Disaster Averted

Okay, so here is just a short little blurb about the past week before I fly off to Boracay tomorrow morning! I'm going to try to make it through this post without mentioning that trip...wish me luck..I'm not making any promises.

Thursday was an infamous Kindergarten field trip. All week long I had "Disaster Experience Center" written on my lesson plan. Sounds like a regular day at school to me!

Just kidding...

Sort of...

We piled into the buses and drove off to the center to experience some disasters! Here students can learn what to do in an emergency situation. For example, how to repel down the side of a building using one of those rope boxes you'll see around Korea (that doesn't look like enough rope to carry you down 9 floors to safety below...but I digress). They also learn what to do in case of an earthquake, how to put out a fire using a fire extinguisher, and walk through a room full of smoke to safety. This trip wasn't really photo-shoot friendly, but I tried to get pictures of my girls hiding with a pillow on their heads under a table and spraying water from a false extinguisher.

putting out fires

One of my least favorite (and my girl's least favorite parts too I think) was the smoke room. A group of students and two teachers were sent into a pitch black hallway (for those who know me, you know that I LOVE the dark...) full of smoke from a smoke machine, to walk through and make it to the other side while covering your mouth. Well, as I lead the group of frightened kindergarteners through this dark smokey passageway I ran into this pipe hanging from the ceiling that obviously I couldn't see and nearly screamed. Thinking that might not help these students feel safe with me there I held it in and pushed forward despite me desire to run through as fast as possible and get the heck out of there. I started to get tense all over. It reminded me of when we played Murder in the Dark as kids and I just sat in a corner up against the wall so I knew nothing could sneak up on me. I really just don't enjoy not knowing what is behind me...or next to me...generally just open, dark spaces aren't my thing.

Anyways, I had Jenna clinging to my arm like a Koala and what I though was a trail of students following behind. As we made it around the last corner I heard an earsplitting cry of "TEACHERRRRRRR!" and I turned to see that no group of shivering students was behind me. I turned around to pick up my lost followers, and pulled them out coughing and sputtering because the smoke was in our mouths and eyes. Needless to say that was one of the most uncomfortable and terrifying experiences I've had in a while. It shows what you can do when you have children counting on you though. I had to put on my brave-no-I'm-not-afraid-of-the-dark face on and push through it for my girls. Made it with only minor emotional scarring...

 Jess repelling like a pro

Earthquake rehearsal

"smile!....or not"

gotta put out the fire

When the students get back and fed its craft time. The Korean teachers were a bit ambitious with an intricate fish bowl craft including lots of small pieces, origami, and gluing. It took longer than expected, therefore the game time that the foreign teachers were to run was cut to about 15 minutes for about 35 kindergarteners to fish out of big blue buckets with cheap little magnetic fishing poles. Embodying my sister, I got into camp councilor mode and the other teachers and I set up a relay race between two teams. I swear our fishing rod was rigged on our team's side. The magnetic poles were off or something, because the darn fish didn't want to hang on. As a result, out team was trounced by the other team...In true camp councilor fashion, Kaitie got the other team to cheer on our team until each child had successfully fished a magnetic sea animal. Once fishing was over, we played a rousing game of Simon Says before sending a wiped out group of kids home to sleep (or maybe it was the teachers who were wiped out...).

"And what exactly do I do with this, Teacher?"

The end  of Thursday meant ONE MORE WORK DAY before the....Ah sorry I promised didn't I. Nevermind...

That evening I had my weekly Korean lesson. My teacher noticed that we have been able to have better conversations in Korean together because my understanding has improved. While my grammar and vocabulary have not gone up too much, I can still keep a conversation going. Granted a very simple one...like what she had for lunch and if it tasted good or not. You know, deep and meaningful stuff.

Friday (Yay. Sorry.) was the birthday party and song contest day for kindergarten.

Grandpa Style

Look at those ballet feet!

Lord of the dance

My girls did really well in their performance of "Put on a Happy Face". Whenever I played the song I had great flashbacks to Junior year Playbill. Such a fun musical. Might have to have those DVDs sent to me so I can have a Tatnall musical night.

They sang so loudly this month! I'm so proud of them. It's not easy to get up in front of a whole class of your peers and sing with only two people there with you. They did such a good job. After lunch we had a few more classes, and time to play games and color (normal Kindergarten shtuff) before it was time to get ready for Elementary Market day!

