here at the high school the 1st and 2nd year students are on a class trip to jeju island that started on tuesday. i only teach 1st and 2nd year students so im sitting around pretending to study korean while i watch arrested development. such a great show and i was lucky enough to find all three seasons on the pc in my room thanks to the teacher i replaced. the epik teachers in donghae have started korean lessons which is cool. the teacher is kind of serious about learning korean but with grammar and other things. i was kind of hoping for important vocabulary and phrases. whatever its nice that we have a free class to help us with korean. i have a student that comes to my classroom every day during lunch to tell me that my first name is the same a wwe wrestler, matt hardy. it was funny at first, but now its like 20 mins of him asking me questions that dont make sense on google translate. most of them revolving around wrestling. its amazing how cold its been this week. i swear yesterday it was only 45 degrees max all day.
last weekend was buddhas birthday and we visited gyeongju city. its an old city that was the capital during the silla dynasty (i dont know the dates you can check them). we went to the bulguksa temple and sokkuram grotto on friday. the temple was amazing and big. it was covered with lanterns and people. the sokkuram is incredible. the grotto is open for the public to walk around in only one day a year which is buddhas birthday. the rest of the year you can see it but only through a glass window. we were very lucky. to stay in gyeongju we used couch surfers and a got a free room from a professor at the university there. we also got free tour guides which were the professor's students who he told to help us while we stayed. it was really nice of them and they were a great crew. saturday and sunday were alright it rained all day both days. we did our best with ponchos and umbrellas to visit the national museum and ancient tombs in tumuli park. on the way to gyeongju we got a ride from an english teacher but on the way home we took the bus. the car ride 3 hours. the bus ride 6 hours. i think we must have stopped on the bus about 30 times on the way home to let people off. it was well, frustrating. im glad we werent in a hurry. all in all it was a really good weekend.
tonight we are going to chuncheon for the international mime festival. i know what youre thinking mimes? well its supposed to be a badass party fun time gala that goes literally all night, so suck on that. if not it will be cool to see everyone stuck in imaginary boxes or getting caught by giant hooks. anyway should be fun.
until next time.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
a wonderful weekend.
we didn't have much planned this weekend so we decided to take the bus 20 minutes south and explore a small seaside town, samcheok. the verdict: its adorable. cleaner and quainter than donghae, it has a charming feel to it.
we spent too much money on dunkin' donuts coffee, discovered delicous street side waffles filled with strawberry butter and honey, happened upon a monument for fallen soliders, it was a beautiful park on top of a small hill, a peaceful place full of solitude, we sat and listened to the wind blowing through the leaves with the warm spring sun on our faces. it was one of those moments you're just happy to be alive. to see the seasons change, to be able to experience love and happiness and find the beauty in the small things. then we climbed down to the riverside and worked out, well joked around, on the public work out equipment. its pretty incredible how serious koreans take personal health. in most city parks, there is public work out equipment that people come and use during their evening exercise.
we ended the day at the jukseoru. no one knows the date that this building was constructed but there was poem written about it in the 12th century so it had to built before that. the building is in a beautiful park surrounded by bamboo trees and flowers. it was such a peaceful day.
yesterday, i found out one of my dear friends is in the hospital. stephanie has had cancer for two years now. a few months ago, it reached her lymph nodes but she was still strong. she was admitted in the iccu over the weekend. please pray for her. she an incredible mother of three and is set to get married in october. its so hard not to be with her right now. it was a gorgeous day. it had to be a least 70 degrees. so it was nice to shed the sadness outside. we spent a lazy day on a hill over looking the east sea with a picnic, music and girly magazines sent by my stepmom.
koreans, for the most part, do not like to get tan. all the girls today have commented on my brown face. they definitely think pale is prettier. well they can just wait because i definitely like to be golden brown in the summertime, haha.
we spent too much money on dunkin' donuts coffee, discovered delicous street side waffles filled with strawberry butter and honey, happened upon a monument for fallen soliders, it was a beautiful park on top of a small hill, a peaceful place full of solitude, we sat and listened to the wind blowing through the leaves with the warm spring sun on our faces. it was one of those moments you're just happy to be alive. to see the seasons change, to be able to experience love and happiness and find the beauty in the small things. then we climbed down to the riverside and worked out, well joked around, on the public work out equipment. its pretty incredible how serious koreans take personal health. in most city parks, there is public work out equipment that people come and use during their evening exercise.
we ended the day at the jukseoru. no one knows the date that this building was constructed but there was poem written about it in the 12th century so it had to built before that. the building is in a beautiful park surrounded by bamboo trees and flowers. it was such a peaceful day.
yesterday, i found out one of my dear friends is in the hospital. stephanie has had cancer for two years now. a few months ago, it reached her lymph nodes but she was still strong. she was admitted in the iccu over the weekend. please pray for her. she an incredible mother of three and is set to get married in october. its so hard not to be with her right now. it was a gorgeous day. it had to be a least 70 degrees. so it was nice to shed the sadness outside. we spent a lazy day on a hill over looking the east sea with a picnic, music and girly magazines sent by my stepmom.
koreans, for the most part, do not like to get tan. all the girls today have commented on my brown face. they definitely think pale is prettier. well they can just wait because i definitely like to be golden brown in the summertime, haha.
