Chapter 3: The Goodbye Song

“You're so sentimental.” a friend told me as I snapped another picture of the classroom. It was night time outside as the windows no longer reflected that warm glow from the sun they seemed to radiate throughout the day and instead showed the slight orange glow of street lights contrasted by the bright white light of our classroom. It was nearly 9PM and despite the late hour, our class was in good spirits. Lot's of teachers happy and smiling. This was the last day before our presentation and the last day before leaving the training grounds where we made our first friends and connections in Korea.  Everyone was a delicate mix of anticipation and anxiousness. The real test would begin soon.

People chose to celebrate their last days in different ways. Some chose the route of alcohol, choosing to create new memories or forget them through the nectar of fermented alcohol. Others chose to simply pack and prepare for the busy day that lie ahead of them. We chose a different path, we chose the path of norebang.

The appeal of singing Korean and American pop and top 40 songs in a small room may sound like an idea lost in translation but like any good recipe, the right ingredients were the key for making something amazing.

All of the inhibitions, the fears and doubts melt away when with good company. Even the shyest wallflower becomes a vocal powerhouse. The tone deaf become pitch perfect. Casual acquaintances become close friends. Norebang was the ultimate ice breaker. The key to bringing people closer together, making them feel comfortable and ensuring a good time is had by all.

To make the event even more memorable and ridiculous, it was suggested that we would all wear our pajamas and nightwear to the event. The pajama parties from out youth were back, an appropriate theme to match the ridiculousness and sheer innocence of the situation.

The norebang location was located on the training center's campus. There was no need for us to travel or take a cab into the city. As I stood waiting in the lobby for my other friends to arrive I kept seeing groups of people leaving, dressed for one last night on the town. Their gaze and stares said more than any other words could. Something looked very strange to them, where they could begin to rationalize the situation in their mind would only lead to more questions. I could not care less though, I wanted this night to be memorable and unique. If that was to be accomplished in only my PJ's then so be it.

I made my way to the center which served as an entertainment hub for people on the campus. The sterile and marble finished building looked more like an office or archival building rather than a place for fun and song. I cautiously made my way to the back room. Logic telling me that buildings like this usually did not host places like norebangs nor places for entertainment. Was I in the right building? What if I took a wrong turn? How would I explain myself in my PJ's? The fear and doubt began to slowly eat away at my mind as I continued to make my way to the back. It was too late to turn back.

As I walked down the dark hallway, I came a cross a room which appeared to have a large couch along the walls. Slowly I entered the room and and flipped the light switch. The room was a certified norebang room complete with tambourines, microphones, sound equipment and even full songbook. The only thing missing was the drunken patrons and smells of beer.

By the time I began to make my way back to the dorm some of my friends had begun to make their way to the dorm. They had all come as requested: PJ clad, a few drinks and snacks in hand and a will to keep singing. It was a room full of guys at first. me, Moise, Alex and Michael. Singing at the top of our lungs not carring who heard. Soon Ziggy and and Melissa joined us and the inhibitions and awkwardness of singing 7 year old pop songs in our PJ’s was lost on us. We could have been in our underwear, as long as we were having fun, it did not matter.

Despite the entire group being present, we decided to start singing anyway. Even though the song selection was limited with the most recent song being circa 2004, we still had fun anyway. Just like the first time, the inhibitions were gone. We were laughing and singing along. We were happy, drunk on the high that the good times and good people provided.

After an hour a man came to our door and politely told us to leave, as the center was closing down fr the night. Slightly disappointed that our fun had ended so soon and without the full group we headed back to our dorms, unsure of what to do next, afraid that our last night together for some time would end up unremarkable.

When we made our way into the lobby we ran into the rest of the group composed of Hannah and Josie and told them the unfortunate news about our hour of norebang and the closing of the center.  For a fleeting second, a look of disappointment flashed across their faces. That look soon disappeared as Hannah's expression soon changed into an excited revelation as she suggested that we play a game instead.

“It’s a really fun game guys,” she said in her bubbly and cheerful voice. “You’ll all like it.”

Never to doubt anyone who offered a good time with a smile on their face, I made my way to the third floor lounge where with our drinks and snacks, still clad in our sleepwear, we began to play the game.

