Hello everyone! This past weekend I went to a Twins game. That's right, the Twins. The LG Twins, that is. They are the home team at the Olympic Stadium baseball park not too far from where I live. They have a Korean baseball league and the Twins are one of the few teams represented in Seoul. A baseball game in Korea is different from American baseball in a few ways. One is, there is constant cheering throughout the game. I don't mean just random people in the crowd chanting, I mean the home team and the away team have cheerleaders that lead the crowd with (Korean) cheers. It felt more like a college football game than a baseball game in that respect. You are also allowed to bring food and drink into the baseball game which is nice. The tickets for the game range from 6,000-12,000 won (slightly less than $6-$12), MUCH cheaper than you would find in the US. The concessions are also a lot more reasonably priced. They did not however have hot dogs, but they had KFC and Burger King inside the stadium as well as a few other eateries with Korean specialties. They did not have a seventh inning stretch, and in Korean baseball, after 12 innings if it is a tie, both teams are considered to have lost. They do not keep playing until a team wins. The Twins did win this particular game against the Eagles. It was a pretty good time, and for such a reasonable price, I definitely want to go again!
The school (pleasantly) surprised us this week by announcing that in honor of Teacher's Day (May 15 in Korea...mark your calendars, haha) they are taking all of us teachers on an overnight trip to Sami Island, a river island not too far away. We don't have a day off, but they are taking us May 7/8 after school to go there. We're all pretty excited about it!
We are going on a field trip on Thursday this week to the zoo at Children's Grand Park. Good weather pending, it should be a good day and we get free Quizno's for lunch. We're also going to see some kind of animal show. I'm so excited to take the kids there! It will be fun to see how excited they get. Next week in honor of Children's Day (May 5) we are doing a "Crazy Hair and Vibrant Color" fashion show. The kids will come decked out and we are expected to as well. We are also going to teach our kids runway walks and bring makeup to maybe put on them. It seems a little over the top for 5-7 year olds, but hopefully it will be fun.
That's all from me for now. Happy Tuesday, Western World!
Today officially marks two months since I have been in Korea. It's hard to believe, but it's true! Last week we welcomed a new teacher, Chelsea. She is from Michigan and is in her 20 somethings like the rest of us. She seems to be doing pretty well so far!
Last weekend I got the opportunity to see Megan and Aaron. Megan and I went to school together (before college) and found out that we were both going to be in Korea around the same time. Aaron is in the army, so they are stationed in Daegu, which is a few hours away from Seoul. They came this past weekend and I showed them around the city a bit. They also invited me to come to Daegu, which I am thinking about doing this weekend. It's just a train ride away, and it would be nice to get out of the city since I haven't been since I got here! I also went to see the cherry blossoms this past weekend, and posted some pictures on my Picasa web album.
My kindergarten students have been doing so well. It's really amazing to think that doing the workbooks with them was SO difficult when I first started with them, and now they have improved so much. When I first started with them, most of them had to have me help them with every letter they had to write, and now, if I just say out loud what letter they need to write, they know what it is. Also, when I came, only one student knew how to read. Now about three more are reading some words on their own! It's amazing how quickly they are learning.
We did cooking class for the first time this past week. The school decided to have this once a month, and this was our trial run. We made BLT sandwiches, and the students (and teacher) did pretty well. They all successfully made the sandwich and were able to eat half and take the other half home.
Last week, we had a spelling bee for kids in our afternoon classes. I was the MC. Having once been an avid spelling bee competitor, it was kind of funny to be on the other side of the competition. The kids in my class did well, and I was proud of them.
That's all from me for now. Happy Thursday, Western World!
But, if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow
Posted by Emily on Tuesday, April 13, 2010Well as most of my readers know, this past week has been rather difficult as I received news of my grandfather passing away. It has definitely been a new experience dealing with a tragedy on the other side of the world, but I know that in the end I will come out stronger. I would also like to profoundly thank everyone for their support and continuing support while I'm over here. It is greatly appreciated.
One rather shocking thing this week was the Dunkin' Donuts across the street from my school closed. It was there on Friday and completely packed up Monday. The sign was taken down and no sign of any equipment. It was amazing to me that a business could close up that quickly. Usually it takes so long in the US to clear out, but they shipped out pretty fast here. Any readers concerned about my coffee well-being- no fear, there is one two blocks from my apartment.
I had my first payday on Friday, which was an incredibly exciting day. I am now a millionaire! (In Korean won, that is.) I also booked a trip for a three day weekend we have in May. I'm going to Geomundo and Treasure Island. If you want more information about the trip, here is the link to the group I booked it through, Adventure Korea. It is a travel group specifically for foreigners. http://www.adventurekorea.com/ourAdventure/calendar_content.asp?id=calendar&RowNo=478
My kids continue to impress me with how much they're learning English. Not much else to say now, Happy Tuesday Western World!
Hello everyone and Happy Easter! This week went by pretty quickly and was a busy week at school. My kids were pretty good this week, although there were a couple of incidents. One of my students peed his pants unfortunately, and there were a few tears shed, however all turned out alright. On Friday we celebrated Easter by dying some Easter eggs and decorating them with stickers. The kids were really amazed at how the dye worked and were excited to take them home.
This weekend has been pretty good. Our school said goodbye to Ashley this weekend, who is headed home for Minnesota, and said hello to David, who is from Georgia. David has been here a few months already, but his school had financial problems and closed down, so he was lucky enough to find a job at our school, and our school was lucky because they didn't have to fly another American out. (The likelihood of my school closing down for a similar reason is very low. We are part of a large chain and so there is a large safety net. The school he was working for only had a few locations.) To say goodbye to Ashley we went out to eat at a place called Jenny's Bread, which is like an upscale Panera. Really good food!
Yesterday I experienced the free market in Hongik. It has so many really cool things to buy and almost all of them are handmade. Really great souvenirs. It's also a great area to go out to eat and go shopping in as well. I was out with Laura and she got her hair cut, and now I know a good place to go for a hair cut when I need one! The lady did a great job and spoke really good English. We also went out to eat at a really great Indian restaurant, so now I know where to go for good Indian food!
Today Laura and I went to the International Lutheran Church. The pastor is from Mankato, Minnesota, of all places. (If you don't know, Mankato is 12 miles away from Gustavus.) It was a good service, and I'm thinking about joining the choir. While there, I also ran into two Gusties, Christine and Shauna (who I knew were in Seoul) and we got to go out for an Easter brunch afterwards!
Overall a pretty good week! I bought a lot of postcards today as well, so if I do not have your address and you would like a postcard, email me and I will be sure to send you one. Happy Easter Western World!
P.S.- Here are some video links from Korea that you might enjoy watching!
Video one: My kindergarden students singing, "Go Cubs Go." Go Cubs Go!
Video two: Really random Korean toys hopping around on the street. Crazy toys
Video three: Ice Cream man in Insa-dong who plays tricks on people getting ice cream. Ice cream man
