Hello

I noticed I haven't posted anything in 4 months, so I felt like uploading some stuff before I go to Japan next week. The only exciting trip I've taken since Bali is down to Mudfest, a huge festival a couple hours south. I didn't bring my camera, which was probably a good idea. It was raining the whole time and the pictures would unlikely be family friendly. Here are just a couple favorites of the past few months.

Hongdae, a college district in Seoul, always attracts a lively crowd. It's one of the only places to hear good live music in Seoul, so a good percentage of my time spent in Seoul has been here. Like many clubs, Club FF stays open until the sun rises. These guys are probably just taking a quick snooze before taking the bus back home. You can be sure to find some stragglers left behind whenever you head home. This is the only picture I've taken of some of these unfortunate souls. My friend has dedicated a website to much better pictures at www.blackoutkorea.com

During our English Festival, some of the students had to give a speech in front of parents and teachers. Phillip here forgot the words, and made this face for a while until we helped him out. Way to go, Phillip!
This kid is ridiculous. Don't be fooled, he has more Spongebob clothing than he does school supplies. He kind of resembles Spongebob, too. His English name is, of course...Toby.

Cheeka Cheeka Time:

Every day before class, the phonics kids used to gather to watch me brush my teeth. Korean children say "Cheeka Cheeka" when they brush their teeth. One day my coteacher told them to knock it off. They were having too much fun, which is frowned upon in Korea.

This is Seat Swap, a game I play with larger classes. For my phonics class, the student who is standing must say a word on the tv screen. The two students sitting down holding the word must stand up and switch seats with each other, while the student standing tries to sit in an open seat. The player left standing must continue the game and choose another word. I use this game for many different classes, depending on their level. For my advanced students, they have to make sentences with the words on the screen. Watch Monica take out Ricky towards the end of the video.

Caribou was the first band I've seen in Korea that I actually cared to see. For one reason or another, it seems many good bands skip Korea altogether on their Asian tours, and only hit Japan and China. I hope more bands realize the potential in playing in Korea with the sizable young foreign teacher crowd here.