not in the job description

I told you we had an eventful weekend! YES...this is me a few students...AT MY APARTMENT!On Sunday afternoon, four of my students showed up on my doorstep...now this gives new meaning to the phrase "taking work home with you." Thankfully, they were really nice students, and we had a great time! I just never ever imagined that they would come to my house. Here's how the whole ordeal began: Last week, I was waiting for my bus, and a group of students walked by on their way home. They stopped and talked to me and asked me where Chris was. He was still at school, and I said, "You wanna come to my house and cook me dinner?" The girls of course responded, "Yes, teacher, yes!" Then, Friday at school the same girls asked what floor I lived on. I told them I lived on the 5th floor, and they said, "Ok we'll come to your house on Saturday." I thought they were joking, and I quickly told them I wouldn't be there because Chris and I would be in Busan.
Sunday rolls around, and I'm just watching a little TV when my phone rings. It's Julie, a student from my TOSEL Jr. class(in Korea foreigners don't get caller ID, so I had no clue who it was), "Teacher...insert long pause....Teacher...it's me Julie, you know me Teacher." By the way, "Teacher" is my actual name these days. I know Julie, I know about 15 Julie's because all Korean kids have the same English names. "Teacher, I'm on the 5th floor." Ooookkkaaayy...what the heck do I do? First of all, how do all my students seem to mysteriously have my cell phone number, and second of all, how did she know where I lived...I didn't even tell her the name of my apartment building!!! I went to the door to look and see if this was for real or a joke. It was for real. There they were, four cute little Korean girls standing in the hall way! I felt very awkward in my polka dot pajamas and zit cream still on my face, but let them in regardless. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, and I'm pretty sure they had never just shown up at a teacher's house before from their timidness in the beginning. All Koreans bring some kind of gift when they come to your home; so, the girls came bearing gifts of chamchi gimbap (a Korean appetizer) that evidently I had said I liked in class at some point. We ate our gimbap, and then I asked them what they wanted to do. I didn't really like the idea of them being at my house because it just seemed kinda odd. So, we asked them if they wanted to go to an arcade down the street. Their response was that there mothers did not like them going to arcades because of all the smoke in the atmosphere.... hmmm...sounds a little fishy to me, being that all Korean kids practically live in arcades. I'm pretty sure they told their mothers this was some kind of study session because they all had their books for class. Anyway, Chris and I been planning on going to Ulsan Grand Park soon, and the girls loved the idea! We weren't sure what bus we were suppose to take, and the girls, though they are Korean, could not figure it out. I have to often remind myself that they are children, even though they know a lot more about surviving in Korea than we do. Thankfully, Kristen (a foreigner friend) came walking down the road just as we were in the midst of our confusion. She told us what bus to take and where to get off, ahhh...I've gotta email her a big thank-you, I think I may have just ran off without saying bye. Everything just seemed so chaotic and stressful because we were trying to keep up with four kids, and we weren't even sure that their parents knew where they were or that they were with us. I think I've mentioned before that Korean children are much more independent than children in the US, and parents often allow their children to go places by themselves. It seems so odd and irresponsible to me, but things are just very different in regards to safety here. As far as I know, things went really well. We made it to the park, and the girls played while we carried their bags and coats. Well, that's not entirely true...we had some fun of our own, too! I know God didn't make me pint size without expecting that I take full advantage! The trip was even a bit educational because at the park their was this science fair going on so we walked through and let the girls do some of the activities. I have the girls in class today. I can't wait to see if they act different after being to my home and also see what in the world they say to the other students. They made sure to take pictures on their cell phones so they could prove that they had truly been to my house. Once again, only in Korea does your work hop on a bus and seek you out at home!
As funny and suprising as it was to have the girls show up, we really did have a lot of fun with them. Hopefully, they will realize that we're really not that old, and we've both still got a lot of kid left in us. Notice the Korean woman looking back at Chris like he's crazy!!! I love it :)

Hope all is well back home! I miss you guys like crazy!!!

~Am :)