awkward moment of the week (10/17/08)

Well, it definitely takes talent to trip UP the stairs and fall flat on my face, and I just did that. So yeah. Fortunately, no one was there to witness my amazing gracefulness.

No, but really, this week, I had a really awkward reunion with my old violin teacher. Mr. Kim was my teacher from 4th-6th grade, also known as the period in which I hated playing the violin. I was a slacker when it came to practicing (still am) and every lesson was a torture session. He made me cry a lot, because he was super strict and he made me start from the basics all over again. Mind you, by the time I was in 4th grade, I had already been playing for almost 5 years. But those five years were really easy-going, especially with the teacher I had before Mr. Kim, Ms. Susan, who gave me stickers every week to put on my Suzuki books. I was a fast-learner, so I breezed through the series. However, instead of turning me onto more complex pieces by legit composers, I didn't shed the Suzuki series until my last year with Mr. Kim. As I grew older and became a more advanced violinist, I reflected on that period, and I see now that without Mr. Kim imposing the basics in a strict manner, I would never have made it to the point I am today. I've even written things in creative pieces for English class or just in general about that time period with him. So...I always envisioned a certain reunion, I guess.

Moving back to NJ meant that my brother had to find a new cello teacher. Incidentally, Mr. Kim's wife is a cello teacher, so David decided to study with her. Now that I was in NJ for fall break, I went with him to his lesson, and Mr. Kim happened to be there as well. It was really awkward seeing him again, though, because I wasn't really sure what to say. Hi, it's me? Thanks for what you did 7 years ago? And of course, there's that whole dilemma between, do I speak in Korean or in English? (He's married to a white woman.) And since my mom was there too, there was like a doubled awkwardness as we all looked for something to say. He was a lot different from what I remembered - shorter, with a more amiable face, and he had gained some weight in his face. He didn't say much at all, so there were these slight awkward pauses in between every sentence said. So finally, my mom said we had to leave, and I told him I'd visit during Thanksgiving with my violin, and that was the end of that. It was a wholly unsatisfying reunion, and at the same time, I could see why it was so awkward. It's not like any of my elementary school teachers would remember me in the first place. Meeting people from your past can go either way - really well or really awkwardly. And I guess this was one case of the latter.