Graduation did not go as badly as I expected it to. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t go well. Most of my time was spent keeping the hellians from hitting each other and screaming. The ceremony only lasted an hour, but it felt like an entire afternoon. We arrived at the school around 8:30 in the morning after a late evening of blowing up balloons. Even though Brant was the emcee of the event, he did not have a jacket to wear, so I told him I’d loan him my jacket. That’s a big deal since it’s like my security blanket.
The men went downstairs with Mr. Min to load up some cars. I was dressed in my black trenchcoat with black suede and leather gloves and shades. Ross said I looked mafioso. To add to the look, I helped carry violin cases to the cars. We rode with Mr. Min to the auditorium at a youth center in his very expensive Lexus. He played one of his favorite CDs for us. I actually think he was showing off the computer screen display in his car.
We unloaded at the auditorium, and lo and behold, there’s a beautiful grand piano tucked in a corner. I hadn’t played a grand piano since my McCallie days. Could not resist (even though I’m still shy about playing in public). I played that little Yanni piece that starts off slow and ends with pure madness. Yeah, yeah… everyone applauded. Sue Supervis-ah said that she wish she knew earlier that I could play. I may become the new music co-teacher. Then the poor teacher who was accompanying the children sat down to practice “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” which she struggled through.
All us waygooks went out into the lobby for something to drink. I have to get one of the Coke cans here. It’s the size and shape of a tiny Red Bull can. I bought a can of what I was expecting to be a coffee drink like a Frappucino. It was a coffee drink, but it was HOT. Cool! A vending machine that serves cold and hot drinks in a can.
The other thing I saw that was blogworthy were the bathroom signs. Yes, every country you go to you see the most hilarious signs for bathrooms or giving rules on bodily functions. These were stick figures with these evil wedge-shaped eyes. Instead of the usual sign of an icon wearing a dress, the girls bathroom was a stick figure smiling while sitting on a toilet. The sign for the boys bathroom was a stick figure, smiling, standing with an arced dotted line streaming out of him. Where can I get such cool signs???
My Bacchus girls did wonderfully reading their piece on stage. I was proud. Ross read the writing on the award certificates that Ed and I typed up. Is it pathetic that I’m impressed with myself since they asked ME to write what the top award would say?
After graduation, all the mothers were getting their kids to get pictures with their foreign teachers. I even got a bouquet of flowers.
Since we had no children at the school, lunch was on the counter in the kitchen upstairs. We slurped big bowls of ramen noodles and spicy kimchi. I’ve noticed a lightened mood among the staff. Tonight’s sashimi and noraebang should be fun.