Baby, it's COLD outside

Though technically it's still Fall until next week, if the weather is any indication then it's safe to say Winter is in full swing here in Korea. It was freeeeezing on Wednesday. When I left work at 7:30pm the temp was down in the teens and the wind chill made it feel even colder. It looks like it's supposed to bounce back into the 30's and 40's which would be nice because I'd like to be out and about this weekend.

Despite wanting to stay bundled up inside watching Christmas specials all day, it's been a pretty productive week. I now have my Alien Registration Card (I filled out the application and the school took care of the rest) and a bank account with a nice chunk of change in it because Friday was payday, holla! After helping the other new teacher and I set up our accounts at the bank, Kevin, who works in the office at school, also helped me get a cell phone at one of the SK Telecom cell phone stores that pepper every street in Korea. The phone we picked out was the one that I could get for free and the plan gives me something like a hundred texts a month for the next two months at which point I can change it if I want. It's nice having a way to easily get in touch with people again, I was feeling pretty weird without a phone.

Also I have legit internet now which is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I've been snagging wi-fi from surrounding areas since I moved in and for the most part it's worked fine but the connection has been slow and the quality of Skype calls less than stellar. I paid my first utilities bill as well which was not such a beautiful thing, but now I know where and how to take care of that each month so I feel more comfortable about the whole living-on-my-own thing. I've never lived in an apartment before, let alone by myself, so a lot of this is brand new to me.

Work itself has been fairly good this week. This is my homeroom by the way:

It's pretty barren because they just cleaned out all the old books leftover from the previous teacher but I'll add a few things eventually. I don't actually teach in here because our classes are in all different rooms but it's where I prep all my materials and everything before classes start. It's a bummer not having a window but at this time of year probably more like a blessing because most of the windows leak air anyway.

My first class of the day yesterday was a group of elementary kids, 4th-6th graders, that I see twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They're good kids but it can be a potentially awful class if the boys are acting up. Today they were fine though. The story we were reading involved someone stealing something to sell for money. Whenever we're talking about prizes or money I always like to ask them what they would want for a prize or what they would buy with the money. Class can be kind of boring but they get all excited to start yelling out the crazy things they'd buy so it breaks things up a bit and wakes them up. Here's an excerpt from our class discussion:

Me: So what would you buy with all that money?
Kevin: An island!
John: A house!
Alex: Harry Potter's house!
Me: What, the one he lived in with the Durselys?
Kelly: The USA!
Me: I don't think it's for sale. 
Alex: I would buy Hogwarts.
Me: I would buy that too. What other things would you get?
Alex: I like Ron Weasley.
Kelly: The Earth!
Me: Okay so Kelly wants to take over the world, what else?
Alex: You know what a firebolt is?
Me: It's a broom.
Tom: Neptune!
Alex: I like Sirius Black.
Jennifer: Space!
Alex: I would buy Voldemort.
Me: You can't just buyVoldemort.
Lily: I would buy Dumbledore, he's nicer.
Me: Okay we seriously need to get back on topic...

They can give me a run for my money when they're acting out but times like these when they are saying adorable things that make no sense remind me why I'm here doing this.

And just a note on their names since perhaps you're wondering why my class of Korean students is filled with Toms and Johns and Jennifers. The majority of the kids when they start at CDI choose an English nickname to go by in the classroom. It's basically like Spanish class in junior high when you can pick a Spanish name for yourself. They aren't required to do so and I have a few kids who I just call by their given names. When new students come in during the term you can pick a name for them or have the class brainstorm to come up with something. I've had three new students so far and none of them wanted a nickname. That's totally cool with me however I was a little bummed that I didn't get the chance to make suggestions. I was hoping to nudge a few kids into going by the everyday names of superheroes. In one class two boys just started and sit right next to each other and if I could have gotten one to go by "Bruce" and the other "Wayne", well, it would have made me happy during roll call every class.

