More memories

Here are a few more things that the kids have said/done that I would like to share/remember.

Today, in my 6 year old Elephant class, Julie ripped a button off her shirt and she didn't want to give it to me, so I told her to put it in her pocket and then I forgot about it. Then 35 seconds later, I hear TEACHER!! ffff ffff, and I look and shes desperately trying to blow the button out of her nose. She had to go to the hospital to get it removed. That was pretty awesome.

When Rex, from Robot sings the alphabet, it goes a little something like this. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-and Z, now I know my ABC J-K-L-O-P!

Mudfest was this weekend. I was not sure about going because it pour all day Friday and was forecasted to do the same all weekend, but SaraBrown came here Friday night and cooked me dinner and convinced me to go. I'm very glad I went. It was very much fun. We took a two hour train to Daecheon on Saturday morning and went and dropped stuff off at the hotel and then hit the mud. There were 8 of us. It was rainy and not hot so much, but not too bad. We got some supplies (liters of beer) and went off. It was not what I was expecting at all. Here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boryeong_Mud_Festival ,you can see what this is technically all about. Here, I'll share my insights. They converted a large parking lot area to mudfest but bringing in huge inflatable pools and slides and filling them with mud. These had long lines. Not my scene. So we wandered around a little, getting random handprints on us and just watching and judging people. Then we happened upon a mud sculpting contest that had been converted into a giant mudfight. Here, we got covered head to toe in mud. It was entertaining until people started throwing gobs of mud really hard and after getting hit in the face a few too many times, I was over that scene. As it turned out, I also had to pee. So I talked SaraBrown into an ocean run. Big mistake. The ocean was amazing and we spent about 5 hours in there. Completely forgot about the mud, eating, and the fact that I was in charge of the bag containing everyone's money, phones, and cameras. Luckily, I made the executive decision to drop it all off in a locker, and not take it in the ocean. It was so fun. The waves were great. We talked to new people, we found a wallet which we gave to a Korean wearing a whistle. Still assuming he was a lifeguard. We eventually met back up in the hotel, showered, changed, and went to dinner. Then we wandered around the board walk for a while and called it a night. We had two hotel rooms. They had a tv, fridge, AC, little kitchen, bathroom, and weird. No beds. But they did have blankets and pillows. The rooms more than comfortably fit four people. We woke up Sunday to a beautiful day! So SaraBrown and I packed up and told the hungover crew that we were doing the beach and would meet up in time to catch a taxi to the station. We hung out on the beach for a few hours and of course got burnt. Then we came home. All in all a great weekend. I'm very glad I went and I am planning on going back to that beach in August. The waves were excellent. I did not even take my camera on this trip. I felt like it would not be a responsible decision. I'm pretty sad that I don't have any pictures, but I at least have my camera.

Just trying to keep on trucking for 7 more work days. We leave for Jeju-do next Wednesday night after work and I'm very excited.

It's fair week now! I cannot believe that it's so late in July. I'm not sure how that happened, but it did. When I get back from vacation, I will have been here for 7 months. 7 more to go! Oh heyoo! Halfway!

Memorable Moments

Some things that the kids have said lately that I want to share/remember.
*Cindy-"Teacher, take your head down"
Me-"Take my hair down?" C-"No. You head down."
M-"I don't understand"
C-"You head, take off. Me hit. BOOM! Candy come out"
M-" I'm not a pinata! You're crazy!"
C-"Hee hee. Candy delicious! Katie Teacher is crazy!
(Cindy is 7 and in King class.)
*Sunny-Hug!
I give him a hug. He clamps on to my neck. I stand up, he hangs.
M-Monkey Child!
S-"Hahaha MOUTH!"
Sunny starts kissing me.M-"No kissing!"S- "hahahahahahaha"(Sunny is 5 and in Puppy class.)
Sunny.

