Thursday, July 22, 2010

Sunday, July 18, 2010

the final frontier...

all three textbooks read thoroughly and taught, well, somewhat thoroughly. check.

geography students' final review jeopardy game, with prizes of course. check.

finals written, taken, and graded. check.

[best quote on the end of a final essay: "Thank You!! I love you. I will miss you!, but I can’t say love you, because I’m so precious. I didn’t say, your not precious. I’m more precious than you. Ha! Ha!”]

report card grades and comments. almost.

so it must be summertime in korea, right?

well...

the day after finals, the teachers were instructed to teach the students.

teach the students.

the day after finals.

really?

the day after finals, only half of the students show up.

the day after finals, the students don't care to learn a thing.

i improvised. my 9-1 class discussed some ethical dilemmas (my philosophy degree finally getting some use).

my other classes, we mostly took photos and talked. but hey, they were practicing English.

i got reprimanded (during class, in korean so the students had to translate ha) for not teaching a lesson.

honestly i wouldnt have done anything differently. the students spoke more english than they usually do in class. but korean schools...man there's a logic screw loose in there somewhere...

ah well. on to graduation.

"oh, and by the way (if today is thursday), you are presiding at the graduation ceremony tomorrow. (in korean) please make yourself pretty."

oh boy.

kics graduated 12 seniors. i've never seen a graduation like it. each student gave a short testimony. each received a "special award". they gave a musical performance. it was special. it was nice to have some real closure to the year. lots of photos. some tears.

oh, and did i mention the students (except seniors) are supposed to come to school next week?

now THAT is class time well spent :)
oh and LOTS more photos HERE

its beginning #1 and #2: although i have a month left (thats right, i get to come home a bit early - August 24th! i can't wait to see you!) because the real school year is over, i have started saying goodbye. its so hard.

this is what monsoon season means to me #72: sitting in my twenty-seven degree Celsius room with the window open (no a/c) and i'm getting hit by rain.

but the good news is, i have killed more than 75 mosquitoes in the last month. the bad news is that ALL of them managed to get into my room in the first place despite the outlet mosquito repellent.

next week - barcelona and andorra with kelsey! :)

after that - one month of summer camp :(

then - one day conference, two days packing, HOME. :)

live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. - jim elliot

this is for my mom...

happy birthday!

you have been asking me to write a post about your trip here so i will make it part of your birthday present :)

you have no idea how excited i was to see you when i picked you up at the airport. i couldn't believe you guys were really here. it feels so long ago now but i remember that moment well. can you believe you were in korea? sometimes i can't believe i am.

i loved seeing korea through your eyes. you gave me a new perspective as a first-time asia traveler, overwhelmed with the language and all the new experiences. i was impressed. you did really well adapting in the short time you were here.

i loved hearing you try to speak korean the first few days :) and even more impressed when you got better over the days.

i loved seeing you struggle through some of the cultural differences. i loved that you were able to deal with those struggles with such an optimistic attitude.

i loved walking with you on the beach. no matter where you are, you are at home on the beach. busan was no different.

i loved that you picked out a fresh fish at jagalchi fish market - you went for it! that was such a memorable experience (and the best fish i've had in korea!)

i loved that we found the outdoor foot spa and went into the wrong pool first.

i loved that even in korea you can still make friends with strangers.

i loved that you tried new things.

i loved exploring new places with you. busan. the dmz. seoul.

i loved how affected you were by our experience at the dmz. you put into words some things that i was thinking but couldn't express. it was a pleasure to look into the south korean side of north korea for the first time with you. i vividly remember walking down into the 3rd tunnel of infiltration and ducking under the dripping ceiling, imagining the toil of the north korean soldiers. i can't believe i have a picture with you standing on the north korean side of the panmunjeon conference center. thank you for coming with an open mind and open eyes to share that with me.

i loved the night view at the base of the seoul tower. i'm glad you convinced me to keep going. thank you for your endurance during a long day.

i loved seeing you in my classrooms in front of my students in 'teacher mode'. i'm so glad you got to see why i love them so much. thank you for your extra work in getting your class to send pen-pal letters to my students. it was so much fun for everyone.

i loved that you gave your attention to the people who have meant so much to me here.

i loved that you came to visit me in korea.

i love you! happy birthday!

Friday, July 9, 2010

awesome!

i recently discovered i live a block from a puzzle factory.

AWESOME!