Today was a little tough. I arrived to work with my mind focused on finishing grading and making report cards. I worked on that, until I remembered that I also have class today. So with 45 min of planning remaining, I set to work dealing with classes for the day. Thankfully, there wasn't anything too crazy to deal with.
I hoped and prayed some of my students would be absent due to Chuseok, and a few were. But not as many as I crossed my fingers for. I just grinned and beared (thats not a word...) it. I made it though, and I even came out the end of Friday a little better off. Remember when you gave teachers end of the year presents, and sometimes other presents? Well, on behalf of teachers everywhere - THANK YOU. I got 3 gifts from students for Chuseok! I feel super good about them. Yesterday, my best student from 3SAP (my favorites) gave me a package of Starbucks VIO instant coffee, and some hand cream that smelled like roses. Unfortunately I don't drink coffee, and I hate the smell of roses. But, on the bright side, my best Korean friend loves the brand of hand cream, and my best American friend in Korea loves coffee. So, Happy Chuseok, you two!!! ;)
There are some students I absolutely love. There are some students I hate to love, and love to hate. And then there are students that just suck. But, regardless, it feels great to be appreciated. :D
After work, some teachers got together at a restaurant called Ashley's. It is at the top of BauHaus (the dept. store next to my house). Apparently, it is buffet style, and all you can drink wine comes with. I seized the opportunity for 1) American food 2) Endless wine and 3) bonding time with coworkers. I still feel as if I am slightly on the outs with most of my coworkers, so I wanted to at least attempt to get to know them. It was a good time! It was basically like Golden Corral, but without quite as much variety, and fewer chefs preparing the meals. Koreans do not eat nearly as much as Americans, and therefore there is substantially less food required to feed the masses.
I ate a little of everything (well, everything that looked edible) and chose my favorite: Gorgonzola Honey Pizza. I couldn't actually taste the gorgonzola, but I appreciated the attempt at gourmet. I ate like 7 slices (the equivalent of about 2 Pizza Hut slices), as well as tasted most of the other dishes. I settled on the "dry white" wine which claimed to be Prosecco, but had no bubbles. Those liars! ;)
It was fun to hang out with my coworkers, which I've yet to do on this scale. I found out one of them was a Kappa (somewhere). Unfortunately, she is the one I feel I have the least in common with. Oh well! Not all Greeks are made the same...
Backtracking slightly - for the past 2 weeks, I've been having neck pains. A few days ago, I realized it is the worst in the morning, right when I wake up. Today I decided that my pillows, while comfortable, do not provide the support I need. It's becoming intolerable. I texted my friend Heather and asked if we could check out the PX, and she agreed. (This is the goods store on base). So, tomorrow, fingers crossed, I will buy a good pillow that will leave me feeling much better rested and with significantly less pain.
Tomorrow's agenda also includes: nails, movies/tv catch up (aka: Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, New Girl, etc!) and meeting up with Tab. I am so excited for Chuseok to get into full swing!
Cutting this short, mostly because I am out of things to talk about, but also because I have to get up at 8am (which I don't even do on the weekdays, let alone weekends) to head to the base. Goodnight, blogosphere!
My co-worker told me what happened on Grey's Anatomy. I didn't care because I don't watch it, but I will try to restrain myself from telling you!
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