Dear Mama.... Love from Korea (Halloween Week)

November 1, 2013

It was Halloween on Thursday so you know I had to dress up! My first Halloween in Korea was cool. I went to the dollar store (Daiso) to get some more props for my costume and was so excited to dress up for school. All the students loved it! It was great when they could actually figure out what I was...not an angel but a fairy. I called myself Tinkerbell's friend. I guess I was missing a wand now that I think about it. I tried to plan a lesson that related to Halloween but it didn't mesh so well with the lesson from the book so I played a Halloween song in the beginning of class and gave everyone candy. The song was a song that I used to sing in Elementary school and they seemed to like it because they started singing it. I found out they are in love with Snickers, it's like a delicacy. Probably because it's so expensive here.

At lunch the principal saw me and thought I was an angel. "Angel because you're Angel (my middle name)." I just nodded and said yes. Another teacher said to me "You are a fairy right?" I was surprised and said, "How did you know?" He said, "I know fairy." I said, "Yes, but everyone else thought I was an angel." He said, "No, angel's have bigger wings." lol

After classes, students came knocking on the office door. When I opened it they said, "Trick or Treat!" I was so surprised that they knew what to say so I gave them all candy. This set off a chain reaction because kids started popping by every two minutes. Some didn't know what to say so I pretended I didn't know why they were there. I'm not Santa Clause...you have to say the phrase that pays. One boy came and said "Give Me Candy." I said I didn't have anymore lol.

After school, I met up with some friends and we went to the Mexican restaurant, Taco Cielo. They never had tacos before so it was nice but they did not understand that it isn't like Korean food that you share. You order your own but we ended up sharing two Chimichangas and one taco lol. Then we went to Noraebang!!! The next day, people were passing out Halloween party flyers and wearing Halloween make-up. It's funny that when I dressed up on the actual day people looked at me funny but when people are celebrating Halloween after it's over it's ok. lol

One cool thing about going back to Taco Cielo is that I was able to find something I was missing for a week...my notebook. I carry a mini notebook in my purse that I just jot random thoughts in. One day I couldn't find it and I couldn't remember if I left it at school or at the restaurant. I panicked a little because I remembered writing in it that my co-teacher was lacking. I just hoped that I didn't leave it at school and someone picked it up and read it and would start spreading rumors or something. So, when I went back to Taco Cielo I just figured I would ask the waitress just in case I left it there and they miraculously kept it. Then she pulled it out from behind the bar! AMAZING...I was thrilled (and I learned my lesson). That made my Halloween, which is funny because you're supposed to be scared on Halloween. My losing streak did not end there because on Friday, I left my bag on the bus with all my lesson plans and my fifth grade book. My co-teacher helped me by calling the bus company and they said they would hold it. After school I went to the area they told me to go to, which was an hour bus ride from school. When I got off the bus the only thing I saw was a Ferry Terminal. I asked at the front desk if they had a bag. No one knew what I was talking about so I called my co-teacher (Yay for being able to have talk service on my cell phone!). He talked with one of the staff and they drove me a little further down the street to the bus terminal. That staff member helped me find the right building and drove me back to the bus stop. It's great how helpful Koreans are and how they would hold onto something someone lost. If it was America, my stuff would be long gone because someone probably would've thrown it away if it wasn't valuable. I will try not to lose anything else!