Three Friends Who Got Seoul!

   In Korea, May 5th is Children's Day.  This is a National holiday (more on that later) - but note that we get the day off from school.  Hooray!  We ALSO have May 10th (Buddah's birthday) off - which meant a Thursday and the following Tuesday (but NOT Friday or Monday) off, which makes more sense when you remember that most Korean teachers also work Saturday and possibly Sunday, as well.

  When I found out that a dear friend, Emily, would be visiting from Russia (she is teaching there like I am teaching here, also from America) during this time, I fought (seriously) to also get Friday off, so I could take the longer weekend and we could take a mini trip.

  Thursday morning, three friends embarked on a trip to Seoul.  First, we made a mad dash to the multi-level electronics mart so I could purchase a new camera - long over due.  I figured a weekend trip to Seoul was the perfect place to familiarize myself with a new camera... so here goes the report, complete with pictures!

    The bus ride from Gwangju to Seoul is about 4 hours.  It cost $17 to get our ticket, then we were to be on our way.  

  Oh wait, the funny (and nerve-wracking) part was after we got the camera - we had about 15 minutes to get to our bus.  They usually leave on time.  We made a stop at the bathroom, but then someone wanted coffee... which takes a LONG time here in Korea.  

  We ended up literally RUNNING to catch our bus.  As I rounded the corner and went through the doorway, I caught a glimpse of the bus door shutting.  I heaved my bag further up onto my shoulder and made a lounge towards the door.  One of the employees not leaving on the bus halted the driver.  I jumped up onto the step and he was going to let me go.  Emily ran up behind, but Anna was coming through a different exit door so we couldn't see her, and Emily dashed back into the station.  I tried to ask the driver to wait a minute, but my Korean was lacking.  It was all a bit of a blur.  I actually stood there, in the bus' doorway, blocking the door, until Emily and Anna were both in sight.  They boarded the bus and we quickly took seats.  Who knows if they were "our" seats - we were just glad to be on the bus.  Whew.  That was too close for comfort.

  Emily, a bit under the weather, settled in for a bit of a rest.  Anna thought she could keep me quiet with music, but I was too excited!

Two of us - me with Anna, on the bus, ready for adventure!

This is mostly what the view is on the way to Seoul by bus.

 

We arrived in Seoul.  The bus station tunnels into the subway, our next choice of transportation.  Here we were, ready for adventures so exciting they were still unbeknownst to us.

The Terrific Trio, together once again: Hannah, Anna, and Emily

LOOK OUT, SEOUL!

 Walking through the subway.  It is VERY clean, a little 

crowded, and full of little open-market style shops.  

Welcome to Seoul.  Welcome to Korea.

   Our next stop is the Palace.  This is the oldest palace in Korea, complete with a temple and museums.  We take the subway, find lockers for our stuff (another fantastic part I love about Korea - there are lockers almost everywhere, and they are secure and cheap), and walk towards the exit, which opens into the edge of the palace grounds.

I think we are getting closer...

 Yup, def. closer. We walk up just as they were about to have a 

ceremony like a "changing of the guards".  Super cool.

 There's the palace!  Hmmm.  Looks like a few other 

people had our idea to visit today, as well.

Walking closer to the Palace: Emily and Hannah

 

Off to one side is this.  I think it used to have water in it?

Walking closer, look up.  You see this:

This area, like the temples, all have intricate designs.  

Most of the ones in Korea look "just like" most of the other ones, but they still intrigue me.

 The palace grounds are surrounded by mountains:

Let's take a closer look, inside one of the buildings:

Look up:

Look inside.

 Walking around the grounds:

Can you hear the music?

There is a concert... costumes and a big drum!

 Wait a minute!  Those clothes make us think of Germans, or even Dutch. ?

This building was some sort of school house.

I could study here.

The buildings are interesting.

   Well, this is NOT the end of the palace grounds, and that was only the beginning of the trip - but my new camera, well, it was new, so the battery needed to be charged, which I did not do by getting on the bus... so this is the end of this post for now.  (More to follow!) 

   Here I am, welcoming you to come along for the rest of this trip:

Hooray for Surprises!

    Even for those who really know me, I can be a bit difficult to surprise.  However, Class K definitely surprised me Thursday.  To start with, I guess I should explain a bit about Class K.  They are fifth and sixth graders, let's just say not the most advanced English students.  

