The last few weeks I've had some great lessons, if I can say so myself.
This weeks lesson is about Gestures that I got from another EPIK teacher here. Basically, the students learn about different gestures from around the world and what they mean. They watch some You Tube clips of different, creative handshakes and get to perform them for the class. Finally, at the end, we play the game Gestures.
Well, it's kind of tricky coming up with funny and easy things to do. One of the actions I chose was "to kiss" because all the kids know it. I was thinking the kids would air kiss, or maybe even kiss their hand. Class 2/7 suprised me though.
A little boy was up front, and I could see he understood. He then took a step closer to me, just a short distance from where he was standing. I backed up, cause I didn't want to get kissed. Then, he must have realized that it would be inappropriate to kiss the teacher, so he called up his best friend, another boy.
The class almost died laughing when he tried to kiss his friend on the lips!! He had his arms around him and everything. That was by far the best gesture I've seen in any classes so far this week, and I'm pretty sure nothing can top that one! I love teaching :)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Matt's Suprise Party
Tuesday night after our Korean final, my friends and I had a suprise party for Matt at Pump at ChonDae HuMun (Chonnam University back gate). Rupert distracted Matt by taking him to Tequilaz first while we got everyone together and bought a cake from Paris Baguette. Matt really though that nobody was going to come out for his birthday, and almost wanted to go home!
We had a lot of people there to suprise him: Myself, Alli, Emily, Alex, Brian, Michael Paul, Mike, Steve, Kenny, Se-Beom, Andrew, Matt, Leah, Naomi, Vann, Heather, Meaghan, Erin, Ramsey, and Ollie.
It wouldn't have been a party without the crazy birthday song, flashing lights, disco ball, sparklers, and confetti. Everyone had a good time, and we even got free "service" shots of tequila from the owner, Pete. I think we generally give him a lot of business.
We had a lot of people there to suprise him: Myself, Alli, Emily, Alex, Brian, Michael Paul, Mike, Steve, Kenny, Se-Beom, Andrew, Matt, Leah, Naomi, Vann, Heather, Meaghan, Erin, Ramsey, and Ollie.
It wouldn't have been a party without the crazy birthday song, flashing lights, disco ball, sparklers, and confetti. Everyone had a good time, and we even got free "service" shots of tequila from the owner, Pete. I think we generally give him a lot of business.
Girls Weekend in Seoul (and Incheon)
After our two day EPIK retreat to Boseong, Alli, Em, and I headed up to Incheon as soon as we could Friday night. We met the boys, Patrick and Joe, and went right to Art Center, seeing as how we were right there. Luckily, I packed lightly, but Em wasn't excited about carrying her 4 pairs of shoes around.
At the Art Center, there is a courtyard surrounded by really tall buildings covered with neon lights advertising noraebangs, hofs, and cafe's. Alli and I spun a wheel set up by a male booking club. On Alli's spin, she won a discount coupon of some sort, and when I spun, it landed on free food! Awesome! Then, the man in charge spun it a little more to be on the "free hug" part. I had to choose from 8 different "cutie" boys who I wanted to hug. I just choose the closest one, but it felt all wrong because he looked so young!
The boys and I watched the Brazil/Portugal game at one of the hofs. We played some drinking games, and learned a few new ones. It was a pretty exciting night! Carmen also came out to join us. Here's a picture of one of the new games- Icing. You have to sneakily give someone a Smirnoff Ice, and they have to drop down on one knee and chug it all. Alli and Em did this to the boys, they were so suprised!
We somehow managed to fit 4 people into Patrick's queen-sized bed Friday night. Needless to say, we woke up early because we were squished like sardines in there!
Saturday we went shopping at Dongdaemun and Myeongdong. For most of the day, we were feeling out of it. Staying up late three nights in a row was taking a toll on us! We each choose some things at Forever 21, the best place to shop in Myeongdong. Since we planned to watch the game, we went back to the hostel (which we'd somehow managed to book for the wrong day and the wrong amount of people but still got a room!) to relax.
We had an amazing dinner in Hongdae at Dos Taco's. We each ordered burritos, and they were easily the best burrito I'd had in 10 months! Our big plan was to watch the Korea/Argentina game in Hongdae, but couldn't find a place because it soon started to downpour and every place was full! I got pretty frustrated, and I think the other two did also.
