It feels as though the weeks are just passing by so quickly! I have been in Korea for just over a month now. Crazy how time flies by!
Classes are going well. On Thursday, the homeroom teachers were present during my classes as requested. I've noticed that it helps to have a Korean adult present in the room (especially male) to help with classroom management as I don't understand much of what the students are saying in Korean. For the first time I was able to actually teach my full lesson instead of concentrating on classroom management and discipline. On another note, I've mentioned it before, but it sure is different being on the other side of the table as a teacher. All those times where I had "excessive talking" or any other "bad" behavior in class, I can understand now as a teacher. I used to be that student that talked all the time! However, some students here are far beyond just "excessive talking" sooooo I was definitely a good student most times.
On Saturday I visited Hallim Park and Hyeopjae Beach which is located on the north west side of the island. Hallim park was really pretty! There were various types of gardens, animals, and caves. The bonsai trees were pretty neat. Some of them a couple hundred years old! I find it interesting to walk through the caves as well and see gigantic lily pads! Jason, Amy, and I also tried some cactus and rosemary ice cream. Both were great, but the rosemary was much better! I wasn't a big fan of the animals portion. There were different types of birds such as peacocks, ostriches, turkey, and smaller birds. Most of the birds seemed to be within some sort of closed off area but there were quite a few birds on the loose. This was rather interesting and reminded me of Jurassic Park/World. While walking along, you never know what is going to pop out from behind the bushes in front of you. Jason responded well to this by stating that the park must allow certain birds out of their cages when they showcase good behavior. haha!!! Ostrich on the run anyone? hah!
Hyeopjae Beach is absolutely beautiful! By far my favorite beach! The water seemed crystal clear yet had such a nice blue color, nice white sand, green shrubbery, and black volcanic rock along the coast and water providing such a lovely contrast of colors. I would for sure come back to this beach but seeing Hallim Park once was enough.
In the evening we went out for such a nice dinner! Perhaps a dinner once a week would be nice. I believe we were eating bulgogi which is a thin sliced marinated grilled beef. We ate so much! The price is 15,000won each and you get all these side dishes, some makkoli (Korean rice wine), and a good amount of meat.
On Sunday we ventured off to Seogwipo by bus which took about an hour and half. We arrived at Wonang Pokpo Waterfalls which ended up being a bit of a hike. While the waterfall was really pretty, I admit I wasnt too impressed. Many folks had really talked the waterfall up so perhaps I was expecting more. There were massive rocks you had to carefully crawl around on and make sure that you don't slip. The swimming hole was rather small and absolutely freezing! Freezing to the point where your body will turn red. Needless to say I didn't jump in. Anyways, I'm not too keen on crawling around on rocks where I can possibly injure myself and I'd rather take a nice swim in the sun sooooo this waterfall is not on my list to go back to again either. After the waterfalls, a few of us walked downtown Seogwipo which was nice! We ate some pork mix at a nice restaurant for 7,000won each. We also walked through a market that may have had a bit cheaper prices than Dongmun Market. On Sunday I baked mackerel fish with some of my neighbors in my new oven! It was 3 big fish for 10,000won. We marinated them overnight in onion, garlic, lemon, and some seasoning. The fish turned out great I just need to learn how to better use my oven.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I taught at Sinchon Elementary which is my main school (sorry if I repeat myself throughout my blog). I can really see a divide from 3rd and 4th from 5th and 6th. Perhaps since the older students are about to "graduate" from Elementary school and about to hit their teens. I'm finding it much easier to get the younger ones interested and involved versus the older ones. I'm proud of my stamp sheet system as it seems to be working well. I enjoy seeing the kids get excited over it (its the little things that matter right?!). I was a bit let down to find out that a few students had already lost their sheets this week. -_- YOU HAD ONE JOB! haha! I'll give them a new sheet but they will have to make up their lost stamps. On Tuesday I worked with the after school TALK teacher making volcanos with the 5th and 6th graders! This was simple and fun. The TALK program is similar to the EPIK program except there seems to be a longer orientation, less hours worked per week but less pay, and more freedom with the curriculum since they teach after school. Many of the after school programs are elective classes that the parents have their children attend instead of a Hagwon (or perhaps both). I think its a great program since its a free elective for the students to learn more English in a fun way. After making volcanos, I went with the TALK teacher, Cat, to hike Sarabong Peak and explore the park a bit. What a lovely park and its right by my apartment! There were a few big bunnies out that seemed to be the size of my nephew Winks!
This little dude was just chilling on the steps. He was pretty big!
This weekend is Chuseok in Korea which is similar to our Thanksgiving back in the states. After my lessons on Thursday and Friday I have a short presentation and game on American Thanksgiving and Chuseok. I'd like to learn what the students do for Chuseok so I will report back in my next blog. I am flying out this Friday evening for Daegu Korea!! My first trip here to the mainland! I'm super excited yet pretty nervous since I'm headed their alone. I will be meeting with my friend Brandon who I met at orientation. We will visit Daegu and his town just north of Daegu called Mungyeong. I'm looking forward to a nice weekend and seeing a different part of Korea! Of course, I'll update you on my travels in my next post! Send me letters! I will start writing letters this week and mailing them off when I get time to head to the post office. Once I figure out how mailing packages works at the post office, I'll send goodies to my readers and anyone who mails me love letters or packages of course! I suppose I'm a bit old fashioned in the sense that I enjoy receiving and sending letters. Also, its nice to have something other than crappy bills in the mail! As always, thanks for reading :)
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