All I Want For Christmas Is... Skype!

I am currently in awe of the technological wonders of today! On my Christmas morning in South Korea, I was given a window through time zones, across oceans, and right into a friend's living room in Canada, where many of my loved ones had gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve together. I watched them cramming their little heads into the view of the webcam, all shouting and jostling at once, sending their hellos and best wishes and beautiful smiles across cyberspace. I was then passed from lap to lap, was given a whirling virtual tour of the house and all the party g uests present, also a not-so-lovely look up some unfortunate person's nose, and a birdseye view of Christmas cooking on a plate. There were threats of putting me in the fridge, so I would know how it felt to be a carton of orange juice! But in all of the madness and mayhem, I had the privilege of engaging in dialogue with people I know and love dearly. I was able to coo at a baby and see him smile back. I caught snippets of lively conversation on all sides. I could distinguish the voice of my littlest brother bantering, in his singular way, with the adults in the room. I watched the faces of people I love, interacting in front of me, like a beautiful movin g canvas of personalities, life and light. I was able to celebrate with them the joys of gatherings such of these. And all from this little window on my desktop. How rich is the gift of togetherness! I know it's not the same as "being there", but I am so very thankful for this ingenious invention called Skype..

Tired and Wired

My students are off-the-wall this week. They are all either really tired or really wired. As am I... but that's nothing new! Haha... here are some of the crazy critters I teach. My Tuesday/Thursday Fingerprints crew:

... Tired

This is Anna. She's a gem... always listening and paying attention, and I can count on her to translate for her less-attentive amigos. "This page!" "Here!" "Listen to Fiona-teacher!"

...Wired!

This little monkey earned himself the nickname "Bad Andy" before I got to Korea. He's actually not bad at all, just high-activity. Today he decided that instead of coloring in his book, he would use his pink marker to decorate my sweater... and camera lens. We have a special relationship. One minute I'm scolding him for throwing crayons around the classroom, the next minute he's running up to spontaneously hug me in the hallway.
My older classes are a bit silly these days too. Either falling asleep at their desks, or so chatty in Korean/English/Konglish that we get no book work done. I think they are all in need of a much-deserved holiday... which starts tomorrow! We have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day off, which will be lovely! Some of these kids won't really get a rest, though... their parents have signed them up to ski camps, English holiday programs, or another extra-curricular activity.
In one of my classes this week, we were having a discussion about hobbies, and I asked them what they like to do in their free time. One student thought about it and replied, "Teacher, we don't really have free time!" Sad but true. A Korean teacher, who I work closely with, told me that when she was in High School, she would leave her home at 6:30am and not return to it until 10:30pm. And then she would finish her homework. We are busy busy bees over here in Korea!

Tornado Season 5

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. One of the teachers at my school had some discounted tickets to a Muay Thai boxing match last night, and a whole crew of us ended up going. Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport, and is a form of martial arts, in which fighters use eight points of contact; their hands, shins, elbows and knees. This is the main way it differs from Western boxing, where only two points of contact are used (the fists) or other common forms, where four points are used (the fists and feet). The rounds started off with two young boys... who didn't look any older than seven or eight! The audience was so well-behaved. There were no screaming soccer moms or ranting hockey fans to be seen! There was some polite clapping and a little cheering, but for anyone who has been to a hockey game in Canada or a rugby match in New Zealand, you might have mistaken this sports arena for a movie theater, everyone sitting so still and staring at the screen. Their silence is not to be mistaken for disinterest, however, because there were moments where the Koreans were so intense on what was happening in the ring, it felt like a whole room full of people all holding their breath at the same time! There were competitors from various countries; Thailand, Japan, Korea, and one guy from Canada, to name a few. Things got a little bloodier as the rounds progressed, one instance in particular where a bloody nose made foot placement a little slippery, and they had to pause the round to wipe up the mess with a white towel. My stomach got a little queasy at that point! I observed some interesting pre-round rituals that various individuals practiced, some kneeling down before entering the ring, some head to head with their teacher/coach for a moment of prayer before beginning, some parading around to four corners of the ring, giving their respect to spectators in each direction. A few fighters wore interesting headdresses, that circled their heads and jutted out at the back, with colorful tassels hanging from the ends. This was removed by the fighter's coach before they began the match. It was all very interesting.... witnessing my first boxing match, a Muay Thai event in South Korea. Anyways, here are some more pics...