Fordpride

I'll be honest. It was a little strange not being home/in the country for Christmas. I missed my family and our traditions, but despite these differences, it was still pretty rockin'. I went up and stayed with some friends in Seoul and we had a couple dance parties, good food, and good times. I had a few students come in with little Christmas goodies and that also made my life a little better. The one I got today might be my most interesting gift ever. Yes, I know. I should make movies professionally. I'm considering it. Oh, and that thing they call the eye? Not an eye. It is, in fact, a beak. I had no idea squids had beaks. You can google that, but its gross. I don't recommend it. But I do know you're not supposed to eat it. (I can relate to that kid though. Sometimes I eat things I know I shouldn't. Just because I can. And before I started recording he said he wanted the whole squid, and he pointed to his gut. And that right there made me think ...

(Merry Christmas friends!!) ------- A couple of my friends and fellow English teachers mentioned a few weeks back about how some of their students had told them that Santa had died. We tried figuring out where this lie came from; maybe the students were told this to encourage less requests for gifts, or maybe it was just some random kid trying to make us Westerners believe something wack. Either way, we all agreed it was sad. I mean, Santa can't be dead. He has a job to do. So last week in one of my classes, I was spreading some Christmas cheer by throwing out candy to my students, and I nonchalantly asked if they had Santa Claus in Korea. There were a couple students who said yes, but then there were a couple students who exclaimed: "Santa is dead!" (I'm pretty sure every time someone says that, a reindeer loses an antler) Since my students are older than my friends students, I figured I could try asking them where this absurd information comes from. None other th...

Sometimes I come up with really good ideas. This is one of them. It stemmed from this photo taken last summer. My dear Deanna was in Mexico and we would spend a considerable amount of time gchatting (it's an addiction), making me frequently late to work/class. To honor our relationship, this photo was taken. And I must admit, it is a classic. (PS if anyone needs pointers on how to maintain a successful long distance relationship, Deanna and I have mastered the art.) Fast forward to about a month ago. Webcam+camera+friends=success Now, this is a fairly recent phenomena, so if you would like to chat via webcam/have a photo taken, let me know. We'll make it happen. Rachel was the first. This was taken at school. Bringing a webcam to school to entertain me=second best idea ever. Since Todd doesn't read my blog, I have no qualms in posting this next photo. It is both terrifying and comical. Like unto our relationship. This is just a good one. Darren, you have never look...

Why, this is! Don't recognize him? How about now? Yes, he is the one and only Ahmal James from the hit blockbuster sequel, Sister Act 2 ! Fun fact: He wrote the hit song "Miami" for Will Smith He was also in the group City High, who gave us this gem: He is full of genius. Obviously.

in direct relation to my wake-up call fire drill, i slept in and neglected to take a shower. this meant hair was back and my forehead was exposed, in all its glory. it must've been the first time my tuesday classes saw me like this because the first thing a student said when i walked in was (pointing to his forehead) "wow, teacher, very big!" thank you, child. thank you. ------------ saturday night i went up to seoul to see a performance of handel's messiah. it was beautiful and the best thing to get me more in the christmas spirit. - i took the metro back home and about 7 stops from my city, i heard some american voices. i looked down the train and was surprised to see a couple of my friends on their way home from drinking. it was so random! i only say they were drinking because of the following reasons: 1. they went to this bar crawl where you had to dress up like an animal. so, they were wearing animal outfits. they definitely got some good looks. 2. the m...

There are a lot of cultural differences between the U.S. and Korea. Forks vs. chopsticks, for example. But one thing I was not anticipating was the amount of physical touching between human beings. In Korea, its not really awesome to have a lot of PDA with a significant other. There are signs on the subway that show its not cool to kiss a boyfriend or girlfriend on the train. But when you're not dating someone, it seems like anything goes. Especially for people of the same sex. I mean, its cute when you see two old ladies walking down the street, holding hands or linking arms, making sure they don't fall. But what I'm really surprised about is the amount of touching that goes on between my students. Yes, my students at the all boys middle school. They hold hands. They link arms. We're watching a movie this week, and they have cuddled up with each other on the floor. And thats just the beginning...but I'll stop now. You get the picture. But we're talking ...

The buzzing seems to get louder and louder as I turn over in my bed and fumble for my phone. The numbers light up as soon as I push a button. 5:23 am. Ugh. At first I'm a little dazed as to what is happening. It's too early and my level of functioning is low. Then, in a moment of inspiration, I realize that the sound is my buildings fire alarm. Great. My first reaction: put on pants My second reaction: pack my laptop in my purse in case the building goes up in flames. Once I put my laptop in my purse, however, I figured out I was probably jumping the gun. I decided to do some investigative work to see if I should jump this conclusion. I looked out the window to see if the rest of the tenants were gathering. There were none. So then I looked into the hallway. The alarm was flashing and beeping and I hated it. But I did not see one person leave their apartment. I went back to the window. Two women had made their way down there. They then proceeded to have a conversation ...