Hanbok Day!

So I didn't think my kids could get any more precious than they already are...but then they showed up in Hanboks to celebrate Chuseok at school. Hanboks are traditional Korean clothes worn on special occasions and Chuseok is like Korean Thanksgiving, that is this weekend. All the teachers (me included, I borrowed one from someone at school) wore one and the kids all got off the busses in their little outfits and it was just the cutest thing ever! The outfits are really beautiful and have all these amazing colors and there are a lot of different kinds. I have no idea what any of it means, or is called, but here are some pictures:

It was kind of hard to take pictures because so much was going on, but they were seriously so cute. Then we did this traditional dance called Ganggangsullae where all the kids held hands and did a few circles around the school (inside)...it was pretty cute. There was a song and everything. There were some logistical problems, trying to get 160 4-6 year olds walk at the same pace, but we managed. 

After the dancing, my co teacher asked the kids if they knew how to bow. And I was thinking, well that seems silly..bowing is easy enough. Um, wrong. This is some intense bowing, involving getting all the way on the ground. Also, there are certain ways your hands have to be and it's different for boys and girls. Serious business.  I think they have to bow to their grandparents at some point during the holiday, but I didn't get the full story. Here is some bowing:  

They are not messing around. Sometimes I get a little sad that I am from America and we don't have any cool traditions and cool clothes to put on for special occasions. But, it's ok. That is why I travel...I can learn new ones and participate in other people's. And, we do have some traditions in my family, but nothing too sacred, you know. Definitely not any bad ass clothes like that. Apparently the outfits are super expensive though! 

So after all the festivities, we got presents from the school! Here is what we got: 

I died. Seriously. SPAM? Ooooh, my goodness, it was just too funny. I first saw my assistant teacher walking around with this huge bag that said SPAM on it and was like, where did she even get such a thing? SPAM makes gift bags? Then I was told to get my very own out of the administration office, that it was my Chuseok gift from the main office. I managed to not die laughing at school, but lost it once I got home and opened it. I really had no idea what to expect, but I guess I thought it would have cheese or something in it...not two huge bottles of canola oil! Oh man, it's just too much. I've never actually eaten SPAM, to tell you the truth. However, I was always under the impression that it's pretty much the lowest form of "meat" and really should be avoided at all costs. I can't even imagine how a gift like this would go over in the states. Hilarious.

Anyway, then I found this at the Daiso:

That dog looks super happy. What an entertaining day it was. Oh! And soooo random, at dinner tonight (at a foreigner's bar), a guy came on with a Clemson hat on. And since it was only us in there, I yelled across the restaurant at him to ask if he was from South Carolina (no drinking involved, just classy like that). And he was! And not only that, he went to Airport High School, which was my high school's rival AND graduated the same year as me!!! Crazy! It's a small, small world friends.

Dream big people! :)

I am happy

Sometimes, I ask the kids, "How are you doing today,?" they say, "I am happy." And it cracks me up. For one, that is not technically not a proper response. But it's amazing. And two, half the time they don't look the least bit happy. They don't really look sad, but happy is not really how I would describe them either. Sometimes, though, they say "I am angry!" and I don't know why. Usually because someone said something mean to them on the bus. Preschool drama. Anyway, I am happy works for this post because I am happy!

First off, it's Friday. Second, we had a birthday party today AND made some amazing Venetian masks in class. They weren't my idea, but I am pretty proud of how they turned out. The kids really liked them and they were SO easy to make.

Two masks...one face. Love it. 

Not sure what's going on with the numbers, but apparently Jun can add and subtract. Amazing, since some of the kids still can't count to 20. 

Plus, birthday party day is always super easy. It's weird, because the moms are there and it can be realllly awkward, but this one wasn't bad PLUS we got ice cream sandwiches. The moms always bring a ton of food and always give us something special. Which is awesome, but sometimes the food is...not my thing so I feel bad not eating it. Especially when I really just want the candy bag, like the kids get. Last time we got this huge box of rice cakes. Seriously, it weighed like 10 pounds (5 kilos?) and they were all these different colors and sizes. Unfortunately, they all taste the same..which is this weird bland, not tasty at all taste. I always feel terrible because the moms bring us free food and I usually don't want to eat any of it. A few weeks ago we got a huge case of tomato juice. I really wished I liked Bloody Marys, but I just can't stomach them.

