...from a 9 year old. In her second language:
"I think if you like someone, you should just see them a lot and make sure you do things once. Fight once. Eat once. Play once. Then if you still love them, you can marry them."
At this point her classmates balked at the idea of fighting. "Fight once?! You don't want to fight once with people you love!"
To which she replied, "It's like fighting with your friends or family. You still love them. But you have to know how he fights. If you never fight, then you get married and if he's very bad when he fights, then you won't know until it's too late. But if you fight once first, and he's very bad when he fights, then you just dump him and get a new boyfriend."
At this point I had to ask the class, now deeply invested in this discussion and far more opinionated about it than I ever could have anticipated, "How does a person just find a new boyfriend?"
From one of the boys in the class, "You have to just make him love you. Wear a lot of makeup and be a little mean to him. Then go find a book called '100 Ways to Find a Boyfriend' and read it. There's probably a book like that, right?"
I love my job. I love my students (yes, this is the highest level class at school). I love the way their brains work (enough to write all this down while still trying to teach, haha).
And I love you all!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sports in Korea
Two posts in one night?!! Can you handle it?!?!
So I've been lucky enough to go to two sporting events in Korea recently, and I'd like to share the proof with you here.
First, I went to a World Cup qualifying match between South Korea and North Korea. Stacy invited me to go with her and Eric, and the first thought I had was "Holy Cow, how can I pass this up?!" It was a school-night, so we didn't make it there until half-time, but that was plenty of time to watch SoKo score the one and only goal of the game!! Yay Democracy!
The World Cup Stadium in Seoul:
It was so noisy here... We kept trying to pick up the chants, but the closest we got was "Hey, Puerto Rico!" (I later found out it's actually "Dae Han Min Guk" which means "Republic of Korea!")
The field:
Us loving being there:
The final score:
Also, on easter weekend I got to go to my first baseball game in Korea: LG Twins vs Doosan Bears. Talk about another noisy venue... The fans never stopped! Each side had all these intense cheers and the stadium wasn't even moderately calm at any point! I will definitely be going to more of these!
The stadium:
Some Doosan Bears fans:
Proof that I was there:
The score: (the Bears were winning, for the record)
So, in short, I'm enjoying the fact that it's finally great weather again here...
OH! PS - I'm not sure I've announced this here yet, but I've decided to go ahead and extend another 6 months, so I'm in Korea until the end of February, 2010. I'll be back in ICT for a week in August, but otherwise you all need to start booking tickets to come visit :)
Love you all!
So I've been lucky enough to go to two sporting events in Korea recently, and I'd like to share the proof with you here.
First, I went to a World Cup qualifying match between South Korea and North Korea. Stacy invited me to go with her and Eric, and the first thought I had was "Holy Cow, how can I pass this up?!" It was a school-night, so we didn't make it there until half-time, but that was plenty of time to watch SoKo score the one and only goal of the game!! Yay Democracy!
The World Cup Stadium in Seoul:
It was so noisy here... We kept trying to pick up the chants, but the closest we got was "Hey, Puerto Rico!" (I later found out it's actually "Dae Han Min Guk" which means "Republic of Korea!")
The field:
Us loving being there:
The final score:
Also, on easter weekend I got to go to my first baseball game in Korea: LG Twins vs Doosan Bears. Talk about another noisy venue... The fans never stopped! Each side had all these intense cheers and the stadium wasn't even moderately calm at any point! I will definitely be going to more of these!
The stadium:
Some Doosan Bears fans:
Proof that I was there:
The score: (the Bears were winning, for the record)
So, in short, I'm enjoying the fact that it's finally great weather again here...
OH! PS - I'm not sure I've announced this here yet, but I've decided to go ahead and extend another 6 months, so I'm in Korea until the end of February, 2010. I'll be back in ICT for a week in August, but otherwise you all need to start booking tickets to come visit :)
Love you all!
Easter in Korea
Happy Easter everyone!! You've all heard the Good News, right? :)
I had a fantatic Easter... it wasn't Ham and Cheesy Potatoes with the family, but it was Brunch with some damn fine people :)
Catherine, Trish (the Dish), Andrew and I went into Seoul for a fancy champagne brunch at the Hilton Millenium Hotel... It was amazing!
