I officially had a very bad, but interesting "movie clip" weekend.
I went to the KOTESOL Conference last Saturday (hence the late posting), and the minute I stepped out of the door, things began to happen. I went down the subway steps to the ATM machine that is right before the turnstiles. The ATM is all in Korean, so I tried my usual suicide cocktail of random buttons to get some cash. None of my usual combinations seemed to work. After about the fifth or sixth rejection of my card, I fiannly got it right, and took our 60,000 won to pay my entrance fee to the conference. At least I think I did. I was very flustered, and it is possible I left the money in the ATM...I hope that is what I did.
For some reason, the trains were running a bit off schedule, and it took me quite a long time to get to my destination - Sukmyung Women's University. At Dongdaemun Station, an obnoxious, loudly singing beggar woman began harassing the crowd delayed by the missing train. She pushed gum into my lap as well as other laps (those of us fortunate enough to have seats), then demanded chun won (about a dollar). I tried to give it back to her, but she put it on my lap again. I said firmy "No, no, no!" but she kept pushing it at me. Finally, the language barrier occured to me, and I said "Anio!" She went to the next person, wailing her song, and I shared a glance of amusement with the women sitting next to me. I felt a little guilty for not giving her anything, but this feeling did not last much longer. The overdue train finally arrived, and I squeezed into a standing room only spot.
From far away, I heard the old woman singing. Suddenly, the singing got louder, and I realized the woman was on the train, walking through the already overcrowded carriages. Sure enough, she came through our carriage, repeating her gum-in-lap routine. She also approached the standing crowd. She approached me again, getting hopelesly hung-up on my large tote-bag...or so I thought. She recognized my face, and, after a hopeful glance, turned to the next carriage.
I was wearing heels, so I was a bit disgruntled to discover that the way to the university was up a steep, worthy-of-San-Francisco, hill. On my way up, I began scoping out possible lunch places. I firmly vetoed "Popeye's Chicken" in my head, but noted a Subway (good in a pinch) and a small bibimbap (Korean stir fry - very delicious) joint behind a boutique that also looked promising. I arrived at the conference very late, but only missed a few seminars.
The line was short for registration, so I got through pretty quickly. A woman asked me if I would like to join KOTESOL (Korean Teachers Of English As a Second Language), and I rather brusquely replied that I would join after the conference if I liked it. I hate pushy people, and in retrospect, regret my answer. In my defense, I was a bit flustered. I registered online, with a little help from the Korean volunteers.
I went to the cashier, and drew out my wallet. I opened it, and discovered all my bills, except for a few thousand won bills, were gone! I looked through my bag, my purse...I looked everywhere, but they were just gone! At this point, I am afraid I broke down and cried, in front of volunteers, staff, and important people. I don't know where it came from; I think it was just all the stress. We all have our embarassing habits, and this is my big burden (my other is calling people by the wrong name!). One of the managers was under the impression that it was stolen at the conference, but I quickly cleared him of that notion. They offered me tea and sympathy. I said just wanted to go back home, but they convinced me otherwise.The ATM on campus was broken (naturally), and the nearest one was down the hill. Another volunteer helped me find it. Upon discussion, I discovered that he was a student at San Jose State University! He even showed me his I.D. (don't even ask me to pronouce his name!). He is an English student there....I spoke to a woman there who wanted to know which academy I worked for. Embarassed about my "losing it" in front of all those people, I blurted out that "I would rather not say," which she took to mean I was embarassed by where I worked (which I am not, by the way), and gave me a mini-lecture on not being ashamed of my workplace. I kept my cool this time, made some lame excuse, and got away.
I got the money, trudged back up the hill (in heels!), and paid my fee. The lady I snapped at earlier apparently was the event coordinator (why, oh why, do I always look like an idiot in front of important people?). I apologized for snapping at her, explaining that I was overwrought. We even had a laugh over the "movie clip" absurdity of the situation. When she saw the name of my institution on my name tag, she seemed to be curious. My academy had no idea I was at the conference, so I was still a little reluctant to say much (not being authorized), but did say that I liked it there,they treat the teachers well, and the students work hard and do well (which they do). I gathered from her response that my institute's franchise (which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) has an excellent reputation because of how it works, and that there is a lot of curiosity about the "insider view." She asked if I would write an article for the next newsletter, but I gave her a vague "wait and see" answer.
I missed all the morning conferences, so I went back down the hill for lunch. As I walked, I smelled a horrible, acrid aroma coming from futher down the street. I suddenly saw a crowd in the middle of the street, and fire trucks milling around. The mains were open, and there were firemen spraying hoses halfheartedly at a building. As I got closer, I realized the restuarant (and nightclub) where I had palnned to go to lunch was their target! The horrible smell of burning plastic was very overwhelming. I missed the big fire, but the charred remains of the inside of the building were completely under water. The outside was lightly scorched, but the botique had suffered some smoke and water damage (including some of the clothes). I hiked down to Subway, my second choice, but discovered everyone else had the same idea.
Resigned to my fate, I trudged back up the hill to Popeye's Chicken for the first, and I sincerely hope, last time. I chatted with some people in a work-and-get-your-MA-TESOL program, including the director if the university, Mr. Lee (a very pleasant but stern looking man). He seemed interested in me as a potential student, and asked me very leading questions. Truthfully, I don't know what good a second M.A. will do me...It is a thought worth considering if I stay in Korea longer.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I got quite a bit of useful information from the seminars. I was, at, times, overwhelmed by the thirst for knowledge that I have always had. It felt wonderful to be back in classes and learning.
I took a cab to my band rehearsal, and enjoyed all the city lights on my way. Seoul is truly a lovely city at night.After rehearsal, I treated myself to another cab ride back to my side of town and over the Olympic Bridge.
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