just returned from a class party to celebrate
the end of the semester. It really went very well. As this group is composed of
some older students who are near 30 years old, like some worldly guys who have
been in the army and traveled abroad, I decided that it would be appropriate to
enjoy the festivities in a local pub near the campus. Besides, it was my last
class of the week, happening on Friday afternoon, and enough of them
communicate well enough in English for me to party with them. Drinking with bar
snacks on a Friday after work or class is a normal thing to do, a very Korean
thing. They were therefore most enthusiastic about the prospect, so all ten of
this group turned up. After some weeks with some tension among the competitive
alpha males in this particular class, this party today established some lasting
solidarity among them. It was good to see. I have never
invited a class to go to a tavern before. I usually take a class to a café and
treat them to some cake and whatnot if we go off campus. With respect to the
other classes, actually, I only played a classic comical film and fed them some
popcorn in class. I had already treated many of these students to café treats
once before, and many of them joined me to see film festival fare in October
during this semester. These are generally happy occasions about which students
generally feel excited and glad to be with me. I have gone out for a meal with
some students, and bought food for them if the group has been small enough.
Mostly, though, I have only dined with the civic employees classes, not the
regular students. I have never gone out with students expressly to drink. This outing turned
out to work perfectly well. It was a lot of fun. I paid for two 3,000cc sized pitchers
of local lager, plus two plates of French fries. The students continued to
order pitchers of beer, and bought some dried fish and squid, a common bar food
that I like. I think there were probably five or six pitchers of Cass brand
beer consumed in all, and it came with some corn chips, popcorn and cheese
crisps. They surprised me by bringing in a birthday cake for me from a bakery
down the street. (I had wondered where two of them had disappeared to.) It was
a light cake with fruit. They sang “happy birthday” to me after presenting it,
and we all made several toasts throughout the affair.   We also played some
drinking number and word games, where sequences of numbers or words are made,
and anyone who makes a mistake has to drink at least half a glass worth of
brew. I cannot do that, though. When I fumbled, I only took a few gulps. Once,
I passed the task onto another person, in exchange for a favour. They asked me
to sing. That was an easy thing. I have a few songs up my sleeve from the old
days.  
We stayed well beyond the normal class period
and did not break it up until 5:45. They went on to carry on drinking, but I
cannot keep up with that so I said “good night” and went home (across the
street). They each wanted a hug from me. That was sweet—the icing on the cake! By now, I can still feel a buzz. I had around five six-ounce glasses of beer. I am starting to feel sleepy already, but I am having a little red wine regardless. |
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Categories//communication and living communication, living, positive thinking depression journal writing just peace late career development new poetry relationships social justice and change teaching transition |
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