On the Mark: So this is the new year...

Sorry that this entry is a tad overdue! I can't even use the excuse that I've been busy, because I honestly haven't. On Thursday, I started my 5 day winter camp, believing it would be 11 students (all 7th graders) for 4 hours each day. But when I showed up for class, only 6 students were there and I was told by all of them (including my most honest, trustworthy student) that their Korean teachers had told them that class was only 3 hours. Since only about five or six (out of about forty-five) teachers have to come in for a winter camp, there isn't exactly anyone to ask. So...*shrug* It has cut my planning down a lot and allowed for more flexibility in the schedule. I usually wait for about 10-15 minutes for the students to trickle in (at 9:30, there's usually only 1 or 2 students there), then we do speaking activities/games for about 40 minutes. They get a 5-7 minute break, then we start with writing. This includes grammar worksheets, vocab, and creative writing. Finally, after another short break, we play Scrabble for about 30 minutes and then round off the day by watching Pan's Labyrinth. I really wanted to show them a fun movie that would help them with listening skills, but I couldn't find ANY that were subtitled and my DVD player on my classroom computer is broken. So I checked out Pan's Labyrinth and the subtitles aren't too difficult, plus it helps them with speed reading. They've really enjoyed it so far, as dark as it is. I would *never* consider showing this to an American middle school class, but my Korean students are watching things like Saw 4 and 28 Days Later in their homeroom classes...so...Koreans don't really take the age ratings as seriously as Americans.

But really, I love my kids. I have two new boys in the class, but they're pretty sweet, even if their level is below that of the girls. And my girls...what can I say. I have such high hopes for them, especially Narae, the Korean version of Hermione from Harry Potter. When I first met her, she seemed so goody-goody and studious, but after having her every Wednesday and Friday in my afternoon class, I realize how sarcastic and silly she can be. She and her two friends, Jisu and Gyeonghye, are a bit like a three-headed hurricane in the class. Even though they listen well when they know they should be listening, as soon as we're playing a game or doing partner work, they turn spastic. With Narae as the sarcastic, witty one, Gyeonghye as the shameless and the mischevious one, and Jisu as relaxed, classic-rock lover, they make an interesting trio. I hope they stay friends even after they move into high school.

The CUA crew went out to dinner in Itaewon on Friday that finished around 11 pm. Dean and I parted ways with the rest of the gals and made it all the way back to Sadang (our second transfer station) before we realized that we didn't want to just go watch tv in the apartment. So on an impulse, we hopped back on the blue line and headed towards Dongdaemun, Seoul's most famous shopping district. It's comprised of about a dozen or so giant buildings, filled with boutiques and stores of jewelry, sunglasses, shoes, bags, women's clothes, men's clothes, fake purses, scarves, etc. The stores there stay open until 5 AM and re-open at 10:30 AM. There were tons of shoppers out and we didn't leave until 3 AM. It was a good, good time.

The Cheonggye Stream runs right beside Dongdaemun, so Dean and I strolled around the stream for a little bit. Here's Dean posing in his great new jacket on some of the stones.