Work went well. The first two 5th grade classes were surprisingly well behaved. They were a little loud, but did their work and settled down quickly. The first class finished early so as a treat I played "Let it Go" from "Frozen" for them. For some reason 3rd and 4th period subject classes were cancelled, but only if the homeroom teacher wanted to cancel them. As it turns out, our 3rd period homeroom teacher wanted to cancel, but the 4th wanted to have class. So I had a nice break in the morning.
After lunch, I jetted out to head to Yongsan Station. Jacob went to the doctors in the morning with his guesthouse manager to get his ankle checked out. Turns out the doctor thinks the Achilles has a minor tear. He got a crutch, ankle brace, medicine and an ice pack thing to wear. We met at Yongsan and got our tickets and found our train. I was so happy I finally had a leisurely time getting to the train and wasn't rushed or crazy.
Jacob and I settled in for a little over 3 hour train ride. We both dozed for a bit and talked on the way down. As it turns out, the guesthouse we booked was directly across from the station which was really nice. There was no one else staying there, so we had a dormitory room all to ourselves. We took a short rest and then went to look for dinner. I was a bit concerned about Jacob walking much, but he said he wanted to stretch his legs and we just took it slow. We ended up going to a kimbap restaurant and ordering ramen and kimbap. After dinner, we got some bread and a snack for the evening. At the guesthouse we just watched tv. Ji called and said he wanted to meet us but they had to have dinner with Yeojin's family first. I figured it wouldn't work out--besides, the night before getting married he should be hanging out with us?! Anyway, I think it was best we took it easy with Jacob's ankle.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Another Disappointing Soccer Match
Work went fine. The bad 5th grade class actually did really well in the activity I planned. It was a pleasant surprise. In the afternoon I did planning because tomorrow I will be leaving work early again.
I came home and took a short break before meeting Jacob at my subway station for soccer. We got to the stadium and warmed up a little. They asked us to join in the 6pm game, so we helped out for the second half. Then our game--the team we were playing at first only had 1 member of the original team. Maybe 10 minutes later another member showed up, but they got several good players to help them. We started out really well-Jacob made 2 quick goals. Also, Nicolaj was there and he hadn't come for awhile. Then they scored two goals too. We got a third in before the first half ended. The second half we fell apart because we had most of our weaker players together and they scored 2 more. The ref was really bad and made some bizarre calls resulting in a free PK for the other team that they made, now pushing the score 3-4. Right after, Jacob made a goal and it was 4-4. Then they made one more so we lost 4-5.
After the game, Jacob was limping a bit and said that the girl on their team stepped on his Achilles and he was in a bit of pain. We went to the bibimbap place for dinner and he got the bulgogi hot bibimbap and I got rice cake in soy sauce. Both were really good.
I came home and took a short break before meeting Jacob at my subway station for soccer. We got to the stadium and warmed up a little. They asked us to join in the 6pm game, so we helped out for the second half. Then our game--the team we were playing at first only had 1 member of the original team. Maybe 10 minutes later another member showed up, but they got several good players to help them. We started out really well-Jacob made 2 quick goals. Also, Nicolaj was there and he hadn't come for awhile. Then they scored two goals too. We got a third in before the first half ended. The second half we fell apart because we had most of our weaker players together and they scored 2 more. The ref was really bad and made some bizarre calls resulting in a free PK for the other team that they made, now pushing the score 3-4. Right after, Jacob made a goal and it was 4-4. Then they made one more so we lost 4-5.
After the game, Jacob was limping a bit and said that the girl on their team stepped on his Achilles and he was in a bit of pain. We went to the bibimbap place for dinner and he got the bulgogi hot bibimbap and I got rice cake in soy sauce. Both were really good.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Middle of the Week!
Wednesdays are generally pretty easy for me at the moment. I just support my 4th grade COT as needed for the lessons she prepared.
