Thoughts on Transitions and Goodbyes and Feeling Like Joseph & His Robe of Many Colors By the Way My Former Principal Treated Me

THE MANY SHADES OF "GOODBYE!"

Most people who say, "See you later!" or "Let's catch up sometime" do so just as another polite and friendly way to extract themselves from a chance meeting-gone-too-lengthy and say "Goodbye" (without so much of the finality an actual goodbye entails). I have noticed this mostly in the Western world, and have adjusted accordingly in the years I have lived in the States.

However, here in South Korea, when someone tells me they want to "see [me] later," I have found they literally mean it. Like, the next day, I will receive a text asking  when I am available for lunch or coffee... that week. And then a follow-up text asking where and what time. I like this clear-cut, to-the-point, action-oriented interpretation of the above-mentioned phrases more!

My host sisters and students don't believe me, but I truly, absolutely adore the Principal's traditional Korean outfits. They're loose, elegant, and, yes, old-womanly-looking, but so cool! The only problem is they are also way out of my price range :/

I mention all of this because, right before my former principal left Yeongdo Girls High School to move on to her new 4-year appointment at another school, she invited me to come and visit her there. She seemed really genuine and eager when she gave this invitation in all-Korean (thanks to my co-teachers for translating), but I reverted back to my Western way of interpreting these parting words, and, though I could feel that the sentiment was definitely there, I didn't think she actually expected me to follow through when I said "Definitely! I will come to see you there!"

Fast-forward a couple of months and Park Mi Sook bujangnim invited me to come visit our gyojang seonsaengnim along with a handful of other teachers. She reminded me that the principal was especially fond of me and that my presence there would make the trip more meaningful as most of the teachers who are going to visit will also be leaving their schools after this year. Just like me. (It turns out, this see you later is just an extended formal goodbye). But did I want to go? 

OUR BELOVED FORMER PRINCIPAL 

We're talking about the Principal who would come in to the gyomushil to check on each teacher and give my hands a worried squeeze when she heard the terrible gravity of my winter cough; the woman who would give me extra pocket money for Fulbright's Fall Conference in Gyeongju and Spring Conference in Jeju, and the same one who gave my first-ever YDAC team a generous day allowance on top of what the U.S. Embassy in Seoul was already covering. The same principal who gave me gifts for my birthday and for Christmas, and wrote me an adorable New Years card, complete with personal artwork decorating the envelope! We're talking about this Principal, who, contrary to what I had believed, didn't do this for the other teachers at my school. (Feeling a bit like Joseph and his robe of many colors but - thankfully! - my co-teachers are far from being like jealous siblings).

FAVORITE MEMORIES WITH THE PRINCIPAL 

Since I have been remiss in posting regularly unlike my first month here in Korea, here are some Facebook posts to catch you up!

3/7/2014 | School admins with Michael Horn

12/24/2014 | Scarf and leather gloves from Principal
Sookhee: "The Principal really loves you!"

8/25/14 | Hogan Medlin, YGHS Fulbright ETA 2011, visiting!

1/9/15 | Principal congratulating the students who earned
YGHS its second First Place YDAC win!

And because we're talking about this Principal, I was definitely going. 

VISITING OUR BELOVED FORMER PRINCIPAL

Me: [asking co-teachers in genera] What should I bring? 

Sookhee: No, you don't need to bring anything. 

Me: Really...? What about a small gift or a card? 

Sookhee: [always making sure that I'm not "burdened" by anything] No, we've already got a gift for Principal. Other teachers pooled money and bought a gift already. 

Me: Oh...err - 

Sookhee: -But you don't have to worry about that! Principal really loves you. You just bring yourself and she will be happy!

Me: [thinking I would at least write a card] Okay, sounds good!

Mi Sook Bujangnim: Mimi - may I suggest you write a card for the Principal? I think it's a good idea

Me: Yeah, that's no problem, bujangnim!

