Teachers Kick Ass

Greetings

Last Wednesday marked what is arguably the most important day on the Korean calendar, Teacher's Day. Who doesn't love a day that celebrates the hardest working people on the peninsula? I waited months for this day knowing that it would bring with it a wealth of presents for Jo and I to bask in.

That's right Teacher's Day is all about students giving gifts to their teachers. At one point Jo and I were considering buying a money counter incase the gifts amounted to too much for little old us to take care of.

Alas, our dreams of retiring early were not meant to be. It seems that over the years certain bad apple parents have ruined this holy day by using it as a chance to bribe teachers into giving their children good grades (the horror, the horror).

In response many schools have cracked down on Teacher's Day and even gone as far as banning all gifts. Our school didn't ban gifts but the celebration was definitely toned down from the old glory days.

But, while we might not be driving around in our new convertible or admiring how crisp David Hasselhof looks on our new Plasma TV, our students didn't forget about us entirely.

But enough of my ramblings let's get to the gifts shall we.

This one was a bit of a surprise for two reasons. First, it's a gift of breath mints. What is that supposed to signify? Hmmm, I suppose I'll be brushing my teeth more often.

And second, they are made by Amway. That's right, there's a Korean Amway. Those guys really are everywhere.

Here's a matching notepad set for Jo and I. The Dolls look a little creepy but it was a pretty practical gift that we now use to record all of our deep thoughts (insert your own joke here).


One of my favorite students gave me this lovely bouquet of flowers. It might be the first time I've ever been given flowers. The best part was when I pretended to eat one of them and told him that that's what we do with flowers back in Canada. He walked back to his desk mumbling something about Canada and barbarians.

I think I've gotten socks on every Korean holiday. Not much to say about these other than that one of you should be expecting them for Christmas this year.

One student gave me a bottle of iced tea. I'm pretty sure that she forgot it was teacher's day and just gave me something out of her lunch box. That being said she's only 8 so it stands as a good gift.

Hmmm another surprising gift. A brother and sister duo gave me this lovely package of facemasks. I was a bit taken aback by the package and simply thanked them as I dreamed about racing home after work and applying an acorn scented facemask. Awww, goodtimes.

In Korea, a high percentage of cocoa seems to be a sign of high quality with candy bars. This 99 percent bar was probably quite pricey. They are imported from Japan and whenever a student brings one in they are a cause for commotion as everybody wants to sample the delicacy.

Unfortunately you bakers in the audience can probably see where this is going. After a certain point high percentages of cocoa taste pretty nasty. By the time it hits 90 percent or above you're basically eating dirt. I think I'll just sell this one on the monkeybar black-market during recess.

You might be wondering where Jo's gifts are. Well, sadly Jo teaches mostly teenagers and we all know how much they love to buy gifts for their teachers. That seems to be the same no matter where you are in the world.

But she did get this lovely gift.

My personal favorite was the part where she says " Thanks to I'm good at the english". It really was a sweet gift and one of the few things we'll be keeping when we leave.

I got this letter from one of my favorite students Young Do (pronounced -dough). It really was touching and reminded me of how good this job can be some days. I might not be cut out to be a teacher for the rest of my life but the profession definitely has its moments.

Well folks, we saved the best for last. Jo's adult class presented her with gifts for both of us. They are definitely the most "Korean" presents that we received on Teacher's Day.

Wait for it....wait....wait....wait....Here ya' go.

Awww, the classic Korean couple T-shirt. In this case, with matching Mickey Mouse's covered in glitter. Don't we look hot.

Happy belated Teacher's Day everyone.

Cheers

Shayne