florida

so a couple weeks ago I went to Florida for a DoDEA meeting. it was a lot of fun to catch up with friends i had made from the last meeting in massachusetts. a group of us went to busch gardens on sunday before all of our work began, fed some lorikeets, rode on some crazy roller coasters, got SOAKED on some water rides, and even heard a concert from huey lewis. aside from the fun, we did have our share of good work to do. we spent most of the day in discussions, collaborating, presenting, and then more discussing. it was a lot of fun, but tiring work. i'm just very grateful to have made friends with all those in the task force. it makes "work" seem a lot less like work.

it was nice to be in some warm sunlight and be around some familiar settings too. i've now fully recovered from the jetlag. my apologies to anyone who had conversations with me between the days of february 20-march 4th. i've been half zombie up until now.

it's pretty surreal to travel from one end of the world to another in just a few days. it does feel good to be back...i missed pete, my best bud. it's always nice to reunite after being apart, even if only for a few days.

random side note: koreans really like their romantic dramas. as i'm sitting here typing this blog, i'm watching a korean music video of a couple in love who not only get in a horrific car accident--their bodies lay twisted and bloody from the wreck, but they survive. their car is hanging off the edge of a bridge smashed to smithereens. then for the kicker, the two lovers lay staring at one another relieved neither has died, but the car teeters off the edge and WHAM, flattens the guy. the koreans like their depressing love stories!

some more snippets of my day...

One of my little boy's journal entries from ("What do you want to be when you grow up?" day)

Today is what you want to be when you gore up. I am gana be a calben (chaplain) and my mom is gana go to school wef me and I think it will be fun and why I want be a clan (chaplain) is because I love Good (God) and I want to see what he look like’s and I like he’s soges (songs). I am gna sogne (gonna sing) my Good is a osm (awesome) Good He Yas (reigns) Form Efn (forever) and Mide (mighty) and Asa Ma Ose My God is a Osom Good. At School I yar (wear) datar calos (doctor clothes) but what I want to be is a caleen ween I grow up and yesn (reason) why I dnit whr chaplain clothes wes because I dnit have it. I dinit have it.

Here's a quote from another little boy in class of what he said to one of the subs at my school (who is in her 40's). The same little guy who says, "Mrs. Watt, you so handsome!"

little boy to sub: "wow, your hands looks so old. But your face is ok!"

kids, kids, kids... : )

what is love? according to 7-year olds

Love is daken your grolfrind on a date and kissing. Her name is maggie I have a cash on her. I love you maggie! So so so so so so so much! I love you maggie. Happy vilintine’s day!

Love is playing with your little brother and oh he made a big mess. i help clean up the mess for him because cleaning is fun. believe me, it is.

love is peas. and love is respeckt. love is caring and love is hugs and kisses.

love is hugging and kissing your mom.

Happy Valentine's Day!

headed to florida

i am headed to tampa, florida for my next task force meeting (for DoDea).

tough work, but someone's got to do it. i'll be there from feb 20-27. :)

learning from children

i had a really sweet moment with one of my kiddos today. during journal time, one of my little girls approached me to read me her story. (side note: she has been a student who has really blossomed as a reader and writer. at the beginning of the year she really struggled and lacked confidence, but she's really caught up and she just glows with excitement about her journal entries. pretty cool)

her journal entry was like this:

I was feelg reely sad becus my frend tol me her dad died in the arme. i was so shokd to here that and i felt so sad for her. i cried and cried and cried. i told her, "i am so so so so sorry that happnd".

by the time she finished reading her journal aloud to me giant tears had welled up in my eyes. i was so very moved by her overwhelming amount of sincerity and compassion all within this little body. i looked at her and just said, "that's so beautiful." she, being her little girl self, smiled gently and skipped back to her seat completely unaware of how profound her story was to me.

often times, adults do not know how to console people in the midst of tragedy. we have all these cliche statements to band-aid people's pain without really considering the depth of their loss. we push people into being hopeful and deny them their right to hurt and grieve.

then, here is this little girl who has only lived for seven years and has very little experience with death, tragedy, or loss, but she seemed to have the wisdom to handle her friend's pain in such a delicate and Christ-like manner. she embraced it and wept with her.

Thank you, Father for giving us moments as these to remind us of how to love and how you love us. Give us hearts like children --that we would care about others in a deeply moving way.

classroom visitors

my classroom had a couple visitors this week. my kids are always anxious to meet any of my friends or family. first, peter came to observe and the kids became smitten with him almost immediately. one of my students wrote me a note a couple months ago as well as a note for peter. peter's note said:

dear misr watt,

i didt see you a lot. but tell mis watt to tayck you to school.

love from jane

and to jane's delight, i brought peter to school or as my first graders would say, i "taked" him to school with me. my kids were anxious to talk to him and show-off for him. i've never seen them act so hammy before. they're funny. i wasn't sure how they would react to him since they still make crinkled cringing "ew" faces when i tell them i'm married and love my husband. at the end of the day one of my kids lost a marker but had the cap in her hand. we searched all over the classroom for it, turning over rugs, looking under tables, but no luck. peter then pushed one of my bookshelves out with his impressive strength and found the runaway marker. he held the marker up in his hand and upon notice of his clutch find i exclaimed, "mr. watt, you're my hero!" my kids all turned to me and responded in unison, "eeeeeewww!!!"

a couple days later my dear friend, karin, also came to school to do an art activity with my kids. she brought in copies of paintings by matisse and demonstrated how to use pattern, collage, and shapes in art. my kids looved it. they could have done it for hours and a few were quite disappointed school ended at 2:30. i think some would have stayed til 5:00 to finish their project if i let them. : ) they also loved karin. several of my students came to me quietly to tell me very approvingly, "your friend is very nice."

it's so great how my little guys learn to cling and love someone---strangers so quickly. both peter and karin were strangers when they entered our classroom, but within only 20 minutes they were receiving hugs and cuddles from these little people. too bad we lose that as we get older.

one of my dear little boys in class speaks english as a second language. he's this adorably stout little boy with chubbiness in all the right places to give him a look of being a baby and a 75 year old man at the same time. he's quite notorious in the elementary wing for his chris farley-ish appearance (& behavior) and super cute outfits---sweater vests galore and dockers. he looks like a little korean yuppy. he just needs a country club membership. anyway, he's my most frequent little cuddler--always coming up to me for some hugs (sometimes he tries to slip in a kiss here and there). he wraps his little chubby arms around me and nuzzles his face into my stomach and then looks up at me with his cute little round, rosy face. his latest phrase he likes to proclaim is, "awww. i love mrs. watt! mrs. watt so handsome! mrs. watt so handsome!"

banchan

koreans eat well. man, do they eat well. a traditional korean meal is comprised of banchan, which are various side dishes that accompany the main meal. some restaurants may have as many as 20 different banchan dishes provided with your meal. the super amazing part of it all is all of the banchan dishes are refillable and free (unlimited amounts too!)! examples of banchan dishes are kimchi (there are hundreds of varieties of kimchi), sauteed vegetables, noodles, fish, roasted laver, steamed dishes, casseroles, squash, onions, tofu, sauces, salads, etc. they are yummy. it makes eating so much more exciting because you could easily eat an entire meal with no two bites alike. amazing.

another hugely amazing thing about korean food is that it is cheap! if you want to eat at a "western restaurant" for mediocre steak or spaghetti you'll pay a pretty big bill, but if you want a traditional korean meal with those glorious banchan dishes i mentioned, dinner is often around only 8,000 won, which translates to about US $6!

we still have 2 years left here and i'm already feeling the pain of korean food withdrawal for when we leave....