Half a year gone

Happy New Year, everybody! My apologies that it has been over a month since I have updated my blog - the winter season got the best of me (in a good way!). Since my last post, so many exciting things have happened! I'll try and go chronologically as I remember when events took place.

Our guest speaker from Kenya with students wearing traditional garments

In early December, our school was lucky to have a guest speaker from Kenya. Once a month during the fall semester, our school has guest speakers from different countries around the world come into our English classes to present about their culture, language, and lifestyle. These presentations are a part of UNESCO's Cross-Cultural Awareness Program. It is a fantastic program that allows the students to learn about other countries first-hand, which they might not otherwise become exposed to.

During the most recent presentation, the president of UNESCO accompanied us, and it turns out that he is quite close to the Executive Director of Fulbright Korea (my boss, Mrs. Jai Ok Shim). The president of UNESCO ended up calling her after finding out that I was a part of the Fulbright program - and I got to speak with her too. I was ecstatic to be able to speak with the Executive Director. She was so sincere and kind, and she had many words of encouragement for me - exactly what I needed to finish out the remaining weeks of my first semester in Korea. I want to give a big thank you to Mr. Park and Mrs. Shim for making my day!

My last Korean class of the semester

Around mid-December was time for final exams - the students' worst nightmare. I could tell they were stressed and many of them stayed up studying nearly 18-20 hours a day. Luckily, final exams were only two days long, and afterwards they would be able to prepare for the school festival. During this time I also prepared 25 pans of chicken pot pie - my students have worked very hard this semester, and deserved a reward at the conclusion of a long semester. There's no better way to celebrate the end of a semester than with food, right? This is what being a cultural ambassador is all about! So, in the midst of preparations for the school festival, I delivered chicken pot pie to each class throughout the week. These handsome young men have graciously welcomed me to Gwangyang Boys High School, and they have been hard at work this semester! It has been a joy to see the students finally taking some time to relax, laugh, and have fun now that final exams were over.

Chicken pot pie for the boys

I could write an entire novel about the school festival itself - what an interesting experience! The school festival is a showcase of talents that happens once each school year. The first and second grade classes participate (the third graders are already on vacation by this point). Many students try out for the singing competition, and each class has to prepare a skit/dance/song/etc. to present to the audience. My school was thrilled to have me be a "guest judge" for the singing competition, so I got to act like I was Simon Cowell on American Idol (except a lot nicer than he was... haha). Many students performed K-Pop dances with their class, which was hilarious to watch. The boys can seem so shy in class, so it was fun watching them let loose and dance, sing, and act.

There was also a "fashion show" where some boys dressed up like girls and walked down the runway, had interviews, and had to dance with their "boyfriends". It was hilarious to watch! Unfortunately at this point I did not have my cell phone, so I couldn't snap any pictures. However, the video and photos will be on our school website, and I will send a link as soon as possible.

A panorama of a site I visited with co-workers

On top of all this, the student council asked me to be a special performance. I couldn't say no (and I was thrilled at the offer, to be honest)! I wrote a rap about Gwangyang High School which lead into Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Originally, I was just going to do it solo, but after thinking about it, I thought it would be much more fun to get some students involved on it. So, we created our own choreography to both my rap song and the Christmas jingle. It was my first "real concert", and the students went crazy for it! I was so excited and loved performing for them. I think some of the students who were shy to approach me before are now more relaxed after seeing me embarrass myself in front of them... haha!

The principal and I hanging out together

On Christmas Day, I spent the day with a friend. We went to go see the movie, "Into the Woods" (which was mediocre in my opinion), and had lunch together. After seeing the movie, we went shopping and I treated myself to some Christmas gifts. I bought a new pair of running shoes and a nice dress to wear for New Year's Eve. This year has been my first time to celebrate the holiday season away from my family, my friends, and my home. Although the majority of Korea does not celebrate Christmas to the extent of many Americans, I am blessed to feel the love and support of my loved ones from across the world, and I hope to reciprocate the action. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Margaritas!

For the New Year celebration, most Koreans do not celebrate January 1st like Americans. Korean families celebrate the Lunar New Year, which takes place in February this year (2015). So, some of my friends and I decided to meet up in Seoul to celebrate the New Year ourselves. We booked a motel room and we had some delicious Mexican food for dinner - my first time eating it since I left for Korea. It was glorious. Mexican food is probably my absolute favorite type of food, and I was feeling deprived for six months without my burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and of course margaritas. After dinner, we went out to a club for some dancing and had a great time ringing in the new year!

Unfortunately, during the majority of this past month and a half, I did not have a cell phone, so my pictures to make up for all these stories are lacking. However, I have finally recovered my phone and can post pictures for my next update!