Summer is coming to an end, most of my kids start back to public school tomorrow. They have been in lazy summer vacation mode for 8 weeks now so I'm glad they are going to be back in the school routine. The heat is continuing here and apparently continues into September and October. I will say, Korea lacks many things compared to life in Canada, but the seasons and weather are a very nice change. Longer summers, shorter and warmer winters, but still with spring and fall which bring ideal temperatures, new flowers, and changing leaves.
My kids have not been as funny as usual, and since I have lost some kids due to our new teacher and classes being divided I have lost some of my comedians. My only laugh of the week last week was when a kid came back from vacation with a killer tan. I said to him in a slightly jealous/ slightly complimentary way "nice tan" which he took as an insult followed by the defense of saying "Teacher I have no tan, I wore sun cream." I guess this is the culture where white is seen as pure, rich, and royal, which still has my kids puzzled to why I like tans (even if my kids call me dirty skin).
Life in Gumi hasn't been over exciting lately. We have been trying to lay low and save money for September. So far we have booked a DMZ tour for the first weekend in September, and a trip to Thailand/ Cambodia from the 17th-27th. I am extremely excited for the DMZ tour which is on my Korea bucket list. I find the North Korea/ South Korean relationship very interesting, so to visit the DMZ where the two Korea's meet along the most heavily militarized boarder in the world is very exciting to me. The Thailand and Cambodia trip has no concrete plans but the beach, and Angkor Watt are on my to do list so I plan to fit both of those into my travel plans. I have many friends who are leaving between now and December, so I feel the next few months will be full of adventures. I also am on the home stretch and have many more Korean bucket list adventures to check off my own list.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The summer heat continues here in Korea, but the rain season has stopped. A few days ago it was 42 degrees with the humidity. It has been a hot and sticky summer, but it has gone by very quickly. This week brings the end to another series at work, so we will have more new students soon.
I have been doing a lot of traveling in Korea lately. I did a relaxing weekend in Ulsan which is on the south coast. A shopping weekend in Seoul with the girls. This weekend I hit up Gampo for the Moon Kkang summer beach party. It was a beautiful day for the beach and a nice chance to meet other Moon Kkang workers from other parts. Mr. Moon even made an appearance in a speedo. After the beach we headed to Gyeongju (the oldest city in Korea) for a buffet supper and back to Daegu for drinks.
July was a busy month so I think the next few weeks are going to be pretty low key. In September I have planned a trip to Busan for shark diving, and my Chuseok holiday. I am looking forward to a nice break from work, but the travel planning for Chuseok is not going as well as planned. It is a popular time for Koreans to travel so ticket prices are high. Originally I had planned on doing Thailand and Cambodia, but it looks like Japan and Thailand now. The best ticket prices are from Japan so we are looking at taking a ferry to Japan spending a couple days there and then heading to Thailand. Regardless of the travel plans a 9 day break from the kids is going to be very nice.
I have been doing a lot of traveling in Korea lately. I did a relaxing weekend in Ulsan which is on the south coast. A shopping weekend in Seoul with the girls. This weekend I hit up Gampo for the Moon Kkang summer beach party. It was a beautiful day for the beach and a nice chance to meet other Moon Kkang workers from other parts. Mr. Moon even made an appearance in a speedo. After the beach we headed to Gyeongju (the oldest city in Korea) for a buffet supper and back to Daegu for drinks.
