A Very "Swine" Halloween!

What a week! I'll start off by talking about Halloween.


We celebrated Halloween at ECC last Friday.  It was a fun-filled day with little Koreans running around the school dressed up as witches, fairy tale characters, and the killer from the "Scream" movies.  For some reasons, my kids have a weird fascination with that costume, or it is possibly one of the only scary costumes you can get in Korea.  Friday was one of those days that I love my school, the people I work with, and my students.  It was a great day that was comprised of too much candy, face painting, and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."  


The day started with group pictures with EVERY Kinder class.  They were all so cute dressed up-- much cuter than western kids, I might add and if I haven't made that clear. :) If you can see me in the picture to the left,  I am the dude in the red jacket and yellow bow tie.  I went as T.O.P., a Korean boy band singer and actor.  He is from the band "Big Bang," which is one of the most popular bands in Korea.  The inspiration from my costume can be found by clicking here and here, as they are a mixture of both outfits from the music video "Lollipop."  Katelyn, who is on my left in the picture, went as Sandara Park from 2NE1 who is also in the music video, and her costume's inspiration can be found here, and yes, she is the one with the very tall, middle-of-the-head pony tail.


All of the teacher's dressed up at ECC.  Some were crayons, Ian was Optimus Prime, Steve, my new roommate was a cowboy, and a few Korean teachers went as Minnie Mouse, as well as scary monkeys and witches. We all had fun and it was a day to remember thus far at ECC.  It really makes me love my school, and I feel really lucky to work at ECC as I have heard many horror stories from other academies and schools around Gwangju from my other friends.  Anyways, below are some more pictures of ECC's Halloween party, and as always, the entire photo albums can be found on Facebook; however, if you want me to send you more pictures through email, all you have to do is ask.

The Playground 6 class I share with Olivia.  I have taught them for six months.  There are a few students missing.  This is a really good and smart class.

James is the new Korean student I'm going to still and bring back home.  He is one of Katelyn's students.  He would bow to me and say "Hello" in Korean every time he saw me.  He is the cutest kid at ECC.

After ECC on Friday, we all went to Miller Time in Bongseon dong.  It was Ian's last weekend in South Korea before he traveled Southeast Asia for three months.  He is coming back to Korea next year.  It was a good night. 

On Saturday night (Halloween), I met up with Young-tae, Jo, Beth, Kate, Lauren, and Amanda for some Outdoor Galbi and drinks.  The food as delicious (as always), and the 맼 주 was refreshing.  After dinner, in costumes, we went to Miller Time downtown.  I might add that we got some very interesting looks dressed up in costume, as Korea does not celebrate Halloween as a holiday.  Jo was dressed as a white dog, Beth was dressed as a gorilla, Kate, Amanda, and Lauren were dressed up as different triangles, Young-tae dressed as himself, and I went as T.O.P. once again.  So, you can imagine walking into a bar and getting concerned looks from at least one hundred Koreans.


This past week has been quite busy.  As always, it's the last and first week of the month, so it is very busy with new lesson plans, grading big test and book reports, and writing student evaluations.  I was ahead of the game this month and pretty much got everything done on time.  It's always such a relief to finish those two weeks because the next three weeks during the next month is a piece of cake-- just plan your classes, teach, and have fun.


This past week, I came down with a cold on Tuesday.  Tuesday night was a horrible night of sleep-- I could never get warm, even though I slept in pants, socks, and a sweatshirt.  When I woke up the next day, my lymph nodes were swollen and my throat was sore.  It wasn't going to be a good day at work.  On Wednesday, I felt dizzy, cold, and in general, sick all day.  I constantly checked my temperature to make sure I didn't have a fever, seeing that if my school found out I could possibly have the Swine flu, they'd FREAK out.  After my 5:40 class, I check my temperature once again and I had a 101.  So, I naturally told my school and they immediately snuck me out of the hospital (yes, the word "snuck" is intentionally used because the school didn't want any students to see me wearing a medical face mask).  After being dropped off in a dark alley by Alex, ECC's manager, I waited for Will to pick me up and take me to the hospital.  Will is our technology man at school who knows minimal English, so the car ride to the hospital was interesting.


At the hospital, I took my temperature, got asked some questions, got two steroid shots in the ass, got some Tamiflu and other packets of medicine to take over the next five days, and was on my way.  The hospital wants me to come back today (Thursday) for more tests, but I am refusing, as I want to see how these meds work before I go back.  The doctor said he thinks I have the Swine Flu but I disagree.  I think it was just a cold that eventually escalated.  Nothing too big.  I feel much better today, although I'm still a bit weak and now a little nauseated.  Teachers from work are covering my classes today so I basically have a sick day today.  Today will comprise of watching the fifth season of Lost, reading John Knowles' "A Separate Peace," and resting.  


And here I am, writing this blog, sitting, inevitably approaching boredom...