School Dinner

On Tuesday, we had a school dinner (회식) where the school's faculty and staff get together for a marathon of eating and drinking and singing. Last semester, we ate Korean barbecue and went to karaoke (노래방) and my two co-teachers agreed we'd all sing one song for the sake of appearances, excuse ourselves, and call it a night. This semester's 회식 started out similarly: for dinner, we went to a 회집 (a restaurant that specializes in fish which is famous in Pohang since it's a port city) followed by 노래방. However, here's a few things I learned at this 회식:

1. There is always more food coming
I wasn't kidding when I said this was a marathon. When dinner was almost finished, I was surprised because I wasn't quite full. (At these kinds of dinners, I'm usually stuffed even though there are still dishes of food sitting on the table.) So I finished eating most of the sushi until I had my fill. I should have known better... Half an hour later, more soup and rice were served. There were also more snacks and cake at 노래방.

2. It's ok for teachers to flirt with each other (and/ or the vice principal).
The way two of them were acting, I thought they were husband and wife. They're not...

3. I can't sing.
Actually, I knew this before. This was only reinforced at the 회식/노래방.

4. I don't like 노래방.
(See above.)

5. You only attract attention to yourself when you sit down.
During 노래방, I thought I'd take a rest (and escape from the crowd and craziness) by sitting on the side. Another teacher noticed me right away, pulled me back up, and poured me a shot of soju. Until now, I have gotten away at most drinking functions by taking a small sip of whatever alcohol is given me and putting the rest aside. However, this time, the teacher physically took the shot glass and bottoms-upped it for me... and then poured me another shot... and another...

6. I cannot and do not like to drink.
(See #3 and #4.)

Unlike last semester's 회식, we did not leave after one song. We stayed all the way until the end. Yep. but all in all, it was a good time. I got to know a lot of the teachers I otherwise don't interact with at school and got a chance to hang out with them outside of the workplace. I had a little bit of a headache when I got home, but my host mom fixed me a bowl of honey buckwheat tea (?) and I went straight to bed. I'm just glad these things are only once a semester. ^^