Monday was a light easy day... just got a mani/pedi with my host sister and hung out at home for the night.
On Tuesday, I said goodbye to Changdo Elementary School. At our Farewell Ceremony for our morning students, the principal talked about how much he was going to miss us. He told the students to never forget us and to write us emails all the time. He then handed us this huge bag full of gifts. We didn't think they were getting us anything so we were all very shocked. That's when it hit me hard that we were actually leaving in 2 days. As my students hugged me and took pictures, they shouted "teacher Krista, you can't leave! Stay forever." My heart jumped from my chest as tears fell down my cheeks. I thought it was hard saying goodbye to the older students two weeks ago, but it was even harder saying goodbye to these guys. My favorite student came running up as the last one to say goodbye. She held my hand as tight as she could and wouldn't let go. As I tried to leave the classroom, she kept pulling me back in. Then she said "Teacher Krista, I love you," and started crying. I grabbed the boys as quick as I could and got out of there. I couldn't believe that Zack, Travis, and I had this much of an effect on these students in only a matter of 2 weeks.
Afternoon class was super easy. We helped the children review their colors from the lesson the day before. We then watch some KungFu Panda with them while we handed out some extra snacks and candy that Travis and I brought for them. After break, we helped the children make Thank You Notes for their 4 amazing after school teachers (Zack, Judit, Travis, and myself). They had a white piece of paper that they drew a picture of us on it and then glued it to another piece where they wrote their note. Travis and I gathered them up and I almost started crying again! One little boy really wanted to write his note to me but he was sitting at a table of all boys who were writing their notes for Zack and Travis. So any time one of the other boys or myself would look over, he would cover his paper and just smile. When he was finished, he walked over and handed it to me with the biggest smile I have seen on any of these students. I read it to myself and realized we had just as big of an impact on the younger students as we did on the older! Man, am I going to miss these kids.
Tuesday night, my host family went Downtown. There is an area of the city in between some major buildings, that they created a river. The river is water from the Han River that is filtered in through the city to this area. They built seats around the river so people can come and picnic or play in the water. It's meant to be a hang out place. Of course I was the first one to roll up my pants and hop in. My host sister Lisa was the next to join us and after a little convincing, my host brother John got in. My host mom and dad got in but not for very long. Just enough to take some pictures and then hop back out. Lisa and I saw that the group of teenagers next to us were having a water fight. We decided this would be the perfect chance to get John. We turned around and splashed as hard as we could! He ran out of the water to the other side of seats. He decided he was going to try and be sneaky and kick water at us when we weren't looking! That quickly turned on him! As he went to kick, his other foot slid out from underneath him and he fell in, completely wet head to toe. Game over at that point! Lisa and I won!!!
We tried to dry off a little before hoping in a light up wagon to take a little ride around the area. It was super cute and reminded me of riding horses with Grammy and Choca. We then called it a night.
Wednesday was the DMZ. If you ever come to South Korea, the DMZ is a must to go to. It is the area between North and South Korea where there can be no military action. Each side has 2 kilometers from the border line that they protect with military soldiers. We went up to the observatory where you can look through telescopes to the other side of the line and actually see the North Korean soldiers. We were also taken to the 3rd tunnel. Over the past 40 years, South Koreans have discovered these tunnels that the North Koreans dug under the border line to try and plan a sneak attack on Seoul. As of today, they have found 4 tunnels, with 3 being open to the public to go into. They are estimating that there is at least 15 other tunnels. We strapped on our hard hats with only a warning that it would be very cold down in the tunnel and that it was a far walk. We headed down the steep hill to where the tunnel began. When we finally reached it, we all understood what the hard hats were for. The tunnel was meant for someone who is 5'4" to comfortablely walk through. Me being much taller than that, I had to be completely hunched over. Even being scrunched in half, I still managed to hit my head on the top numerous times. Thank god for the hard hats. We were only allowed to go to the 3rd blockade because beyond that is controlled my military. The hike back up the steep hill was definitely not fun after being hunched over in the tunnel. I bought some cool things, including a plaque with a piece of barb wire from the DMZ.
We went to the Peace Garden were we saw what type of animals are native to the DMZ that are often not found in other areas. This place is almost like a nature preserve more so than a military action zone. It was so pretty to be out away from the city for the first time this trip really. The fresh air made it all worth it. When we got back, we had a farewell ceremony with the mayor, vice-mayor, and both sets of homestay families. I told myself I would not cry because all of these goodbyes are actually "see you laters." When the vice-mayor said his speech, he reassured us that we are welcome back any time. He then said "I hate goodbyes. So this is a see you later speech. I will miss you my sisters and brothers." I felt my tears preparing themselves in my eyes. These people have been sooooo generous to us. All we did was come here and help some others with their English and they are considering us family. In 6 weeks, I gained at least 20 new family members. I love that! They gave us each a present of a traditional Korean mask! Pretty cool! They then presented each of our host stay kids with awards for being part of the program. I thought it was really cool that they recognized the kids for being such a big part in this process.
When we moved into the other room for snacks, we presented some people who have touched our hearts on this trip with pictures of us and City of Henderson pins. Sue Ann was the most influential person in making this trip a success. She started crying when she saw what we had done for her. She latched on to me with the biggest hug I have had since being here. We then gave Sari and the office mayor their pictures. They were all so thankful that we had gotten them gifts. I can't even explain in words the emotions that were running through the room.
Wednesday night I went with Danny and some of his friends out for our last night here. I'm glad I had Danny, John, and Matt to share our last nights together. It made it seem like I wasn't alone. After some awesome dinner and just hanging out with the group, Danny had to start saying some goodbyes. Even though I have only known John and Beth for two or so weeks now, they are people I know I will try to stay in contact. Good people should never be forgotten!! Danny said goodbye to some close friends and his co-teachers. Eyes all teary when he walked back from the train station, I tried to comfort him knowing that if he continued to cry, I would lose it to.
We eventually said our goodbyes to everyone. It was really hard. Even through we said goodbye to these people on Saturday thinking we wouldn't see them again. Knowing this was the "final goodbye" was really hard. At 6:45 this morning I said my goodbye to Danny. He really helped make this trip easier when I was having complications with things. He is a true friend I know I will keep in touch with for quite some time. I couldn't help but cry on my walk home because I knew our contact over the next year will be limited with him travelling. I will be so excited when I sign into my email and see a message from him!!
My host family had a "see you later" breakfast for me this morning, complete with cake and presents. They have been soooooo good to me. They each wrote me a note and I told them I couldn't read them because I didn't want to cry anymore. They understood that this goodbye would be extremely hard on me! It will probably be just as hard on them. As we took our final pictures, I could tell my host mom was crying behind the camera. I will definitely consider myself a lucky girl because I now I have 5 women with motherly insticts to run to. Of course, my mom, my step-mom, bobby's mom, and now my host moms in Korea.
Time to head to the office to turn in my cell phone and get on the bus to the airport. Goodbye John, Lisa, Hera, Julie, and Captain!! Goodbye Elizabeth and her family! Goodbye Danny, John, Beth, Alex, JoYoung, and everyone else I made friends with! Goodbye kimchi, rice for breakfast, hard beds, bathrooms with no shower curtains, and bus/subway systems! Goodbye Dobong, South Korea.... =(
Downtown/Farewell Ceremony: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624632621101/
Randoms from 2nd house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624757266618/
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Update from the Weekend
I have definitely been slacking on the blogs lately. It's very hard to sit down at the computer and try to write about everything that is going on when you spend your entire day out and about. I have come home extremely tired every day the past week. I know I will catch up on sleep when I get home....
Friday we took our students ice skating. This time it was complete chaos. A lot of the kids didn't know how to skate so we spent much more time in a lesson than we did actually free skating. However, my students were much cuter this time. When we went with the older students, they had a game going that they got stickers from the native speakers if they said English phrases. So of course, they all only wanted to be by us to get stickers. This time, we had no contest so the students that were skating by our sides, holding our hands, wanted to be there. Their smiling faces always make me laugh... I'm going to miss them after tomorrow (it's our last day!)
Friday night, Danny and I took my host family to Itaewon, the biggest foreigners area of Seoul. My host family has never been so Danny wanted to show us around. It was a lot of fun not being the only person for the Koreans to stare at. My host brother made us laugh because he was constantly saying "OHHH foreigners" when we walked past anyone. Then of course I wanted to show them something they probably don't ever see in Korea...... TACO BELL!!!! It was a brand new one that just opened. I miss American food so much and you can't get better than fake Mexican American food. My host mom loved it so much that she ended up with about 3 orders of food by the end of the meal. I thought it was cute!
