"where there is a meeting, there is a bye-bye" ~ my student, Cang-min

Thursday was a rough one. Nearly 3 hours in the dentist's chair and I left the office feeling mutilated with a chopped-off bur of a tooth in my mouth still awaiting its cap. I won't expound on the series of sour mishaps that followed, but suffice it to say that Murphy's Law shone through. I had to take a cry-break between classes and by the end of the day lying under the covers felt like winning the lottery. Friday morning, I was to meet my boss, Mi-eun, for lunch at 11:00, but woke up late and needed the hot water too badly to skip showering. Dripping but finally able to open my eyes, I looked at my watch and it was 10:58. I miraculously got myself dressed, tucked my damp mop under a cap, slid into my coat and out the door in only five minutes. As I stepped through the front gate I heard two short honks; Mi-eun was waiting in her car. I fumbled my way into the passenger seat, not really attempting to mask my drained condition. Mi-eun wiped a smudge from my glasses, fixed my coat collar, and asked if I wanted to go for a drive. I beamed at the idea; I wasn't hungry yet, anyway.

The coat was only necessary because of the cold wind. Once inside the car, the sun did a brilliant job of warming and brightening things. Jason Mraz crooned along as Mi-eun and I chatted about work and relationships and how much we'll miss each other. She drove me into the mountains. We giggled at the challenge of parking. We walked arm in arm up a quick mountain pass to a buddhist temple. We shot some quick pictures in front of the shrines, then meandered back down the mountain to find a Vietnamese restaurant downtown. She called work and let them know she might be a few minutes late. She was beside herself with guilty pleasure then; she's never done anything like that! (Mind you, we were all of 10 minutes late for work) It was adorable.

After our lunch we quickly found a fortune teller, as is our tradition. The woman in the tent we chose this time had curly hair piled high on her head, spilling over the left side of her face. She was pleasantly plump and had signs of water retention in her hands. Her lips and fingernails were painted red. She spread out the stack of cards and told me to pick 7. I did so carefully, and she turned them over to reveal romantically styled images of robed ladies, caped men, white horses, elegant trees and flowers budding from vines. She smiled often as she spoke, exposing charmingly crooked teeth, and Mi-eun translated. She didn't tell me anything I didn't know, but said a lot of nice things.
Mi-eun received her fortune with lots of dissatisfied sounds (she didn't translate her own as we went, so I was left guessing), but afterward told me it wasn't bad news- only that she's tired of waiting for Mr.Right. Poor Mi-eun.

One coffee-to-go later, we were at school almost on time and I got right to work training my replacement and sorting though my shelf for what I should keep, what should stay. My last day with the kids was a whirlwind of hugs, pictures, and games, with a respectable amount of time still devoted to lessons. A lot of the students slipped me thoughtful letters thanking me and saying goodbye. Mi-eun and the oldest students surprised me with a pizza party and a cake on my 30-minute break. When the day was over, I felt elated. Kevin and Joshua and I grabbed a couple of celebratory drinks at The Sound of Music at its new location, which is gorgeous (maybe I'll get some pictures in here later).

The next day, I was finally able to sleep in. I met again with my dentist at 3pm for the fitting (I get my cap Wednesday!) and he surprised me with opera tickets! Rigolletto! I immediately dropped my secret grudge over the bad Thursday.
When night came, we enjoyed a homemade spread at my coworker, Su-mi's, family's home. A-mi-li went with us, too- another coworker. We like to call her Rockstar because she usually looks like one (I was sad to hear she's trying to 'tone it down' in order to snag a man easier... it's dog-eat-dog in the dating game here.) I got to meet Su-mi's fiance, who made the most of his limited English throughout the night by playing announcer: He would only say one word at a time, but he'd say it like an arcade game might. "Alright!" "Great job!" "Nice-Uh!" He was silly. Su-mi explained how they met, two years ago-- she was his customer at a bookstore, and ordered some books which were out of stock so she left her number on the order form, and he used it to text-ask her for a date. Cute, huh? I also got to meet Su-mi's dad, who collects rocks and stamps and whose mother is a well-known calligraphy artist, and Su-mi's 18 year old brother who was very cute and shy and whose nickname at school is 'Sloth' because he is always snoozing. Su-mi's mother and sister we had met previously. Omma made us feel like family with a bountiful feast and kind, honest conversation. The sister joined us a little late, and we found out she is scheduled for a surgery on her jaw very soon, and everyone is a little worried. I'll be thinking of her on the 30th (My own sis's birthday).
All in all, it was one of the nicest dinners I've had this past year.

