Today was graduation day! What a great day. For the opening act the 6th grade kids did a K-pop dance, that was so much fun. My 5th graders also sang a really great song. I was so proud of all of them. It was very sad to say the final goodbyes, but this was such a nice send off to the official last day of school. I don't think I've ever posted a link to K-pop. They are these massively popular, cutsy boy/girl bands, who have pretty crazy/fun dance routines. All the kids idol these celebrities and all age levels know some pretty fun K-pop dance routines. Here are a couple of video links of some popular K-pop, if you feel like checking it out-so you can get an idea of the dance the 6th graders performed.
After graduation the school took all the teachers to lunch at this massive fish market/marina that is just around the corner. I was expected to say a few words, after the principal. In my delightful & awkward way, I stood up and thanked everyone (showing off my super cool bilingual skills of knowing "thank you" in two languages), and expressed my gratitude through a lot of gestures and facial expressions, telling them how sad I am and that I love Bangeojin and then goodbye. I got a huge round of applause and a lot of people were laughing pretty hard (which I wasn't sure if they were laughing at me/with me/about me as is my usual experience here). I asked my coteacher why they laughed at me, but it turns out they were all very happy because they understood everything I said, because I kept it very simple--which made me very pleased.
On the menu was fish soup and beer. I like pretty much all Korean food, but I have never warmed to fish soup. I have a cast iron stomach and a pretty expansive pallet, but this is one of the rare things that really, really turns my insides. I was very happy to see the beer being pulled out, and extra happy when the principal came over to do 'beer shots' with me! It helped ease my stomach a bit and gave me that nice beer glow that made me brave enough to eat more fish soup. Of course the beer buzz wore off, and then I was left with the quease again. I really didn't want them to remember my last meal with them as me not eating the food, so I forced down A LOT of spoonfuls of the stuff. It is incredibly offensive to Koreans, if you don't eat the food. I think this school loves me most, not because I am good at my job, but because I love the food so much.
My coteacher knows who the "next me" is going to be. We tried to find him on facebook, but there are too many people with his name. She is incredibly nervous about getting the new person. I can certainly understand why, because it is a very close working relationship, and you are literally tied to (and dependant on) this person for a year, so it is important to have compatible personalities. Part of the goodbye present I gave my coteacher was a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. I told her that this is for her to toast the new teacher with, because he is Irish. I am trying to tell her not to be nervous about the new person and trying to think of every complimentary thing I can come up with about Irish people, to put her at ease. I am stretching the truth a bit, because I have only met a few people from that country, but if they're anything to go on, I would say it is a very fine country indeed!
The funny thing about the person's name is that it is "Barry". I think it is funny, because Koreans get 'v's & 'b's confused a lot, since those two sounds are interchangeable in Hangul. My kids always tell me that I am doing a "bery, bery" good job. I think they'll also think it is hilarious that his name sounds like fruit (kid humor, ya know). I SOooooooo wish I could be here when he is introduced to the students. :) I think Barry, will love it more than I did though--when the kids tell him he is doing a "bery bery good job".
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| Anime graduation characters |
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| All the 5th & 6th graders before it started |
One year ago today, my plane landed in this country. I was experiencing a tiredness, I had never felt before..in addition to this, I was disoriented, scared, anxious, sad, and every other emotion under the sun. I also had many thoughts that went a little something like: What the <bad word> am I doing??? What a different feeling it is being on this side of the adventure.
Official Count: School year finished.
8 days left in Korea.
Wow.
holy moly! i can hardly believe it's over! congratulations, rock star!!!!!!!
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