This Wednesday we had an all day field trip with the Kinders. We went to Summer Camp. An establishment of sorts that apparently hosts hagwans (Private English Schools) for summer camp. We got there and there were helpers which worked out nicely. They took us to the bottom of a hill and the kids ran around playing with bubbles for a while. Then they colored some badges. Then we went to lunch. Next we went swimming. There were two pools. One had about a foot of water in it. This was where the younger kids played. The other pool had about two feet of water. This is where Katie Teacher played with the older kids. It was really fun, but exhausting. I think we were in for about 45 minutes. Luckily Sophia, Jason, and I brought towels, because noone else did. My towel was soaked by the time I got out of the pool, which was nice. After the pool, we went back to the hill and ran up it and then the teachers pushed the kids down it on inner tubes. After each kid went twice, the teachers got to go. It was really really fun. Then the kids played on an inflatable water slide and then we changed them, gave them snacks and came home. We got back to school at 5ish, so it was an entire day. Very very fun, very very exhausting. The poor kids konked out on the bus and could not wake up when we got home. So cute. So tired. Then we had a staff dinner and we went to a soup place and ate chicken soup. Chicken soup is a summer food that you eat after a day in the water for good health. It was delicious.

The hill.

Alex 2 is not going to be at school for a month because a T.V. fell on his foot and he's broken. Poor little guy. I feel bad for him.

Next weekend we are going to mudfest. My understanding is that a bunch of white people go and play in the mud and consume large quantities of Mcju and Soju. (alcohol) Google mudfest. I think its a big deal. I'm sure I'll tell you all about it.

I'm reading the Tarzan books on my Kindle. There are eight of them. I'm enjoying them, although I have been having weird dreams about gorillas that are my friends, like there is a Kyle Gorilla and a Jess Gorilla. Strange. Anyway, these books, pretty good, although extremely racist. Extremely.

It sounds like the party at the farm was pretty fun.

Have a great July!! It's going FAST. Real fast.Me and Jason walking to work.

Kisses and misses to you all!

6 MONTHS!

I haven't been home for 6months. I haven't been in an English speaking country for 6 months. Pretty crazy. 8 to go. I'm 90 percent sure that I'm done after this year. Which means I'll be home in March, sans travel plans that are being discussed. It's a great deal here and I'm glad I'm doing it, but a year is enough. I have no idea what's next but I'm pretty sure that this is it for me. I went to the beach for my birthday. Same beach that we went to before. It was the same amount of fun. Played volleyball and shell hole. I dug a hole and buried a friend. We are in the process of solidifying our summer break plans. We thought we had it, but then our break dates changed and we have to deal with the airlines and hotels and stuff. But the plan is to spend three days in Jeju-do, which is an island off the southern point of Korea. Should be pretty and I think there's a lot to do there. Then we're going to spend 3 days in Busan, a town at the southern point of the country. There's beaches and a big city, but also other cool stuff to do. It will be a nice change of pace. I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't really done any cool Korean stuff to share with you. We had a field trip a couple weeks ago. We went to a "Playing with balls Museum". Literally called that. It was full of those marble machines and a room full of yoga balls that the kids bounced around on. It was pretty fun.

This is me carrying Chris, from King Class, out of the ball room. Chris is a huge baby and when he gets upset, he curls into the fetal position and cries and whimpers. In cases of being in a room full of balls and crazy children, this is not the most effective defensive method. Katie Teacher to the rescue.
This is just a shot of the ball room. And King class and Robot class. They are 7 years old. Too much fun.
This is Erin from King class and me. She's adorable. Too cute for words.



This is Me, SaraBrown, Etaoin, and Sophia at the Underground on my birthday. Sophia is our new coteacher. She is doing a good job.

That's pretty much it in the life of Katie in Korea in June. I started running twice a week. That's pretty terrible. But it goes better than I was expecting. I went to work one day with my eye swollen shut. I think it was a mosquito bite. Turns out there are giant mosquitoes in my apartment and they eat me alive when I'm sleeping. pretty mean.

