즐거운 크리쓰마쓰 (Joyful Christmas!)

Quirky Korea: Purchase of the month--a blanket with our Special K! J

Last Saturday Aaron and I held a Christmas party at our apartment. We had 18 friends and teachers nestled in our apartment with homemade sangria, mulled wine, and cookie decorating. It’s always a treat when we have food that reminds us of home and this party was a true treat. People brought anything from twice baked potatoes, meatballs, shrimp, deviled eggs, salsa, and even a homemade cheeseball! It was a good time! We also had a white elephant gift exchange. Aaron ended up with a pair of Obama socks, a bowl made out of gourd (which looks more like a "nut" cup but is pretty cool), and a book titled Shopoholic and Baby (he’s just biting at the bit to read it). I actually ended up with 5 beers...GOOD imported beers which is a rare/expensive find in Korea. You could tell that many of us were from the mid-west as Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup was a hot commodity during the exchange! We feel lucky to have great friends and colleagues!

Today was my last day at school for the official school year. I can’t express enough gratitude for my fellow teachers and students. Their incessant kindness has made me feel more than welcome. Today I had students wishing me a Merry Christmas and giving me Christmas cards although they do not celebrate it themselves. I would like to share one such card from one of my students to give you an idea. It had me smiling for the rest of the day:

Hello Kelly teacher~

I’m Lee Seung-yeon. 12.25 is happy Christmas! This year is funny because we made English newspaper so I’m proud of my newspaper and Kelly teacher come to daechonli middle school ^.^ My friends said, “Kelly teacher looks like Emma Watson.” “Kelly teacher is very cute!” Hahahahaha ^^ But I think that Kelly teacher is very kind and funny ^.^ And you teach christmas song. The song is very wonderful! So sometimes I sing a song. Thank you Kelly teacher and Merry Christmas!

Aaron and I are watching some Christmas films tonight with friends, hot chocolate, and homemade popcorn (saturated in butter of course). On Christmas we’ll make homemade cinnamon rolls, open gifts, and then head to a friends for a potluck and music. It’s difficult to think of family and friends back home, but, ironically, the distance seems to make them feel closer than ever.

Merry Christmas to all near and far!

-Callie

Friends, Food, and Michael Jackson

I suppose it’s about time we (I) update this thing! Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to!

We celebrated Thanksgiving Day with close friends at TGI Fridays here in Busan—French fries never tasted so good! A few days later we had an authentic Thanksgiving potluck dinner with more friends and all the fixings! By the way, if you’re looking for a good stuffing recipe, this is it! Both of us are finding that family feels the furthest away on holidays, but we’re blessed to have each other and the wonderful people we’ve met here during the times when we miss our families most.

School continues to go well for me. During the past week I’ve had the chance to dip back into my newspaper skills from high school and finish up the first English newspaper at my school. It felt good to teach writing and editing—something enjoy and feel comfortable teaching. The students did a fantastic job, and I really liked getting to know them on a more personal level.

This past week I taught a lesson on “Changing the World” to my second graders. Their books discussed people who had changed the world. I admit, one frustration with teaching English grammar and conversation is being unable to have discussions with my students. I want nothing more than to discover what’s really going on in their minds in regards to themselves and the world. I looked at this as an opportunity to do just that. So, what better way to get those minds rolling than through Michael Jackson! I taught them “Heal the World” and, surprisingly, most of them already knew the lyrics! With some translation help from my co-teacher, we managed to brainstorm world problems, identify solutions and learn some English grammar along the way. It was one of the moments that teachers live for— discovering your students know and critically think about the world more than you ever imagined! My students rambled off problems such as global warming, the North/South Korean conflict, orphans, generational poverty, overpopulation, and even the Bermuda Triangle!

And, at the end of the lesson, as we all sang “Heal the World” together again, I got a warm fuzzy feeling like we were all one big family. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit cheesy, but it reassured why I was standing in that classroom and teaching those students. We are one big family. We worry about the same issues, we desire the same securities, and we fear the same consequences. My job as their teacher is to help them understand what it means to be a part of this world family. If I am willing to come all the way across the globe to teach them, then I must care about them as part of this larger family. And their job as my students is to help me learn more about their role in this global family. My hope for us all is that we can strive to have the same attitude towards the world and seek community rather than conflict with each other. I couldn’t agree more with Nelson Mandela when he said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We are all each other’s educators.

On another note, Aaron and I have had some fun “dates” over the past few weeks. We’ve done some more hiking around Busan, explored one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Korea, and relaxed on the beach of the Pacific (I suppose the only plus to having no snow!). Aaron volunteered at a local orphanage this past weekend while I went on a retreat with my fellow teachers. We’ve also spent some time decorating our apartment for Christmas (Aaron is the KING at cutting out snowflakes--see top photo), writing Christmas cards, and listening to Christmas music entirely too much. We’re looking forward to holding a holiday party at our apartment and planning our trip to Japan this January!

Love to all!

-Callie