11 AM: Nice day at the office.
I'm studying up a storm so I can talk more because these first 3 days of school have required more language from me than anything I've done so far. Yesterday, MYoung-Teacher said a sentence to me that went "___malgo ____" I finally figured out that "malgo" meant "don't do that, do this other thing instead". It was actually in the very next online lesson I did after lunch.
Like is you say "우유 말고 커피 주세요 (Uyu malgo keopi juseyo)" it's "Don't give me milk--please give me coffee instead." Or more literally, "Milk, no. Instead, coffee give me."
Also, this morning, Jeong-Teacher the new special needs teacher (filling in for Hong-Teacher who herself replaced O-Teacher?) asked me about YJsang-Teacher, one of the older men in our office, but she used a word I didn't know. I think it was "Is he inside the office right now?" and she was using a form of 'inside' that I wasn't familiar with. She ended up saying, "Is he sitting there?" because I knew the verb for sit.
It was awkward and funny and we both ended up saying, "죄송해요" "jesonghaeyo" (sorry) at the same time, which made things even funnier. She's older than me, so I was surprised that we reached for the same level of formality with our apology. Suffice it to say, there are 6 ways to say "sorry" in Korean, all of them with little nuances of politeness (미안, 미안해, 미안해요, 미안합니다, 죄송해요, 죄송합니다), but I guess since we're co-workers and almost strangers, she went with the formality.
So, I'm studying.
So much studying. But it pays off in conversation time.
Piano-Jaehyung is in JY-Teacher's homeroom class! I was so excited when he told me he was in Il-Ban. JY-Teacher doesn't know him yet, but that's because she's got like 38 kids in her class. Yay, my boy is with one of my favorite teachers!
There's a new boy in the special needs room. Dohyun. He seems to have cerebral palsy because he has weak limbs and has to use a walker to get around. I had been chatting with all my pre-existing boys in the room, and there was Dohyun, sitting at a table because he can't move.
I didn't know how severe his autism might be, but I guessed that it wasn't as strong as Joonsung's and that he might be able to understand me if I spoke Korean. I sat by him and patted his hand and asked his name. He smiled and asked me where I was from and seemed pleased to hear I was American. I asked his grade and I think he said 2nd grade. He's a sweet child and I'll make a point of talking more to him.
Yeongchang walked down the hall with me, bumping into me like he used to do. It was like an inside joke from last semester or something.
Seongwonnie's still trying to steal my necklace. Also, my overly-bullied boy is getting more defensive. He's grown a few inches and he's easily as violent as the other kids, so...I guess I'm not worried about him too much anymore? It's a messy victory though, because I don't want anybody hurting anybody. Oy vey, these kids.
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1 PM: And 1st-grade fanboys continue to fanboy. When lunch was over, I was walking past the line of kids, forgetting that at the end of the line were 1st-graders. And 1st-graders yell. "Beautiful! Wonderful! Oh my gosh! Wow!" And then I had to turn around and walk right back through the crowd because my lunch coordinator called me over to her office, which was past the kids.
They got louder as I walked through the crowd of them, and I got a laugh when I yelled "조용히!" or "be quiet!" They thought it was cute. My School-mom, our lunch co-ordinator, unlocked her office to give me some bagels because she knows Americans like bread--this stereotype is quite true.
When I came back out, they were shouting again, but the kid yelling "Beautiful!" was the loudest one. He's either going to be lots of fun or lots of trouble--I'm betting on the former.
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1:45 PM: Jeongmin came by to get me for game time, but he didn't want to play Pictionary again. I said that the other kids liked it, but he doesn't care what the other kids want. I said, "We've played Monopoly so much..." To which he replied, "But I haven't played it." Which is true. I've played around 93 games of Monopoly but Jeongminnie has only played about 5 and 5 was not enough.
