"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!