Packed Week

Last week was our one week where we didn't have to travel to Seoul for class. We were transitioning from 1st term to 2nd and we ended up with a week "vacation."  Monday & Tuesday were regular teaching days, but Wednesday my school had Sport's Day. This is the day where all the students get to participate in sporting events all day long with all of the classes competing against each other. This year's winners received money coupons for the school store, so the competition was intense. My job was basketball scorekeeper (my annual post). We couldn't have asked for better weather: mid-seventies and sunny with a slight breeze!

The students stretching in formation on Sport's Day.

After the students went home, the female teachers played a practice game of kickball against the high school teachers in anticipation for the Teacher's Sports day which was scheduled for Friday. The high school teachers won but it was still fun to be out in the fresh air. Immediately after the game, I rushed home, showered, and met my rural schools' PE teacher for dinner with his family. He wanted his 2 young sons to have a chance to meet a foreigner, so he invited me over for a nice dinner. The family was very sweet and I had a great time.

Mr. Kim, the PE teacher at my rural school and his family.

Thursday was a rainy day so our school festival day was a bit damp. We started with a school-wide quiz show in which I was asked to participate in the reading of the English portion of the quiz. Next the students enjoyed all sorts of Korean snacks and then they were free to head to the various booths set up around the school. Some included: nail art/face painting, arm wrestling, Bingo, darts, water balloon fighting, balloon animal making, and even a "guess the teacher" contest in which teachers brought in old photos of themselves. Luckily my mom was able to scan a few of my baby photos to me, so the kids and teachers got a kick out of seeing those.

Several of my students getting excited for nail art/face painting.

My baby board.

The water balloon fight area.

Friday was "Private School Teacher's Sports Day" for all 35 of the schools in our province. Luckily this year it was held in our city, so we had a 10 minute bus ride to the school where it was being held. The forecast was saying rain but when we woke up there wasn't a cloud in the sky! (So sunny in fact that I ended up with sunburned cheeks!)  Our team won our 1st round of kickball, only to be eliminated in a close 2nd game. The teachers who weren't playing were either cheering us on or eating the tasty snacks that the mother's group had prepared for us. Other activities included tug of war, soccer, and badminton. After awards were given to the winning schools, we headed to a tasty restaurant for a nice dinner. Some teachers then headed to a karaoke-style song room, but I headed home instead. I actually ended up pulling a hamstring in our intense game of kickball, so have been on the mend since then. 

Daesung Middle School teachers after Sport's Day.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed into Seoul to begin a new round of classes. They include International Business and Economics. The IB prof is from Syracuse and is very interesting, while the Econ prof is from a Korean Think Tank in Seoul. For the next 4 weeks we'll be in Seoul 4 times a week, and after that it'll only be twice a week until July 14th. Time will fly by for sure! This morning I woke up early and headed to the traditional Korean medical doctor, or acupuncture. Hopefully the hamstring will be back to normal in a week or so! 

We want to wish a Happy Memorial Day to everyone!!!

EPIK Field Trip

We work for EPIK (English Program in Korea) and this year the government gave our province money to take all of the teachers on a day trip. 37 of us boarded a bus Wednesday bright and early (7:20am) and headed to the west coast. First we stopped off at a temple that is famous for having a large amount of female monks. At the temple I met another teacher who's teaching near the temple. Her two best friends were visiting her from the States and she was showing them around. It reminded me of when I showed my best friends around Korea!  

Boo-deok-sa Temple

For lunch we were treated to bi-bim-bap (rice with fresh veggies, fried egg, and spicy red pepper sauce). After our meal, we got back on the bus and drove for another hour until we arrived at the Anmyeon-do Flower Festival. The grounds overlook the West Sea, and are covered in colorful flowers. B and I had planned on staying for a short time and then catching a taxi to the local bus terminal so we could head to Seoul for our final accounting class. Once we got to the fest, we learned that the nearest bus terminal was an hour away, and it was going to be a big hassle for us to make it. We ended up calling our classmates and telling them we wouldn't be able to make class...We were able to take in some really great flower exhibits though!

Andy, Rox, Jean, Sarah and I posing with the totums.

"Namdaemun" Gate covered in flowers!

The view from above (The West Sea in the distance).

At 4:30 we boarded the bus for the final time and headed home. We were on a "norae-bus" which is basically a bus equipped with karaoke equipment. Someone started and the rest of us joined in! We sang for the last hour of the trip; what a blast! 

"Song-bus" complete with flat screen tv, disco lights, and 2 mics!

