Feb Madness

The month of February started off like no-other from the warmth of Thailand's sun I traversed back to the cold of Korea. A new semester began as the last of the ice was melting from the sidewalks. Students returned with a bouncy vigor and I tried to keep up with the new Korean heavy English curriculum. It was a rough start but lots of fun was had along the way.


Thailand: Climbing, the lake, moto-cy-roadtrip, strawberry fields with a view of Burma, old friends and lots of smoothies. Chats of economic-proportions with Bianca and Adele ;)

Once back in Korea I welcomed a visit from my friend Joe, dinned on a tasty dinner with wonderful friends for Valentines Day, took time for sightseeing, admired Korean gun-twirling skills, mused at 3D art galleries and sang at my first karaoke joint.

The stories of each are better sold in person... so get your $5.oo ready and I will tell you a tale or two or three.

Winter Camp!

Hey family and friends,

Since I last updated the months have flown by... New Years, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and now President's Day. Only three months are left now before I return to the PNW! So here are some photos of life in Korea of late.

I taught our Harry Potter themed winter camp for three weeks during December and January. It was broken up into three days a piece per class, with the exception of two extra 3rd and 4th grade classes. The students learned words that related to magic,such as: wand, potion, witch, wizard and broom. Of course it was a hit!For the week, each student was assigned to a house just like in Harry Potter: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. They learned how to make potions by mixing various soda and fruit juices and adding fun things like gummi worms (of course this was for the Belch Potion). Owl posts (post cards to Nikki Teacher) were written by the students to cement the new vocabulary and to rate the activities. In addition, we played numerous games where they used their home-made magic wands to command their fellow students to "freeze, dance, sing, or jump." The photo of the kids all sitting down was a partner game. A cross between musical chairs and freeze tag, they students had to walk in two circles until the music stopped. Once it did they had to listen for the English command (shouted out by my little helper) and the partners had to pose together as the command stated. The first pair won 50 points for their team. The team that had the most points at the end of the week was given a prize (competitions always increase the attention span of the students).

Cold Cold Days

The winter months in Korea have been long and cold. Every morning one must layer up or loose toes. It all starts with the tights/leggings (layered over with ski-socks), followed by some long john's and then a pair of loose jeans (both loose from the layers beneath and the lack of a Korean dryer) once the lower half is nestled three layers deep the top half demands a tanktop, tshirt, longsleeve, a wool sweater, (possibly a fleece) and then a down parka that reaches mid-calf. Once these steps are complete the snow-boots go on, a hat is placed atop the curly cues, and gloves are pulled on (one or two pairs depending on wind chill). The last step is the Korean scarf. "How is this scarf different," you may ask. Well a Korean scarf is almost a mini-blanket of sorts. It is long enough to wrap around your head twice and wide enough to cover from the chest to the eyes (scarf pictured is the American style). As unattractive as it may appear, it does the job of keeping one warm in -17*C (or 1*F).

새해복 많이 받으세요, สวัสดีปีใหม่, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Make 2011 one to remember.

Crazy love & silly faces from Korea.

(Zack, Lia & I after too much sugar.)

Thankful

So... I have been a little bitter and well, being bitter does not help circumstances. Really life has been quite good for the last few months. Sure there still may be things that I don't (and won't
ever) understand but that doesn't mean I can't be thankful. So with that said, I would like to share with you all some things I really enjoy about my Korean life.

1. My students

2. The sunset behind snow capped trees at Kangnam University (where I take my Korean classes)

3. My fellow Adventure Teachers

4. I love the extra goodies that are thrown in when you buy stuff. Koreans say "serviceee"

5. The "yellow dust" storms from the Gobi Desert that color the afternoon sky in a rosy hue.

Let it snow, snow, snow!

Pre-Christmas activities included:

Building Gingerbread Houses. Now these were special gingerbread houses. Why? Well not only did the 3rd graders have a blast eating the candy and gingerbread, the money that purchased the houses goes directly to The Garden of Hope in Thailand. This was the organization that I volunteered at last year in Chiang Mai. (See: http://www.thegardenofhope.org/) As you can see it turned out pretty well. A special thanks to Hollie Fortkamp for cooking & packaging everything and to Jim Bryers for personally delivering it to Seoul. You both are fantastic!

Playing, walking, running in a plethora of snow were all activities that have graced many a day since Thanksgiving. It has been funny to watch the drivers freak out, the girls that still wear high heals in two inches of snow, and the little kids with grins plastered upon their faces. But the real reason why I LOVE SNOW so much is because it means I get off of work early! That means going to my favorite cafe in Jukjeon, Ribbon in the Sky, & ordering a latte and the peanut butter, almond & caramel crepe! Mmmm! (notetoTj)

Christmas Eve was spent dancing the night away with friends. Christmas brunch was spent with the other "orphan teachers" that were left in Korea. Karin made a Christmas orange loaf that was drizzeled with a light glaze and warmed raisins. Charissa's homemade eggnog made a perfect match with our morning coffee for tasty eggnog lattes. And the whole bit was topped off by a four woman procession singing Away in a Manger to celebrate the"return of baby Jesus to his manger". (Charissa's family does this as a tradition to celebrate the birth of Christ.) Quite a hilarious event. Next the four of us, (Haley, Charissa, Karin and I) made our way to the wonderful Stewart family's home. We played cards, chatted and made homemade Chinese dumplings (a Stewart family tradition due to their sweet Chinese daughter LiaJoy). Of course it was not complete until we watched the movie ELF. Though it still cannot compare to being home, it was a fantastic way to spend Christmas! (Hopefully next year will be spent at home, instead of a 4th one away from my beautiful friends and family.)

December already?

It's December already and the chill is more then in the air... it penetrates to the very core of the humans that trek this Korean turf. Rosey cheeked students with sniffles, ajumas cloaked in layers of mismatched wool jackets, and the blessing of knit hats abound this season. Walking to school in -4Celcius is not so bad thanks to the warmth of my wonderful winter useful gifts. So this post is a special thanks to mom and Tj for helping me to stay warm! And a warm teacher = a nice teacher and a nice teacher = happy students!