Thanksgiving, Finals, and Airstrikes

Hello everyone!
The holiday season is underway! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing for that...maybe skyping with the fam and watching them eat turkey via webcam.

We're on the last leg of the semester now, as students have a week before the final exams. What puzzles me are the three weeks of classes we have after the exam. I'm not sure how I will keep my students motivated and interested, but I'm sure there will be a Christmas lesson and New Year's resolution lesson in their somewhere. Now I'm just going through the daily grind of teaching, and I can tell all the teachers are ready for the semester to end.

I also wanted to make a quick response to the airstrike that happened on a small island off of the west coast of Korea. Many friends and family have sent messages voicing concern and curiosity, and I just want everyone to know that things are fine here. Everyone is going about their business as usual (what else can they do), and the vibes I'm picking up are not of great worry. If you can recall, I was here this spring when the North sunk a Southern navy vessel. I saw on our American news outlets the hype that the event was getting. In all actuality, the only real effect we felt here was the South Korean Won's value dipping down a bit, which was annoying for us westerners transferring money home. So I'm thinking the same predictable outcome will happen with this event...threats from both sides, finger pointing, and eventually back to normal (that's how it's been here for over 50 years). So don't let the CNN's and FOX News people freak you out. I'm perfectly fine, but appreciate your concern.

I will also post the rock concert video on the blog soon. Thanks for waiting.

Video from the Donghak Festival

This video was taken in the 'English Zone' of the daytime activities. Students competed in various games, and this one is the singing contest. They try to memorize classic songs like 'Old McDonald' and 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes'. If they make a mistake, one of our English teachers gets to bop them in the head with a toy mallet. Pretty funny.


The games were played in the morning, and the afternoon consisted of sports challenges. Each class competed in a tug-of-war match. Every class chose a kind of uniform to wear for the festival, and in this case, the class chose teddy bear onesie pajama's.



This is the championship round of tug-of-war for the 9th graders. The gym teacher refereeing the match (also our lead singer in the band) made a bet with me on the two final teams. He chose the dinosaur uniforms and I chose the pink sweatshirt team. The dinosaurs ended up winning, and they wouldn't let me forget it. Also notice how the gym teacher points the gun at the kids to get their attention (hilarious).



This is a quick preview of the stage they were setting up prior to the start of the talent show. Pretty nice for a middle school carnival.

Rock Debut

I realize this is not the concert video, but right before it. I will post the actual concert soon, along with some other videos of the festivals daytime activities.