high on Christmas spirit!

It's Christmas! This is my favorite day of the year. To say I love Christmas is an understatement. I LIVE for this. Of course, this year has been different. I did a lot of the same things. I wore red and green. I listened to nonstop Christmas music. I cried my eyes out during It's a Wonderful Life. But still, things felt different this year.
Usually, Christmas Eve has an almost magical feeling to it. Yesterday, I worked a full day, finishing at 6 PM. The school did some special things for the kids. The lone male staff member (a middle age guy who bares a striking resemblance to Donny Osmond and doesn't really work at school, but rather walks around, and looks at things that need to be fixed without actually really fixing them, which is why my classroom has had two florescent lights burnt out and a broken clock for over 6 weeks now) put on a Santa suit. Prior to Christmas Eve, the parents brought in a wrapped present, as well as a list of the children's merits and demerits. One by one, the classes were brought down to the gym see "Santa" though my class knew immediately that this was an imposter "Not Santa. That is Ken Teacher." Then each student got a chance to go see Santa. Santa/Ken Teacher gave the students their presents, as the teachers read the list of merits and demerits. I felt kind of Grinchish, on Christmas Eve telling my sweet little kiddies things they do wrong. However, the list of things the parents wrote was hilarious. I saved the paper, but left it at school. I'll share it with you sometime next week. One student's (not in my class) mother wrote that she was a coward. The favorite demerit from my class was "She gets her shirt wet when she brushes her teeth" Tsk tsk, looks like someone deserves a big lump of coal.
The kids were energetic BEFORE they went to see Santa. They were nearly uncontrollable after receiving their presents. I now understand why American schools are closed by Christmas Eve. I hope that private schools in Korea jumps on that train soon. It was like I was talking to no one. To add to the excitement of the day, the owner of the school (an older than middle age Korean woman, whooooooo...where do I start?? She has had SO much plastic surgery she probably can't stand too close to ovens or radiators or her face will melt, rumor has it is she puts vodka not coffee in her mug, has been known to fall asleep at the front desk, is supposedly awful to the Korean teachers but due to her lack of English is okay to the foreign teachers, usually dresses like she is going to a New Year's Eve cocktail party rather than an elementary school, etc) decided it would be a good day to teach the kids table manners...and what better meal to do it with than ribs and fries eaten with chopsticks? I had no intention of teaching the kids table manners. Come on now, Christmas Eve, ribs and fries, chopsticks? Right, table manners, that'll happen. But I was super stoked for our Outback Steakhouse carry out lunch. RIBS AND FRIES, not rice and kimchi. Until I realized the teachers were given a "special" lunch from Outback Steakhouse, that included rice, kimchi, 3 small potato wedges, chicken bits, pasta with shrimp on top, and wilted lettuce with nothing on it. Not a single rib or fry on the plate. The best thing about the meal is that it was not just room temperature, it was ICE cold. Outback Steakhouse is just up the street from school. My guess is someone WALKED the food to school, and Korea is painful cold right now.
Despite being hyper, my kids were beyond precious yesterday. Here is a video of Cassiopeia class, after their visit from Santa, opening their presents.


Then there is Big Dipper class enjoying their ribs and fries. Big Dipper is a special class. They are the slowest of their age group, but they are cute. They spent about 10 minutes of lunch holding the ribs in their mouths while making dog noises.




And now, I have to finish packing and go to the airport! My plane leaves at 6:30 tonight. 17 short hours later, I will land at O'Hare! Christmas never feels long enough. Today, I get 15 extra hours!

I hope everyone enjoys this very special day. I wish you all a very merry Christmas!!

PS-Next week is the end of my 7th month in Korea. Holy flying by time!

education what?

In lieu of a Christmas concert, school is doing a "winter concert" at the end of January. Each class will perform two numbers (ballet dance, song, play, etc). My class is assigned a ballet dance and a song...with a pom pon dance. If you ask me, I got the short end of that stick, since I have to practice the ballet routine with the kids, as well as choreograph, teach, then practice this pom pon routine AND song with them. So needless to say, little school work will actually be done in the next 6 weeks. I love my kids, a lot. But they are slow. Some of them have trouble spelling their names still. So I am not sure how they will learn two dances and a song by the end of January. On verra bien.

Here are two videos of them practicing. The first is from ballet class. Every Thursday, for half an hour, the kids have ballet. They all hate it. They all tell me they are in a "very baaaaaaaad mood" on Thursdays. When I ask why, they always say "Because Thursday is ballet." Secretly though, I am excited for this concert for one reason and one reason alone-I FINALLY had an excuse to video tape ballet class. It makes me laugh. The songs are awful. The kids are so cute. The ballet teacher is scary. It's pretty much a perfect combination.

And yes, the ballet teacher is wearing a purple unicorn horn (Anya, Kate, Niki, I hope that reminds you of a certain horrifying Youtube video we watched way back when).

And for the song they sing and pom pon dance to, I chose the Raffi classic "Banana Phone" and the dance has yet to be made. But we have been practicing the song a lot the past week, and I am so proud of how quickly they are learning it. My kids are SO cute. And since I couldn't decide on which video to post, here are two videos of them singing.

put some music on while I pour

I bought my winter coat last week, and just in time. Baby, it's cold outside! And this cold is miserable, and from what I keep getting told, not the worst it will be. Yuck. I also keep getting asked "Aren't you used to it? Isn't Chicago known for bad winters?" Ok, so Northern IL winters do suck, but they aren't THAT bad. Plus, I spent my last two winters in Bordeaux, where I think one time in two years the temperature got down into the twenties at night. Winter in Bordeaux was the short little season when my fingers would get cold if I wasn't wearing gloves while riding my bike at night. I got very spoiled. Korea has thrown me back into winter reality, where my ears are aching by the time I finish my walk home.

So this is what I don't understand. It is COLD. I spend most of my classes teaching while standing in front of a space heater. But the hallway in the building the school is in, as well as hallways of other buildings are cold. There is a simple explanation for that. And it's not because they are not heated. They are cold BECAUSE THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN. Why Korea? Why? Why? Why when it is 25 degrees outside with that wind blowing straight in from Siberia do you think it's necessary to air out the hallway? WHY? I'd rather deal with the smell of rotting fish or kimchi or whatever it is that makes the hallways at work smell so bad. And the hallways are not even the worst cold. I can deal with a brisk wake you right up hallway. The true day ruiner for me is the open window in the bathroom. Brrrr.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after my preschoolers leave at 2:30, I teach 3 classes of older kids (the oldest are 11 years old). I only have these classes for 45 minutes a period. The lesson plans are already made up, with work we have to complete every day. I have some really great kids in my afternoon classes, but the job is pretty thankless. There is not a lot of time to do anything fun, it's all business. But despite that, I do enjoy afternoons from time to time. The kids have some interesting things to say. Like today, in my class of 11 year olds, we were talking about countries, transportation, and directions. They were given a map of the Korean Peninsula. Then there was a list of the major cities, and they had to say where each is in relation to Seoul, and how they could get there. For example "Busan is south of Seoul. I can go there by car or train. Incheon is west of Seoul. I can go there by subway or bus." I kind of just had to shake my head and laugh when I got this answer for Pyongyang. "Pyongyang is north of Seoul. I can't go there because it's..." then she did the off with your head fingers across the neck motion, complete with the tongue out.

That's all I've got.

I'm going to the Philippines in 58 days. Oh heck yes.