I smile and the universe smiles back.

On Friday afternoon, life is great. It was my school's gym festival so there were no classes for the day. I seized the opportunity to have a Thursday night get together for all the new teachers who have arrived in Gunpo. Long story short, I ended up drinking a few too many beers and getting three hours of sleep. Not to worry, it's nothing a hot shower and an Americano can't cure. I was even early to work.

When I first arrived I was sad because I wasn't wearing a track suit and sun visor like the other teachers. I quickly got over it when I realized that my only duty for the day was to sit in the sun while my students fed my chocolate, gave me massages and told me I was pretty (love my job!) I even got a little tan until my co-teacher pulled me out of the sun and sent me to sit with the old Korean ladies under a tent.

The gym festival is quite the event. The teachers have been planning it for months and the kids have been practicing for a few weeks. Each grade performs a dance and competes in relay races and other events. The school is divided into two teams, white and blue, who compete for the highest total score. Friday was labor day in Korea so all the parents and grandparents showed up to cheer and take pictures. I especially loved the parents who ran next to their kids during the relays, just in case their kid managed to forget what to do. The parents even ran races and played tug of war. One of the dads wiped out during a race - it's no joke!

You can't beat the dances though. There is nothing like watching 5th grade boys shake pom poms to the beat of "Oh Mickey You're so Fine" to soothe the soul.

After the games we had a big lunch with all sorts of special treats (even beer!) My principal wanted me to drink a can of beer, but as soon as I heard the word I had a flash back to the night before that involved me yelling "I'm so good at chugging beer!" and then proceeding to try and prove it. I decided to abstain.

The best part was when at 2 pm my co-teacher told me I could go home. As I walked home in the sunshine, the air around me the absolute perfect temperature, I was feeling what I can only describe as euphoria. And it was only going to get better. Next stop, Taipei....

I'm a Barbie Girl in a Korean World

I'm just starting to settle into my new life. I've bought a toothbrush to keep at work so I can join in on the after lunch tooth brushing ritual, which, I must say, is heavenly. I've found the world's spiciest green onion kimchi at the supermarket and learned to cook some damn good tofu/seaweed/lettuce wraps. I've begun to pick out personality types at school even without language. I know the "saucy secretary", the "popular girls", and the "vice principal who actually runs the world" among many others. I have my T Money card for the subway and plenty of cutesy animal key chains on my key ring. I have even started to approve of the whole indoor shoe thing.

Tomorrow is Friday again and I'm not sure where the week has gone. Wednesday was Parents Day, so the school was flooded with proud mamas and papas and the teachers were on full alert. Luckily for me no parents observed English class. In fact, I only had my first two classes because the kids had to be elsewhere. My only duty was to appear on the school broadcast and smile then bow when the principal introduced me. At the time, I had no idea what he was saying, but I later found out that I am "Brittany, our very beautiful teacher." It turns out, in Korea this is the number one qualification for an English teacher. Nobody wants to talk about your resume, you are really just for show and tell (except maybe the school handyman who has apparently read through all my application materials). My friends and I spent our first days at school being gushed over, and I can't say that I minded. I especially like the fourth grade boys who call me "pretty teacher." I am totally not above being flattered by nine year olds.

In the afternoon I was really cranky because it was an hour past the normal lunch period and no one had told me when I was going to eat. Normally there is delicious Korean food waiting for me at noon, but the teacher's room was locked. Then my co-teacher came and informed me I had to fork over 20,000 won for a mysterious "first period teachers meeting". After some hard core questioning I found out that it's a community pot used for special lunches and tea between some of the teachers on my floor.

We headed to one of the other classrooms and there was a really nice lunch waiting that had been specially ordered. I ate with three other female teachers and one male teacher. I didn't understand a word they said, which was much more awkward in such a small group. I definitely knew when they were talking about me though, because they would all turn and look at me with amused expressions. The male teacher was impressed with my eating. He said, "You like Korean food! You have been to Korea before!" Koreans love it when you eat, especially if you are eating kimchi. There are always several community plates to eat off of in addition to your actual meal, and I've noticed that they eat a lot here. They also eat extremely quickly. I am definitely what people at home consider a fast eater, but I can barely keep up here. Lunch is a ten minute affair.

After finishing I sat awkwardly during more Korean talk and had a cup of coffee and something they were very eager for me to try which they called a "flour cake." They passed me a tray of small round cookies in different colors and I chose a green one hoping it would be green tea flavored. It tasted like crumbly sugar cookie dough. Desserts are always just sickeningly sweet sugar bombs in Asia. Luckily they are also tiny.

Later I learned that English Club would be starting up next week so my afternoons were about to get busier. I had to choose my own textbook at the bookstore and come up with a curriculum for the Spring semester. I'm going to have two classes with four students in each, and then one combined class every week. The small size means we can do a lot of fun activities, so I'm really excited. It's also nice to be able to plan my own lessons instead of using the boring national curriculum and it will be good experience. This year the club is for low income students who can't afford English tutors. In Korea, it is very competitive and standardized tests basically determine your entire future. Families with money spend a lot of it getting their children extra classes and the other kids unfortunately get left in the dust. Korean kids work hard! They are in some type of class from morning to night.

All in all, it's been a good week. One of the highlights was overhearing an extra class my co-teacher was teaching this afternoon. She taught the kids the song "Barbie Girl," which, if you've heard the lyrics, is completely inappropriate for sixth graders... "I'm a blonde bimbo.... kiss me here touch me there hanky panky..." She definitely had no idea what she was teaching them and those sixth grade boys certainly go into it.