and then to use the computer or offer me a rice cake. Not the crunchy kind. This stuff kind of resembles a... well, I don't exactly know. Its like a super compressed cake. It's not spongey at all. Just... It kind of reminds me of string cheese. I'll have to bring some home. I like it. And it had this powdered red bean stuff on it. I do enjoy the red bean stuff.

Anyways, at 4:00 exactly, Ruby opens her door, comments on the cold and moves the party into her office. The "party" being me, of course, I jumped on it. They had a space heater and I was too frozen to be nervous about being in the demon's lair. Come what may, I was definitely going to be warm. It was heavenly, I definitely didn't want to leave when my first student showed up at five.

I had picked the March classroom, for obvious reasons, and almost immediately realized what a bad call that was. It's within view of Ruby's office door. Oops. I wonder if I can take it back...

But March has a heating unit up by the ceiling! And a camera dome....? Not that I had anything to hide about my teaching style. I'm pretty loud when I start getting into a book so all they have to do is stand outside my door to hear what's going on. Never been afraid of volume, that's for sure. There's just something about being watched while you're doing it...

I had Sister2 first. She loves talking. Any english she knows she says. Yet again, I was grateful the little girls next door made me watch so much Disney Channel. Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers are, of course, internationally famous.

I was supposed to have Sister3 right away, but Grunter thought I might be hungry so she treated me to some Kimbap, spicy ramen and doboki (sp? pronunciation?) She offered to get sushi for me tomorrow. There's a sushi buffet downstairs, but there was no time for a buffet today. I wasn't watching the clock, but I figured Grunter knew when I had to be back and she didn't seem concerned about the time.

So I was late for Sister3. Not the best first impression. Apparently not a first impression at all. I had noticed with Sister2 that she brought up things I had spoken to PandPGirl about. And this morning, Grunter mentioned that the sisters were all very happy with me. Sister3 did it, too. She talked about things that I'm positive I have never spoken to her about. I know I met them my first day teaching, because they came with Ruby to come pick us up and take us to school. I may have even sat in on a private lesson of Miss Honey's with one of them. I wouldn't say I know them, though.

Sister2 said she saw Jenn and I waiting for a bus on saturday and she yelled out "Hey! It's Sister2!! Hey!!" I didn't notice and even if I had heard it, I'm not sure I would've recognized her. She wasn't one of my students then.

So the Director and her sister both interrupted my class. One to come in and turn on the heater and offer me a glass of water to cool the burning of the spicy ramen. The other to offer me an orange. What's going on here? They've been giving me snacks all day. I offered them both bananas and gave the rest to my students. In Korea, when you have food you're supposed to offer it to whoever is near you while you're eating it. Now I understand what Jenn was saying. You can't just hold a bunch of bananas or a few apples. You have to offer them to the crowd. Got it.

PandPGirl was last and during the lesson I realized we are almost done with the book. That sucks. Jane Austen has been super cool to me. She got me almost 6 weeks of not being yelled at, a whole family asking to have me, and the best reputation I could hope for. Now I have to pick a new book. I kind of feel like whichever book we do next will be a serious step down, though. I don't even have any ideas. Maybe Gulliver's Travels? Any and all suggestions welcome.

After class, The Sisters' Mother came to talk to me. Her girls are all very happy with my lessons. They are so excited that they all get to have me. I guess PandPGirl put in a good word for me. Then the mom offered to give me a ride home. Whoa. Luckily, she didn't know what street I lived on so I didn't have to impose. But seriously. How awesome am I.

Ruby's told me before that the Sisters' mother is her favorite parent. So having that parent on my side is the best thing that could've happened here. Now I just have to avoid screwing up.

Two points for Erin.