The Been Briefing

Happy Pepero Day!

Yesterday, November 11th, was Pepero Day here in Korea, and the only American holiday I can best relate it to is Valentine's Day. It supposedly began in 1994 when two schoolgirls in Pusan (a city in the south of Korea) exchanged these chocolate covered breadsticks on 11/11 (representing 4 sticks standing straight up), wishing each other to be as slender and pretty as pepero sticks. More cynical individuals believe it only to be a marketing trick of Lotte, the company that manufactures the item. Since its' recent inception, however, it has come to be a way to express love or goodwill to those around them. In any case, yesterday I was bombarded with these little treats and even another rose from John. The day was filled with a wonderfully festive mood, and I allowed more playtime than usual.

I confess, however, I found the lightness of the day a strange contrast with the understanding that in the West the ideals of honor, sacrifice, and democracy would be celebrated... Veteran's Day. And while I feel that I can do so little to acknowledge the men and women who have suffered and died for freedom, I wanted to pay a small tribute to them on my little corner of cyberspace. Your labor and sacrifice have not gone unnoticed. Thank you.

On another note, a rather strange development has occurred in my 2nd class. Since their English has not quite reached the level of spontaneous creation throughout the whole class period, I would often gasp in mock horror whenever I heard them speaking in rapid Korean, and I would say, "Is that Korean I hear?! Oh my goodness, in here we only speak English!" Well, these kids have taken that phrase and run with it. Now they catch each other when they slip into Korean and say with a pointed finger "ONLY ENGLISH!" The culprit will look around with a guilty face and cover his/her face with little hands. Even when I use a random Korean word, they will all look at me with glee and shout, "ONLY ENGLISH, TEACHER!!!" Trust kids to never let you get away with anything.