Five for Friday

It's Friday! It's time to do a happy dance! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for the weekly linky party.

Let's get it started!

So I now have a new favorite spot in my neighborhood. I found it by accident, and I absolutely love it. Here are some pictures to show you why...

Can you see why it's my favorite spot? Makes you want to visit Korea, doesn't it?

This was totally me! I would sleep 9 hours and then STILL wake up exhausted. And I would wake up often in the middle of the night with restless legs. If you don't have restless legs, you're lucky. They are a pain in the butt.

However, it's not me anymore! Now, I go to sleep easily, stay asleep, AND wake up refreshed...often after only 6-7 hours of sleep.

I never knew how great it could be.

I started taking Plexus in November, and it has totally changed my sleep. Woo-hoo!!

On Wednesday, I had not one but two pleasant surprises. 

First surprise, my co-teacher and I sat down and had a wonderful conversation about our teaching together. We collaborated and came up with some ideas and solutions for our students (they are not on grade level, yet we must use the grade level textbook). It was so good. I will admit that my heart started pounding a bit with excitement. 

Second surprise, while walking home from school, a random Korean woman approached me and asked me if I spoke Korean to which I responded very little. She then tells me that my Korean is very good (I don't speak a lot...trust me), asks some more questions (where is my family and am I religious). Afterwards, she gives me this big hug (hugs, especially from people you've just met are simply not done). Korea, you surprise me sometimes. I sure do like surprises. 

I finished The Office last week and had asked for suggestions for the next TV show to watch.

I normally LOVE crime, murder, and mystery shows, but I was in the comedy mood.

My cousin's husband suggested Parks and Recreation.

So I started watching it.

I LOVE it! Each season gets better. I am now on Season 5. I feel like Ann and Leslie are my friends.

Does that make me weird? Wait...if the answer is yes, don't tell me.

On Tuesday night, I was walking home from the subway at 11:00 pm. I was joined by a big group of middle and high school students walking home from their hagwons. 

Many students go to their hagwon (private schools) after a long day at public school. No football. No band. No drill team. Nothing like that. It's all about studying for the big exam. 

I cannot imagine growing up like that.

Since my students are blind or visually impaired and most have learning disabilities, they do not go to hagwons, so I don't know the ins and outs of them.

My friend, Ashlee, says it the best...
As soon as kids hit middle school, any form of a LIFE goes out the window. I believe this is a reason the standards for males and females when searching for a significant other is so ludicrously high - their sense of reality when it comes to the real world and real world people is severely warped. There's a reason most Koreans go to Jeju Island on a honeymoon (many of them know NOTHING of sexuality before seeing the sex museums on the island). It's somewhat bizarre, but moreover sad.
Students RARELY made their own choices in response to their futures not that long ago, but that DOES seem to be slowly changing.
What's even more bizarre, though, is that most individuals here choose to dress, act, and live in the exact same way as their fellows (it's a VERY communal society), so the vicious cycle of high suicide and low college entry rates continues to fester.
This country truly is marvelous, but there are some things that just seem incredibly and unnecessarily unfair for these kids.


The last thing I want to mention is the ferry accident here in Korea. The country is in mourning. School trips, school events, city events, etc have been postponed. This country is a very collective society...they are all about community. By canceling or postponing events, it shows that you support the community.

My friend posted this on Facebook, and it had me in tears.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/boy-and-girl-on-korean-ferry-drowned-with-life-jackets-tied-together/article18182140/

You have to understand how it's done in Korea. Remember when I said that it's all about community, and they do things together?

If someone tells you to do something, you do it. You don't question it. It's hard to explain, and I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. There is no going against the flow here. It's all about the status quo. So maybe that helps you understand why most of the children stayed in their cabins. The people in charge (granted they had NO safety training) told them to stay in their cabins. So they did.

Please join me in praying for these families. 

I'm glad you found my blog, and I "heart" comments if you want to say howdy!