Flight of the Fancy

Oreos

2009-06-10T02:35:00.004+09:00

Oh so delicious soaked in a glass of soymilk

Needle Tip Pens

2009-06-08T23:04:00.003+09:00

Oh, the delights of gliding across a smooth piece of paper with these...

Sunlight through Blinds

2009-06-01T22:29:00.004+09:00

Fills me with very simple delight.

Pretty teal sofa... oooo

2009-05-22T12:51:00.003+09:00

With a lovely tweedy texture

Art on a theme of the Russian Firebird

2009-05-09T10:21:00.005+09:00

Winter

2009-05-03T11:50:00.007+09:00

A tribute to the season I already miss... hot drinks, stews, blankets, beautiful sweaters and coats, space heaters on my feet, hot baths, healthier hair and skin...

There is nothing like taking a cold walk on a sunny day when the sky is vivid blue with all my winter paraphernalia on. I lose weight in winter, my hair is shiny in winter, and my skin is clear in winter. AND, there are no stupid bugs to bite me and no heat rashes. Besides, Christmas is in Winter: everyone is suddenly happy and friendly everywhere you go. Then there's the chance of having a beautiful snow shower which makes everything look clean and good. It's simply the best time of year. I miss it so, so much.

Batman

2009-04-29T11:37:00.005+09:00

Psychopath? Absolutely. What better character to live & work in a dark, gothic urban city! (Oooo... dark, gothic, and urban are some of my favorite aesthetically descriptive words.) Batman is the tragic, heroic example of misguided good intentions, and yet good can still be accomplished despite all extenuating circumstances. It fills me with humility and hope.

Green

2009-04-17T23:54:00.002+09:00

Kelly green, chartreuse green,

mint green, lime green.... sooooo preeety

The gym

2009-04-16T10:23:00.002+09:00

makes me very happy

Star formation

2009-04-09T23:02:00.003+09:00

Just wish it happened faster so we could see it. If you're interested in details.... here

Floorplans are fascinating

2009-04-09T22:41:00.004+09:00

Hobnail glass & 1950's dishware

2009-04-08T23:11:00.003+09:00

Yes, I want my grandmother's kitchen...

1950's Appliances

2009-04-08T22:39:00.002+09:00

So many colors, although I think I'd have to go with the minty green fridge & stove...

Doomsday TV shows...

2009-04-08T22:09:00.004+09:00

They're dark, but they make humanity question the purpose for it's existence.

The aftertaste of Aveda tea...

2009-04-08T22:04:00.002+09:00

Thanks for reminding me, Kirsten. :)

More silly tees... tee hee

2009-04-08T07:33:00.004+09:00

Red accessories...

2009-04-08T05:27:00.006+09:00

The perfect combo for any outfit in my wardrobe...

Unicorns... I BELIEEEVE!

2009-04-08T05:21:00.007+09:00

silly T-shirts

2009-04-04T05:12:00.003+09:00

Lentils

2009-04-04T05:02:00.004+09:00

my favorite legume

Recipe organizers

2009-04-04T04:57:00.003+09:00

YummySoup!... so pretty and clean

Photographs in space

2009-04-02T13:19:00.006+09:00

There are no words for such wonder and awe...

Vintage Wallpapers

2009-04-01T22:38:00.004+09:00

www.hannahstreasures.com

www.thelittlegreene.com

Pretty, voluptuous dresses

2009-04-01T12:48:00.005+09:00

Wildflowers

2009-04-01T11:44:00.008+09:00

Bright colors & art deco

2009-04-01T11:25:00.004+09:00

(Erte print and random rug)

Retro Modern Vintage Interiors

2009-03-27T11:11:00.005+09:00

Bold & Classic Fashion Aspiration

2009-03-27T11:05:00.005+09:00

(Dita von Teese)

bye for now

2008-09-12T00:55:00.002+09:00

Just in case anyone is wondering, I seriously doubt I'll be posting much more on my blog. We're not going back to Korea, as much as we'd like to. We're in Atlanta for now, looking for jobs so that we can find a place to live. It's nice to be home where I can keep up with you in person again. Thanks for keeping up with me in Korea!

