Monday brought rainy and cloudy skies but it didn’t matter because mom and dad were coming to school! My kids were so excited to see them! I had a countdown going in my classrooms for about a month before they arrived and we talked about it every day! Also, I had told the kids that mom and dad would bring them presents so I think they were more excited for that. Since my days at work are long ones, I didn’t want mom and dad to be at school the entire day so Jared brought them about an hour after classes had started. They arrived in the classroom right around snack time and the kids were so excited. Of course, when someone new comes in the class, they get quiet and shy, which is the complete opposite of what they really are. It didn’t take them too long to warm up to them though. Once they ate snack and were able to ask them questions, they felt more comfortable.
Since I had to actually do some teaching that day, mom and dad got to sit in on my classes and help the kids. It was really wonderful to see how the kids interacted with my parents. Once they were comfortable with them, they had no problem asking them for help or looking to them for guidance. The morning and afternoon went by pretty fast and before we knew it, the day was over. My kindy kids said good-bye and we headed on to the after-school kids. My after-school kids are my kindy kids from last year so it was really great that mom and dad got to see them. I had talked about them all last year and mom and dad had skyped with them, so it was fun for mom and dad to be able to meet them.
Once mom and dad met them, they set off for home. It was a long day and they didn’t need to stay for the entire after-school program. That night was pretty low key. I was tired and knew we had another packed day in front of us. Tuesday was a unusual day off. It was Buddha day, which is a public holiday here, so we didn’t have school.
Tuesday brought lots of rain as well but we didn’t let that stop us. We spent the morning/early afternoon at the Korean Folk Village. I have taken all of my guests to the Village and it is a favorite among guests. The village shows what life looked like years and years ago in Korea. It shows what houses looked like in the different parts of the peninsula and the type of work they did back then. There are also souvenir shops and good food to try. We walked around the village for a few hours, ate some food, bought some gifts, and took in all we could. Once we had our fill, we headed back home to change for the baseball game that night. Dad had been so excited for the baseball game all week and I was a bit worried it was going to get rained out but fortunately the rain let up in time for the game.
Korean baseball games are an experience like nothing else. It is not like an American baseball game. First of all, there are cheerleaders for each team, there are cheers sung for every player, and the fans are relentless. The experience is really hard to put into words, but just imagine college football on steroids, through in loud banger sticks, and thousands of Koreans cheering at the top of their lungs and that is Korean baseball! It was a great game and the LG Twins walked away the victors. Mom and dad both really enjoyed it and I was so glad the weather played nice that night.
Wednesday brought mom and dad’s last day in Korea and unfortunately I had to work. During the day, they got packed up and ready to go home, they took a few walks through Migeum and along the river. That night we went out for their last Korean meal and spent the rest of the night just being with each other and talking in the apartment. They had to leave early Thursday morning to get to the airport. Jared and I took them to the bus stop and waited with them for the airport bus. Much like it was when I said good-bye to Luke and Dana when they left after their visit, the good-byes to mom and dad were hard. I think it is harder saying good-bye the second time. Even thought I knew I would see them in a month and a half, I was still very sad and had a few tears as they left.
It was so great to have them in Korea for a week and have them see where I live and what I do all the time. I miss my family more than words can say but having them here for a week make the homesickness a little easier.
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