I Do Not Remember THAT Part of the Story

The following is a section from a child's novel study homework. The novel? The Cricket in Times Square. The assignment? Define 10 vocabulary words from Chapter 10. The result? A correct definition but in a very incorrect context.

Don't see it? Look closer...

I would like to send a special thanks to my friend and co-worker Jennifer. Without her, this post would not have been possible, and this gem would have gone unnoticed. Don't worry, no Korean children were harmed in the making of this post. If the student had known the meaning of the words she had written, it wouldn't have been written at all.

Happy White Day!

Men, get your chocolates in the mail...you can send them To: ME; In: SOUTH KOREA. White Day is celebrated one month after Valentine's Day on March 14th. If a girl, Sally, gives the boy she likes chocolates on Valentine's Day and he, James, feels the same about her, she will receive chocolate from him on White Day. The month long wait period seems a tad unnecessary, but hey, those are the rules. If Sally still likes James when he gives her the chocolates one month later, then maybe they were meant to be.

As for my classroom Valentine's and White Day practices, I have not been picky. Boy or girl, I have told them they need to bring me chocolate, it is even their homework. (Don't worry, even with the language barrier I have made it clear to most of these kids that I am joking. (Except I am joking, but not really joking if you know what I mean.)) A few of my students, whom I really love, did give me candy. For any teachers out there, you know how good it feels when the kids give you something, even if it is a brown nosing move.

I have been here for almost 5 months now, and I can't believe it has been this long because it has gone by so fast. I really love some of the kids so much, and you can't walk down the street without seeing the cutest babies. While we are on the subject of babies, I am pretty sure each Korean child is given a cell phone upon exiting the womb. It is like a departing gift showing the newborn appreciation for choosing their mother as their life provider. This experience has taught me that I am officially an old woman in two ways, both pertaining to cell phones, or "hand pones" as the kiddos call them.

1.) "When I was your age, we didn't have cell phones. I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 17!" GASP! I hate to admit that I have spoken this phrase more than once...I might as well add that I had to walk uphill both ways to school bare foot...and that over there used to be a field.

2.) Whenever I have to take away a student's cell phone in class, I show it to the others and say "Look at my new cell phone!" or "Hold on a sec, I need to call [student's name] boyfriend or girlfriend." I crack myself up everytime.

I think once I have crossed that bridge there is no going back. My days of house shoes and bad dye jobs are right around the corner, so I might as well enjoy what little time I have leftover.

Who Needs a Gym Membership?

Not this girl! Here in South Korea, I have continually been surprised by the plethora of outdoor gym equipment available in the most unexpected of places. In many parks and along river pathways, even on the side of hiking trails, one can stop to do a few leg-ups or elliptical reps to keep the body as fit as the mind. On a gorgeous winter day, a few friends and I stopped to do just this. Here is the evidence to prove it.

One machine I have never used in my life, or ever even seen in an American gym (perhaps I was not very observant) is one in which you lift your entire body weight...and trust me folks, that is a challenge.

We were the only equipment users under the age of 70, and that is fairly normal. Leave the gym membership payments to the youngins. One good natured ajuma (those seem to be very hard to come by) was nice enough to let us take a photo of her on the machine...I believe she struggled just as much as I did.

It was a great day that left us feeling sore in our core. Thank you, South Korea, for giving me the opportunity to work out for free.