RAVING/HAPPY SH!T MEGATHREAD

I just walked barefoot to the bathroom and back.

Probably not doing my socks any favors.

But it felt so good.

The most thrilling comeback in ESL game history.

Team 6 is in the hole. Deep in the hole. A series of mistakes and bad luck seems to ensure that victory is nigh impossible today. Lacking all hope for a brighter future, when their turn comes around, Team 6 ironically cheer for minus points in order to see how low their humiliation can go. Darkness and depression consume all.

Penultimate round, a fluke answer and scoring bonanza bring Team 6 out of the red. The mood shifts from despondency to tempered optimism. Team 1's once insurmountable lead is shaken. "안 돼ㅐㅐㅐㅐㅐㅐ!" they shriek. Yet, being 2nd graders, arrogance wins their hearts and the taunting resumes. Surely our lead is secure, right?

Wrong. A flubbed answer by Team 2 opens the floor to all comers and Team 6 grabs their chance. This is a "cultural question" and, as Team 6 are book smart but lacking in general cultural knowledge that extends beyond Obuhwatch and Twiceuh, the players take a wild gamble on the answer. Their courage pays off. The answer is worth a towering ten points. A ray of sunshine appears...

This sets up a two-way tie going into the bonus round. Team 1's flippant condescension melts away as the momentum shifts to Team 6. The clock, unsympathetic to the unfolding drama, marches inexorably forward: 9:45 is coming. Sweat dribbles down the players' brows as the air con is not allowed to be used on this day in July. But as Aries the God of war cares not for air con, the action continues.

The last two contenders stand ready, and the final question is displayed. Despite the high stakes it seems like Team 1 has been shocked into submission and is reacting in slow motion. Team 6, sensing looming victory, nimbly dismiss the bonus question using grammar points skillfully taught by their stunningly handsome foreign teacher. Pandemonium ensues, Team 6 erupts in whoops of joy as Team 1 sits in subdued silence. Victory and defeat are brothers. Yin and Yang.

Team 6 gleefully reap the spoils of hard fought victory, aka Tootsie Pop miniatures.

This victory shall echo through the halls of time, the strategy and methods employed will be studied and discussed for millenia. Never forgotten will be, this day of dreams realized. Or until PE class...

Today was a good day.

Beautiful post. I wait with bated breath for the epik retelling of the inevitable rematch!

Thursday and Friday we resume classes after finals, so I'm gonna play the werewolf/mafia game with the classes I have on those days. Didn't see any cards online that I really liked so I decided to spend all morning making my own. I spent about two hours sketching and tracing on the window and even though I know objectively they kinda suck, I feel proud of myself for doing it so I wanted to share.

On Friday I did a lesson on Canada for Canada day and my student drew me this! so cute!

Smoothie A: Frozen blueberries from HomePlus (they're cheap, often on sale, and unsweetened, which is important, because processed sugar is basically poison), one banana. One and a half bananas if you're feeling luxurious. Add some milk and water as desired. Blend well. It's frosty and cool, and super delicious, without anything bad for you in it.

Smoothie B: One to one-and-a-half bananas. Unsweetened cocoa powder (again, processed sugars are gross - don't eat them). Some super soft tofu. Top up with milk and water. You need less milk, because the tofu adds a lovely thick, creamy texture.

Smoothie C: Only recommended if you plan on exercising or have exercised within an hour or so of drinking it. Milk, soft tofu, water, unsweetened peanut butter, banana, and a tiny bit of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's similar to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but not terrible for your life.

Note: Wheat germ, flax seed, bran, etc can all be added for some extra roughage and are highly recommended, but will definitely increase the prices of your smoothies.

Thanks! I'll definitely try those~ I've never considered using tofu as an ingredient for a smoothie but it sounds interesting (in a good way) so I will have to try that out. Thanks again!

Also, is there any particular reason that Smoothie C should only be had before or after a workout besides the calorie count (I'm assuming that's the reason)? Because it sounds really good but I don't want to work out... lol I need to... but I don't want to...

Re: Smoothies

I actually don't like milk at all, so my smoothie consists of: ~1 frozen banana, 4-5 frozen strawberries, and maybe a cup or two of orange juice (I pour the orange juice so it almost - but not quite - covers the chopped fruit in the blender. Your mileage may vary, depending on how thick you like your smoothies.)

No ice necessary, since the fruit is frozen. I suppose it might be a bit high in sugar, but it's fructose, and it's often my only fruit of the day. *shrug*

Haha for me it's not necessarily the only fruit of the day but I really hate bananas unless they're in smoothies and that's pretty much the only way I'll eat them. Also, do you buy the strawberries frozen or do you freeze them yourself? Stupid question, I know.

I think almond milk in smoothies tastes great. Adds a nice nutty flavor!

I was thinking soy milk (can't drink milk) but I will give almond milk a try. :D

Re: Smoothies

I actually don't like milk at all, so my smoothie consists of: ~1 frozen banana, 4-5 frozen strawberries, and maybe a cup or two of orange juice (I pour the orange juice so it almost - but not quite - covers the chopped fruit in the blender. Your mileage may vary, depending on how thick you like your smoothies.)

