The Happenings in November

First off, let's discuss the celebrations that have come with the fall and those first oh-so-chilly, I-am-from-California-and-can-barely-handle-it first touches of winter. My beloved friend Gina's Italian fiance finally arrived here in Korea. They had been in the throes of a cross-continental romance for the last few months, and now have finally experienced the joys of being together again. This was their "engagement party", though they've actually been engaged for months. But, this was our first chance to celebrate with and meet Mauricio, the man whom we have all heard so much about. He made us pasta (with real Italian parmigiano reggiano that he hand-carried in a huge block from Italia!), kimchi omelettes, we had wine, and all of it was on the roof of our building. It was, um... chilly to say the least, but we were warmed by the food and by the good company. And we were all definitely being a bit hammy for the cameras. All of these lovely ladies are my co-workers, several of whom I have grown very close to; closer than I ever expected I would in such a short period of time, and with so many cultural differences, but as cheesy as it sounds, it is so true that ultimately, we're all the same human material with the same struggles and the same joys.

Then, there is darling Pamela's birthday... Oh, what would I do here without Pamela? I can only say that the first day I went to my church, I met this woman, and we both realized we were meant to be bff's. So, like, we're totally bff's. She is a pillar of strength, a hoot, a riot, genuine and kind, intelligent and wickedly talented. She has been a light to me in some dark times I've experienced here, and is a light to everyone who knows her... I'm just blessed to be one of them. And here we are at an Indian food restaurant celebrating that she's now as old as I am (poor thing...), and I learned that Korea has the best Indian food I have ever tasted, and probably the most expensive, and it happened to be served in what looked like Pamela's grandmother's basement. Granted, the ambience wasn't all I'd hoped for (or all the website said it would be) but the 15 or so of us enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

And, finally, below you'll see my little people. I actually teach in about 15 different classrooms every week, so some kids I don't see as often as others, but I've endeavored to take some pics of the kids I am especially fond of, though I love them all. I say "endeavored" because many of the children here just don't want their pictures taken, especially the girls. It was driving my crazy. They're so demonstrative with me during class, and then as soon as I pull out the camera, they cover their faces and are absolutely determined to prevent me from my goal. Argh... But, some of the children obliged, and thankfully they are some of the faces I'm going to want to remember forever.