After dinner, Danny and I stayed in Itaewon and hung out with some of his friends. They walked me up "Hooker Hill" which is one of Seoul's red light districts. There was definitely nothing there that I hadn't seen before, being from Vegas and all. I called it a night at about 11 and headed home.
Saturday was Danny's going away party. His friend John, who will be travelling with him for the first 3 months of the trip, hosted it at his house. Imagine an apartment about the size of a normal American master bedroom, and cram 30+ people into it for a party! It was fun seeing faces I had already met and even more fun meeting new people. Everyone enjoyed themselves to the best of their ability. I had know curfew so I definitely took advantage of seeing parts of Seoul I hadn't seen yet! It will go down as one of the best nights on the trip.
Sunday morning we went to my host father's mom's house way out in the mountain. It took us about two hours to get there. It was this beautiful log cabin style home surrounded by gardens and a small stream. Just like any other Korean meal we have had, the lunch table was completely covered with food. Only this time, it was pizza, chicken, and all sorts of American style meals. The family chowed down while we joked about things. I taught my host sisters and their cousins how to french braid hair and now they are experts. As we went to leave, the grandma handed me an envelope and told me it was my allowance. More money!!!!!! I cannot believe how gracious this family is with everything they do....
When we got home, instead of having the planned spagetti dinner, we went out for Sam, my favorite meal here. Think super thick chunks of bacon that you cook on a grill in the middle of your table. It cannot be beat!!! Afterwards, we went to karaoke. Thanks to Danny requesting "Barbie Girl" the first time we went to karaoke and then not singing a word of it before handing me the mic and telling me it is too many girl parts! My family requested me to sing that right off the bat. I gave my best attempt again and managed to get a 98 out of 100 score. My host father belted out his usual "Bad Case of Loving You" and "My Way" songs. I am going to record him singing them tomorrow so I can post them and everyone can see how excited he gets during these songs. I will also post video of my host sister playing piano because she is AWESOME! High score of the night went to my host brother and I. We busted out "Sexy Back" and got 100!!! We called it a night after that because we knew there was no way to beat it.
My host family told me last night they are going to save up all of their money so that when I get married some day, they can come to the U.S. for my wedding. It made my night that they want to be there for me on my special day after only knowing me for 3 weeks!!!
Every day more and more I realize how much I am going to miss this place. I had my little moment after my first set of students were done with camp but I sucked it up and told myself I would be okay. It hit me again Saturday night, watching Danny say goodbye to friends he has had his entire stay here in Korea. One of his Korean friend's actually lived with him in Canada 7 years ago and then they rekindled their friendship here in Seoul when Danny moved. I could tell when he walked out of the room to walk them to the train station that he was going to be very sad saying goodbye to them. Little did I know that it would be the scene I saw. He walked back in, completely teary eyed and couldn't say a word to anyone. He just sat in the chair. As JoYoung and I tried to comfort him, I could see how much of an impact Korea had on his life over the past year. That's when I realized how much of an impact it has had on me in just six weeks....
I have made relationships here that will never compare to relationships back home. It says a lot when a woman (my host mom) you don't even really know yet comes in to give you a stomach massage when your sick because she knows your mom isn't there to comfort you. It says a lot when your host sister buys you a present for just being a friend to her over the past few weeks.
There are numerous people here that I am going to miss with all my heart. They know who they are so no need to pinpoint anyone individually. People who have comforted me in times of sickness. People who have made being away from home that much easier by just being a good friend when I needed one. These are people that I know our paths will cross again in the future because I will make sure I head in their direction when I get a glimpse of their trail in the distance. Whether it is them coming to my wedding, or me making a special trip just to visit, I will keep these relationships together for as long as I can...
Enough sentimental stuff.... Tomorrow is last day of classes and then packing! I have been dreading buy my 3rd bag because I know that means it is time to go... but I have to do it! I will probably be a very sad girl tomorrow!!! Wednesday is the trip to the DMZ and dinner with the Mayor and our host families. Wednesday night I am going to hang out with Danny and some of his friends as we wind down our final hours in Korea. If anyone talks to me over the next few days before I come home, expect some water works!!!
I know I am going home to place where I have been missed dearly over the past few weeks so I will be perfectly okay with closing this brief chapter of my life and heading into the next!!
See you all on THURSDAY!!!!
Friday we took our students ice skating. This time it was complete chaos. A lot of the kids didn't know how to skate so we spent much more time in a lesson than we did actually free skating. However, my students were much cuter this time. When we went with the older students, they had a game going that they got stickers from the native speakers if they said English phrases. So of course, they all only wanted to be by us to get stickers. This time, we had no contest so the students that were skating by our sides, holding our hands, wanted to be there. Their smiling faces always make me laugh... I'm going to miss them after tomorrow (it's our last day!)
Friday night, Danny and I took my host family to Itaewon, the biggest foreigners area of Seoul. My host family has never been so Danny wanted to show us around. It was a lot of fun not being the only person for the Koreans to stare at. My host brother made us laugh because he was constantly saying "OHHH foreigners" when we walked past anyone. Then of course I wanted to show them something they probably don't ever see in Korea...... TACO BELL!!!! It was a brand new one that just opened. I miss American food so much and you can't get better than fake Mexican American food. My host mom loved it so much that she ended up with about 3 orders of food by the end of the meal. I thought it was cute!
After dinner, Danny and I stayed in Itaewon and hung out with some of his friends. They walked me up "Hooker Hill" which is one of Seoul's red light districts. There was definitely nothing there that I hadn't seen before, being from Vegas and all. I called it a night at about 11 and headed home.
Saturday was Danny's going away party. His friend John, who will be travelling with him for the first 3 months of the trip, hosted it at his house. Imagine an apartment about the size of a normal American master bedroom, and cram 30+ people into it for a party! It was fun seeing faces I had already met and even more fun meeting new people. Everyone enjoyed themselves to the best of their ability. I had know curfew so I definitely took advantage of seeing parts of Seoul I hadn't seen yet! It will go down as one of the best nights on the trip.
Sunday morning we went to my host father's mom's house way out in the mountain. It took us about two hours to get there. It was this beautiful log cabin style home surrounded by gardens and a small stream. Just like any other Korean meal we have had, the lunch table was completely covered with food. Only this time, it was pizza, chicken, and all sorts of American style meals. The family chowed down while we joked about things. I taught my host sisters and their cousins how to french braid hair and now they are experts. As we went to leave, the grandma handed me an envelope and told me it was my allowance. More money!!!!!! I cannot believe how gracious this family is with everything they do....
When we got home, instead of having the planned spagetti dinner, we went out for Sam, my favorite meal here. Think super thick chunks of bacon that you cook on a grill in the middle of your table. It cannot be beat!!! Afterwards, we went to karaoke. Thanks to Danny requesting "Barbie Girl" the first time we went to karaoke and then not singing a word of it before handing me the mic and telling me it is too many girl parts! My family requested me to sing that right off the bat. I gave my best attempt again and managed to get a 98 out of 100 score. My host father belted out his usual "Bad Case of Loving You" and "My Way" songs. I am going to record him singing them tomorrow so I can post them and everyone can see how excited he gets during these songs. I will also post video of my host sister playing piano because she is AWESOME! High score of the night went to my host brother and I. We busted out "Sexy Back" and got 100!!! We called it a night after that because we knew there was no way to beat it.
My host family told me last night they are going to save up all of their money so that when I get married some day, they can come to the U.S. for my wedding. It made my night that they want to be there for me on my special day after only knowing me for 3 weeks!!!
Every day more and more I realize how much I am going to miss this place. I had my little moment after my first set of students were done with camp but I sucked it up and told myself I would be okay. It hit me again Saturday night, watching Danny say goodbye to friends he has had his entire stay here in Korea. One of his Korean friend's actually lived with him in Canada 7 years ago and then they rekindled their friendship here in Seoul when Danny moved. I could tell when he walked out of the room to walk them to the train station that he was going to be very sad saying goodbye to them. Little did I know that it would be the scene I saw. He walked back in, completely teary eyed and couldn't say a word to anyone. He just sat in the chair. As JoYoung and I tried to comfort him, I could see how much of an impact Korea had on his life over the past year. That's when I realized how much of an impact it has had on me in just six weeks....
I have made relationships here that will never compare to relationships back home. It says a lot when a woman (my host mom) you don't even really know yet comes in to give you a stomach massage when your sick because she knows your mom isn't there to comfort you. It says a lot when your host sister buys you a present for just being a friend to her over the past few weeks.
