I was informed, today, that we had a banquet dinner to attend for school. Receiving any type of advanced notice for such occasions is not common, so I don't even expect it, anymore. I even had 1/2 plans to meet a friend but I texted and said "can't make it. school din." 'Nuff said from one foreign teacher to another - it's understood that you don't decline these invitations, no matter how much of an inconvenience the "last-minuteness" of it is.
I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the evening, however. Not only did we sit in chairs instead of mats on the floor (which is great and all, but for my out-of-shape-non-flexible-butt, it gets pretty uncomfy at these functions 'cause they last foREveR), but the food was super yum and the company couldn't have been better. After we ate dinner, a dj played songs for us to sing to - so, different groups of people would get up to sing. I conned my co-teacher MinKyung into going up there with me to sing "Footloose" and SuYeon and Mrs. Oh also came up as the backup dancers. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun. Now, I'm quite accustomed to being "visual" in any way possible, teaching my Korean kiddos, 'cause you simply have to be. So, when the part, "kick off your Sunday shoes" was on, I'd kinda kick up my feet and tap my shoes. Anyone who has ever danced with me knows that I'm a goofball and I just do stupid stuff, anyway. But, later, the principal demanded all teachers get up to dance together to a specific song, and he kept pulling different people to the center of the circle...You know how the 'dance-off' scene goes - you dance in the middle for a little bit, then move out of the circle for someone else to get some unwanted attention for a while. :) Well, when he had ME go to the center, he kept tapping his shoes and pointing at me to do it, so at that point, I felt really stupid, because he must not have picked up on it that I was just jackin' around when I did it earlier... but I did it anyway. HA! (I even felt my face get hot. lol.)
For anyone who didn't know, drinking is Korean custom. Period. :) There is a whole ritual where someone will come to you with shot glass and a bottle of soju (or a nice bottle of whiskey!) in hand; they hand you the shot glass, pour a drink, you drink it (if they are older, make sure you turn your back while you drink it, out of respect - I just turn my back on everyone, just in case - haha - don't want to step on any toes :) ) and then you hand them the shot glass, pour them a drink (with two hands, don't forget!). And there ya have it...in a nut shell. So, of course, out of respect for my co-teachers and elders in general, I grabbed a bottle of soju (ew. ew. ew. lol) and went to them to offer them a drink. Of course, out of respect for me, they offer one back. So, you can bet I use my hand motions on this one - I hold up my hand and leave about 1/2 inch of space between my thumb and first finger, and pretty much hope like heck they know I mean "just a little, please." lol. If it's whiskey, I don't bother with the hand motions. lol. :)
It was a good day. I didn't even have to use my A.K.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
City girl, afterall?
It took me about 6 months. But I am totally in love with this place. Don't get me wrong; I'm still not a city girl. :) Large crowds still kinda irk me. But ... it's tolerable.
More details later. :)
More details later. :)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Life is good…Paula says so
They say: “Once a Texan, always a Texan.”
Being born a Texan, I have been faced with this idea my entire life; however, I have been fighting it off ever since returning there from living away for several years, only to find that the people I was then surrounded by were superficial. Granted, it was high school, in which case, probably no matter where you are, it's pretty messed up :) ...
The busy highways, and the big fake boobs, and the teased hair, and the need for acceptance at any and all costs , along with the ‘two faces’ I’d been faced with at that time in my life, generated a genuine disgust for the Lone Star State. However, I can now block that stuff out, because I have been away from it for so long, it seems. Forgive and forget, right?
Well, at least forget; I’m good at that part.
Tonight, I sit, in a small yet dynamitic country in Asia…so far from Texas, and so far from anything once familiar to me. And this very night, Texas Country rings in my ears, and I realize that it’s true: “Once a Texan, always a Texan.” I think that I have a love for this music that most people can only sense from having been rooted in it.
If I could be anywhere right now, I would be at BillyBob’s Texas and I would be two-stepping with Rodney, just like we did the first night we hung out “as adults;” two grown people experiencing the excitement of a new attraction.
I look out my 4-story window at a factory across the alley of this busy city, and I see two Korean “kids” ( I say “kids” ‘cause they appear to be younger than I am), taking a break from life, from the high demands of Korean society workforce, indulging in an innocent game of Ping Pong.
So, I guess, if I can’t be at BillyBob’s right now, I’d want to be in on that match.
But, I’m here… in a hotel, sitting in a room, that so conveniently serves as my apartment for one year’s time. I’m not playing Ping Pong across the alley with Koreans, and I’m certainly not two-stepping at BillyBob’s with the love of my life, but by golly, I have experienced both of these, and I have had the luxury of experiencing so much more than just that.
I’m content.
Aneo. Content-aye-oh.
Being born a Texan, I have been faced with this idea my entire life; however, I have been fighting it off ever since returning there from living away for several years, only to find that the people I was then surrounded by were superficial. Granted, it was high school, in which case, probably no matter where you are, it's pretty messed up :) ...
The busy highways, and the big fake boobs, and the teased hair, and the need for acceptance at any and all costs , along with the ‘two faces’ I’d been faced with at that time in my life, generated a genuine disgust for the Lone Star State. However, I can now block that stuff out, because I have been away from it for so long, it seems. Forgive and forget, right?