And Catherine came prepared with little candy-filled plastic eggs and fun fuzzy ears for all of us to wear:
We stayed there for about three hours gorging ourselves on shrimp, scallops, duck, chicken, beef, and BREAD PUDDING!!! (my first bread pudding in over 8 months)... Then we went walking around Namdaemun Market and buying up some fun Korean-ized shirts (I got one that says "Can the It-Bag Change Your Life?"). It was a very happy Easter! I hope everyone at home had a great Easter, too!
Fun Bonus Pictures:
I have to have a diagram of the human body with parts labeled as part of my "required classroom decoration." Well I didn't want it to be boring (or hard), so here's what Brett, Jordan, and I came up with:
And here's my smartest class posing in front of it:
And for Michele - This is what a Korean Girl Scout Uniform looks like:
Love you all!
I had a fantatic Easter... it wasn't Ham and Cheesy Potatoes with the family, but it was Brunch with some damn fine people :)
Catherine, Trish (the Dish), Andrew and I went into Seoul for a fancy champagne brunch at the Hilton Millenium Hotel... It was amazing!
And Catherine came prepared with little candy-filled plastic eggs and fun fuzzy ears for all of us to wear:
We stayed there for about three hours gorging ourselves on shrimp, scallops, duck, chicken, beef, and BREAD PUDDING!!! (my first bread pudding in over 8 months)... Then we went walking around Namdaemun Market and buying up some fun Korean-ized shirts (I got one that says "Can the It-Bag Change Your Life?"). It was a very happy Easter! I hope everyone at home had a great Easter, too!
Fun Bonus Pictures:
I have to have a diagram of the human body with parts labeled as part of my "required classroom decoration." Well I didn't want it to be boring (or hard), so here's what Brett, Jordan, and I came up with:
And here's my smartest class posing in front of it:
And for Michele - This is what a Korean Girl Scout Uniform looks like:
Love you all!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Happy Birthday Breea!
For my best friend in the whole wide world...
I love you so much. I'm glad you were born!
(ps - I swear they're saying "Breea")
I love you so much. I'm glad you were born!
(ps - I swear they're saying "Breea")
Monday, March 30, 2009
For your viewing pleasure...
... I've got some time to occupy, and some music to listen to, so here are some photos for you to enjoy!
We had a fun field trip to see a three-man show of The Emperor's New Clothes. The actor actually came out in his boxers with a fake rubber butt and neon-orange bandaids over his nipples. Anyway, it was so hot in there, my kids were exhausted by the end of it... so here they are, pretending to sleep:
I mentioned the Mongolian Cultural Village in the last blog (I think)... Well we had as much fun in the 3 hours getting there as we did in the 15 minutes of actually being there!
A sign we found in some special Korean monument area:
Pretty sure #2 is "No Yawning." #4 is definitely "Do Not Take A Chipmunk's Temperature Rectally." and #7 could only mean "Do Not Burn Jim and Huck's Raft."
The quintessential Mongolian warrior:
Apparently dinosaurs were a huge problem for the Mongolians...
I can totally see why.
They also had to deal with impaled wolves attacking their sheep:
They had about 8 of these typical Mongolian huts, or gels, set up. They were all the same. Here's one:
And here's the mobile version:
At the end of this trip, all I really wanted was a good coffee can...
I also went to Everland yesterday. If you've been with this blog from the very beginning, you'll remember that in my first post, I wrote about how absolutely thrilled I was to be living so close to Korea's largest amusement park. Well, 8 months in, I finally made it! AND IT WAS AWESOME!
Anyways, here are some highlights from that adventure:
Those familiar with drug-slang will appreciate this sign. It certainly cracked me up! (Disclaimer: I do not engage in recreational drug use!)
And those familiar with WICHITA will LOVE that this exists here:
Finally, those who loved Elvis when he was in his look-like-an-Asian phase, this one's for you:
Apparently, it's ok to feed the monkeys here:
Also, their monkeys are trained electricians:
They teach you all kinds of fun facts about monkeys at Everland:
But my favorite part was the fantastic "photo spot" they had set up in front of their wooden coaster (steepest one in the world, in fact!). They even told you where to place your feet!
Really classic picture, eh? Captures the moment! :)
I hope you enjoyed this photo tour... Now I can slack for a month! :)
Love you all!
We had a fun field trip to see a three-man show of The Emperor's New Clothes. The actor actually came out in his boxers with a fake rubber butt and neon-orange bandaids over his nipples. Anyway, it was so hot in there, my kids were exhausted by the end of it... so here they are, pretending to sleep:
I mentioned the Mongolian Cultural Village in the last blog (I think)... Well we had as much fun in the 3 hours getting there as we did in the 15 minutes of actually being there!