There are numerous people here that I am going to miss with all my heart. They know who they are so no need to pinpoint anyone individually. People who have comforted me in times of sickness. People who have made being away from home that much easier by just being a good friend when I needed one. These are people that I know our paths will cross again in the future because I will make sure I head in their direction when I get a glimpse of their trail in the distance. Whether it is them coming to my wedding, or me making a special trip just to visit, I will keep these relationships together for as long as I can...
Enough sentimental stuff.... Tomorrow is last day of classes and then packing! I have been dreading buy my 3rd bag because I know that means it is time to go... but I have to do it! I will probably be a very sad girl tomorrow!!! Wednesday is the trip to the DMZ and dinner with the Mayor and our host families. Wednesday night I am going to hang out with Danny and some of his friends as we wind down our final hours in Korea. If anyone talks to me over the next few days before I come home, expect some water works!!!
I know I am going home to place where I have been missed dearly over the past few weeks so I will be perfectly okay with closing this brief chapter of my life and heading into the next!!
See you all on THURSDAY!!!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Breaking Boards!
After numerous attempts to make our afternoon teacher have a little more fun on Tuesday, Travis and I decided we were just going to pull out all the stops today. During class, we tried to have as much fun as possible. The TV in the middle of the board is a touch screen and is connected to the computer. Our teacher was trying to do things on the computer with the student and Travis decided he would mess with him by touching all of over the TV screen. Our teacher couldn't figure out why the mouse kept going the opposite way he wanted it to. All the students laughed because they could see what Travis was doing. I tried so hard to keep a straight face.
Then when we got to the powerpoint, the teacher asked Travis to sit at the computer and click through it. Travis clicked through it super quickly and then said "ok done! My turn!" and stood up. Let's just say our teacher didn't find that very funny. When he was asking the kids questions to earn points for their team, I stood in the back. I raised my hand for everything, acting like they anxious kid jumping up and down wanting the teacher to pick them soooooo badly. I think the teacher gave me the dirtiest look I've ever gotten. I know that he wants to be serious about his job but you can't be that serious with 2nd graders! They need to be jumping around having fun or else they get distracted and won't care what you have to say!!
After school, Travis and I met up with Zack at his host family's house. We had plans for the 6 of us to take a Taekwondo lesson. From the way it was described to us, it would be us 6 with one teacher in a private lesson. When we arrived at the location, we realized we were WAY wrong. Sitting in front of us were about 30 black belt students. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
They had us change into traditional gear. We sat down on the side of the room and watched the Dobong Champions do a routine choreographed to "Shake that A**" ... yes the American song with cuss words and all. It was super cute though! They were soooooooooo good!!! We then watched the older boys do a few warm up exercises.
Then the Master walked out with a few boards. After watching the older boys break some stuff, Schuyler thought he would jump in to hold the board. He then wanted to break it himself. Zack and I were sitting there thinking "this has bad news written all over it." The Master surprised Schuyler by having one student sit on the shoulders of another and hold the board up really high. I can honestly say I thought Schuyler was either A) going to hurt himself or B) kick one of the boys. However, he successfully broke the board with ease. We each then took turns breaking boards. The boys did kick and they had us girls punch through them. YES! I punched through a board! YES! I kept the board I broke... and YES! I have it on video and is posted on my flickr!
We watched the older boys do some sparring and then they taught us how to do some traditional kicks. We had to stand up and do kicks with our partners just like they did in their warm-up routine. The Master then had the champions show us their Pumse routine. It looked very complicated and all I kept thinking was "there is no way I would be able to memorize that!!!" But of course! They had the girls come over and pick one of us to be their partner. They showed us the first basic steps. Thinking we were only learning how to do it was a bad idea as well. Zack's oldest host sister called us together and informed us that we had 5 minutes to memorize it because the
Master would be testing. We quickly tried to learn it and hoped for the best. By giving us a few breaks and embarrassing us in front of the class, we passed with his approval. (yes, I posted a video of our test too)
I will definitely admit I have a new found respect for those that take up these kinds of things. My mental capacity was just not there to concentrate as hard as these students do!
When you watch the videos, keep in mind we are all always laughing because the younger students were laughing so hard at us that we couldn't keep straight faces. I think they were just laughing that we were even attempting it (or it could be because we were completely messing it up)!!
Skating again with the new students tomorrow... way excited! Goodnight!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624584972911/
Then when we got to the powerpoint, the teacher asked Travis to sit at the computer and click through it. Travis clicked through it super quickly and then said "ok done! My turn!" and stood up. Let's just say our teacher didn't find that very funny. When he was asking the kids questions to earn points for their team, I stood in the back. I raised my hand for everything, acting like they anxious kid jumping up and down wanting the teacher to pick them soooooo badly. I think the teacher gave me the dirtiest look I've ever gotten. I know that he wants to be serious about his job but you can't be that serious with 2nd graders! They need to be jumping around having fun or else they get distracted and won't care what you have to say!!
After school, Travis and I met up with Zack at his host family's house. We had plans for the 6 of us to take a Taekwondo lesson. From the way it was described to us, it would be us 6 with one teacher in a private lesson. When we arrived at the location, we realized we were WAY wrong. Sitting in front of us were about 30 black belt students. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
They had us change into traditional gear. We sat down on the side of the room and watched the Dobong Champions do a routine choreographed to "Shake that A**" ... yes the American song with cuss words and all. It was super cute though! They were soooooooooo good!!! We then watched the older boys do a few warm up exercises.
Then the Master walked out with a few boards. After watching the older boys break some stuff, Schuyler thought he would jump in to hold the board. He then wanted to break it himself. Zack and I were sitting there thinking "this has bad news written all over it." The Master surprised Schuyler by having one student sit on the shoulders of another and hold the board up really high. I can honestly say I thought Schuyler was either A) going to hurt himself or B) kick one of the boys. However, he successfully broke the board with ease. We each then took turns breaking boards. The boys did kick and they had us girls punch through them. YES! I punched through a board! YES! I kept the board I broke... and YES! I have it on video and is posted on my flickr!
We watched the older boys do some sparring and then they taught us how to do some traditional kicks. We had to stand up and do kicks with our partners just like they did in their warm-up routine. The Master then had the champions show us their Pumse routine. It looked very complicated and all I kept thinking was "there is no way I would be able to memorize that!!!" But of course! They had the girls come over and pick one of us to be their partner. They showed us the first basic steps. Thinking we were only learning how to do it was a bad idea as well. Zack's oldest host sister called us together and informed us that we had 5 minutes to memorize it because the
Master would be testing. We quickly tried to learn it and hoped for the best. By giving us a few breaks and embarrassing us in front of the class, we passed with his approval. (yes, I posted a video of our test too)
I will definitely admit I have a new found respect for those that take up these kinds of things. My mental capacity was just not there to concentrate as hard as these students do!
When you watch the videos, keep in mind we are all always laughing because the younger students were laughing so hard at us that we couldn't keep straight faces. I think they were just laughing that we were even attempting it (or it could be because we were completely messing it up)!!
Skating again with the new students tomorrow... way excited! Goodnight!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624584972911/
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ranting Blog!!
I know I haven't posted anything in the past couple days and nothing really exciting happened today. I felt I needed to post something to keep everyone's interest! So this blog is just going to be random thoughts...
I'm soooo happy for the Bodines and Tones. Baby Quinn is finally at home with her family like she should be. God granted her family the serenity of knowing they have a healthy baby girl now. It really how showed me the power of prayer because the outreach for Quinn was AMAZING!!!! Miracles really do happen....
I'm still trying to figure out the health habits here. We are asked to wear house slippers because the families often take naps on the ground in their houses! I understand this completely! BUT!!!!! Then you eat dinner from the same plates (everyone picking out of every plate on the table sharing the germs on your chopsticks).... then you shower NOT in the shower but on the ground that you walk on! All I can think every time I go in the shower is if the boys have similar actions that a lot of American boys have and pee in the shower... and I'm standing there on the same floor they just pee'd on!!! I have invested in shower shoes for this reason!! They also do not wash their hands after they go to the bathroom, BUT make you wash your hands and feet when you come in from outside. I DON'T GET IT!!!! You are so concerned about the germs on my feet on your floor, even though I just washed my feet from coming home but you share germs soooooo many other ways.....
