Another day of camp-the last one of full teaching. The biggest excitement came at the start of class. I had a 6th grade boy come into my room and tell me that he had kicked a soccer ball on the roof. The classroom I was using was above one of the two entrances of the school so there is a big overhang. That means outside my window there is a flat area of 10x12 maybe. Then along the windows of all the rest of the classrooms there's a 8 inch space and then a ledge that is about 4 inches wide that runs to the end of the other school entrance that also has the overhang. So of course the boy kicked the ball on the roof of the overhang that is on the other side of the school, probably about 20-30 yards away. I went out to get the ball (pretty sure it would be a bad idea to have the 6th grader get it!) except the 8 inch space had standing water and some wires in it so I didn't really want to walk through that. I ended up going up on the ledge and held on to some railing that goes along the windows. As I got up on the ledge the sports teacher that was doing the baseball camp in the school yard started yelling at me (maybe didn't realize I was a teacher, maybe just telling me to be careful, I'm not really sure). I made it to the other end, threw down the soccer ball and then made my way back.
When camp finished, I went to go meet Krystle in Myeongdong. We were going to grab lunch and on the bus I was trying to figure out what we could eat that was vegetarian. On the bus, I passed the street that had a tofu stew restaurant I knew of and figured that would be a good option. We met in the subway and I asked if she had tried it before and she agreed to try it. When I went to order, I asked if there was no meat in the dish and then the waitress replied and talked some more....and then Krystle and I looked at each other and Krystle said, "she's not speaking Korean is she?" Turns out she started speaking Mandarin...I didn't think my Korean was that bad! Finally we got her to understand our order and the food came shortly after. It was a little bit spicy, but good.
After lunch, we walked around Myeongdong. Krystle's mission: to find face masks. She had just recently discovered the addicting and cheap face treatment of face masks and wanted to buy as many as she could before she leaves Korea. I got a bit sucked in and ended up getting a 10 + 10 deal for 9,500W as well. We finished face mask shopping and then went to the dessert cafe I went to on my birthday for a triple chocolate bingsu. It was a delicious treat. We chatted a bit and then headed out. We wandered through the Lotte Young Plaza (shopping) and Jacob met us there. He got out of work a little bit early because he had to go in early due to an 'emergency' at the office; he was needed there. Jacob and I wandered a bit before heading to our meeting place with Min Kyung. We ended up grabbing a table at School Food and waiting for her with a table. It was so good to see her-I think it was back in mid-June that we met last, for her birthday. She had just gotten back from a trip to Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore with her little brother. We chatted a bit and then walked around outside because it was so nice out. I was really surprised because she wanted to spend so much time with us. It's about an hour commute home for her and I thought she'd be off to go back to her husband, but maybe it was a nice distraction from her dad's health problems too. He's still in the ER after suffering from his second stroke. MK wanted to show us a new part of Deoksu Palace that has been opened up to the public, but that part was closed. She also then wanted to get coffee, but Jacob and I were both tired and said coffee would keep us awake this late. We said goodbye at the subway. I'm glad I got to see MK before heading home.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Long Time No See!
Camp went okay-today the girl didn't show up and one boy who came last week was there for part of the time. That means I had 6 crazy little boys. They had so much energy and ran around the room during the break times.
After camp ended, I headed to Insadong to meet Katie Kim. (She moved to Saint Joe when we were in middle school/high school and went to college in the US; now she's been living in Korea for a little over 2 years) The last time I met her was last August before my orientation started! I don't know how that year slipped away without us meeting at all.
She had looked up a restaurant to eat at. This one had been on TV so we figured it would be good. The main course was rice with a kind of leafy green cooked in it. That vegetable is supposed to be very good for you. It was served with a lot of veggie sides, though you could order bulgogi (meat) to go with it too. It was really good and I'm hoping to go back some time, though we had to wait a little bit because it was popular.
We finished lunch and then went to do a photo booth thing. Katie had seen it before and wanted to try, but the line was really long. The big selling point for this particular photo booth (there are lots of shops doing photo booths) is that you could wear the traditional Korean hanbok (dress) in your photos! So we picked the hanboks we wanted to wear and waited for our turn. There were 6 pictures and then you got to use a machine to decorate the photos on a computer program and a few minutes later, the photos print out. It was a lot of fun.
