It's 7:30 am here, which means it's 4:30 pm (and still Wednesday!) for most of you. It's really strange to not even be on the same day as everyone we miss!!
Last night, we had a very nice dinner with all of the EPIK teachers and their Korean co-teachers. It was at a fancy hotel. It was a "Western-style" meal, which meant we used forks (strangely enough, the fork felt awkward!) and had a salad at the beginning of the meal. On the buffet table were supposedly Western items like sushi, fried rice, and many Korean side dishes. (Come to think of it, maybe it was supposed to be a mix... The only Western thing was the salad, though!)
The supervisors in the Ministry of Education put on this dinner, and one of them gave a very nice talk at the beginning (translated by a Korean teacher). It was a lovely evening. :-)
I'm sure, like my need for a fork, the craving for Western food will go away in time. Right now though, it's pretty painful! Korean food seems to be much healthier in many ways, but Koreans place high value on being able to eat like a fiend. They "love big eaters"! (Our coteachers told us this on our first night.)
Yesterday at school was great. Daniel got a half day, so he left school around 1 o'clock. Pretty sure he didn't do much, other than going through lesson ideas. My day was equally as exciting--I sat at my desk till around 10 then ate a Korean snack (VERY interesting). Then I sat at my desk till 11:40 then ate a Korean lunch in the cafeteria. Then I sat at my desk till 2 then drank Korean sugar coffee (YUM!!). Then I sat at my desk till 3:30 then went to two classes with the teacher I'm replacing.
It was sooooo funny! The girls were AMAZED at me and did lots of "OOOOO"s and "AAAAA"s. It was so cute! Then I walked around to talk to the girls while they were doing projects. Every time I talked to a girl, she would laugh! I asked C about this, and she said they're nervous because they're not used to the way I talk.
I think I'm really going to like it here. I have some HUGE shoes to fill--C is amazing, and very much loved and respected here. I hope I can live up to the expectations everyone at the school has for me! I leave for work again in an hour--I don't think I get to observe any classes, but I do get to go to EMart to help buy supplies for lessons tomorrow. Should be fun!
Have a great day. Daniel and I miss y'all so much!!!
(My wonderful father is sending D and I a battery for the camera, so expect pictures starting next week!!!)
Good to "hear" from you! Sounds like all involved are trying to help make the transition from the "old" to the "you" as painless as possible!
ReplyDeleteSo - immediate questions....what comprises the Korean snack, the lunch, and the "sugar coffee"?
Been reading SOOO much about Korean culture, cuisine and customs ~ ~ and find it very interesting, especially since someone I know (you'all!) is living there !:-)
THE BOOK..(which is getting a bit dog-eared, by the way!)..says that Koreans LOVE to eat. And, all conversation is saved until AFTER the meal. Rice IS the meal - and all else is secondary.
Waiting to hear from you soon again......
As always, L H & P......