Before we came on this trip, we were told that we were going to be amazed at how advanced this country is compared to ours! I was expecting to see gadgets and technology that was beyond comparable. We were also told that the education system was a million times better! After teaching for a couple of weeks now, I can definitely say that there are flaws in the Korean education system that greatly out-number our education flaws. Flaw #1 ) Many of the English teachers are not fluent in English! They speak broken English and are teaching the students bad grammar. Someone teaching a foreign language should be fluent in the language. Flaw #2) During the students 2nd year in high school, they are broken up by what subjects they are good at. If they are better at math and science, they can only take those classes for the rest of high school. Same if they are good at arts and social studies. So... if a student who scores higher on their science test than they do on their arts test and wants to take a journalism class, too bad so sad! Flaw #3) The lesson plans are often way lower than the students intelligence level. I have often seen my advanced students frustrated with the fact that they are learning something they have already learned multiple times. They are not being challenged. Flaw #4) The teachers often have amazing ideas in their head and have just assummed that we would figure out what they want to do by reading their minds. During these weeks of teaching, the 3 of us at my school have often been asked to create powerpoints for the next day's lesson. If I had known before we left that we were going to play such a big part in creating the lesson, I would have planned out some more challenging activities. Instead, we are asked to think on our feet! Kind of hard to do when you're 6,000 miles away from your common resources!
Because of this, I have made the conclusion that even though we lack the funding to have more advancements in our classrooms, our education is still better!
Las rant of the day.... I explained in my "realizations" blog how pedestrians do not have the right-away here.... Tonight made me soooo frustrated!!! As my family and I walked home from dinner, a car pulled up to the crosswalk making a right hand turn. We had the okay to cross and he had a red light. As we were walking across, he inched closer and closer to where we were at. When we got in front of his car, there was still about 30 seconds of time for us to cross, and he had the nerve to honk at us to go quicker! HE HAD A RED LIGHT!!! I really wanted to go knock on his window and say "Sir, You honking at me and inching closer and closer to your turn is not going to make me walk any faster, so now I'm just going to stand in front of your car so you can't move at all!" It's that whole mentality that I have when people cut you off back home... "OMG you are one car closer to your destination! Now you have time to stop for coffee and a doughnut!!" Luckily I only have 8 more days of crazy drivers, ridiculously slow buses, humidity up the ying yang, and kimchi!!!
OOOO and at least 60% chance of rain for the rest of trip.... most days are above 80%!! Lucky us right?
I'm soooo happy for the Bodines and Tones. Baby Quinn is finally at home with her family like she should be. God granted her family the serenity of knowing they have a healthy baby girl now. It really how showed me the power of prayer because the outreach for Quinn was AMAZING!!!! Miracles really do happen....
I'm still trying to figure out the health habits here. We are asked to wear house slippers because the families often take naps on the ground in their houses! I understand this completely! BUT!!!!! Then you eat dinner from the same plates (everyone picking out of every plate on the table sharing the germs on your chopsticks).... then you shower NOT in the shower but on the ground that you walk on! All I can think every time I go in the shower is if the boys have similar actions that a lot of American boys have and pee in the shower... and I'm standing there on the same floor they just pee'd on!!! I have invested in shower shoes for this reason!! They also do not wash their hands after they go to the bathroom, BUT make you wash your hands and feet when you come in from outside. I DON'T GET IT!!!! You are so concerned about the germs on my feet on your floor, even though I just washed my feet from coming home but you share germs soooooo many other ways.....
Before we came on this trip, we were told that we were going to be amazed at how advanced this country is compared to ours! I was expecting to see gadgets and technology that was beyond comparable. We were also told that the education system was a million times better! After teaching for a couple of weeks now, I can definitely say that there are flaws in the Korean education system that greatly out-number our education flaws. Flaw #1 ) Many of the English teachers are not fluent in English! They speak broken English and are teaching the students bad grammar. Someone teaching a foreign language should be fluent in the language. Flaw #2) During the students 2nd year in high school, they are broken up by what subjects they are good at. If they are better at math and science, they can only take those classes for the rest of high school. Same if they are good at arts and social studies. So... if a student who scores higher on their science test than they do on their arts test and wants to take a journalism class, too bad so sad! Flaw #3) The lesson plans are often way lower than the students intelligence level. I have often seen my advanced students frustrated with the fact that they are learning something they have already learned multiple times. They are not being challenged. Flaw #4) The teachers often have amazing ideas in their head and have just assummed that we would figure out what they want to do by reading their minds. During these weeks of teaching, the 3 of us at my school have often been asked to create powerpoints for the next day's lesson. If I had known before we left that we were going to play such a big part in creating the lesson, I would have planned out some more challenging activities. Instead, we are asked to think on our feet! Kind of hard to do when you're 6,000 miles away from your common resources!
Because of this, I have made the conclusion that even though we lack the funding to have more advancements in our classrooms, our education is still better!
Las rant of the day.... I explained in my "realizations" blog how pedestrians do not have the right-away here.... Tonight made me soooo frustrated!!! As my family and I walked home from dinner, a car pulled up to the crosswalk making a right hand turn. We had the okay to cross and he had a red light. As we were walking across, he inched closer and closer to where we were at. When we got in front of his car, there was still about 30 seconds of time for us to cross, and he had the nerve to honk at us to go quicker! HE HAD A RED LIGHT!!! I really wanted to go knock on his window and say "Sir, You honking at me and inching closer and closer to your turn is not going to make me walk any faster, so now I'm just going to stand in front of your car so you can't move at all!" It's that whole mentality that I have when people cut you off back home... "OMG you are one car closer to your destination! Now you have time to stop for coffee and a doughnut!!" Luckily I only have 8 more days of crazy drivers, ridiculously slow buses, humidity up the ying yang, and kimchi!!!
OOOO and at least 60% chance of rain for the rest of trip.... most days are above 80%!! Lucky us right?
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Waterpark in the Rain
Who would have thought that monsoon type rain would not stop a group of American/Canadian kids from going to the waterpark with an entire Korean family!?
We accomplished that feat today. All week we had plans to go to this waterpark that is about an hour and a half away. It's called Caribbean Bay and is supposed to be one of the best in this part of the world. You have to make a reservation to go because they reach their capacity so quickly. It’s an easy way to control the crowd. If you ever come to Korea, don’t try to just walk up to the park. You probably won’t get in. Here is the link if you want to see more about the park before I continue my story…. http://www.everland.com/MultiLanguage/english/caribbean/main.html . My host mom invited Danny and Stacy to join us. I set my alarm last night for 5am (yes! 5am!! we were leaving at 6)... but when I woke up at 4am to the sounds of ridiculous thunder shaking my building and rain pounding on my window, I thought maybe our day plans were ruined. In the U.S., if even the slightest bit of thunder comes, the park is shut down. Here, NO WAY!! I walked out in the living room to find my entire host family already awake because the thunder scared them. We turned on some music and danced around the living room to calm their nerves (my suggestion!). Afterwards, I asked my host mom if we were going to have to make different plans. She responded by saying "of course not! We have more fun when it’s raining!"
We loaded up our cars and headed out. My host mom's sister, brother-in-law, mother, and the new baby joined us. Hera (my oldest host sister) had to stay home because she had to work today. A little while later, we had arrived! Busting out to "Barbie Girl" in the parking lot while the men bought our tickets, we enjoyed our little bit of calmness before the storm. Once we got inside, Stacy and I both realized this was not going to be like any American waterpark. We first had to go into the ladies locker room and get lockers for our stuff. Let me tell you when I say that Korean women have no shame! Women everywhere just stripped right down to change into their bathing suits. It definitely shocked us. Seeing how we both wore our swimsuits under our clothes for the trip up, we got out of there as quickly as we could. On the website it told us that everyone had to wear swim caps. When we got there, we figured out otherwise and were way excited that we did not have to adorn the fashion no-no. We made a "base camp" so we knew where to meet if we got lost from the group. We went on a few slides before heading to the wave pool. For the wave pool, everyone has to wear life jackets. John (my host brother), Danny and I made our way to the deepest part of the pool. We figured “what the heck, we are in life jackets so we won’t drown.” Going into this wave pool thinking it would be like Wet’n’Wild’s with massive waves knocking you down was a very bad idea for me to think. As we floated there, I realized that all this wave pool was going to be was some giant bumps in the water. We gently floated over each one and no matter how big it was, we never got any ounce of a wave feeling. Danny and I looked at each other like “are you kidding me right now.”
We saw where the waves were breaking so we tried to head back there. When we got to that area, we realized that it was blocked off. In the water, there was a thick green line about 10 feet wide. This was the exact area where the waves crashed. However, before every wave, the lifeguards clear that area. You have to either be in the deeper part where you just get bumps or the shallow part where the waves hit you at your knee caps. VERY DISSAPPOINTED. Danny and I made the move to get out as fast as we could. When we got out, it started pouring rain! Everyone wanted to stay under the tree but we all agreed to head up to where our favorite slides were. Standing in the ridiculous rain, telling stories about how we never get this much rain in a year was sooooo much fun! Stacy and I were laughing pretty hard at the fact that no lines got shorter and it seemed like no was affected by the rain. It stopped raining after a little while.