Emily called our Korean friend Alex, who was on his way to Incheon. Turns out, he didn't really want to go there to begin with, and came back. He called his friend, who owns a bar in Sincheon, and was able to reserve a table for the 4 of us. It was great, and our other friend Kyu was there also. The three of us were so relieved to have a place to watch the game! I didn't take many pictures, but here we are trying to get our Korea tatoo's to stick.
It was a tiring 4 days in a row, but I'm glad we went up to Seoul/Incheon for the weekend. It was great being in that crazy large crowd getting ready to watch the game. Thank God we found a place to watch it!
At the Art Center, there is a courtyard surrounded by really tall buildings covered with neon lights advertising noraebangs, hofs, and cafe's. Alli and I spun a wheel set up by a male booking club. On Alli's spin, she won a discount coupon of some sort, and when I spun, it landed on free food! Awesome! Then, the man in charge spun it a little more to be on the "free hug" part. I had to choose from 8 different "cutie" boys who I wanted to hug. I just choose the closest one, but it felt all wrong because he looked so young!
The boys and I watched the Brazil/Portugal game at one of the hofs. We played some drinking games, and learned a few new ones. It was a pretty exciting night! Carmen also came out to join us. Here's a picture of one of the new games- Icing. You have to sneakily give someone a Smirnoff Ice, and they have to drop down on one knee and chug it all. Alli and Em did this to the boys, they were so suprised!
We somehow managed to fit 4 people into Patrick's queen-sized bed Friday night. Needless to say, we woke up early because we were squished like sardines in there!
Saturday we went shopping at Dongdaemun and Myeongdong. For most of the day, we were feeling out of it. Staying up late three nights in a row was taking a toll on us! We each choose some things at Forever 21, the best place to shop in Myeongdong. Since we planned to watch the game, we went back to the hostel (which we'd somehow managed to book for the wrong day and the wrong amount of people but still got a room!) to relax.
We had an amazing dinner in Hongdae at Dos Taco's. We each ordered burritos, and they were easily the best burrito I'd had in 10 months! Our big plan was to watch the Korea/Argentina game in Hongdae, but couldn't find a place because it soon started to downpour and every place was full! I got pretty frustrated, and I think the other two did also.
Emily called our Korean friend Alex, who was on his way to Incheon. Turns out, he didn't really want to go there to begin with, and came back. He called his friend, who owns a bar in Sincheon, and was able to reserve a table for the 4 of us. It was great, and our other friend Kyu was there also. The three of us were so relieved to have a place to watch the game! I didn't take many pictures, but here we are trying to get our Korea tatoo's to stick.
It was a tiring 4 days in a row, but I'm glad we went up to Seoul/Incheon for the weekend. It was great being in that crazy large crowd getting ready to watch the game. Thank God we found a place to watch it!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Songgwang-Sa Temple
After the green tea fields, we went to Songgwang-Sa temple, which is next to Mt. Jogye in Jellanam-Do. The temple dates back to the end of the Shilla dynasty and has been spotlighted as the center of Korean Buddhism. It was incredibly beautiful, and much larger than I would have guessed. They offer a temple stay experience that I would like to do sometime next fall. Here are some pictures from around the temple:
We had lunch near the outside of the temple. It wasn't that great, but Mr.Lee from the MOE explained to us after that it is a traditional meal for the temples in this area to eat. It was almost entirely vegetables.
We had lunch near the outside of the temple. It wasn't that great, but Mr.Lee from the MOE explained to us after that it is a traditional meal for the temples in this area to eat. It was almost entirely vegetables.
Boseong Green Tea Fields
On the second day of our retreat, we went back to the Boseong Green Tea fields. This time, I made sure to go to where the tea was, not where the bamboo was like last time! We got some good pictures on my friends camera, and I hope he posts them soon. But for now...
Leah and I took a hike up in the hot, humid weather to a lookout point and could see green tea plants everywhere!
Here are Leah and I at one of the photo opportunity spots at the tea fields:
It was hot by the time we got back down, so we cooled off with some green tea ice cream. That is by far the best ice cream I've had in Korea!
Leah and I took a hike up in the hot, humid weather to a lookout point and could see green tea plants everywhere!
