Houston, I've made contact... with people outside of work.

I’ve been intending to start this entry all day but procrastination is an old nemesis of mine…
Things feel like they are going well even though, at times, I feel emotionally bipolar. The summer program is over and I was sad to say goodbye to my kids. (Even though I taught them for only a week rather then the full 4-weeks). I hate that I feel this way but the kids here are much easier to like then the kids back in the States. And before I came here I would have thought this creepy and wrong but the kids are affectionate with me. I will pass a student in the hall and they will say hi or give me a hug. Even students I don’t have in class will say hello. Also, our kids performed their drama this week. They did so well! Honestly, our class was the best. If not the best, a close second to Jinah and Jon’s ‘High School Musical’ parody. I was so proud of them. Sadly, there are many Korean cultural characteristics that I do not see translating well back to the States. For example, the kids doing dramas, watching out for one another, and playing ‘hand-slapping’ games. My Korean kids were entertaining and endearing. It was usually an uphill battle when I asked my kids back in the States to do even the most minimal of tasks. I need to stop. I do not want to compare. I don’t think it is healthy or fair.
On Friday we said, ‘bye’ to the kids and got to quit at lunch. Our administration invited us to Seoul to watch a play/martial arts comedy called Jump. I usually don’t really like physical comedy but this was really amusing. They did a bunch of flips. I like flips. I wish I could do flips. But I can’t… I stayed in Seoul with some fellow teachers then Saturday I met up with my first Korean, non-work friend.
I was so excited yet nervous. I do not make friends easily and I suck super hard at casual conversation. I met up with my friend, Colin, in Itaewon. (I don’t know his Korean name even though he told me multiple times. I just know there is a ‘G’ in it). Itaewon is where most of the Westerners go in Seoul. It the least ‘Korean’ part of Seoul. I don’t really like Itaewon but a friend at work took me to a Brazilian Steak House there a couple of weekends ago and …let me just say, one word that describes my sentiment towards the steak house: gluttony. After we ate glorious beef, Colin then he invited me to ‘play bowling’ with some of his friends.
When I walked into the bowling alley there was literally a hush then an ‘ahhh’ sound. And a lot of staring. I was terribly nervous. First, because I don’t speak any Korean. Secondly, I do not really know Colin well or his friends at all. And third, I suck at bowling. I soon learned that everybody there was in a bowling club and they all had bowling wrist braces on and could easily score more then 100 points (my goal when I bowl). And I could feel myself being anti-social. I have a self defense mechanism that goes into uber-hermit mode when having to meet new people. I was fighting the urge to just recluse against the wall. Luckily Colin kind-of baby-sat me for a while. After bowling we all went to a bar and just talked. Colin assured me that when everyone started to get drunk they would feel more confident in the English and try to speak to me. And he was right.
Nothing especially interesting happened but I had an amazing time. I was so excited to have a relationship outside of English Village (where I work). And I met another guy too named, Jong Hun. He was very friendly and talked with me a lot after bowling. I can’t articulate how ecstatic I was just to not be talking with someone from work (nothing against my work friends but I feel awfully dependent on them). I look forward to seeing my new friends again.
In .love.
Jp