The game was called Monopoly Deal, a card based and fast paced version of the traditional Monopoly card game. For what seemed like hours, the concept and basic rules of the game seemed to go over our heads. The game slowly unfold itself and the fun began to set in after a few rounds. Hannah told us that it would all makes sense the more we played and once the realization set in, the fun and competitive edge really set in.

Soon we were all intently focused on winning the game, we were friends who were never put into a competitive situation before but now it was all over. We were there to win.

Thinking of strategies in our minds and trying to out maneuver the other opponent, hours passed away. Curious onlookers would stop and watch, their amusement a combination of last day jitters, alcohol and the wonderment of how a group of people could be so engrossed by a set of cards. As we made our way through the game and new ideas and strategies were formed Hannah would remark with the phrase: “That’s a strategy!” A short cheerful phrase that was the lighthearted divider in this otherwise serious game.

The end came before what I thought was an assured victory, swept out from beneath my feet, Hannah came from nowhere and ended the game as fast as it began. The perfect picture for such a fast paced game. Victory came sudden, thrust upon you at a moments notice. To say I was amusingly mad was an understatement. To say that the others found my anger massively entertaining was another.

I went to bed that night, tired and having to wake up early. However, there was little room for regret or worry in my mind. Like the game, we were people from all over the world, thrust onto one another with only our jobs as a uniting factor. It was nights like these that I had not experienced in a long time, interaction that I was convinced only stayed in youth but became less frequent in age. It was the feeling of belonging and feeling like a tight knight group.

My fears of separation had disappeared. I now knew that through training, PJ’s, Monopoly and norebang were would be knowing each other for the long run.

We would always have Korea.

We would always have each other.

That's a strategy!

Chapter 2: Training and Friends

Before we were to be ready for the world of teaching in Korea, and before we were to become the teachers that we left our home countries for we would have a week and two days worth of training. The training center was where the new crop of EPIK teachers would be calling their home for the next week. The situation was not unlike my first time attending college and the social ritual of meeting people for the first time and the relationships that would develop because of it.

I arrived with little knowledge of Korea and even less knowledge of how a Korean school system was supposed to run. It was a series of events that transpired over the first few hours of getting off the plane that set in the tone of just how fast, how random and how last minute Korea could be. I was later told that Korea was a country of last minute planning and events. A country the moved quickly and had no time to spare for those who would slow them down.

The college atmosphere was further amplified and strengthened in nearly everything that we did. We stayed in dormitories after classes were over. We attended classes and lectures dealing with different classroom and student management techniques. We ate lunch in a cafeteria with meals prepared for us by the kitchen staff. The atmosphere despite being thousands of miles away from anything that resembled  American or in the case of the other teachers (South African, British, Irish culture) was very familiar. I wasn't sure of this was intentional to make us feel at ease and gradually ease us into a Korean lifestyle or not but I do know that the familiar environment made us all closer, it allowed to find our people, the people that we knew would gravitate towards us and find familiar ground. I was lucky enough to quickly find a group of people that I could identify with, laugh with and enjoy their company. It would prove to not only be a beneficial way to pass time and form friendships, but also a a preliminary means of building the only network of people rely on. We didn't know it yet, but the hardest challenges were awaiting us. The first week being on our own would proves to be a test both will and emotion. In times of crisis and in times of need they would be our source of information and our source of comfort. Miles away from home, they would be our family, a band of brothers and sisters to weather us through the rough times ahead and share our joy in all of the victories and triumphs that we made.

We did not know at the time because like college, we were in a bubble, a safe microcosm to keep us feeling safe and warm miles away from home. Towards the end of the orientation I knew that this bubble could not last, that our friends would soon separate and go our own separate ways. I knew it. We all knew it. We did not care.

Instead we wisely chose to take the time we had left to enjoy company. We norebanged until out throats turned raw. We played card games until the early hours of the morning. We cracked jokes in class. We ate together during meals. We were a group that was about to leave, but the friendships and relationships that we built would last after the last lesson.

It is too early to tell if the friendships will last, if the scattering of our class (Class 4) will provide strain or not. I do know that the times we spent were real and genuine.

And in this day and age, genuine friendship and kindness is priceless and irreplaceable.

We came from all over the world. We found each other in Daejeon.