It's been a while

Greetings from neonnation,
Hey, does anybody out there in America care about the World Cup? I know I never did, but I'm ready to go this year. Here, it's all anyone cares about these days. Everyone is wearing their red "Corea, Let's Do It Again" Tshits. At first, I thought Korea spelled as Corea was just another hilarious English mistake, but it's actually intentional. From what I've heard, Koreans spell it with a C so that they can be above Japan in the alphabet. I know, that's petty as hell, but I wouldn't doubt it. The last World Cup was held here and Korea did suprisingly well. Since then, they've been waiting to show off on the international stage again. I think this stuff is especially important because Korea has always felt that their not known enough around the world. Then again, they pride themselves on being a hermit nation, so it's understandable that they don't demand much attention.
These most recent pics are from our Spring picnic in the park fieldtrip. I tried to get some pictures of the babies. I still can't believe I'm teaching 3 yr olds who can't even speak their native language a 2nd one. It's insane, but that's what happens with Korea's educational competitiveness. Also, I got some good pictures of Jun, the Swaton legend. I told you before about his pooping in his pants story. He's a giant, and he's got a massive perm to match his size. We often joke that it's a 'magic perm' which protects his head from being hurt in any way. He loves that. Also, the girl sitting next to Jun in a few shots is Ann, and she became my favorite Swaton student during this field trip. On days like this, the kids aren't pressured into speaking much English and most don't say much to us the whole day. I can't blame them, like breaktime and lunchtime, it's a chance for them to be amongst their peers and go crazy. But today, Ann wanted to walk with me, hold my hand the whole day and speak nothing but English. She was really excited about not speaking Korean and she did amazing. She doesn't understand it, but 3 hours of 1 on 1 English conversation is invaluable here in Korea and she got it. I've suggested all English days to Illinois class and they're really into it. Considering the erasing of their language and culture in the past, I would never demand that they not speak any Korean in their free time, but I merely offered a reward and presented it as a challenge. No penalties though. So far they all try on No Korean Days but only 1 or 2 can pull it off all day.
The pictures don't do the trick though. I really wish you could hear the children in class. My 6 year old students can go an entire 45 minute class without saying a word of Korean, but that does not mean they are speaking intelligible English. Most everything they say is broken to the point I doubt many people would understand it. After doing this for a year plus, I think I'm an expert now in putting together wretched, broken fragments of a sentence.

Example:

"Me is a yes" = "I did it" or "I have it"
"My no" = "I didn't do it" or "I don't have it"
"My is a doctor" = "I want to be a doctor"

It may sound as if I'm making fun of my students but you must understand I hear this stuff all day and it's not even funny to me anymore. It's only at times when I think how much I'd like to show all of you the realities of my life, that I'm reminded how absurd much of it is. Hey, Spring's here and I gotta hit up the broken, uneven, 9 ft. rim basketball courts while I can. Just trying to keep my game tight for the return. Stay up ya'all.

ps. Did you hear that new Chilli Peppers yet?