The year 2000 in the 9 is coming to an end; only 25 Sleeps until Christmas.

As the weeks go by, my ability to speak the English language correctly is quickly becoming a memory from the past. The Korean-English that is spoken around me daily is starting to rub off on me to the point where I am no longer able to distinguish between a correctly formed sentence and one that would make my former English Professors cringe. Every day at least one of my co-workers has to question the rest of us about how they phrased an elementary level comment or question. I only hope that by the time I move back to the U.S. I am able to speak like a civil human being; not anticipating holidays by the amount of sleeps I have left, and not starting sentences with the word "Me".

On a more positive note, after three months of teaching kids for 9 hours a day I have yet to wake up unexcited for work. Each day brings new challenges, new questions, new silly jokes, new sentences formed using the limited amount of English the kids know, and best of all new great experiences.

In my Kindergarten classroom I am in the process of trying to teach my six year olds....

-that it is not MY fault when they choose to break the rules and lose privileges.

- is that the purpose of raising hands in class is so that only ONE person answers a question at a time. When I say Andrew's name it is not appropriate for Jeffrey, Jina, and Hoony to yell out the answers, too.

- is that if Shauna Teacher says you have to ask for another piece of paper to draw on during play time, that does NOT mean you can steal a stack of 50 pieces when I walk out of the room and rip them up and throw them all over the floor.

- the difference between K's and Ch sounds- it is very difficult for them. We do not cook in the chicken and we do not eat kitchens: plain and simple.

While all of these "teaching" moments make my job worth while, the greatest thing about teaching abroad is the way love and affection are encouraged between teachers and students in the classroom. Every single morning when I enter my classroom I receive bear hugs so big that I just can't resist picking each student up and swinging them around. The hugs continue throughout the day, only getting bigger and more elaborate; something unacceptable in the United States. I love my job! However, I am still missing students in all of my classes. After the H1N1 scare, most of my kids dropped out of school for the month. I am slowly starting to get more kids back in my classes, and I hope that as we kick off the new month that most of my kids will return.

Stay tuned for more on my Thanksgiving celebration in Korea, my birthday, and what it is like being in Korea during the Holidays:)

love love love.