Monday, February 27, 2012

Let's try this again.

Hi. My name is Page. Apparently I have this blog thing. All these months, I kept thinking there was something I was forgetting!

Jokes aside, life's been good. Summer ended and changed into fall, which was a shock, to be honest. A nice one, sure, but after all those years of Texas "I'm gonna stick with my two favorite temperatures: hell, or a bit nippy" weather, it left me a bit thrown. Trees come in colors other than green and dead brown! There's a reason for fall clothing lines! Winter can actually be cold!

South Korea did let me down, though. I was expecting snow. Lots of snow. I only got about...oh, 4 inches? The most I saw, though, was at this ski resort some friends and I went to in Pyeongyang. It was very pretty, but oh so cold! Not very good for skiing, either.

Ha, the fact that I can even say that is amazing. I feel a little silly for it, though, since it was only my first time skiing. I picked it up surprisingly fast, though, considering I absolutely abhor waterskiing, wake boarding, knee boarding, boogie boarding, or any of water-sport varieties. I even went down the intermediate course and only wiped out, like, 2 times. Take that, Harry Born! :D

I make this face at school ALL THE TIME.
Well, really just all the time. 
As for news other than travel and weather, we had a Christmas. It was good. My lovely mother spent way too much money to send me presents. My lovely uncles spent way too much money to send me a present as well, but due to some major problems with customs and Fedex, it never arrived. Not to worry - there's a summer trip home in the works, so we should be able to work something out. Even though it wasn't really my fault, I still feel pretty bad about it.

Aaaand that's about it. January and February have been extremely quiet and - dare I say it - boring, since I've decided to try out hibernation. It's really a lovely process, all sorts of interesting stains on my ceiling that will be cleaned once spring rolls around. And may I just say, having watched all three movies in one night, the Paranormal Activity trilogy is horrible and whoever made them has a special level reserved for them in hell. I've a tab open in my internet browser about finding holy water in South Korea, so.

Work has been good, though. Stressful, since it's the new year and thus time for new students to come flocking to our doors, but incredibly satisfying. We just finished the winter semester, and thinking about how much my students have improved always puts a smile on my face. That, coupled with the changes the new principal (원장님) is making, are really setting this next semester to be a good one. My students are adorable and hard-working little buggers, and they are constantly trying to please me and make me laugh. I've created a bit of a monster though, with my high-fives. Most of my interactions with the younger kids goes like this:

My student playing with
my brand-new iPhone
Me: "Hello, ____! How are you?"

Student: "Hello, teacher. Good."

Me: "Give me a high-five!"

(Said student gives an evil smile and stretches their hand. And then I get the most painful high-five of my life.)

I can't feel too bad about it, though. It makes them loosen up and smile, seeing me grimace and wince like a Family Guy episode. And in exchange, I get students that are comfortable and excited to come to class. Win-win.

Anyways, it's late and I should be getting to bed for our big first day tomorrow. One last thing to share, from one of my favorite students Jenny. She's a bit odd, but enthusiastic and definitely not afraid to share her opinion:
Yes, Jenny. Buddha, indeed. 

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