Here are Leah and I at one of the photo opportunity spots at the tea fields:
It was hot by the time we got back down, so we cooled off with some green tea ice cream. That is by far the best ice cream I've had in Korea!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Boseong Workshop, Spring 2010
These are some of my favorite people in Korea. The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education treats us really well. We're the only EPIK city I'm aware of that does fun retreats like this. Dinner was a sushi buffet- so delicious!
The MOE also views these retreats as a sort of reward for our hard work. They were kind enough to provide some "social lubricant" (otherwise known as poju- Poweraid and Soju) to make the time more enjoyable.
The MOE also views these retreats as a sort of reward for our hard work. They were kind enough to provide some "social lubricant" (otherwise known as poju- Poweraid and Soju) to make the time more enjoyable.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Suwan Spring 2010 Field Trip
Last week Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I took a three day field trip with my school. It seems like we covered almost all of Korea, and spent so much time in the bus!
Our first stop was at the DMZ on the East Sea. This is the gym teacher and me... he's got a pretty good sense of humor!
Later that day, we went do a different beach where there was a pretty temple:
After a sleepless night in a resort up somewhere in Gangwon provience (the kids didn't have a bedtime), we went to Seoraksan National Park. The weather was very hot and humid, that's why it appears so cloudy in these pictures. It made for some uncomfortable hiking on a very long trail to the famous "Rocking Rock."
Later, we went to Everland. Everland is just like Disneyworld, but smaller. It was the perfect day to go because it was a Thursday, and Korea played Argentina. Hardly anyone was in the park! The most popular ride, the roller coaster T-Express, only took us 10 minutes in line, and usually the wait is three hours!
Here's the kids we went on T-Express with.
We also went on a safari and saw a sea lion show, which was pretty cute. Later, we watched the soccer game in the rose gardens of Everland but had problems finding a seat. It was too bad that we lost the game.
The last day, we went to the Independence Memorial. I was impressed by their museums. A lot was in English, so that was nice. It wasn't really as cloudy as it looks!
By the time we got home Friday night, I was exhaused. On Monday, they gave me a thank you present for going on the field trip- 5 dried squid. I'm so lucky.
Our first stop was at the DMZ on the East Sea. This is the gym teacher and me... he's got a pretty good sense of humor!
Later that day, we went do a different beach where there was a pretty temple:
After a sleepless night in a resort up somewhere in Gangwon provience (the kids didn't have a bedtime), we went to Seoraksan National Park. The weather was very hot and humid, that's why it appears so cloudy in these pictures. It made for some uncomfortable hiking on a very long trail to the famous "Rocking Rock."
Later, we went to Everland. Everland is just like Disneyworld, but smaller. It was the perfect day to go because it was a Thursday, and Korea played Argentina. Hardly anyone was in the park! The most popular ride, the roller coaster T-Express, only took us 10 minutes in line, and usually the wait is three hours!
Here's the kids we went on T-Express with.
We also went on a safari and saw a sea lion show, which was pretty cute. Later, we watched the soccer game in the rose gardens of Everland but had problems finding a seat. It was too bad that we lost the game.
The last day, we went to the Independence Memorial. I was impressed by their museums. A lot was in English, so that was nice. It wasn't really as cloudy as it looks!
By the time we got home Friday night, I was exhaused. On Monday, they gave me a thank you present for going on the field trip- 5 dried squid. I'm so lucky.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Laser Hair Removal
Yesterday after school, I went with Alli and Emily (and Emily's co-teacher) to get laser hair removal in our armpits. I was nervous all day! I'm just glad I only have 4 more sessions left...
The reason why we wanted to do it was in large part because of the price. Beauty treatments such as laser hair removal are fairly inexpensive in Korea. The total cost for me was 100,000 Won. That's for 5 sessions (typically it takes 5 sessions for the hair to be properly lasered out), but if a few do grow back, you can come back and they will do a touch up for free. Lot's of women seem to do that here, and the armpits are the most popular area of the body. I just found out my co-teacher Mihey has had her's done too. I guess it's a natural thing to do if you're Korean.
The building was nice, which helped ease some of my nerves. When we arrived, we could hear the laser going. It kind of sounded like mosquitoes getting zapped in a bug zapper. That kind of freaked me out. The women offered me numbing cream, but Alli and Emily said it didn't really help because it is an internal pain, not a surface pain. I decided to skip it.
