Random Happenings of the Week

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! :)

Making Friends

So, let me tell you about the friends I've made here. The Korean ones.

Actually, let me tell you about the people I met on a whim, the ones whose relationship status I'm quite unsure about.

Let's start with the guy I met at school. His parents were installing blinds in all the classrooms. On this day, he was home from school and helping them with their work. My mentor teacher wasn't in the classroom, so when his father entered and started working, I wasn't sure if I needed to leave. My desk is, after all, next to the window. Then this boy (really, he's about my age) walks in and says, "What's up?" It was funny and surprising at the same time. Yet another reason why you shouldn't judge a person on looks. I totally wasn't expecting to hear such a phrase come from a Korean person. This guy spoke perfect English, and I found out that, yeah, I was in the way. I settled with our initial small talk conversation, but later on as his parents moved on to the classrooms upstairs, I suddently got crazy courage. I went and asked him if he was from Jecheon. Honestly, I just wanted to know someone who could tell me more about the town.  This guy was kind enough to give me his number (I didn't have a phone at the time ahahahah), and he and a friend of his invited me and my friend to eat pizza and walk around downtown. He told my friend and I that he went to school in Daejeon, so he'd be leaving town on the weekend. So, I've only met this guy on two occasions. I messaged him my number once I finally got my phone, and he replied. We're friends on Facebook. That's about it. I figure the university friends that I make will be preoccupied with school unless on break.

Hmm, there's the guy on the train. This grad student ahjussi who spoke English very well and decided to strike up a conversaton with me. He was very much into religion (going to a theological school), and learned several languages. Now, it's a bit scary meeting older people. In an attempt not to be completely rude, but also to calm my nerves, I keep up such casual conversations with these total strangers. Though, I secretly wish that I have a friend with me to help judge the character of every older stranger I meet. This guy was pretty interesting and kind (he bought me a soda from the snack car), and talked mostly about himself. Ok, sounds good, but then we started talking about church and church songs, and I somehow ended up being "forced" to write down the lyrics to a song and sing it with him. It was a bit embarrassing. What's more is he ended up with my number, and I with his. We had to part ways at the train's destination, but he wondered if I'd be catching the same train back as him. I (honestly, not purposely) missed that train and had to take the next. I apologized to him and said maybe one day I would visit his church. At this point, I really wished for a friend to help me deal with this stranger. When the work week started, I talked to my mentor teacher about him. She said it was ok not to talk to him. Another friend, once I told her the story, suggested I not talk to him at all. So, my readers, I completely ignored the next several text messages I received from this man. Honestly, I don't want to meet him again unless I'm with someone else, but I feel weird not being able to make a sound judgement about such matters on my own. He's probably harmless, but easily just the opposite? Who knows?

Last night was writing night, so I walked to the other side of town a bit early and sat in a nearby park, studying Korean. Two high school kids (whose names I cannot remember lol) gained some unforeseen courage to speak to me. Perhaps because they had each other as backup, they started slow. "Hello."  Then, "What are you doing? Do you speak Korean?"  I thought this was great, to be honest. High school kids RARELY talk to me, so I welcomed this opportunity. We ended up having a jolly conversation about learning English, playing Diablo in PC bangs, music, and Korean food. Pretty soon, It was time for me to go, so I apologized to them (they were getting so confident in speaking broken English by this point) and told them I had to go. "Ok, see you later," the boy said. Then, he whispered to his friend (a girl) something in Korean. It sounded like, ...but when will we ever see her? True enough, because I live clear on the other side of town. Does this sound stupid? I gave them my phone number. I wonder if it was a good idea. Today, I woke up and thought, will they text me in English or Korean? Will they feel brave enough to try English? ...Yeah, and will I ever run into them again?

Oh, finally, I should mention the owners of the coffee shop I frequent. Now, I know these owners are not responsible or obligated to become my friend or get to know me. I alone have made an effort to be a frequent customer, ridiculously ordering the same thing every time I go (hot chocolate, minus a few exceptions). One or two times, I got up the courage to ask one of them to help me read Korean, or about what their other customers preferred to order. You know, I may be a little bit frustrated now. They've never made much effort to ask me about where I'm from or what I'm doing here. I get these kinds of questions from many other shopkeepers once they find out I know one or two Korean words. Maybe it's a good things? It makes me think of the bartender in a Western saloon, who sees and knows everything but says nothing.

I'll write about the people I know well another time.
'Til next time,
-Shirby