A face only a mother could love

This would be my second market day at Little America. I think I was a bit more prepared than last year with my game. At first I was going to play the balloon popping game where you have a balloon tied to your ankle and you have to pop everyone else's without getting yours popped, but then I realized that students don't wear shoes in school. Popping balloons with sneakers on is difficult let alone with socks or barefoot! I made the command decision to change to balloon volleyball, where teams had one minute to get as many balloons on the other side of the "net" as they could. (Could I say balloon one more time?) This turned out to be a hit with all of my students who came back 3 or 4 times to compete against their friends. It was a great photo op for me too!.....Balloon.

The students have so much fun playing games and buying things with their hard earned points. The next time slot I was in charge of the snack bar. This means getting absolutely covered in tteokbokki sauce and patbingsu. The students seem to have bottomless stomachs as they ask for their third cup of chicken poppers and eighth popsicle. As the students get older, their attitude towards Market day changes. The younger kids go straight for the mini-olympics and game rooms, while the older ones spend more time in the shops and snack bar. The oldest, and final time period will get food and sit in the big room where a movie is playing. I was painting nails during this time. We had a few customers, mainly girls and one very confident boy who got one hand painted a bright purple. It looked gorgeous. During this last class I got so excited I couldn't sit still! (It's okay, it's the end of the post now, so I think I can mention it!)

Tomorrow morning at 5:30, Kaitie, Katrina and I will be off to the airport for the 8am flight! We have some spa activity planned but other than that the trip is pretty much up in the air. We have ideas of snorkeling and other adventurous excursions. I hope to get some beach running in and a sunrise hike somewhere in there! Also just eating my weight in fresh fruit from the island. I will be taking pictures and writing an old school journal while I'm there so the blog post when I get back will be as accurate and detailed as possible, just to make all of you completely hate me! Until that time...

xoxoxo

Korean of the post:
수영할 줄 알아요? (suyeonghal jularayo) Do you know how to swim?

You've Got a Little Mud...Just There.

Sorry about the long delay between the previous post and this one, but in all honesty, nothing was going to live up to this past weekend. Therefore, I didn't feel like making you sit and read about my rain-filled, average week at Little America. I'm only thinking of you here! More time for you to look at pictures of cats, or work on that novel that has been sitting on your bedside table for the past 4 months.

This weekend is one of the events I've been waiting for since...well since I arrived in Korea! I got here soon after my coworkers attended last summer and saw the pictures of brightly colored mud body paint and was pumped to be involved the next year. As the time got closer, any mention of mud, or festivals, or even just the weekend got my bouncing like a little kid who sees an ice-cream shop across the street. Friday, immediately after our last class let out, Kaitie and I speed-walked to the subway station to meet Katrina and Tarah and get to Sadang station to meet the bus. We booked our trip through the When IN Korea (WINK) Tour group, through which we have experienced several other trips. As it had already been a long day we planned on maybe catching a few zzz's on the bus ride down, however this idea was thwarted soon after setting foot inside our transportation for the evening. Greeted by a crowd of headband-wearing, foam-sword-wielding men, I knew it was not going to be a quiet ride there. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement, and alcohol as people began the celebrations that would last throughout the weekend. We enjoyed people watching and hearing some pretty awful karaoke versions of Barbie Girl as we got closer to Boryeong, a city on the midwest coast of Korea.

Arriving at our pension we unloaded the bags and wandered down to the beach to check out the area we would be spending the next day encased in mud. And what is a night beach walk without some fireworks?

 The town was still a little quiet compared to how it would be the next day. There was still no shortage of foreigners stumbling around in search of something to entertain themselves for the evening. As for us girls, we were content with just checking out the area and making it to bed relatively early in order to fully appreciate the festival the next day.

For those of you who aren't sure exactly what Boryeong Mudfest is, here is a short summary. This summer marks the 16th annual Mud Festival. Starting in 1998, the festival's main purpose was to promote the cosmetics created from the mineral-filled mud that is found in the Boryeong mudflats. The mud is said to have anti-aging qualities. Helping with renewed-elasticity and overall health of the skin, the mud is packaged into different cosmetic products which are sold throughout the festival. While this may have been the original purpose of the festival, and maybe some people go with the intent of buying these magical skincare cosmetics, I have a feeling the festival has gone through major changes since the first one in 1998. Now, the festival is a "must-go" event in foreigner's travel books. People come by the busload from all over the country and Asia in general to take part in the festivities here. Drinking, music, and dancing, while simultaneously being covered head to toe in mud draws mind-blowing crowds to this small town. The major mud area is actually much smaller than I expected. Containing several blow-up slides, obstacle courses, and mud-wrestling pits, the mudfest area would turn out to be a sea of people waiting in lines to take their turn participating in mud-covered fun. The festival is a lot of hurry-up-and-waiting, but what can you expect with such a huge number of people in a teeny tiny little space. Back to our day, now that you have a basic idea of the history and evolution of this event...

