It all started around midnight- the beginning of my most important day. I was preparing to cozy up with my book, in my jammies, and be such a good girl (with a good night sleep so I would be busy-tailed for the next day) when there was a surprising knock at my door. (I have lived here for four months and my door has only been knocked on once, so this was quite startling.) I opened it to discover a couple of my near and dear friends equipped with flaming birthday cake and a backpack full of libations and about 9lbs of cheese. A few soju cocktails later and midnight soon turned into the wee hours of the morning, time seems to pass so effortlessly amongst the perfect balance of many hearty, fulfilling laughs and introspection. A rather unexpected trip to a undisclosed location which will only be described as . . . . . .
Well needless to say, the next morning came rather abruptly and I, having the unusual duty of teaching Kindergarten which meant I, still groggy from the unexpected excitement from the night before, found myself staring into the eyes of a dozen four year old Korean children. Class consisting of me saying things like "Color the Cat's belly yellow" and "Color the monkey's tail purple . . . "
The day progressed into an endless promenade of birthday serenades from my grade school students (which always ended with a chorus of 'we love you' with arms above their heads in the shape of a heart) and various and random gifts from an orange to a hot pink colored pencil. Then there was the stack of cards - the cards! All hand made on colorful paper and folded meticulously with tidings of health and happiness in broken konglish: "Teacher, you are butt-iful" and "Happy Birthday Teacher. Sorry, I don't do presents."
With the finish of my last class, I strapped on my blue flame helmet and hopped on my scooter for a cool ride home. As I passed under the neon Hangul street signs, I took a deep breath with of the sensation of being officially one year older. It was by far one of the most surreal and meaningful moments this humble girl from Ohio has ever experienced.
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