KOREA ART & DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL

The entrance of our Principal's new high school. Sookhee translated that the Principal is only two years away from retirement but, unlike what most people expected she would do, she is not taking these last couple of years lightly. She's bent on revamping the curriculum of this arts and design-focused school so that its students can be as competitive as possible when it comes to university applications!

Gradually meeting up with teachers. Some came with watermelons, and others carried boxes full of plants in fancy earthenware 

There were four of these mini ponds in the mini park in front of the school. The shock of water and green plants was soothing to my eyes. It also helped me recover a bit after feeling motion sick in the back of my co-teacher's car

The Principal's warm welcome. She ushered us into her office, where she updated the teachers about the great tasks that are in front of her in this new school

Heading from the school to a restaurant to eat dinner together! Jeong Eun Ju Seonsaengnim had a prior appointment and so left the six of us to dine together

I was told there would be fish broth but, it turns out, the broth was made of powdered fish. I basically spent the whole meal waiting for the "real" fish broth to come out...

The rest of the group walking way ahead on our way back to the school as Park Mi Sook Bujangnim proudly shared some of her daughter's fashion designs with me on her smartphone

It was about 7:00 p.m. when we finished dinner and arrived back at the school. It took us another 30 minutes to get back to YGHS. I like this picture, capturing the Principal's face all lit up at our having visited her :)

Knowing that Jeon Mi Soon Gyojang Seonsaengnim would have a heck of a time translating my English writing, I asked Sookhee to translate my "short"-message-turned-kind-of-long on the other side of the card. She gave a disclaimer that not everything would transfer smoothly to Korean, but seeing her handwriting on the page a few minutes later was like witnessing Hangeul magic. I didn't care as long as the gist was on the page. Sookhee is the best!

TRANSITIONS ARE ROUGH FOR EVERYONE
My hope is that Jeon Gyojang Seonsaengnim would accomplish all the good she is setting out to do for the students at this school, and that her doing so will not leave her exhausted and depleted but even more charged with energy and life! I didn't account for this apparently rougher transition she would have in the card I gave to her. I kind of assumed that, after a couple of decades or so in the Korean education system, the transitions would be a piece of cake (for her and anyone). Perhaps it becomes easier, but I suppose a transition is still a transition.

I have less than two months left in this country, so my head is definitely full of thoughts concerning goodbyes and transitions. Seeing how much I love this country, my job, and my life here, the coming days are going to be rough. [Deep intake of breath] Very rough...

Yearbook Photo-Taking & Experiencing Micro Exclusions at School

Yesterday, I stayed at school past 8:00 p.m. creating visually-rich itineraries and editing an upcoming program to an obsessive-compulsive degree. I emerged from the computer screen-induced daze I had been in to realize that night had fallen, and I was the last one left in the gyomushil save for Jane. Unaware of my foggy mental state, she asked me some questions that helped draw me out of my reverie. Thank you, Jane. 

Would I like a ride home? 

Yes, please! 

Snug in her small 4-door, Jane casually mentioned that the following day (today) would be picture-taking day. 

Me: For what? 

Jane: For the yearbook, of course!

Me: [remembering how I wasn't part of it last year, I murmured] cool!

Jane: So...what are you going to wear? 

Me: Probably nothing. Err - what I mean is, I'm probably not...included in the yearbook, so - 

Jane: Why not? You're a teacher at the school!

Me: [totally what I was thinking, but what I said was] I wasn't asked to be a part of it last year. I just assumed foreign teachers were excluded from the official school yearbook...

Jane: Huh...I bet you were in last year's, too. They probably just used your Fulbright mugshot. 

Me: [horrified] I really hope not! Anyway, are you sure foreign teachers are included?

She said they (aka me - since I'm the only foreign teacher at my school) were. Though there are many aspects to love about my school, small things like these have made me feel a bit excluded in the past year. I am too shy to ask or confirm or, worse, look like I am insisting on being included in spheres where I may not belong. 