July was a busy month so I think the next few weeks are going to be pretty low key. In September I have planned a trip to Busan for shark diving, and my Chuseok holiday. I am looking forward to a nice break from work, but the travel planning for Chuseok is not going as well as planned. It is a popular time for Koreans to travel so ticket prices are high. Originally I had planned on doing Thailand and Cambodia, but it looks like Japan and Thailand now. The best ticket prices are from Japan so we are looking at taking a ferry to Japan spending a couple days there and then heading to Thailand. Regardless of the travel plans a 9 day break from the kids is going to be very nice.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Last weekend was my island getaway. Jeju was a perfect weekend trip. Even though it is monsoon season in Korea the weather cooperated with us and we got to enjoy a weekend on the beach. The weekend was an excellent mix of Western and Korean life. I got to enjoy some home cooked Korean food and nore-bang, as well as western style breakfast and tanning on the beach. It was a nice relaxing getaway from work, and Gumi. Going to Jeju also gave me a better impression of Korea. Jeju doesn't have all the buildings and flashy signs that the main land does. Also it was so nice to breathe some fresh ocean air instead of factory smog.
This week at school has been a bit crazy. New teachers, new books, and new classes so it has been a bit of a hectic week. The new teacher finally arrived, and it is nice to have more staff in the work room and another foreigner in Gumi.
Not too much is new or exciting in Gumi. I have started yoga with some of the girls, and even though I don't understand much Korean I am really enjoying the class. In a couple weeks time Moon Kkang is planning a beach trip, so I am looking forward to that. Since we are in Gumi and most of the other teachers are in Daegu it will be a nice chance to meet some of them. Other than that I have no plans until September when I plan on going to Thailand and Cambodia. I think the rest of the summer will be dedicated to traveling in Korea. There are some coastal cities that I want to visit, as well as the DMZ. I really want to do a tour of the DMZ (boarder) but North Korea and South Korea need to ease tensions before I feel it is safe. It has been crazy how quick the summer has gone bye already, and I am feeling the need to travel while the weather is nice. Although by nice I mean hot.
This week at school has been a bit crazy. New teachers, new books, and new classes so it has been a bit of a hectic week. The new teacher finally arrived, and it is nice to have more staff in the work room and another foreigner in Gumi.
Not too much is new or exciting in Gumi. I have started yoga with some of the girls, and even though I don't understand much Korean I am really enjoying the class. In a couple weeks time Moon Kkang is planning a beach trip, so I am looking forward to that. Since we are in Gumi and most of the other teachers are in Daegu it will be a nice chance to meet some of them. Other than that I have no plans until September when I plan on going to Thailand and Cambodia. I think the rest of the summer will be dedicated to traveling in Korea. There are some coastal cities that I want to visit, as well as the DMZ. I really want to do a tour of the DMZ (boarder) but North Korea and South Korea need to ease tensions before I feel it is safe. It has been crazy how quick the summer has gone bye already, and I am feeling the need to travel while the weather is nice. Although by nice I mean hot.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Things here have been pretty quiet this week. Last Friday we got to meet our new foreign manager who seems very nice. We went out for lunch to get to know her. The weekend was low key. Friday I enjoyed supper downtown with some friends. Saturday we had a little black dress night with all the girls. Sunday is was a true "rainy season" type of day. It poured rain all day and night which made it a perfect lazy Sunday.
This weeks highlight in teaching ESL came early in the week while talking about what your favorite foods are. As I mentioned before Asians have trouble with the letter B. P. R. and L. They often mix up B and P, or R and L. I started one of my younger classes off with the opening question "What is your favorite food?" as going around many responses were "My favorite food is crap" and "My favorite food is lice" also known as crab and rice. Teaching ESL can be very annoying, and tiring, but it also comes with some good laughs.
I'm off to Jeju Island on Friday! I'm excited for a long weekend in the sun. I'm sure I will be nice and "dirty" (tanned) when I return.
This weeks highlight in teaching ESL came early in the week while talking about what your favorite foods are. As I mentioned before Asians have trouble with the letter B. P. R. and L. They often mix up B and P, or R and L. I started one of my younger classes off with the opening question "What is your favorite food?" as going around many responses were "My favorite food is crap" and "My favorite food is lice" also known as crab and rice. Teaching ESL can be very annoying, and tiring, but it also comes with some good laughs.
I'm off to Jeju Island on Friday! I'm excited for a long weekend in the sun. I'm sure I will be nice and "dirty" (tanned) when I return.
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