For our field trips, the parents provide a feast for all the teachers, even drinks. On top of that, the kids will fight to be the first to share their food with a teacher. None of the teachers brought food with them on the field trip because they knew it would be provided through various means.
Even on a day-to-day basis, my kids constantly give me candy and coffee and stickers.
Also, for the musical, all the parents who came had bouquets prepared for their kids, especially the 7 year olds. So, I received 3 bouquets (one was a candy bouquet) from parents... just for being the teacher of their kids.
Also, for Chuseok, I received gifts like mad. Chocolate and coffee and and more candy...
The principal also gave all the teachers a gift. A 100,000 won (~$100) gift certificate to Lotte: Lotte is the mega store walmart of Korea (as in, it's a brand that is trying to conquer the country). Lotte owns hotels, restaurants, an amusement park (Lotte World), shopping malls, duty free shops, etc.
So, all in all, I feel loved and appreciated. <3
A Side Note: Stores sell Chuseok gift sets. One of the gift sets is a spam gift set. Pretty much a box with 5 (regular-sized) tins of spam for over $30. I have no idea how much spam goes for in the states, but I am guessing that it's not $6 a can. Spam is considered a delicacy here and it's a big compliment if you receive it as a present. However, I am really glad that I was not given some. ^.~