   From what I've gathered so far, (our new school year started in March), this lack of advancement is more a lack of motivation than anything.  Mainly for this reason and how class has gone the last few months, I consider most of class K some of my "opportunity students."  (They have the opportunity to better; I have the opportunity to grow as a person and in patience as I do NOT punch someone in the face who desperately needs it.)

   A few weeks ago, class took a turn for the worse.  I tried "tough love".  I tried being mean, I tried being nice.  I tried reviewing class rules, and then having this class help re-write them so they had a part in how their class shapes up.  I tried rewards.  I tried everything I could think of.  Mostly, this was to no avail.  The actual problem is lack of support at home - so even kicking students out of class or sending home a "0" doesn't often do much.  (there is more to this, to be explained in another blog perhaps)

   So, Thursday, between classes, I re-filled my water bottle (and emptied the water I already drank).  As I walked back from the bathroom to get my books from my desk, two students from class K met me in the hallway.  "Oh, Teacher.  Wait.  Please.  You, wait. No come class.  Wait ten, ah, wait minute."  Of course, all that is within me fully expected the worst.  My suspicions were awakened.  I narrowed my eyes and said, "Why?" 

   They looked nervously at each other.  "Oh, no.  Just wait.  Please."  Again, "Why?"  "Errr, we can't tell you."  They seemed sincere, but come on, this is class K.  There is no way I can just go late to class.

  I told them class was to start in one minute, but I would ask their Korean teacher.  I hunted down Hyeon-Seong.  When I asked why they might want me to come late, she suddenly smiled and said, "Oh, it is okay.  No really.  You wait here, err, five minutes.  I will watch them.  In the hall."  She promptly took off towards class K's room.

  A different teacher leaned back from her chair to say, "Class K?  Oh no!  I wouldn't leave them unattended."

  A few minutes later, I found myself walking towards the classroom.  Hyeon-Seong teacher was in the - hallway,  but quickly left.  The room was dark.  I could hear muffled voices from inside.

  As I opened the door, ALL of class K lunged towards me!  They flipped on the lights.  They were yelling, "Hooray for Hannah Teacher!"  (later saying this was because when I inquire how they are, anyone responding with "I am happy." of course gets a "Hooray!" from me)  Then they sprayed "snow from a can".  Ohmygaserangee!  This is like silly string  in a can - meant for parties and surprises.  It comes from the can, all in one big floof.  It actually lands like shaving cream all over you; but instantly "pops" like bubbles in the air.  SUPER FUN.

   The kids were all giggly and huddling close.  I took a step back, for sure.

  They were SO proud of how they decorated.  They "made" me a cake:

 The chocolate circles are a bit like American ding-dong twinkies.  The vanilla wafer cookies were then placed vertically in and all around (okay, so we maybe ate some before we took a picture).  They EVEN brought me coffee.  Oh yes, I was right to be suspicious...  I joked about the food being poisoned and one boy explained that is why they gave me sealed coffee instead of coffee from the shop.  He was kidding. I hope. 

    They also decorated the board - balloons and notes from the whole class.  I resisted the urge to instantly correct their grammar.  There is a time for correcting and a time to just let them enjoy the moment and to be appreciative.

 Next, they said, "Party!  Party day.  We looooove you, so no work today!"  I smiled and said, "Oh yes, party, party!  Then, because I do care about you, we WILL do some work today."   Oh, to hear the groans and complaining, "No, Teacher."  Ha.
  Truth be told, I didn't much feel like working, either... it is finally getting warmer out and I am def. in summer vacation (which we do NOT have here, btw) mode...  Class K had earned a treat, so I actually took them cookies.  It was a day to party.
    However, we did have to do SOME work... so I told them that if they REALLY liked me, they would be diligent.  (Did they remember this vocabulary word from a few weeks ago?  We talked about it in-depth because it is one of my fav. words.)  I told them if they REALLY liked me, they would try their very best and they would be kind to each other and listen when others talked... Again, "Teacher!"  Ha ha.
  Towards the end of class, the girls told me they didn't want to erase the board.  They had worked on it, so we decided to take a picture.  As I snapped the board shot, one boy said, "Oh.  Teacher.  Look.  We work.  You take picture.  Might not again."  Now, that was funny.  It's true - I needed a picture, because this was perhaps a rare occasion.  So the boys really WERE more diligent Thursday, and here is a picture to prove it.  Okay, apparently Yeoung-Chang has had enough (he put his head down) and James, as usual, is looking at the girls... but four out of six isn't too bad, not for this bunch!

