Dear Mama.... Love from Korea (School Dinner)

October 28, 2013

I officially have one month down as a Guest English Teacher in South Korea!
It feels like it went by fast.

Monday was the first school dinner I have been to where the principals and teachers got together to have dinner outside of school. It was definitely an experience. It was a sit on the floor "Indian-style" type of restaurant in a neighborhood called Sorae. The menu was sushi but not the kind of sushi I am used to. I am used to seafood (crab, tuna, shrimp, salmon) or vegetables in a roll with rice or seaweed on the outside. They take it to a whole other level. They lay sliced raw fish on top of cellophane noodles, have a WHOLE cooked fish on the table that you pick the meat out of and lots of side dishes like oysters and kimchi. I tasted a few of the side dishes but not that raw fish! The also had raw squid with the legs still moving around on the plate. Heck No! Later they brought out fishy soup with the head and other chunks of the body in it. I mainly just waited around for them to bring the shrimp. When they finally did I was a little surprised that the heads were still on them but I worked my way around that because I was hungry by that point. The principal made a toast and in the middle asked if I am enjoying the food...I was put on the spot so I said, "SURE!" Everyone just laughed.

The youngest teacher stood up and made a toast and sang a short happy song. When he sat back down the principal pointed to me and my co-teacher told me that he said I was next. "Me? Next? What do you want me to do?" So my co-teacher said they'll give me a few minutes to think of a song and then I should stand up and sing. "Whaaaaat?" So I pulled out my one "parlor trick", which is the Korean song "That Man" (그남자 OST by Hyun Bin) I learned before leaving the U.S. I sang a little bit and everyone was like "Whoa!" They were all surprised that I knew a Korean song and at how well I pronounced the words. I felt proud of myself at that moment, like "Yes!" The principal walked around and did another toast and asked if I have had soju. I said no and the teachers replaced my shot glass of water with soju. When it was time to drink I tried to do it in one shot and everyone was like "Oh no!" but too me is what not a strong alcohol. It was fine. After dinner, a couple of people were already drunk. I so wish I had my camera that day. They were asking me to go to Round 2 but I did not know where I was and how to get home so I left when my co-teacher left. Plus, it was a school night...how do they do it? I did feel sort of bad because I don't want to be anti-social and they asked me to go.

When I left, my co-teacher put me on the bus back to my neighborhood. For some reason, that night the bus driver said something that made most of the people on the bus get off after only a few stops. He kept looking at me asking me something, which I assumed was, "What bus stop are you trying to get off at?" I tried to say the street names but he definitely did not understand me. Luckily, there was one other woman on the bus that spoke a little English and tried to help me tell him the bus stop. I could tell he was not happy and it seemed like he wanted us to get off so he could go home or something. So strange....but at least I got home!