Welcome, Jacki!

I'm no longer the "new chick"!  This is a time for celebration.  Monday marked my one-monthiversary in Suji and I can't believe how time is flying. 

Jacki came to us on Wednesday from California.  We took her out to dinner (and drinks, naturally) as soon as she got to town.  Welcome, Jacki! 

PS- She's got a great blog, check out The Possible Venture.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Folk Dance All the Way.

We had a "Santa Party" on Friday morning, which means we spent the entire time making reindeer antlers and visiting with "Santa" (all of the kids knew it was Mike teacher). 

After everyone received their gifts, we went to the gym to learn a folk dance.  After quite a bit of practice, the little stinkers actually caught on pretty well.

The Christmas Tree Dance.

Let me explain The Christmas Tree Dance:

1. You have to make your Christmas tree.
2. You need to string the lights.
3. You put your presents under the tree.

You put these three things together and you get an adorable group of Korean kids dancin' away.

Merry Christmas!

My jaguar class wanted to record many different "Happy Christmas" songs, but this is the one that turned out the best.  I'm so sad that I won't be in Minnesota to celebrate the holiday, but I hope that you all can watch this and pretend that I'm there, singing obnoxiously into your ear.

KPOP: Round 3

Say hello to BIGBANG, another one of Korea's finest.  I chose this song, "Beautiful Hangover" because it's the worst song title I've ever heard of.  Talk about an oxymoron.  I also enjoy the way the pronounce beu-teee-ful.

Enjoy.

White Christmas.

As we left the club, we were delighted to find real snow outside!  This light sprinkling lasted all of five minutes, and melted almost immediately, but it was still exciting.  I'm still crossing my fingers for a (somewhat) white Christmas.

In the Club.

I went to my first South Korean club last night.  It was everything I dreamed it would be.  And more...

Even though the prices were astronomical ($8 iced tea, anyone?), it was still a great time.  The music was awesome, and they even had fake snow flying around!  Everyone got their groove on until the wee hours of the morning.

Christmas Party #1.

This weekend a bunch of us ventured into Gangnam for a Christmas party.  There was a dress code: red and black if you're single, or white and black if you're in a relationship.  For $20 we got a few hours of free drinks and some solid Christmas cheer.  They even got everyone into the giving spirit by auctioning off some men at the end of the night...

"The Norm."

We spend most of our time in Suji bummin' around one of two bars: Exit or Underground.  Although there's nothing too exciting about either place, it's always a bonus when you're able to walk home from the bar.

This is a typical night at Exit:

And here's a photo from Underground, where apparently it's not a good idea to wear chapstick.  Black lights aren't flattering for anyone...

A Little Help From Your Friends.

I'm sorry, but how stinkin' adorable are these kids?

Christmas Concert.

Thursday morning was a fun-filled day for my Jaguar class.  Their parents came to school to watch their rendition of "Frosty the Snowman".  I might be able to get my hands on a video soon, but these photos are currently all I have to show the unbearable cuteness that was all around us that day.

Kimbap Shop.

There's a tiny little restaurant right underneath my school that we eat at almost every day for lunch.  It's called a Kimbap Shop. 

Kimbap is my new favorite lunchtime snack.  It's very similar to sushi, but the roll is much bigger.  And it's only $2.50.  Major bonus.  My favorite so far is chamchi (tuna).

The other thing we get a lot is kimchi jjigae ("chi-gue").  It's just kimchi soup with tofu, and it might look disgusting, but it's quite delightful.

And finally we have dolsot bibimbap.  Basically a bunch of random fixings mixed together in a large steaming bowl with a raw egg on top.  I know this probably sounds strange as well, but once it's all mixed together it's a great meal.

The best part about any meal in Korea is the overabundance of side dishes that are served.  I don't know what half of them are, but it sure is awesome to have something to munch on while you wait for your food.

"My Ideal Christmas"

Today I was running out of ideas to keep these kids occupied while their teachers were helping with other Christmas plays, so I told them to draw me their "Ideal Christmas".  Most of them drew whatever toy they asked for.  I used my absolutely stellar drawing skills to make a picture of my own.  The kids loved the fact that I have two dogs, and laughed a lot at the "bald" man in the picture.  Against my better judgement, I've decided that I'm okay with posting the picture that caused such a ruckus.

I've clearly been in South Korea long enough, because Jeff seems to have developed some Asian features.

Josh Vetter - I hope you appreciate this.

Finding the Christmas Spirit.

After spending an entire day listening to tiny voices belting out classics such as "Jungle Bell Rock" and "Frosty the Snowman", I was feeling particularly jolly.

After dinner I decided to crack open a jug (yes, jug) of Carlo Rossi sangria, blast some Bieber Christmas tunes, and do some serious gift wrapping.  Don't judge me.

Now I'm just praying it doesn't cost me my firstborn child to send all of these home.

Isn't my 3 inch Christmas tree festive?

Christmas Concert Week.

This week is a bit of a joke for my morning classes at SLP.  The Christmas Concert has been happening every day, so most mornings consist of either practicing our Christmas play, or doing crafts with the other classes while someone else practices.  It's great.

My Jaguars' play is presented tomorrow, so today I spent the morning making Christmas trees and coloring with a few different classes. 

These performances are a big deal here.  They prove to the parents how much their child's English is improving.  Wish us luck tomorrow!