16 days & counting

2008-06-14T15:08:00.003+09:00

Well, here's the news. We're emotionally, physically and spiritually at the end of our respective tethers. We have our plane tickets now for June 30th. I have a party day planned in each of my classes (disguised-for academic purposes-by rewarding good behaviors or finishing your homework, blah blah blah) because I want to love, play and enjoy my kids on my last day.

Aaron and I were intending to come back for a second year. We had several very good, very sound job offers. But, we didn't have peace about coming back to Korea. A lot has happened in our personal lives that has made us aware of our need for friends and a community. This year has been one of the best decisions of our lives because it allowed us time away from the familiar and what often becomes mundane. We feel that we have more perspective on needs, desires and the real goods and bads of life. So, despite all the financial and logical sense of accepting another job in Korea (especially with the economic recession in the US right now), we have decided it is in the best interest of our marriage and lives to stay in the USA. Maybe we'll reconsider after we've dealt with our stresses back home for a while. This a big, blind step that is very scary in a lot of ways, but we have much more peace in that decision than the other.

So that's it : we're beyond exhausted but are immensely satisfied with our experiences here. We saw and experienced a new place and learned a lot about ourselves. We're ready to come home now!

a walk on the mountain

2008-04-17T00:19:00.009+09:00

I went for a walk with my friend Jiyeon the other day. I was elated to see these small signs of spring bursting out from the mountain brush. These flowers were everywhere on the mountainsides! It was stunning. Jiyeon has been a very good friend. Not only is it comforting to have a friend who speaks fluent English, but she's very intelligent, generous, and lively... and she lets me play with her puppy. :) tee hee

3 months & counting

2008-03-27T00:36:00.006+09:00

It's been a while since my last blog. Sorry! We're pretty exhausted and in much need of a big break to rest and get well. I'm just now recovering from a 2 month sinus and ear infection- luckily, healthcare is awesome and very affordable here. We've both struggled to stay well in the past 6 months. Our contract is finished at the end of June.

We're looking forward to stopping in San Francisco for Ryan and Christie's wedding (Aaron's brother) and then crashing in Atlanta for a while. If all goes well, we'll get new and improved positions teaching in Korea again for next year. The first year was hard, but not unrewarding. We don't feel we'll have made good of the experience by only staying one measly year. Now we know what we want and what job situations we're willing to live with or not. We're definitely aiming at Seoul since absence from big city culture has been a big strain on social and aesthetic needs. Keep us in mind as we look for new jobs in Seoul! We have established good connections and leads that we hope will aid us in the process.

yummysoup

2008-02-09T02:37:00.002+09:00

My latest addiction is a recipe organizing computer application. Very fun to play with and very useful in my many cooking adventures. I've spent two days entering my 100 + recipes and attaching pretty pictures to each... it's so lovely. When I don't have space or resources to reach my desired domestic ambitions, I tend to organize and plan for the day that I can. Well, actually, I organize regardless. :D tee hee

tight spaces

2008-01-20T15:42:00.003+09:00

I guess when a country has limited space to build apartment complexes without freight elevators, you have to find another way to move in and out of an apartment. This is a picture of an extendable platform lift. I see these all the time but finally got a pic of one.

talent show

2008-01-18T01:08:00.001+09:00

So cute, even Aaron stayed to watch. :) I was the English announcer for the program. It was an exhausting day, but fun to see all my kid's hard work pay off. Enjoy!

All the kinder classes singing "Uptown Girl," "Lion Sleeps Tonight," "Tarzan & Jane"

Christina is the Wicked Witch in "Snow White"

the Wicked Witches adorable peons

Rachel as Snow White

and 3 of the 7 dwarves... stole the show :)

6-1 & 7-1 chant "Goldilocks & the Three Bears"

6-1 & 7-1 perform "The Gingerbread Man"

This is my shadow, Cathy. Ironically, she is quiet, extremely artistic, and has unique fashion sense for her age. I love the lime green fur coat. :)

Donna or "Donna bear," my social butterfly

Sweet Susie- she started out timid and a bit behind the other students- now I can't keep up.

yay snow!