   Um, I guess the picture of the girls from class K doesn't show them on their best behavior.  Olivia really looks like I just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. (?)  I am not used to seeing her face, because she is usually trying to talk to the people behind her.  (even if I put her in the back, she looks out the window; if I put her in the front, she looks behind; if I put her in the hall, she behaves for the next class...)  Poor Sey-Eun, she has an injured arm and that mean Hannah Teacher still made her write her presentation.  Guess the party is over.

   I was VERY surprised by class K.  I guess May 15th was some sort of Teacher Appreciation Day, but this was the first time this week this class saw me.  They did this for their Korean teacher Tuesday, so she knew it was "okay" for me to go to class late.  (However, she did not get balloons or coffee, oops.)  I think most of the class just wanted to get out of class work time, but a few did seem sincere.  They said that they like that I make them "work their best."  I was just happy that not all of them hate me all the time. 
   Hooray, indeed!

A New Chair!

   Actually, it's just super exciting to have A chair, new or not.  I moved to Korea in October. I have not had a chair at my house yet.  I have a "low table" - Korean style, so often sit on the floor.  I also have my bed - so I can sit there to type on my laptop or whatever.  At times, it would be convenient to have a chair, especially since I got a desk.  However, since I am basically here temporarily, I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in a chair just yet.  I ended up finding both a bookshelf (perhaps a shoe rack in a former life?) and a desk in the "trash" and I was convinced that I should also be able to find a chair there.  Yet, all the ones I saw discarded were ACTUALLY trash - beyond repair or made of rotting wood, etc.
  So I kept looking, but finally gave in when a friend was talking about doing some furniture shopping.  We went to the market and into a used-furniture store.  My friend was looking for a set of 4 chairs, she has a larger, Western style table. I was looking for ONE good chair.
    This is what we ended up getting - we actually got a set of 5 and went from there.  It was a good deal.  Hooray!

 My new chair.  SO exciting!

  New chair and desk by my window.  You can see my shelves, as well.  This is basically half of my living room.  It is also my office, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom.  I keep rearranging my house - easy to do with "simple" living... but this arrangement might stick for a bit.  I like to sit by the open window and feel the breeze as I write or type. For now, I've put up my "low" table.  I can dine at my desk and will get the table out whenever I have company over for food.
   So far, I am very happy with this purchase and thankful for any chair at all.  Hooray!

Well, they do go together...

    While posting the egg dying pictures, I realized that perhaps I haven't actually posted the pics. from decorating Christmas sugar cut-out cookies with my class. Here goes:

 Michelle, Lucy, Lily, and Suzie.  Don't be confused - the Korean school year starts in March, so this is old Columbia class.  Some of these students are now in Brown class - and they dyed Easter eggs, as well.

 Some of Harvard class: Erica and Hubert.  He is a bit of a class clown, and he knows it.  

These students def. keep their teacher on her toes!  It's okay though, I like challenges.

 Andrew, also in Harvard class.  He was SUPER excited, though he doesn't look too thrilled here.

   Hannah Teacher did not yet have food coloring here - so we got creative.  I DID hunt down some actual sprinkles - no small feat (or cheap treat) in Korea.  We used regular white frosting.  I had to make my own powdered sugar - also a fun task.  The frosting turned out VERY sweet, so of course the kids loved it.  I let them eat their cookies right at the end of class - and then sent them on their way.  Oops.

 Hubert was working on coloring his paper cup "bell" for the music festivities later AND decorating cookies.

 Mmm.  Delicious cookies, and not just because these kids basically have no 

reference point for sugar cookies.

 They all enjoyed the cookies.  So did other co-workers.

 We used sprinkles and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.  Hey, it's what I could get here.  THANKS to Anna for letting me use her oven.  Cookies take a long time to bake, but it works.  I have no oven.

 Columbia class - Max and Nick, working diligently.

 Red Nemo, decorating her cookie.

  She used to have red glasses.

      It is difficult for my students to just decorate - they are so used to placing everything so perfectly.

Cookie decorating was fun.  I did this with I think five of my classes, mainly the younger ones.  They didn't quite all understand what we were doing or why - but they ALL liked the cookies.  Yummy.

This is still fitting because we are in the season of Easter, and without Easter, there is no point for Christmas.

