A Very Warm Blessing!

I just thought I would share one of the most recent blessings that God has provided in my life here in Korea...

You see, since I'm in the far north of the country, the winters are even colder than those I experienced during college in Anderson, Indiana. I came here with a pretty nice (fake) leather jacket that I thought was pretty warm when I first got it... but the past few weeks have shown me just how thin that jacket is! Ha! Do you know it even snowed for the first time here a couple weeks ago (already!) -- yep, about 3 inches in one day! So, I needed a new coat. Not a jacket, but a coat. One of my co-workers, Mrs. Choi, who works in the administration office, saw my sorry excuse for a winter coat and actually went out and bought me this big guy... who, aside from the rather long fur rim on his hood (which tends to blind me and get in my mouth) is the warmest coat that I have ever owned! I am so grateful to my friend and co-worker for this wonderful Christmas gift :)

The day of the first snow, looking out through the flagpoles at school....

One of the awesome school lunches that we get to have every day! The only thing I could probably do without is the kimchi...

This is a little gift I received from my school... it is a piece of artwork that doubles as a keychain and a pair of fingernail clippers!

 Above is the playground a few days after the first snow...

Below is the statue of 이순신 (Yi Sun Shin), a great Korean naval commander from the sixteenth century.

The setting sun over the playground... this is what Mr. Yi Sun Shin gets to look at every day

The English Zone

Here's a look at my classroom for those who are curious about what my working environment looks like! This will just be a quick post with some pictures. Hopefully I can add some captions or explanations to it later this week.

 Okay, I have to give a caption here... haha.
I just found these audiobooks on the shelf with all the other English reading materials in my classroom and had to take a photo... they just seem sooo out of place on that shelf. I asked my co-teacher where they came from and she didn't even know. She assumed they must have been the property of the previous NET (Native English Teacher) --- but she was from New Zealand! Anything is possible, but this still was very weird.

And this is where we trade in our real shoes every morning for slippers... I can't stand this part of the job because my feet get so cold in the slippers and there is no central heating. But, it keeps the floors semi-clean so, what are you gonna do?

My third and fourth grade sticker chart for the month of November... I have to make a new one in the morning!