My First and Second Graders

My last class of every week is with a group of giggly, bright-eyed, good natured first and second graders.  Technically there's like 20-some kids I'm supposed to be working with, but most of them just run around the back of the room.  For the sake of my sanity, I resigned myself early on to just teaching the ones who wanted to learn.  And man, is it fun!  These girls are almost always a pick-me-up, no matter how tedious or frustrating my day has been.  I thought first and second grade would be the hardest, but when you just focus on the ones that are excited to learn, there's nothing but excitement and lots (and lots, and lots, and lots) of happy energy in the room. 

Today, among other things, I taught them how to make the fishy face. 

It was a riot!



My favorite part of class had to be right at the end of the hour.  I was explaining to them that this would be our last English class together (using my phone translator app, lots of hand gestures, and plenty of Konglish), when one of the girls asked to use my translator.  At first they were clarifying what I had said.  And they asked if I could stop by on my last day to pick up a card they were going to make for me.  The last thing one of the little girls translated is what you see on the left: "I love you, too."  So sweet!  They sure know how to turn a rough day around!  And then, of course, they found me at lunch time.  Gina and I spent some time outside on the school yard after finishing our lunch, and they swarmed us.  :)  One of the little rug rats and I are playing a hand game I taught them that I used to play in elementary school.  They like to play it as a reward when they finish their work early.





Ansan Air Show

Oshkosh Experiemental Aircraft Associatin Airshow (EAA) :                                     One day ticket: ~$50

Ansan Air Show:                                                                                                    One day ticket: ~$4

Wow!  I was shocked to find that a day pass to the airshow here in town was soooooo cheap!  My friend Yoonjee (who I shared a dorm with for one semester in college) and her Italian boyfriend invited me along.  Yoonjee's been looking for an excuse to come visit me in Ansan, and this seemed the perfect opportunity!

Beside the price, lack of international people, and smaller scale of the event, there were many similarities to the airshow I'm accustomed to back home.  First, there was the exciting music, the announcer revving up the crowd, fleets of fighter jets tearing through the sky and deafening our ears, parachuters jumping from planes, and single planes twirling and spiraling, looping, and soaring. 

What surprised me the most was that I got a tear in my eye as the first plane twirled about.  Not a typical reaction while watching a stunt plane, but I guess it just reminded me of home. 

Yoonjee and I

 A special touch - the Korean flag, drawn in smoke.

Shopping in Myeongdong

Since we couldn't get inside the War Museum, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon shopping.  Soo and Sheryl decided that I needed some "back to school"/"new school" clothes, which I happily went along with!  Usually, it takes me forever, I try on way to many things, and I come out nearly empty-handed and rather frustrated.   Not the case today.  We were all happy shoppers, and I made out like a bandit!  Yay for sales, adorable clothes, and power shopping!

On our way to Forever 21 (four stories tall here!!!), we came across a rather lively parade, and saw this picturesque alleyway. 

Grandfather Statues

Multicultural Parade

Korean War Museum

On Tuesday, Soo, Jacob, and his parents and I visited Korea's National War Museum.  Unfortunately the interior of the museum was closed.  Who would have thought that the museum would be open on two holidays, but closed on the day in between?!  Either way, there were plenty of sights to see on the outer grounds that kept us busy for a while.  There was a lot of military vehicles from the US, along with many other countries.  The tanks and airplanes I am next to are from the Grand 'Ole U.S. of A.  The tanks were much smaller inside than I would have imagined!  I wonder if the modern ones that are used today are as cramped.

Here are some more shots of the military equipment.  There was A LOT there!

USA Air Boat

North Korea - Semi Submarine

The picture below is of a plaque honoring all of the fallen soldiers from various countries who were killed in action while defending South Korea.  The United States had over 33,00 casualties listed.  To put that in perspective, the total casualties listed numbered just over 37,000. 

This was plastered above the names of the fallen US soldiers:

"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."  (Source: The Monument of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.)

