The last week was busyyy, but so good. I didn't get home until past 9:00 every night, which, trust me, is a rarity. Here's a recap:
Monday and Tuesday nights were spent with the Husteds as Dionne and I prepared for a speech we were asked to give at an area native teacher training. Preparing for the speech was fun - I so enjoy spending time with that family! Many laughs and stories were shared (they keep telling me I should write a book about life in small town Iowa...), new music was discovered and we even got some work done...
A quick cute story from Tuesday after school:
YeaSeul - one of the students with whom I have a particularly adorable bond: Teacher. You have boyfriend?
Noelle: Nope.
Teacher: But Teacher why? You so cute!
Homegirl warms my heart.
Wednesday was the day of our speech at the Gwangju Education Office. Dionne and I shared our experience and advice for creating good rapport with our students with all of the teachers from Gwangju and the nearby city of Hanam. It had been such a long time since I had done any public speaking - I had forgotten how much I enjoy those kind of things. It reminded me of the days when I helped with college visit days at Iowa State - so, so fun. After the training was over, we went out to dinner with our district coordinator, JK, and Kelsey, the other presenter at the training. It was a great dinner - both culnarily and conversationally. After dinner, I met a bunch of other teachers who had been at the training at a coffee shop and tagged along as they eventually went to dinner. It was so fun to meet some new people, especially people who live in this area! Such a delightful afternoon and evening.
Thursday night, Desiree and I went out to dinner with our friends Leah and Darren (also native English teachers from New Zealand and England, respectively, who live just across the street from us). We had planned to go to an Indian restaurant in town, but when we got there and discovered it was closed, as were all of the nearby Indian and Thai restaurants, we settled on Chinese instead. Ordering our food was quite an adventure as the menu was only in Chinese and Korean and our server wasn't keen on our confusion as to what some of the dishes entailed. We ended up ordering three really great dishes (including some of the best sweet and sour pork I've ever tasted) and had an awesome evening of getting to know our new friends better (we had only met up with them one other time before this). We had such a great time, in fact, that we decided to make it a weekly thing - Foreign Food Thursdays. Every Thursday, we're going to try a new foreign (i.e. not Korean) restaurant in town. I can't wait!
On Friday, I work a pink fitted t-shirt and a pink bow headband to school. Several students and teachers (including the dudes!) commented on my ensemble. One of my favorite interactions:
Principal Suh: Oh Noelle Teacher. I like your pink today.
N: Oh thank you!
PS: Today, you prettier than me!
N: Not true!
PS: No! I serious!
That morning, we found out that Mr. Shin's mother passed away after a long sickness. We were supposed to have gone to a big teachers' dinner that night after school was over, but it got postponed in order to make it possible for as many teachers as possible to attend the funeral in Andang, a city almost three hours away. Dionne and I were in the group (there were 24 of us) that opted to attend the funeral that night. So, during the last period (during which, we have no class) I went home, changed out of my pink get-up in favor of a black sweater, and a darker, less obnoxious headband. As I walked back to school, a couple of students were walking down the mountain toward home. As they grew nearer, they shouted out, "Noelle Teacher! New outfit! So sexy!" Yikes! That's the last thing I wanted to hear on my way to catch a bus to a funeral! I think it was because I was wearing all black and had on sunglasses. At least, I hope that's what they were getting at... Anyway, at 5:00, we all piled into a 24-passenger bus/van and made the long journey to the funeral. It was a delightful ride, despite the reason for it. Dionne and I talked and talked and talked (as per usual) most of the way while observing how much camaraderie there is between the teachers in our school. Awesome. We stayed at the funeral itself for about 45 minutes. There was nothing new or different about this funeral in comparison to the other two I've attended - it's weird that this has become a familiar practice for me...
After I got home, around 11:30, I jumped on Facebook before heading to bed. I saw that some Gwangju teachers had gathered at a cafe for the evening and I replied to the messages that I was sad to have missed it. Not two minutes later, Desiree called me to say they were still out and would probably be out for awhile if I wanted to join them. So, at midnight, I set off for the cutest little cafe with the most suggestive sexual theme I've ever encountered in a public place. Ohhh Cafe Swallo. We sat around for a couple of hours, swapping crazy stories and laughing way too loudly. What a fun night we had!
Yesterday, Desiree and I went to Seoul to meet Diane for dinner. We had one of my new favorite meals - budae jjigae - also called army stew. It's a real salty, hearty stew - so, so good! Get excited, Bob and Kris - we're totally eating this when you visit! We met several of the same people who had been at the concert last weekend. One of Diane's 2NE1 friends, Grace, is studying at Korea University this year - I anticipate several fun interactions with her in the future!
This week, there's nothing crazy or exciting going on (of which I am presently aware anyway...) but, on Saturday, Diane moves to Gwangju!! WAHOO! I am sooo excited for the impending year!
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