2008-01-18T00:54:00.001+09:00

It snowed! This was about a week ago, but the snow is still sticking since it's been well below freezing ever since. I've never been in weather this cold and I love it! :) I have a sort of game I play to see if I can wear enough clothing to not feel any cold on my walk to work. Not much success yet. Boy, I'm silly. :) Ooooo- I even got to have a real snow fight!

For those of you who don't know, snow is a really new thing to me- I first saw it as a freshman in college. But never like this; this is the real thing. Now I just want more pretty, powdery snow... AND it cut my teaching hours in half for a day since my students couldn't get to school.... tee hee. I am so glad for these heated floors, though. This is the ideal heating system. The USA should adjust accordingly.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T15:26:00.001+09:00

We got a few nice pics of the two of us at our Christmas meal. Our friend, Greg, took some pictures with his nice camera so I'll post more when I get those from him. Hope you had a good Christmas, too!

i'm dreaming of a white christmas

2007-12-22T17:04:00.000+09:00

We've had sporadic morning snow that melts by 10:00 but not enough to really mention. Despite the lack of snow, we're going to have a nice little feast on Christmas day- thank you parents and in-laws for the goodies! We have about 3 friends coming over. I'll post pictures after Christmas day.

Otherwise, I've never been so in the Christmas spirit. Sure, I miss the usual comforts of family, cooking from scratch for the big feast, and my favorite holiday decorations, but nothing can squelch my love for this holiday.

Merry Christmas!!!! :)

and some random tidbits

2007-11-20T19:53:00.001+09:00

Generosity abounds in this country. Our friend Dr. Cha's church gave us this huge, totally awesome toaster oven just for visiting them. It's big enough that I can do a little baking!!!! It's nice not to pan-fry toast anymore. :)

Yet another example of Korean generosity... I happened to mention to Maria, the school cook, that her kimchi was my favorite out of all I had tried. Today, she gave me a huge tub of it to enjoy at home... mmmm. :)

This is the beginning of our Korean memorabilia collection: simple but pretty wooden cups and chopsticks. We'll be purchasing more eventually.

And last, a picture of me sporting a green sweater that would make mom proud, and my new prescription specs. I was far-sighted when I left, now I'm near-sighted...?? I didn't know that my distance vision was bad until I saw the beauty of distant places I'd never seen (clearly) before! :)

snow!... a little

2007-11-20T14:36:00.001+09:00

We saw our first hint of snow last night. It didn't stick, but it was pretty coming down while it lasted. I love cold weather, even when it's this cold. There is a gas heater in every classroom at school in addition to the building heat, and everyone still wears coats in class. :) Our apartment, which was stifling hot in summer, is plenty warm and we haven't even turned on the heat. Guess living through that one month of hot misery in August is making the long winter months worth it.

The snow made me a little sentimental that I don't get to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, but I'm going shopping this weekend for a Christmas tree and other goodies to cheer myself up. Hope to have some snowy pictures soon! :)

please write me

2007-10-23T15:14:00.001+09:00

This is my pathetic request that family and friends e-mail me once in a while- just tell me all that boring stuff that goes on every day. 13 hours time difference and busy lives make phone calls really hard to coordinate, but e-mail has no time limits so please write me. If phone calls are your choice for communication, then e-mail me so we can coordinate a time. I'm really far away from my comfort zone and while I'm not desolate or morbidly unhappy, I could use a little TLC.

Having said that, thank you to those of you who have sent us a lot of packages and e-mails.

We've only been here 3 months (it feels so much longer!) and any news from home keeps us going.

[end pathetic plea :)]

election website

2007-10-18T20:09:00.000+09:00

Well, I'm told the website I posted for the politically inept is only the Republican side?? Sorry.