birthdays abroad
it seemed april was destined to be a birthday month. in my elementary schools, i have to follow the national curriculum. i can add to it with additional games and activities but i have to teach from the book. i think some teachers wouldn't like this, but for me with the amount of lessons i have to write per week, its nice to have a starting point. a framework to plan with. all this is said because, my lesson for grade 3, 4 and 6 was birthdays: how old are you? happy birthday! when is your birthday? lots of fun lessons! so while teaching the lesson, the students quickly learned my birthday was around the corner and began planning.
i love being at small schools, because i know all my students. maybe not their names -- their names are so hard. man, i feel proud when i get their names right. but i know their faces and their personalities. i feel really fortunate for that.
my students at changho got really excited about my birthday. the week before my 4th grade class, a class with a grand total of 10 children, started to get the details right. this class is incredible smart. my lessons are always too easy for them and i think it bores them. honestly, i didn't even think they liked my class at all. but the week before my bday, we spent the first 10 minutes of class reviewing the facts: how do you spell 'hannah-teachers' name, how old are you going to be? (28 in korean age), do you like chocolate or white cake? very important details.
on thursday (the 22nd) of the next week, the buzz around the school was hannah-teacher's birthday was saturday. because we had just learned birthdays, they all excitedly used english to say happy birthday. we had just learned the birthday song so there was lots of singing in the library (thats where my classes meet).
thursday after school, a little 3rd grader (one of the cutest) came in and quickly took her place at the white board and began to write. she wrote an entire letter, then smiled and left. the only problem was it was all in korean. i could make out hannah-teacher (하 나 선생) but that was it. there is one 5th grader, siah, that is incredible at english. she has such a passion to learn. i have been tutoring her at lunch time everyday. the next morning i found siah and asked her to translate the letter. it went a little like this: "hannah-teacher i love you, hannah-teacher happy birthday. happy birthday hannah-teacher. i love you......" what a great way to start my birthday weekend. the rest of the day, i was showered with gifts of sweets.
then it was time for my 4th grade class. the students had been running around all day with markers and colored paper, slyly smiling and whispering as they passed my classroom - they were definitely planning something. the bell rang and in they walked singing happy birthday holding a candle-lite cake and presents. it was the sweetest thing. they were so proud. we had a full on birthday party. they each wrote birthday letters in english and glued them on to this beautiful poster board they covered with handmade oragami, beautiful. one of the boys bought in 28 crossiants (for my 28th birthday) - 8 kids consumed them all in 40 minutes as we watched the simpson's espisode when mj sings happy birthday lisa - i thought it was appropiate.
it was the best birthday party. this week, siah brought in her gift for me. it was incredible. it was this old beautiful jewerly case that is from the jongsain dynasty. she wrote an incredible letter explaining its importance. so kind.
for the rest of my bday weekend, we went out in gangneug and you can read the remaining story from matt's entry.
it was a perfect korean birthday. when else will i have two suprise birthday parties and go hiking up a mountain completely hungover with korean children climbing on my back. here's to hoping 26 is as great as 25.
i love being at small schools, because i know all my students. maybe not their names -- their names are so hard. man, i feel proud when i get their names right. but i know their faces and their personalities. i feel really fortunate for that.
my students at changho got really excited about my birthday. the week before my 4th grade class, a class with a grand total of 10 children, started to get the details right. this class is incredible smart. my lessons are always too easy for them and i think it bores them. honestly, i didn't even think they liked my class at all. but the week before my bday, we spent the first 10 minutes of class reviewing the facts: how do you spell 'hannah-teachers' name, how old are you going to be? (28 in korean age), do you like chocolate or white cake? very important details.
on thursday (the 22nd) of the next week, the buzz around the school was hannah-teacher's birthday was saturday. because we had just learned birthdays, they all excitedly used english to say happy birthday. we had just learned the birthday song so there was lots of singing in the library (thats where my classes meet).
thursday after school, a little 3rd grader (one of the cutest) came in and quickly took her place at the white board and began to write. she wrote an entire letter, then smiled and left. the only problem was it was all in korean. i could make out hannah-teacher (하 나 선생) but that was it. there is one 5th grader, siah, that is incredible at english. she has such a passion to learn. i have been tutoring her at lunch time everyday. the next morning i found siah and asked her to translate the letter. it went a little like this: "hannah-teacher i love you, hannah-teacher happy birthday. happy birthday hannah-teacher. i love you......" what a great way to start my birthday weekend. the rest of the day, i was showered with gifts of sweets.
then it was time for my 4th grade class. the students had been running around all day with markers and colored paper, slyly smiling and whispering as they passed my classroom - they were definitely planning something. the bell rang and in they walked singing happy birthday holding a candle-lite cake and presents. it was the sweetest thing. they were so proud. we had a full on birthday party. they each wrote birthday letters in english and glued them on to this beautiful poster board they covered with handmade oragami, beautiful. one of the boys bought in 28 crossiants (for my 28th birthday) - 8 kids consumed them all in 40 minutes as we watched the simpson's espisode when mj sings happy birthday lisa - i thought it was appropiate.
it was the best birthday party. this week, siah brought in her gift for me. it was incredible. it was this old beautiful jewerly case that is from the jongsain dynasty. she wrote an incredible letter explaining its importance. so kind.
for the rest of my bday weekend, we went out in gangneug and you can read the remaining story from matt's entry.
it was a perfect korean birthday. when else will i have two suprise birthday parties and go hiking up a mountain completely hungover with korean children climbing on my back. here's to hoping 26 is as great as 25.
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