I have been so attuned to this feeling while growing up that I have done everything I could in all the roles I have held to minimize the possibility of this feeling unhappily alighting upon other people. 

Here's a happy little video I took of our picture-taking time - complete with sunshine, green grass, blue skies, people gardening, and awkward Korean studio poses that really don't speak at all to the aforementioned feelings of micro exclusions I have sometimes felt at my school. 

After twisting my head at an uncomfortable angle and placing my hands in the most awkward pose ever, the photographer snapped my photo, and I was free! 

It turns out Jane and I were among the few teachers at the school who got wind of the fact we would be taking photos today! (All because we had stayed past 8 p.m., when the school decided to send an automated message to teachers' computers). Many teachers ambled into the temporary studio self-conscious in their loose, non-stylish Friday outfits. Apparently, unlike other years, this year's yearbook portrait-taking was mandatory. 

My Second First Day as a High School English Teacher at Yeongdo!

Yeongdo Girls' High School's first ever woman principal with her ETAs from 2011 and 2013.
Missing Andrea Tang (2012) from this picture!

THE RHYTHM OF RUSHING AND SLOWING DOWN

For the new school year, my walk started from the house of my new homestay family. The path was windy - familiar in that I had traversed it by bus countless of times before, and unfamiliar because I was much lower on the ground and slower on foot, allowing me to see and notice and consider things I had not before.

I was approaching my school from the opposite direction. If I had not been rushing, I might have had opportunity to entertain such things as have from time to time fought to accompany me along the rode: Nervousness, Anxiety, Fear. 

Sometimes it's the rushing through life that saves me from so much mental apprehension. Of course, with these negative feelings come the positives: Excitement, Hope, and a Fire that grows within me with each step that leads me closer to my destination. 

Today has been a special first day being back:

1. I found out I have a new Fulbright co-teacher -  an English teacher with whom I worked last year as a classroom co-teacher. She is beautiful, sweet, and soft-spoken but has been away for a semester. I am glad to be working with her again and am excited for the new dynamic ahead of us!
2. A former ETA (2011) came to visit! Hogan Medlin, Yeongdo Girls' High School's first ever native English teacher came to say hi to the principal (who is very fond of him), the teachers he worked with (who were talking about his visit 6 months before it happened), and his students (who are now in the 3rd grade). We had communicated via email during my first year as an ETA and he had been quite generous with tips on how to ease my experience at YGHS. What a real pleasure to have met you, Hogan! You set the bar high and I couldn't be more grateful for the challenge!

English teachers and principal with Mr. Hogan Medlin, future major world-changer!

The Last Week of My Grant Year | Friday's Milmyeon Lunch & Coffee Date with Teachers

Today was my last Friday at school. After teaching my morning classes, the teachers in the gyomushil decided to take me out to lunch at this apparently famous milmyeon place in our very own island (it won an award for serving up awesomeness a few years back)! The restaurant is small, but it had a long line all the way down the sidewalk. I was surprised to have never eaten here before considering the place was only a few steps away from my host family's apartment.

A hidden gem. We chowed down, and I was legitimately smitten. 

Chinese teacher and English teacher

Some seriously good Korean noodles. It was a hot day so the cold bowl of icy noodles was just what I needed to feel refreshed!

This is the restaurant in case you want to come to Yeongdo and experience this magic for yourself

After milmyeon, we took a walk to a nearby coffee shop and, again, I was treated to my very own cup of hot caramel macchiato. 

I have been here many times but I never get tired of just letting my eyes
graze over the way the coffee shop owners have decided to decorate the place

My lovely colleagues waiting for our drinks

With a cup of coffee in each of our hands, we made our way back to where the car was parked and drove to school to continue our work. I was set to have a long day helping Stella grade a mountainous pile of entries from a recent English Essay Writing competition. She had shown me the blueprint of this competition before it was administered to the students and I was so excited for the results! I wholeheartedly agreed to dive into the grading once the student entries poured in.