2008 election

2007-10-16T23:53:00.000+09:00

I really struggle to keep up with the major political issues and presidential candidates even when US news is as accessible as it is back home. My dad sent me a great website well-suited for political dummies, like myself. It simply and concisely explains the platform issues, then you can fill in the yes/no questions to see which candidate best suits your views. I like! Thought I'd share in case any of you were closet political dummies, too. ;) Click on this link if you're interested.

checking in

2007-10-16T23:27:00.000+09:00

Well, there's been nothing much interesting to report. We've settled into life here and are living as comfortably as possible. I have moments where some small thing will trigger a homesickness emotion, but those moments aren't too overwhelming or frequent. Work is still hard but we've got it figured out well enough now that it's manageable. It's still very exhausting, though. I spend most of my down time playing computer games and listening to music. I have absolutely no interest in picking up books right now because I just don't have the mental energy. I'll be joining a gym this week to make sure my computer gets a break. ;)

Aaron and I love working together and spending so much time with each other. We eat out, take long walks and yes, play computer games together. :) His positive attitude and determination are so admirable and encouraging. I wish you could see what a good teacher he is. :) No matter how hard the cultural barriers and job may be, we can't help feeling good about the decision we made to come here. It's hard to explain in words the ideas and feelings you deal with in this situation, but it's all rewarding.

Exciting, eh? :) Anyhoo, we had today (Tuesday) off because this weekend we are required to go to Seoul for a teaching seminar. I'm looking forward to meeting other ECC teachers and am curious to see if the seminar is helpful. That's it for now. Toodles!

holidays & pictures

2007-09-21T19:03:00.002+09:00

Next week is the beginning of the Chuseok Fall Festival holiday, which is similar to our Thanksgiving. If you're interested in the details, click on the link. The great part is that we get 3 weekdays off next week!

Now... you not only get to see pictures of my kids, but you get to see them at their cutest since they came to school dressed in full Korean regalia. They were so pretty! They looked like little princes and princesses! I highly recommend clicking on the photos to see them up close. :)

Kinder 6-2 (6 years old, 2nd level)

Kinder 7-1 class: little rascals front & center

Kinder 7-2: These are great kids and I'm closest to them since I have 2 classes with them every day. Most of my kinder classes are only once a day. Older classes are Tues-Thurs, Mon-Wed-Fri.

Hanbok: Rose Teacher is explaining all the garments of a traditional dress, including the names of each piece and the order of putting on the many layers. Don't ask me to repeat it. :)

Songpyeon: We are putting chestnuts and raisins in the rice dough, then they will be boiled. The result is a delicious chewy little pastry with sweet stuff in the middle. I meant to take a picture of it but... well, we ate them all.

This was just a beautiful shot of some of the girls with Rose Teacher, all in red. Sigh... I still want to be a princess. :)

the burden lifts

2007-09-04T20:25:00.000+09:00

On my walk home from work tonight at about 8:30 pm, there are moms walking around with their clinging 3 year olds, browsing in the back neighborhood shops; there are girls giggling and riding their bikes in the street beside the occasional passing taxis (both methodically dodging each other by inches without a wince); there are two old men crouched on the sidewalk with a cigarette and a drink; I see some of my students waving at me and enthusiastically yelling "hello;" the butcher always greets me with a smile, and the baker always grins amusingly when I try to speak Korean... sorry, I don't know the candlestick maker. :) The weather is delightful and a slow breeze teases my hair, and as I get off the elevator, our sweet neighbors with two adorable little toddlers gives me a whole bunch of beautiful muscadines.

And now, I will tell you why I'm all of a sudden relishing my surroundings: well, the day after I wrote my last blog about the draining 7 year old class, I had a break down in the class when they refused to obey for the 10th time within half an hour. The principal finally conceded she should have done something about the class before, and she said that it wasn't my fault because all my other classes are doing very well. I gave her the options of minimizing the class size, switching the class with another teacher, or putting a Korean teacher in there with me. I got the latter on Monday. Luckily, I've gotten good at leaving work emotions at work, but it's nice not to wake up with the dread of that class anymore. I didn't realize how much that class was completely draining my energy until I didn't have to fight them anymore.

Who knows, I may even take some pictures of them... :)

Things I'm most recently missing:

English: Duh, why wouldn't I when it's hard to remember how to say "excuse me" when I bump into someone. But Korean is fascinating and I can't tell you how much I've already learned. I am picking up more words in my student's conversations now. My goal is to eventually freak my kids out when they realize I understand what names their calling me when they don't think I understand... I write the Korean word along with the English word when I help them with vocabulary, and as them to help me pronounce it. They're helping in their own demise... mwahahahaha...

