On Friday night, Eli, Tharene and Elise threw a Halloween party at their apartment in Daegu. They covered the walls with black garbage sacks and cotton webs. They lined tea lights along the walls and put dry ice in the mystery-shot punch bowl. I was impressed with the decorations and relieved that no plastic, electronic ghoul was arranged to jump out at me in dark corners. The mood was eery yet too familiar to really scare anyone.
I never really liked Halloween, but I had a blast! It was fun to see everyone dressed up! My favorite disguise was a hospital gown and a plastic pig nose--"the swine flu." Eli was a very non-spooky mummy. Tharene was a spider. Others were pirates or animals. One friend just wore a sign that said, "When Obama goes, so do the clothes." Not sure what kind of a costume that is, but it made us chuckle anyway. I ended up dressing in a Korean hanbok that I borrowed from another teacher. (I have to admit that I felt a little silly dressed as a Korean in front of actual Koreans.)
So we talked about Halloween at our hogwans, drank the mysterious maroon potion and partied until 4 a.m., when most of us decided it was time to hit the Halloween hay. I woke up when light shone in Eli's bedroom and guiltily left the sleepy and party-strewn house to the hostesses.
I've had mixed emotions about the Saturday class I agreed to teach for Justin. It sucks to come back to Jilyang when I might rather just spend all weekend in Daegu. On the other hand, I really enjoy the high school students. Teaching them is really not too hard. The class reminds me of English Corner, except with a bit more organized learning. No discipline issues. Yes!
I introduced UNO to several of my classes this week, including the Saturday class. Many of them have really enjoyed it and willingly stayed 10 minutes after class to finish a game. I think much of the fun of UNO is the sort of jab and revenge teeter-totter that occurs with all of the "draw two," "reverse," and "skip" cards. My high school class had just as much fun with UNO as my younger kids. A deck of UNO cards would be a great gift to give away to Korean friends I make. (Do you think you could send me some for Christmas, Mom?)
A woman I met at the health center, Mrs. Chay, invited me to her house for dinner on Saturday evening. So I rode the bus to the E-Mart in Kyungsan, where I found a pair of jeans that fit me (wow!) as I waited for her to pick me up.
It seemed pretty clear that she was using me as an opportunity for her daughter to practice her English. I didn't mind though. Eun Young was pretty cute. She practiced "I am nine-years-old," and learned the word "persimmons." They expected me to eat a lot, which was also something I anticipated. After encouraging me through four pieces of fried chicken, they brought out a main entree of beef ribs as well as rice, vegetables, kimchi, wine, and fruit for dessert. Whew! They sent me home with a bag of fresh persimmons in honor of the English lesson. Mr. Chay requested a monthly dinner appointment on the car ride home. I gave him a "maybe" answer, wanting to keep my options open, but promised to come again.
On Sunday, I went to my Korean lesson and church. Then Su Jung, her brother and I went to Hayang for spaghetti and Baskin Robbins for dinner. Yum! It seems my happy days always include good food and good company.
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