How I Spent Teacher's Day

Teacher's Day in Korea is a big deal at my school. I would suspect given the importance of education in Korea that other schools place it in high regard as well but, its important enough in my school to warrant students leaving in the afternoon and teachers to have a special lunch of delicious food and lots of alcohol. Like Christmas and Chuseok, its not just an appreciation day, its a holiday.

Like the name suggests, Teacher's Day is a celebration of the teachers who teach the students. A day of giving thanks to the educators of Korea. It's a day where students have to be extra nice to their teachers and a day in which teachers can usually expect a selection of small gifts from their students like handwritten letters, small snacks or flowers.

My school had a entire morning dedicated to the celebration of its teachers. This included students lining up to greet their teachers as they entered the school, a special ceremony hosted by the principal of the school and the complete lack of classes for the entire day. Students were able to leave the school early to take a small break while the teachers were left to dine on a special lunch.

This has been the second teacher's day that I have participated in, but the first one where I truly felt like I was an active participant and worthy of being a part of. Last year was my first year teaching, a year full of rookie mistakes and time spent still attempting to gain the trust and confidence of teachers and students. It felt like an awkward first year of learning and at that point, I had not felt the full appreciation or confidence that a teacher should have.

This year has been different, my confidence in teaching has greatly increased and my relationship with staff and students has also improved. Finally, I feel the confidence and pride to call myself an educator, someone who takes the responsibility of turning young teens into young adults. While I may not always succeed, I have gotten better, and plan on continuing to do so.

I received a had written letter from a student along with a carnation. Throughout the morning students would come up to me to shake my hand and tell me that they enjoyed both my teaching style and kindness towards them. The kind gestures of the students surely cannot be used as some litmus measuring test of teaching efficiency, but it was impossible to deny the small swells of pride and happiness each student brought with them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating a special lunch of sashimi and beer with two of my co teachers. It was a great thing to sit down and engage in casual conversation with them, something that I very rarely have the time to do due to our different schedules during the school day. While the day was meant to celebrate teachers, at that table we were just normal people, talking about out jobs and lives, our pasts and possible futures. It was a delightful conversation that left our stomachs full and our heads a little fuzzy from the beer and soju. At this point I have completely gotten over the fact that it is apparently perfectly acceptable to drink alcoholic beverages within a school building without being persecuted by the law.

After the lunch, I went home early. Taking the few hours of free time to let my mind wander and my body rest before starting the whole teaching thing again tomorrow. When I got home I checked my phone to see a text message sent to me from a student.

"Congratulations for Teacher's Day! lol :D"

The perfect ending to a great day.


As long as I'm here, even if they don't always appreciate it and even if they don't always agree, I have to keep trying my hardest. I have to try and make each of these student's futures as bright and full of opportunity as I can within my ability. Even if its one student, in one class, I have to keep on trying.

I have to keep on trying for them, for good students who keep me going and remind me that they are the leaders of the future and that the future may be in good hands after all.

A trip to Caribbean Bay!

Last week was midterm time at my school. While that meant a hellish exam cycle of studying until the early hours and cramming vast amounts of information to be memorized for students, I got to take a mini vacation and have a spare day off from work. I had known that this day was coming soon and decided to take advantage of it early by planning to take a day trip back to Everland with Hyejin.

Its funny, as most people I know usually make it a habit to make it either a once a year trip or biannual trip to  Everland and here I was, visiting again in a span of a month. In all fairness though, it wasn't the same kind of trip and I wasn't visiting the same exact place again.

Next to Everland, was the water park know as Caribbean Bay, famous in Korea for having both an indoor and outdoor portion of water slides and attractions. I've heard stories of it being packed with people during the hot and humid summer months, with long lines waiting to go down slides and visit the spa area.

I guess I went at the wrong time because aside from a handful of people in the indoor portion, the park was a ghost town.

Maybe it was because of the weather. It was slightly chilly and the skies had a hint of overcast, possibly threatening to rain at any minute. Maybe because it was an afternoon on a Thursday, a day typically spent by most Koreans either in school or working. Whatever the reason, it was a bit odd to be able to walk around the park with no lines or waiting.

While a line free water park sounds like paradise to most people and ideally it would be, it seemed that the staff took the day off as well and most of the water slides and water attractions on the outside were not open. None of the slides were available to slide down with many portions of the park were blocked off and closed.

I was certain at this point that I would end up regretting the time and money spent coming here, however my girlfriend reminded me about the indoor portion of the park. Remaining skeptical but not wanting to waste anymore time, we made our way inside.

I was glad I listened to Hyejin, because as soon as we stepped through the door we were greeted to a brightly lit area of lazy rivers, small pools, water slides and spa areas. It was a light at the end of a chlorine smelling tunnel.

While this was my first time visiting an indoor water park, I was impressed at what was available. The whole place had a cheery and clean atmosphere with the bright colors and themes of a amusement park. Simply walking around the are and finding new places to play in hidden in the corners was a fun time that constantly offered new things to try out. Starting from the bottom and making your way to the top could take a person more than a few hours if they went at a leisurely pace.

One of the things I found most different about the Korean water park experience was the preparation before even stepping foot  in a swimming pool. One of the most striking is the safety concerns and preparations for each person with safety measure going far beyond what I was used to back at home. Where safety concerns generally consisted of "don't run" and "jump in kids!" back at home, the rules were different here, specifically with swim attire.

According to the rules of the park, you are required to wear the following before swimming:

A cap to cover your head.

A life vest (but you can take this off later on)

A t shirt to cover your torso (but we were allowed to remove these)

Luckily, due the the small number of people there, the staff allowed us to slide by the rules a little bit and go without caps and later on remove our vests and t shirts. However we were told that if it was a busier time, these items would be absolutely necessary.

Another difference was the variety of things to do beside go in the water or swim in the pools. Spa and sauna areas were scattered between the slides and pools to offer a quick dip of relaxation along with scented water with rose and other flowers. The indoor area also offered both a beauty section and relaxation section that for a half hour and extra fee, could allow a quiet area to relax and be pampered in. It seemed like an odd idea at first, but after taking small breaks to refresh between swimming and sliding provided a revitalizing burst of energy that was welcomed after a few hours of activity. America needs to get on the idea ASAP.

It was a fun day with my girlfriend who like me, was caught up in her work life leaving places like this a distant priority in the wake of more important and work related manners. At the end of the day, despite being tired and worn out were reminded just important these little breaks are from our daily schedule and how the company of a special person is a key ingredient for a happy time.

Website for Caribbean Bay

http://www.everland.com/web/multi/english/caribbean/main.html

The outside of the Bay!