So we went upstairs and sat down for my 94th Monopoly game. It was just him and me for awhile, though two boys (locked together in a full hug that somehow still allowed them to walk) came by to ask me if I was on a date with Jeongmin. I just shook my head at them, finding humor in the fact that Walking Snugglers were brave enough to ask such a question of anybody.
Soon Myeongchun came by to watch the game, then play a bit. Myeongchun's a good egg--a really fun kid to have around. A few other young-uns came along to watch and they seemed a bit pleased/taken aback by the fact that Leigh Sem is a regular person who plays games and tries to speak in Korean.
Hyunho didn't show again, nor did Hyo, though I invited him yesterday. I told Jeongmin I'd asked Hyo, and we had the following exchange:
Jeongmin: Do you like him?
Me: Yes I really do.
Jeongmin: What about me?
Me: Of course I like you! I don't hang out with students I don't like!
I guess actions don't speak louder than words with Jeongmin. I thought he was pretty secure in his position as a favorite, but he's always asking for verbal confirmation that I care about him. I should tell him more often that he's important, but he's already given me 300% of his heart and I don't want to make him overdo his feelings.
But I already feel like I've been grumpy, begrudging Jeongmin all the extra time he gets. When I mentioned that to my mother, she told me to remember that before my Korean got so good, there were days when I couldn't talk to my co-workers and Jeongmin was my only real company. It's all true. I don't need to get annoyed at Jeongmin just because he's always going to take what he needs in regard to attention--my own little brother does the same, taking over the spotlight and demanding love and praise.
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3:40 PM: Seongsu came by to check my Korean language study. He pointed out where I had misspelled a word while Dongjin snuck to my other side and said "Hello, my girlfriend!" I guess he saw that JY-Teacher was out of the office, which meant he could say such things without repercussions. I had teased Dongjin earlier though, by doing an aegyo (super-overly-cute) two-handed wave and a hello. Been seeing Haneul everywhere and he always says hi.
Looks like we have classes tomorrow, which throws off my plans because I was hoping to start next Monday and do the same lesson for everybody. I'll have to find a spare lesson to do for the Thursday and Friday kids next week, but that's okay. I can do it!
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4:45 PM
Hahaha best walk home. On a scale of decent-walk-home to perfect-walk-home, this was pretty high. A bunch of 3rd-graders (the good-natured hooligan type) caught up with me and we walked home together. It was Dongjoon (who I'd gotten a birthday present for in December), Boisterous Jinbong, Yoopil, and a few others.
They wanted to know where I lived, and I gave them the general area. Yoopil told me that he was going to become a 목사(moksa) or pastor, and said "hallelujah!" I think maybe he saw me praying over my lunch and this is where the sudden declaration comes from. Just a guess. Yoopil doesn't seem like the most pious type, otherwise.
They suggested we all walk together, so we did. Jinbong caught up with me and extended his elbow for me to hold onto, British gentlefolk-style. He asked if he could be my boyfriend, and I took his arm for a few seconds and said yes, which had us all cracking up. I asked if they liked being 3rd-graders and they said no, because it's much more work. I asked which PC bang they were going to and they insisted they were going to church.
I talked about the little 1st-graders and how they had new uniforms. Yoopil said his baby brother was one of the new 1st-graders.
Me: The little 1dt-graders are soooo cute.
Yoopil: Yes.
Me: You guys are not cute.
Yoopil: No, not cute. Handsome. We handsome.
I waved bye to them as I walked toward my apartment, thinking I hadn't laughed so hard all week.
Also saw Clever Seonwoo, who dashed past me in the hall muttering "Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!" and laughing like a madman. I got in one judo-chop to his back as he ran away, totally pleased with himself.
Joker Sungmo said hi to me as I went by the snack shop--even when I don't see him, he makes sure to greet me.
Sweet Heekyu, who is perpetually accusing his best friend of beating him up, chatted with me as I left school. He told me what ban he's in and wanted to know when I started teaching. Cute, cute, cute.
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