it pays to bond

I got home from work about two hours ago, pulling the longest shift I've ever had there.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I like the day shift, I like younger kids, I like that it's within walking distance of my apartment.

I'm very grateful for this job. It's probably the sole best thing that happened to me this year. It wasn't without complications, however. We've had another Korean teacher tell us she thinks we've got it easy.
And I'm not here to debate that tonight. Because I can see two sides to this viewpoint. I'm just stating that once you learn what you Korean coworkers think of you and your job, you kind of distance yourself from them. I've always felt judged. There's definitely a divide at my workplace. We're very cordial and get along, however.

But tonight I stayed late just because I wanted to help put together the art decorations our director is forcing our teachers to put up. I actually find doing that stuff fun. And I felt like the teachers appreciated it, because I can crank out posters and decorations like no other.

And it felt good that they told me, "Don't leave Korea! We need you here!" Because at work, at least in hagwons, you never get told you're doing a good job. You just hear when you're screwing up.

I know I leave in 3 months but they've already asked me if I was staying. I declined. But it feels good that the teachers don't want me to go. At least by that I know I did a good job and am a likable person.

And even if we hadn't bonded tonight, I would've still gone by how my kids treat me. It's the cutest thing when a class of 4 year-olds tell you they love you (Or if it's science class they add in "Teacher, thin! Teacher beautiful!" just to butter me up. Haha!) The older boys I teach will tell me "Teacher is a frog!" or something but then they run up and whisper in my ear "I love you!" Oh boys and their show of being mean to the girls they have crushes on. It's sweet (and also annoying).

I'm kind of not ready to leave just yet. I'm feeling wistful.




...Where did most of the year go?!