9.

Happy 4th of July!

Missing this holiday feels weird. As I sit at my desk I really wish I was going home for some sweet corn on the cob and watermelon. It took me about ten minutes to remember what I even did last year! I about missed the fireworks with Heidi and Kyle because we couldn't find a place to park, and the year before that my family did miss the fireworks because they started early and somehow we were the only four in Cottage Grove who didn't get the memo. This year I'll be celebrating the 4th as well as our 9th-month-in-Korea-anniversary with Meredith. I wish our night involved corn on the cob, but a good ol' hamburger will have to do.

Let's talk about summer.

This is the first summer that doesn't feel like a "summer" for me and I think that's because these kids are still in school. The semester ends on July 26th and summer camp starts August 5th. That means I find myself behind the desk planning away. The only difference between planning this camp and the last camp is the heat. It seems like a sweet sweet memory that happened forever ago when I was wearing my winter jacket over many layers of clothing. I don't think I'll ever be allowed to complain about the weather again after this year in Korea because this was the coldest winter I've ever had and this is by the far the hottest summer I've ever had. At the moment Ulsan is in the rainy season but the only rain I feel comes off my own body. The humidity. Do I need to say more? I don't think I do.

This past month was pretty basic besides one Thursday four weeks ago. I got to the classroom and tried to sign on the computer but it wouldn't let me. So I waited. When the students and my co-teacher showed up I found out that the computer had been rebooted and so the password was new (a piece of information I would have liked to know before hand, oh well). Then as I start to set up my lesson my co-teacher tells me, "Lesson 7 is for next semester. Do you have something else planned?" Wait... what? There are still two months left of the semester and we are done with the text book?

And here is the amazing part. I didn't freak out. I didn't panic. I literally looked at her and said, "okay, I have one game then." The game was for lesson 7 but I didn't care about that little fact. Somehow (by the grace of God) I let the lack of communication roll off my back and I conducted class like nothing inconvenient had happened.

The real kicker was the kids LOVED the game. Every time we finished the game they would yell, "Again, teachuh again!", I just smiled and said, "Okay!" By the third period the game had become a trend and the student's ran in asking, "juambee game teachuh juambee game?"

That was four weeks ago and my third graders still ask me every class, "juambee game teachuh?" That Zombie game has become a legend and I plan on keeping it on my USB forever because surprises happen and I never know when I'll need a good "juambee" game to keep the kids occupied for 40 minutes.

Bless friends.