Anywho, birthday party was easy, my after club was super easy, I actually went to the gym. Quite proud of that one, actually. I was sick this week, and I told myself I needed less gym and more rest as my body "fought off infection." I don't know if this is legit, but I do know it's not helping me lose weight OR utilize the money spent on a gym membership. So, while the naps where lovely, I really should probably go to the gym and not to bed. Plus, I then had a wine and pizza party with friends, so at maybe it balanced out. And maybe it was the wine, but then I bought tickets to a Formula 1 race. Random, yes, but the main event is the PSY concert after!!!!! YESSSSSS, soooo pumped! Gangnam Style LIVE AND IN PERSON. Can't freakin wait. I am so in love with that song, the video, and the singer. And I feel totally cool because I totally knew about it before it got all huge and crazy in the US. I AM SO HIP.

Yeah, so pretty jazzed about that. It is amazing what some energy will do for your mood. I was grumpy monster early in the week but things have improved 10 fold. Thanks antibiotics (That cost me a total of $7...doctors visit included)! Or wine, I don't know. Either way, ended this week on a good note. Still sad about Ray, but I've now decided to track him down, and I don't care if his mom thinks I'm weird. As long as I get to see him....hopefully she doesn't think I'm crazy person weird and won't let me see him. We'll see.

Dream big people!

Oh, and I went to the beach last weekend and it was SO LOVELY.

Many many sad

The kids don't really understand the differences for when you use much, many, a lot and very. So they usually say many many for when they mean the are VERY something. Jacky teacher is many many sad this week.

The week itself wasn't so bad. There were some really good things that happened, but others..not so much. The worst of all, my absolute favorite student, Ray (aka "Lay") left suddenly. His grandmother has been sick, and he gets in trouble all the time so his mom decided to take him out of the school But, she didn't tell anyone until Wednesday morning and he just never came. He was there Tuesday and had gotten in trouble for yelling bad words on the bus so I guess that was the last straw. I asked my co-teacher (she is the one that talks to the moms) if she was going to bring him back to say goodbye to us and the class, but she said. I am extremely upset about the whole thing. I can't understand why his mom won't let him come say goodbye..at least to the teachers (me, specifically). We've only had one other girl leave, she moved to China, and we had a goodbye party for her. I want a party for Ray! Actually, I just want him to come back! Class is so boring without him and I miss his precious little face. He seriously made me so happy and I am incredibly sad I am potentially never going to see him again! He was so bad in class, but he was so cute, sweet and hilarious, that it was ok. 

I am so discouraged about the whole thing! Mainly because I know there had been rumblings from the other mommies in the class because they knew he was bad, and they kind of ganged up on him and his mom. So I wonder if that had anything to do with it. I really hope not because I would hate so much if it all ended on a negative note for them. I am also upset my coteacher was kind of nonchalant about the whole thing. I really wanted her to push for him to come say goodbye. I don't know what she did or said, but it obviously didn't work. I mainly just want his mom (and him) to know that he was my favorite. Even if the other mommies did't like, I loved him a lot and I think he is so wonderful. I want her to at least know. And know that he will really be missed. So if anyone out there knows Ray, please let him know jacky teacher loves and misses him.  I wish I could call his mom, but I feel like that would be a little strange for everyone...plus I can't speak Korean, so we might have some problems. I did get to send a card to his, at least. 