Suwon Fortress

Since I didn't have to go to work on Monday, I spent the morning playing tour guide forJacob's mom.  We went to the city of Suwon, about one hour away on the subway.  The city is apparently a big tourist attraction, as it has a lot of history.  A fortress wall runs along the perimeter of the city.  The bustling population has spilled out of the wall, so it doesn't exactly encompass the city anymore, but that was the original idea.  There are four different gates that you can enter through - this one being the most impressive.

As majestic as the fortress wall was, I think I was most impressed by what we found inside...  Here you will see a mock up of one of the rooms the king used to hang out in.  The picture on the left, however, requires a little more explanation.  You see, Sheryl (Jacob's mom) and I had to use the ladies room.  As a reward for having to wait in line, we had a beautiful view!  That's right.  The toilet stall was arranged in a way that you were facing the back wall, or window.  This window looked out into a shallow bamboo garden!  It was so tranquil and pretty.  Not at all what I expected, given all other public bathroom experiences I've had in this country.  Public bathrooms (or private, for that matter), are NOT Korea's specialty!  This one was a nice surprise.

Inside the Suwon Temple - where the king used to hang out.



Lastly, on our way out of the palace area, and towards the end of our tour through the city, we found a beautiful wildflower field.  Seldom do you see such beautiful and natural landscaping in the middle of the city.

 

Chuseok Celebration II

At the end of the day, we sprayed off with a garden hose and hung up our muddy clothes.  My socks took a bout a bagillion rinses before they were even close to clean enough to run through my washing machine.  You see, I didn't have any boots to wear out in the mud, so I was told that the next best thing was thick socks.  They helped protect my feet (somewhat) from the rocks and shells.



I had to snap a couple photos of the acorns Jin's mom was collecting.  She was off in the woods nearby for most of the afternoon collecting these.  After she collects them, she brings them to a grinder who turns them into powder.  From there, she makes them into a sort of paste and makes a popular korean dish called "Acorn Jelly," although it's texture is more similar to that of jello.  It doesn't taste like much on its own, but is fun to eat when seasoned with sesame seeds and soy sauce.

The view on our ferry ride out was magnificent!

Chuseok Adventures

Our Ferry

For Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), I went with my recruiter, his wife, and our friend Soo, to an island in Incheon to visit his family.  Traditionally, families all meet together in their home towns to celebrate their ancestors and have traditional ceremonies (a form of ancestor worship).  My recruiter's family is Christian, however, so they don't spend Chuseok in the traditional way.  This year, they rented a "pension" - aka a cottage - on an island.  The house is situated right on the waterfront, so we had easy access to the...mud.  This wasn't a sandy beachfront by any means, but more or less a mudflat in the middle of the day when the tide was out.  This made for an incredibly fun afternoon, though, as we got our feet wet (and muddy!!!), and caught crabs, fish, and shrimp.  Unfortunately, my car full of people had to leave before nightfall, when the octopus and big crabs would be out.

 We started off the afternoon right, with some kimchi jiggae (kimchi soup).  Actually, Soo informed me that this actually goes by the name of, "Military/Boot-Camp Soup" because it originated on the American army bases (either during the war or more recently, I'm not exactly sure).  The women would take what ever canned meat the soldiers had (spam, hot dogs, and  whatnot) and mix it into the traditional kimchi soup, which has a kimchi broth, some vegetables, and tofu.  This batch was pretty spicy, but I liked it!

 Here, you can see...well, no wait...you can't see my 

first catch of the day!  A very tiny, nearly microscopic crab.  I surprised myself with how squeamish I was at catching it.  I guess I'm not the little girl who used to play with bugs all afternoon anymore.  

As the tide started coming in, so did the fish!  Here is a fish I caught!  Well, a fish I picked up.  The guys had a fish net they were using, and I think this one got left behind.  I found it flopping around in the mud, so I decided to pick it up and have a mini photo shoot with it.  It surprised me by wriggling out of my hand once or twice!

All in all, it was a really great day.  Beautiful weather, fun activities, and a really comfortable, warm-hearted family.  There wasn't the usual smog covering, which was fantastic...until I realized that I got a slight sunburn on my forehead and nose.  Totally worth it though!