Halloween~
Seoul Tower Pic
This past weekend was another lazy weekend. I just chilled in my apartment and researched Halloween material for my lessons for this week. I think this is possibly the most fun I have ever had preparing for a lesson….maybe the last time it is fun.. ha ha. j.k..? I was watching clips of old Halloween movies and just having an awesome time. It really reminded me of why I like the holiday. I love the creepy vibe of Halloween, the general sense of mischief, and (of course) the candy! In the spirit of Halloween, I am also determined to scare my students. I downloaded the 16 sec. car commercial where someone pops out at the end (just Youtube: scary car commercial). I succeeded in scaring some students and it was all very amusing (several girls shrieked… but most students just held their hearts with pained expressions). ha ha I warned them that I would be trying to scare them all on Friday – the day before Halloween–and I am not sure who is looking forward to that more, me or them (probably me).
I also bought a pumpkin (which was quite the adventure) and carried it from the local market to school. It looks sort of similar to an American pumpkin but does not have the same vivid color and shape — I’d have to describe it as a medium-sized, light orange, and squat pumpkin. Because Halloween is not a Korean holiday, they don’t carve jack o’lanterns. So, this was a first for them. The students who participated (it was voluntary) had a lot of fun and enjoyed taking pictures with it. I’d have to say we did a pretty awesome job and it looked very beautiful all lit-up tonight.
On other news, I recently got my hair cut (not seen in above picture*). And it is much shorter than it used to be, but I think I like the style. The experience was interesting …I had to place a lot of faith in the hairdresser. She cut all of my hair with a razor – she did not touch a pair of scissors once!
Anyway, that is all the news for now. Until later….tootles!
Mellow in South Korea 
Patti Adams said,
October 26, 2009 at 2:16 pm
10-26-09@10:10am
Hi Mel, Great picture! It sounds like you are really having fun with your Halloween plans for the students. I think we should have sent you a cd of spooky Halloween sounds.
It is sunny but cooler this morning. I think today will be a nice day but then…rain moves in Tuesday night into Wednesday.
We have to buy our Halloween candy for the trick-or-treaters that will be coming on Saturday night. Last year we had about 60 but the year before that we had 100!!!! I am wondering if we will have lots of kids this year due to the economy. Trick-or-treating might be viewed as a great way to collect lots of candy for the family. We always buy lots so we will be prepared.
Take care! Love ya, Uncle Bill, Aunt Pat, Amy, and Molly
Leah said,
October 26, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hey Mel,
Thats awesome about your hair cut. i bet it looks great on you! My lady uses a razer on my hair, too. It adds a certain something to the hair cut. i want pixs!! I am picking up our costume pictures today from the photio lab and will attempt to send them to you via email tomorrow. You will not get to see the oompa costume because I am not done with it yet- hit a snag with it. Are you going to pass out candy to your class?? I still love it when teachers do that before a test in college. Anyway- have to go have my headache meds changed…love you…. will send pixs tomorrow- fingers crossed!!!
mom said,
October 29, 2009 at 12:00 pm
mel, i am very curious about the candle you used to light the pumpkin. how did you get it to stand upright? usually, i use a tea candle which is squat with a flat bottom. how heavy was the pumpkin that you had to get to school on a bus! what did the other riders think? i’ll bet you got a lot of stares. i am very interested in seeing the pictures. your father will be proud of your carving abilities after years of your helping him carve halloween pumpkins. delaware brings a little halloween tradition to south korea. love, mom