We left John at the wave pool so when we made the decision to wait in the line for the water rollercoaster, we went back to camp to look for him. Nowhere to be found so Danny, Stacy, Lisa (my middle host sister), and I headed up. The sign on the outside said 80 minute wait. We figured maybe it would go fast like our other waits went. Boy, were we wrong!! I think that after about 2 hours, we finally made it to the front. You climb in your 2 person raft and float around the corner to where a conveyor belt pulls you up to the top. You then have to get on a second belt until you reach the starting point of the rollercoaster. The 2 hour wait was definitely worth it. Going down hills to just be pushed back up another by extreme jets was so much fun. Definitely the highlight of the day! For lunch, I had fried shrimp with this tangy Caribbean sauce. It was awesome! Stacy and I discussed how you would never find an actual restaurant like we had in an American waterpark.
After a few more waves in the not so amazing wave pool, we made the decision to head home. Once again, Stacy and I were greeted by naked women all over the place changing back into their regular clothes. Maybe it’s just me but to get naked in a room full of women I don’t know would just be weird. We quickly changed back and met up with the boys to get out of there. My host father’s favorite song is “Bad Case of Loving You” by Robert Palmer and he used to be in a band. On the way home, he asked if he could sing the song to Stacy and I. As he rocked out with the music blasting and hitting every note, we couldn’t help but laugh at how he excited he was to sing to us. He was actually a pretty good singer too!
After a day full of rain, crazy wait times for rides, and a wave pool with no waves, we were all super tired but my host mom insisted on taking us to dinner. We drove up this hill by our house to this gorgeous restaurant. The street it was on was known was a good place to eat out. There were restaurants everywhere but we were going for BBQ duck. Our restaurant was covered in ivy and had a cute little waterfall out front. It was very quant. It really put be me at ease after the chaos that was Caribbean Bay. Dinner was awesome and I couldn’t have asked for a better time with better people. My host mom’s brother-in-law drove me home while she took home Danny and Stacy.
Now it is time to crash because I have never been so tired in my life!
Tomorrow is a light day… maybe some shopping in a new area of town I haven’t explored yet and maybe a movie!
Goodnight!
We accomplished that feat today. All week we had plans to go to this waterpark that is about an hour and a half away. It's called Caribbean Bay and is supposed to be one of the best in this part of the world. You have to make a reservation to go because they reach their capacity so quickly. It’s an easy way to control the crowd. If you ever come to Korea, don’t try to just walk up to the park. You probably won’t get in. Here is the link if you want to see more about the park before I continue my story…. http://www.everland.com/MultiLanguage/english/caribbean/main.html . My host mom invited Danny and Stacy to join us. I set my alarm last night for 5am (yes! 5am!! we were leaving at 6)... but when I woke up at 4am to the sounds of ridiculous thunder shaking my building and rain pounding on my window, I thought maybe our day plans were ruined. In the U.S., if even the slightest bit of thunder comes, the park is shut down. Here, NO WAY!! I walked out in the living room to find my entire host family already awake because the thunder scared them. We turned on some music and danced around the living room to calm their nerves (my suggestion!). Afterwards, I asked my host mom if we were going to have to make different plans. She responded by saying "of course not! We have more fun when it’s raining!"
We loaded up our cars and headed out. My host mom's sister, brother-in-law, mother, and the new baby joined us. Hera (my oldest host sister) had to stay home because she had to work today. A little while later, we had arrived! Busting out to "Barbie Girl" in the parking lot while the men bought our tickets, we enjoyed our little bit of calmness before the storm. Once we got inside, Stacy and I both realized this was not going to be like any American waterpark. We first had to go into the ladies locker room and get lockers for our stuff. Let me tell you when I say that Korean women have no shame! Women everywhere just stripped right down to change into their bathing suits. It definitely shocked us. Seeing how we both wore our swimsuits under our clothes for the trip up, we got out of there as quickly as we could. On the website it told us that everyone had to wear swim caps. When we got there, we figured out otherwise and were way excited that we did not have to adorn the fashion no-no. We made a "base camp" so we knew where to meet if we got lost from the group. We went on a few slides before heading to the wave pool. For the wave pool, everyone has to wear life jackets. John (my host brother), Danny and I made our way to the deepest part of the pool. We figured “what the heck, we are in life jackets so we won’t drown.” Going into this wave pool thinking it would be like Wet’n’Wild’s with massive waves knocking you down was a very bad idea for me to think. As we floated there, I realized that all this wave pool was going to be was some giant bumps in the water. We gently floated over each one and no matter how big it was, we never got any ounce of a wave feeling. Danny and I looked at each other like “are you kidding me right now.”
We saw where the waves were breaking so we tried to head back there. When we got to that area, we realized that it was blocked off. In the water, there was a thick green line about 10 feet wide. This was the exact area where the waves crashed. However, before every wave, the lifeguards clear that area. You have to either be in the deeper part where you just get bumps or the shallow part where the waves hit you at your knee caps. VERY DISSAPPOINTED. Danny and I made the move to get out as fast as we could. When we got out, it started pouring rain! Everyone wanted to stay under the tree but we all agreed to head up to where our favorite slides were. Standing in the ridiculous rain, telling stories about how we never get this much rain in a year was sooooo much fun! Stacy and I were laughing pretty hard at the fact that no lines got shorter and it seemed like no was affected by the rain. It stopped raining after a little while.
We left John at the wave pool so when we made the decision to wait in the line for the water rollercoaster, we went back to camp to look for him. Nowhere to be found so Danny, Stacy, Lisa (my middle host sister), and I headed up. The sign on the outside said 80 minute wait. We figured maybe it would go fast like our other waits went. Boy, were we wrong!! I think that after about 2 hours, we finally made it to the front. You climb in your 2 person raft and float around the corner to where a conveyor belt pulls you up to the top. You then have to get on a second belt until you reach the starting point of the rollercoaster. The 2 hour wait was definitely worth it. Going down hills to just be pushed back up another by extreme jets was so much fun. Definitely the highlight of the day! For lunch, I had fried shrimp with this tangy Caribbean sauce. It was awesome! Stacy and I discussed how you would never find an actual restaurant like we had in an American waterpark.
After a few more waves in the not so amazing wave pool, we made the decision to head home. Once again, Stacy and I were greeted by naked women all over the place changing back into their regular clothes. Maybe it’s just me but to get naked in a room full of women I don’t know would just be weird. We quickly changed back and met up with the boys to get out of there. My host father’s favorite song is “Bad Case of Loving You” by Robert Palmer and he used to be in a band. On the way home, he asked if he could sing the song to Stacy and I. As he rocked out with the music blasting and hitting every note, we couldn’t help but laugh at how he excited he was to sing to us. He was actually a pretty good singer too!
After a day full of rain, crazy wait times for rides, and a wave pool with no waves, we were all super tired but my host mom insisted on taking us to dinner. We drove up this hill by our house to this gorgeous restaurant. The street it was on was known was a good place to eat out. There were restaurants everywhere but we were going for BBQ duck. Our restaurant was covered in ivy and had a cute little waterfall out front. It was very quant. It really put be me at ease after the chaos that was Caribbean Bay. Dinner was awesome and I couldn’t have asked for a better time with better people. My host mom’s brother-in-law drove me home while she took home Danny and Stacy.
Now it is time to crash because I have never been so tired in my life!
Tomorrow is a light day… maybe some shopping in a new area of town I haven’t explored yet and maybe a movie!
Goodnight!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
I will miss this place....
Today was our last day with the 4th and 5th graders. Until today, I didn't think I would miss anything about teaching when I go back home. I always knew that even thought I might have the talent to work with children, I would never be able to work within the teacher's salary. I will be the first to admit that my spending habits would be too much for that position.
However, I found myself leaving school at 12:45, on the verge of tears. Our students had an English contest where they had to answer questions and if they got it wrong, they were out. We combined all 3 classes and of course, the 3 students that won were all advanced students. The winning question was spelling what state or city zach, travis, and I are from. After the contest, we went downstairs for the closing ceremony. Much to our surprise, we were asked to give a closing speech with no warning. The Korean teachers at the school always think about things in their head but never give a warning of whats going on. Since Zach can think off the top of his head, he spoke on behalf of the 3 of us and did an awesome job conveying how much we are going to miss these students.
