Teacher Dinners

Brotherhood of Korea
The other night I was discussing how to order some 짜장면when the 5th grade teacher invited me out to dinner with some of his dongsengs who were visiting him from Wonju. So, why would he invite me, a complete stranger to his friends who were visiting? He didn’t want me to eat alone. Wow, the love I felt immediately as we they ordered tons of meat (very expensive…the bill came out to over $200 for a group of 4 because meat is expensive in Korea) and through the conversation was totally unexpected. From ordering bus tickets to inviting me to stay for free at a resort near Busan, I was overwhelmed at the concern they had for me. Basically in their mind, their friend’s friend was also their friend. Afterwards they bought me ice cream and we played ping pong and shot some hoops. I am so utterly thankful for the family like atmosphere that was immediately shown to me.

Dinner at the Kindergarten Teacher’s House
I found out after going to the kindergarten teacher’s house that I was actually going to do homestay at their house. The only hindrance was that I was going to teach after school and the ride situation to school would be too difficult. I talked to the daughter, Patty, and it looks like I’m going to be coming over quite a bit to help her out with English writing and grammar. We talked about how important it is how babies learn a language and to know situational expressions. Her mother is an expert in calligraphy so I’m going to ask her to teach me in exchange for some English lessons for her daughter.

Dinner at 1st grade teacher’s house:
Where to begin…
After school went to the first grade teacher’s home in the mountain as you can see through the pictures. The company we were in included the 5th grade, 3rd grade, both 1st grade teachers along with the 3rd grade teacher’s husband and two of our school’s bus drivers. The house is situated in the mountains surrounding Jangpyeong and I was told that in a couple of months the mountain will turn orange from the trees’ leaves changing colors. Shortly following that, I will get to experience my first true winter. Deciding to have a barbeque outside, the food was delicious. The sanggapsal we had was the best tasting sanggapsal I have ever had. The sweet squash side dish was extremely tasty as well. Actually, everything was good. Topics of conversation ran from fishing (I was invited to go fishing on Saturday on the driver’s boat) to prices of land in the area (someone told me that the house I was at is 1/10 the price of an apartment in Seoul, which is pretty ridiculous because the mountains are so beautiful). Anyways, as the night passed, some of the bus drivers began drinking a little too much. One actually started grabbing my hair and pulling me towards him every time he had something to say. Understanding that he was drunk, I didn’t react. However, the younger teachers knew that I was not used to this (this being the endless drinks and accepting them, the lectures from the older men, and the older men grabbing my hair and calling me “yah”). So, I was escorted outside to take a walk with some of the guys through the neighborhood. I learned that the amount of alcohol you can consume defines your manliness (apparently becoming quite intrepid or should I say obnoxious and rude is manly). If anyone really looked at it…becoming completely intoxicated is completely inconsiderate of those around you (as I have often been the one who has had to take care of those who have taken that course of action and have heard and seen my father begin threatened and hit by drunk people). Patiently and considerately, I take into account that many of the older men around me have difficult lives and use alcohol as a peace substitute, so I only want to show them care. However, I have had my share of difficulties and it is no excuse to burden those around me. We can always complain or find a means to complain, but little fruit comes from that.
I love the respect and concern for one another that exists in Korean culture. However, the alcohol consumption is a definite and very noticeable problem. All in all, I had a great dinner.