I was led back and laid down. The women shaved my pits for me, kinda awkard. I was pretty nervous, I knew it was going to hurt bad, but had no idea how much. Alli was also back with me while Emily waited in front, so we were talking about nothing to each other waiting for the doctors.
First, they put gel on the area. Two women came and held down my arms above my head, I know they did it to keep me still because I was pretty nervous. The doctor came over and took the gun to me. OOOWWWW! The pain is hard to describe. It felt like getting a shot. But with a hot needle. In your armpit. All over. Really fast. For about 1 minute on each side. I don't think I breathed at all during that minute.
Finally, both arms were done. I thought it would never end. There were some hair follicles that hurt more than the others, but a lot of areas it was so fast it hardly felt like anything. I did shed a few tears at the end, but I didn't scream or cry during. I'll blame the nerves on the relief of having it over and knowing what it would be like for next time.
By the time we got back down to the first floor and out the building, I had no pain. I couldn't believe that practically as soon as they were finished it stopped hurting. I'm just glad that I've only got 4 sessions left over the next 4 months and then I'll be armpit hair free, forever! :)
The reason why we wanted to do it was in large part because of the price. Beauty treatments such as laser hair removal are fairly inexpensive in Korea. The total cost for me was 100,000 Won. That's for 5 sessions (typically it takes 5 sessions for the hair to be properly lasered out), but if a few do grow back, you can come back and they will do a touch up for free. Lot's of women seem to do that here, and the armpits are the most popular area of the body. I just found out my co-teacher Mihey has had her's done too. I guess it's a natural thing to do if you're Korean.
The building was nice, which helped ease some of my nerves. When we arrived, we could hear the laser going. It kind of sounded like mosquitoes getting zapped in a bug zapper. That kind of freaked me out. The women offered me numbing cream, but Alli and Emily said it didn't really help because it is an internal pain, not a surface pain. I decided to skip it.
I was led back and laid down. The women shaved my pits for me, kinda awkard. I was pretty nervous, I knew it was going to hurt bad, but had no idea how much. Alli was also back with me while Emily waited in front, so we were talking about nothing to each other waiting for the doctors.
First, they put gel on the area. Two women came and held down my arms above my head, I know they did it to keep me still because I was pretty nervous. The doctor came over and took the gun to me. OOOWWWW! The pain is hard to describe. It felt like getting a shot. But with a hot needle. In your armpit. All over. Really fast. For about 1 minute on each side. I don't think I breathed at all during that minute.
Finally, both arms were done. I thought it would never end. There were some hair follicles that hurt more than the others, but a lot of areas it was so fast it hardly felt like anything. I did shed a few tears at the end, but I didn't scream or cry during. I'll blame the nerves on the relief of having it over and knowing what it would be like for next time.
By the time we got back down to the first floor and out the building, I had no pain. I couldn't believe that practically as soon as they were finished it stopped hurting. I'm just glad that I've only got 4 sessions left over the next 4 months and then I'll be armpit hair free, forever! :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
A Korean Wedding Video
Here's a short clip taken at a Korean wedding... it doesn't suprise me what happens around 43 seconds... Ajumma's are so pushy! She's clearly looking forward to the all you can eat buffet after the ceremony, and something tells me she'll be first in line.
Korea: 2, Greece:0
Saturday was the big game, Korea defeated Greece 2-0!! I really had no idea that Korea was good at soccer. Koreans just tend to get very excited about their teams, so I figured it was all just hype. I was suprised at how well they played!
I met some friends at Chonnam University before the game started. Everyone is practically required to wear a red Korea "Fighting!" shirt, and it was very easy to find them at the many shops at Chonnam Back Gate (an area of town filled with shops, restaurants, hof's, and parks). There were lots of people around getting ready to watch the game at 8:30, and places filled up quickly with the college students. Here's Brian and I with some students who were going to watch the game:
These girls are striking another "cute-ie" pose:
Around 8:25, we headed into the university. They had a large screen set up on a grassy patch. There were easily 1,000 people watching it there, sitting on the ground sporting the Red Devils devil horns. I wished mine were glow in the dark! Just as we were getting there, we got our first goal, scored by Lee Jung-soo. The crowd went crazy again as their favorite player, #7 Park Ji-sung got another goal.
It was a pretty exciting game. I wanted to stay up to watch the US/England game, but with it not starting until 3:30 am, I just couldn't do it!