We then went upstairs back to our classes with our homeroom kids. Even though the orange class (intermediate students) can be a handful sometimes, I saw myself getting upset when they were telling me how much they were going to miss me. The Korean teachers and all of the students make us giant thank you cards. As I read the ones from each class, my eyes definitely started to well up. I would have never expected to have this reaction. I figured it was just another group of relationships that would come in and out of my life. Once the students were dismissed, I had a crowd of girls from the green class (advanced students) come rushing in to take pictures with me and get my email address. There are two girls that Zach, Travis, and I call "the twins" because they are closer friends than sisters will ever be. With bright smiling faces they told me they would be emailing me EVERY DAY!!! They both then hugged me as another one of their friends yelled "Krista teacher... I love you!" That is when I lost it. I tried to stay strong and not show my emotion but a single tear fell down my cheek. I sucked it up and told myself I would be okay.
As Zach, Travis and I started to walk home, the same group of girls were waiting outside. "Teacher, buy me ice cream please." In America, all 3 of us would have been like "HELL NO!" because they just asked. But because we love these girls so much, we politely agreed. They walked us to a small mart and had the biggest grins on their faces while we paid for their treats.
Those smiles have made teaching all worth it. Even though we have 8 more days of teaching, I am fully satisfied with the work we have done here. I really hope that the kids do email me every day because I will glady respond with a huge smile on my face.
The one single tear told me that I will miss this place more than I know yet....
However, I found myself leaving school at 12:45, on the verge of tears. Our students had an English contest where they had to answer questions and if they got it wrong, they were out. We combined all 3 classes and of course, the 3 students that won were all advanced students. The winning question was spelling what state or city zach, travis, and I are from. After the contest, we went downstairs for the closing ceremony. Much to our surprise, we were asked to give a closing speech with no warning. The Korean teachers at the school always think about things in their head but never give a warning of whats going on. Since Zach can think off the top of his head, he spoke on behalf of the 3 of us and did an awesome job conveying how much we are going to miss these students.
We then went upstairs back to our classes with our homeroom kids. Even though the orange class (intermediate students) can be a handful sometimes, I saw myself getting upset when they were telling me how much they were going to miss me. The Korean teachers and all of the students make us giant thank you cards. As I read the ones from each class, my eyes definitely started to well up. I would have never expected to have this reaction. I figured it was just another group of relationships that would come in and out of my life. Once the students were dismissed, I had a crowd of girls from the green class (advanced students) come rushing in to take pictures with me and get my email address. There are two girls that Zach, Travis, and I call "the twins" because they are closer friends than sisters will ever be. With bright smiling faces they told me they would be emailing me EVERY DAY!!! They both then hugged me as another one of their friends yelled "Krista teacher... I love you!" That is when I lost it. I tried to stay strong and not show my emotion but a single tear fell down my cheek. I sucked it up and told myself I would be okay.
As Zach, Travis and I started to walk home, the same group of girls were waiting outside. "Teacher, buy me ice cream please." In America, all 3 of us would have been like "HELL NO!" because they just asked. But because we love these girls so much, we politely agreed. They walked us to a small mart and had the biggest grins on their faces while we paid for their treats.
Those smiles have made teaching all worth it. Even though we have 8 more days of teaching, I am fully satisfied with the work we have done here. I really hope that the kids do email me every day because I will glady respond with a huge smile on my face.
The one single tear told me that I will miss this place more than I know yet....
Sick as a Dog
Today started out what I thought would be okay. I woke up and did not have an ounce of hunger in me. I knew that wasn't right because normally I'm starving when I get up. I told my host mom I didn't want to eat breakfast but she insisted I eat something. I had this little wraps about the size of a half-dollar coin filled with rice. I only ate about three before I told her I could not eat anymore.
Once again, I waited about 30 minutes at my bus stop before the bus finally came. Of course the new route I have to take only has 1 bus so it takes forever to come. Once I got to school, I could definitely tell I wasn't feeling well anymore. 10 minutes into the first class and I was throwing up what little food I ate for breakfast. Dry-heaving the rest of the day, I toughed it out. I tried to put a smile on my face for afternoon class. I'm not sure how that went over.
The instant I got home, I told my host family I was going to lay down. I chugged down my nausea medicine and passed out from 4:30pm until 8pm. At 8 my host mom woke me up to see how I was feeling. She gave me this plum juice that was supposed to help calm my stomach. She also proceeded to give me a 15 minute stomach and hand massage. I think there is a nerve or something that has to do with calming your body down in between your thumb and pointer finger. When Travis was sick, that is where his host dad focused majority of his acupuncture. Tonight, that is where my host mom massaged the most.
Now I am laying in bed, ready to go back to sleep. Tomorrow is my last day with our morning students before we get all new ones next week. I am definitely going to miss them. There are certain students that just brighten my day when I see them.
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624658911382/
Once again, I waited about 30 minutes at my bus stop before the bus finally came. Of course the new route I have to take only has 1 bus so it takes forever to come. Once I got to school, I could definitely tell I wasn't feeling well anymore. 10 minutes into the first class and I was throwing up what little food I ate for breakfast. Dry-heaving the rest of the day, I toughed it out. I tried to put a smile on my face for afternoon class. I'm not sure how that went over.
The instant I got home, I told my host family I was going to lay down. I chugged down my nausea medicine and passed out from 4:30pm until 8pm. At 8 my host mom woke me up to see how I was feeling. She gave me this plum juice that was supposed to help calm my stomach. She also proceeded to give me a 15 minute stomach and hand massage. I think there is a nerve or something that has to do with calming your body down in between your thumb and pointer finger. When Travis was sick, that is where his host dad focused majority of his acupuncture. Tonight, that is where my host mom massaged the most.
Now I am laying in bed, ready to go back to sleep. Tomorrow is my last day with our morning students before we get all new ones next week. I am definitely going to miss them. There are certain students that just brighten my day when I see them.
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624658911382/
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I am not a Kindergarten Student!!
Ok so not a lot happened today, except for the funniest moment ever with my host brother....
Travis and Danny (my new Canadian friend) came over so my host mom could cook dinner for them. She was so excited to meet the people I have been hanging out with. It was amazing dinner but she definitely made too much. After dinner, the three of us went with my 3 host siblings to Karaoke.
I'm not sure if I have explained this already but karaoke is way different here and I am totally thinking I need to find an investor to help me open a business like this in Las Vegas. Every group gets their own room. With brightly colored lights that dance along with your song choice, you have your own flat screen and own sound system. It's amazing because in no way do you have to embarrass yourself in front of 50 people you don't know. You can bring in your own food and drinks or buy from the location. It would absolutely kill in Vegas!!
So we went to the best karaoke room closest to us, The Princess Room. Every room has its own theme. We were in the sailing theme so there were sail boats all over the walls and our couch was boat shaped. It was awesome! I didn't think my host brother would sing but he actually sang a lot, including some American songs like Linkin Park with Danny and Travis. My host sister Hera definitely gets the vote for best singer of the night. Her voice is amazing!!! I could listen to her sing all day. She also taught Travis the dance to a popular Korean song right now. When you look through my pictures, you will see Travis' attempt at it.
Now, to explain the title of this blog post....
At our apartment, you have to use a card key to get in at the bottom of the building or you can call to the apartment you are visiting and they can buzz you in. I had my key on me so I got to the door first and opened it. My host brother didn't see me use my key and goes "WOW how did that open??" and I told him it was magic... and he gave me a funny look. So then I said "OOO the door saw me coming and said oh no krista is coming and opened" and he looked at me and goes "i'm not a kindergarten student. i'm not 5." My host sisters and I cracked up laughing. Hera looked like she was about to cry because she was laughing so hard. Maybe it was a had to be there moment but it definitely made my night.
Tomorrow is exercising with my morning kids (their lesson for the week is "stay in shape" so I'm making them do one of my My Gym warm-ups) and mini-olympics with my afternoon kids.... should be a lot of fun and I will try to take a lot of pictures!!
BTW: Thomas and Sam have all their pictures up on a website. If you go to www.pictage.com ... then register and search for "thomas and sam" on june 26th, 2010... you will be able to see all 1007 pictures!!!
Pictures from tonight: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624527854929/
Travis and Danny (my new Canadian friend) came over so my host mom could cook dinner for them. She was so excited to meet the people I have been hanging out with. It was amazing dinner but she definitely made too much. After dinner, the three of us went with my 3 host siblings to Karaoke.
I'm not sure if I have explained this already but karaoke is way different here and I am totally thinking I need to find an investor to help me open a business like this in Las Vegas. Every group gets their own room. With brightly colored lights that dance along with your song choice, you have your own flat screen and own sound system. It's amazing because in no way do you have to embarrass yourself in front of 50 people you don't know. You can bring in your own food and drinks or buy from the location. It would absolutely kill in Vegas!!