Also, I've now been told at least 5 times by Koreans that it's OK that I'm fat because I'm pretty. Yessss, backhanded compliment. I realize these people mean well and it really doesn't even offend me...I kind of find it hilarious. Especially since they are so honest. Americans say, oh no, you're not fat. Lies. Instead Koreans are like, yeah, you are. But be grateful you're not ugly too because otherwise you'd get nowhere in life. So cheers to that. The most recent person to tell me was one of the moms that speaks better English. We were talking again today about my Ellen video. I showed the kids the clip and I think it confused the moms, especially since I told the kids I was a TV star. A joke, obviously, but who knows what they told their parents. This mom thought her child just meant I was in the video we made for our penpals, haha. Anyway, I showed them the clip of Psy doing the "Gangnam Style" dance on Ellen, explained that she was Dory from "Finding Nemo" (they all love Nemo), and then showed the clip so they would maybe understand that it was REALLY COOL that I met this Ellen person. I cleared things up for the mom, and told her to tell the other moms so they didn't all think I was crazy. Anyway, we talked about that, her son and the weather and then she's just like, "do you have plans to get married?" I was like, uhhh, what? I got kind of flustered, it was just so random!! Maybe she was just checking to see if I was gay, since I had just told her how much I loved Ellen and the mom had just referred to her as "the gay." Oh life. 

Anyway...to end on a more cheerful note, the kids had to do homework for the password "Jacky teacher is from the USA," and draw a picture to go with it and some of them were so cute and hilarious. I especially love my hair in all of them. So, for your (and mine) viewing pleasure...

This one is Ray's. I love it the most, obviously.

Oh, and this is my amazing wall display I made. I am very proud, even if no one else thinks it's cool.  You can't see the bottom sign, but it says "with the ways to say Hello." I'm awesome!

A good, good morning

Obsessed with a new KPOP song, Good Morning by Verbal Jint...which is the most ridiculous name for a band ever, but whatever. The song is great. And that is not really the name...the name is in Korean so obviously have no idea what it is. But they say good morning a lot, so that is what I'm calling it.

And my day was great! The whole weekend was great, actually. The festival yesterday wasn't that bad. It was really fun to see some of my kids, and it was nice to be doing something somewhat productive with my Saturday. Sometimes I do some volunteer tutoring on Saturdays, but I've been slacking lately so it was good to be useful again. Plus it was a really nice day out. Oh, and the fashion show was pretty entertaining. It was parents and kids together and they were obviously not all given the same memo...there were all kinds of outfits. But the best part was this random dance they all did at the end to "Sunny". Hilarious.

That night the rain held off for our rooftop bbq. and it was quite the success. Mainly because we actually got the grill to start this time. Very exciting. And the meat was pretty good as well. Plus a lot of people showed up, which made me really happy. I love when people actually show up. Our roof is set up weird, I smelled like nasty grill, and my poor Korean buddy burned his eye, but overall, it was really fun. 

Then, today, we decided to go to the Korean National Museum and Palace and it was really really nice. The weather was perfect and we just happened upon the most random concert I've ever seen. It was so awesome. First, it was Korean dancers. Then there was a band with traditional Korean instruments, so I thought everything would be pretty traditional. Nope. Then some break dancers came out and did their thing.  Then, it was some kind of Korean traditional drum line, which was amazing. My love of drumlines has been discussed before, it's borderline embarrassing. For some more modern things, there was a beatboxer and then he teamed up with a traditional Korean singer and it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen...or heard. The dancers came back and did a little number to a song from the musical "Chicago" with some of those huge traditional fans. And for the grand finale, everyone came together for a big drumline, break dancing, Korean instruments, singing mash up. It was awesome. I still really have no idea why it was going on, but I loved it. 

We walked around the museum and grounds some after that. It is a really nice museum, very well put together and really interesting. I want to go back sometime because we didn't get to see everything. My touring partner was getting a little cranky and hungry (not me, for once!! I was smart and brought snacks), so we had to leave to get him some food. We wandered around the famous shopping district for a while and I bought the cutest headband ever. Then, we I started getting cranky and hungry, we had shabu shabu for dinner, which is the crazy Korean dish. It's like this soup and you get all these things and there is a certain order you have to put all the things in. There's beef, veggies, rice cakes, mondoo (Korean dumplings) rice, and egg and quite a few things I had never seen and was not provided an English name for. It was pretty tasty. Not my favorite Korean dish, but I don't know that I'll ever eat anything that tops galbi. It would have to be really damn delicious. 

So yeah, good weekend. Hope this week is good as well! So busy at school, hope it makes it go by fast. Next weekend has the potential to be amazing too. Fingers crossed!

