Christmas Carols

Date: 12/23

It does not feel like Christmas here.  I think its a combination of two things:  no snow (it has all melted and the last 4 days it's been 45 degrees) and no Christmas carols.  I'm a musical person...I've played the French horn for 10 years, plus two years of trombone, I know how to play the trumpet and piano.  I think my New Year's Resolution is going to be learn the guitar.  Music feeds my soul. 

I've thoroughly enjoyed learning/hearing all the new music that Korea has to offer.  But...I've heard 3 (Count them!  ONE TWO THREE!) Christmas Carols my entire December. It is depressing...It makes it very hard to get into the Spirit--but don't worry!  I have been "teaching" Christmas the last 2 weeks so I can supplement all the Carols I want during class. 

I have a good bunch of students.  They are pretty advanced for 1st and 2nd years in Middle school (at least, I think they're advanced.) (Korean school have middle school starting with American 7th grade through American HS grade 9. So my kids are roughly 14-16 years old.) 

So we've been playing this game I found on the best ESL Teaching Site: waygook.org.  It's a Quiz Game with questions like, (Q1) "What color is Rudolph's nose?"  The kids know this one and one student usually shouts out the answer (granted, it's not a person on the team...but they know the answer).  But this has given me the perfect opportunity to break out into song:


"Rudolph the RED NOSED reindeer,
Had a very shiney nose!
If you ever saw it,
you would even say it glows!"

Motions are necessary too.  Point to your nose, flick your fingers to have it "glow" and generally just dance.  I swear, I am the biggest goof in the classroom. I  am always dancing, singing, and twirling in circles.  I once ran up and down the aisleways screaming, trying to explain to the kids what Black Friday was like.  It worked...

Anyway, back to Christmas. 

(Q2) "How many reindeer does Santa have?"

"He has Dasher and Dancer,
Comet and cupid,
Donner and Blitzen, 
Prancer and Vixen...
But do you remember the most famous Reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?!!!!!!"

(Q3) "What is "Merry Christmas" in Spanish?"

Which prompts me to sing Felize Navidad--which I really only know two lyrics: Felize and Navidad...but I do end up humming the rest.

(Q4): "Who is the famous snowman?"

"Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made of coal!"

 I think I end up singing at least 4 or 5 carols throughout the class.  Others include, "Santa's coming to Town," "Carol of the Bells," "Joy to the World," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and (of course) "Jingle Bells."  I can usually get half the class to join in with me on Jingle Bells.

People who know me from home might be surprised that I'm so Christmas Song happy.  I typically really do not like Christmas songs.  At home, they make my head hurt.  You hear them EVERYWHERE!  But here, I tend to be the only one who is singing them.  And I do mean singing them--up and down the streets, dancing as I go along. 

It doesn't just stay at school, either.  At home, I've been surfing Youtube in my freetime.  And I came across this group: Straight No Chaser.  I do believe I've listened to the 12 Days of Christmas Rendition just about 15 time this morning.  It's a little pathetic.  But it's feeding both my Christmas and Musical Soul. 

A little background: (Thanks Wikipedia):
Straight No Chaser is a men's a cappella group started in Indiana University.  (Woot woot!  Shout out to my home!!!)  There is an amateur college group, but there is also a professional group composed of alumnea from the college group--I think most of them were original members from back in 1998.  In 1998, some of the members posted a video on YouTube and was watched by 12 million people. Back in 1998--that's incredible.  One of those 12 million people, the chairman and president of Atlantic Records, and soon Straight No Chaser had a 5-album recording deal.


Here are some of their songs:  
12 Days of Christmas

The Christmas Can-Can

I have posted just Christmas songs, but they also sing pop stuff.  They are fantastic and they've helped me cope with the void that is Christmas Time.