Baking: I don't have an oven, so baking is out. Not to mention (due to language mostly) I can't find a lot of the ingredients I need. I'm discovering new things and places to buy what I need every day, though.

Pizza: is good here, but it's very different. The sauce is sweet and has corn kernels in it (as does everything, it seems), the cheese is so mild I don't really taste it, and the pepperoni has a kind of spam consistency. It's tasty, but I miss the bold flavors of Italian-style pizza.

Trash disposal: Everything is recycled and everyone does it. You have to sort all your trash into separate bags of organic, glass, aluminum, plastic, paper and put them in the right holder by the dumpsters. As great as it is, I think I'm just a wasteful person. I'm ok with putting it all in one bag and tossing it. No offense to all pro-recyclers! :)

today

2007-08-29T23:54:00.000+09:00

No pictures today. I'm very (very) happily cuddled under a blanket with my computer... yes, I know, a blanket. Tonight is actually pretty cool! I don't know if this will last or if it's a one time weather anomaly, but it sure is a relief, and is giving me a lovely taste of fall.

Books: I just finished the last of the Harry Potter series. As always, very fun but this was not the best written of them. "Prisoner of Azkaban" remains my favourite. :) It was nice to tie up the storyline, though.

Movies: "Hot Fuzz." If you like the guy who wrote "Shawn of the Dead" then you'll like this even more. If you like to laugh at "serious" American cop movies, then you'll love this. If you like British film, you'll like this. Aaron and I died laughing. :)

Music: If you want to hear some reeeaaally pretty instrumental Ambient music (and I can only think of a couple of you that do), check out this album "IBM 1401:a user's manual" by Jóhann Jóhannsson. For my music geek readers, think of Gorecki Symphony No. 3 walked out of the Polish prison and into the sunlight to play on a computer. tee hee :) Classical music fans should give it a shot.

Soapbox: Life is settling into a routine here. My kids are still evil, but somehow I can love them when I'm not in class with them. :) I've got a handle on all my problem classes except one: my 7 year olds class of 12. I have class with them right after lunch, incidentally this period is also their last class of the day. They have no interest in listening or learning anything. I'm all for quits and calling it play time but, of course, that's not an option. I've tried every method of drawing their attention and engaging their learning skills. So far, no luck, but I'm hoping the principal will be able to fulfill my request of putting a Korean teacher in there with me for some order.

My dilemma is that I lack conviction in really, really harsh rule enforcement with them. Why? Because they're freakin' 7 years old and have been in school 5 hours of the day already! They need to freakin' play!

<end soapbox>

good to see you

2007-08-19T22:51:00.002+09:00

Guess who we saw today?!!!!! We got an e-mail from Mark saying he'd be in Korea this week for a conference so we scurried over to the airport today to see him before he had to leave for his final destination. He brought us some goodies from my family, too. Man, I can't tell you how nice it was to see a familiar face today. I even cried a little saying good-bye to him. Sheesh, I'm emotional! lol :)

Mark and Beth are my sister's parents-in-law. They lived in Vienna for a while and were fun and generous hosts on my trip to Europe back in 2004, not to mention very kind friends to Aaron and I. Wish we had seen you both more back in Atlanta.

Thanks, Mark, for taking some time for us and bringing us the goodies. Thanks, mom, dad, Jenny, Cat for sending the stuff. I love and miss you all!

2007-08-09T19:10:00.001+09:00

Walking home from work tonight, I looked around and really felt like "I live here. I work here. Cool." It's the second month of work and it's hard. I think it will be until we move on from this school, but you know, hard is ok. I'm looking forward to making it through and saying I did it.

In the midst of things, Aaron is my greatest joy. (awwwww... cheeseball strikes again!) We've had so much fun playing video games and exploring the country. Last weekend, we went on a long, beautiful hike up Cheongnyangsan "mountain" about 4 blocks from our apartment.

Here is one of the smoother sections of the trek up. It just looks like a fairy tale forest! I'm not ashamed to say I could imagine the elves singing as they passed through here. tee hee :)

We carefully made a few turns in the numerous mountain paths and found a small farming village on the mountainside. These kids were playing on this small bridge over a man-made stream running through the village.