We teamed up to accomplish all the reading and grading before my departure the following week. 

Drinking the rest of my coffee while reading over students' entries.
This one was the Story Writing portion, which I really enjoyed due to the students' creativity and humor

At a later time, I will share some of the things the students wrote and/or drew. This kind and amount of [written] English does not happen in my classroom, so I was pleasantly surprised/ taken aback by their ability to assemble such riotously comical and heartbreaking stories in English!

To Be Continued...

The End of My Mini Break: Syabeu Hyang Vietnamese Lunch with Teachers

ONE WEEK COUNTDOWN

Today was the last day of my mini break from school (courtesy of Finals testing). It is also exactly one week before I will teach my last class for this grant year! I am eager to teach the last four-five classes I have left, to start packing my things, to begin the process of moving from one homestay to another, and, most of all, to visit my family in the U.S. 

The countdown until my flight home is almost unbearable. I am so very thirsty for my family's embrace. 

Lord, be with me these next few days in Korea. Sustain me and help me finish well what you enabled me to start a year ago. Thank You for the company of these teachers, who nourish me with great food and conversation. Through a simple lunch invitation today, they have unknowingly helped to disrupt an impressively deep sense of loneliness that has settled over me lately. I thank You for Your presence. 

VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

There were eight of us who met together for lunch

The rest of the restaurant on the 8th floor

Colorful vegetables! I thought of Mama and her health-conscious cooking with every bite I took

I like the first two sauces (the third one was too spicy for me).
Even this tray of sauces reminded me of Mama. She is a talented cook and makes her own sauces, too!

All kinds of healthy on our table!

Before being rolled into a tasty, bite-sized goodness!

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU

When I am missing my family, the most unexpected things will remind me of home. What makes you miss your family/friends - home? How do you weather through the wait (until you see them again)? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!

Springtime Date with Fellow Teachers: Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Cherry Blossom Petals, and Mt. Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae in Gwangalli

THE RESTAURANT
This afternoon, after the school field trip, I joined two other teachers for lunch at Gwangalli. Stella, a new teacher this year, cheerfully drove us to a Vietnamese restaurant, where we enjoyed food (seafood fried rice and fresh spring rolls) the memory of which makes my mouth water. The atmosphere of the place was perfect, with high ceilings that encouraged breathing suffused with relaxation and contentment, and with sunlight pouring in from a wall made of glass on one side and warm ambient lighting on the other. 

Two of my beautiful fellow teachers before our meal was served

Spring roll ingredients. Those different sauces had the three of us continuously wrapping spring rolls all throughout the meal!

THE CONVERSATIONS
Not only was the food delicious, the company and conversations were also definitely well-seasoned. We talked about seemingly everything: from professional to personal lives, different cultural cuisines, our relationship statuses and dreams, this year's goals, next year's ambitions, thoughts on multicultural dating, marriages, and families, the two main government-sponsored English teaching programs in Korea (Fulbright and EPIK), traditional and contemporary Korean dating, including match-making companies, and the absolute beauty of springtime.

I am usually not one for dipping food in sauce and whatnot, but these were different...

THE MOUNTAIN TRIP
[aka Tour of 황령산 봉수대 (Mt. Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae, Beacon Mound]

After lunch, and at Stella's promptings, we decided to drive up to Mount Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae, where Stella said an incredible view awaited us. She was right! You could see the whole city of Busan with the 360 degree view afforded to us. As if the vista was not enough, there were hundreds of beautiful white and pink cherry blossom trees lining the roads we traveled on, and the paths we walked and hiked on. There were cherry blossom petals everywhere - swirling in the wind, caught in our hair, and landing randomly on our shoulders. It reminded me of winter, except the swirling snow were soft and colorful, and remained in your hand for as long as you were gentle enough to handle them.

Stella's role of photographer continues...

I climbed up here to get an even better view of the city!

