STICKER!!!!!

That's the first thing I hear the second I walk in the classroom. I've become quite crafty with how I can get the kids to do what I want, when I want. The deal is that when the bell rings and I walk in the door, they should all be in their seats with my books out and homework open and ready for checking. Well...bam, that worked. However I'm sadly probably the only one keeping the sticker business alive.

This is: Alex, James, and Bill...my first, and favorite, class of the day

This is Christine, Bill, Kevin, and Chris (also a favorite)

Here is J-Train, T-Money, Wendawg, and Jas-Face (I gave them gangster names)

Winter has arrived and it is freezing! For most of the people that I talk to, that don't seem to know, it gets cold here! It's nothing like Chicago and there is no snow (yet), but still, cold is cold. The school looks all state of the art, but the rooms are all icy cold. Each room has a space heater and I can't find it in my heart to hog it all to myself, so we all wear our coats and scarves in class.

We had our work Christmas party this past Friday. Again, drinking in school (our library? i know) feels so so wrong on many levels, but I have to realize I'm in a different country. I can imagine my sister cringing back home at some of these photos. However, they must be doing something right if these kids are so smart.

If you can see past the booze pouring, the man with the pony-tail and red sweater is my boss. The other guys are my co-workers. And yes, that is a picture of a few beers next to our story books. Ohhhhh cultural differnces....

These are the Korean women I work with. Talk about a tough crowd...They aren't very accepting of other people, especially foreigners, but I took the "suck it up because I'm loud" approach, and I think I've broken into the circle.

I keep getting messages saying "so-and-so is moving to korea". I'm reminded everyday that it is an incredibly small world. Teaching in Korea has definitely caught on with people back home. It's weird.

Just a few more days till winter vacation and I can't be more excited. I've been building up this holiday like no other. I started my holiday theme in class December 1st. Call it an overload, but I haven't heard any complaints. We are having Christmas parties the 23rd and 24th. I downloaded a bunch of Christmas movies, raided the craft store, and am ready to get down with some puffy paints.

Missing my family back home and staying as busy as I can to not be reminded of their absence. I am so thankful for their support and not thinking I've lost all my marbles for coming here. I'm thankful to have the experiences I'm having, as I never thought I would have them (or so much of them).

And most of all, I'm thankful that I never saw this coming. All my life I've been a last minute kind of person and have been punished for it. I never wanted to change this habit, though, and now I understand why. It's because the second I can predict what happens next, the more certain I am that a life of predictability isn't for me.


Until next time...