A sign we found in some special Korean monument area:
Pretty sure #2 is "No Yawning." #4 is definitely "Do Not Take A Chipmunk's Temperature Rectally." and #7 could only mean "Do Not Burn Jim and Huck's Raft."
The quintessential Mongolian warrior:
Apparently dinosaurs were a huge problem for the Mongolians...
I can totally see why.
They also had to deal with impaled wolves attacking their sheep:
They had about 8 of these typical Mongolian huts, or gels, set up. They were all the same. Here's one:
And here's the mobile version:
At the end of this trip, all I really wanted was a good coffee can...
I also went to Everland yesterday. If you've been with this blog from the very beginning, you'll remember that in my first post, I wrote about how absolutely thrilled I was to be living so close to Korea's largest amusement park. Well, 8 months in, I finally made it! AND IT WAS AWESOME!
Anyways, here are some highlights from that adventure:
Those familiar with drug-slang will appreciate this sign. It certainly cracked me up! (Disclaimer: I do not engage in recreational drug use!)
And those familiar with WICHITA will LOVE that this exists here:
Finally, those who loved Elvis when he was in his look-like-an-Asian phase, this one's for you:
Apparently, it's ok to feed the monkeys here:
Also, their monkeys are trained electricians:
They teach you all kinds of fun facts about monkeys at Everland:
But my favorite part was the fantastic "photo spot" they had set up in front of their wooden coaster (steepest one in the world, in fact!). They even told you where to place your feet!
Really classic picture, eh? Captures the moment! :)
I hope you enjoyed this photo tour... Now I can slack for a month! :)
Love you all!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Happy Spring!
It's officially spring, and Wichita's getting hit with a snow/ice storm right now. And Korea got cold. I went from wearing a coat every day to sleeping with the window open, back to wearing a coat every day! Make up your mind, Nature!
I'm almost at 8 months in Korea now, which is a little unnerving. I thought for sure by this point in my stay I'd have everything figured out - what I was doing with my life, what comes next, etc etc. But it seems that my feelings on these subjects keep changing with work-stress, missing family, having fun out here, wanting to travel more... So I still have no idea. Luckily I've got a few more months to decide!
Because my time here is (or could be, maybe) running short, my friend Catherine and I decided to live every weekend here like it's our last. We've gone on ferry rides, explored caves, been to a Mongolian village, and next weekend I'll be out catching (and eating!) fresh snow crabs! It's been a blast!
We have a week vacation at the end of July and I've decided (yay! I made at least one decision!) that I will be spending it lounging alone on a secluded beach in Bali. All the research I've done has led me to believe I may not be returning from that Paradise, hahaha... it's so beautiful!
The kids at school are great. Kindergarten is harder this year, so everyone's stressed, but they're figuring out our new rhythm... Elementary is awesome, the kids are so smart. Plus they love me. One girl wrote an essay about how great Emily Teacher is, because "she's funny, but when the class needs to be serious, she makes us serious, and she always explains everything carefully until we understand." What better compliment can a teacher ask for!?!?
That's all I've got, for now. I just wanted to get a bit of an update on here, since the blog was getting stale... I'll post again when something exciting happens, hahaha.
Love you all!
I'm almost at 8 months in Korea now, which is a little unnerving. I thought for sure by this point in my stay I'd have everything figured out - what I was doing with my life, what comes next, etc etc. But it seems that my feelings on these subjects keep changing with work-stress, missing family, having fun out here, wanting to travel more... So I still have no idea. Luckily I've got a few more months to decide!
Because my time here is (or could be, maybe) running short, my friend Catherine and I decided to live every weekend here like it's our last. We've gone on ferry rides, explored caves, been to a Mongolian village, and next weekend I'll be out catching (and eating!) fresh snow crabs! It's been a blast!
We have a week vacation at the end of July and I've decided (yay! I made at least one decision!) that I will be spending it lounging alone on a secluded beach in Bali. All the research I've done has led me to believe I may not be returning from that Paradise, hahaha... it's so beautiful!
The kids at school are great. Kindergarten is harder this year, so everyone's stressed, but they're figuring out our new rhythm... Elementary is awesome, the kids are so smart. Plus they love me. One girl wrote an essay about how great Emily Teacher is, because "she's funny, but when the class needs to be serious, she makes us serious, and she always explains everything carefully until we understand." What better compliment can a teacher ask for!?!?
