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.)