So we went to the best karaoke room closest to us, The Princess Room. Every room has its own theme. We were in the sailing theme so there were sail boats all over the walls and our couch was boat shaped. It was awesome! I didn't think my host brother would sing but he actually sang a lot, including some American songs like Linkin Park with Danny and Travis. My host sister Hera definitely gets the vote for best singer of the night. Her voice is amazing!!! I could listen to her sing all day. She also taught Travis the dance to a popular Korean song right now. When you look through my pictures, you will see Travis' attempt at it.
Now, to explain the title of this blog post....
At our apartment, you have to use a card key to get in at the bottom of the building or you can call to the apartment you are visiting and they can buzz you in. I had my key on me so I got to the door first and opened it. My host brother didn't see me use my key and goes "WOW how did that open??" and I told him it was magic... and he gave me a funny look. So then I said "OOO the door saw me coming and said oh no krista is coming and opened" and he looked at me and goes "i'm not a kindergarten student. i'm not 5." My host sisters and I cracked up laughing. Hera looked like she was about to cry because she was laughing so hard. Maybe it was a had to be there moment but it definitely made my night.
Tomorrow is exercising with my morning kids (their lesson for the week is "stay in shape" so I'm making them do one of my My Gym warm-ups) and mini-olympics with my afternoon kids.... should be a lot of fun and I will try to take a lot of pictures!!
BTW: Thomas and Sam have all their pictures up on a website. If you go to www.pictage.com ... then register and search for "thomas and sam" on june 26th, 2010... you will be able to see all 1007 pictures!!!
Pictures from tonight: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624527854929/
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Pictures from Thomas and Sam's Wedding
This is completely irrelevant to my trip to Korea but Sammy just posted some of the pictures from the wedding and I'm so freaking excited....
Here is the link to my flickr album..
I will add more pictures as she adds them and will keep you posted if new ones go up!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624525645619/
Here is the link to my flickr album..
I will add more pictures as she adds them and will keep you posted if new ones go up!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624525645619/
Longest Day EVER!!!
Today seemed to drag on like no other. Morning session normally goes by quick, but it felt like I had been there all day by the end of second period. Travis and I live further from the school now so we decided to eat lunch closer to school and just not go home. We tried the Lotteria which is one of the big department stores. It was definitely an experience trying to order food from someone who speaks only Korean. Luckily we had a menu we could point at pictures to show them. I ordered ice cream for dessert thinking I was going to get this small bowl of vanilla ice cream. Instead I got this massive bowl filled with shaved ice (that's normally how they serve ice cream) with vanilla soft serve on top, covered in different berries. I definitely had to ask Travis to help me with. Let's just say I won't be ordering that again.
I was excited for afternoon session because we have a new class. We have second graders for the next two weeks. New class means new teacher as well. This one seems a lot more relaxed than the first. Things do not have to be as perfect but I love both teachers equally. The second graders are doing the same lessons that the first graders did so today we taught them animals. I was very confused to see that our first graders knew more English than these second graders. Conversation was definitely difficult but once they got going, they warmed up to us quickly. I'm excited for Thursday's class because not only are we doing body parts again but we are also doing mini olympics like we did with our morning students. I'll take pictures again.
After school, I came home and hung out with my older host sister Hera. She is very funny and is constantly making me laugh. We watched some Korean TV shows. My host mom then left to pick up the new car that they bought on Saturday. During that time, her sister and brother-in-law came over with their 6 month old baby. He is by far the cutest Asian baby I have seen on this trip. The brother-in-law spoke awesome English and was making conversation with me left and right. He also brought over a traditional Korean game for us to play. There are four wooden sticks (one side flat and one side round). Each team gets 4 button-looking game pieces and there is a game board that looks like a square with an X through the middle. Each team takes turns throwing the sticks. Depending on how they land (on their flat side or round side) that is how many spaces you get to move. If you last move is on a corner of the square, you can then use the middle lines to make a short cut to the exit. Each combination of throws has a name but I cannot remember them if my life depended on it. We played my family vs. their family. It was me, my host sister Hera, and my host brother John against the sister, brother-in-law, and the baby (yes, the dad threw for the baby from his walker). It was definitely one of the funnest games I have ever played.
As I watched how excited the brother-in-law got every time the baby made the slightest sound, I realized how precious the life of a baby is. Parents will love their child unconditionally, through thick and thin. It made me think of Quinn Bodine. I have made friends with the youngest Bodine, Amber, over the past year through various classes we have had together and helping each other pass the most difficult class I have taken in college. Quinn is the newest edition to the Bodine clan and is in the hospital battling some infections. Her parents have yet to have the honor of taking her home. I cannot even imagnine what it would be like to be carrying that life around inside of you for 9 months and then not being able to hold her at night when she can't sleep or laugh at the little sounds she makes when she is happy. I have been praying for the Bodine family since hearing about Quinn's condition. I look forward to Amber's constant updates on Facebook about the progress she is making. Every day I get excited to hear good news. I will continue to pray for Quinn until she is a completely healthy baby in the arms of her parents, being amused by the little things her new big sister does for her. I hope that all of you will keep Quinn in your prayers!
I sent Bobby an awesome gift... everyone should bug him to see it!
Tomorrow is just morning school, then shopping with my host sisters. Travis, Schuyler, and Danny are coming to my house for dinner and then everyone is going to karaoke. I will definitely be taking pictures! (Karaoke here is way different! You have your own room with your group so you do not have to be embarrassed trying to sing in front of a ton of people. I'm totally thinking I need to find an investor and opening a place like this in Las Vegas. It would make a killing! It would be crowded every day!!!)
Goodnight for now.....
I was excited for afternoon session because we have a new class. We have second graders for the next two weeks. New class means new teacher as well. This one seems a lot more relaxed than the first. Things do not have to be as perfect but I love both teachers equally. The second graders are doing the same lessons that the first graders did so today we taught them animals. I was very confused to see that our first graders knew more English than these second graders. Conversation was definitely difficult but once they got going, they warmed up to us quickly. I'm excited for Thursday's class because not only are we doing body parts again but we are also doing mini olympics like we did with our morning students. I'll take pictures again.
After school, I came home and hung out with my older host sister Hera. She is very funny and is constantly making me laugh. We watched some Korean TV shows. My host mom then left to pick up the new car that they bought on Saturday. During that time, her sister and brother-in-law came over with their 6 month old baby. He is by far the cutest Asian baby I have seen on this trip. The brother-in-law spoke awesome English and was making conversation with me left and right. He also brought over a traditional Korean game for us to play. There are four wooden sticks (one side flat and one side round). Each team gets 4 button-looking game pieces and there is a game board that looks like a square with an X through the middle. Each team takes turns throwing the sticks. Depending on how they land (on their flat side or round side) that is how many spaces you get to move. If you last move is on a corner of the square, you can then use the middle lines to make a short cut to the exit. Each combination of throws has a name but I cannot remember them if my life depended on it. We played my family vs. their family. It was me, my host sister Hera, and my host brother John against the sister, brother-in-law, and the baby (yes, the dad threw for the baby from his walker). It was definitely one of the funnest games I have ever played.
As I watched how excited the brother-in-law got every time the baby made the slightest sound, I realized how precious the life of a baby is. Parents will love their child unconditionally, through thick and thin. It made me think of Quinn Bodine. I have made friends with the youngest Bodine, Amber, over the past year through various classes we have had together and helping each other pass the most difficult class I have taken in college. Quinn is the newest edition to the Bodine clan and is in the hospital battling some infections. Her parents have yet to have the honor of taking her home. I cannot even imagnine what it would be like to be carrying that life around inside of you for 9 months and then not being able to hold her at night when she can't sleep or laugh at the little sounds she makes when she is happy. I have been praying for the Bodine family since hearing about Quinn's condition. I look forward to Amber's constant updates on Facebook about the progress she is making. Every day I get excited to hear good news. I will continue to pray for Quinn until she is a completely healthy baby in the arms of her parents, being amused by the little things her new big sister does for her. I hope that all of you will keep Quinn in your prayers!
I sent Bobby an awesome gift... everyone should bug him to see it!
Tomorrow is just morning school, then shopping with my host sisters. Travis, Schuyler, and Danny are coming to my house for dinner and then everyone is going to karaoke. I will definitely be taking pictures! (Karaoke here is way different! You have your own room with your group so you do not have to be embarrassed trying to sing in front of a ton of people. I'm totally thinking I need to find an investor and opening a place like this in Las Vegas. It would make a killing! It would be crowded every day!!!)
