Oh what a night...

Yesterday was a special day in the life of Jessica.

Our school had a "festival day" where each grade had prepared choreographed dances and relay games to show off their school spirit. This meant that I didn't have to teach at all (YAY!) but on Thursday afternoon the Vice Principal asked if I could take pictures during the festival. Of course I said okay (here in Korea, with very few exceptions, you never EVER say no especially to your boss when asked to do something). I think taking pictures turned out to be waaay more exhausting than teaching 5 classes, but it meant that I got to participate in the festival - I had a "role" as my co-teacher put it. So here are some pictures and videos:

Warming up before the festivities


3rd Grade traditional dance - how funny is that hat?!?


First graders lining up for their traditional dance



Second Grade Umbrella Dance

So after the festival, the teachers had about an hour to rest before a meeting to talk about the day's events. I leafed through some sets of curriculum for my after school classes - I'll be teaching one 6th grade class and one 4th grade class. At around 4:30 we convened in the teacher's room where we decided that the day had been a success and that we would celebrate by going out to dinner. We went to a raw seafood buffet (eeeeewwww) where you gathered a plate of raw seafood and threw it into a pot of boiling broth at your table and cook it yourself. Most Korean restaurants are cook-it-yourself interactive eating adventures.

But the good news was that the buffet also had shrimp sushi and a lame Korean attempt at spaghetti, as well as an assortment of side dishes which were tasty. We had beer with dinner (Cass - don't drink it) and the Vice Principal (a normally friendly guy) seems to get exponentially friendlier when alcohol is added. He went around to every table, having a small drink (a shot of beer) with each person (this is traditional Korean behavior). So, by the time he made it around the room, we each had had one small drink, and he had had 25 small drinks. He came over to our table, we were all laughing (he knows a bit of English) and he said (in Korean) that he "loves me very much and hopes me to be happy in Korea" (translated by my co-teacher) which is both sweet and really awkward. Perfect awkward turtle moment.

Everyone was very pleased with the pictures I took, therefore I had won their respect and invited to a bar after dinner with around 15 other teachers, mostly young people. Once again, saying no is not really an option, so to the bar I went. It was a very nice bar, more like a pub atmosphere, and we were the only ones there. I soon found out that more than one other teacher speaks some English, they're usually just too shy to speak it (alcohol fixed this problem). I was surprised to realize that I actually understood what was being said (in Korean) for the most part thanks to context clues and gestures.

One second grade teacher (an older man, probably 60ish) was sitting next to me and would say every English word he knew (all token English like "Oh yeah!", "Yeah baby!" and various other random phrases) to try to impress me. I of course acted very impressed. The principal was sitting across from me the whole time and knew some English too. Turns out he's a nice guy. So after snacks, drinks, and a few English lessons we decided (as is Korean tradition) to go to the noraebang (singing room) to drink more and de-stress.

At this point I'd had probably two beers total. And that's how it stayed.

So to the singing room we went. They insisted that I sing an English song, and they insisted that it be "My Heart Will Go On" from the award-winning motion picture Titanic. I take it you remember the song? How could we all forget the shrieking courtesy of Celine Dion. Did I oblige? Of course I sang it. And I scored 100 on it. Impressive. The rest of the teachers sang Korean songs for about 2 hours while the rest of us danced, sang along and played tambourines.

After that, it was around 11:30 and I decided it would be wise for me to return home. My co-teacher, three sheets to the wind (At one point in the singing room, she stands up and shouts "I AM A DRUNKEN!!!"), decided the same thing. We walk together back to the school where I can catch a bus. Her English was the best I've ever heard it on the way home. I told her maybe she should drink before class. She thought that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

So, once again, Korea is...Korea. There's no other way to describe it. Cultural bumblings can be glossed over as long as you loosen up and have a good time and possibly make a fool out of yourself by singing the theme from Titanic.