Never Too Old for Disney

"Some say our destiny is tied to the land, as much a part of us as we are of it. Others say fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change. Some never find it. But there are some who are led."- Merida, Brave

Finally got the chance to watch the movie "Brave" this weekend with a few friends and this quote really stuck with me. After being here a little over 6 months I have met so many people who I never would have met before had I not made the decision to teach in South Korea. I am so grateful for my family and friends back home for supporting me in my decision. I know I don't tell you this enough. When I think about the future and what I will do after my adventure here I honestly am just letting whatever happens happen. Opportunities have funny ways of presenting themselves at the right time. I know that when the time comes to make a decision about what I will do when I grow up (I'll be a kid forever), that some new adventure will turn up.  To keep with this cheesy theme, other Disney movie will be quoted throughout this post- sit back and enjoy!

Bucheon has started to warm up a bit, to the delight of my fingers and toes whom I have missed terribly.  Next week I hope it will continue to follow this trend of warmth as Katrina, Kaitie and I are signed up for a cherry blossom bike tour of Gyeongju. Gyeongju is southeast of Bucheon and was a capital city in Korea from 57 BC to 935 AD (so not exactly recently). The trip will last all weekend during which we will bike around the city admiring the cherry blossoms and other historical sites. The second day we have opted to go for the bus tour instead to give our legs a rest. I'm hoping to learn a lot as well as get some good exercise as we travel around the area!

"For a true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart"- Zeus, Hercules

This past week flew by. I feel like I've been saying that nearly every post, but it is true! Before I know it Katrina, Kaitie and I will be laying on a beach in Boracay soaking up the sun! Before I get ahead of myself though, I'll stick to updating you on current events at Little America. This month I have three songs to teach three different classes for song contests. Naturally, I have my kindergarten girls. They will be performing an adorable rendition of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" which is going to be one of the cutest things ever. Whether they know the words or not is a different story entirely. I keep reminding them that this song is about them, "little girls", and yet they still haven't gotten down what they are "thanking heaben" for. We have a few weeks to work on it, so we will see how that goes. As for my elementary students, we have a song contest at the end of this month as well. One of my classes is a bit...more enthusiastic...(teacher talk for crazy and hyper) therefore I've chosen a song where the boys and girls can fight with each other in a controlled, musical situation. I decided on "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun. When I first printed out the lyrics for my students I felt a bit uneasy about their ability to memorize the song but after hearing it they absolutely love it and some of them have already memorized it! My other elementary class is my most advanced group of 5 girls. I allowed them to choose their own song and they decided on "When Will My Life Begin" from the movie Tangled. While this wouldn't be my first choice, I'm going with it and letting them take the lead on learning the song and choreographing. I'm looking forward to seeing both of my elementary classes perform at the end of this month! The winning classes receive 50 points (which can be used for Market Day. If you are unaware of what Market Day is, please reference the "Salon Du Deliciousness" post from January) as well as a chicken party! Needless to say the students are very motivated to win. I think the teachers are a bit competitive as well despite what they may say.

"What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?"- Timone, The Lion King

Friday, our kindergarteners had a cooking class. The meal for this class was mini-hamburgers. I don't know who comes up with the ideas for cooking classes, but they are always interesting. The students donned their aprons and got to shmushing their meat patties.

My ladybugs

"let me see a BIIIIIG bite!"

 

I don't think that burger will fit...

"Eating greens is a special treat, It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat."-Bambi

After work Friday, Kaitie, Jennifer, Liz and I met with Alex to celebrate her birthday as well as hear all about her recent trip to England and Italy! We enjoyed a delicious Indian meal at our favorite place nearby school as she told us about her journeys. Sounds like the weather was less than ideal, but I suppose that's normal for England. Unfortunately it followed her for a while in Italy as well. Overall she said it was a busy trip but I'm sure she is happy that she could go! Not many people here get to travel outside of Korea. Liz and Jennifer were both jealous of her opportunity to take that trip and are planning an excursion of their own to Norway! My coworkers are such world travelers. After dinner we moved to one of the million cafes nearby to enjoy Alex's birthday cake, which was SO yummy. A blueberry spongecake piled with fruit on top. We talked and caught up until one of use looked at the time and it was already 11:30! Time flies when you're with friends...and eating cake...We said our goodbyes and turned in for the night.

My beautiful coworkers <3

We did some work on it, and there's still 2/3 left!

"Fish are friends, not food"-Bruce the Shark, Finding Nemo

Now, its come to the point where I should acknowledge the elephant in the room. The elephant comes in the form of a North Korean President who has been stirring up some trouble nearby. I receive messages almost daily from friends and family at home wondering if I'm okay, if I am leaving early and coming home, or if I can see rockets flying over Bucheon (okay maybe not that one). I've tried to read accounts of the recent events from different sources and the more I read the more confused I become. I know that the news from home is making my life here seem like I should be sneaking around James-Bond-style on my way to work ready to book it to the airport at any second, while the news here in South Korea acts like there is nothing out of the norm happening. Granted that is slightly true as they have been experiencing these threads for decades and therefore are not concerned. I know that I should not be completely complacent and pretend nothing is going on around me, but I also know that panicking and running around yelling "the sky is falling!" will not help either. I have taken the following steps to prepare for anything that may or may not happen:

1. I have registered with the US Embassy, so that they are aware of my presence here. This not only updates me with any emergency information from the embassy, but it also will provide assistance with getting home if anything does happen. At the moment, the website does not have any apocalyptic warnings or instructions to return home immediately.

2. I have also packed a bag (again completely a just-in-case procedure!) with some clothes, water, granola bars, toiletries, as well as my passport/other identification information in case I need to go somewhere quickly.

Honestly, I am not telling you these things to scare you or make you think I'm living in a war zone! In fact, I hope this will do just the opposite and help you see that I am safe and have backup plans just in case anything happens. I can tell you that I feel safe here. My coworkers have not told us all to go home yet, and until that happens I will remain here in Bucheon as planned. The fact that companies are still doing tours of the DMZ also tells me that things can't be TOO bad right?

"Don't think, and don't worry. If the time comes, you'll know what to do." Mrs. Incredible, The Incredibles

In happier news, I have been accepted into the online masters program at California University of Pennsylvania for their STEM Education program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Throughout my undergraduate experience, hands-on and interactive lesson plans were encouraged to engage students more in their learning. I am excited to be a student again, as strange as that sounds. The program is 10 courses, and I will begin this coming Fall of 2013. While it will be more work to add to my days, this is the best time for me to complete this degree as my responsibilities at school here are nothing compared to teaching in the states. Some of my students asked me why I want to go back to school again after I told them that I was looking at this program. Most of them cannot wait until they never have to study, do homework, or take standardized tests ever again. In fact I think in their journals, when I asked them what would they do if they were president, the majority wrote something along the lines of "No more school, tests, or homework". Another more off-beat student wrote about "Making buildings completely out of gummy candies". He's a special one that one. 

Cheesy moment: You should never stop learning. There are always new things to learn, more places to see, more things to discover. *Blank stares from students*

"Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming, What do we do? We swim!"- Dory, Finding Nemo

Until next time xoxo

Korean phrase of the post: 항상 학생 (hangsang haksaeng)- "always a student"