Here are some of the pretty farmlands we saw, this one is beside a little country church. Everything is extremely green right now since it's the rainy season.

seoul

2007-07-31T13:35:00.002+09:00

Aaron and I got adventurous yesterday and headed for Seoul by ourselves. The subway system was surprisingly easy, but then I've heard this is one of the best systems in the world. I'm leaning against the wall in the center right of the picture in front of Dongam Station near us. With a little advice from Ryan (thank you!), we headed towards an international district called Itaewon. There was at least 1 foreigner to every 10 Koreans and so many shops, restaurants and pubs geared towards English-speakers. Man, do we miss living in the big city! We instantly fell in love with Seoul.

Oh yeah, and we found this awesome, authentic Mexican restaurant in Itaewon. The guy who ran it was from NY but had lived in Guatemala for several years. He's married to a Korean and opened this little whole-in-the-wall restaurant. I'm so glad we found some good Mexican here! It's one of the things we've missed the most so far.

We also met a couple of Scottish girls on the street who have become our fast friends. As soon as I get some pics of Arleen and Lisa, I'll post them but we were rather busy drinking and talking. They've both been here for a little over a year and I was just glad to finally meet some girls I could hang out with!

Besides missing our train back home and getting home really late, it was a really fun day. We LOVE Seoul and can't wait till we get paid so we can go back. Today is the last day of our vacation so it's back to the grind tomorrow. But there's always Seoul to look forward to now! :)

vacation initiation

2007-07-27T00:07:00.001+09:00

Teaching today was such a breeze since I only had three classes in the afternoon. Vacation mode really started when I woke up at 11:30 this morning. Aaron and I had a fantastic night when he got home tonight. We went out to get drinks and had some of the best conversations I can remember us having. We talked about music and kids and history and how they all tied together... it was so much fun. I'm so glad he helps me take myself less seriously than I'm prone to do on my own. We're pretty blessed.

a taste of home

2007-07-26T01:12:00.002+09:00

The director of our school took the foreign teachers out to dinner at TGI Fridays tonight. You know, I love eating Korean food every day, really, but it was such an unexplainable comfort to eat some ribs, french fries, quesadillas and drink a corona, even if they put a lemon in it instead of a lime (can't find limes anywhere here)! Aaron and I came home grinning contentedly and feeling very much that life is good.

I feel like I clicked this past week. While it will probably always be an exhausting job for me, I didn't get frazzled from any bad behavior. I'm dealing with it and I think the kids are getting better. Time will tell. I think it helped to have 5 days of vacation to look forward to this weekend! The school year is divided into 12 sessions, one session per month. We just finished up the July session and get a little summer break. :)

Anyhoo, it's been a long (but good) day so I'm gonna hit the bed and hope to sleep despite the extreme humidity. In the meantime, here's a pic of the outside of our school. We finally found out what ECC means: English Children's Center. :)

bulldozers & unexpected encounters

2007-07-21T23:48:00.001+09:00

Well, all in all, things are going well. I'm adjusting more every day, but I honestly still expect the worst from my students every day, too. It's just getting to me less. I'm noticing my biggest struggle is getting enough alone/down time. My job is not only intense but very interactive, and for a good 8 to 10 hours each day, all day. I'm exhausted from extroverting and exerting authority - both are characteristics I rarely practice, especially this intensely. By Wednesday or Thursday, I need a good tension-releasing sob session. Then I finish out the week on supernatural powers. But again, I can still recognize, even amidst sobs, how good this is for me. I've never been good about putting my foot down, mostly because it involves confrontation. In this job, I have to stick to my guns or I will be bulldozed by my students. Fear not, for I am cutting their brake lines. Watch as they crash into the wall I am building a mile down the road... ... ok, so I took the analogy a little far. Laugh already!

