Happy Teachers' Day

So these days, life at school has been really good. I've finally hit my stride and the new students have completely warmed up to me, and then some. They're crazy, energetic, and make me laugh every day. It's going to be very hard to leave them. Now that June is upon us, I know that time's going to fly by, even more so than it already has. I have exactly 6 more weeks left at my school. Can you believe it?! I have no idea where my grant year went!

Anyway, I've really been trying to make the most of the time that I have left here. For starters, I've been getting to know the English Cafe members quite well, since I spend lunch time there every day. Some of them don't have the best English, but they make up for it with kindness and sincerity. Here are some photos of the cafe and everyone together, after a lunch outing on May 12th.

Tuesday, May 15th was a special holiday in Korea, amongst other countries: Teachers' Day. It's too bad it's not celebrated in America. On this day, students show appreciation for their teachers with cute notes, classroom decorations, and delicious baked goods. I swear, I ate cake on 5 different occasions that day. Not like I'm complaining, though...

The students were especially well behaved and screamed "Congratulations" to me all day long. I didn't have the heart to tell them that "Congratulations" probably isn't the best word to use in this context. But I knew what they were trying to express and appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. Here are a few gifts that students gave me on Teachers' Day.

And here are some letters that my students wrote for me. They sure know how to make a teacher feel special and loved.

Class 1-14 really outdid themselves by writing me messages all over the chalkboard and decorating it with balloons. My favorite message is the one all the way on the far left. It says, "You're (the) only one in my life." Students are very funny sometimes. I had such a wonderful Teachers' Day. It's likely the only one that I'll ever have, but I don't think that I could've asked for anything better.

Lastly, you can see that students wrote on the chalkboard that I look like Kim Yu-Na, the Olympic gold medalist and elegant figure skater. Actually, she is the only person that I ever been told that I look like in Korea. Honestly, I don't really see it but students insist that the resemblance is uncanny, especially when I smile.

That was two weeks ago, but a lot has changed since then. Last night, one of my club class students mentioned that I look like Dooly, the little cartoon dinosaur (from an old children's tv show in Korea). The rest of the students agreed. Now, I know that Koreans love to compare people's appearances to animals. But really?! I'm a green cartoon dinosaur?! Guess I gotta start mastering that wink now.