Don't go!

One of my favorite kids left on Friday. His family is moving to a different area so he is changing schools. He has been in Kiwi class for 11 months now, so the rest of the kids were pretty devastated to see him go. I asked when I got in the classroom, "Kipper, how are you today?" and his reply was "Teacher, I am extremely sad today because no more school and I move away on Sunday." The rest of the kids started yelling "noooooo!" and "don't go, don't leave!" It was so sad. Before he got on his bus I made sure to find him in the crowd of students anxiously waiting to go home and I told him what a great kid he was and how much I am going to miss him. He almost cried. It's too bad one of my more annoying/bad students couldn't have moved away instead...

This really made me realize that I'm going to have to say goodbye to all of my students very soon. I only have 23 school days left. Time really has flown by.

Teacher, tea is delicious?

On Thursday my students had to partake in a Korean etiquette lesson. They all came to school in hanbok, which is traditional clothing usually worn on special occasions and holidays. The hanbok was so beautiful with its silky material and bright colors. The four 6-year old classes sat on the floor, together, in a circle and learned how to properly bow, pour and drink tea. Most of the students took the lesson very seriously, sitting with perfectly straight posture and sipping their tea ever-so elegantly. It was amazing to watch. Children in America could never be so dignified. You can hardly get older children to drink tea, let alone 6 year olds. And bowing to your elders and family? Never. It was amazing to see such culture beaming out of such small people.

Kiwi.

Apple.

How are you today?

Hair accessories.

사랑해^^ <3

Bowing practice

Boys.

Waiting to pour tea.

^^

Yum?

7 weeks!

7 weeks left in Korea!

Hungry?

My recent trip to Thailand exceeded all of my expectations. Great people, parties, beaches, culture, shopping and of course, great food. Thai food has always been my favorite, and I couldn't wait for the day to actually have the pleasure of eating authentic Thai food in Thailand. I usually will eat anything and am open to try new things but I have to admit- on this trip, I stuck to the basics. I just couldn't get enough of my favorite pad Thai, spicy curries and tom yum goong soup. How can you blame me?

Here's some Thai food porn from the trip: drool and enjoy!

Pad Thai from an outdoor food market in Bangkok- with tiny dried shrimp. My favorite one of the week.

Spring rolls with spicy sauce from Chatuchak Weekend Market

Thai iced tea with sweetened condensed milk

Rice, rice and more rice.

Roasted duck curry- to die for. Pretty sure I ate the entire bowl.

Banana nutella roti- best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Basically a crispy doughnut with bananas on the inside fried in oil and a massive amount of butter. Then smothered with nutella. Heaven.

Chicken Pad Thai

Red Chicken Curry

A Koh Samui candy given to me by our adorable cab driver. Made out of sugar and coconut milk, he said they were a specialty on the island and decided to give his last two candies to me and Haley.

Happy Christmas Eve!

It's Christmas Eve and I'm almost finished with work. Tomorrow I will be flying to Thailand for my week long Christmas vacation! Ahhh, I thought this day would never come. First, I will be in Bangkok until the 28th and then I fly to Koh Samui until January 1st! This vacation is definitely well deserved, considering I haven't had a day off since Chuseok in September. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to 2011~! Hoping it is as amazing as 2010~!

update

I haven't posted on here in such a long time! Just wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to. Here's a few photos from the past month ^^

Thanksgiving dinner sans oven...not bad if I do say so myself. But nothing compares to the parentals turkey and stuffing!

Out at Zen Bar in Hongdae

Ice cream fondue at Hagen Daz. As if the ice cream, fruit and bites of cheesecake and brownies weren't delicious enough- they all get dipped in hot chocolate sauce

Michelle came to visit from Japan ^_^ Us in Insadong!

Bukchon Hanok Village- worth getting lost

Mirror shot with identical cameras and Christmas colored scarves

Late night noraebang

One of my favorites- Sunny in her pink outfit- fur coat included. She was also wearing a tiara but decided to take it off because I kept calling her princess (she insisted she wasn't one)

Matthew. He's the newbie in Apple class. Loving the homemade reindeer ears obviously!

too close for comfort

There are only 5 days until Christmas. Due to Korea's current events, my Christmas spirit is dwindling. Instead of enjoying myself while my students draw Christmas cards and sing Christmas carols- I am anxious and unsettled. Today South Korea followed through with their planned military drills on Yeonpyeong Island; a South Korean island in the Yellow Sea- bordering North Korean territory. North Korea threatened 'deadly retaliation' causing a very tense day for all. (Remember people- Seoul is only 120 miles away from Pyongyang) Seoul has been my home for 10 months- and the thought of war breaking out in this country is devastating. Koreans live with the threat of the North on a daily basis- living here and actually experiencing their fear right along with them is something words can't describe. As selfish as it sounds, I would really like to be back in the Christmas spirit and to look forward to my Thailand vacation. This week should be about Santa, peace and happiness; not bombs.

In the words of John Lennon, "Give peace of a chance."

Here's a really informative article for all to understand what's going on.