Just Another Day

3-27-2010
Day 20 of 365: I haven't mentioned this yet, but I believe it's worth mentioning: Our school doesn't have any janitors. I don't know what the middle schools and high schools are like, but the elementary schools don't have them. What we have instead are hundreds of students who are each assigned an area to clean every day after school. They vacuum, they mop, they dust, they take out the trash, they do windows...they do it all. For my office, the school assigned two 5th grade girls. They arrive every day around 3pm, clean for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then play games on the chalkboard for another 20. The first day that they showed up was awkward. I tried to introduce myself but they were both so shy that they kept trying to hide behind one another. Then I tried to show them my sketchbook to 'break the ice' and one of them ran out of the room. They're not scared of me anymore. I often come back to my office in the afternoon to find pictures of flowers and animals on the chalkboard that they drew for me. They even wrote "Happy Birthday" on the board last week after they saw a birthday card on my desk. Now that I'm learning to speak Korean, they try to teach me a word or two every day. They're cute kids, and I'm glad to have them instead of a crotchety old man with a scowl and a mop.

So yes, I did have a birthday. I didn't want to make a big deal about it, especially since so many people have gone out of their way to help me get settled in and feel comfortable. I hadn't even told anyone, but my co-teacher, Sally, accidentally found out the day before while doing some paper work and basically told everybody. The next day when I walked into my classroom, a few of the teachers were there with birthday cards, gifts and a cheesecake with candles that spelled out "Birth Happy". Sally told me that Koreans traditionally eat seaweed soup for their birthdays, so I told her I was really happy that she went with the cheesecake. For dinner that night, some teachers took me to a place called O'Hill's Premium Seafood Buffet, which is one of the nicest restaurants in Ansan. Best. Buffet. Ever. It also happens to occupy the whole 2nd floor of my building, which is another reason why I love where I live. This isn't like the Chinese buffets that we have in the US; this is the kind of place where you better wear your nice shoes. The food was amazing. Note to anyone who comes to visit: You'll be my excuse to eat here again. Finally, I received a care package yesterday from my family in Austin. Some of the items included were a box of Lucky Charms (since my birthday is always on St. Patrick's Day), Wolf Band Chili and Fritos (a family tradition), my baseball glove (2nd most popular sport in Korea) and deodorant (it's tough to find here). This place feels a little more like home now. I had a great day. Thanks y'all.