We decided getting tea/coffee would be a nice way to sit and chat until I had to go to Korean class. We started walking and I ended up taking us closer towards where I have class. We found a cafe along Cheonggyecheon and ordered-she got coffee and I got a frozen yogurt/ice cream. It was a lot of fun catching up and chatting. It started raining while we were in the cafe. Katie didn't have an umbrella and had to get to the subway. I had the genius idea of walking to my class-just across the stream- and then having her take the underground to the subway station. We parted ways and agreed it wouldn't be so long until the next time we met.
I headed to class, a little worried about the level test at the end of class. Once I got the test, it didn't seem that hard, but there were a few things I was concerned about. As people finished their tests, the teacher graded them and we all waited around. Once almost everyone was done and she was still grading, we put the tables and chairs away and waited for her to give us our results. When I was moving a table, I noticed she was grading my test and writing the score. I thought I saw 38/50--but when she talked to me, she said I should stay in that level once more. So, maybe it was actually 28/50 or its closer to 80% to pass, I'm not sure. Anyway, it was nice because class finished up a little bit early since we had just taken a test and I got home a little bit sooner than normal.
After camp ended, I headed to Insadong to meet Katie Kim. (She moved to Saint Joe when we were in middle school/high school and went to college in the US; now she's been living in Korea for a little over 2 years) The last time I met her was last August before my orientation started! I don't know how that year slipped away without us meeting at all.
She had looked up a restaurant to eat at. This one had been on TV so we figured it would be good. The main course was rice with a kind of leafy green cooked in it. That vegetable is supposed to be very good for you. It was served with a lot of veggie sides, though you could order bulgogi (meat) to go with it too. It was really good and I'm hoping to go back some time, though we had to wait a little bit because it was popular.
We finished lunch and then went to do a photo booth thing. Katie had seen it before and wanted to try, but the line was really long. The big selling point for this particular photo booth (there are lots of shops doing photo booths) is that you could wear the traditional Korean hanbok (dress) in your photos! So we picked the hanboks we wanted to wear and waited for our turn. There were 6 pictures and then you got to use a machine to decorate the photos on a computer program and a few minutes later, the photos print out. It was a lot of fun.
We decided getting tea/coffee would be a nice way to sit and chat until I had to go to Korean class. We started walking and I ended up taking us closer towards where I have class. We found a cafe along Cheonggyecheon and ordered-she got coffee and I got a frozen yogurt/ice cream. It was a lot of fun catching up and chatting. It started raining while we were in the cafe. Katie didn't have an umbrella and had to get to the subway. I had the genius idea of walking to my class-just across the stream- and then having her take the underground to the subway station. We parted ways and agreed it wouldn't be so long until the next time we met.
I headed to class, a little worried about the level test at the end of class. Once I got the test, it didn't seem that hard, but there were a few things I was concerned about. As people finished their tests, the teacher graded them and we all waited around. Once almost everyone was done and she was still grading, we put the tables and chairs away and waited for her to give us our results. When I was moving a table, I noticed she was grading my test and writing the score. I thought I saw 38/50--but when she talked to me, she said I should stay in that level once more. So, maybe it was actually 28/50 or its closer to 80% to pass, I'm not sure. Anyway, it was nice because class finished up a little bit early since we had just taken a test and I got home a little bit sooner than normal.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Stuffed Meatballs
I had the same 6 kiddos today. I feel bad because I don't know how much they understand me. I've tried to be as simplistic as I can, but I still feel like it's going over their heads. They can speak better than they can listen and write better than they can read, but there were a few students I had to help them by making letters for them to trace in some activities.
I stayed longer at work today. Just trying to get some extra stuff done and prepare my new desk calendar for the new semester. It was also cooler in the office with the aircon than I believe it would be at my place.
When I was ready to leave, I headed to the grocery store and vegetable market to buy a few things for dinner. I asked Jacob what he wanted to have for dinner last night and he said stuffed meatballs. That sounded good to me too, so I got some ingredients I needed for it.
