Hweshik: Branch Bonding at its Finest

When I began working at Junggye, I was a little thrown off at how clicky my branch was. We are one of the major 7 of Seoul, therefore we have a lot of teachers. For the first few weeks of the term, I would walk into the faculty lounge and not feel comfortable talking to people. Beyond variety of clicks that exist at my branch, there were two very apparent ones; the Itaewon crowd (where all the foreigners including all the head instructors and managers, in Seoul live) and the Nowon crowd (where my branch is located). Based on my address, I would be classified the Nowon crowd. The Nowon crowd actually seemed to be the more approachable. I would go out with them after work and get Kimbap Chongu (cheap hole in the walls) It has been almost a ritual after work, until I found out about the shuttle that takes me to my station from work. Free ride! Since then, I have not eaten with the Nowon crowd and have taken the shuttle with the Itaewon crowd. I can already sense the distance between me and the Nowon crowd.

Cass: Popular Korean Beer

Soju: Popular Korean Drink like Sake

Hweshik is the tradition of my branch, and I'm sure other companies, to get together during mid-term to bond. Thank goodness for this. In the last 2-3 weeks, the middle schoolers have been taking mid-term exams, therefore cutting our hours from 24 hours down to 15. With all this time, our faculty manager figured this would be a good time for us to party, despite our low wages. Hweshik was held on a Thursday night when no one was scheduled to work. The company gave us an 800,000 ($800) allowance on dinner and drinks. With almost 40 instructors, we made the most of it. We went to a galbi, or Korean bbq. We were those obnoxious foreigners walking into the restaurant. Families stared at us. Because there weren't enough seats (the seats are on the floor) for everyone, we decided to take as many as we could, then take more as the families filtered out. They filtered out pretty quickly, and no other Koreans came in. We were definately a sight. We took over the entire restaurant. It looked like our own private party. Everyone was barefoot walking around or sitting on the floor eating the delicious barbecue. The head instructors passed around soju, megju (beer), and rice wine for hours. At one point I walked with Paula to the bathroom and fell in front of everyone. Talk about good first impressions. We ate a lot of pork and beef bbq wrapped in lettuce, onions, garlic, and spicy thick sauce. Afterwards, we took the party to the nearest bar. I was so blacked out that I ordered heineken for our table, and didn't pay for any of it. The best part, from what was told to me because I don't remember, is a fight I got into with Dan, my Memory English head instructor who had given me bad reviews. I was dishing it out hard. I was yelling at him how Toronto sucked and how they didn't even have a football team. According to Paula, I was tackling and jumping on him and getting in his face. Dan and I both do not remember any of this.

Galbi (Korean Barbecue)

After the bar, apparently many people went to a Norebong (karaoke). I, the blacked out new girl, jumped into the first cab and went home and had a 2 hour phone conversation. This is bad because I pay for each minute. I'm not on a contract. I woke up the next morning with large bruises all over my legs and an intense hangover. Despite my falling embarrasment, huge phone bill, and power trip over my head instructor, it was a great night of bonding. I talked to people I had not spoken to before and talked with my the Nowon crowd I left. I hope Hweshik happens again very soon and that the clicks can come together. Hopefully, next time I won't be that girl.