That's all I've got, for now. I just wanted to get a bit of an update on here, since the blog was getting stale... I'll post again when something exciting happens, hahaha.
Love you all!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
My Brilliant New Students
I haven't blogged in a while. Work has been extremely stressful with the class changes and schedule changes... I sunk into a funk for a minute or two, but I think I'm pulling through... Expect multiple updates in the near future :)
I have new students. I wasn't excited about it, but they're amazing. I now teach the two highest levels at LCI. These kids are so smart, it blows my mind. Now, instead of teaching my afternoon classes about the months of the year and how to spell "donkey," I'm teaching voice and vivid details and declarative and interrogatory sentences and LOVING IT!
Today, in my afternoon class, we were discussing the nature of friendship, and how it can take many forms. We had also discussed poetry, and different kinds of poems. I decided to give them 5-7 minutes to write at least a 12-line poem, in any form, about friendship. The results were astounding. I decided I had to share them with all of you...
The following are excerpts from poems about friendship written in under 7 minutes by 10-11 year olds (in their second language):
"She brags until I say
'What a show off;
You brag too much
Just say the word you need
to say.'
Just don't have a mouth full of brags.
But remember this word
in case of something:
'You are my friend, my best friend...'"
Friend is
who worry
and sad
and happy
with me.
Friend is
person that
know each
others' mind
Friend can't
change with
a jewelry
or a treasure.
This one I just had to take a photo of - it was too awesome:
And finally, from my smart-ass genius in the class (with whom I can have lengthy discussions about all things Harry Potter):
"Dragon Friendship"
A dragon sees another
They really like each other
they have some fun
they become dumb
but they always stick together
Together they fly
They always float by
and burn up some grass
eat up some lambs
Together they go
to get a nacho
but they always stick together.
Aren't you blown away too?!?! I'm really looking forward to getting more and more out of them. My head supervisor was also extremely impressed, and wants to post them on the lobby display board!! All this because I needed to kill a couple minutes! :)
That's all I've got for today - I need to finish watching the first episode of this latest season of Grey's Anatomy :)
But first - check out this cool effect my camera does: I can make the moon sparkle!
And we had a b-day yesterday in Kindergarten... Here is my class, all big and old as a 7-2 class now. And that's Philip in the middle, top row. You'll hear lots more about him soon. Philip, the cause of my tension headache...
Love you all!!
I have new students. I wasn't excited about it, but they're amazing. I now teach the two highest levels at LCI. These kids are so smart, it blows my mind. Now, instead of teaching my afternoon classes about the months of the year and how to spell "donkey," I'm teaching voice and vivid details and declarative and interrogatory sentences and LOVING IT!
Today, in my afternoon class, we were discussing the nature of friendship, and how it can take many forms. We had also discussed poetry, and different kinds of poems. I decided to give them 5-7 minutes to write at least a 12-line poem, in any form, about friendship. The results were astounding. I decided I had to share them with all of you...
The following are excerpts from poems about friendship written in under 7 minutes by 10-11 year olds (in their second language):
"She brags until I say
'What a show off;
You brag too much
Just say the word you need
to say.'
Just don't have a mouth full of brags.
But remember this word
in case of something:
'You are my friend, my best friend...'"
Friend is
who worry
and sad
and happy
with me.
Friend is
person that
know each
others' mind
Friend can't
change with
a jewelry
or a treasure.
This one I just had to take a photo of - it was too awesome:
And finally, from my smart-ass genius in the class (with whom I can have lengthy discussions about all things Harry Potter):
"Dragon Friendship"
A dragon sees another
They really like each other
they have some fun
they become dumb
but they always stick together
Together they fly
They always float by
and burn up some grass
eat up some lambs
Together they go
to get a nacho
but they always stick together.
Aren't you blown away too?!?! I'm really looking forward to getting more and more out of them. My head supervisor was also extremely impressed, and wants to post them on the lobby display board!! All this because I needed to kill a couple minutes! :)
That's all I've got for today - I need to finish watching the first episode of this latest season of Grey's Anatomy :)
But first - check out this cool effect my camera does: I can make the moon sparkle!
And we had a b-day yesterday in Kindergarten... Here is my class, all big and old as a 7-2 class now. And that's Philip in the middle, top row. You'll hear lots more about him soon. Philip, the cause of my tension headache...
Love you all!!
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