We made it through the first week of school!
I was so so so happy to see my students from last year, and to make music with them again. There are definite challenges this year as we made some changes to the structure of our program overall, but I'm excited about the new opportunities and challenges those changes will bring.
I didn't spent much time thinking about this school year while I was home for the summer - I tend to avoid things I'm nervous about. Bad habit. I was nervous about this school year because even though I'm a returning teacher, there is still a lot of new stuff going on! I'm advising the Middle School Student Representative Council (SRC), co-leading our staff social committee, and am the KIMEA Orchestra Division Chair - on top of my increased teaching load. (That doesn't mean that much... I was pretty much half time last year.) After getting my hands metaphorically dirty with all of these tasks, I can say that I'm really excited about all of these things. Having a lighter teaching load was a great way to deal with being a first year teacher, but I am excited to have more challenges, more tasks, and more demands put on my skills and abilities.
The first social event we held (as the social committee) was a chill out time at a giant park near our school. I just sent out an email with a time, location, and invitation to bring whatever you want to eat or share and BOOM! it happened. We had a great time at the Dream Forest and it was really nice to get to have conversations with new and returning faculty now that they're out of beginning-of-the-year-freak-out mode. We posted up near the splash zone, playground, and stage with music (surprise!) and had a lovely time with badminton, chats, and yummy food.
Before heading up our event, I ventured to Dongdaemun with Melinda, Susan, Pat, and April. Melinda, April, and I are returning staff members, and we wanted to show Susan and Pat where to find lots of things in the markets. We journeyed around, finding sparkles, yarn, tons of fabric, and eventually made our way to the baking market. Baking is not typically done here, so finding materials can be hard. Things are becoming easier to find, but can be expensive. After marketing it up for 3 hours, we decided it was time for some yummy food! We were near to Everest, which is an expat favorite, here in Seoul - incredibly delicious indian and nepali food. yummmmmmmmmm. Throughout this morning I got to have some really great conversations with Susan and Pat about why we travel, what home means to us, and our transitions. I was asked "When did Seoul really start to feel like home?" after they'd heard alllll the horror stories about crying in a grocery store and other hilarious happenings. I couldn't tell them, but I guessed it was around February. Not that I'd call Seoul or Nowon-gu my "home", but for the time being, it's where I keep my books and underwear... so..... almost home ;). I was walking down busy market streets, very comfortable with the delivery mopeds and big trucks and people walking on all sides of me in whatever direction they pleased and realised "This isn't foreign to me anymore". Make no mistake, I never wake up and forget that I'm in Asia.... I know this isn't Minnesota... but it's not so shocking or weird.
What a difference a year makes, is what one of my colleagues said. They were remembering that they had a huddle when my mom left Seoul. I didn't know this happened, but all the people who moved to Seoul at the same time had some conversations about watching out for me after my mom left - like, "Is this girl going to be able to find anything to eat? Is she going to be okay now that she's alone in her apartment?" - I work with some INCREDIBLE people. Anyway, what they told me is that I went from shocked and scared to "Miss Seoul" in 6 months. I guess it wasn't a year. I think I FELT it after a year, but others saw my transition end around February. I think all of us become skilled and capable in these cities in our own way - some more visibly than others. Joining a choir and saying yes to most outings my friends proposed have been the two things that have helped me the most. I realized that we are all transitioning in our own way and on our own timeline, and I think it was a great thing to remember because even returning faculty are having trouble transitioning right now. I had a freak out on the beach on faculty retreat, one of my friends had some painful memories come back this week, many of us are finding new roles in our homes, classrooms, and our community, and we all miss people who left us for other opportunities. Just because it's not new to us returning teachers doesn't mean it's easy. I find it pretty inspiring, this process of acclimating, ourselves, while welcoming new people into our community and their own journey. It's so much to keep track of and manage, but it's all good :)
I guess I am continuously amazed at how many ways I get to know the people I work with - the ways we consistently support and learn about each other. We as a school are constantly in transition, and when people are going through things outside of our big community transition, we try our hardest to be aware and care for one another. It's been so fun to show people around, talk about our own transitions, and bring people to see our favorite spots and alleys. Life's always an adventure, here, and I love that there are so many people on these adventures with me.
Speaking of adventure.....we are headed to Vietnam in 13 days! WOOOOOO!
5 women I work with and two of their friends from home will be journeying to Hanoi, Da Neng, and Ho Chi Minh City over Chuseok break. I'm so excited for this 8 lady journey - we are going to have a great time and get to see a new part of the world!
Also, in less deep/thoughful news, I cooked up a storm last week. I made some black bean tomato soup, roasted buffalo chickpeas (yummy snack!), and made some broccoli cheddar quinoa bites. So much yumminess, and it all really kept me alive through this first week of school. I'm about to head out to lunch with Sophie and baby Cora, and plan to see The Giver tonight with Pendleton. What a great weekend!