Welcome to Korea.         Merry Christmas!       Happy Easter!

Easter dinner at home

Easter Sunday: Christ is risen!!! (He is risen, indeed.  Alleluia!)

   While there is no LCMS church here in Gwangju, I attempted to go to Catholic mass for Easter.  The service was all in Korean, among other issues... let's just say I had my own devotions at home and watched some LCMS stuff online.

Easter  means many things, and one of them is FOOD.  I decided to co-host an Easter dinner with my friend, Anna for our foreigner friends.  We did it mostly "American style" with a bit of a Korean twist...

 These are the eggs I dyed for our decorations.  Hey, it just doesn't seem like Easter without dyed eggs.  These are not the ones my students did - I did these on my own at home.  My favorite is the colorful one towards the lower middle-right of this picture.  (SE) Of course, it was the last one I did - when I finally figured out how to deal with the brown eggs.  Ha.

 The table set up.  Anna pulled out all the stops - even napkins and matching wooden chopsticks. (They are much easier to use.)  Oooh, fancy.  The bag seen here was for me - from the Easter Bunny, of course.  Tee he he.  I LOVED that it had Korean stationary and a new purple pen marker.  Hooray.

 More of the dyed eggs. We did not hunt them, but we did have a bit of egg salad that week...

 The silly boys in the kitchen.  Monte was a HUGE help with dishes though - so we don't care of they are a bit silly.

 Before dinner: I was cutting cucumbers for the salad.  Anna was making lemon curd.  I was a bit sick, still; and we were both pretty tired. Someone came by the kitchen to take a picture of the cooks and we were both like, "Oh, no.  No no.  No pictures." Then the camera was lifted - and we both posed all smiley for the picture.  Ha.  SO Korean!!

 There were many people coming to dinner - which meant LOTS of cucumbers and onion chopping for the cucumber salad.  This was a perfect tasty treat for Easter dinner - a bit of a Greek dish (minus the black olives and tomatoes, of course!) - light and summery and delicious.  A delightful salad!  Yummy.

 Chelsea is from Texas.  She knew to get gussied up for Easter dinner - she put on a dress and make up.  Hooray.  She has many skills, most of them not in the kitchen - so her big accomplishment of the day was to plate the bread.  Nice work, Chelsea!

 Anna, putting food on the table.  I don't think she wanted her picture taken right then.  Oops.

 Food on the table!  Roasted mini potatoes, pork tenderloin, cucumber salad, french bread, cold macaroni salad (we did have one vegetarian join us), green olives, candy... yum yum yummy!

 Anna with her boyfriend, Benedict.

 Mmmm, potatoes!

 Chelsea, Anna, and Hannah.  I actually did have on a spring-ish yellow, white, and green dress for Easter.  Anna had bright pastels on, as well.  However, we covered them up with aprons as we prepared dinner.  Yes, Anna brought old Starbucks aprons all the way to Korea!  Ha.  They are very useful, and comfortable.
 You really have to earn the black ones, so it makes sense that she would still be using them.

Desert.  Mini bunt cakes.  We did coconut ones and lemon ones.  Delicious!

 Group shot: Monte, Chelsea, Mano, Jessie, Hannah, Anna, and Benedict.  Interesting bunch.

 Gabby girls: Jessie, Hannah, and Chelsea.  Yes, for those of you who were there and remember - that is the same dress I wore to my college graduation in December of 2005.  Hooray.

 Easter dinner feast.  Yes, I still missed lamb and asparagus (and the company) of the 

Burger household - but I guess I couldn't be that "spoiled" forever!

 Eating dinner.  Oh yes, we were a wild bunch.  I don't know why Will looks ill.

 The guys enjoying din din.

Monte and Chelsea.  I had placed Easter stickers by each plate - and someone decided that
everyone who wanted to eat had to put theirs on.  Yes, we all miss our childhoods a bit.
Of course - that is why we are teachers, right?

    Delicious Easter dinner with good friends.  It was a time of good food and better fellowship.  After dinner, a few people had to scatter, but some of us stayed to play cards.  It is really interesting to teach Spoons to people literally from all over the world.  The concept of musical chairs is NOT international.  Let's just say that, after the first practice round, my favorite comment was hearing someone from Tanzania say, "Wait.  There aren't enough spoons.  We need another one."  Yes, I nearly burst a rib laughing.  Good times.

  Happy Easter!