When work was done, I met Jacob in Sangsu. We hung out for a bit before meeting up with Bora. Since we were both a little hungry, we went to Gusto Taco and split a burrito. Then we met with Bora and they went to get acupuncture. Jacob's shoulder has been bothering him for awhile and Bora had suggested acupuncture-she wanted to go too. He decided he'd take her up on her offer. The place Bora normally goes to is near her home so she found one in Hongdae. I went along for moral support, but just stood in the ranks. I don't think I need acupuncture for anything at the moment, and I'm okay without needles! I took a picture of Jacob getting the electric massage, but didn't hear him call me when he had the needles on his back.
When we finished, Bora went home. Jacob and I went to get some soup for dinner. Afterwards, we wanted to get some hoddeok (the sweet fried pancake), but the usual stall we go to didn't have any. So we kept looking for another one. We couldn't find one and were wondering what to do when I remembered there is a Brazilian "snack bar" we wanted to try. So we walked to the restaurant called "Hi Pastel" and went in. We ordered 2 pastels and 2 coxhinas. They were both like fried dumplings with veggies and meat inside. There was no one else in there, so the women working talked with us a little. When we got our food, we also had a salad, so we assumed they gave us "service". However, when we went to pay our bill, they had charged us for a salad. :(
When work was done, I met Jacob in Sangsu. We hung out for a bit before meeting up with Bora. Since we were both a little hungry, we went to Gusto Taco and split a burrito. Then we met with Bora and they went to get acupuncture. Jacob's shoulder has been bothering him for awhile and Bora had suggested acupuncture-she wanted to go too. He decided he'd take her up on her offer. The place Bora normally goes to is near her home so she found one in Hongdae. I went along for moral support, but just stood in the ranks. I don't think I need acupuncture for anything at the moment, and I'm okay without needles! I took a picture of Jacob getting the electric massage, but didn't hear him call me when he had the needles on his back.
When we finished, Bora went home. Jacob and I went to get some soup for dinner. Afterwards, we wanted to get some hoddeok (the sweet fried pancake), but the usual stall we go to didn't have any. So we kept looking for another one. We couldn't find one and were wondering what to do when I remembered there is a Brazilian "snack bar" we wanted to try. So we walked to the restaurant called "Hi Pastel" and went in. We ordered 2 pastels and 2 coxhinas. They were both like fried dumplings with veggies and meat inside. There was no one else in there, so the women working talked with us a little. When we got our food, we also had a salad, so we assumed they gave us "service". However, when we went to pay our bill, they had charged us for a salad. :(
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| Jacob hooked up to the electric massage machine |
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| At Hi Pastel |
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| Ready to try our new snacks! |
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| Character socks from Jacob |
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Another Long Tuesday
What a long day. The first 5th grade class today had one student that really pushed my buttons. Every time I looked at him he was goofing off, bothering other students, talking and being a general disturbance. His voice is quite loud so it is especially burdensome. I had him stay after class so I could talk with him about paying attention more.
When our final class was over it was hard to feel motivated to do much work. I did a little bit of planning and my COT worked on preparing the schedule and information for summer camp because it's due next week! Summer camp?! It's 4 months away! Ick.
After work, I got a few groceries and came back to start on dinner. Jacob came over after he finished at his centers and we had a casserole. It had bread with cream cheese on the bottom and it was topped with beef, tomato sauce and veggies. It was really good. Jacob left right after dinner because he had a headache.
When our final class was over it was hard to feel motivated to do much work. I did a little bit of planning and my COT worked on preparing the schedule and information for summer camp because it's due next week! Summer camp?! It's 4 months away! Ick.
After work, I got a few groceries and came back to start on dinner. Jacob came over after he finished at his centers and we had a casserole. It had bread with cream cheese on the bottom and it was topped with beef, tomato sauce and veggies. It was really good. Jacob left right after dinner because he had a headache.
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| Jacob with the casserole |
Monday, March 31, 2014
Birthday Day!
So many important birthdays on March 31st! Mom, Jacob and Emily! There are a few other friends/acquaintances from high school as well that share the same birthday.
