Seoul Lantern Festival

So I had this goal of writing 3 posts in November, to make up for the fact that I have only posted once since June. It's been SUPER BUSY in these parts since, oh, all year or so. It kinda slowed down in April, but things sped up again shortly thereafter. I have a busy job, so I don't have the down time that I used to have when I was a professor, plus I have a lot of creative outlets at work, plus I've started a baking venture on the side, so I don't use writing as a creative outlet much anymore. That plus I live on the outskirts of Seoul means I spend a lot more time on the subway train, and less time in front of my computer. Tra la la, it all adds up and the blog has been radio silent for a while. And November was absurdly busy. Oopsies. Whatever. Side note: Does anyone actually read these intro paragraphs, or do you all skip to the pictures? I'll be honest, I don't usually read the intros on other people's blogs. I'll keep writing anyway, because this is less about you, dear reader, and more about my scrapbooking-ish-ness for the proverbial grandkids (or something like that). 

I keep meaning to write about my awesome summer, but haven't yet. Soon! Hopefully. I finally organized pics from my adventures, so they'll make it up here eventually.

In the meantime!! I want to stay up to date with some of the other domestic adventures I go on while living in Korea. I am in Seoul now, obviously, and there are a lot of cultural advantages to living here!

Last month, my good friend Natalie and I went to Cheonggycheon, a pretty stream walk near the main palace, for the Seoul Lantern Festival. The festival ran from November 6 - November 22, 2015. It's a great festival to check out on a chilly November night, so we bundled up and went to the stream on a weeknight to avoid the crowds.

The lanterns are remarkable. We didn't make it all the way down the stream (it's like a 10 km walk), but the early lanterns were the most beautiful. They're huge and detailed and it's clear that a lot of care goes into each lantern's production. The lanterns in each section of the stream had themes, like "traditional games" or "countries around the world." I am not nearly as quick to take pictures of everything as I used to be when I was a new expat, but I got a few! It's so beautiful but the novelty has worn off, so I'm more apt to soak in the sights and just enjoy things than take pictures. I kind of like it this way :) What pictures I did take, however, I will share with you. Enjoy!

The first section was very traditional:

This section was like a world tour! Several countries were invited to bring lanterns for the showcase.

We found China!! 

We found Mt. Rushmore!! 

The Philippines was very Christmassy! 

After that it got very commercial and lame, so we opted to go get street food instead. It's hotteok season, baby! 

The end.
Back to the lights of the city. 

P.S. It feels like I just took you for a virtual walk along the stream. Thanks for coming along!

This is the library and I am its queen

Have I mentioned that I LOVE MY JOB? I love my job. When I decided to move to Seoul, I knew I didn't want to teach ESL conversation anymore, so I made a list of specifics that I wanted in my next job and just prayed into it. A friend of mine, who is now my sorta-roommate and co-worker, posted about a job opening in the library at her school and I applied... then when I went in for my interview, I could hardly sit still I was so excited. I was just sitting there thinking WHEN CAN I START??  Every little thing that they want me to do is either something I have tons of experience with *or* something I'm super excited about. I told my girl Naomi all about it of course and she stopped me and reminded me, "you know that all of this is exactly what you prayed for?" Wow. Wow. God is amazing. Every detail of this job is something I'd prayed into, but I never expected it to look like this. I never expected to work at a Canadian international school in Seoul, in the library of all places! I always thought I'd go back to teaching Social Studies, but God is pretty creative. 

Maybe I'll get back to teaching history again someday, but for now this is perfect. I love books. I love organizing. I love children, I love being creative. Surprisingly, I love long stretches of quiet time alone in the stacks (which are rare; there are almost always childrens around). I love that no two days look the same. I love teaching after school classes. Even the days that are more stressful and/or frustrating are worth it, because overall this is the most fun I've ever had at a job. I routinely stay late just to finish entering books or working on a new bulletin board. I have library club volunteers who help me with routine chores and new projects. I work with students one-on-one who need a little more attention for ESL. I teach an after school dance class 2x a week and I have an after school debate class 3x a week. I have to be flexible, because I don't know what might get thrown my way halfway through the day. That can be challenging with my propensity to want control of everything all the time, but I've learned a lot about submission to proper channels of authority lately, which is so good. 

I can't believe I get paid to have this much fun. Here's the highlight reel, but remember that there are also days when I'm doing nothing but digging through the stacks to find a missing book or freaking out that someone interrupted my messy stacks of organized chaos or realizing that I just deleted 4 days worth of work in one fell swoop or butting heads with a teacher about ESL support or drafting reports or filling out reimbursement paperwork with linked barcodes to every book in the order... but even with the boring or frustrating stuff, I wouldn't trade it. 

This is the library, and I am its queen :):):)

Some things about this job make me realize just how much I am turning into my mother. Here are my labeled scissors. These are mine, these scissors will not touch tape or any sticky hands. 

Also, the kids always seem to be able to find and knock over my coffee mug. I hear you, Mom. Sorry about all the times I did that as a kid. I don't know how they find it but they do, every single time! It's like they're magnetically attracted to my stuff so that they can knock it over. At least they're cute. I mean, look at them. 

Computer lab time 

My library club minions helping me organize and repair the board games section

Reading buddies come in on Friday afternoons!

ESL support with some 6th graders

And then I get to go to conferences about how to be a better educator. I LOVE PD DAYS. #nerdalert

I was in charge of lunch detention for about a week, so I made the kids help me decorate my Poet-tree. They said it was the most fun detention they'd ever had... I think I did it wrong :)

I ordered a library barcode scanner that ended up being much more hassle than anticipated, but it FINALLY arrived and has since REVOLUTIONIZED my life. SO EFFICIENT, OH MAN I LOVE IT.

We had a spring break carnival for the kindergarten and I got to play on the jumpy house and paint faces. It was pretty fantastic.

I mean, could they be any cuter? 

One day we had an opera assembly. 

And sometimes I make nerdy librarian puns (...and by sometimes I mean always. Just wait until I blog about all my bulletin boards... heheheheheheh iloveit)

I get REALLY excited about all the new books to order and input and barcode and shelve and then READ!!! ...or re-read :-D

    

  

 

 

Best. Smell. Ever. 

Sometimes I get to substitute teach, which is fun and different. I like that it keeps me connected to the classroom. I get to know a lot more kids that way!

Sometimes teachers need an extra chaperone for nature walks and stuff. I'm a big fan of those.

I like to go visit the pre-k and kindergarten classes when I have a spare moment. Sometimes we have a little story time :)

Just a couple of 3 year olds, working on their names. 

One class wrote appreciation notes to people who don't usually feel appreciated... HEART. MELT.

School picture day!!

And here's my after school debate club from the first term!

I had a pretty big* group of 7th and 8th graders, sooooo it was a little challenging to 1) focus and 2) actually debate anything. Teenagers. Oh how I love their awkward wonderfulness! It was fun to do public speaking practice with them! The first term ended a few weeks ago, so I don't have most of these kids after school anymore. They chose web design for their new after school activity... psh. whatever.

*big is relative. For the size of our school this is a big group, but for a 5A school at home, I know this is not big. 

My second-term debate club is only 2 guys, but they are really driven! We are doing modified L-D debate and they are rocking it!! The world needs more teenage boys like this, cause they're growing up to be good, solid men!

I really can't believe I get paid to have this much fun.