I was told the day before that I would have a dinner after Sports Day. One day is a lot more notice than one would usually get for these things, so it was nice. I knew it would interfere with my plans to go to the SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) dinner, but I want to have a good relationship with my school. I was assured that dinner would not be too long.
School dinners are difficult. This one was especially hard because So Jung, my main coteacher, had to leave early to go to some class or whatever, so I only had Su Hyeon to stick with. I don't know very much Korean, though I am studying, and the other teachers do not know a lot of English. Sometimes Su Hyeon would be caught up in talking to the other teachers and no one would talk to me for fairly lengthy chunks of time. I knew this would be a thing coming in, but it's still really lonely to be sitting in a room full of people who you want to get to know but you are incapable of speaking to.
Dinner did not end quickly. I probably could have left and no one would have noticed, but I stuck around so I didn't seem rude. They didn't pour me as much soju this time (I am not a novelty anymore) but they did applaud whenever I drank it (the novelty of a foreginer drinking soju is still a thing).
I was informed by the Vice Principal that another school in the area had been bidding for my application, but Nam Myong was the school that got me. This made me feel awesome! It's strange to feel wanted but also isolated and ignored at the same dinner!
At one point, Su Hyeon asked me if it was hard for me to be there. I simply responded, "Yes." It is hard. But it makes me more determined to learn Korean so that I can communicate and function! I understand that at these staff dinners everyone just wants to hang out with their friends and not worry about me, so I will do my best to get better at Korean so I can at least participate minimally.
Thankfully, I got excused after the first location. I was informed on Monday that they had stayed out so late the some of them got stranded after the public transportation closed. Yikes! Sometimes it helps to be under no actual obligation to do these things! I also get excused from staff meetings, so my lack of Korean skills helps me sometimes too,
Anyway, I had an awesome weekend after that. Tina and I went shopping because I got paid and am woefully ill-prepared for the Seoul winter. Seriously, it's getting cold here but not really. It's weird. It was 70 degrees today, but I was cold all day. Once the oppressive humidity leaves, it's like the temperature drops 20 degrees or something.
I got so many good deals shopping! I love shopping. I think I got like 9 clothing things and 2 pairs of boots. I don't know if you understand how much this means to me. BOOTS ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SHOES AND I BROUGHT NONE TO SEOUL SO I NEED ALL THE BOOTS. It's a start.
On Saturday we met up with some friends and went to the International Fireworks Festival. If you've seen fireworks, it was exactly what you would expect. But it was awesome. We hung out by the Han River and had a good enough view when Koreans weren't standing in our way. It's nice to just get to sit around and chat and relax.
Not much else going on here. I had a Korean surprise today. I was told that I did not have to teach my 3-3 (third grade class 3) class today since they had a bike riding test. If they can ride a bike, they get a certificate. So after I settled in from having my 6th graders, Su Hyeon ran into the classroom and desperately told me we had class. Not only that, but it was a lesson I hadn't planned for! That third grade class had missed a day due to Sports Day, so the lesson was one that Su Hyeon had already taught to the other classes, while I planned for the lesson we taught 3-1 earlier that day. There is something terrifying about trying to act like you know what you're doing in front of a group of children, but it's pretty empowering to wing it with your coteacher who is also adjusting to teaching this lesson and realizing that everything will be okay.
Otherwise, I just have Wednesday to get through before I get a break. Wednesday is my favorite day to teach because I have my 6th graders and my best 3rd grade class. I might like them the best because they are the most openly affectionate to me (When one little girl was asked why she was happy, she responded "Cesca teacher!!"), but they also try reeeeeeeeeally hard in English. I love it. And they're so adorable. I also enjoy my 6th graders when they participate and when I don't have to break up a fight (which I had to do today -_____-).
Sometimes I sit here and think about how much my life is a struggle to adjust here. And then sometimes, So Jung and I spend like half of our afternoon showing each other cat pictures and videos while I plan a weekend trip and I realize that my life is pretty great.
In case anyone was sick of Super Junior, here are 2 other songs from different Kpop groups that I've had stuck in my head:
Here's Block B's "Jackpot." This is one of the videos that shows how crazy Kpop videos can be. SM Entertainment tends to just do plain dance videos in front of some type of background (See: SHINee, Super Junior, EXO), but since Block B isn't under them they have a different style of MV. Check it out! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Yscg5vtVQ link since the MV sometimes doesn't work)
And for those not interested in Kpop videos, here are some funny videos of famous youtube stars reacting to Kpop videos. I promise, I have been every one of these reactions, and if you delve into the world of Kpop, you will be too.
I think my favorite comments are on how all of the members of EXO look the same or how hard it is to tell them apart. It's a real issue.
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