Fresh Air and Social Obligations

In public school this year, I've noticed the staff organise a lot of events together. Last year, in the private school, I met my boss and coworkers for lunch only one time for my going away but now it seems like every other week there's some school dinner planned.

Last week, the students had a midterm test and so my classes were canceled. The principal organized a mandatory hike for the school staff following the exams. We worked in the morning, but after lunch gathered in front of the school in comfortable clothing to carpool to the mountain. In Korea, they take hiking seriously, and I was a little nervous about the seriousness of this one. They certainly looked serious about it, in their hiking pants and visors. I wore loose-fitting jeans and a sweatshirt because I don’t own hiking-specific attire and shorts would’ve been inappropriate.

waiting to leave

The mountain was just a short ride away – you can actually see it from our school. We split into two groups planning to meet further up the mountain for a break. I walked along and chatted with my co-teachers. Min-hye and Ms Yang had not been prepared for the trip because they normally taught a class in the afternoon. The class was canceled last minute and they came along reluctantly. It was very warm out and humid and my worries about trekking up a mountain with hiking experts faded as soon as we set off. The pace was a crawl but it was a beautiful day and I was grateful to be outside instead of in front of my computer screen.

When we made it to the meet-up point, the principal and vice principal were drinking makoli (a traditional Korean rice-wine) at a nearby food stand as the others filled up their water bottles. As I chatted with Choi, I heard, “waygookin” [Korean for “foreigner”] and a chuckle and before I knew it I was being pulled away by the arm and led into the foodstand. The principal was sitting down and I was nervous as I always am in front of him because he is greatly respected and there are probably 100 different ways I could be unknowingly offensive. The VP gave me an empty makoli bowl and I held it politely with two hands and avoided eye-contact as he poured me a drink. Then it was full to the brim and they all waited expectantly for me to drink. I took a sip and smiled politely. “It’s good?” they all wanted to know. “Yes, yes, it’s delicious,” I said. But of course they’d all finished and I was encouraged to drink quickly. I chugged the bowl of fizzy fermented rice wine and tried not to let my eyes water too much.

the foodstand

a fourth grade teacher downs the last of his makoli

We were off again! My coteachers laughed at me having drunk the wine and Choi said good naturedly that I would have a headache afterward and that I should drink plenty of water and “Breathe in, breathe out.” I was fine and the slow plod up the hill wasn’t difficult. My coteachers let me in on a secret, “The first strategy is to stay at the back of the group,” they said. “The principal is going to the top, but we don’t want to.” We hung back and let about 15 teachers who were walking with the principal pull ahead. We reached a fork in the trail and let the them round the corner headed for the peak… and then we took the other route! “We’ll meet them at the restaurant,” Ms An said. I didn’t mind one bit!

Min-hye and Choi. We took a non-traditional path back down.

It was a really nice hike and we got to see a lot of flowers and trees. I mostly appreciated the time to get to know my coteachers a little better. Min-hye said we were lucky because last year the trip was a lot harder and everyone was sweating. Two hours later we were back down and ready to eat at the restaurant. I was informed that it was a “duck barbecue” restaurant, a detail that delighted me. Always happy to try something new!

We arrived to find a few others had already made it back but the principal had yet to join us. We would have to wait. Even on a normal school day, everyone must wait for the principal to start eating first, which is why we usually arrive late! It was only 4:45 but my stomach was growling. Everyone looked tired. He finally arrived a little after 5 and the waitstaff started bringing out the food. We had endless amounts of side dishes and finally big plates of raw duck slices. We cooked the meat on the little grill set into our table. Ms Yang added raw cloves of [peeled] garlic and kimchi to the fire as well. We all helped turn the meat and then helped ourselves. I watched the others to see how to eat. Duck, kimchi, onion and soybean paste were wrapped in lettuce making little green packages. (The chipmunk-cheek effect is a normal part of eating Korean barbeque.) We ate and ate and just when I thought we couldn’t possibly eat more, they brought out fresh trays of meat! When finally even that was finished, a waiter came by to take our orders for soup so Min-hye and I split a bowl of Naengmyeon, which is a cold wheat noodle soup. The noodles are long and chewy and need to be cut with scissors before eating to make them manageable. When it’s served, some of the tangy broth is still frozen in a sort of slush and there’s usually half of a hard-boiled egg sitting on top of the noodles. Delish! When that was finished, I felt I was going to explode, but luckily the dinner had come to an end.

Duck Barbecue restaurant!

our spread

However, there was still a matter of leaving, which for some reason always poses problems! As I said before, the principal commands a great deal of respect as the leader of the school. When Ms An led a group of women to stand up and head for the door, a loud “EAHHH!” was heard from the principal’s table and they all rushed to sit down smiling sheepishly. They all wanted to leave. It was 6:30 afterall- 2 hours later than we normally leave work. But the principal wouldn’t allow it. I joked to Ms An that she should sneak out on her hands and knees, and the next thing I knew she was crawling away from the table toward the door. The principal shouted something at her, and she stood up bowing a few times and murmuring lots of polite things I didn’t understand before slipping out. The other teachers looked longingly after her but didn’t dare move. A few minutes later, the principal and vice principal stood up to give closing speeches and release us from our obligations. Of course, our table felt too guilty to attempt another escape until after another table made it successfully. During the speeches, Choi leaned over to me and said, “Alice, we need another strategy.” I was confused but she explained that the vice principal wanted us to continue socializing at a nearby Norebang, or Karaoke room. What?! “I’m not going to that!” I said, and she agreed. She and Min-hye said we’d have to make an escape after dinner.

Me, Min-hye and Choi

Ms Yang and Ms An, post meal.

I thought they were joking but as soon as we left the room, they quickly put their shoes on and rushed outside. In the parkinglot Choi half ran to the street and I noticed about 10 other teachers giggling nervously as they raced to their cars. I asked Min-hye, “If he sees you, will you have to go?” and she just nodded and looked back toward the restaurant. Oh the social obligations of the Korean worker! I wanted to wait for Ms Jung, who would have been headed my direction, but decided I couldn’t risk being spotted by the principal and getting roped into another few hours of alcohol and karaoke! I ran away with Min-hye and Choi. As their bus approached, they asked what I’d do, and I said I might hide in my hood. Choi, joked, “You’ll be too obvious!” Luckily my bus was right behind and I didn’t have to test that strategy.