A Week of Goodbyes: Friday

My last Friday at school went so fast. I said goodbye to one student for good. Apparently, he’s taking a break from our hagwon and going to another instead. He’s a very bright and articulate kid, but also a lazy brat. This kid is one of these Korean kids whose mom’s treat kind of like those toy dogs they carry around. by that I mean they take the kids to the salon and get their hair all did.

This kid has the most put together kid of any 10 year old, much less any 10 year old boy, that I’ve ever seen. He has little highlights in his hair, and all class he’s playing with his hair more than most of my girls do. So, imagine my surprise when he came up to me today and said, “Teacher your hair is very awful.”

I had just buzzed my hair, preparing for the heat of Southeast Asia. I looked at him square in the eyes and said, “Really Antonio? You are no one to talk about bad hair.” At the end of class, when were saying goodbye, I wished well, and told him, “Have fun with your hair!”
Maybe I gave the kid too much of a hard time.

After school, my bosses took the teachers out for a goodbye dinner. In addition to me, there is a Korean teacher leaving next week. I have to say that I enjoyed the dinner more than all the other company dinners. When walking home, the two other American teachers and I decided to go out for a drink.

I insisted on the Hollywood Westren Bar (where the above picture was taken). The couple invited a few friends of their friends and I invited one of mine. I got to put a few faces with names and got to meet some readers of the blog. It was surreal to meet so many people who had read my blog and who knew who I was without my knowing them. One guy actually said, “I feel like I’m meeting a celebrity.” Wow, if I meet many more readers, my head my get so big I’ll have to buy an extra seat on the plane.

But really, its satisfying to hear that what began as a way to keep my friends and family back home updated, turned out to be useful for other expats coming to Korea.