Yogurt Parfaits and Crowd Surfing

A few things to catch up on this week. First on the list is a cooking class at Little America with the Kindergarten as usual. Now the last cooking class I believe was mini-burgers? They all start to blend together after a while. This week the students created their own fruit and yogurt parfaits (I will now be spending the next few weeks trying to teach them to not say "Par-fates"). The supplies included some strawberry yogurt, Special-K cereal, and an assortment of fruit to fill their cups. My girls enjoyed chopping the fruit and layering their parfaits and then eating their homemade snack. Cooking classes are a great way to introduce other vocabulary that accompanies recipe steps and ingredients.

 

 

Argggg

Friday night Kaitie, Katrina, Seol, Amanda and I headed out for a yummy galbi dinner in a teeny restaurant nearby our school. After Katrina flung her noodles at us and Amanda tipped her chair over (all un-alcohol related incidents) we figured it was time to leave the poor restaurant owners alone and head to a bar nearby to meet up with some friends and meet new ones.

Saturday turned out to be a pretty gross, rainy, cold, I-just-want-to-stay-inside, sort of day. Of course, if I did that, what would I write a blog about? Kaitie, Katrina and I ventured to Hongdae for some shopping and wandering despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions. When we arrived, we first met up with Patti teacher at her sister's bakery called Darling Cakes. On the second floor of a building, this shop is much bigger than I expected. Her sister not only bakes cakes and other goodies, you can make an appointment to go and decorate your own cake there! Some very adorable couples were in decorating cakes for various occasions. If you every find yourself in Hongdae, check her bakery out! The cheesecake, chocolate banana cake, and cookies were delicious!

We left Patti and headed to H&M nearby for some girly shopping. This area is full of little boutique stores filled with cute dresses, accessories, and also some random Korean merchandise. As usual, I found some giraffes! Exciting news on our adventures this day too! If you remember a post recently when Shanna and I were in Hongdae looking for a falafel restaurant (I think its in the same post as the trick-eye museum?) WE FOUND IT! Jack's Bean is a small restaurant off a side street. As we were looking for Patti's sister's cafe, Katrina saw a giant sign that said "FALAFEL" sitting outside the restaurant. I promise that sign was NOT there when Shanna and I were looking!...At least I really hope it wasn't. Anyways, now I know it's there! The menu is limited, but perfect. They have falafel wraps, sandwiches, and salads as well as chickpea milk and other chickpea inspired dishes. This was Kaitie's first falafel experience as well! Double-whammy. She said she enjoyed it! While it was not the best falafel I've ever had, it did the trick of satisfying my recent craving for it after the epic fail of my homemade attempts earlier this year.

Falafel Salad

 

We got completely stuffed then decided to walk around some more, window shopping and browsing the shops around the area. After getting cold enough walking around we made our way to Suzie-Q's to sit in the warmth and jam out to good music. The owners of this bar are the sweetest couple. As the husband mans the turn-table, the wife makes sure we are stocked up with popcorn and other snacks while we write down our music requests. Definitely remains one of my favorite places to go in Hongdae and maybe even Korea. It just has such a "relaxed and groovy" vibe (Eddie Izzard fans? Anyone?)

Giraffe Lamp

Sadly I don't think this one was for sale...

 The weekends have begun to fly by faster and faster, just as the weeks go by quickly too! Guess I'm just keeping busy? If Saturday was disgusting, cold, and rainy, Sunday was the complete opposite. The sun came out and the clouds disappeared like one of those magical moments in movies when you hear an angel choir. I had heard from Alex Teacher about a park nearby Bucheon Stadium that was covered with bright purple azaleas. After seeing her pictures I knew I wanted to make it there this weekend before the flowers disappeared! Kaitie joined me and we took the train to check it out. When we arrived we walked around the stadium and found that there was a mini-amusement park with some small carnival rides and food stalls. As the weather was much more pleasant, there was quite a crowd out today. We joined an audience as a traditional ribbon-dancing group performed for us. Kaitie hadn't seen this performance before, so I enjoyed being able to introduce her to it! It just made me realize that I am now the "guide" as opposed to the newbie here in Korea. It's nice to be able to know what's going on and explain things instead of being the deer-in-headlights for once!