Next up for us is Thursday against Argentina. I'll be on my 3 day field trip with my school, but I'm sure we will find somewhere to watch it!
Go, Red Devils!
I met some friends at Chonnam University before the game started. Everyone is practically required to wear a red Korea "Fighting!" shirt, and it was very easy to find them at the many shops at Chonnam Back Gate (an area of town filled with shops, restaurants, hof's, and parks). There were lots of people around getting ready to watch the game at 8:30, and places filled up quickly with the college students. Here's Brian and I with some students who were going to watch the game:
These girls are striking another "cute-ie" pose:
Around 8:25, we headed into the university. They had a large screen set up on a grassy patch. There were easily 1,000 people watching it there, sitting on the ground sporting the Red Devils devil horns. I wished mine were glow in the dark! Just as we were getting there, we got our first goal, scored by Lee Jung-soo. The crowd went crazy again as their favorite player, #7 Park Ji-sung got another goal.
It was a pretty exciting game. I wanted to stay up to watch the US/England game, but with it not starting until 3:30 am, I just couldn't do it!
Next up for us is Thursday against Argentina. I'll be on my 3 day field trip with my school, but I'm sure we will find somewhere to watch it!
Go, Red Devils!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Haeundae Sand Festival (해운대해수욕장)
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go to the Haeundae Sand Festival. 해운대해수욕장 (Haeundae Beach) is the most famous beach in the country. It's located in Busan, and is about 1.5 km long.
Haeundae Beach is incredibly popular during the hot summer months, and is known for it's numerous beach umbrellas.
I spent the weekend with my friend Neil, who visits Gwangju quite often. He's got an amazing apartment (albeit small) at Minam Station, in central Busan. It was good to see him. This is a view from his helipad atop the 27th story early Saturday morning:
We went out for lunch the day of the sand festival at a local burger joint, Burts Breeze, very close to the beach. It's been about 9 months since I'd had a good burger, and this one came loaded! It was impossibly huge to take a bite of.
Here are some pictures from the sand festival and my captions below:
Ajuma's practicing safe sun.
Lot's of Koreans don't have swimming suits, so they just wear their clothes.
We didn't realize how cold the water was until we got our feet wet!
Pretty impressive! This was at the main entrance to the beach.
These sand sculptures were pretty big and it was neat to see them still sculpting them. Wonder how long they last...
For more pictures, check out: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2208360&id=59501140
Haeundae Beach is incredibly popular during the hot summer months, and is known for it's numerous beach umbrellas.
I spent the weekend with my friend Neil, who visits Gwangju quite often. He's got an amazing apartment (albeit small) at Minam Station, in central Busan. It was good to see him. This is a view from his helipad atop the 27th story early Saturday morning:
We went out for lunch the day of the sand festival at a local burger joint, Burts Breeze, very close to the beach. It's been about 9 months since I'd had a good burger, and this one came loaded! It was impossibly huge to take a bite of.
Here are some pictures from the sand festival and my captions below:
Ajuma's practicing safe sun.
Lot's of Koreans don't have swimming suits, so they just wear their clothes.
We didn't realize how cold the water was until we got our feet wet!
Pretty impressive! This was at the main entrance to the beach.
These sand sculptures were pretty big and it was neat to see them still sculpting them. Wonder how long they last...
For more pictures, check out: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2208360&id=59501140
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Students in the news
My students made it in the news! One of the second grade classes had their picture taken on our field trip back on May 17.
In the picture, they are posing with a politician, a Jeolla favorite, Chung Dong-Young.
I probably would have never noticed this, but "Brian in Jeollanam-do" posted a blurb about my field trip and included this in the post.
http://www.newsis.com/pict_detail/view.html?pict_id=NISI20100518_0002756734
http://www.newsis.com/pict_detail/view.html?pict_id=NISI20100518_0002756651
Brian's post: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2010/05/students-commemorate-anniversary-of.html
In the picture, they are posing with a politician, a Jeolla favorite, Chung Dong-Young.
I probably would have never noticed this, but "Brian in Jeollanam-do" posted a blurb about my field trip and included this in the post.
http://www.newsis.com/pict_detail/view.html?pict_id=NISI20100518_0002756734
http://www.newsis.com/pict_detail/view.html?pict_id=NISI20100518_0002756651
Brian's post: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2010/05/students-commemorate-anniversary-of.html
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