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.