As the days have been getting colder, I've wanter warmer dinners. One of my favorite Korean meals in shabu-shabu which is basically soup with tons of veggies and very thin lean meat. Some types of restaurants won't let you go if you're alone because they have portion sizes. So, I decided to make my own shabu-shabu. I bought beef stock stuff, bean sprouts, potatoes, onions, little sausages, and for the first time in my life (drum roll please) mushrooms. Yes, folks, I am eating mushrooms. I can't say yet that I LIKE them, but I will tolerate them. It's boiling on the stove as I type this, and I'm excited to eat it.
Today I was VERY sternly instructing the 4th graders, who were being overly rowdy at the time as 4th graders can be, to line up and be quiet. After I finished snapping my fingers and making them face the front, I sent them on their way. I turned around and one of my students was standing next to me. "I'm such a mean teacher." I said with a smile. "No, Miss Janke, you're a REAL teacher," she said emphatically. "REAL teachers are stern. You're stern but you're nice too." Good to know I have found a balance...at least in her eyes. :)
My students have very spread out band and orchestra schedules. Two kids go on Monday/Wednesday from 1-1:50, another two go on Tuesday/Thursday from 2-2:50 and one goes on Wednesday morning from 9:50-10:40. Pretty odd, huh? Anyways, I didn't know what to do during these random time slots, and I didn't want any kids to miss out on a lesson. So, I decided to do creative writing. I wrote very general topics on strips of paper and instructed the students to choose one and write 3 paragraphs about it using their imagination and making it as interesting as possible. We had been talking about what a cul-de-sac is (they don't have them in Korea) and one of the girls asked how to spell it. I wrote it on the board so that she could copy it. I thought nothing of it until the next day when I got in to class. One of the boys who is often in his own little world (bless his heart), asked, "Miss Janke, when is our cul-de-sac due?" I was very confused and asked him to repeat the question. He did and I still didn't understand. He said, "You know, our cul-de-sac!" and held up his paper. He had written the word at the top. I couldn't help but laugh. "It's called Creative Writing." I said. "You mean it's not called cul-de-sac???" He threw up his hands, growled, and put his head on his desk in embarrassment. It took him a while before he believed me that it was called creative writing. We now call it cul-de-sac instead of creative writing.
I was very joyful because we were watching a short video clip about fossils in Science the other day. We had talked at length about creation and evolution with Biblical support, etc. We had watched other clips about dinosaurs and things, and I had warned the kids that they might hear references to "millions of years ago." As we watched this clip, the narrator said this exact phrase. Without raising his hand, one boy said, "Hey! That's evolution! That's not true." With a furrowed brow. I commended him not only for actually listening, but also for being able to pick out lies from the truth. I'm thankful that the Lord is teaching them to discern for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
My favorite type of oranges that come from Jeju Island will be coming out soon. They are called hallabang (sp.) oranges. They are the size of a regular orange, but taste like a mix between a regular and a mandarin orange. They're so absolutely marvelous!
The landlord of my apartment would like a relative to move into the apartment in which I currently live. This means I have to move. I will be moving to a one room apartment called an officetel. It has a tiny kitchenette and a bathroom about the same size as the kitchenette. I'm excited because I enjoy small spaces better than large ones. Not only are they easier to clean, but I feel like I don't need all that extra space. If I want space, there is a wide world waiting for me. It's basically be big enough for my bed, dresser, desk, fridge, and possibly a small two seater couch if I can find a place to put it. I move in about 2 weeks.
Time to eat my soup. Peace.
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