Middle School, Korean Style

David and I arrived in Korea five days ago to visit Nick before heading to Auckland, and right now we are sitting in the airport getting ready to depart for our new home. We had an amazing time in Korea, and we feel really fortunate to have had the chance to see what Nick has been up to for the past year. We even had the opportunity to go with him to Deokjeong Middle School, where he has been teaching English. When surrounded by so much that is different, it was really pleasant to find that middle schools don't change much from one country to the next. The boys still beat each other in the hallways prior to class (and sometimes in class) and the girls still comb their hair obsessively while their teacher is talking.

In any case, being in a Korean middle school is probably the closest David and I will ever be to celebrities. The children followed us in the hallways, pointed, giggled, and were clearly making bets to see who should be the first to make an introduction. One girl ran into Nick's classroom, stared at us, giggled, turned around, and ran into the door in all her excitement. I can't say we've ever had that particular effect on people before, so I guess it's safe to say that Korea is good for a foreigner's ego. 

During each of Nick's five classes for the day, David and I introduced ourselves to the students and then they had the opportunity to ask questions or make comments. Common questions included:

1. How tall are you?
The answer is 196 cm for David and 180 cm for me. The kids gasped when we answered, then clapped.
2. Who is your favorite Korean singer?
Nick informed me that the appropriate answer to this question is "Wondergirls," so that's what we both answered--that's right, David is a big Wondergirls fan too.
3. How much money do you make?
We pled the fifth
4. Are you going to get married?
Also pled the fifth
5. When are you going to get married?
Fifth
6. You like Kim-Chi?

Kim-chi is pickled cabbage. They bury the cabbage in a jar in the ground for an extended period of time and then eat it with EVERY meal. They are exceedingly proud of kim-chi, and you have to pretend to like it, so we lied and said it was delicious.

Nick's students were not the only ones who learned from our visit to Korea. The trip was quite a learning experience for us as well. Among other things, we learned:

1. Children in Deokjeong see few enough Americans that they perceive the few they do see all look like movie stars. Nick's students told us that Nick looks like Mr. Bean (or David Beckham--they couldn't decide), David looks like Hellboy, and I look like Audrey Heburn (I think I lucked out being the girl in this particular instance).

2. Korean toilet paper is really, really strong. Seriously, you could tie it around your ankles and swing from the rafters. Very impressive.

3. Korean relationships are perplexing. One of many examples is that couples wear matching clothes. And it's not like they wear shirts that are the same color and that's where it ends. No, they actually wear whole matching outfits, right down to the identical t-shirts with teddy bears and kittens on them (being cute is a big deal in Korea). 

4. In Korea it is cool to have t-shirts with English phrases. The catch is that the phrases usually make no sense at all, or they have much more meaning packed into them than the wearer probably realizes. Some highlights were:

-"Grapefruit Juice and Praziquantel"

   (Praziquantel is a de-worming medication.) 

-Browned Smores Backyard

-I think Herod is unique

-Morningwood Lumber Company

Thanks to Nick for being such a wonderful host and for making this fantastic learning experience possible for us!