 That next morning, We woke up early and walked down by the festival from our pension to check out what was going on. There are two time slots for when you can go into the mud area. This morning session was much more relaxed than it would be later that afternoon. Lots of families and older men and women, soaking in the magical mud. We saw the body painting booth, which is the first thing I wanted to do when we got there later on! In usual Korean fashion we walked around and took some photos near the various statues around the festival area.

An older woman getting help out of the mudpit, which would soon be changed into the mud-wrestling pit later on...

Just the beginning of the mud-coverage. War paint.

After heading back, getting changed, and grabbing some lunch it was time to get messy! We were nearly first in line at the body painting booths, the volunteers of which had just returned from their lunch break as well. With paintbrushes and naturally colored mud, men, women, and children were painted head to toe with a rainbow of colors and patterns. This was the best way to get even more excited about the festival itself. Earlier in the week I purchased a waterproof case for my camera, knowing technology and mud usually don't go too well together. I used this as much as possible during the first part of the festival, and then brought it back to the safety of the room before entering the main mud-pit area. Even with the water/mud proof case, I was not going to take too many risks. Maybe next year. WINK had a photographer hired for the event, so once he gets his pictures up I will share the link for you all to check out the muddy craziness!

Tarah getting painted

Kaitie's turn

human canvass

 Katrina looking very cubist

Post painting

As the second sessions started we lined up in what we thought was the queue to get into the main area. After the line didn't move more than a few feet we soon found out this was not in fact the line to get in...we walked around in the direction we were told by a festival volunteer and lined up again in a much shorter line, only to be told once we made it to the front that it was the kids entrance....again we walked to another entrance and finally made it inside without any trouble. It was then we had to decide which line to join up into next. We decided on the pool to wash off our body paint which had by then flaked off and turned our skin smooth and chalky. Once we started rinsing off we realized that the dye had stuck to our skin more than we had expected. With multi-colored tinted skin we walked around and decided that the lines were a bit ridiculous. But, I REALLY wanted to get in to the mudwrestling pit. I couldn't come to mudfest and not get in there. Based on the line I might have made it into the pit by November, so I decided to just watch longingly from the edge. It was then that one of the guys with us that day came over, picked me up and proceeded to dump me into the pit despite the unconvincing "No, please don'ts" from the volunteers around us. Basically, the rule about the mud wrestling pit is that if you stand, you wont be standing much longer. After that it's free reign. Guy or girl you will get picked up, thrown, and pulled around in the mud which will go absolutely everywhere. After getting thrown around and discovering that the mud doesn't taste as good as it feels, we climbed out completely satisfied. While I felt badly for skipping the line, I was SO glad he decided to take action and throw me in. My only regret of mudfest is not having my camera or finding the WINK camera man at that moment. I have no idea what I looked like covered in mud, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. I had Katrina and Kaitie wipe off my eyes so I could see as we walked to the beach to wash off. Pretty sure I will be washing mud out my ears and hair for the next week or so. Totally worth it.

After rinsing the bulk of the mud off it was time to head back, change, and grab a drink before the evening began. A shower felt great, and actually my skin does feel softer! As we were standing in our room, a sudden deafening sound erupted around us. As the urge to duck and cover under the bed subsided, we walked out on our small "balcony" and realized the airshow had begun down by the beach! Rushing to get ready we got down there in time to see the Korean Black Angels amaze us with their incredible precision and fearless tricks in the air.

colored contrail created intricate patterns behind the jets

That evening I split off from the girls, who headed to a friend's barbeque and walked around with some guys I originally met on the Jindo Sea Parting trip earlier this year. Throughout the town there were parties, dj's, food and drink stands and just hundreds upon hundreds of people. I don't know what this place is like on the other 362 days of the year, but for these three it must be overwhelming for the citizens who live there. After grabbing some dinner we walked along the beach to see a huge crowd sitting and watching the beach. It seemed like they were waiting for something to happen, but we weren't sure what. Some theories thrown out there was a lunar eclipse, or a dolphin show. I asked a girl standing nearby who said the fireworks show was supposed to have started an hour earlier. Soon after hearing this the show began from a boat out in the water. The display completely made up for the delay! Made even better by watching it from the beach.

