graduation dances

So this week is my last week, but my last day isn't until Friday. I felt a little sad yesterday saying good-bye to some of the kids, but I don't think it will feel real until my final day.

We had our graduation ceremony last Friday. There was a colorful stage and flashy costumes-- I felt like a child pageant mom at one point. Of course I recorded some snippets to remember this by!

Barbie Girl from that girl on Vimeo.

Streamers from that girl on Vimeo.

Hey Mickey from that girl on Vimeo.

So Shy from that girl on Vimeo.

singing in the rain

Today I'm off to watch my kids graduate. I'm nervous/excited.

Anyway, to take my mind off of it I watched 'Singing in the Rain' last night. I'm sure everyone knows that song, but I've never seen the movie that it's in. Well, I really enjoyed it! I'm in love with Gene Kelly I've decided. Also, he's from Pittsburgh which I don't think I knew, but yet when I read it this morning I wasn't surprised. I can sort of recall seeing his name in signs in the Cultural District, but I never thought twice about it. So, even though that town bred a lot of losers, I'm going to get rid of that chip on my shoulder just because it gave us someone as awesome as Gene Kelly!

Another reason why this movie is awesome: They riff a terrible movie in it. And Debbie Reynolds is super cute! I want her hair in this movie, but then again it seems like too much commitment. We'll see.

last birthday party and pre-grad

Currently my emotions are constantly fluctuating. I think the reality that I have two weeks left can't sink in most of the time.

Every month we have a birthday party or field trip. It's hard for me to wrap around my head that this was the last one I'll be celebrating with my kids. Anyway, instead of waxing philosophical I'll just post some pictures.

They start them young--learning those Korean pop moves.

Jimmy! He's so cute I want one just like him.

What do I do in a day? Teach, referee, hug, play, discipline, clean... Basically I'm Mary friggin Poppins.

let it calm you amidst a sea of chaos

I'm closer to the end than I realized. And for once I don't have a plan ready. I'm just going with the flow and fine tuning and trusting my instincts.

Artwork by my student Annie. Guess which one I am!

in a year things change yet stay the same

Once upon a time, almost a year ago, a girl moved to Korea to teach. She escaped one of the harshest winters of her life, yet somehow managed to bring the snow with her only a week into her stay.
Now the girl's mother has come to visit from the same place, only to bring the snow again. The only thing that seems different is that some of the buildings have been torn down.

Best part though, is that I didn't have work then and I didn't work today. Best Valentine ever, thank you!

bexco 3D art

We went to BEXCO for a 3D art exhibit. Basically it's just multiple opportunities to pose and get some funny pictures. I must have assimilated into Korean culture because I found this to be immensely fun.

This isn't even half of the pictures we took. Just wish we had more time and space to plan out the shots, the venue was swarming with people. My favorite was the giant T-Rex.

want some cheese with your wine?

Aw, thank you Packers. I owe you one.

Anyway, we went skiing on Thursday. It was a small resort north of Busan called Eden Valley.
In my opinion it was overpriced, but I have never snowboarded before to compare with. Even if I did fall down and it took two hours to get down the slopes, I still had fun!

seomyeon salsa

I lied. I don't have snowboarding pictures yet. But I will post what we did last night-- Korean salsa!

I have salsa danced in San Francisco, but I'll tell you what-- I was pretty intimidated here last night. Cici said it best: "Man, this is hardcore!" Also, I am not used to their incorporation of K-Pop in their salsa dancing.

The place is a little underground club in Seomyeon called Latino. I had a blast.



















They call it line dancing, which makes me think of hoedowns. It is not country at all. Also, I love that the men totally get into it. Unabashedly shaking their shoulders and hips all sexy.

lunar new year's

It's holiday time in Korea and this is how we celebrated!

Day 1-
It was Jazz night at Monk's. I really enjoyed it, and it has gotten me more excited for New Orleans. We decided tonight was going to be our "Classy" night.






I received a bottle of wine for a Lunar New Year's gift, so we decided to head to a Noraebang to drink it. This marks the second time I've ever been in said establishment. We found a great place that has a billboard out front with roses on it. We chose it because some of the rooms had windows that overlooks the street. You couldn't drink alcohol inside but we snuck it in anyhow... KARMA-- we spilled it over the floor and I had to sacrifice my socks to clean it up.





It had a... fireman's pole* in the room! *I am aiming for a PG-13 rating in my blogs now.












I'm always amazed by the weird variety they have. My best song of the night was the 'Numa Numa' song.





We ended our night in KSU by heading to Kino Eye and grabbing some more wine. Man, do I have a million memories of this place.







Actually, the night ended at my place where we watched 'The Office.' Next up-- snowboarding at Eden Valley!