Guys, check this out.

I do complain about my students a lot. I think this is fair, as they certainly complain about me. But on the whole they are fantastic kids, as long as you keep them away from improvised weapons. They're often startling thoughtful, insightful, and smart in all kinds of surprising ways, and I'm constantly delighted that it's actually my job to hang out and talk to them.

And they give me presents all the time. Just little things; things they have to part with. The elementary kids give me pencils, erasers, trading cards and stickers. If they make cookies or soap in a class they come and give me those. Or they run in and break up a candy bar to feed me some of it.

The middle school kids get really creative with this one, though. They're the ones who give me elaborate drawings of robots or origami monsters. The space under my computer monitor at school is currently cluttered with little paper finger puppets a boy gave me because I saw him making them and told him they were cool.

And then a few days back one of my boys decided to draw a picture of me up on the board before class started. It made me smile.

It's also worth pointing out that I was on drugs to prevent malaria at the time.

Of course, everyone involved in kickboxing here all seem to be a little odd for Korea.

I probably shouldn't be actively encouraging con artists, but they do make me laugh.