Hahaha, okay. Before I begin, I would like to tell a quick story about what happened a moment ago. I was walking back from lunch with a group of 6th grade boys when one of them says, "Kaitlin teacher is cute." I would like to note that I look like one of my third graders today, so I considered that fair play. Another one goes, "Beautiful woman!" after all of the ooh-ing from the rest of them. Here comes the reason why I'm telling this story. Then they begin to hum Ave Maria. Haha, I almost died! Since when did 6th grade boys know Ave Maria? And when was it related to beauty? :)
Today has been wonderful. My third graders were putting their hands up to mine and then interlocking their fingers, so I said, "high-five!" so that we could move away from this cosmic palm-touching and onto something more active and fun. Ha, but then again I also like high-fives as much as they do, so I'm sure that is the real reason.
I guess you could say that this has been a pretty good week! I went to a piano concert with a friend on Wednesday in Seoul. Her performance was fantastic. I always find myself being pulled into the music, and then into my own head, when I listen to something that really moves me. I think of an idea or two for paintings, and do a little soul-searching. It was like listening to a few of A Silver Mt. Zion's songs, except that this was live and not only could you listen to the music and think, Ah, I know that feeling, but you could also see her facial expressions as she played. It was truly inspiring.
Yesterday I went to 노량진 (Noryangjin) with the 6th grade teachers. It houses a famed fresh fish market with more fish and funny-looking things than I had ever seen in one place before then. They picked out three types of fish that were cut sashimi style (raw, about 1/4" thick, 1" in width, and 1 1/2"-3" long) as well as some shrimp (head and everything). We went upstairs to enjoy the food we had picked out. The raw fish was wonderful! I even liked the shrimp, which was cooked. I was surprised, though, that it didn't bother me to take off its head. We ate the fish with soy sauce and wasabi. I would love to do it again! We then moseyed to a bar that had cream beer. It was delightful! It almost tasted like cream soda... That is something that I would definitely want to have again.
It was a really nice day. We got off in 여의도 (Yeouido), where the cherry blossom festival was held last week, before grabbing a taxi to the fish market and the trees were in bloom! The first time I saw these trees made me realize how much I really do love Korea. When I told my co-teacher at dinner last night that I could see myself here for another year, she said that I should renew my contract with the school, then. Which really meant a lot! And I am terribly fond of the students and teachers I have been lucky enough to get to know. It seriously feels like every day is a reminder of how fortunate I am with my location. When we were eating the shrimp, I was being really meticulous and slow about peeling them and so one of the teachers peeled one for me. It's not a huge gesture and the others say that she is the most motherly of them, but it still made me feel really good. :)
And the feeling won't stop, I'm sure, at least any time soon. This weekend I am going east into the country with a friend for a wedding. A woman she knew growing up is Korean and is marrying a Korean man, so they are getting married here. I'm really excited to watch/be a part of it! But again, this is something I'm sure I will write about in retrospect.
Thank you all for reading. It means a lot to me!
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