So lets start off with the random events first. Hayley has left and is now getting ready to work in Malaysia. Laura is our new foreign worker at school and she seems nice. My friend Matsuko has to leave Korea earlier than planned so she came to visit for a weekend and we watched the Hobbit in theaters after we caught her up on the first movie. The two Hobbit movies are very different as the first movie focuses on relationships and the second more on action but I enjoyed both. I won't go into details as I don't want to spoil the movie for those of you who have not seen it yet. I really enjoy going to the movies here and should do so more often.
Anyway, while with Matsuko, we decided to check out some cat cafes as she hasn't been to one and we ended up going to both of the ones in Seohyeon. As I was always around cats, it was interesting to see how she reacted to the cats. She is definitely more of a dog person and I think she only found one cat that she was comfortable around but that's okay. I of course had a cat jump on my lap at both cat cafes so I was happy. (Sorry Bree, Gremlin, and Jasper.... I cheated on you again T.T) Cat cafes are definitely nice though when you decide not to have pets of your own. Though I must admit that I do miss having pets. But when I never know where I will be in the next year and travel, especially international travel, is extremely hard for pets, I just won't put an animal through that.
I have a new student in 1st grade and she seems to be doing well. I will also be getting a girl who is also called Jessica in my afternoon kindergarten when school starts again in January. Sadly, I will be losing three of my seven morning kindergarteners in January. They are all moving. T.T One is going to Malaysia. Another is moving to America. And one is moving into Seoul. So my class will be down to four. T.T It is going to be a lot quieter I think come January and I will miss having June, Clara, and Daniel in my class.
So, then we have the spelling bee. Now over the last two months, we have recorded which students have gotten perfect scores on their spelling tests. After the two months were over, the students with the highest number of perfect scores got invited to the spelling bee with classes the same level as them. A few of my students entered and they did quite a good job. Diego, from my first grade class, and Dylan, from my third class each won their spelling bee. I was so proud of them as many of the words were hard and I found myself writing the words on my hand to double check the spelling as I myself wasn't sure. I ended up being the speaker at one of the advanced ones which is funny because I think I mispronounced a word. Hahaha. Then again, spelling has never been my strong point and I find my spelling gets worse and worse as I do this job. Actually, I think my English speaking skills get worse and worse as I teach English. Go figure.
Then we have the third grade little play. In my third grade class, we have been reading Robin Hood. At the end we do a short scene from Robin Hood. They have to memorize their lines and perform a little on stage. This class is usually not motivated to memorize anything and I was really proud that 6 of the students did not use their books and 1 only needed it half way through, and that was the student with the most lines. Only one student did not have any of his lines memorized. I have to say that for the first play they did, they did an excellent job. And besides, watching Jason die on stage was just hilarious. Even the shy students did a really good job. And one of the girls who is really afraid of speaking is doing an excellent job and literature really seems to be her thing. I wonder if she is like me and she learns better through stories because she is more confident and answering a lot more questions.
Now I will go into the Christmas events. As I am a big fan of Christmas, I got each of the students and teachers a little something. Mostly cards and some candy or chocolate. First was the afternoon kindergarten Christmas event. The students made cards for their parents and played games. They practiced and sang Christmas songs. My class did a really good job with We Wish You A Merry Christmas though Chris Teacher's class definitely was the best as they were so cute with their dance moves to Jingle Bells. Though the song contest wasn't as big as it is for morning kindergarten, the students had a lot of fun. But all the classes did well, even the newer classes. Then the students got presents and a picture with Santa (**cough cough** Ben Teacher **cough cough**) and got ready to go home.
Next is the staff Christmas party. So we went to eat at a Chinese restaurant but I wasn't a big fan of the food. But then again... when am I ever a fan of the food. Mostly it was spicy or had a lot of seafood tastes so not really my thing. But at least I tried it ... though I didn't go near the little octopuses or sea cucumbers or whatever the other fishy things were. Chuck and I were the masters of ceremonies so we got to hand out all of the presents and stuff. I was last so I knew my secret Santa was Mr. Hang. Ironically he gave me the same thing Ellie gave me at the last Christmas party, a bath and body set or something. My guess is no one knows what to get me as my interests are very different from everyone else's. Which is fine by me as it's the thought that counts and I am sure I will use it at some point .... when I actually have a bath again.
Afternoon Kindergarten Singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas
I gave Lucy an anime DVD that looked good as I thought she could enjoy it with her son. And some nice chocolate that it looked like some people wanted to steal. ^.^ Obviously as I am the only one who would think of anime as a gift, it was easy for her to figure out it was me. So I had to sing a song which of course I had no problem with. Again I think I surprised everyone with my singing.... I wonder why that happens every time I sing. Maybe it is just because it is so infrequent that people hear me singing songs that are not designed for children. But I love to sing so I definitely won't complain. They went out drinking after that and I went home to have a nice lazy weekend. I even got to play some video games. O.O
So the morning kindergarten event went very well. Thankfully I had finished all my work ahead of time as I didn't have much time to teach. I gave my students their gifts and we practiced our song, which we did Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. The students had pictures and presents from Santa. It actually surprised me because one of the kids actually admitted to Santa that he had been bad that year. I was quite surprised but he ended up getting his Christmas gift because he told the truth. Then the students played with the PE teacher for a while. After lunch was the song contest which I ended up the master of ceremonies for. I actually volunteer for these positions as I really don't mind doing them. Most of the time it is fun and it kind of reminds me of the days I used to lead the anime club. Ah the good old days. ^.^ Anyway, the classes were so cute and it was hard to pick the best. My class actually tied for second place in the contest, which was a really nice way to end as three of the students would not be returning after break as they are moving. This is also the first time a class of mine has placed in song contest so I was happy about it too. ^.^
So, I have officially renewed my contract again and will be staying in Korea at least until the end of February 2015. I have to say given what the economy is like, it is nice knowing that I have a job for another year. It is such a relief to have to worry about one less thing. And I really like working at LCI for the most part and it keeps me busy. Also, stay tuned for my next blog entry because you will get to read about the Christmas surprise that I have sent home for Christmas. Hopefully it arrives by Christmas (tomorrow T.T). I can't wait to find out how my family reacts. Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year!
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