After leaving the performance we followed the steady stream of hiking-gear-clad Koreans towards the direction of the park. As we got closer we realized just how many people were attending that day. It looked like the whole city of Bucheon decided to have a picnic in the azalea park! We joined in the crowd and made our way through the beautiful, purple covered hills. Not only could you bring your own food to have a picnic on the hill among the flowers, there were booths and stalls throughout the park selling ramen, drinks, and other snacks to keep you full and happy while taking in the scenery. A lot of people were eating bondeggi..which I still have yet to try, and not sure I ever will. Chicken feet was my limit. I draw the line at silk worm larvae. Don't judge me.

 

When we had enough with this crowd we made the decision to go to Bupyeong Underground for some more crowded activities. Kaitie hadn't experienced this underground market yet, so we decided it was a good time to introduce her to the spiderweb maze of the same exact shops that line the halls. I've been there several times now and am beginning to know my way around, or at least have a general sense of direction. Last time I was there the sweaters, scarves, and other winter apparel was out. This time Bupyeong, as well as the rest of Korea, is getting ready for warmer weather with teeny tiny little skirts, shorts, and dresses. I'm looking forward to not having to bundle up when we walk outside, although I won't be able to enjoy the weather too much working all day indoors. I try to use my breaks to walk around and get some fresh air (and usually a smoothie) during the week.

Another weekend crossed off the calendar! This week we have the always anticipated song performance and birthday party for the kindergarteners as well as the song contest for Elementary next Monday! Videos to come with those events. I'm really looking forward to watching the elementary performances! This weekend is yet another busy one for me as well. Kaitie (my partner in crime now apparently haha) and I will be going down to Jindo for the Annual Sea Parting Festival! During this time of the year the tides near this small island at the very southern tip of the peninsula behave in way that allows people to walk through the sea from the mainland to the island. It is going to be muddy, and crowded, and amazing! We leave late Friday night after work, sleep on the bus ride down there and do a sunrise hike in the morning once we arrive. These trips planned by companies such as "Wink" and "Adventure Korea" make traveling to see these festivals much more simple. They plan the transportation and do an okay job at timing things (minus a few situations). We will participate in the Moses Festival Saturday and then head back to Seoul on Sunday. On the way home we will make a pit stop to do another hike at a Cloud Bridge in Daedun. We are going to be zombies, most likely very cranky, smelly, and tired but that's what these trips are about! Thank goodness Monday will be the song contests for elementary so that we can have some breaks in the afternoon! I have a feeling I will be sleeping very well Sunday night. Keep your eye out for a fun post next week!

xoxoxox

Korean Phrase of the post: 물은 어디에 있습니까? (muleun audi-ey isseumnika) "Where is the water?"

Gold Unitard

Long update on last week and this past weekend! It has been a very busy several days for me here. I'll start with our Kindergarten field trip this past Thursday. Our destination for this trip would be the Natural Gas Museum (giggle giggle...gas...giggle). We pulled up to the museum shaped like a giant mushroom top to begin our tour.

The museum explains the discovery, creation, and uses of natural gas in our world today. As with every field trip, this one is conducted in Korean. Therefore the fellow foreign teachers and I just hang back and help with herding the students around. While the videos and informational posters around the museum were very kid friendly, meaning there were cute little cartoon characters explaining natural gas, I wondered if some of the information was over our kids' heads. The first sign I find when we walk into the museum made me a bit skeptical.

The usual kindergarten vocabulary words

The students seemed to enjoy learning about where natural gas comes from and the different kinds. They watched a few videos and then got to play some games for a few minutes before being led into a theater to watch a play.

Evil Gas

Woah! We finally found natural gas!

 

So excited, can't you tell?

Woah

Only slightly politically incorrect

 Once we realized that we would be standing in the back of the theater to watch a play completely in Korean for 45 minutes to an hour, the other foreign teachers and I decided to bow out and guard the backpacks and lunches. We sat back and relaxed in the quiet for about an hour until the students returned ready for their kimbap lunches. When I asked what the play was about, my students did not know. Again, this makes me think the material of these field trips might be too complex for them, but anything to get them out of the classroom and having some fun! We headed back to school, shipped the little ones home, then prepped for elementary.

 Here are some sneak peak pictures of one of my classes practicing their song for the contest at the end of the month!

