Teacher's Day

Yesterday was Teacher's Day. At our last hagwon, all presents were banned in order to prevent the excessive competition that the parents would take on to give the best presents. With this in mind, and no such ban at this new school, Lauren and I had hoped for a little more than a few flowers :) Having said that, judging by some of the dodgy pot plants/Lotte merchandise the main teachers received, I'd have rather gone home empty handed than with a bag full of unwanted gifts. Still, always good to feel appreciated; one of my elementary kids wrote me a card saying "You're nice I like you" which was nice.

Today we went out for our first staff meal of the year in aid of the celebration, though I'm not sure who was treating us. The kindergarten owner, maybe. The food was good, but the affair was really boring. In fairness, we make little effort to chat to the other teachers in Korean, but likewise they make little effort to include us in their conversations. Well, why should they, I suppose. We're just a couple of girls who, on the whim of the wild-minded boss, were employed to give token English lessons to keep the school afloat. (I blame the tiredness for the overt cynicism -- apologies.) Anyway, having wondered why we haven't had many (any) staff dos, I realise it's not something I want to encourage...