Dream big people! 

Added bonus! Elephant ride from Thailand...finally figured out how to put it on here. Enjoy!

Making Happiness

That is what I'll be doing tomorrow, making happiness at the "6th year Making Happiness Festival." Here is what I don't understand about this silly name. The school I work for is under a huge company with lots of schools all over Korea, for all ages. At each of these schools, there is at least one, if not dozens of foreign, native English speaking English teachers. Why don't they ask just one of them to sign off on the English titles and flyers they decide to send out. 6th year? No. Making Happiness? Not a phrase that any English speaking person utters, ever. Not that it matters that much, but not utilize your resources and make the foreigners edit!

Easier said than done, I suppose. For one, some things just don't even translate. Two, sometimes you just don't even know what the person is trying to say. I was asked to edit a paragraph the other day and I had no idea what the sentence was trying to say, so it was a little difficult to fix it. I'm honestly not even sure how I would turn "Making Happiness" into a usable English phrase. Be Happy? Just 'Happiness'? The Happiness Festival? I don't know. But I guess it works because it probably makes sense to the Korean parents, who are the ones attending the festival. And, PLEASE, do NOT think I am making fun at ALL. If I have not made this clear before, I think people that can speak two languages are incredibly smart. Even if it's slightly broken and doesn't always make sense. I personally find it horribly difficult to even attempt to learn another language so I have nothing but respect for anyone that can. My attempt to learn Korean has resulted in learning about 4 new phrases, a handful of new words and the basic vowel sounds...and none of those include how to write and/or read any of them. Even more respect for the parents that have the wise foresight to get their kids started on a new language early. Wish my parents had! (No offense to them...I think I'm doing ok, even not as uni-lingual loser. Is that even a word?). Besides, I'm immature and find broken English highly entertaining. I hope I don't offend anyone. It's so much fun to read things like "Have a Feeling Fine Day!" on the side of a vending machine in the subway station!

Tomorrow I have to be a judge for the "fashion show." I find this hilarious, since I am not the least bit fashionable, ESPECIALLY by Korean standards. Also, when I was younger I was in a fashion show and I literally, ran down the runway. I was a tomboy and did not want to have anything to do with that mess! Also, I personally think "fashion" is a huge waste of time and money. But whatever, it'll probably be fun with little kids.

Anyway, I hope I get to see some of my kids tomorrow at the festival! I miss them on the weekends! Even the totally goober ones. We are now up to 20 students. It's a pretty packed classroom and getting the new kids up to speed is a challenge, but they can be entertaining. I know I'm a terrible person for thinking this, but one new girl is almost comical in her patheticness. I try to get her to smile, but she just has the most sad sack looking face ALL the time. She is very Eeyore. I haven't quite figured out how to make her smile, but I'm going to keep trying. It just makes me laugh a little when the kids act so downtrodden. Like their lives in posh preschool is soooo hard. But that is why I love little kids, they are so silly, even when sad. And I can't really talk, I suppose. All my complaints are total first world champagne problems. Oh waaa, I have electricity and I have to pay for it, waaaa. Plus, I don't really remember being four but I'm sure I was pretty ridiculous as well. I'm certain I have family that can attest to that. Actually, I'm still pretty ridiculous so again, can't really talk.

So that's what going these days. All kinds of silliness at school. So much to do, but I like being busy. I just made an awesome display at school that I'm pretty proud of. I'll take a picture..I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well. I also started a pen pal program with a friend at home and I'm really excited about that. I am really excited for both sets of kids to learn about the differences between the two schools. I think it will be such a great thing for them, getting a world view at such a young age. I'm such a nerd, but I love doing fun projects at school! I just wish I had more time and resources to do them. I've complained enough about the after school programs, but those stupid things just suck up all my time and energy and it's such a waste. Moving on!

It's also started getting cooler here. Which is good because I don't have to turn on my cash cow of an AC, but I swear, if there is no fall and it turns into horribly cold winter right away I'm going to be so upset. I really wanted to squeeze one more trip to a beach in sometime before the cold. Fingers crossed! (Again with the first world problems).

Dream big people!