That night Katrina, Seol, Kaitie, and I headed to Cheap Shots, a bar nearby, for some trivia. Kaitie had won with her team last week so she got the pleasure of hosting this week's trivia game! Lucky Duck. I had been to Trivia twice before and usually I am able to help out with at least 2 if not more categories pretty confidently. This week proved to be a bit too difficult for me. The categories this week included "obscure geographical history" not my thing, "Star Wars" which I think I may have watched part of when I was very little, "Lord of the Rings" which I have never read, "Youtube Videos" where you had to name the channel of random youtube video played for us- the majority of which I had never seen, and "Celebrity knowledge" which i definitely do not keep up with here. The only topic I felt comfortable with was the sixth one which was "Disney songs". Luckily I am a super Disney nerd, as seen in my previous post, so I did pretty well with that one. Overall, this was not my finest moment for trivia, though it was still fun to meet up with friends and complain about the insanely detailed facts we had to know!

Now onto this weekend! Springtime in Korea bring cherry blossoms around the country! While the weather hasn't been exactly "springy" I was hoping our trip down to Gyeongju would be sunny and warm. I definitely was not disappointed! Gyeongju is one of the old capital cities of Seoul, we would be seeing temples and other historical sites over the next few days. Kaitie, Katrina, and I headed to meet the chartered bus at Sadang station at around 5am (getting there incredibly early and hanging out in a convenience store to stay warm). We all tried to get a bit more sleep on the 4-ish-hour ride down there. On our drive down the landscapes changed from concrete jungle cities to mountainous, green countryside. It is so nice to get out of the crowded city once in a while! When we arrived we rented our bikes and began exploring the city. One of the guides from the tour company was donning a gold unitard for no apparent reason other than that his girl friend had bought it for him. Not that we don't already attract enough attention as a group of 100 foreigners, we need a blinding gold man to lead us around. Thanks!

Kaitie and Sara ready to ride!

Gold Unitard...

Katrina had gone on a similar trip last year so she acted as our tour guide. Turns out last week was probably the better time to see the cherry blossoms. For the most part the flowers had already come and gone by this weekend. A few blossoms held on for us though. The weather was amazing as well! The first time I've felt warm outside in quite a while.

 We joined up with another group of girls, also from Bucheon. It was a fun mix of people! We grabbed lunch before heading to a temple nearby. One of my favorite parts about the trip was all the colorful lanterns that decorated trees and temple areas. I want to cover my ceiling with them in my apartment! (It could happen right?)

galbi lunch

Triplets

Ringing the bell

After making it to our drop-off point, we ditched the bikes and headed back to the hostel to shower and get ready for our night excursion in the city. That night we were dropped off to find dinner on our own and then to Anapji, which is a pond created near a palace during the Silla Dynasty. The other girls were all craving some pizza for dinner so we walked a significant distance in search of the western comfort food. We found a small pizza shop and were greeted by a very chubby little puppy guarding the door. I was able to practice my Korean ordering pizza with and without certain toppings for the group. The food was actually really good! After dinner we walked to Anapji to find a looooooong line winding around outside the palace area. A few members of our group were willing to wait in the line to see the pond, while a few of us headed back to make the first bus back to the hostel. The early wake-up call this morning hitting us, we were ready to crawl into bed (or floor-mat rather). Passing out as soon as our heads hit the pillow, we slept to prepare for the next day of touristy adventures.

If you want pizza, you'll have to go through me!

Sunday morning at 7:30 we left for the Bulguksa Temple nearby. Since we arrived very early the temple area was quiet and still allowing us to take in the beauty of the buildings, statues, and nature. As with my other temple trips, the roofs of the buildings are intricately painted with bright colors and swirling designs. I wandered the grounds, reflecting on the similarities and differences of other temples I've seen so far during my travels here. This was definitely one of the bigger temples I've been to, but it had very similar features including smaller buildings for specific Buddhas as well as prayer rock towers. As we headed back towards the bus, the crowds of bright-colored-hiking-gear-wearers streamed into the temple area, taking away the quiet calm that we had experienced when we arrived.

 

 

Prayer stone towers

After Bulguksa, we drove up the mountain to Seokguram Grotto. This grotto is considered part of the Bulguksa temple area. When we arrive we walk to see the famous Buddha statue which sits inside a cave on the mountain. The Buddha represents the Seokgamoni Buddha at his moment of enlightenment. While most temples I've been to allow you to get relatively close to these historical artifacts, this Buddha sits behind a wall of glass keeping dust, dirt, and tourist's hands off. I understand the importance of maintaining such an incredible monument, however it was difficult to get the full effect of the statue behind the glare of the glass. Again, this area was decorated with several hundred colorful lanterns and the views from the grotto were breathtaking though incredibly difficult to capture in a photo!

