"You are very kind"

Compliments are one way Koreans try to make outsiders feel welcome/one of the gang. If I haven't mentioned before, Korean people are not shy about telling you exactly what they think, good and bad. Their sometimes brutal honesty isn't meant to offend or insult but it can often be shocking and unprovoked - and when it's broken English it can sometimes even be funny.

One compliment I've been hearing a lot from other teachers at my school is, "you are very kind." I think it's their way of saying I'm agreeable and easy to talk to when they want to practice their English but they don't know any other way to say it. Thank you Koreans - that's very thoughtful of you. My question is, what do I say after that? I usually switch back and forth between a simple "thank you" and "awww so are you!" But many of these people can't even say "I teach at a high school" much less try to understand my attempts to be humble and dodge the compliment.

Other highlights from the past few days:

1. Went hiking with my host dad and his coworkers. It's amazing how differently he acts around a different group of people. At home and with his soccer team he is very reserved and put together. With his colleagues he is loud, outgoing, and apparently really funny (everybody was laughing at lots of stuff that he said but of course I can't understand any of it).

2. I've found that video chatting at work is very doable, but because of the hectic nature of the life of a teacher, awkward/hilarious situations often arise. If you catch me in a good mood and feel like quietly observing some of my interactions with Koreans in the teacher's office, you know where to find me.

3. I knocked over a metal chair on my way out of a restaurant today and caused a noisy scene.

Happy almost Labor Day. However, some of us will be laboring tomorrow.