I'm missing the Dalsimer family get together at the Dale farm this week/next week. I'm pretty sad about it. Have a great time and happy 60th anniversary Grandmom and Granddad!!

I love you all. I miss you. Tell me about your summers!!!

Nothing ground breaking

Yo. I don't really have anything real cool to talk about. I don't have anything cool to show you. Just some thoughts.

• Cheney graduated!! Congrats! Very proud. And sad that I'm not there.
• Last Wednesday was election day, so we didn't have school. We hung out outside at a park all day. Grilled hotdogs, played frisbee and volleyball. Very fun, although I set the volleyball badly and hurt my thumb and then I fell/slipped/got tackled and my thumb/hand ended up swollen and bruised. Luckily the kinders love to hang on to my thumbs.
• This is the first summer in 23 years that I haven't been home and it has me a little sad.
• I've been here for 5 months and 6 days. Crazy.
• My birthday is soon. I'm going to a beach.
• There is no way I'm living in a city in real life. It's so not what I'm cut out for.
  
• My hair's getting real long and real big.
• Things are good. I'm having fun. I like my friends. I miss home. I miss my friends. It's hot at school.
  
• I love you. I miss you. Have a great summer!!
  

Kawi. Bawi. Bo.

Kawi. Bawi. Bo. Rock. Scissors. Paper. Used to settle disputes ranging from kindergarten to business meetings. Literally. Popular game. But it stands. Sometimes my kids will be in tears over who gets the power-ranger pencil. I'll say Kawi Bawi Bo. They play. The winner gets the the pencil and the loser doesn't cry.

Friday. May 14th. 2010. 6:30 pm. After work my co-workers Lach and Jason and I were enjoying a cold beer on the patio of the convenience store at the entrance of our apartment building. I was spacing out and thought to myself, "huh. Does that much smoke usually come from over there? NO! THAT BUILDING IS ON FIRE!" So I made the announcement and we all turned to look as the giant warehouse that is literally 20 yards from my front door burst in to flame. In less than 20 minutes the warehouse was destroyed and the shops in front were in serious danger. Luckily the fire went towards the street instead of towards my house. Cars melted and were destroyed. There was melted glass around my door. Devastating.

These are some firemen fighting the fire in hopes of stopping the spread to the shops. I thought the smoke surrounding the top of the dude was kind of cool.


20 minutes until total destruction. Hot hot hot.

From where we were sitting. Seeing the building. Debating whether I should run in and grab my passport at least.

Monday. May 17. 2010. We took a field trip to the Horse Track. We had hoped that we would have the chance to teach the kids about odds and risks. But they just played on the playground, took pictures in some flowers, and then rode a pony around a ring. They loved it. And it was a beautiful day!

7 year olds. King class and Robot class.

Kimbap. This is rice, crab, fish, spam, radish, egg, carrot, unidentified fish stuff wrapped in seaweed. It's delicious. And it's a snack, lunch, breakfast, dinner here. It's what Korean's eat on the go instead of french fires.

Thursday-Sunday. May 20th-23rd. Muuido Islands. Buddha's Birthday. Thursday after work we went to the Inchon Airport in hopes of getting to the Island real early. We sat there from 11 pm til 7 am. And didn't even get on a plane. Frustrating and in hindsight, unnecessary. But you live and you learn. At 7, we got in Taxi's and went to the ferry. Then we took a 7 minute ferry ride to the Island. And hung out in beautiful sunshine on the beach all day Friday. We climbed rocks, played frisbee with starfish and invented Shell hole. A game I'm pretty proud of. Its corn hole but with shells and holes in the sand instead of beanbags and boards. Extremely entertaining. We slept in these huts. 8ft by 8ft boxes on stilts. 30 bucks a night. Pretty cool. Saturday it was hazy and a little chilly. But I was still outside on the beach all day. Loving life. Sunday it was rainy but we stayed and played and hiked a little til noon. Came home. Passed out. I need a weekend to recover from the three day weekend. Some quick points of interest from the weekend. *The tide literally went out a mile. Mud flats. Crazy cool. *I was wearing a Wooster hoodie and guy asked me if thats where I went. He went to Hiram, a school in our conference where I almost died Freshman year after swimming the 200 meter fly. *A guy introduced himself as Fritz, from Wittenberg. Our rival school. * Then, a guy came up to me and said "Aren't you Katie Dale, the swimmer from Wooster?" I said uhhhh nope. Turns out we graduated together and have mutual friends. Pretty small world.