In the free period we have Monday mornings, my 6th grade COT and I went to the English Room to try and arrange the desks differently. First we tried making a "double horseshoe" but there wasn't quite enough room. Instead we just made rows. I think it worked out better than having the students in groups. It's a bit more difficult for them to chat with each other. The only problem is that we have to move the desks back into groups for the after school program, but they will put them back into rows for us when they finish at the end of their session. Anyway, the lesson for today was to create a writing piece about their favorite season and why. I felt really bad for the first class because we did an activity I had planned and then they ran out of time to do the writing part, thus resulting in homework for them. The second class and all other classes following I cut out that activity and almost everyone was able to finish and not have homework. Poor guinea pig class.
After the final period I jetted out. As a surprise for Jacob's birthday, I took a few vacation hours to leave work early. I went to Hongdae to meet him, except apparently I was being too inquisitive and made him suspicious. He figured I was in the area and wasn't too surprised when I showed up at the cafe he was in. We stayed there for a little and then went back to "Goom Steak" for dinner. We both ordered the steak bibimbap. It was really good. After dinner, we came back to my place for oreo cheesecakes. On the way, I grabbed some strawberries from someone selling them on the street. We had dessert and then he opened cards and my present. He really liked the spring jacket-the size was right and he liked the colors too.
When he left, I skyped with my Mom and got to wish her a happy birthday too. :)
In the free period we have Monday mornings, my 6th grade COT and I went to the English Room to try and arrange the desks differently. First we tried making a "double horseshoe" but there wasn't quite enough room. Instead we just made rows. I think it worked out better than having the students in groups. It's a bit more difficult for them to chat with each other. The only problem is that we have to move the desks back into groups for the after school program, but they will put them back into rows for us when they finish at the end of their session. Anyway, the lesson for today was to create a writing piece about their favorite season and why. I felt really bad for the first class because we did an activity I had planned and then they ran out of time to do the writing part, thus resulting in homework for them. The second class and all other classes following I cut out that activity and almost everyone was able to finish and not have homework. Poor guinea pig class.
After the final period I jetted out. As a surprise for Jacob's birthday, I took a few vacation hours to leave work early. I went to Hongdae to meet him, except apparently I was being too inquisitive and made him suspicious. He figured I was in the area and wasn't too surprised when I showed up at the cafe he was in. We stayed there for a little and then went back to "Goom Steak" for dinner. We both ordered the steak bibimbap. It was really good. After dinner, we came back to my place for oreo cheesecakes. On the way, I grabbed some strawberries from someone selling them on the street. We had dessert and then he opened cards and my present. He really liked the spring jacket-the size was right and he liked the colors too.
When he left, I skyped with my Mom and got to wish her a happy birthday too. :)
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| Surprise! |
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| Walking around Sangsu |
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| Enjoying the pretty blossoms |
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| Bibimbap, pre-mixing |
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| After mixing and adding spicy sauce |
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| Jacob mixing |
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| In the subway |
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| Birthday Oreo Cheesecakes and strawberries |
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| In his new spring jacket! |
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Soccer and Church
Jacob came over for brunch and we finished the chicken stew from last night. I did some "spring cleaning" and got my room tidied up quite nicely. I also put away my winter jackets! :)
Then it was off to soccer. It was much warmer at Yongsan than in my area and felt good. Although once we got to the roof where our field is, it was a bit cooler, windier and a bit shaded. It was perfect playing weather. We actually didn't have that many people show up which really surprised me. Luckily the high schoolers that Eirik knows came. We played 6 on 6, with one of our guys joining the high schoolers.
After soccer, Jacob and I grabbed a bus to Sinchon for church. We managed to catch the earlier bus (normally we miss it by a traffic light and sadly watch it pass us as we wait to cross the road) and got there a little bit earlier. We went to Tom n Toms for a pretzel and to change before church. We had a Korean priest do mass. He was a missionary in Cambodia for 6 years!
