Today we had a GREAT Sports Day!

Today was such an awesome fun day of being outside in the gorgeous, warm, sunny, spring like day! All the elementary schools from Miryang gathered inside the soccer/track & field stadium for one full day of sports events & competitions. There were 5 middle schools and 5 elementary schools that came to cheer and show their school spirit for their fellow classmates. When I first arrived at 11am, the principal of my school invited me to sit down and eat/drink with him and the other male principals, administrators. They poured me a beer, ate some rice cakes and tomatoes. Later I went up to the stands to join the other teachers and students who were baking in the warm sun. They all looked so cute in their color-coordinated outfits, waving their colored bottles (noise makers) in the air. Each school had a different theme, style, and music routine that they cheered to. The events these kids participated in were AMAZING. They had the relay race, 100 meter dash, long jump (into a long sand pit), high jump, shot put, etc. I was so impressed with the quality and caliber of the kids participation as well as the professional grade equipment they used. The stadium is very nice and was built in 2001 to prepare for the 2002 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by Korea & Japan.
One thing I found surprising was how many people (both students & teachers) complained of how hot it was. To me, it was a beautiful, crisp, bright, sunny, spring-like day (probably 70 degrees). To me, if was refreshing to be out in the sun, getting some color on my face and arms, etc. But to see these teachers bundled up, wearing gloves, hats, towels, scarfs, hoods, etc. was hillarious to me. The Korean women can't stand the sun (they love white skin) and will cover every inch of their body to block out the sun. The funniest was seeing this teacher with a black North Face jacket, with the hood pulled tightly over her head, and her hands tucked back under the long sleeves of the jacket. I laughed at her and asked her, faceticiously, if she were cold.
This is actually one of the first things I can honestly say I've seen Koreans (esp. teachers) complain about. Because it's a very suppressed society, I notice that many people don't raise their voice, balk, or speak their mind at anything that occurs. They just very politely accept things as they come, bear & grin any task that is asked of them. I personally thinks this leads to a culture of very suppressed people, who push down their feelings, bite their lip, and just do what they are told like good little soldier boys & girls. In America, they (the administration) wouldn't be able to get away with half this stuff. I had actually been wondering recently if their was 'anything' that the Koreans would vocally complain about (speak up for). I have not really much complaining, bickering, or resentment from any of the Koreans since I've been here. This once again, is attributed to the vast cultural differences btw. Korea and many western countries like the US. So it was kind of amusing for me to hear the vocal, whiny, grumpy complaints about how "uncomfortably hot" it was. If they are complaining this much about it being 70-75 degrees, clear, breezy, etc. what are they going to be like in June, July & August when it's stifling hot, humid and in the 90's? They will just complain more, or stay inside with the air conditioning on.
This discovery actually made me chuckle a bit, because of all the possible things that most westerners would tend to complain about back home (school administration, meetings, schedules, paperwork, projects, the Koreans instead tend to put their focus, frustration, and complaints into something they have absolutely NO CONTROL over like the weather. This cracks me up!! My friend Christina said it perfectly:
"they complain about the weather because nobody has control over it so they're not hurting anyone or wont get in trouble by complaining"

I agree completely with this statement. Christina is doing so great great by the way. She is taking Salsa dance classes with us on Saturday night's and she has also been taking Korean classes each week. She's so good now, that she actually writes a summary (journal) of what she did for the day in Korean!!! Wow, I was so impressed to see that she actually writes full sentences, thoughts, ideas, etc. in Korean. I'm excited because I can write Florinda's and my name in Korean. But to actually write full, complete sentences, wow, you go girl!!