Well, at least forget; I’m good at that part.
Tonight, I sit, in a small yet dynamitic country in Asia…so far from Texas, and so far from anything once familiar to me. And this very night, Texas Country rings in my ears, and I realize that it’s true: “Once a Texan, always a Texan.” I think that I have a love for this music that most people can only sense from having been rooted in it.
If I could be anywhere right now, I would be at BillyBob’s Texas and I would be two-stepping with Rodney, just like we did the first night we hung out “as adults;” two grown people experiencing the excitement of a new attraction.
I look out my 4-story window at a factory across the alley of this busy city, and I see two Korean “kids” ( I say “kids” ‘cause they appear to be younger than I am), taking a break from life, from the high demands of Korean society workforce, indulging in an innocent game of Ping Pong.
So, I guess, if I can’t be at BillyBob’s right now, I’d want to be in on that match.
But, I’m here… in a hotel, sitting in a room, that so conveniently serves as my apartment for one year’s time. I’m not playing Ping Pong across the alley with Koreans, and I’m certainly not two-stepping at BillyBob’s with the love of my life, but by golly, I have experienced both of these, and I have had the luxury of experiencing so much more than just that.
I’m content.
Aneo. Content-aye-oh.
“Small Face”
The first time I heard the phrase “small face,” I was quite confused. In fact, the first time I heard it, it sounded like an insult.
I’d walked into my classroom for the first time in Korea with a ponytail, after a tough morning of waking up later than planned, among other setbacks, and my co-teacher, Linda, said to me, “Oh, you look like you have such a small face!”
Although I instinctively wanted to say, “Well, screw you, too, sister” with visions of ‘Beetle Juice’ dancing through my head, I refrained. Within seconds, she explained that having a “small face” in Korea is an attribute of beauty. Who would’ve thought it’d be worded in such a manner? More so, who would’ve thought I’d have been granted such praise on a morning when I looked like Hell’s giant windstorm picked me up and twirled the crap out of me, then threw me back on Earth?
I just got back from picking up a 5,000-won pizza (basically, 5 bucks, so you can bet it’s not gourmet, but goodness to heck, it does the job, and cheaply, delightfully so ;)).
While I was waiting for my pizza to get baked, I popped into the convenient store next door, hoping to get some Black Beer Stout (the best Korean beer you will find, and although that’s not saying much, it’s pretty good stuff) to go with it. No Black Beer, but I did find a decent ice cream cone for dessert, so I picked it up, and while I was paying, the two young Korean boys behind the counter flirtatiously toyed with me.
Now, I’m not bragging that two cute high school kids were flirting with me, don’t get me wrong. I just call ‘em as I see ‘em. Lol!! :)
So, anyway, one kid says, “Do I have a small face?” and I laughed and said, “Yes, you have a very small face,” and looked at the other one and said, “And so do you.” But both of them strongly contested that, and the guy I said it to even pulled back his bangs to show me his five-head while saying, “Not small! Big!” and I laughed and said, “Big head means big brain. You are a genius!” and they both chuckled with contentment -- one with the looks, one with the brains. :)
When I walked out the door, one of them hollered, “See you again, beautiful girl!”
I guess it doesn’t take much to please kids these days, huh? Anything foreign will do.
Works for me. :)
I’d walked into my classroom for the first time in Korea with a ponytail, after a tough morning of waking up later than planned, among other setbacks, and my co-teacher, Linda, said to me, “Oh, you look like you have such a small face!”
Although I instinctively wanted to say, “Well, screw you, too, sister” with visions of ‘Beetle Juice’ dancing through my head, I refrained. Within seconds, she explained that having a “small face” in Korea is an attribute of beauty. Who would’ve thought it’d be worded in such a manner? More so, who would’ve thought I’d have been granted such praise on a morning when I looked like Hell’s giant windstorm picked me up and twirled the crap out of me, then threw me back on Earth?
I just got back from picking up a 5,000-won pizza (basically, 5 bucks, so you can bet it’s not gourmet, but goodness to heck, it does the job, and cheaply, delightfully so ;)).
While I was waiting for my pizza to get baked, I popped into the convenient store next door, hoping to get some Black Beer Stout (the best Korean beer you will find, and although that’s not saying much, it’s pretty good stuff) to go with it. No Black Beer, but I did find a decent ice cream cone for dessert, so I picked it up, and while I was paying, the two young Korean boys behind the counter flirtatiously toyed with me.
Now, I’m not bragging that two cute high school kids were flirting with me, don’t get me wrong. I just call ‘em as I see ‘em. Lol!! :)
So, anyway, one kid says, “Do I have a small face?” and I laughed and said, “Yes, you have a very small face,” and looked at the other one and said, “And so do you.” But both of them strongly contested that, and the guy I said it to even pulled back his bangs to show me his five-head while saying, “Not small! Big!” and I laughed and said, “Big head means big brain. You are a genius!” and they both chuckled with contentment -- one with the looks, one with the brains. :)
When I walked out the door, one of them hollered, “See you again, beautiful girl!”
I guess it doesn’t take much to please kids these days, huh? Anything foreign will do.
Works for me. :)
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