That night we mingled with groups around the town, got some sparklers and just enjoyed each others' company before heading back to the pension for the night. The day seemed to fly by! We were all exhausted and dropped onto our pillows. The next morning Tarah and I walked along the beach, which was much quieter than it had been the day before, however the festival was still going on! A much calmer crowd participated in mud-covered fun this day. The weather continued to defy all previous forecasts from a multitude of sources. The sun was out most of Saturday and peaked out a few times Sunday too! Couldn't have asked for better for my first and certainly not last Mudfest experience. We ended the day listening to a pretty terrible rap duo giving a concert from one of the stages on the beach. Their "famous" song Ajumma (middle-aged-woman) should tell you all you need to know about these two. We entertained ourselves by people watching and playing with cute Korean kids that came our way.

Don't tell me they aren't adorable! After grabbing some lunch we hopped on the bus and pulled into Bucheon about 3 hours later tired and ready for a real shower. For anyone coming to Korea, or just planning a visit I would highly recommend this festival to everyone! From babies to 100 year olds, this festival has a little bit for everyone. It really brings people together. You see Koreans interacting with Foreigners in mud wrestling, body painting, and everything inbetween. One of the funniest things about the festival is the overwhelming number of old Korean men with ginormous cameras made for professional athletic events. It was completely normal for a guy to come up right to your face with his zoom lens an inch from your nose to take a "natural picture". Also if you posed for one with your friends, they multiplied so you would have between 10 and 20 old guys snapping your photo. While you feel like a celebrity, you also wonder where your face will end up. Maybe next year you will get a pamphlet with that picture on the front? Who knows. Either way a great way to meet people and get closer to your friends as you turn into a human mud sculpture.

This next week is the last week before summer vacation! We have a kindergarten field trip on Thursday, then Market Day and Birthday Party on Friday before Kaitie, Katrina and I go to the Philippines for a week! So looking forward to this trip. Knocking on wood for some good weather. I know it is monsoon season there, so rain is expected, but any sun that happens will be soaked up!

Until next time,

Korean of the post:
코에 진흙이 있에요
(Koae jinheulki isayo)
There is mud on your nose.

Bowie, Pie guns, Elephant Love, and Ballet

인냥! 잘 지내세요? 이본 주말에 안비빠요.
Hi! Are you well? This weekend was not busy (or something like that). I think my Korean is laughable to those who are fluent. I probably say some pretty silly things in order to explain situations that I don't know the vocabulary for. For example, instead of saying, "my phone is dead", I say "my phone hurts.." When I said this to my teacher she understood what I meant, though laughed at me a lot before explaining the correct way to say it. I'm still trying. The grammar has become a bit easier, but the vocabulary is still killer. My teacher says my pronunciation has improved, which is cool. I can usually get my point across to strangers in various stores and restaurants without too many confused stares.  Though those are my favorite.

Back to the weekend. Not too much to catch you all up on. Amanda showed me to Dongdaemun Market for my first time which was a whirlwind of people, boas, beads, and endless rolls of fabric. This building is 5 floors, each with a different crafty theme. Whether you need 100 feather boas, beaded necklaces, or glitzy headbands, this is the place for you. Amanda goes to stock up on supplies for her jewelry/accessories business she has been working on over the past few years. (For anyone who is interested I can show you pictures of her products on facebook, instagram, or email!)

 

only lounge for lady

 

We squeezed our way through the gaps between endless stalls and crowds of people finally made it to her usual booth gasping for air. I get to practice some of my key phrases from class by asking if he has any other colors of the plastic ring bases Amanda uses. Instead of blindly pointing around the shelves behind him, he invites us back to look for ourselves. Amanda said it was almost like getting a backstage pass to a Bowie concert (Almost).

 

 

here we go....

