Thursday May 16th was Teacher's Seminar Day for all of the COREM schools. Last year (when we weren't teaching) every teacher had to do a presentation in front of all the COREM executives, which lasted all day. Thank god this year they decided to have more of a bonding experience which included hiking, lunch, and games (and we were done by 3:00) SCORE!
Since we knew we were leaving after the Seminar for Seoul (more on that here), we packed up all of our bags the night before and woke up at 7 am to venture to Oncheonjang to meet with the six other COREM branches.
We started the day off with a "hike" (more of a stroll on a paved path) and then we took pictures for a good half hour (typical Korean outing). The days leading up to Teacher's Seminar Day were perfect spring weather, sunny and in the 70s, but the Seminar was one of those cloudy cool days. Many people were excited to have the cooler weather for our "hike", although everyone was moaning and groaning when they were told to take their coats off for a picture of all of us wearing our bright blue COREM polos.
Our stroll through the luscious green trees was gorgeous and refreshing. It feels good to get away from the concrete city.
After about two hours of walking/standing around (bonding), we headed back to a small restaurant in the mountain. As we were waiting for them to make their way around the big group giving everyone pajeon and duck, we opened a few bottles of soju and beer. Oh, of coarse there is free soju and beer at a company seminar. How else are we going to bond?
As I was sipping my gross Hite beer (eager to get our beer inspired weekend in Seoul started), I noticed this women going around with her hand in a plastic glove, scooping out meat from a large bowl and wearing her indoor socks. I tried to get my camera out as fast as I could, and this was the best picture I could get. We have seen this sort of barely-hygienic/wish-it-was-behind-the-scenes thing before, so it was about time to get a photo of it.
After our food was served and cooking before our eyes, I tried to get a photo of our COREM branch eating. I felt kinda dumb yelling to get everyones attention, but I was determined to get more photos. So this isn't the best photo of the group, but I wasn't about to make everyone stop eating for a second one. =)
The Korean women LOVED that Bobby was so eager to help carry the large platters. They can all see how sweet and considerate he is. It makes me feel like one lucky lady. I think Bobby enjoyed doing a little serving as well, since he used to be a waiter.
This is Minja. I work for her every Saturday. She is serving us more salad. I love how they are so efficient with how they serve things here. No fancy salad silverware, just an old plastic bowl. Perfect.
Of course we all had to take our shoes off before we came inside this outdoor seating area. The kitchen was across the road so every time the staff brought over a tray, they would set it to the side until they had a few and then they would take their shoes off and serve us.
After lunch, all the COREM schools split into groups of men and women. They women played dodgeball and the men played a Korean game that is a mix of soccer and tennis, called joku. Bobby actually played this last fall. You can see this here. The winning school got 100,000 won (about $90). Sadly (?), we decided to leave after lunch so we could venture back to our apartment and gather our things and head to the train station to catch our train to Seoul. Happy Teacher's Seminar Day!
