The church next-door to my current apartment (which is just across the school-yard from the school where I work) keeps chickens and ducks. The roosters here are very vocal. There was a reliable rooster or two that I could hear in the predawn hours at my last apartment, in Yeonggwang, but they were farther away. These are quite literaly located on the other side of my east-facing wall, in a little barnyard behind the church.
I've been a little bit puzzled by the idea of a church keeping chickens and ducks. Is this an economic undertaking? Is it a charity undertaking (i.e. housing for displaced parishoners' fowl)? Is it insteaad something related to the Sunday school? Regardless, I don't necessarily object. I heard roosters consistently during my years living "on the hill" in Highland Park, in Northeast Los Angeles. I like the counterpoint the ducks provide, too.
Tonight, I'm going to rush up to Ilsan, to try to sort out some paperwork related to securing a smooth transition to a new visa for my new employer, where I'll be starting May 1st. The end of my time at Hongnong Elementary is looming. It will be a bittersweet departure. Yesterday I felt so much joy and delight in the children's company, and I know I'll miss them.
I've developed a lot of strong, almost parental-feeling attachments to individual kids: hyper Jeong-an who never sits still, serious Ji-min who tries to direct the class, the two madcap Do-hyeons who both always volunteer for anything, sweet Ha-neul who sadly reported she had to leave class early, the princesses Ha-jin and Ye-won who gossipped about their homeroom teacher to me, shy Jae-won who showed off his new cellphone, assertive Hye-jeong who yelled "teacher!" because I was ignoring her, tiny Seo-yeon who didn't want to perform, manic Jae-uk who insisted on performing, earnest Hye-rim who grinned at her high score, judgmental Min-seo who frowned seriously, blue-skies-dreaming Na-hye who said "I'm so happy", ultra-competitive Hui-won who cried because the girls' team lost, helpful Eun-jin who always helps me clean up at the end of class … these are some of the ones that spring to mind from only yesterday's interactions. Mostly, they're current 2nd and 4th graders, with whom I've evolved very close interactions due to the afterschool program.