My first day of school

Friday, March 2- the first day of school
We had an elaborate “opening ceremony” that consisted of the kindergartners being called up to the stage one by one receiving a gift and a hug from the principal. Touching one another is generally acceptable in this culture as physical intimacy is far less sexualized here. (More on that in a bit.) As expected, a staff member gave a long speech in Korean that wasn’t listened to by me or my students. Instead, they stood in rows punching and kicking each other while I watched and laughed. When it was my turn to be introduced to the school, I was standing on stage listening for my name in front of hundreds of people. Well, they didn’t say my name but instead something in Korean (probably guest English teacher.) Since I don’t speak Korean, I stood there while everyone stared waiting for me to bow. My Vice Principal who is really awesome and happy all the time just laughed and said “Laci?” So I finally got the cue and bowed while everyone laughed. Well, at least I made an impression! The rest of the day was pretty inconsequential. I looked at my textbooks, made a PowerPoint and gathered supplies. Occasionally, small kids would high-five me and yell “Helloooo, how are yoooou?” The others just stared and/or giggled.
This is when the story really gets good.
After school, all of the teachers went together to a small restaurant for our party. There were three long tables about a foot high. Everyone sits on mats, Indian style. There were about three grills per table (the server brings you raw meat and you cook your own food) and 10 vegetable side dishes per grill. You also get chopsticks, a spoon, a wet towel, a water glass and a shot glass. When I first arrived, I was sitting with the 3 English teachers at my school, only one of them is a native English speaker. After everyone arrived, a male teacher called me out and made me sit in front of the principal. There are a few things you have to know first to understand what this meant.
1. The principal is KING. That is no exaggeration. What he says is law and everyone wants his favor. A Korean once explained it to me like this, “If he says, ‘go die’ I would go die for him.”
2. My principal is around fifty, his aura alone commands respect. He doesn’t smile, laugh or say much. He just surveys his staff from wherever he is sitting. He is by no means grumpy, more like stern and firm.
3. He is a man that I highly respect and would like to impress very badly.
So, I was placed right in front of him! What an honor! But now, I am thinking Oh no, what do I say, what do I do?? Well, I practiced what the Koreans call Nunchi. It means something along the lines of social intelligence. They feel that giving detailed instructions is condescending so most of the time you have to look around and just do what everyone else does. So that’s what I did. I noticed that the Koreans would turn their heads from the principal to take a drink and cover it with their hand, like hiding it. So I hid my drinking, and eating too (just in case this was also considered rude.) Another weird thing they do is give their shot glass to you, which they fill with Soju (a rice liquor) and you take a shot. Then you do the same for them. Sharing cups and food is a way of social bonding, as gross as that seems to us American germophobes. Luckily, I think the alcohol kills the germs. It is most valued to perform this ceremony with the principals. He did this with me and I was so honored and nervous (my hands were shaking when I poured his shot.) He also put food on my corner of the grill for me to eat. This is another thing to be honored by in Korea (I didn’t see him do this for anyone else!) So I asked the guy next to me how to say in Korean “Mr. Prinicpal, would you like some onion?” I have already forgotten it but I did remember it long enough to say it across the table. Everyone stared in awe and he smirked and said yes. That was the ONLY time I’ve seen him smile. After dinner, a man announced “Time for Round Two! Laci (more like Rashi) you have to come noribong!” This means Karaoke. I did an impression of a dying horse (which made my VP laugh) to communicate that my singing is horrible. Welp, it didn’t matter, they made me go anyway. So we left the restaurant and went to sing Karaoke. Remember that at this point, the Principal had had nearly 20 shots of soju yet remained as serious and professional as ever. In Korea, they have whole buildings for Karaoke with private rooms that fit around 20 people. They provide tamberines and a huge songbook in English and Korean. I sang Katy Perry and N'sync with the only other Westerner complete with the Bye Bye Bye dance moves. The Koreans loved it! We all sang and danced and had a grand ole time.
The best part was when my principal held my hand and fed me chips similar to Cheetos. This may seem strange but it is completely normal here. Everyone holds hands and if your principal feeds you, you’re in!! When Cooper and I decided to go home, my principal insisted on buying us a cab home. It was an awesome night! I let go of my fear of humiliation and just went with it! As far as I can tell from all the Soju they gave me, food they fed me, and the fun handholding time, they really like me!
Success!