You couldn't paint beauty like this

On Sunday October 24, I went on a hike with my friend Aidan. We went to Bukhansan mountain again. This time we took a different route to get to the peak. I struggled much more with this hike, but luckily Aidan was very helpful and supportive the whole way up!

 The colors were magical. There were so many different colors on the leaves

 At times when the light came through the trees, it was like all was right with the world.

 Natural Beauty at its finest.

 I have had concerns and questions circling through my mind the last week or two, and this hike really helped to make everything stay at a standstill....for just a few moments.....but it was long enough

 Me...exhausted =)

 At one point on the mountain we had to wait in line to walk up a path. I had to stop because I was so irritated.

It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday. We were exhausted on the way home. It is the perfect time of year to go hiking, and at any moment the leaves could change again, and it could be too cold. I am grateful I was able to experience the true beauty that Korea's countryside had to offer!

It's begining to look a lot like....Halloween

I love October. It is the start of Fall, and that means it is that much closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the holidays. My school is gearing up big time for Halloween. The Korean teachers have been hard at work decorating the halls of our school. It has been a lot of fun teaching my kids our new Halloween song. We are singing "This is Halloween" from the nightmare before Christmas. The kids are really enjoying the song. Coming from a family that loves music/musicals/performing....I am practicing patience, and the art of understanding that things don't have to be perfect. No matter what I say, korean children will always sing in a high pitch voice and add an "a" to random words. It the way that English is translated to them. They will say, "I am going to sleep in the a bed. I took a soup to a mom." I have yet to figure out a way to break them of this habit.

 Graduation. Personally, I don't remember it made such a big deal when I was moved up from Kindergarten to first grade. They were so cute in their outfits. The school year ends in March, ,so if I stay in Korea past March, I will get a whole new set of kids. It was rough coming into the school mid-year. It was really hard on me because I felt like people thought I was replacing the teacher before me...like I wasn't my own person. It was also very hard on the kids because they had built a bond with the other teacher, and given her their trust. We are adapting quite well however =)

 I taught my kids this. I was feeling silly and we were making faces. I told them to squeeze their cheeks together, and then try to smile. They all got a big kick out of it. It may not show it through the photos, but this kid is Danny...he is the smartest kid in my class.

 This is Erin, she's my favorite.

 Friday was a fun day for us because it was birthday party day. Any kid in the school who has a birthday in the month of October receives a gift from each kid in his class, and all the classes make cards, and we take pictures and set up a feast. On the left we have Korean pizza (no where near as good as American pizza) Next we have gimbop....sort of like a mild sushi roll. I love these! Then fruit, delicious cake, and seyon-pyoung. It is like a rice cake cooked with honey inside....gross! The crackers on the right, I was told they are just like vanilla wafers.

And now it is time to sing Happy Birthday to the kids

 Here is Zack teacher trying to teach the kids to sing in opera. It was really funny.

Here is Erin (my favorite) again. We are makign Halloween hats. Her birthday is in November, and I overheard her telling the kids "ok hey hey pay attention. My birthday is November, and you can give me clothes! Hear me, I want clothes"

 Haha. This kids just doesn't have a clue. His name is Barry. God bless his little heart, but he is so slow, and just doesn't understand anything I am trying to teach. He has started to hit the other kids, so now we have major issues. I think he is sad that he is so different because he can't do things as well.

We had a major issue with this one. This is a review of what we have been working on for the last 2 weeks. Since it was birthday party day, I decided to skip all lesson plans and do a serious review. I asked them to write the word in plural form, and then make the 2 words on the left into 1. It took about 40 minutes, and some kids didn't get it at all. Some of them really did. I think I will continue to re teach these lessons, until it is embedded in their minds.

An experience.....

Today I was walking with my friend Nicola to the gym We were crossing the street, she was about 1 step and a half in front of me. I noticed a car hadn't slowed down and before I could say her name, maybe it
happened too quickly or maybe I froze for a second. Before I could say her name the car smashed into Nicola! It seemed to have happened in slow motion. The car hit her and her body went lifeless as it went into the air before she came crashing down. She immediately started screaming, and I dropped my bag and ran over to her not knowing what to do first. I knew I shouldn't touch her or roll her over. Another foreigner ran over and started speaking korean to someone and got them to call the police. We covered her body with his jacket because her jeans had been pulled down. Her hands were bloody and she had dirt and scrapes all over her. Luckily the guy pulled over and for the next hour and a half we dealt with the police as she rode to the hospital in an ambulance. I wrote the license plate number on my hand and the other foreigner took pictures and actually went back to our school to get Eunice (manager) so she could come and translate with us. I think he could see the panic in my eyes and hear it in my voice. I rode with the police and the guy that hit her to the ER...I was not about to let this guy leave my sight for even a second!
In the ER they tried to ask nicola a question, but she couldn't even formulate a sentence because she was in such a state of shock, not to mention had no idea what the Dr's or policemen were saying. When our manager arrived, I went to the police station to fill out a report. The guy at first was trying to say the light was yellow but he later admitted everything to be his fault. Another man I work with was at the station also and translating my side of the story. As soon as the words came out of my mouth I started bawling. Usually you never see the actual accident itself, you usually see it right after ya know. It was awful. I can't imagine what she is going through. When I talked to Nicola later about what she remembered, she said she heard me shout her name and just as she turned around she was hit. She said she was in the ambulance calling out my name and wondering why I wasn't there. When i got to the hospital, she said she couldn't even recognize me. She said she had never seen me so pale,

We take advantage of the people we love, and the ones that love us. We always think that we can tell them tomorrow or on a special occasion that we LOVE them. Why is it that we take time to do smaller things? We take time to make sure that we get our morning coffee, or our gossip magazine at the store, maybe a happy hour drink, or a shiny new car wash. So why is it that we forget constantly to take time, even as short as 5 seconds to say I love you. I am grateful for you. I am in love with you. I admire you. I look up to you. I cherish you in my life. Say the words outloud..."I love you" less than 5 seconds.
Since we are naturally selfish and like to do things that help us......just know that by reminding those we love around us just how special we are will make us feel good about ourselves. Win-Win

It's my life

Every month we teach our class a song and dance. I gave my kids kids about 5 different songs to choose from and the chose "It's my life" by Bon Jovi. It is a good way for them to learn to pronounce more English words, and also a way for the kids to have fun during the school day. It is a little stressful to teach them because some of them will pay atention, and some will just stare off into the sky. The few times that the kids actually get it right.....makes it all worth it =)

Each class performs it on "performance day" in front of the other classes. Of course the other kids have a hard time sitting still, and when the kids get on stage they all wave at the other kids like they are rockstars.
Of course the teachers love it, because this just means that it is less time for us to have to teach!
I tried to upload the video of my kids performing but it wouldn't work. My kids did a great job. They were so cute! It is funny to watch the dance and see what kids did well and which kids were too worried about their friend next to them not doing the right move.

At dinner with Aidan andhis parents. I am an America girl, having dinner with an Irish family, at a Greek restaurant, in Korea.  The food was delicious, and when you looked out the window all you could see were signs that were in English. Kind of funny, because for just a split second it seemed like we weren't in Korea. I really enjoyed spending time with Aidan and his parents for the week they were in town. It was a comforting feeling to be around a family, and go out for dinner. Definitely made me miss my family. I would love to share this experience with my family. I think it would be neat to see how people from my life back home would react to Korea.