Fitness Fun

The last Friday of each month is spent recognizing students who have recently had a birthday.  The foreign teachers (that's us) trade off leading the event, which consists of sight word tests, birthday singing, and photo ops.  Last month it was my turn.

After the “party” each month, students participate in some kind of fun activity.  November’s activity was a complete physical aptitude test for each student.  Various activities tested their strength, reflexes and endurance.  

There was a shuttle run...

A balance test...

A long jump...

Jump roping...

And sit-ups.

It was a blast.  Judging by their expressions, I think the kids had fun too. :)

Family Fun on Sports Day

For “Sports Day,” the teachers from our school ventured to a giant multi-use arena to take part in a variety of activities with our kindergarten students and their families.  All six branches of our school were involved, divided into two teams, blue and white.  Go blue team!

I helped carry South Korea’s flag in an opening ceremony preceding the events. 

Once the national anthem had been played it was time for the games to begin.  The students participated in races, relays and tug-of-war.

Their families also took part in some of the activities, both with their children and without.   

This flag football game between moms got heated.  It was hilarious.

Another highlight was that I assisted in holding a large tube open for the five year olds to run into and then out of.  I captured one student's excitement here, just before he entered the tube.

Between events the students in the crowd kept entertained by making faces and playing with Ryan Teacher.

Ryan also ran in a teacher/parent relay, where he brought our team to victory. 

With all the combined events, the Blue team won the day.

Speaking of sports, the Ducks are going to play in the National Championship in Arizona on January 10th!  How amazing.

Hannukah's End

Last Wednesday marked the end of Hannukah.  Together Ryan and I made homemade potato latkes and applesauce for the occasion.

Precautions were taken during cooking, especially while grating the onions.  I haven't laughed that hard in awhile.

Despite the heavy aroma of potatoes and onions, along with some oil spatters, everything turned out to be delicious. 

In addition to our applesauce, the latkes were topped with the forbidden sour cream we try to avoid buying from Costco.  It’s the holidays, right?

After dinner we played dreidel, complete with the traditional (at least in our family) M&Ms as gambling chips.   

The glow of our small menorah and other holiday candles made us feel happy and at home.

See you next year Hannukah.

Hugging Holiday

Today’s informal 14^th holiday is “Hug Day.”   

The cold winter weather calls for snuggling, so grab your favorite guy or girl and hug them!  That’s what today is (and what every day should be) all about.

A case of the Mondays

Today is definitely Monday. 

The weekend didn’t seem quite long enough (does it ever?) and we woke up late to a gray, drizzly morning.  Having slept through the alarm, there was no longer time to hit the gym together and then leisurely get ready for school after an energizing work out.  Instead we rushed around to eat, shower and get dressed in less than twenty minutes.  We left the apartment like bats out of hell, running to the elevator and willing it to hurry to the first floor once we were in.  As she always does, our sweet neighbor attempted friendly conversation on the way down.  She spoke slowly and loudly as if that might help us understand Korean.  It didn’t.

Breaking into a steady jog, I looked down to shield my face from the rain and was shocked when I saw my feet. 

“Ryan!”  I squealed, “I’m wearing two different shoes!”

I wish I was kidding.  In my haste to grab the first pair from the shoe cubby near the front door, I hadn’t grabbed a pair of shoes at all.  In fact, one was black and one was brown.

Ryan immediately dissolved into laughter and although I was mortified, I had to laugh too.  I’ve never been so happy (or so quick) to remove my shoes at our school’s door and don my slippers. 

Oh, Monday.