Yesterday, I
guess one of the staff members brought sandwiches to school. When I went to say
hello to the principal, she shared some of her sandwich with me. Even though, I
suspect she didn't like the sandwich, it still made my day. We hardly get to
talk to each other, let alone share things. On an average day, I pop my head in
and say hello (안녕하세요) to her first, then the
vice principal, before making my way to my mentor teacher's classroom. At most,
if she's in her office, she will smile and reply with a yes (네)... or sometimes 네, 안녕하세요 and
quickly turn back to her work. This is as far as our daily interactions get,
unless there's a special occasion and she's not completely surrounded by the
higher-ranked staff. So yes, this moment felt special. She beckoned me in and
offered me some of her sandwich (and even some juice... which I stupidly turned
down. I don't even know why. ... Maybe I felt like I shouldn't take too much
from her at one time, even if she was offering). She sat down with me at the
couches beside her desk, and I told her they were delicious (in Korean). She
seemed happy about that, and said some things in Korean which I can only guess
were details about where she'd gotten the sandwiches from. I nodded as if I
understood every word, telling myself I'd ask one of the other teachers about
it later. She's a really pretty, nice, respectable lady, my principal. I truly
wish I could get to know her more. It seems like one thing that will be a bit
impossible while I'm here.
One of my 6th graders asked me about racism the other day. Really, I was
supposed to be teaching, but students were coming and going in such an
annoying fashion that all I could do was casually converse with the two
students who were sitting
down in front of me. One of them came up and asked me if I knew about... I
couldn't understand his pronunciation. I asked him if he knew how to spell it.
He nodded and wrote it down- rasism. I tried my best to explain it to
him. I don't know how much he understood, or why he even asked me in the first
place. What happened in life that such a word was in his head? I'm not sure if
he was asking me about racism in general or specific situations. It's sometimes
hard to ask students, "Why?" because they might not have enough
vocabulary to answer. I told him to ask his teacher about it too if he was
confused.
I think I told you about the coffee shop that was built near my home. I'm
curious about how their business is going. Actually, I've only visited there
once since it's opened. I still favor the coffee shop a bit further away
(because it's cheaper, and they have hot chocolate). Still, this week I'd been
walking past the store quite often. (Usually, I have to walk the other way down
the street). I figured I should visit them once again. After grocery shopping,
I dropped my things off at home, grabbed a book and walked over to the shop. It
was empty at this time--
...I'm sorry, I've momentarily lost train of thought. A first grader just
procured an imaginary laser sword, and sliced me up. Give me a moment to put
myself back together....
-- Yes, there wasn't anyone in the shop at that time. I walked up to the
counter and the lady quickly ran to get her son(?) who could speak English.
Now, I tried to speak in Korean with her and her son before, but I guess they
insist on him using his English skills. I didn't even get a chance to order before
she rushed off to get him. I ordered some chamomile tea and a cookie, and told
them I'd drink in the store. As the lady made my tea, the son asked if I liked
chocolate. I said yes, then paused. Oh no, what if they put chocolate in my
tea? I stopped him and asked him what he meant. He asked again, and I said yes
hesitantly. Then he went to the freezer and pulled out a handful of bite-size
chocolates, put them into a dish, and placed the dish on my tray. Free
chocolates. I paid, thanked them, and went to sit down with my tray. About five
mintues later, the lady came over with a plate of sliced toast (strips, like
french toast strips, but this was just regular toast) and a small side of
whipped cream decorated with chocolate syrup. Wow. Before me lay a dish of
chocolates, a plate of toast with a sweet dip, a cookie, and a cup of tea. I
thanked her and dug in.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Special P.S. Thanks, Katie, for keeping up with these. I hope they don't all sound bad, or all good. I'll do my best to write about all my adventures, good or bad or in between! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment