boys like to give me chocolate.

On Friday night I ran out of trash bags and I needed to buy some more asap, because in Korea you can't just throw your trash away in any old bag. There are several different types and even more sizes which are all coded. I looked up the Korean translation for "May I have some regular size trash bags please?"  It goes something like this: "Sseulaegi bongtu juseyo?"  And apparently my pronunciation is getting better because the clerk didn't even squint her eyes, raise her eyebrows, or ask me to repeat myself.  It felt so natural when she said "Olmana mani wonhashimnikkah?" (how many do you want) and I was able to answer and happily exit the store with the correct number of trash bags in hand. It was a small victory, yes, but it made my night :-)

We had our monthly kindergarten birthday party on Friday and 4 of my kiddies have birthdays in February.  The first time I saw one of the POLY birthday parties I was amazed.  I couldn't believe how elaborate they were!  Each class who has a student with a birthday that month has to perform a song at the birthday party and the birthday kids each recite a speech they have written about their birthday.  All of my birthday girls were wearing pretty princess dresses and my birthday boy was decked out in a gray suit.  They were SO adorable!

Alison - my birthday girl in Cygnus class

Christina, Jacob, and Jane - The Taurus birthday group ^.^

Just look at that swagger, what a heart breaker~

My birthday princess Christina~

I told you Christina was in love with Jacob~

Cygnus performing "The Addams Family"

Taurus performing "I Believe I Can Fly"

Cake Time!

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We made puppets in class the other day and I couldn't help but take a few photos, my kids are just too darn cute!

Vivian - she came back from vacation w/missing teeth, love

Charlie and his crocodile puppet

Shiloh

One of my 2nd grade classes <3

Andy, one of my 1st graders apparently scraped himself up a bit yesterday and I sent him to the front desk to get some ointment to put on his scrapes.  After he came back, we could tell he was still really uncomfortable.   He was trying not to touch his face, and then my sweet Hannah started fanning him.  It was so cute and funny and I love how his face looks so gangster in these photos~

He's got it made.

The Good girl & The Gangsta

 On Saturday I went to Ilsan to visit Eunice.  While I was on my way, I got picked up by two Korean military guys.  I must say, one of them had a pretty good pick up line.  First, I spot two Korean guys in uniform out of the corner of my eye, and then one walks up to me and says, "Do you like chocolate?"  How could I say no?  "Yes, I like chocolate," I manage to choke out between laughs.  "Here you go," one of the boys says as he hands me a Ferrero Rocher while the other stands on the sidelines cracking up.  I ended up talking to them for a while on the subway.  One of them could speak a little English and he would pause every few minutes trying to think of things to say to me.  It was entertaining :-)

The funny boys who gave me chocolate~

When I met up with Eunice, she was waiting for me in the subway and we had lunch at a fantastic Indian restaurant located in a nearby shopping area.  The food was AMAZING!  I'm craving it right now...

Chicken Tikka

Garlic Naan and a spicy, creamy, tomato-y sauce I forgot the name of~

Afterward, we walked around and did a little window shopping, had some coffee, and saw a movie.  It was so nice to catch up with her and have a lot of girl talk :-)

Eunice trying on bows to buy for her baby niece

Eunice & I

It was quite a trek coming back from Ilsan by subway and I got home around midnight.  On Sunday morning, I went to church with Peaches, who is one of my coworkers from Poly.  She started her contract about a month after me, but has been in Korea for a little over a year teaching.  She speaks Korean really well and has helped me out so much since we first met. I think she went to the doctor with me 3 times when I was sick, haha, although we were both being treated on more than one occasion.  We seem to have perpetual colds. 

After church she took me to a popular shopping district which is called "Karasukil."  It's a really nice area and we stumbled upon a few really cute shops.  Korean accessories are so big and bold that they sometimes catch me off-guard, but I love them!  The norm is a little funky, but always very girly.  I decided I needed to start collecting a few interesting accessories to bring back to the states with me so I bought a hair barrette that is shaped like a little top hat~

Shopping

This headband is like $200~

Another obnoxious headband

Peaches trying on a top hat barrette ^.^

We stumbled upon all of these different areas that are set up for people to pose and take pictures.  Peaches told me that it is really common for girls to come dressed up and take photos with these props.  Some even model clothing for internet shops.

I've been trying to write letters lately.  They take quite a while to travel back and forth from Korea to the U.S. but if you'd like to start exchanging snail mail with me, send me your address!  Let's revive this dying art together =)

All my love,

Miss Jones