Hot 'n Heavy

Monday was Teacher's Day here in Korea. In the good old days, teachers would be bribed with all sorts of shit so as to pay better attention to the progress of the briber's son/daughter...at least if what I read on the internet is true. But these days, the bribes're out of reach, to paraphrase Bon Jovi, because at SLP we don't believe in them. Well, at least management doesn't believe in them...for the teachers.

Apparently in the week before we'd sent home a letter telling the parents not to give us cash gifts, new computers, or tickets to Jeju like they were planning to. If only I wasn't so damned Hangul-ignorant I could've intercepted said letter and made out properly. Alas, I would have to settle for the stuff SLP deemed kosher, like gifts of food and meaningful letters and whatnot.

My preschoolers dumped a half dozen or so flowers on me, one from each giver. Some were fake, some weren't, some were wrapped in plastic others were exposed to the world...sort of like people, I suppose, and like people despite their differences they met the same fate: they were dumped in the trashcan near my desk the next day. Not that I didn't appreciate the gesture, but my job is already emasculating enough and I don't really need a bunch of 7 year olds handing me flowers to be reminded of it. But it's the thought that counts.

The afternoon crew was a little more thoughtful, I guess. I got a few buckets of candy, some sweet hair gel which I'm gonna use to catch roaches in my apartment, and one interesting, sweet, and slightly unnerving letter from a student.

Yeon-Woo is one of the brightest girls in my Honor's class and she's a really good student. She's very energetic and she's a delight to teach. She also apparently has a crush on me. Check it out:

As I said to AJ, "I am SO in with this 8 year old." Anyways, kudos to her for the flattering portrait. I don't think my waist has been that thin since I was her age. And if there were brownie points to be had, she's got em.