Gabby Ventures South

HELLOOOOOOOOO
HELLOOOOOOO
HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I have returned! I am back! It's the return of the Gabby!
It's Day 196 and it's the year 2015! Happy New Year~

Since I've last written, I've said goodbye to my fourth graders, traveled to four different countries (and lived to tell the tale), and as of today, finished a week long English camp (that sucked the life out of me but was super fun).

Now I finally have time to share some stories and SWEETIE, HAVE I GOT SOME FOR YA.
I have pages, no, chapters of writing that I thought out very thoroughly while I was travelling, and I really wish I could just upload my brain and PPPPHHFFSHGRAP! Dump all my stories here at once~ The most recent adventures are itching to come out, but I should start from where we left off so neither of us get lost here.

The final weeks of the school year were both easy and difficult at the same time. Yup, December was the end of the school year for us. Korean school year begins in February/March, so the next time I see my munchkins they will be a grade higher in elementary school.
I kept a point system to reward the best behaved class with a party at the end of the year. So our final class was a party and since we finished our textbook early, we had an extra day to watch "Jumanji", a movie I could watch a thousand more times, so seven times repeatedly was no biggie. Though my eyes were hurting from hours of computer screen staring. Yay migraines.

The kids loved this part.

I also made a shocking discovery that child Gabby never did know: IN JUMANJI THE HUNTER AND ALAN PARRISH'S DAD ARE THE SAME DUDE!!!!

Mind. Blown.

Anyways, I just have few more things to say about the end of the school year.

I was pretty composed for the most part as I said my goodbyes. I am an emotional fool who cries very often and not subtly, though I might try to seem like I'm not the type (I'm very good at containing emotion until one moment when it explodes.. like when I left my Japanese host family I was totally convincing as a cool, unfeeling young adult until the moment I left my family for good at airport security and I started sobbing uncontrollably... ahem). This time I convinced myself it's not really goodbye with the 3rd graders because I will still teach them as fourth graders. And even if I don't have the fourth graders in class anymore, I'll still see them around school. No biggie. I'm cool. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm cool. ... Until one of the special needs assistant teachers told me that this one angel-of-a-child is moving and won't be in Hwacheon this spring. This little boy is the sweetest, most diligent, adorable 3rd grader (now 4th) who made me smile just seeing him. The instant the teacher told me this I started tearing up, much to her surprise and discomfort.

Oh. Don't mind me, I'm fine.

There are a few things also that, dare I say, make me proud. One fourth-grade class solemnly asked if Sunny teacher and I could teach them as fifth graders next year. Another fourth-grade class, that Sunny originally warned me of back in August as the "problem class", ended up winning the best behavior competition and got a pizza party. One boy in particular from that class, he told Sunny that he used to hate English, but now (after this semester of personal success and fun) he wants to become an English teacher when he grows up. Maybe I'm not a terrible teacher after all.

Bring on next semester!

Now we better get on with it. To the good part. The part where I leave the freezing lands of Hwacheon for a warmer, mosquito-ridden atmosphere. As you may be wondering from the title of this very post, shouldn't I be gettin' on with the Southern travels?

Well, yes, I should.


I left Korea on the Saturday after Christmas and spent the night at a layover hotel in Shanghai. It was a nice hotel but I remember being really angry about something. So much has happened since then I don't remember what exactly that was... something to do with exchanging money and paying for the hotel I think. And no chocolate on my pillow.

Ah, yes. Such a terrible struggle, Gabby. You must be so tormented by all that. 

A toast for Gabby's misfortunes.

The next day I got up bright and early for my flight to Taiwan~


Yup.







And so kids, tune in next time for Gabby Really Ventures South. Really. This one won't be misleading and full of lies like that last blog. Full of lies we are, yes, Precioussssss

Buh-bye!

Gaberonie