Fashion masks...

Since the swine flu scare is still in full affect, some of my students have been wearing masks to class... But not just any old plain mask - They usually have some sort of korean anime or video game character on them! How funny is that?!

My Bus Ride...

This morning, on my way to work, I gave up my seat on the bus to a 70 something Korean woman who didn't have anywhere to sit. She was sooo thankful, as they always are. When she sat down, she patted (sp?) her legs as if she was inviting me to sit on her lap. As a side note, when an older Korean asks you to do something, YOU DO IT! I thought this was a weird gesture, but figured if she asks me to sit on her lap, I guess I should. I waited though until the bus stopped, since we were on a hill, and it was fairly unstable.

The bus finally stopped, and just as I was about to move towards her to sit on her lap, she reached for my purse and set it in her lap and gave me a really big smile!

Can you imagine if I would have sat on her lap?!

Get it Kristen!!!

Last night, Kristen invited us to her dance recital!  She has been taking hip hop classes for the last 4 or 5 months from a studio in Seomyeon, and was invited to perform in their yearly show!

Colin, Colin's co-teacher, Rob, Kate and I all sat in the 2nd row to cheer her on!  Here are some pictures of the show!

We got to see Kristen before the show.  Kate called me and told me she was really nervous, so I stopped at the Family Mart to get her a chocolate "Crunky" bar, her favorite, to settle her nerves!

This was the only lyrical performance of the show.  Kristen is in the purple on the far right. 

A little ballroom action...

After Kristen's hip hop performance, the MC pulled her out on stage to showcase the fact that she was the only foreigner in the show.  She told him she had friends who came to watch and pointed to all of us (her "chingu" friends) in the 2nd row!  

Kristen's on the far left, in the front row (GO GIRL!)

This salsa dance was really awesome... The 2 girls in the front are instructors at Kristen' studio. 

This dance was a replica of the Brown Eyed Girls song called "Abracadabra."  It's one of the most famous videos in Korea right now.

For the finale, the 4 instructors did a really awesome hip hop dance, set to K-pop songs!  It made me want to start taking classes again! 

Kristen has made soooo many friends from the studio.  These boys are some of her favorites!

The whole studio!


Kristen, Congrats on your first Korean Dance Performance!  You rocked!  Love ya!

The Magic Show!

During Tea Time (between 1st and 2nd period) this morning, I was given the good news - "3rd and 4th period are cancelled because we're having a Magic Show!!" Could this work week get any better?! Yesterday was a hike, and today a magic show! To top it off, the teachers are all allowed to leave at 1:50pm instead of 4:40pm, so not only do I get to leave early, I don't have to teach my teacher class this afternoon! I think all these new perks are from the new principal... If so, I LOVE YOU GYO CHUNG SUN SENG NEIM!!

When I say this was the BEST MAGIC SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN, it really isn't saying much since I can probably count the times I've seen one on my own right hand, but I will say that I oohed and awed the entire time, and said a lot of "WWWWWAAAAA"'s. (That's what the Koreans yell when they're excited about something and it's become a new habit of mine!)

This trick was by far the coolest thing I've ever seen! The girl is literally hanging with only her neck on the chair! I have no idea how he did that!


This trick, he took a piece of blue tissue paper and turned it red, and then made it into a paper rose, and then made it float in the air! UNBELIEVABLE!

The kids loved it!

This trick, he took a real rose, put it in his hand, and it turned into all these little pieces of paper!

All I know is, I want a floating table! If I knew how to do this, I'd take it everywhere with me and show it off!

If you're surprised that I volunteered to be an assistant, you don't know me very well! My hand shot up right away when he asked for someone to help him! The best part was that the kids started chanting my name so he would pick me!!! I was a hit, I'm not gonna lie! :)

After the show, he came out to greet the teachers. I felt a little bit like a high school girl meeting someone from Nsync back in the day! I think he was flattered!

What makes a GREAT hiking fieldtrip?

Today, all classes were cancelled, and the whole school went on a hike at the mountain directly behind my school! It was gorgeous weather, and the kids were all excited to be out of class for the day!! Now that I'm a pro with hiking (this was my 3rd hike in 5 days) I've decided to tell you what makes a good hiking fieldtrip for elementary kiddos!

So, here you go...

... friends to hike with... (April, Stella and I)

... boulders to rest on...

...Parks along the way that have weird things to play on...

... GIGANTIC hula hoops...

... a plentiful amount of sticks to fight with...

...bars to hang on...


...lots of grass and blue skies...


... interesting sculptures to look at...

... places to hang out in the shade...


... fun mirrored sculptures to take pictures on...


... lots of trees to eat and hang out under...


...sculptures to sit on (even if you're not suppossed to!)

... gazebos to sit in with friends...


... cute kids who always want their picture taken...


...a good sturdy railing to sit on to enjoy the view...


... and lastly, but definitely not least; A good teacher to guide the way!