Goodnight for now.....
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tale of Two Cities
I'm sure you are all wondering why I would possibly have a blog post titled "Tale of Two Cities." It is not because I have a story referencing the book, but most definitely because with my new host family, I feel like I will have a completely different Dobong experience.
We moved in with our new families yesterday. I was expecting some differences from the first but not to the extent that I got. I walked into an apartment that could probably fit 4 of the first ones inside of it. Lots of rooms and nice wooden floors. Everything was SOOOOO clean! When I say these people are germaphobes, I'm understating it completely. They had me wash my hands and feet when I came inside. I walked into the living room to find a big sign saying "I love you" and posters with all of my family's names in Korean and English. There are three kids; Hera (19), Lisa (16), and John (14). The mom's name is Julie. The best part about the collage on the wall was finding out that my host father's English name is Captain. I LOVE IT!!! The father was at work so I didn't get to meet him. Hera had to leave to go to work in Incadon at her Aunt's cafe so I only got to see her for a little bit. The warmth in the house was so much different than the first. I felt like they truly wanted me there without a doubt.
Julie, John, Lisa and I went out to lunch. They asked me what my favorite food was in Korea so far. I think it is spell Sam Yup San or something close to that. It is like super thick pieces of bacon that you fry on a grill that is in the middle of your table. We had it our second night here and I have been in love with it every since. So they took me to a super cute restaurant where we could get that. By the conversation we were having, you would have thought we had known each other for years! After lunch, we went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. While we were eating, my host mom was telling me how she is on a diet. She said "All Korean women always on a diet." It made me laugh.
We went home and just hung out, relaxed a little, and watched some Korean game shows. Even thought I had no idea what was going on, it still put a smile on my face. Lisa and I talked about the American TV shows she knows and I introduced her to Glee! They talked a little fast for her to fully understand what was going on, but she laughed the entire time. My mission is to turn her into a Glee-k before I leave!!!
My host father doesn't get home until 9pm. He is a journalist in downtown Seoul and his only day off is Saturday. When he got home, I realized he had bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I could tell that the smile on my face made his day. He is the only one in the family that doesn't speak English. He can understand it completely but just doesn't know what words to use.
My host mom made this amazing dinner!! It was almost like fondue. She had a portable heated pot (like a crock pot) that she put on the table and filled with beef stock. Shen then cut up a ton of vegetables and put them in, along with this paper thin sliced beef. You grabbed whatever you wanted out of the pot and dipped it in this chili sauce. It was definitely one of the best things I have had since being here. The conversation at dinner was definitely the best I have had with any Korean since being here! My host father sat there with an "Everyday English Conversation" book, flipping through pages asking me all sorts of questions. I loved that he was making such a good effort to talk to me. When Hera got home from work, I asked her what her hobbies are. She told me her favorite thing to do is eating but her hobby is dieting. I died laughing! My host brother John didn't say much and Julie kept teasing him. Everyone was cracking up laughing and I coudldn't figure out why until Lisa translated for me that John was going through puberty and is being stubborn. That definitely made my night.
After working on some lesson plans for class this week, I watched the Miss Korea pageant with my family. We then watched the news and learned about the North Korean bombs that washed ashore in South Korea yesterday morning and killed 1 person. If you havent heard about this yet, look it up. North Korea has been getting ridiculous rain and some of their mines washed into the river. The South Korean man and his nephew thought it would be a could idea to pick up the boxes and carry them home. They exploded while on them! Not the smartest decision...
I called it a night at about 1am after talking to Dad and Grammy. Every time I talk to someone from home, I miss home more and more.
Today at school, we taught the intermediate kids about the Zoo. I showed them the San Diego Zoo and all the animals there. They loved watching the videos of the new babies. After first period, we had cooking class. We taught all 3 classes how to make rice krispie treats. Even though they don't have the same ingredients here as we do, they still turned out to be pretty good! I was impressed at how much my students loved to cook.
Tonight I am going out with Hera. She said there are some things she wants to show me. It's good to have host siblings that I can relate to more. I'm excited to be in this house..
I uploaded pictures of the signs, flowers, and my new room.
Only 17 more days people!!!
Oh, and by the way, the day I come home (Thursday, August 19th) we are going to have a big dinner at Yardhouse in Town Square at 7pm. I get in at 5:50pm and I know I am going to want to see everyone but will be super tired. This is the easiest way for me to see everyone at once! Let me know if you are coming so we can make a reservation with the right amount of people!!!
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624634289706/
We moved in with our new families yesterday. I was expecting some differences from the first but not to the extent that I got. I walked into an apartment that could probably fit 4 of the first ones inside of it. Lots of rooms and nice wooden floors. Everything was SOOOOO clean! When I say these people are germaphobes, I'm understating it completely. They had me wash my hands and feet when I came inside. I walked into the living room to find a big sign saying "I love you" and posters with all of my family's names in Korean and English. There are three kids; Hera (19), Lisa (16), and John (14). The mom's name is Julie. The best part about the collage on the wall was finding out that my host father's English name is Captain. I LOVE IT!!! The father was at work so I didn't get to meet him. Hera had to leave to go to work in Incadon at her Aunt's cafe so I only got to see her for a little bit. The warmth in the house was so much different than the first. I felt like they truly wanted me there without a doubt.
Julie, John, Lisa and I went out to lunch. They asked me what my favorite food was in Korea so far. I think it is spell Sam Yup San or something close to that. It is like super thick pieces of bacon that you fry on a grill that is in the middle of your table. We had it our second night here and I have been in love with it every since. So they took me to a super cute restaurant where we could get that. By the conversation we were having, you would have thought we had known each other for years! After lunch, we went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. While we were eating, my host mom was telling me how she is on a diet. She said "All Korean women always on a diet." It made me laugh.
We went home and just hung out, relaxed a little, and watched some Korean game shows. Even thought I had no idea what was going on, it still put a smile on my face. Lisa and I talked about the American TV shows she knows and I introduced her to Glee! They talked a little fast for her to fully understand what was going on, but she laughed the entire time. My mission is to turn her into a Glee-k before I leave!!!
My host father doesn't get home until 9pm. He is a journalist in downtown Seoul and his only day off is Saturday. When he got home, I realized he had bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I could tell that the smile on my face made his day. He is the only one in the family that doesn't speak English. He can understand it completely but just doesn't know what words to use.
My host mom made this amazing dinner!! It was almost like fondue. She had a portable heated pot (like a crock pot) that she put on the table and filled with beef stock. Shen then cut up a ton of vegetables and put them in, along with this paper thin sliced beef. You grabbed whatever you wanted out of the pot and dipped it in this chili sauce. It was definitely one of the best things I have had since being here. The conversation at dinner was definitely the best I have had with any Korean since being here! My host father sat there with an "Everyday English Conversation" book, flipping through pages asking me all sorts of questions. I loved that he was making such a good effort to talk to me. When Hera got home from work, I asked her what her hobbies are. She told me her favorite thing to do is eating but her hobby is dieting. I died laughing! My host brother John didn't say much and Julie kept teasing him. Everyone was cracking up laughing and I coudldn't figure out why until Lisa translated for me that John was going through puberty and is being stubborn. That definitely made my night.
After working on some lesson plans for class this week, I watched the Miss Korea pageant with my family. We then watched the news and learned about the North Korean bombs that washed ashore in South Korea yesterday morning and killed 1 person. If you havent heard about this yet, look it up. North Korea has been getting ridiculous rain and some of their mines washed into the river. The South Korean man and his nephew thought it would be a could idea to pick up the boxes and carry them home. They exploded while on them! Not the smartest decision...
I called it a night at about 1am after talking to Dad and Grammy. Every time I talk to someone from home, I miss home more and more.
Today at school, we taught the intermediate kids about the Zoo. I showed them the San Diego Zoo and all the animals there. They loved watching the videos of the new babies. After first period, we had cooking class. We taught all 3 classes how to make rice krispie treats. Even though they don't have the same ingredients here as we do, they still turned out to be pretty good! I was impressed at how much my students loved to cook.
Tonight I am going out with Hera. She said there are some things she wants to show me. It's good to have host siblings that I can relate to more. I'm excited to be in this house..
I uploaded pictures of the signs, flowers, and my new room.
Only 17 more days people!!!
Oh, and by the way, the day I come home (Thursday, August 19th) we are going to have a big dinner at Yardhouse in Town Square at 7pm. I get in at 5:50pm and I know I am going to want to see everyone but will be super tired. This is the easiest way for me to see everyone at once! Let me know if you are coming so we can make a reservation with the right amount of people!!!
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624634289706/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)