Let me say this- I love my job, but at the end of the semester, the kids become little blood-sucking, sun-deprived mongrels. I can't say I blame them. After all, it's July and we're still in school. They only get 5 weeks off for summer vacation, and most of them will attend the school's summer camp for 3-4 weeks of that "vacation." Sucks to be a Korean kid.
Meanwhile, as the kids are dreading summer camp, I'm busy preparing for summer camp. I see each grade for one week, 4 hours a day, which means the first week I get to/have to see 3rd graders for 4 hours a day. Ay yay yay. Anyhow, I finally decided on themes, and not a moment too soon. Here they are . . . 3rd grade's theme will be "Dr. Seuss." We are going to learn about rhyming, numbers, colors, animals, etc. through the use of 5 different Dr. Seuss books. The camp will include activities such as "What would you do if you heard a who?" and "How to make green eggs and ham." 4th grade's theme is "Oh the places you'll go!" (yeah, I'm stuck on Dr. Seuss). We're going to learn about geography, climate, food, animals, etc. by studying a different part of the world each day. The final project will be a poster and short presentation by each student about a country. 5th grade's theme is "Outdoor adventure and survival." We are going to learn about adventure sports and environmental issues, do a few nature projects, go on a hike, read outdoor survival stories, and learn the related English . . . And finally, 6th grade's theme is "All about me." We will learn about people, relationships, timelines, personal history, etc. The midway project will be a family tree; the final project will be a poster autobiography and presentation. What do ya think? Would YOU want to attend my summer camp? :P
On a non-work-related note . . . I go to North Korea in less than two weeks. I finally got all my paperwork in and have been granted special permission to visit (no visa), pending the issue of a stamp at the border. Those of you not living under a rock probably heard that there was a tourist shot by a North Korean soldier recently. Apparently it was a South Korean tourist, in a different city, who wandered away from where she was supposed to be. A lot of trips have been suspended as a result, but thankfully not mine!
This weekend should also be interesting, though in a vastly different way. I'm going to the Boryeong Mud Festival! Woohoo! Mud! Do you think I could call it cultural assimilation if I threw in some soju? Okay, not so much . . .
Between work, yoga, and the usual weekend shenanigans, I've been keeping pretty busy. But in any case, I'm always up for Skyping or IM-ing (MSN messenger) if anyone's interested.
Till next time . . .
Much love,
Dana
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Someone turn on the AC! and the English subtitles!
Good evening from Suwon, SoKo! Jesus, is it already July? Yes, actually the outta-control humidity here tells me that it is indeed July. *wipes sweat from brow*
Things have been busy around these parts as usual. Let's see, what has happened since last updated? My co-teacher had her baby (welcome to the world Ha Eun!) and went on maternity leave, sticking me with a new 5th and 6th grade co-teacher who I am still warming up to. I went on a tour to the DMZ, and actually saw the city in North Korea that I will be visiting at the end of the month (Kaesong). The DMZ itself was rather surreal but not nearly as tense as people make it out to be. Then again, this is coming from the girl who was tear-gased in Palestine. In short, danger is relative. I don't find North Korea particularly threatening. I also had a few too many nights out in Hongdae, Korea's self-proclaimed party district. If there's anything Korea does well, its nightlife. Don't plan on calling it a night before 6 a.m. In fact, no night out is complete without the following: drinking copious amounts of soju and/or bad Korean beer, dancing on a table and/or bar, visiting a noraebang (karaoke room), being propositioned by a "juicy girl" (Korean prostitute), eating dapoki (rice dumplings in spicy tomato sauce- the ultimate late-night snack), and finally drinking coffee to sober up enough to navigate the subway home. It makes you feel like Korea has a very youthful vibe . . .
On a somewhat related note (okay not really), I've been receiving amazing praise recently for my teaching. I found out a few days ago that a few foreign teachers that have been struggling are going to visit my advanced class this Thursday (at the request of their co-teachers) . . . Apparently Young-shin has been bragging about me to the Korean teachers at other schools! Haha . . . also, unrelated to my teaching . . . I had a meeting with my principal on Friday and was informed that the principal of another school (who I swear I don't remember meeting) said that I was "the most beautiful foreign teacher in all of Gyeonggi-do" . . . and my principal said that she agrees :P I love the ego boost! She also ask if I had a boyfriend and assured me (totally umprompted on my behalf!!) that she would find me a nice Korean boy. Fabulous . . .
Aside from that, life is not terribly exciting . . . oh hell, what I am talking about? That IS exciting :D I'm still trying to learn Korean, but I seem to have platformed somewhere along the way. I really need to make an attempt to learn Hangul (Korean script), but I'm lacking the motivation (and the time). At the moment, I'd rather use my time to develop my yoga practice, which I am going to start up again this week . . . starting tomorrow I'll be doing hatha and vinyasa three times a week at a place called Su Yoga downtown. I'm super-excited.
Till next time . . .
Anyonghi kaseyo,
Dana
Things have been busy around these parts as usual. Let's see, what has happened since last updated? My co-teacher had her baby (welcome to the world Ha Eun!) and went on maternity leave, sticking me with a new 5th and 6th grade co-teacher who I am still warming up to. I went on a tour to the DMZ, and actually saw the city in North Korea that I will be visiting at the end of the month (Kaesong). The DMZ itself was rather surreal but not nearly as tense as people make it out to be. Then again, this is coming from the girl who was tear-gased in Palestine. In short, danger is relative. I don't find North Korea particularly threatening. I also had a few too many nights out in Hongdae, Korea's self-proclaimed party district. If there's anything Korea does well, its nightlife. Don't plan on calling it a night before 6 a.m. In fact, no night out is complete without the following: drinking copious amounts of soju and/or bad Korean beer, dancing on a table and/or bar, visiting a noraebang (karaoke room), being propositioned by a "juicy girl" (Korean prostitute), eating dapoki (rice dumplings in spicy tomato sauce- the ultimate late-night snack), and finally drinking coffee to sober up enough to navigate the subway home. It makes you feel like Korea has a very youthful vibe . . .
On a somewhat related note (okay not really), I've been receiving amazing praise recently for my teaching. I found out a few days ago that a few foreign teachers that have been struggling are going to visit my advanced class this Thursday (at the request of their co-teachers) . . . Apparently Young-shin has been bragging about me to the Korean teachers at other schools! Haha . . . also, unrelated to my teaching . . . I had a meeting with my principal on Friday and was informed that the principal of another school (who I swear I don't remember meeting) said that I was "the most beautiful foreign teacher in all of Gyeonggi-do" . . . and my principal said that she agrees :P I love the ego boost! She also ask if I had a boyfriend and assured me (totally umprompted on my behalf!!) that she would find me a nice Korean boy. Fabulous . . .
Aside from that, life is not terribly exciting . . . oh hell, what I am talking about? That IS exciting :D I'm still trying to learn Korean, but I seem to have platformed somewhere along the way. I really need to make an attempt to learn Hangul (Korean script), but I'm lacking the motivation (and the time). At the moment, I'd rather use my time to develop my yoga practice, which I am going to start up again this week . . . starting tomorrow I'll be doing hatha and vinyasa three times a week at a place called Su Yoga downtown. I'm super-excited.
Till next time . . .
Anyonghi kaseyo,
Dana
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