 

 

We left the grotto and got in the bus once again to go to the beach! At this particular beach we saw King Munmu's Tomb. I have to say this trip has introduced me to some very different kinds of tombs. King Munmu was buried underwater off the coast of this beach. According to history, he wished to be buried here so he could turn into a dragon and guard the coastline. I wish I could be buried and turn into a dragon! We sat on the beach and soaked in a few rays. I loved feeling the sun on my face after bundling up every day to walk outside. I even found a heart rock!

 Once again, it was time to get on the bus to find some lunch then go to our last stop of the day to see the tomb mounds. The other strange tomb of the trip. Kings and other important figures from the Silla Dynasty were buried under tall perfectly groomed mounds of stone covered in grass. If you did not know they were tombs you might think you had just walked into a Dr. Seuss book. As time was running out we did not get a lot of time to walk through the mound area, but we ran in to see the cross section of the Cheonmachong Tomb. This mound allows you to enter and see how the King or famous figure is set up underneath these hilly tombs.

Bug bus

Where's the lorax?

Overall the trip was excellent! The weather couldn't have been better and I am so glad I got to see this historical area. The trip back took a bit longer than expected. We left Gyeongju around 4pm and arrived home in Bucheon near 11pm. This is going to be a long week without a relaxing weekend, but it was worth it! This week we have a cooking class on Friday with the kindergarteners and then quiet weekend before next week when Kaitie and I head to Jindo for the sea parting festival! 

xoxo

Korean Phrase of the post: 개가 피자를 먹고 (gae-ga peeja-reul meok-go): "The dog eats pizza"

P.s. Dad, you know the word for pizza in Korean already! ;)

Never Too Old for Disney

"Some say our destiny is tied to the land, as much a part of us as we are of it. Others say fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change. Some never find it. But there are some who are led."- Merida, Brave

Finally got the chance to watch the movie "Brave" this weekend with a few friends and this quote really stuck with me. After being here a little over 6 months I have met so many people who I never would have met before had I not made the decision to teach in South Korea. I am so grateful for my family and friends back home for supporting me in my decision. I know I don't tell you this enough. When I think about the future and what I will do after my adventure here I honestly am just letting whatever happens happen. Opportunities have funny ways of presenting themselves at the right time. I know that when the time comes to make a decision about what I will do when I grow up (I'll be a kid forever), that some new adventure will turn up.  To keep with this cheesy theme, other Disney movie will be quoted throughout this post- sit back and enjoy!

Bucheon has started to warm up a bit, to the delight of my fingers and toes whom I have missed terribly.  Next week I hope it will continue to follow this trend of warmth as Katrina, Kaitie and I are signed up for a cherry blossom bike tour of Gyeongju. Gyeongju is southeast of Bucheon and was a capital city in Korea from 57 BC to 935 AD (so not exactly recently). The trip will last all weekend during which we will bike around the city admiring the cherry blossoms and other historical sites. The second day we have opted to go for the bus tour instead to give our legs a rest. I'm hoping to learn a lot as well as get some good exercise as we travel around the area!

"For a true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart"- Zeus, Hercules

This past week flew by. I feel like I've been saying that nearly every post, but it is true! Before I know it Katrina, Kaitie and I will be laying on a beach in Boracay soaking up the sun! Before I get ahead of myself though, I'll stick to updating you on current events at Little America. This month I have three songs to teach three different classes for song contests. Naturally, I have my kindergarten girls. They will be performing an adorable rendition of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" which is going to be one of the cutest things ever. Whether they know the words or not is a different story entirely. I keep reminding them that this song is about them, "little girls", and yet they still haven't gotten down what they are "thanking heaben" for. We have a few weeks to work on it, so we will see how that goes. As for my elementary students, we have a song contest at the end of this month as well. One of my classes is a bit...more enthusiastic...(teacher talk for crazy and hyper) therefore I've chosen a song where the boys and girls can fight with each other in a controlled, musical situation. I decided on "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun. When I first printed out the lyrics for my students I felt a bit uneasy about their ability to memorize the song but after hearing it they absolutely love it and some of them have already memorized it! My other elementary class is my most advanced group of 5 girls. I allowed them to choose their own song and they decided on "When Will My Life Begin" from the movie Tangled. While this wouldn't be my first choice, I'm going with it and letting them take the lead on learning the song and choreographing. I'm looking forward to seeing both of my elementary classes perform at the end of this month! The winning classes receive 50 points (which can be used for Market Day. If you are unaware of what Market Day is, please reference the "Salon Du Deliciousness" post from January) as well as a chicken party! Needless to say the students are very motivated to win. I think the teachers are a bit competitive as well despite what they may say.