As we sat inside this booth we were surrounded by shelves packed with small plastic bags each holding hundreds of little plastic shapes in every color you could imagine (longest sentence ever, keep up with me). Each new color we found, we would let out a squeal and the man and his wife would look over to see why the sudden outburst occurred. They were very sweet though, helping us if we needed different shapes or colors or water. Now we know that we have this pass whenever we go! As the man packed up our haul into little teeny bags we discussed the plan of action. We needed to get some hair clips and actual rings to attach these shapes to.

 

Just the lower portion of one of the shelves on one wall in the booth....the shelves went from floor to ceiling...a tad overwhelming

We scoured the booths for these things and then made our way back to Bucheon to have an assembling party. Not before grabbing some sushi and champagne to keep ourselves fed and watered of course. Kaitie came over too (with some delicious blueberry frozen yogurt) and we spent the rest of the evening playing with color combinations and designs for Amanda's collection. I miss doing crafty things like this. Just making new things, gluing your fingers to each other...or to the table...or to the rings... Also doing this with friends just makes it that much more enjoyable! During the assembly process we began our very musical evening beginning with the last 30 minutes of the David Bowie Documentary. Can't say he really does it for me. I can only imagine him singing in very tight pants surrounded by goblins in Labrynth. Not dissing on his fans though, for there are several very close to me (mum).

After that ended I found Bugsy Malone on Amanda's hard drive and nearly jumped up and down on the couch in a Tom-Cruise-ish kind of way minus the whole...being creepy thing. For those of you who weren't in my year at Tatnall in 8th grade we presented Bugsy Malone for our play. Everyone should watch this movie. It's just good old-fashioned fun. A gangster film acted completely by children. The guns shoot pies and frosting instead of the more violent and life-threatening version in adult gangster films. It's really too bad I don't have any photo evidence of this on my computer. I think it is all at home. Those of you who were in the play have been saved from slight embarrassment this time.


After I completely embarrassed myself by singing all the words and having walks down memory lane, we moved on to Moulin Rouge, which is a favorite of all of ours. Something we could, and did, all sing along to. I might have to write an apologetic note to Amanda's neighbors. No wonder the dog next door was howling... After falling in love with Ewan once again we ended the night, the bottle of wine, and the frozen yogurt, with Billy Elliot. A film I haven't seen for a long time but have wanted to! It made me want to see the Broadway version even more. I'm not sure if it will come out in Korea, but it's on my list.

It was a perfect girls day. A successful one as well! Amanda is now stocked up on rings/hair accessories for a booth next weekend and I have songs from those three movies stuck in my head. Sometimes all you need is a day to relax and just enjoy the company of others. No big trips, no schedules, just rolling with things.

Sample of her products

Sunday was a rainy day, spent gymming with Kaitie (getting ready for mudfest and the Philippines in 2/3 weeks!!) then a trip to Itaewon to meet a friend for coffee. What would an Itaewon trip be without the bookstore as well...so obviously that happened. Have been able to read a lot more lately. Finished Wild, which was incredible! This morning I finished the Great Gatsby for my first time, which I know is a must read in most English classes. I enjoyed it. Think I would have liked to have some sort of course or discussion group about it to decode some of the more vague or strange things in the story. I guess that's why its a common English class book, huh? Duh Laura Teacher. I've just started "Kitchen House" set in Virginia during the 1790s. An interesting read so far! Looking forward to seeing where it goes. Today I bought the books "Room" and "Slaughterhouse Five", both of which I'm excited to read! Got some things to look forward to.

This week is open house week for Little America. I will have my kindergarten open house on Friday. As opposed to my class with Jess and Sally, where I knew the parents, or at least had heard of them before, my girls' moms this year are a bit more mysterious. Not sure what their English ability is like nor their personalities. We shall see how it goes! With two open house classes under my belt, I'm not too worried. We have lots of song planned throughout the lesson, which the girls love and hopefully the parents will enjoy too. I just hope the Korean teachers don't all go nuts this week preparing! Take a deep breath. We've got in under control. The parents will love it if we just get their kids smiling and speaking. And God knows our kids don't have problems talking their heads off!

Keep your eyes out for the next post from me as well as Beth! Her adventures have proven to be a bit more exciting than mine. I know what you're thinking- Laura, you spent the day surrounded by feather boas and pompoms. I know I know. But Beth's trip is a tad more meaningful. Check it out if you haven't already!

xoxo

Korean phrase of the post:
다른 더 색 있어요? (tareun daw sek esawyo?)
Do you have any more colors?