추석, 9/11, and the Beatles

A lot of things have been on my mind lately.  First off, 추석 and 9/11 fell on the same day this year.  It's very interesting, because they're pretty much celebrating the same thing.  

추석 is about giving thanks to ancestors for providing the harvest, but my pastor here suggested that Christians should view it as an opportunity to thank G-d for his blessings: life, family, friends, etc.  Some friends and I were talking about this at lunch yesterday, and we decided that that is the best way to remember 9/11... not with capitalism or anger, but thankfulness.  We are not guaranteed our next breath, and yet... ... ... there it is.  G-d has blessed each and every one of us in some way, so, whether you're celebrating 추석 or remembering 9/11, do it correctly as a living sacrifice to G-d.  (PS, click the title of this post for a sneak peak into one family's 추석 celebrations.)

Sweet baby in her 추석 clothes.

Also, I'm going to show you this absolutely adorable video, which may help you understand why I love the kids here so much:

Entirely unrelated, every lesson I teach here in Korea comes complete with a song for the kids to sing (which is pretty much their dialogue set to music).  Unfortunately, these songs are very juvenile, and are not so much teaching English as they are propagating memorization.  We're pretty sure the fifth and sixth graders hate their lives for those few minutes surrounding the inevitable singing.  Therefore, I have scoured the YouTube and come up with this alternative for teaching past tense (enjoy!):

 

Love you!