Back in Wonju we finished the night with a tasty meal of "dalk-galbi" sweet/spicy chicken!! We got home at 10pm and pretty much crashed. 

Tomorrow (friday) is Teacher's Day so I have the day off and B has a lighter schedule than usual. We were hoping to have Saturday off from Uni but at the last second we realized we still have to meet with our team to finish up our group project...hopefully Sunday's weather will be nice!

Childrens' Day, Parents' Day, Teachers' Day

May in Korea is filled with holidays. On May 5th, we celebrated Childrens' Day as a National holiday. Parents are supposed to treat their children to a fun day; needless to say amusement parks, movie theaters, and baseball stadiums are always crowded. I was surprised to hear how many of my middle schoolers went to the PC room to play games with their friends all day. We had the whole day off, so we met with some friends for a friendly game of basketball, and then the boys went home and Rox and I headed to Ganhyun Resort (30 mins outside of town) for a bit of sunshine. It was a nice, relaxing day.

Our subway stop in Seoul is connected to "Children's Grand Park" so it was decorated nicely in anticipation for the big day.

On the 8th it was Parents' Day. The small children make small gifts and write notes to their parents, and older children (IE working age ones) are expected to give money to their parents. We recently learned that $100 for each parent is customary, but only if you have a stable job. We didn't get this day off as a nat'l holiday, but I was lucky since my rural school had mid-terms I stayed home. We ended up having class in Seoul that night due to a scheduling conflict but B was out at his rural school so couldn't make the bus in time. I headed in solo; got back home at 12:30, and woke up ag 7am to do the same journey on Saturday morn! After our accounting class there was a BBQ party at one of our professors from school. There were lots of fellow classmates there and it was nice to chat on a casual level as opposed to strictly educational level. We got back to Wonju around 6pm, and I met up with Rox for a walk around the nice track. After that, we met up with the boys for a beer and a laugh at our local pub. 

A view of our campus. On our way to the BBQ.

A group of our classmates enjoying the sunshine, tasty food, and good company.

Today (Happy Mother's Day) was a nice day so we  had a picnic with the same group from the pub last night. The high is 84 for today, so we had a nice BBQ lunch and then caught some rays for a bit.

B, Brandon, Rox, Bryan, Phil and Adele enjoying a tasty lunch by the river on Mother's Day.

Weekend Ride

Friday evening we joined our friends Roxanne, Brandon and Phil on an extended bike ride. We left Wonju at 6:30pm, and arrived in Danyang (southwest of us) at 9pm. 

H, B, Phil, Brandon and Rox posing by "3-Peak Rock" just outside of Danyang.

After finding a motel, we grabbed a bite to eat, checked out a seemingly random saxophone bar, and then headed to the norae-bang (karaoke room) for an hour. We awoke on Saturday morn and headed to Cheon-dong Cave, where we did a bit of exploring.

Cheon-dong Cave in Danyang.

 

The gang posing for a photo in the cave.

After leaving the cave we drove for about an hour and arrived at Hui-bong Mountain. There's a famous Buddhist temple located near a waterfall, so we swung in there for a bit. It was actually Buddha's birthday that day so everyone at the temple was treated to a tradional monks' meal: steamed rice topped with fresh mountain veggies and spicy pepper paste. A few of us (Rox and Love and I) took a bit too much pepper paste and our mouths were on fire for a while after that.

The crowds at Hui-bong Sa for Buddha's Birthday.

Enjoying our free tradional meal.

The waterfall just below the temple.

After leaving the temple, it was just another hour to Andong, our final destination. We got into town about 4pm and had just tucked the bikes into the storage garage at the motel when it started to rain! We tried a new spicy chicken dish for dinner, and then the guys and gals split up for the night. Rox and I first went to a coffee shop and then headed to a sauna for a relaxing night. The boys found a pub and had a beer. 

This morning we woke up and again did the boy/girl thing. The guys hopped on their bikes and started home (with a few stop-overs along the way), and Rox and I headed to another sauna that we'd heard was much better than the first. For 5,000won ($5) we were able to relax in hot, warm, and cold tubs. There were 4 different saunas to try, and they even had a pool big enough to take a few laps in! We took the train home (2.5 hour ride) and got home at almost the exact same time as the boys. It was an excellent weekend!

Tomorrow and Tuesday are holidays for us, but we still have grad school tomorrow night. We're getting a take-home accounting mid-term (we've had 2 weeks of class and only 2 more to go for this one).