Attempt and Fail

I really want to be able to bring some of my culinary experience from SK back to OK.  One of my favorite "snacks" here is kimbap.  Kimbap (or Gimbap) is the Korean version of sushi.  It is considered fast food and extremely inexpensive if you purchase it from a restaurant (dollar to won it's about $1.00).  Not to mention, it's really great for you! "Kim" means seaweed and "bap" means rice (and that's your language lesson for today).  


You can put anything you want to in the middle but some traditional items would be: korean radish, carrot, egg, spam (because it IS an essential meat in SK), cucumber, garlic, peppers, ground fish patty, spinach...and the list goes on!  I have literally had various locals stuff their personal kimbap in my mouth because they want me to "oooo" and "ahhh" and their selection of foods inside.

The potential spread: before

I wanted to make kimbap and let my Korean friends tell me how they would alter it to make it better.  I didn't get that far though because it popped on me....

I'll keep working and I'm sure by June I'll have it down!  

QU Wedding

For years now, we have celebrated the union of the letters /Q/ and /U/ in holy 'letter-mony'. Because the letter Q can never be without its partner U, it seemed fitting to incorporate this special matrimony into our curriculum here in SK.  My kindergarten team jumped on board and our students had a great time celebrating the new sound /QU/ (pronounced /kw/).  The girls dress up as QUeens and the boys dress as QUarterbacks.  As Canon in D plays, the students walk down our aisle arm in arm to witness the two letters' marriage.  Naturally, we have to have an officiate.  This year, I decided that I would ask GENERAL Harvey to do this great honor.  It would be similar to me inviting our state governor.  Not having much experience with military protocol, I simply emailed the General.  His "people" got in touch with me a few days later to inform me of his great need elsewhere and regretted he would not be attending.  Apparently there is a chain of command when regarding such high ranking officers but...I'm a civilian...so I can claim being naive. Three days before the wedding, I received a phone call from one of the General's soldiers explaining that the General had rearranged his schedule because he really wanted to participate!!! I was fist pumping in the air while on the phone! They asked if I could come to a meeting with General Harvey the following day (during school) to go through the program.  Administration covered my class during the meeting.  Our visit together should have lasted about 5 minutes.  It lasted over an HOUR!  When I first met him I was nervous. You would have thought I would have dressed up. Nope. I was in Kindergarten painted jeans and a pair of Chuck Taylor Shoes. Good one, Becca. But-should I salute?  Should I wait to speak until I am asked to do so?  One wrong move and am I getting kicked out of Korea? He very quickly made me feel very comfortable and asked me so many questions on my views about the school system here and how I felt we could improve them to make it equal to or above national standards.  ME?  Really??  I begged his forgiveness and made sure he realized that I have only been with DOD since August.  He didn't seem to mind and suggested my opinions were 'fresh' and 'new'.  


The following day, he sent his brigade of soldiers to the school to have me walk them through the location of the event, his entrance, his exit, where he will be standing, what he will wear, etc. I have never had to think for someone in so many ways.  The day of the wedding was upon us and I received a phone call from the soldiers about 20 minutes before 'go time.' I was sure something came up and they were canceling.  Nope!  The General wanted to ask for my permission to wear a QUarterback jersey instead of his Dress Blues (the fancy uniform).  They also asked if I would make him a bow tie.  He did such a great job hamming things up with the kids! I think the parents were really impressed that he was there.  Their big boss watching their every move.  Those in uniform who were able to get off duty for the event stood at attention as he entered the room as if it were a natural twitch.  It was great to see them freeze...if you want parents on their best behavior...invite their head commanding officer to their child's event! We had a huge reception following the ceremony (to which the General was given a to-go basket of goodies for because he was whisked away quickly).  The kids are STILL talking about General Harvey making an appearance in our school!  

The General taking off his jacket to reveal his support! 

Kindergarten Team with the General 

A Very, Chilly Valentine's Day

Daegu received more snow than what it has seen in almost 20 years on Valentine's Day!  It was so much fun to heat up some hot chocolate in my kitchen at school, bundle up my students and take our chairs outside while enjoying watching our snow falling on the patio!  The chunks of snow were huge and fluffy.  It was probably the prettiest snow fall I have ever seen...I believe it added up to about 6 inches.  The locals were loving it but had no idea how to drive/walk in it.

Susan, my LA friend, de-snowing her car with a broom after school. 

 Our school parking lot

We ended up having a Snow Day the following school day.  It was a great surprise and allowed Jake and me to get out into Daegu to celebrate Valentine's Day without having to worry about a curfew.

We went to see Gulliver's Travels in 4-D at the Cinema.  As you can see...we were the only people in there.  We had a great evening together!