No ice necessary, since the fruit is frozen. I suppose it might be a bit high in sugar, but it's fructose, and it's often my only fruit of the day. *shrug*

Haha for me it's not necessarily the only fruit of the day but I really hate bananas unless they're in smoothies and that's pretty much the only way I'll eat them. Also, do you buy the strawberries frozen or do you freeze them yourself? Stupid question, I know.

I think almond milk in smoothies tastes great. Adds a nice nutty flavor!

I was thinking soy milk (can't drink milk) but I will give almond milk a try. :D

I've done both, actually. The store-bought ones seem to be smaller and easier to cut, and the ones that I buy and freeze tend to be bigger (might just be my supplier - but you can only buy the fresh ones in-season, which may also be a factor). Just remember to cut off the greens beforehand - it saves some time, and then you can freeze them on a tray, just laying the cut part down, flat and secure.

We're only taking 40 kids for summer camp (10 per class), but we've had nearly 100 sign up for it, so we're doing a lottery style drawing. My coteacher says that if we draw any kids that I don't want at camp I can eliminate them because no one will know and I can change it to a student I like.

All this talk of smoothies. I need to get me a blender!

Elementary exams are this week so for the remaining two weeks I just have to do activities/games that review the previous chapters. Gonna just use whatever extra activities that we ran out of time for  Very minimal prep!

Now to plan summer camp for middle school 

#basedcowboyshirt: Ah, okay, haha. I'll try to fit it an excercise here and there. Thanks for the suggestions, though! They sound great. Will try one this weekend.

yirj17: I just got a blender haha I haven't actually used it yet, though.

chelseajk:

Had a chat with my coT. Persuaded her that cooking was a good idea for camp! Turns out she was just worried about it being too complex and expensive. I'm like nah! Simplicity!

Camp is also shortened by one less period a day! Which makes me feel less stressed about planning it. Apparently they decided that that extra period would be "a burden."

I should get a blender and then we could make smoothies for summer camp 

Had a chat with my coT. Persuaded her that cooking was a good idea for camp! Turns out she was just worried about it being too complex and expensive. I'm like nah! Simplicity!

Camp is also shortened by one less period a day! Which makes me feel less stressed about planning it. Apparently they decided that that extra period would be "a burden."

I should get a blender and then we could make smoothies for summer camp 

Lucky! My school didn't give me a budget for camp, so I'm sticking to things that are very low budget. Makes the whole thing a lot more annoying than it already is.



On the bright side, my vacation dates are all set! Looking forward to the end of the last day of camp.

Had a chat with my coT. Persuaded her that cooking was a good idea for camp! Turns out she was just worried about it being too complex and expensive. I'm like nah! Simplicity!

Camp is also shortened by one less period a day! Which makes me feel less stressed about planning it. Apparently they decided that that extra period would be "a burden."

I should get a blender and then we could make smoothies for summer camp 

Lucky! My school didn't give me a budget for camp, so I'm sticking to things that are very low budget. Makes the whole thing a lot more annoying than it already is.



On the bright side, my vacation dates are all set! Looking forward to the end of the last day of camp.

Last time the budget was around $100 and I still ended up spending a bit out of pocket-- definitely grateful for getting anything at all though, as many of my friends get nil. Though I know one friend who got 1 million won 

Having so few kids at camp also helps the budget go farther! I've got the same 16 kids for the entire thing.

Much as I like my kids, I am very much looking forward to vacation! Leaving the day after camp ends!

I like when people sitting offer to hold my briefcase if I have to stand on the subway. I usually tell them it's no problem and that I'm fine holding it, but it's just nice having people show me consideration.

Last day of exams here.  There have been goodies in the office for the past three days - cookies, fruit, boiled eggs.  Also no classes, and I got to leave early yesterday.  Life's been good to me so far. n  :)

I like when people sitting offer to hold my briefcase if I have to stand on the subway. I usually tell them it's no problem and that I'm fine holding it, but it's just nice having people show me consideration.

i saw that happen on the bus today between two women. I've been here awhile but I think my normal reaction would still be to yank it away.

Just finished making game cards for the werewolf game I'm gonna play with the kids tomorrow and Friday. They're nothing special but it took me 3 hours from drawing to tracing to scanning to digital editing to printing to laminating and finally cutting out. So, I'm pretty proud of myself 

Accidentally broke my usb with all my additional materials (and no backup because I'm not smart, clearly) 5 minutes before class, but my typically misbehaving students were lovely and I had a great lesson anyway. Then received notice that not only my 80 minute after school class of 3rd through 6th graders but all my other after school classes are cancelled because the kids are going on an overnight field trip. Also having my favorite 잔치국수 at lunch today. This week isn't looking so bad after all

Today was the last lesson I'll have to teach the textbook to my demon 6th grade class. We're just gonna watch a movie tomorrow and I'm leaving straight after camp. None of them are coming to camp. I'm so happy right now, those kids are the WORST

When you are teaching and a random puppy walks in!  Best class ever!