overall, nothing too "new" - maybe because it is the second time around and it feels like i never left, like the year in seattle was more of an extended vacation.
the crispy air has returned to korea - my favorite. blue skies and sunshine and finally no trace of humidity. but there are still mosquitos - i can't figure that one out.
laugh-at-the-foreigner #2147: riding my bike home with one pedal. my pedal fell off one evening on the way home and i figured it would be faster than walking.
the search for *real* pumpkin and/or the canned variety has begun and has thus far proved to be impossible.
a friend this week told me that her and her friends use the acronym "OinK" for "Only IN Korea" and my "oink" moment this week: administration informed us that they would no longer give us copy paper, only recycled paper with writing on one side. which is annoying, but manageable. and then let us know that they would no longer be providing toilet paper either (they actually enforced it for a few days, but i just went in there and it has reappeared!). either way, they bought a new building very recently - a second campus. but they can't afford paper products.
pepero day celebration #2: basically consisted of children forcing chocolate-covered sticks into my mouth as i walked into class. if you scroll down, this blog even shows the massive stuffed pepero that they sell (frightening).
serious business #3: i've been considering starting a campaign to abolish comic sans in the classroom. every single ESL website has printables that contain fantastic activities! they're just great - besides the fact that i can't stand to look at them. after assailing their ears with a foreign language, i don't need to bombard them visually!
what else? fall! and leaves! if you haven't seen the photos - just a snippet of the lovely fall in the park in bucheon. here is some fall!
a few good quotes #634: favorite from midterms was "firstable,...secondable,..."
and apparently, on halloween we "wear terror cloth".
the marriage proposal, for those who inquired, was a twelfth grade student. usually, they just ask or declare "marry me" but this bold kid actually got down on his knee (during class, of course) and gave me a bottle cap ring. the other day, that class called me "mrs." and i asked them if they knew the difference - they said they knew and when i asked why they called me mrs, they all said i was married to him. so i'm not sure how that happened. i never said yes.
on a for-serious serious note, this new church has been life-giving. students come with us to friday night worship and have both made a huge impact and been greatly blessed. there are a few people from seattle (always nice to have home-cityers around) and there is a strong sense of community.
talk to you again soon. i promise (i think).
Never knew you had such strong feelings about Comic Sans! Sure hope you can get that bike pedal fixed so you can ride while the air is crisp and leaves are pretty. Your worship community sounds like such a blessing - glad you found it (just be careful on that midnight subway ride home). Happy Thanksgiving Korean-style! xox
ReplyDeleteno way! this thanksgiving is AMERICAN style! no rice cakes or kimchi...for that i am thankful.
ReplyDelete