When church was over, we went to our favorite samgypsal restaurant for BBQ. It hit the spot.
Then it was off to soccer. It was much warmer at Yongsan than in my area and felt good. Although once we got to the roof where our field is, it was a bit cooler, windier and a bit shaded. It was perfect playing weather. We actually didn't have that many people show up which really surprised me. Luckily the high schoolers that Eirik knows came. We played 6 on 6, with one of our guys joining the high schoolers.
After soccer, Jacob and I grabbed a bus to Sinchon for church. We managed to catch the earlier bus (normally we miss it by a traffic light and sadly watch it pass us as we wait to cross the road) and got there a little bit earlier. We went to Tom n Toms for a pretzel and to change before church. We had a Korean priest do mass. He was a missionary in Cambodia for 6 years!
When church was over, we went to our favorite samgypsal restaurant for BBQ. It hit the spot.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Full, but Fun Day
The day started out with me making mini oreo cheesecakes for Jacob's birthday. I don't have cupcake tins so the cupcakes were a bit misshaped, but it didn't affect the taste at all. I packaged some up to share with our mentees and Kasey. Jacob and I met up and had lunch in Myeongdong at School Food (the "upscale kimbap" restaurant we went to with Hwa Sun, my "big sis"). We ordered a ham and egg kimbap, carbonara ddeokboki (rice cakes) and fried mandu. After lunch we walked around and went to a cafe to relax. Jacob took a power nap and then we took another walk before meeting up with our mentees and Kasey.
Since our official InKAS mentoring program has ended, Eric let us know that we had money left over from our generous donators. Instead of trying to organize a big group event, he split the money to the individual pairs to do an activity on our own. Kasey, Jacob and I decided we'd pool our money since our 3 mentees are siblings and we would be doing activities together. Anyway, Jacob arranged to get the movie tickets for us to see Captain America 2. We didn't realize the Mom wanted to go to the movie with us and she bought her own ticket, however her eldest son was able to get some discounts for her and her ticket was only 2 or 3,000W! The movie was pretty good, but maybe a little bit too intense for my mentee, though she was the one who really wanted to see it. I also felt bad because it was in English with Korean subtitles, so it was probably really burdensome to have to read all the dialog for her. The movie was a little long and it was around 8pm when it was finally over. We decided we'd have dinner together. We got jjimdak, the chicken stew. It was a little bit spicy and the Mom ordered 2 large sized plates for us. It was so much food, considering a large feeds 3-4 and the two little ones hardly eat at all. She asked them to package it up for us so we were able to bring the leftovers home with us. After dinner we walked to the subway and said our goodbyes.
Since our official InKAS mentoring program has ended, Eric let us know that we had money left over from our generous donators. Instead of trying to organize a big group event, he split the money to the individual pairs to do an activity on our own. Kasey, Jacob and I decided we'd pool our money since our 3 mentees are siblings and we would be doing activities together. Anyway, Jacob arranged to get the movie tickets for us to see Captain America 2. We didn't realize the Mom wanted to go to the movie with us and she bought her own ticket, however her eldest son was able to get some discounts for her and her ticket was only 2 or 3,000W! The movie was pretty good, but maybe a little bit too intense for my mentee, though she was the one who really wanted to see it. I also felt bad because it was in English with Korean subtitles, so it was probably really burdensome to have to read all the dialog for her. The movie was a little long and it was around 8pm when it was finally over. We decided we'd have dinner together. We got jjimdak, the chicken stew. It was a little bit spicy and the Mom ordered 2 large sized plates for us. It was so much food, considering a large feeds 3-4 and the two little ones hardly eat at all. She asked them to package it up for us so we were able to bring the leftovers home with us. After dinner we walked to the subway and said our goodbyes.
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| Oreo Cheesecakes! |
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| Yummy lunch |
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| Outside of the restaurant |
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| Outside the restaurant |
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| Jacob, Kasey, Yoon Gyeong and the Mom |
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