It's been a while since I last blogged but I'm back!
Summary of December 2010 and the beginning of January 2011: memorable, to say the least. A Korean opera concert; an impromptue waygook (Korean for "foreigner") Christmas song and dance performance on the bustling streets of Nampo, Busan (shoutouts to my fellow performers and promoter); an unforgettable Christmas day in Busan which included the traditional viewing of Home Alone 1 +2; new year celebrations in Beijing, China; left a little piece of my heart locked up in Seoul; first official experience at the embarrasingly magical Korean bathhouse; and so much more that I cannot possibly attempt to capture in words.
Now, you may wonder why I have chosen to merely summarize rather than elaborate on all the amazing things I experienced in the past month or so, but I assure you that the topic of this blog is more pressing.
Last week, I started teaching the Winter English Camp at my elementary school. The kids are technically "off" school from the end of December to February. However, all the public schools hold english camps during vacation time so some of the poor little munchkins get forced into attending camp for a week or two. I'm actually having fun teaching camp because I'm finding that the students' unique personalities are coming out more due to the informal camp setting.
I'll be quite honest with you; I've been teaching at this school since September and throughout the semeseter, I could not for the life of me remember most of my students' names (in my defense, I taught 20 classes of about 30 students in each class! You try remembering 600 Korean names!). Meanwhile, teaching some of those very students in a more intimate camp setting left me with lasting memories of them. The following is an account of one of the more "interesting" memories I have made at camp.
Tues., Jan. 11 2011
The camp day just ended. Most of the kids ran out so fast that I'm sure they're already half way home. Two stragglers are left in the classroom, both little grade 4 girls. One girl, who will be referred to as "Pink" because she wears a jacket in this colour, is quiet and barely knows a word of English, or so it seems this way. The other, who will be known as "Red," has more developed English-speaking skills but is also quite the mouse.
I begin shutting down my computer and putting on my jacket and scarf, while my coteacher does the same. Pink and Red still linger. Pink approaches me with a creepy smile and whispers in a barely audible voice, "Teacha, my name is Stalka." What the hell did she just say???? I respond, "Your name is what?" and she repeats, "My name is Stalka." That's when my Konglish abilities kick in. The kid just told me her name is "Stalker!!!!!" For a second, I'm a little creeped out by this tiny girl that stands before me. I get over this feeling rather quickly as I sheepishly realize she probably doesn't even know what a stalker is; she must have heard the word on t.v. or something. No biggy! I shrug it off. After my coteacher finallys kicks the girls out of the classroom so we can lock up, I casually tell her what Pink said to me. She merely chuckles.
I say goodbye to my coteacher at the bus stop just outside the school. Her bus hasn't arrived yet so she sits down on the bench. I commence my 4-minute walk home. About 30 seconds later, as I'm walking, I hear my coteacher yell in the near distance, "AMARTA! Stalkers! Ruuuuuuuuun home!" At first, I'm so baffled by what I think I heard. What does she mean?! And then I see two little figures, one Red and one Pink, scurrying towards me!! I start sprinting away from them (thank God I decided to wear running shoes to school today).
I race around the corner near my apartment building and look behind me. Those little legs are surprisingly quick; they're still running after me! When I get to my building I enter my password into the security system that will allow me to enter through the sliding glass doors. Phew! I'm able to enter the password without taking off my mittens! I'm safe inside the building and the glass doors shut behind me. I peer outside; thankfully, I don't see the girls. Suckers! They don't know my password so they can't get into my building now. I walk up to my apartment as I attempt to catch my breath. Note to self: Amarta, you need to start running on the regular again!
I've almost regained my full respiratory range when I hear a girl's voice yelling on the street outside my window, "Amar-uh-ta teacha!!!! Party! Party! Lunch!" O-M-G. I open my window and see Pink jumping and yelling my name while Red watches in embarassment; she's merely an accessory. I politely enunciate, "Go home girls! I will see you at school TOMORROW!" But no, Pink continues. I'm partially flattered that they like me enough to follow me home but I'm also partially annoyed. Eventually, I give up and close my window in hopes that Pink will tire soon or some old Korean man will tell her to shut up. I don't know which one of the two actually happens but about 10 minutes later, I hear silence. FINALLY! I can enjoy my lunch...
DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG! Someone is just outside my apartment DOOR and ringing my doorbell. No...it can't be..how the f-- "Amar-uh-ta teacha!!!!" ARE YOU KIDDING ME!???? The little rats got into my building! I'm thinking they must have slipped in behind a resident who entered unaware of the lurkers that followed. I command through my closed door, "Gooooooooooooo hooome!!!!!!!!!" Pink refuses and continues to yell my name in the hallway. I open the door, look her straight in the eye and say "GO HOME!" again, as if she's going to all of a sudden listen to my order. I'm a hostage in my own home. I shut the door and call my coteacher. After explaining the situation, I ask her how to say "go home" in Korean. I get off the phone and test out my Korean language skills. "Jip ay-gada!!!!!!!" Pink smiles. Luckily, Red seems to get fed up with Pink's antics. She grabs Pink by the jacket and pulls her to the stairs leading out. Just like that, I see the tops of their heads dissappear down the staircase. The stalkers have left the building. They better not return!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as a follow up on this incident, I arrive at school the next day to find my coteacher scolding my young stalker and her accomplice. At the end of the camp week, I am told that Pink has signed on for another 2 weeks of camp. This ought to be interesting.
