Today started out ordinarily enough…lazed in bed for a while, worked out, ate breakfast…the works. I was excited today was Friday, but not really looking forward to the 6 classes I had to teach before I could enjoy my weekend. I thought they would be good lessons (they were, for the most part J), but details have had a way of slipping by me recently, so I never feel quite prepared for my day. I walked into the school by the first grade room and children started peeping out of their rooms immediately to shout hello to me, like usual. Within a few seconds, though, I was literally swarmed by small energetic bodies alternatively shoving candy into my arms until they were overflowing and then begging, “Pepero! Pepero!” I was so overwhelmed by all the unexpected attention, not to mention nearly crushed by all of them, that claustrophobia kicked in and I started shoving candy back as quickly as possible and basically bolted for the teachers’ room. In response to my questions, the teachers laughingly informed me that tomorrow is Pepero day. Evidently Lotte created this “holiday” to celebrate its chocolate-covered stick cookies, Pepero, because the date (11/11) resembles the candy, and it has stuck. It’s sorta like Valentine’s Day, it seems, but has no basis in legend and from what I could see, was not a romantic holiday in the least. As I taught that morning, a good half of all the students in my classes gave me boxes of Pepero and more came from students in other classes. It was ridiculous in the extreme. I literally have a box full of this candy, numbering in the hundreds (they come in boxes of various sizes). Many of the kids begged me for Pepero in return, but it didn’t seem right to give back the presents I had just received, and plus, I didn’t think I had enough for everyone. Also, I hate to just give out candy for no reason, or even in general. It’s a reward, not an everyday occurance, for goodness sakes! I’m going to keep them at school to supplement my snack stash (for the kids AND for me). Hopefully they won’t go bad! If I had any fears my popularity at school was diminishing, this definitely alleviated them. Sure, the candy’s cheap, but Choi Hyun Moon only got one in comparison…and yes, I am that petty to measure my worth in Pepero. As long as it keeps me happy, right!
I found out this morning that my family is going to visit my host mother’s parents tomorrow, but unfortunately I will be unable to go because I already committed to going to Boryeong with all the teachers for a retreat of sorts. I thought about backing out on it both because a family outing to visit Grandma seems like something I should take part in and I am not sure how many of the teachers are actually attending—all of the female teachers, it seems, are bowing out—but my co-teacher seemed appalled at the idea and I did make a commitment, so I guess I will go. I hope it will be fun….
Yesterday at my SK class, Mr. Nam gave me a really nice tea cup and some Korean tea called “Sparrow Tongue.” The cup is pretty fancy and allows you to brew your own tea in a filtered compartment. He is too crazy with his gifts…vegetable boxes, gift certificates (which unfortunately I still have not figured out how to use), copious amounts of food at each of our classes, and now this. The tea has a strange name to my ears, but it tastes pretty good and Mr. Nam has promised me more as long as I want it, even when I am back in America. What a ridiculous man!