I want Turkey!!

Thanksgiving is coming up. The first real event I'll be missing back home (if you don't count Halloween). I hope my boy makes it here before then, it'll make things better for me. Thanksgiving isn't as big in my family as Christmas, I've missed a few before. It is still special, though.

No Thanksgiving in Korea, obviously. My friend Alicia and I are going to look for Stove Top in Itaewon this weekend. It's the mecca for finding all things foreign. I'm going to enjoy shopping there, if we can find a place to buy American food. Wish we luck.


Work is going well. I've got the hang of things now.... for the most part. I don't think the kids have had a teacher like me before. They are learning my teaching style and jokes now. I have a few unruly boys, but I'm figuring out how to DO WHAT I WANT!! hahahah.

There is a writing class. They are my FAVORITE. They are using an American text book, not an English learner book. They are really advanced, and one of the only classes that can carry on conversations and ask about American culture. They are so curious, it's awesome. Today we took a field trip. The text book called for the class to write directions on how to get to the lunch room from the classroom. So, I decided we would all split up and write directions on different ways to get out of the building. It was really fun. Kids running up and down stairs, kids in elevators giggling, kids freezing their butts off waiting at the bottom floor. Then we switched papers and tested how accurate the directions were. I was proud that most of the directions successfully got us out of the building. We ended up in a bathroom once. Oops. Gotta learn the difference between right and left!

Tomorrow the older kids graduate and move down to the 4th floor for middle school. I'm having a pizza and movie party for one of my classes. They are the other really advanced class I have. They can be giant pains in the asses, as most teenagers are.... but they are really curious about other cultures and were really willing to talk and be expressive. Korean kids have such structured and strict lives it's a real challenge to get them to express themselves. I'm finally to the point now my classes don't say "Fine. Thanks" when I ask them how they are. We add a new feeling to our vocabulary almost every day, and I only allow them to use our new descriptive words. Turns out one student tried to go above and beyond and googled a few American phrases. So, today, he told me he "feels like shit." Hmmmm, I didn't teach him that haha. Thanks google.

Next two weeks will be quiet. I'm only teaching 19.5 hours each week. That will be a nice break! We still have to be at work those hours, but I'll have time to look at our new text books and make some lesson plans. I'm sad all the classes are being broken up and moved around for the new term. C'est la vie. 40 more names to learn. Gah.

I need to blog about the Korean education system sometime. Its the best education system in the world, but they are making some huge sacrifices in other areas to be number one. I have very mixed feelings.

Ok, thats enough for tonight. It's after 1 in the morning.

I have to wake up early to go to the post office and mail pen pal letters. That writing class I was talking about wrote penpal letters to my old class from last year. I'm super excited about this.

xo