I don't know who this man is, but I think he makes my photo more epic-looking by conveniently matching the surrounding area with his white jacket and looking pensively off into the distance

Sujin Teacher giving one of her wonderfully shy smiles

"[E]scape the hustle and bustle of the city for a while" = Check

The two of them were smart enough to have worn flats and tennis shoes today, while II, unfortunately, wore high-heeled, ankle-length boots 

This picture does absolutely no justice to the view

Paths lined with cherry blossom trees!

You can see the pink petals clearer here where they are contrasted with the green shrubs

Here we are at the end of our journey, and heading back to Stella's car

PRAYER FOR MY FELLOW TEACHERS
When we went back down, Stella's car was covered in pink petals. A light breeze blew a thin layer of these petals inside Stella's car as I opened the door and eased into my seat. It seemed like a grand but invisible wedding was being performed in our very midst.

Lord, thank you for this day. You showed me the beauty of things You have created, both large and small, and I praise Your name for each and every one of them! Thank You for the lives of my fellow teachers. I pray that You would empower them in their professions, nourish them in their current and future relationships, and guide their ambitions as You prosper their dreams!

Yeongdo Girls High School Goes on a Field Trip: Broaching the Sensitive Topic of School Field Trips in Light of the Recent Sinking of the Sewol

THE SINKING OF THE MV SEWOL

I have been back blogging this past week. In light of the recent tragedy of the MV Sewol sinking, there is one particular topic/event that I have been hesitant to post about for the past two weeks: school field trips. 

Yeongdo Girls High School students bused to the Busan Museum in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu for their annual field trip five days before Danwon High School students boarded the ship that would ultimately never reach Jeju Island, the destination of their own field trip. 

A small percentage of my students from different classes posing for a photo after exploring the museum

The whole of South Korea is in agony over this tragedy. While some passengers were rescued, many more were not - including hundreds of students just one year older than the ones I teach and have the privilege of continuing to teach. 

THE AGONY, THE ANGER, THE SHAME, THE GRIEF

 I can relate to only a very small percentage of it all. Culturally and linguistically, I am many levels removed from directly experiencing the full gravity of this loss, and so I feel unfit to even broach this topic. However, because I am here in Korea, continuing to teach high school students, and basically daily encountering and re-encountering the ghost of April 16, I suspect that I will have opportunities to write more about this later. For this post though, I simply want to accomplish two things:

     1) Acknowledge the aforementioned heavy feelings shrouding the heart of the nation, and
     2) Without detracting, distracting from, or devaluing the aforementioned, celebrate:

THE HOPE, THE UNITY, THE STRENGTH, THE LIFE

of South Korea. I continue to be impressed by this nation's ability to unite together and stand its ground. Unity may crumble, strength may wane, life may be lost, but, no matter how bleak the hour, I believe Hope still reigns at the end of the day.

As Korea grapples with the reality of hundreds of [young] lives lost, may she also not lose a beat in continuing to love and care for the millions of young people who are with us today.

Here are my students, who, everyday, I will learn to love more and more. 

YEONGDO GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL FIELD TRIP TO BUSAN MUSEUM

Students traveled in groups, boarding buses from our island to the mainland.
I bused down with a group of students living in my neighborhood and, thus, was able to find the museum.

There were other school field trips this day. The girls got excited over the sight of an all-boys high school also roaming around the museum grounds

This student gives me the deepest bows every time she sees me! Extremely respectful and polite - I adore her!

Teachers half-heartedly trying to create organized lines out of the hundreds of students milling around the square

Alright - you got me. Putting away the camera now...

This green-jacketed man perfectly matching the well-maintained shrubbery

It was a Seattle weather kind of day

Stella agreeing to be the girls' personal paparazzi

The silliness memo did not reach me or the older, male teacher to my left...

A PRAYER FOR SOUTH KOREA
Lord, give South Korea a Hope so extravagant as to pierce through this overwhelming current of despair. Enable her to, once again, rise from the ashes, assured of the beauty of Your plans for her and, especially, her children.