Then, I told my co-teacher that the students said this and she was like, "What teacher? That's not true!" So that means that I could've walked around all I wanted. They just wanted me to stay with their class. It was funny because I was sitting between class 4 and class 5 and a girl in class 5 wanted me to hold one of her signs, and the class 4 girl took my hands and said NO! and started shoo-ing the other girl away. It was hilarious. The girls are great! The boys are less great, haha. They don't talk to me as much, but I want them too! There are those few boys that do, but they didn't even talk to me during Sports Day. I really wanted to socialize with them outside of the classroom. It was really nice talking to my students on a non-school related level. They try so hard and they always pull out their cell phones because most phones in Korea have a Korean/English dictionary on it. Mine doesn't though :(
Sports Day day 1 was tiring, and I wasn't even participating. The weather was almost perfect that day, a bit too hot. I got a farmer's tan again. Not as bad as you may think, but it's annoying to have 2 different skin colors.
After the first Sports Day, my co-teachers asked me if I had any plans that night and I didn't. They were shocked because I always have plans. They invited me to dinner, and of course, I obliged. We left school at 430pm, so that was way too early for dinner. They asked me what I wanted to do or if I had to go anywhere. I said I didn't really need anything and that I can go wherever they want to go. Then I blurted out that I needed a haircut because I had told my co-teacher that day to write down how to say "Please trim my hair." I have too many split ends, they need to go away. We ended up going to E-Mart because they had to go and there's also a hair salon in there. They said it's pretty expensive, but I took that as a good thing because expensive=good, right? We went in and they told us to sit down and gave us free drinks. Whatever we wanted to order from the menu. Nice, nice. This is good. My co-teachers helped me tell them what I wanted and even showed them 3 pictures that I had printed earlier that day, then they went to shop for a little bit. I had a guy cut my hair and he seemed to know what I wanted. I was excited! First, he did the BIG cut. He cut off about 6 inches with my permission. It hit me right at the top of my boob, which was the length I wanted. I also asked for some layers, so I could kinda see him do that...I didn't have my glasses on. I thought that he was cutting my layers pretty short and I wanted them long, but that's OK, they're just layers. Then he asked if the bangs were OK so I told them to cut them a bit shorter. After that, he started blow drying my hair. I guess the cut is done. I waited for him to swoop my hair from the back to the front, so I could see how my hair turned out, but...there was no more hair in the back. My hair is no longer right above my boob, it is in the middle of my NECK! What the heckk?? This isn't what I asked for! It looks nice, but it's not what I wanted! Oh dear. Good thing I'm a flexible person! I paid for my "expensive" hair cut, only 12,600 won. What a steal! I was a little unhappy about my haircut, but after several hours, I liked it. That's how I usually am when I chop off my hair. It was just so unexpected! He ended up cutting off about a foot of hair. I would've kept it to donate, but it was too damaged AND it wasn't one big cut. I knew that haircutters cut off more than you want, but he cut off DOUBLE. =/ After I finished my haircut, we walked to the restaurant to have 삼겹살 (Samgyeopsal). It's pork and you BBQ it at the table and wrap it in leaves/lettuce. You can add other things in your lettuce too, like garlic, kimchi, etc. It's really good! My co-teacher said that Koreans usually eat it when the winds become dusty so they can clear their throat. I also got to try this alcoholic beverage as pictured below. I had the non-alcoholic one at lunch the other day too; it's called maeshil juice/tea . My co-teacher gave me a bottle that she had made several months ago. Apparently you have to let it sit for a while before you drink it. Koreans like to leave things for months and months before you eat it. That's called expiration in America.
After we had dinner, we went to the local Buddhist temple to get some traditional tea. They had lanterns strewn all over the area in front of the temple and it was so nice, but they weren't lit until we left, so it was even MORE beautiful when they were lit. I had a chinese lemon tea, which was REALLY good. My co-teachers told me that Koreans like to drink it in the summer.
The second day of Sports Day was today, Saturday. I didn't have to go today because it's not in my contract to work Saturdays, but it's good to go to these school events. Most of the kids noticed my new haircut and they told me that it is beautipul, pretty, and cute. Always with compliments. Today, they had the dance contest. Only the girl classes from 3rd grade participated and they were really great. I can't believe they've been practicing the dance and studying for exams simultaneously. Crazy kids. I missed a couple of the performances because I could not wake up early enough this morning to make it at 9am. I got there around 10am and enjoyed the rest of the dances and competitions. Some of the teams' music malfunctioned, so their performance didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped. I saw a couple of them crying and I felt SO bad. I stayed with them for a little while and tried to console them. I don't even know if they understood me. I tried to speak in Korean too! 괜찮아! Gwaenchana! They eventually had a second chance and they did so great! All of them were fantastic! They probably felt like they had their own Girls Generation or 2NE1! haha
Today was also Teachers' Day! Students give their teachers gifts and former students come back to give gifts as well. It's such a great "holiday" and it really makes you feel appreciated. I didn't get any gifts from any students today, but maybe next week, I hope! I got a couple gifts from other teachers though, so that was nice. During the first day of Sports Day, the girl that was talking to me the most (she said the teacher told her it was her "mission" to talk to me..haha) said that she was gonna buy me a gift from her trip to Seoul next week.
So after Sports Day today, the teachers had a special lunch. What did we eat? 삼겹살 (Samgyeopsal)again!! haha, I guess I didn't mind, but the pork is SO fattening! There's almost no meat on it, just all fat practically and Koreans like to eat the fat! How are they so skinny here? I don't know. I also got to try 비빔냉면 (Bibim Naengmyeon). It's cold noodles with vegetables and a hard boiled egg served on a bed of ice. Yes, ICE! That was really strange. I also got a side of hot sauce because I didn't want it to be TOO spicy, but it ended up being a little bit too spicy. Still good though. The texture was chewy! Yummy deliciousness.
Oh yeah, ALL the students are going on a 3-day trip next week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I think each grade is going to a different place. I know some of them are going to Seoul, but I don't know about the others. That means I don't have to teach! :) Then Thursday I have a co-teaching training workshop, so I get to miss school, no teaching. Friday is Buddha's Birthday, which is a holiday, so, yes, that means I don't have to teach. Next week is gonna be a BREEZE! I love my job.
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