And today, Sunday, Kevin and I went to our first ever opera. Here's a link to one of the more famous songs from the opera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg
It was an unforgettable experience. Plus, I got to wear heels.

Weeeeeeee!

*with 3 pages left*

it's getting very close to the end of the chapter. i am antsy at these points, constantly wishing either to pause or fast-forward.

though the weather took a turn for the better today, my students all acted shocked to see me in short sleeves. it's so funny to me how they are avidly interested in my appearance. they'll shout out these abrupt announcements whenever they notice i am wearing a new shirt or have on two necklaces instead of one- and they're directed at me, not about me- like if i walked in with my fly down; they're informative and urgent statements. so, today, i entered 5 classrooms to be greeted by kids racing to tell me that i'm wearing short sleeves:
"teacher!! no arm!"
"teacher! cut shirt!"
"teacher!!! i see teacher elbow!"
"teacher! not cold?"
yeah: one kid remembered elbow. i was impressed.

i'm going to miss my time with them. what a great group of kids i have here! well-mannered, bright, studious... and best of all, they all seem to possess a terrific sense of humor.

in interest of preserving the memory, i will take note here of some favorites (i won't be insulted if you skip ahead a bit here):

philip- small, young, darker skin, big eyes, big dimples. he celebrates his name every day. 'teacher, what is my name?'- not because he forgot, just because he likes me to say it. other times he asks me to spell it, or says 'teacher, i am wendy student, so you are...' so i play along with, 'philip teacher' and he giggles like a crazy-man. this kid is a prime example of bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed. i can't ever be upset with him for not paying attention or forgetting his homework. he just melts me.

sam- a newer student, but one i'll remember. she wears a gold-colored coat. on her second day at the academy, she saw me chatting with another teacher outside of our lunchroom, and waited patiently for my attention. i had taught her for just one day at that point, and with all the new students i didn't especially recognize her. however, when i noticed her watching me, i stepped over and cheerily said 'hello', and she said 'hello, teacher', and i said 'how are you?' (which i always ask- all the time- and they 99.9% of the time reply with 'so-so' or 'fine, and you?', as they've been taught) but sam was not fine-and-you or even so-so, and she told me so. she was sad. why, i asked? and she struggled linguistically to explain her favorite grandpa had passed away. i wanted to hug her, but wasn't sure if it would have been ok or not- so i went to the lunch room and snatched an orange, brilliantly colored and fat with juice, from a box of oranges for the teachers. i quietly put it in her hand as i passed her a moment later in the stairway. she seemed to take it like the hug i wanted to give- and she turned out to be one of the most positive, eager learners i've encountered. she was a joy to teach.

sangwoo- an older student i had the privilege to teach for almost the whole year. smart? yes. attentive? usually, yes, absolutely. but best of all, he's open. he isn't trying to be cool or putting up barriers. he makes me laugh a lot, he puts his best effort into his work, and he loves to overreact and get loud. there's just not enough noise here, so i appreciate this about him. he enjoys playing the highly offended role, and scream in indignation through a restrained smile that's burning holes in his cheeks. totally entertaining. i just find myself hoping for him. i hope he gets everything he wants in life.

tim-tom-tim - i thought he was my problem child. he turned out to be a really cool kid, and to show more respect than the 'good kids' from time to time. he would have a slingshot in his back pocket and a frog in the front if he were a cartoon.