It's finally Friday and it's snowy and wet today and tonight after I'm out at 10:30 I'm going to see The Deathly Hallows again with a bunch of people from work. A nice end to the week and good start to the weekend I think.

Movie Trivia of the Day: The Host: The event described in the beginning of the film is based on an actual event. In February 2000 at a US military facility located in the center of Seoul, a US military civilian employee named Mr. McFarland was ordered to dispose of formaldehyde by dumping it into the sewer system that led to the Han River, despite the objection of a South Korean subordinate. The government attempted to prosecute Mr. McFarland in court, but the US military refused to hand over the custody of Mr. McFarland to the South Korean legal system. Later, a South Korean judge convicted Mr. McFarland in absentia. The Public was enraged at the government's inability to enforce its law on its own soil. In 2005, nearly five years after the original incident, Mr. McFarland was finally found guilty in a court in his presence. However, he never served the actual prison sentence, and there have been no sightings of a mutant creature in the Han River - yet.

Feeling that Gingerbread Feeling

'Tis the season folks. This is my favorite time of year. Well, technically when it's October and Halloween that's my favorite time of year but when December and Christmas hit I change my mind. Come next fall I'll change it again. It's a holiday cycle.

I do love me some Christmastime and though back home I'd have started getting in the spirit (and plastering the house in decorations) right after Thanksgiving, it's taken a little longer in my new surroundings to get my Cindy Lou Who on. Yesterday though Incheon was treated to a late morning surprise:

The Christmas season is wonderful even if there isn't a flurry in sight but snow always adds something special. 

I took these from my apartment window. It doesn't snow too much here or accumulate when it does and this mini blizzard lasted about fifteen more minutes. There were flakes off and on for the rest of the day but this was basically the highlight. Pretty while it lasted though! 

So the powers of snow, hot cocoa, and a Christmas songs mix which includes everything from Nat King Cole to Dominick the Donkey have combined to bring me the yuletide spirit in Korea. 

In South Korea Christmas is recognized as a national holiday. Though nearly half of the population doesn't affiliate with any religion and under a quarter practice Buddhism, almost thirty percent are Christian so it is a holiday that's celebrated by a lot of people here. Some of the traditions are similar, like gift giving though it's done to a much smaller extent, but for the most part it's a more subdued holiday. New Year here is very family oriented and so Christmas is often a holiday celebrated among friends or with your sweetheart. I think they air some of the American Christmas specials like Charlie Brown and Rudolph on TV here though I don't have cable yet so I can't speak from having seen any. 

I've seen plenty of holiday decorations and displays over the last couple weeks so here's just a quick peek at how Christmas in Korea looks:

A Christmas store in Namdaemun Market.

Poster for a concert/show taking place at the Arts Center.

Christmas Tree at the Arts Center.

Window display at a massive Lotte Department Store.

Charlie Brown-esque tree. 

Window decals at a Paris Baguette, a delicious bakery that's on practically every corner. Their whole slogan for this season is "You Are Not Alone" which seems well intentioned but strikes me as funny anyway. Apparently Christmas sponge cakes are popular in Korea so they're out in all the pastry shops. The Paris Baguette commercials show some guy picking out a snowman cake for his girlfriend while someone sings "Youuu are not alooone". It has to be better than fruit cakes, am I right?

 Decorations in Bupyeong Market.

Santa Claus, what a Renaissance man. 

I don't have definitive plans in place for Christmas yet but I know something will work itself out. Until then I'm just enjoying the bits and pieces of holiday cheer I see when I'm out and about. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season so far!

Trivia of the Day: Manhwa (만화) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. Though Korea's manhwa system developed later, the manga (Japanese comics) and manhwa industries can now be considered equal competitors, like "different brands of the same product." The relative obscurity of Korean culture in the Western world has caused the word "manhwa" to remain somewhat unknown in the English-speaking world. Instead, English translations of manhwa have achieved success by targeting the manga and anime community, to the extent that manhwa are often marketed as "manga."