The rest of the afternoon I just relaxed, packed, and cleaned. Then I started prepping for dinner. When Jacob arrived dinner was almost ready. I forgot I had some mushrooms left over from the weekend so I put some in the sauce and some with the sauteed broccoli and onions. There was stuffing and rice as well. For dessert, we baked a few cookies. We also watched one of the last episodes of the series from The Office. There is only one left and I'm excited and sad to watch it all at the same time.
I stayed longer at work today. Just trying to get some extra stuff done and prepare my new desk calendar for the new semester. It was also cooler in the office with the aircon than I believe it would be at my place.
When I was ready to leave, I headed to the grocery store and vegetable market to buy a few things for dinner. I asked Jacob what he wanted to have for dinner last night and he said stuffed meatballs. That sounded good to me too, so I got some ingredients I needed for it.
The rest of the afternoon I just relaxed, packed, and cleaned. Then I started prepping for dinner. When Jacob arrived dinner was almost ready. I forgot I had some mushrooms left over from the weekend so I put some in the sauce and some with the sauteed broccoli and onions. There was stuffing and rice as well. For dessert, we baked a few cookies. We also watched one of the last episodes of the series from The Office. There is only one left and I'm excited and sad to watch it all at the same time.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Monday with the 3rd and 4th graders
The start of the second and final week of summer camp! This week I will have the 3rd and 4th graders. There are 8 of them signed up, but only 6 showed up. I have one poor solo girl and 5 crazy boys. There are two 4th grade boys and the rest of them are 3rd graders. Their level is quite low so it was a bit difficult to teach them on my own. Luckily one of the 4th grade boys has a level high enough he can help a little bit with translating and explaining. Though there is a lot of hand gestures, looking up words on google translate and blank stares all around.
After work, I headed to Namdaemun on a mission! I wanted to find some stone bowls that I can make stews and other Korean dishes in. They are called dduk bbegi; I had looked at Daiso (the dollar store of Korea) and I saw some, but they were made in China. I didn't want Chinese made Korean bowls! So I figured Namdaemun would be a good place to go. It is a big market-there are shops for clothes, housewares, blankets, tools, etc. You name it, it's probably in Namdaemun. The first store I found had the bowls for 4,000W a piece. I figured it was a good deal, but wanted to look around a little bit more. I wandered around and got "lost" and went in circles--the market is quite large, and found maybe 3 more stores with the bowls, but all priced higher. I decided first, I would get a snack and then return for the bowls at the first store. I got japchae hoddeok (a fried pancake with noodles and vegetables inside) and it was delicious. I navigated my way back to the first store and got 4 bowls to bring back to the US with me next week. Then I went to Myeongdong to just look around there, before I circled back to Namdaemun. I bought a new desk planner and a fan for Jacob.
Then it was on to Hongdae. On the way, my phone died and I didn't have a charger with me, so I wandered Hongdae before waiting outside the GOAL office for Jacob. I stopped in the Daiso here only to find the same stone bowls...for 1,000W cheaper! Bummer. Jacob and I met up and we went to a restaurant right around the corner that is part of a chain and I thought they had bibimbap, but this particular store only had nengmyeon (a cold noodle soup). I was really disappointed because I wanted bibimbap--and I wanted to try that restaurant. We started walking around a bit more thinking where to go, when Jacob said he'd be fine with Oodle Noodle again. So we headed there, only to see the store was closed! Finally we figured we would go to his Imo's restaurant. I ordered bulgogi in the hot stone bowl and he got spicy pork. After dinner, we walked back to his guesthouse. We did a little bit of research for our trips/travel planning and then worried about my phone as it wasn't charging. Finally after looking up some things to do, he tried plugging it into the wall (it was in an outlet from an extension cord) and voila, it was charged to 100 as soon as he plugged it in. What a relief! We were both worried about the phone not working at all.
I missed my normal transfer bus, but got a different one that also goes to my neighborhood and had to walk a little bit more to get home. And, my rainboots worked their magic yet again. In the morning it was a little drizzly, but the whole rest of the day it did not rain even though it was in the forecast!
