2nd Day of School + Pre-희식

Two days into working and I have heard the following from the kids:

"You have plastic surgery!"- 6th grade girl who keeps coming with her friends to my room and talking to me in English.  Props to them for practicing English.  In response to the comment these are country kids that rarely ever see white foreigners like me so they think anyone with a large nose must have had surgery.

"Teacher teacher tomorrow......you......soccer.....me."- 3rd grade boy who is darned to get me to play soccer with him.  I told him if you can correctly ask me in English I'll be play.

1st grader - "한국말 알아요 (do you understand Korean)?"
Me: "No, I don't understand Korean."
1st grader - "뭐라고 (what did you say)?"
Me: "That's what I thought. You can't tell that I understand Korean if I reply in English.  Hehe."

So far I've taught 3rd, 4th, kindergarten and 1st grade and they have gone over quite well.  I've spent most of the time introducing myself with a power point and doing fun activities to get the kids comfortable with me.  The notable thing that happened today was I did a lot of movements with the kindergarten kids.  The stand up sit down activity gets the kids moving and speaking some English and they loved it.  The classroom is quite hot and after that and an intense session of Simon says and Heads Shoulders knees and toes I was sweaty.  In the worst places non the less.  My groin area was clearly soiled.  It didn't help that my pants were light Khaki colored so the wet mark could be seen at least 500 feet away.  I didn't notice the wetness until after the class and the teacher pointed it out.  I kindly said I was really hot and proceeded to cover it up on my way back from the kindergarten room to my English room.  Thankfully I didn't have to move for 40 minutes until lunch when it was all dried up.

Lunch is also an interesting experience for me.  I usually get a "션 식사 먹자 (Sean let's eat lunch)" from either the PE teacher or the bus driver.  I eat with them or the other teachers and it is really quiet.  No one speaks.  They finish then hurry off to there little area and some of them did that and left me sitting by myself.  I really want to get to know them but it seems like they go to lunch with a mission and that's it.  Tomorrow is 희식 (company dinner) after school and that is where I will get to bond with my fellow teachers, VP, and Principle.  The dinner is in downtown very close to my apartment so I'm very happy for that.  My excitement isn't unfounded and comes from the fact that we will drink a bit of soju and I don't want to go to far to get home.  The company dinner is where everyone gets to relax and have a good time with co-workers.  The food, I hear, will be very good and plentiful so I should have plenty of room for it.  I also have been warned about the amount of alcohol consumed and how to properly serve it respectfully to the different ranks at school.  One example is taking my shot glass to the Principle, Vice Principle and other higher up teachers and pouring them a shot of soju.  Once they consume it, they will pour me a class and I will have to turn away and drink it.  This act is very respectful and I will be doing that tomorrow.

I've also learned that my co workers and especially my Principle like 소맥콜 (so-maek-kol).  So-maek-kol is a combination of soda, beer, and soju.  What you need is a large glass and two shot glasses.  One shot glass is put in the bottom of the big glass and filled with soda.  The next shot glass is placed on top of the soda shot and filled with soju.  The whole cup is then filled with beer.  Once completed you tip it back and drink the whole thing at once.  Our coordinators at our second orientation kindly taught us this drink and it actually tastes good.
Disclaimer *No I'm not really into drinking but living in Korea you have to learn to drink.  It's very much part of their culture.  And I say when in Rome do as the Romans do.*

Karaoke singing is also usually a common part of 희식 so I've prepared a number of Korean songs to sing.  Why do I do it?  First, I will gain a lot of respect for singing in Korean.  Many Koreans, from the city, that I have met are very impressed a white foreigner can sing in Korean.  I can't imagine what my teachers will think.  All I can hope is that I project a good image to them because of my lacking ability to express myself in Korean.  Second, it's fun to sing in Korean with Koreans because they get into it and sing along.

What I don't understand is how all the teachers will come into school at 8am on Thursday morning and be all good.

I'll report on how the 희식 goes complete with pictures.