On a topic not so distant from the latter, here's a picture of me. What am I doing, you ask? Well, let's just say "Grace" ran into a wall again. Again?! Perhaps... I seem to remember doing this before, but considering the number of head injuries I'm sure I've sustained since such possible wall collisions, who knows how my memory is holding up. Anyway,in my humble defense, the kitchen light switch is in a darned inconvenient location behind the refrigerator. It was a wall-encounter waiting to happen, I tell you! And here is where I apologize to Aaron for snapping at him in the heat of the moment. Look, I'm just tired of people witnessing my klutziness. Luckily, I have a fantastic "pity-me" face. :)

bupyeong

2007-07-15T20:32:00.002+09:00

We went to a happenin' little place called Bupyeong today with Min Soo (behind the pole) and LJ. They're so awesome - they got us bus cards, showed us how to recharge them and how to take the buses on our own. We really enjoy hanging out with them. We took them to see the Transformers in Bupyeong - very fun movie - and then we ate and walked around the underground shopping center there. Korea is very cool- I would highly recommend it for living and tourist-ing. Maybe God's just watching out for us, but Koreans have been very helpful and generous to us. It has made the adjustment here much more pleasant.

korean & karaoke!

2007-07-15T12:30:00.001+09:00

Saturday night, our school took out all the teachers from ECC to a traditional Korean meal and two hours of karaoke. The food was delicious and we had a blast. :) Kneeling at the table with me are Christine, Elly, me and Lauren (all Koreans at the school choose English names to use). They are the Korean co-teachers Aaron and I work with. The only teacher missing is Jay- he had to go to a "marriage meeting" set up by his parents. I have to say that Korean BBQ is one of my favorites. There is a grill built into the middle of the table which you cook the meat on (so tasty!), then you wrap the meat in a lettuce leaf with raw garlic and red pepper paste. Mmmmmm...

We now have four foreigner teachers at the school. Marla is from CA and has been here three months. Greg just arrived Thursday from Australia (pictured left singing "Johnnie be Good" with Aaron). I think we're a good, well-balanced group that will work well together.

Karaoke was great fun! You've got a room all to yourself with disco ball and all. :)

i lied

2007-07-13T21:41:00.001+09:00

I won't be posting pictures of my students for a little while because they're evil. When I start liking some of them again, I'll think about bringing my camera to school. :) All is well- promise- I just had a day where all my students thought my class period was play/free time and I'm just freakin' tired of dealing with it at the moment, which is fine because it's FRIDAY and I don't have to work this Saturday!

All in all, discipline with these kids is horrible. We have also discovered we have lost any leverage we might have had because we're not allowed to give a grade below a B-. No joke. We tried and the Korean teachers freaked out and begged us to change it. My only resort is sending them to the principal. That works because she reminds them how much their parent's are paying for them to learn English (this is a private school), but it totally displaces my authority.

Well, there are a lot of bad things about this job, but there are in any job. It's all a matter of learning to maneuver within the system to make the days pass. If I can help a kid here or there and get a sweet hug from a kindergartener now and then, that will be reward enough. Otherwise, it's a job and I'm here to enjoy life, love my husband, and care for people whenever and however I can. This will be a good experience no matter what because Aaron and I decided it would be. Not that there won't be some really horrible days sometimes...

To all of you whom I love and love me, I'm sorry because I really miss my cat more than anything right now. You're just not fuzzy, cuddly, and you don't curl up on my lap and purr. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a little furry comfort tonite! lol! :) But, it's probably not a bad thing that I'm learning to rely more on... oh, I don't know... humans, my husband, God? :)

trying this out...

2007-07-10T12:31:00.000+09:00

You know, I really don't know if I have enough to say to actually keep up a blog, and definitely nothing terribly profound, but since I'm so far from many of my friends and family, and it's hard to coordinate talking on the phone with you because of the time difference, I thought I'd try this out. Don't be surprised if I quit this in a few weeks. :)

What's going on in my heart lately: well, to be honest, I'm trying not to think about much at all right now because it's all too overwhelming and finding words to describe my feelings is futile. I can tell you this, though, I am conscious that this is the best experience of my life. I have moments of unimaginable anxiety and the next hour, I've never felt so excessively excited and happy. All in all, I've decided my habit of over-thinking situations in life has to stop here and now or I can't function. So, I'm even going to limit what I say right now because I don't want to aggravate my habit. :)

Please feel free to check my fotolog frequently since I'll be posting pictures of my students, school, and our many anticipated adventures in Asia. :)