After work, I headed to Namdaemun on a mission! I wanted to find some stone bowls that I can make stews and other Korean dishes in. They are called dduk bbegi; I had looked at Daiso (the dollar store of Korea) and I saw some, but they were made in China. I didn't want Chinese made Korean bowls! So I figured Namdaemun would be a good place to go. It is a big market-there are shops for clothes, housewares, blankets, tools, etc. You name it, it's probably in Namdaemun. The first store I found had the bowls for 4,000W a piece. I figured it was a good deal, but wanted to look around a little bit more. I wandered around and got "lost" and went in circles--the market is quite large, and found maybe 3 more stores with the bowls, but all priced higher. I decided first, I would get a snack and then return for the bowls at the first store. I got japchae hoddeok (a fried pancake with noodles and vegetables inside) and it was delicious. I navigated my way back to the first store and got 4 bowls to bring back to the US with me next week. Then I went to Myeongdong to just look around there, before I circled back to Namdaemun. I bought a new desk planner and a fan for Jacob.
Then it was on to Hongdae. On the way, my phone died and I didn't have a charger with me, so I wandered Hongdae before waiting outside the GOAL office for Jacob. I stopped in the Daiso here only to find the same stone bowls...for 1,000W cheaper! Bummer. Jacob and I met up and we went to a restaurant right around the corner that is part of a chain and I thought they had bibimbap, but this particular store only had nengmyeon (a cold noodle soup). I was really disappointed because I wanted bibimbap--and I wanted to try that restaurant. We started walking around a bit more thinking where to go, when Jacob said he'd be fine with Oodle Noodle again. So we headed there, only to see the store was closed! Finally we figured we would go to his Imo's restaurant. I ordered bulgogi in the hot stone bowl and he got spicy pork. After dinner, we walked back to his guesthouse. We did a little bit of research for our trips/travel planning and then worried about my phone as it wasn't charging. Finally after looking up some things to do, he tried plugging it into the wall (it was in an outlet from an extension cord) and voila, it was charged to 100 as soon as he plugged it in. What a relief! We were both worried about the phone not working at all.
I missed my normal transfer bus, but got a different one that also goes to my neighborhood and had to walk a little bit more to get home. And, my rainboots worked their magic yet again. In the morning it was a little drizzly, but the whole rest of the day it did not rain even though it was in the forecast!
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Soccer Sunday
Jacob came over for brunch and I made bagel sandwiches. They were pretty tasty, but I wish I could make some kind of sauce or dressing for the sandwich.
Jacob came to borrow a suitcase from me. In late August they'll be moving out of their guesthouse and to Eastern's headquarters to live until they can find a new guesthouse. So, while most of the stuff can be put in boxes, he wanted an extra suitcase for his summer clothes. Luckily for him, I had an extra suitcase given to me by my friend last year so he could borrow that. We took a taxi over to his guesthouse and did some travel research. Then we took a walk-it started sprinkling a little, but it felt nice-the rain really cooled things off. After our walk we went to dinner at the kimbap shop. I got omurice (fried rice with an omelet wrapped around it) but then I felt silly because my breakfast sandwich had eggs--two servings of eggs in one day! We changed and headed to soccer. By then, it had started raining a little bit more and was getting warmer.
We had a decent turnout this week-there were 15 I think; we had two teams of 6 with 3 subs. It was fun to play in the rain, but by the end I was soaked! Soccer was later- from 8-10, so afterwards I showered and headed to bed.
Today also marks the 6 year anniversary of my dear friend Molly's passing. I'll always remember her smile, kindness and her passion for helping those around her.
Jacob came to borrow a suitcase from me. In late August they'll be moving out of their guesthouse and to Eastern's headquarters to live until they can find a new guesthouse. So, while most of the stuff can be put in boxes, he wanted an extra suitcase for his summer clothes. Luckily for him, I had an extra suitcase given to me by my friend last year so he could borrow that. We took a taxi over to his guesthouse and did some travel research. Then we took a walk-it started sprinkling a little, but it felt nice-the rain really cooled things off. After our walk we went to dinner at the kimbap shop. I got omurice (fried rice with an omelet wrapped around it) but then I felt silly because my breakfast sandwich had eggs--two servings of eggs in one day! We changed and headed to soccer. By then, it had started raining a little bit more and was getting warmer.
