,,, and by turkey, what I really mean is chicken. :( Seriously, why don't Koreans eat turkey?! It's been over 4 years now since I've had a slice and whenever thanksgiving rolls around I'm reminded of it's faint memory.
Regardless, Aaron and I had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner for two with 3 dishes: baked chicken (thanks to the little chicken place down the street), mashed potatoes, and home made stuffing (thank you Pinterest)!
and for desert, a home made chocolate cake. This one was shared between the two of us! The rest of it is coming to school with me tomorrow to be shared! :)
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving Day was filled with thankfulness, football, good weather, family, friends, laughter, relaxation, and lots and lots of chicken turkey!
Maybe it's because my family is thousands of miles away, or because I'm at work today! Maybe it's because my Korean students have never heard of eating turkey or pumpkin pie. Or maybe because no one really decorates their homes for Christmas here, so the idea of assembling and decorating my 2 foot tall faux Christmas tree tomorrow seems a little out of place.
To be honest, when I think about having a huge dinner with relatives all around, and then relaxing and watching football while eating leftovers all day, it makes me wanna cry a little. Just wish that's what my day had in store today.
On the other hand, Thanksgiving is all about being thankful... So, with that said, I'm thankful I have a job I love that allows me to save money and travel around the world. I'm thankful that even though it's a holiday and I'm at work, I'm only teaching a total of an hour today and have 7 hours to do whatever I want in my classroom. I'm thankful that I have a boyfriend who is leaving work early to start cooking a special dinner for us. I'm thankful for the hour long skype sesh I had with my mom and dad this morning, and I'm thankful for my family and friends... just wish I were a lot closer today to be thankful with you and stuff my tummy full of all that yummy thanksgiving food!
Last Friday was the annual Dae Gyo Elemenetary School Talent Show! It's hands down, one of my favorite days of the year as an elementary teacher. There's nothing better than getting to see your adorable kiddos dancing about on the stage, singing cute songs, and banging on traditional drums!
Like clockwork, vendors had set up tables outside my school to sell chinsy fake flowers and lollipop gifts for the parents to give to their kids after the show.
The teachers had worked really hard to creatively display their student's best work on the school walls leading to the auditorium...
The show started at 9:30am sharp with an introduction from the Vice Principal, Principal, and head teacher.
Then, it was time!!! The kids were hyped up, behind the stage, ready for their debut!
1st grade was up first! How awesome are these costumes! Korean teachers are given a budget to buy custom fit costumes for each of their students for the annual talent show.
The other half of the 1st grade class came out in black, waving their gold glittery pom poms and prancing around like little butterflies!
The 2nd graders sang and did a traditional dance about Korean playground games.
6th grade boys did their own rendition of a pop music video!
But their female counterparts definitely stole the show when they came out with GIGANTIC shimmering bows on their heads and dancing to Roly Poly, one of the most popular pop songs in Korea right now!
6th grade girls...
The audience was full of cheering moms and smart phones held in the air to record their kids performances!
4th graders singing an adorable Korean song...
The 3rd graders dancing their hearts out!
Here's a little video to help you feel like you were there :)
Good ole' danso performance!
4th graders doing a traditional drum performance...
Koreans love the recorder!
5th grade girls doing a cute tap dance...
5th grade Taekwondo performance!
She is a fantastic singer and has sung for the Korean news stations...
6th grade
6th grade
5th grade puppet show
6th grade dance team performance
3rd and 4th grade dance team performance
3rd grade dance team...
The 3rd grade teacher loves to swing dance, so she choreographed an entire swing dance performance! Super impressive!
2nd grade band
1st graders are so awesome!
While all of the acts were great, this 5th grade class's dance routine was my absolute favorite! ENJOY!
This week we're back to studying and homework... but Friday sure was a nice break from the stress of teaching and learning! :)
I started feeling a little nauseous around 7:00pm on Saturday, and by midnight I was waking up every hour to hug the toilet. I knew right away that it was food poisioning! Probably that darn Eel they made me eat at the staff dinner! I knew that thing looked sketchy! By the morning I was exhausted and completely dehydrated. Aaron helped me walk over to the hospital (2 mins walk from my apartment) and checked me into the ER where they gave me a shot in the butt (ouch) and hooked me up to an IV for a couple hours. Aaron absolutely hates hospitals... but he was a champ and stayed by me the whole time. Made me love him that much more! :)
I'm feeling much better today, but took the day off work to fully recover! It's a big no no to take sick days in Korea, even though we're allotted 11 sick days on our contracts. Go figure! Monica, my co-teacher has been teaching for over 30 years and has NEVER taken a sick day! I felt kinda bad calling in today, but decided that ultimately my health is more important than my attendance record. With that said, I'm going back to nap # 3 for the day!
Aaron and I decided to have a little date night at Seven Luck Casino in Seomyeon tonight... Glad we did, because I won $100.00, A won $190.00 and we both got a free dinner! I'd say that makes for a pretty sweet AND LUCKY date night!
