Korea, I will miss you.

As our time in Korea draws to a close, I'm trying to appreciate the little things I do in day to day life here much more to deal with my building emotions. This morning I rode my bike to school, as I do most days, and smiled looking at the beautiful roses hugging the white picket fence around an apartment complex.  I love riding my bike to school. As I rode past Daecheonchon, the brightly flowing stream running down from the mountain leading to my school, the lush green trees and flowers calmed my spirits. I felt energized gazing at the fog lurking over Geumjongseong mountain set directly behind my school.  I will miss having this landscape to enjoy every morning.


I'll also miss my celebrity status.  One aspect of teaching in a school where you're the only green eyed, curly haired person speaking a strange language is that you're given a kind of celebrity status. Everyone wants to touch your hair, stare mysteriously into your colored eyes, tell you you're beautiful as they walk past you in the hallway, and figure out what you really do outside of school.  


But yesterday a few of my favorite students took my "celebrity" status up a few notches. Five of my third grade students formed a "Callie Teacher Fan Club".  The first official meeting was yesterday.  They told me a time and place to meet them and proceeded to have a "Q and A" as they called it.  "What's your favorite movie?" "Who's your favorite actor?" "Who's your favorite singer?"  Then, they even drew up a logo for club t-shirts. 


And then, at the end of the day, one of my adorable first grade students showed up with a cup of something that smelled like a stir fry of sorts.  She had a toothpick in hand, and amidst asking "Callie teacher will you----" she excitedly shoved the mysterious food in my mouth.  It was a Korean stir fry dish that she'd made in her home economics class.  It was actually pretty darn good, so when I told her I really enjoyed it, her entire face lit up and she said quite emphatically, "THANK YOU Callie Teacher! Ahha!" and literally went skipping into the hallway where I heard her boasting to her friends that Callie Teacher said her food was delicious.


Everyday after school five of my third grade boys come to my desk with their mops and brooms in hand and ask me about my day, what I'm doing, and if I'm happy. They call me "Callie Collie Colie Teacher." I hear them yell it out the window when I'm walking into school, meet them in the hallway, or when they're walking towards my desk. And every time, it makes my whole being smile.


But alas, I only have 3 months to bask in my celebrity status. ;)  When I go back to the US, my students won't care if I have green eyes, if my hair is curly or if I can speak English.  They will expect it.  But here, I'm an alien of sorts, and I think, in a strange somewhat selfish way, I'm going to miss being one.