"What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?"- Timone, The Lion King

Friday, our kindergarteners had a cooking class. The meal for this class was mini-hamburgers. I don't know who comes up with the ideas for cooking classes, but they are always interesting. The students donned their aprons and got to shmushing their meat patties.

My ladybugs

"let me see a BIIIIIG bite!"

 

I don't think that burger will fit...

"Eating greens is a special treat, It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat."-Bambi

After work Friday, Kaitie, Jennifer, Liz and I met with Alex to celebrate her birthday as well as hear all about her recent trip to England and Italy! We enjoyed a delicious Indian meal at our favorite place nearby school as she told us about her journeys. Sounds like the weather was less than ideal, but I suppose that's normal for England. Unfortunately it followed her for a while in Italy as well. Overall she said it was a busy trip but I'm sure she is happy that she could go! Not many people here get to travel outside of Korea. Liz and Jennifer were both jealous of her opportunity to take that trip and are planning an excursion of their own to Norway! My coworkers are such world travelers. After dinner we moved to one of the million cafes nearby to enjoy Alex's birthday cake, which was SO yummy. A blueberry spongecake piled with fruit on top. We talked and caught up until one of use looked at the time and it was already 11:30! Time flies when you're with friends...and eating cake...We said our goodbyes and turned in for the night.

My beautiful coworkers <3

We did some work on it, and there's still 2/3 left!

"Fish are friends, not food"-Bruce the Shark, Finding Nemo

Now, its come to the point where I should acknowledge the elephant in the room. The elephant comes in the form of a North Korean President who has been stirring up some trouble nearby. I receive messages almost daily from friends and family at home wondering if I'm okay, if I am leaving early and coming home, or if I can see rockets flying over Bucheon (okay maybe not that one). I've tried to read accounts of the recent events from different sources and the more I read the more confused I become. I know that the news from home is making my life here seem like I should be sneaking around James-Bond-style on my way to work ready to book it to the airport at any second, while the news here in South Korea acts like there is nothing out of the norm happening. Granted that is slightly true as they have been experiencing these threads for decades and therefore are not concerned. I know that I should not be completely complacent and pretend nothing is going on around me, but I also know that panicking and running around yelling "the sky is falling!" will not help either. I have taken the following steps to prepare for anything that may or may not happen:

1. I have registered with the US Embassy, so that they are aware of my presence here. This not only updates me with any emergency information from the embassy, but it also will provide assistance with getting home if anything does happen. At the moment, the website does not have any apocalyptic warnings or instructions to return home immediately.

2. I have also packed a bag (again completely a just-in-case procedure!) with some clothes, water, granola bars, toiletries, as well as my passport/other identification information in case I need to go somewhere quickly.

Honestly, I am not telling you these things to scare you or make you think I'm living in a war zone! In fact, I hope this will do just the opposite and help you see that I am safe and have backup plans just in case anything happens. I can tell you that I feel safe here. My coworkers have not told us all to go home yet, and until that happens I will remain here in Bucheon as planned. The fact that companies are still doing tours of the DMZ also tells me that things can't be TOO bad right?

"Don't think, and don't worry. If the time comes, you'll know what to do." Mrs. Incredible, The Incredibles

In happier news, I have been accepted into the online masters program at California University of Pennsylvania for their STEM Education program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Throughout my undergraduate experience, hands-on and interactive lesson plans were encouraged to engage students more in their learning. I am excited to be a student again, as strange as that sounds. The program is 10 courses, and I will begin this coming Fall of 2013. While it will be more work to add to my days, this is the best time for me to complete this degree as my responsibilities at school here are nothing compared to teaching in the states. Some of my students asked me why I want to go back to school again after I told them that I was looking at this program. Most of them cannot wait until they never have to study, do homework, or take standardized tests ever again. In fact I think in their journals, when I asked them what would they do if they were president, the majority wrote something along the lines of "No more school, tests, or homework". Another more off-beat student wrote about "Making buildings completely out of gummy candies". He's a special one that one. 

Cheesy moment: You should never stop learning. There are always new things to learn, more places to see, more things to discover. *Blank stares from students*

"Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming, What do we do? We swim!"- Dory, Finding Nemo

Until next time xoxo

Korean phrase of the post: 항상 학생 (hangsang haksaeng)- "always a student"