Holly, Jolly Christmas

Alright, so I know I'm about 5 months late with this post (what?! Five months!! Holy cow!), but a little bit about the Christmas celebration at school just for you.

First let it be said that it was shenanigans. The Santa costume the directors bought was supremely awesome, but also blond; Santa's from Sweden, you know. Also, I know the shades make me look either a1) really ridiculously hip, or b2) slightly Unibomber-esque, but because I'm more of a Mrs. Claus by nature, and one of the few teachers at the school, sunglasses were needed to disguise my lady eyes. Stuffing for my belly full o' jelly was not provided, so I brought a pillow - brilliant, but at the same time I definitely should'a turned it horizontal as my Santa was more along the lines of Dolly Parton at a Christmas extravaganza.

The days events began with a song and dance from each class, you'll remember my children's performance (at the end of this post)? They were a little shy this time around so I had to get up there and perform with them which was all well and good, but then I had to slip out to change oh-so quickly into the magical man. 

I waited on the stairs for the singing and dancing to finish and started sweating quite a bit, believe it or not - beards are hot! Then the occasional child or two would have to use the bathroom and be ushered into the elevator, only to wiggle around wondering why they weren't being allowed to look in the other direction. SANTA!

As it goes with most things at my school, I didn't really know what was going to go on until I sat in Santa's chair, and those naughty and nice charts we wrote for each student that morning, I read them off for each student... all 48 - 65ish of them. It's actually quite difficult speaking in a deep baritone even as an alto, and to make it loud enough for all to hear? Mi-oh-my! Not to mention the beard fibers kept getting in my mouth, my glasses were sweating off, the children were trying to look close to figure out if it was really me, and I was handling pages in loose-fitting felt gloves. I'm honestly not complaining about any of this by any means, it was so much fun and more often than not I had to stifle my laughter as I bellowed, "Now David, can you promise Santa that you're going to do your best not to eat your pencils and erasers in Kathleen Teacher's class any more?" and the doe-eyed child would look up at me and nod earnestly, hands out, waiting for his present. Picking boogers, fighting, not doing homework, running in the classroom and eating paper were all on the naughty list. I said two-to-three nice things and one naughty (let's work on it) thing for each kid. 

Needless to say, the assembly lasted quite a while. There were a few minutes - I can't remember why - that us English teachers had to stall (maybe the tape ran out?) and we let the kids ask me questions. It was fun to work on some improv. Mrs. Claus was busy baking the elves cookies while they cleaned up the workshop and got ready for next year. I planned on hitting up Antarctica after my sleigh ride, with the missus, for a change of pace and to visit my penguin friends. The reindeer were on the roof, and oh - could I name them... well, why don't I see if the children could instead. Then there was my most favorite of all, I was wearing sunglasses because I just had lasik surgery. Hey, I thought it was clever.

It was a sweaty and snowless Christmas Eve day, but it was magical and fun all the same. I'm really happy that I got to do it, and even though most kids knew it was me, I tried to convince them that I had food poisoning instead and I was so sad that I didn't get to meet Santa before he sprang to his sleigh, but I said I thought I heard him call out "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

The Little Things

It's always the little things that make up the big picture, like this. I've completed eight months and I have four to go. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what it's going to be like back home; things I'm looking forward to, things I'll miss. The things I'm looking forward to are mostly people and the ease of living and convenience of getting the things I need, but the missing area has been a big thought, too. I'm going to miss cooking delicious, tasty galbi, and getting "service-uh" when I buy many things at stores. I'm going to miss the cheapness of things and not having to tip. I'm going to miss being able to talk on my cellphone when I'm stories underground or behind a building, and having lightning fast internet. It's going to seem weird when people back home try to be discreet about checking themselves out in a mirror or a passing reflective surface, and then get embarrassed because you caught them. It might take me some time to figure out if a couple walking together is in a relationship because a1.) he won't be carrying his girlfriend's purse and b2.) they won't be wearing matching shoes/sweatshirts/complete outfits. I might think Americans are the sloppiest dressers I've ever seen and wonder why women aren't doing everything in heels. I'll wonder why no one is staring at me like I'm going to do something amazing/crazy at any moment, and think it's so bizarre when people get offended because I'm staring at them (though I learned today that the turn around and stare is something only done to Westerners and that older Koreans wouldn't stare at the younger generation - racial prejudice? genuine interest? old age? I'm not sure which one). People might think I'm strange when I bow in entering and leaving a place. I wonder how many times I'm going to slip up and run/walk on the left side of the sidewalk and say "Shilyehamnida" ("Excuse me"), or answer "nae" in agreement or "anio" in disagreement. I'm going to miss all the hand holding and the affection towards same-sex friends in public. KIMCHI!! WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT KIMCHI (and bibimbab and chamchi kimbab)!?! I always thought it was crazy how people said they were going to miss kimchi so much when they went home, but man! I'm going to miss it oh-so much; it's oh-so tasty! And my little babies, my heart hurts already thinking about saying good-bye to their sweet faces. I'm going to miss all these things and so much more, I'm sure I'll continue to add to the list, in fact I know I will.

The reason I've been thinking about this more is that my good friend, Andrea, has less than two months left, and another friend, Sophie, just left. There's so much I still need to get in while I'm here, and I am so looking forward to the month or more of travel (dependent on job things back home - I really want this one position, but if I don't get it then I can have longer to travel, so either way I think I'll be able to make due in the happiness department), and while there are so many things I'm going to miss and things that I know will seem strange to me like, "What?! Why is this uncooked grocery store meat refrigerated and not being scooped into bags?" and "What do you mean I have to leave the bar at 2am?" I'm going to miss those rowdy-staggering through the streets drunk on soju businessmen Monday through Friday. There are also a lot of things I look forward to: thick yogurt, seedless grapes, a variety of APPLES!!!, peanut butter cups and gum that isn't flower flavored/doesn't dissolve in your mouth, riding my bike without worrying that I might be hit (even on the sidewalk), breathing fresh air, and being able to read and understand signs that tell me how to get from here to there.

All in all, I'm excited to see what the next four months will bring, and I'll do my best to continue to share the stories with you. -- The weather was perfect for our picnic the other week, and I still haven't shown you photos of when I was Santa Claus for my kids, so there's at least two things to write about. I went to a ballet in Seoul last weekend, and this weekend I wore the penguin at a World DJ Fest, so two more. In the words of Mrs. C I'll "just try" for you. (Here's hoping these aren't just words and that they'll turn into words... for you to read.)

Hope this finds you happy and healthy!