Sunday mini hiking trip. BeBe, SaraBrown, Jason, Louis.

The huts. They fit 4 people comfortably.

"Adventures from the Annex to Asia" continues with SaraBrown playing Shell Hole on Muuido Island in South Korea.

We drank luke warm beer all weekend. Hite is my second favorite cheap beer in Korea. I usually prefer Cass. This starfish was a frisbee before it got to pose with the beer. I just think it's a cool picture.

Me and Jason after exploring the rocks of Muuido. So happy to be on the beach, outside, in a suit, with no shoes, for three days. I think I hate living in a city.

One year

One year ago, almost exactly, these were the people I spent the most time with. They saw me up and they saw me down. I couldn't have made it through Wooster without them. Now, the class of 2010 is getting ready to walk down the aisle. And I'm hanging out with these yahoos who don't speak English. Now that its sunny and warm in the mornings, they come to school with way more energy and volume than I am prepared to handle at 9am. Who would have thought that this is the direction that life would take me? Not I.

This is myself and my Robot class on our field trip.


This is Rex. This child is insane. Sometimes so sweet and just wants hugs and sometimes he hits me and kicks me. Sometimes he has tons of friends and sometimes he leaves a path of tears behind him. But he showed up for field trip day with this sweet leather jacket and orange aviators and posed for pictures like it was his job. I think the word I use the most each day is Rex. Rex...don't do that...come on buddy...sit down...eat your food...sit properly...and so on.

And this gem is Alex 2. Also in Robot. He comes in each morning with a huge smile and says "Good morning Teacher! I'm fantastic!" When he's up, he's so up. But when he's down, he is so down. We have days where he cries 6 times. And when Alex 2 cries, it breaks my heart. His bottom lip sticks out, his eyes shut and the biggest tears I have ever seen just pour out. So cute. So sad. But he's a pistol.

Also, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

21!

The amazing blossoms at the festival... and a string of kites.

Those of us supporting Jason and his choir. Sara (wooster) Louis (canada) Yvonne (Ireland) Etaoin (Ireland) Martha (Chicago)

Me in the War Museum,

How you shoot a lot of arrows at the same time.


Tomorrow is Travy's 21st birthday. WOAH. A couple of weekends ago we went up to the Cherry Blossom festival in Seoul. We went to the wrong place though and only saw trees with dead blossoms. So that was sad, but we had a frisbee and it was nice out and we played next to the Han River for a few hours. It worked out well, but the blossom thing was a joke. This past weekend we had to work Saturday morning at Kinder Olympics. It was just a day for the families to come run around. It was a beautiful morning and it ended up being pretty fun. After that I went up to Seoul with the intention of seeing Jason's choir concert. But we were early so we went to the Korean War Museum. It was free and gigantic! It covered every war that Korea has ever been involved in. There was a pretty huge part about the Korean War that we were involved in. We spent about an hour there which was a good amount of time. But I think it was the kind of place that you could spend all day in if you wanted. Then we got some dinner and went to the concert. It was 2 hours of Latin Churchy stuff. It was good. The money goes to bringing music to orphanages, so I'd say it was worth it. We had Wednesday off for Children's Day. Basically kids get to do what ever they want, so no school! I went shopping in Seoul. Finally got a purse that has a world map on it. Then we went to a Mexican Restaurant in honor of Cinco De Mayo. Pretty successful day off. Don't have plans for the upcoming couple of weeks, but I'm sure they'll be jam packed with excitement!!