Bleacher Butt: Lily Festival 2010

Holy Cow.  Today was Lily Festival at school.  Basically, it amounted to an all day talent showcase by all three of the schools.  After two rounds of sitting on a styrofoam pad for three hours straight, I developed quite the case of bleacher butt, but it was well worth it!  Today was my favorite day at school thus far!

Here's a video I compiled of the day's festivities...  Read on for more details and a few pictures...

The festivities were held at the Kyung-hwa Bowl, which is this amazing outdoor amphitheater that sits beside the cafeteria.  There were literally 3,000 people there with all of the students from the three schools, most of the faculty and staff and some city officials and other special guests who were present throughout the day.  Toward the end of the day, some of the girls' boyfriends showed up, which made for a pretty raucous cheering section.

First, there were opening ceremonies and a church service, lasting about an hour and a half total.  During the worship service, all of the foreign teachers (along with pretty much anyone at the school who has singing talent that can speak English well) got on stage and sang an offering hymn as our contribution to Lily Festival.  We sang four part harmony!  It was so fun to sing again and when our students saw us on stage, they went c-r-a-z-y!  They make us feel so loved!

Next, many different groups of girls danced...mostly to hip hop.  I was really surprised at how provocative some of the dancing was, but I guess that's the product of even more provocative music videos!  It is also a good thing that most of the administration doesn't understand quickly spoken English because some of the songs contained some foul language...  There were also a couple of traditional Korean drum performances, which were really cool!

There was about an hour and half break for lunch, which also doubled as a time to showcase students' artwork and research projects and do some fund raising for various charities our school supports.  Also, as we exited the Bowl, there were several groups of girls painted from head to toe, acting as statues depicting various scenes.

After the lunch break, each of the schools put on a sort of variety show featuring teachers from their school.   This part was all in Korean, so I couldn't really follow what was going on, but there were some funny things that happened.  Next, there was a singing competition and two of the four groups that were chosen as winners were from my school!  Hooray!  Last, a rock band whose lead singer is an English teacher at the academic high school sang three songs to which the girls squealed the whole time! 

I was so impressed with the amount of work put into this festival by everyone!  It was one of the most awesome displays of school pride, personal talent and peer support I have ever seen!  Not only do the students feel an immense sense of pride in their own school and the students who represented them today, but they also support the other schools too.  There was an extreme sense of unity and respect among the three schools.  I don't know if I've written this yet, but I have been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am to be a part of this school system!  For various reasons, I have come to realize that my situation here is quite ideal.  I am at a school that genuinely cares about the opportunities its students have; a school that allows for involvement, achievement and personal expression with a top-notch staff whose devotion to the students is apparent each and every day.  I feel so at home here, with the students and the teachers and today, it really hit me that this place is exactly where I need to be at this point in my life.

Here are a few pictures of the students that I was able to take during the festival.  Watching them watch each act was just as fun as watching the acts themselves!

This group of girls is in what was originally my hardest to control (and, thus, most frustrating) class, but somehow I've bonded with some of them and now I look forward to their class.  The one with the short hair in the front is the girl who approached me at E-Mart and asked why I was eating alone.  She's a pistol and she keeps me on my toes...

I love these three pictures because you can see the excitement the girls have for watching their friends perform.  You can also get a sense for how large the Bowl is, and how many people were there today!  All in all, this was such an awesome day that made me realize how much I love this school and everything (and everyone!) it encompasses!