betty- one endearing and hyper kid. she can't listen, though she wants to. she is so friendly and so in love with attention; like some puppies i've known. you know how the lickers find someone who doesn't push them away so they get extra excited and lick and hop and wag until their zeal knocks their balance off and they fall over. that. and she just laughs at herself and brushes the hair out of her face, gets up, and goes back to it.

collectively; the girls- cecilia, angela, amy, amber, ann (tasha used to be a part of it, too) these are my tues/thurs. toefl students, and they have shown me such warmth and sweetness! they are a great group, and i have loved my time teaching them the most because they show real interest in me as a person, they listen, and answer, and act genuinely, and remain angels. they could have been making this pretty hard on me, but they chose not to... for that, and the snacks they've shared (yeah, this is the ice-cream getting group), and for all the laughs they've given me, i am eternally grateful.

i love how the lower level kids will get so excited as they learn- when things click, it's palpable.
i love how the mid-level kids are brave and look so proud of themselves when they succeed in each little task.
i love how the advanced kids realize they are teaching me, too, and are not put off by it.


tomorrow, there will be a 'ball' for the academy at the ramada inn.
we will listen to a lecture for an hour (in korean) and then we will all feast and mingle. everyone's asking me what i'll wear. i may have to buy a pair of heels to fit in (they're a great souvenir, anyway, since they are the most common ladies' footwear, no matter the location or occasion)

which brings me to a point- korea has made me more aesthetically feminine than i've ever been. just yesterday i wore both a headband AND a flower-barrette in my hair at the same time. i'm still not getting manicures or fake lashes. but there's a new appreciation for accessories and floral prints, i can't deny.

more importantly, there have been some great internal changes: a firmer understanding of how i best operate in the world, less feeling in some old battle scars. good changes.

other details i don't want to forget:

i had two rum-n-cokes with mr.song yesterday. he's still working on opening his new place- i hope for a tour if i will miss the grand opening. it will be gwangju's first in-house brewery, and i am sure it will be beautiful to see... all that copper in the middle of all his woodwork. i played a few songs for him last night, feeling embarrassed i haven't played more lately. we discussed nazi germany and he helped me understand how a short weirdo like hitler had been able to dupe so many people. on the way home, i purchased a double-battered corndog from a street vendor. the vending carts are nighttime eye-candy. steam rolls off them here and there. the various snacks are usually arranged in square compartments. lots of things on sticks: hot dogs, corndogs, fish, shrimp, tofu, chicken, steak, veggies.... all poked through with a stick and arranged in a box. and ddokk-bekki (i probably misspelled this)-- little cylindrical pieces of dough floating in ponds of sticky thick red sauce. every day's a carnival in korea!


places i frequent:
kimbap naras (cheap/quick korean food places frequented by kids between school and academy) boy-on-bike-gets-hit-by-car, the CBC, the place with the chinese girl, the place across from the chinese girl, kevin's place, and the place where the guy loves me. (that last one is my favorite, and always means we're getting free snacks in addition to our order)

grocery stores: the one on the corner (previously the place with eggplant), the other place (previously, the grocery store), family mart and home plus.

coffee stops: cafe province (that lady, i-min-gin, french decor, solid tables, blt/spaghetti on the menu, piano, guitar, a wine collection), serendip (skylight, sweet woman, kevin's discount, swings and lattice), florida (great americano, the artsy girl who always remembers my order and gives me treats), brown's cabin (beautiful), stephanie (tree-houses)

foreigner spots: the speakeasy, the german bar, the lemon tree, the alleyway, tequilaz, first napal, bottle.

the post office (people are always helpful), the underground mall (passing though is hard when you could be shopping), the book store, u-square, the movies (love the old one), arcades, the wii cafe by chosan, the dentist (haha), shinae = downtown... just travelin' the streets, usually.

things here i didn't take enough advantage of: the mountains, buddhist temples, art galleries, art supply shops, mokpo, the bus station, the traditional markets, the g.i.c., the stream downtown, jimjilbangs, photo ops.

well, a couple of weeks left. i'll see if i can remedy any of that last bit.