We had a decent turnout this week-there were 15 I think; we had two teams of 6 with 3 subs. It was fun to play in the rain, but by the end I was soaked! Soccer was later- from 8-10, so afterwards I showered and headed to bed.
Today also marks the 6 year anniversary of my dear friend Molly's passing. I'll always remember her smile, kindness and her passion for helping those around her.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Movie, Falafel and BBQ Chicken
Jacob and I met in Hapjeong to see "Guardians of the Galaxy". It was a good movie and I really enjoyed it. After the movie, we walked to Hongdae. We noticed the wind had picked up and the sky was kind of dark. It just felt like rain was in the air. We made it to the falafel restaurant for our late lunch and saw it sprinkle just a little bit while we ate. By the time we were finished it had gotten sunny again in some spots and the rain was done. I had seen a cafe that had "dutch baby" dessert and wanted to try it because the ad outside looked so good! We went into the cafe and looked at the menu--the dessert was so expensive! The plain one was 10,000W and the most expensive one was 15,000W! We agreed that we'd split the cost and went to order. After placing an order for the chocolate one, the cashier asks what do we want to drink. We said nothing, just the dessert and she said that we couldn't-we had to order a beverage too. So, we walked out. It's a bit ridiculous to pay 10-15,000W for a dessert plus 5,000W+ for just ONE beverage (I'm sure each person would have been required to order as well). What a shame because the dessert looked so good.
We took the subway back to my place and hung out. I made BBQ chicken for dinner, except this time instead of doing sandwiches, we had it over rice with a salad. It was really delicious. I also had bought some pepper jack cheese so we grated that over the dish and it was a nice touch. I sauteed peppers and onions to add and our rice bowls were complete! After dinner I made some cookies.
We took the subway back to my place and hung out. I made BBQ chicken for dinner, except this time instead of doing sandwiches, we had it over rice with a salad. It was really delicious. I also had bought some pepper jack cheese so we grated that over the dish and it was a nice touch. I sauteed peppers and onions to add and our rice bowls were complete! After dinner I made some cookies.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Hot Friday
Camp was easy today. The first two periods I did review with my 4. Then, we had the 3rd and 4th graders come join us in the English room. We had a pizza party and watched Mulan. I was actually pretty lucky-when Troy gave me the movie Despicable Me, he asked if I wanted anything else. I said that we were just watching one movie so that should be fine. He asked Jacob if he wanted Mulan and Jacob said, "of course!" So, Troy put that movie on too. At school, the players we have to use subtitles couldn't pull up anything for the Despicable Me movie; I had started to go into panic mode and asked my COT to try the Mulan movie. And, voila, Mulan worked. Though, as an afterthought, I think it would have been better to have the movie in Korean and with English subtitles. I think the movie went too fast for them and it was difficult for them to read the Korean and fully catch everything.
After the movie, the kids went home and I stayed doing work. My COT informed me their level was quite low so I added a few activities to hopefully make things go better next week when I have them.
I came home and was given one of the leftover pizzas we had. I did some work around the house and got groceries. I putzed and around and was lazy until Jacob left work. I made a salad to go with our pizza and dinner was ready. After dinner we went to Emart to fill up water bottles and then went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I saw one of my 4th grade students there. When we left I waved and said hi. It was really cute because when I said hi, her mom started talking to me in Korean (all I could understand was something along the lines that my student wanted to say hi) and in Korean the girl said, "mooo-oooo-m! They can't understand youuu!!!" Haha! The mom made an "oh that's right face" and smiled and waved.
After the movie, the kids went home and I stayed doing work. My COT informed me their level was quite low so I added a few activities to hopefully make things go better next week when I have them.
I came home and was given one of the leftover pizzas we had. I did some work around the house and got groceries. I putzed and around and was lazy until Jacob left work. I made a salad to go with our pizza and dinner was ready. After dinner we went to Emart to fill up water bottles and then went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I saw one of my 4th grade students there. When we left I waved and said hi. It was really cute because when I said hi, her mom started talking to me in Korean (all I could understand was something along the lines that my student wanted to say hi) and in Korean the girl said, "mooo-oooo-m! They can't understand youuu!!!" Haha! The mom made an "oh that's right face" and smiled and waved.
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