God is Having a Good Time

After our school hike, we came back down and went to dinner at a grill restaurant. At grill restaurants they give you a big platter of meat and you get to cook it yourself at your table. There are lots of different types in Korea - this one specialized in pork so we had ham and samgyeopsal.
This is samgyeopsal - thick-slab bacon. It's not my favorite.

There were about 20 toasts during dinner. I'm not sure if we were actually celebrating anything in particular. Yeong Deuk was explaining that in Korea, people don't drink alone. So, there are lots of toasts so everyone drinks together, which fosters group belonging and harmony. That said, we drank a lot of mokolri and soju.

There are many Korean drinking customs. You leave your cup half full when you don't want more to drink because when your cup is empty, another person must refill it. It is considered rude to refill your own cup or to pour or accept alcohol with only one hand. And once two people have poured for each other, they have a toast and drink together. However, these rules are flexible. Especially as people drink more, it seems. After I was about four drinks in, Mr. Shin refilled my quarter-full cup and said "welcome to Korea."

It was funny to see about three quarters of the teaching staff stumbling out of the restaurant.

There was an after-party at a pub in Yeongdeungpo. Everyone was invited but I think there is a tacit understanding that only men go. And me, because I am a novelty. I'm told there is always an afterparty in Korea. You must accept the invitation, then quiety slip away during the trip to the second party if you don't want to go. But since I am tall, blonde and foreign, it is hard to quietly slip away. I dragged Kyeong along with me, though, to avoid complete awkwardness.

So, me, Kyeong and at least half the of the male teaching staff had some beers. They told me they actually have a name for their little club. They call it the Silver Bells. They told me this is an underwear brand in Korea (then, of course, asked what brand of underwear I was wearing).

After about an hour, my principal decided I must see Seonyu Island, and I must see it tonight. There is also a tacit understanding that you cannot refuse the principal. So, me, Kyeong, the principal, and two other teachers went to Seonyoo Island.
Here is us on the island. Awkward.

We went to a cafe on the island and ate Patbingsu.
Patbingsu is shaved ice topped with sweetened red bean paste, candied rice cakes and fruit. It might sound a little strange but I really enjoy it.

While we were eating, my principal told me how the first part of our school's name means 'God,' and the second part means 'to have a good time.' So, I teach at God is Having a Good Time Middle School.


This morning, Mr. Shin brought me saltines, rice cakes and a cup of coffee. I couldn't tell if this was for Chuseok or because he thought I might have a hangover.

Midterm Hiking Trip

It is midterms this week so the kids take their tests and then leave early. After school yesterday, all the teachers at my school went on a hike to a Buddhist temple on Buksan Mountain.

Kyeong, Yeong Deuk and I hiked up together.

During the hike, we stopped and had kimchi (because it is Korea and every meal must be accompanied by kimchi) and mokolri, which is an unrefined rice wine. It's fizzy, opaque white and very sweet - it's sort of like alcoholic soda.
Traditionally, it is served in a wooden bowl like this, which was how we drank it later for dinner.

But we just used paper cups for the hike (unfortunately, this photo is a little overexposed but we are toasting).

We finally reached the top and took a rest. Sorry, America, I perpetuated unflattering stereotypes about westerners - I was sweating like a dog. (Actually, dogs don't sweat but the point is, I was very sweaty; like, 'kind of looked like I'd gone swimming' sweaty).

The Buddhist temple was very beautiful and it is still in use so it is very well maintained. Some friends wanted to do a temple stay sometime, so on the hike up I was asking Yeon Deuk about it. He told me that if we go, we must eat only vegetarian, go to sleep at nine p.m., then wake up at six a.m. and bow 3000 times to the Buddha. So, I was feeling lukewarm about temple stays but it was so serene and beautiful there that I still might consider it.

Above the main temple is a shrine with a carving in a huge boulder of the Buddha on a lotus. In order to get there, you must a very tall stairway.
I sprinted up the stairs because I like getting painful things out of the way quickly. And I thought I could use the exercise. Mr. Yang, the PE teacher, was very impressed with me.

My principal told me after that the stairway has 108 steps. This is significant in Buddhism because it is said there are 108 fears and anxieties in life. So, as you climb the stairs, with each step you are supposed to release an anxiety. Buddhism is very poetic. Although, after watching Mr. Shin collapse in exhaustion on reaching the top, I wonder if it isn't just that people are too tired to be anxious when they get to the top.

Here is a picture of the Buddha.

The man next to me is my principal. I am kind of scared of him. But he invited me to his daughter's wedding!

Teaching Assignments or You Suck SMOE

We found out our teaching assignments yesterday - I am teaching at a middle school in Nambu. My co-teacher and the head teacher picked me up and took me to a really amazing lunch. I was too embarrassed to take pictures of the food though. They spent most of the time laughing at me trying to use chopsticks. Afterward, they drove me to my apartment by Yangpyeong Station. It is pretty but tiny and I will have to post pictures soon. Once there, they showed me how to reset my door key code and showered me with kitchen appliances.

Unfortunately, Eric's position is in Gangbuk, which is about an hour north of me by metro. It sucks when your worst case scenario becomes just your scenario. Both of our schools seem great though, so at least we were fortunate there.

It is very late now, so I will go into more detail tomorrow.