4 Day Weekend!

This weekend in Seoul I had a nice 4 day break, thanks to a Korean national holiday; Children's Day. I got a chance to go see the War Memorial Museum which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Seoul. There was so much to do both outside and inside, even though the weather wasnt very cooperative. I don't usually like museums but this was all very interesting to me. I loved all of the tanks, planes and helicopters that were on display.

My Trip to Japan

I enjoyed my trip to Yokohama Japan very much. I got a chance to visit my older brother who teaches English to 8th, 9th and 10th graders at St. Maur International School in Yokohama. One day I got to observe and help assist one of his 8th grade classes. The students all got a big kick out of me being there. They had a huge debate whether or not my brother and I looked alike. Also I was a little mad when his students mistook me for his older sister,(I am only 22, he is 28). All in all it was a great trip, I ate amazing sushi, I got to go out in Tokyo and most importantly I got a chance to experience a different country while in Asia.
This week when I got back to school it was time for my 6th grade class to make their own flags. They were all very excited about it, I thought I was going to need to give them more instruction but they are so creative and artistic they caught on right away. I was amazed how different and unique each of the students made their flags. I thought this lesson was going to go good and actually it went great!

Short Week

This week was a short week at the school due to the student’s field trip to English Village. Monday I taught a Social Studies lesson to the 6th graders about World flags. These students never seize to amaze me, every time I think something is going to be too hard for them they fly through it and every time I’m afraid I made something to easy they struggle. Everyday is a learning experience and I can predict absolutely nothing about these kids. Anyway the lesson was about world flags and I made a PowerPoint presentation that had the flags, then the name of the country on the following slide. I showed them 15 flags, I included easy give away one’s such as U.S.A. and South Korea. However I also included more challenging flags like Egypt and India, to my surprise 2 out of my 5 classes got every single flag right! I didn’t even know 10 of the 15 in my presentation. It was very surprising, I’m curious as to how a 5th or 6th grade class back in the states would do on my flag quiz.
Also this week I taught 1st grade Storytelling, this is by far my favorite class I teach here at Jamhyun. Every time I’m in that room it makes me wish that I would of gotten a lower grade. The students are so tiny and cute, I’m very impressed with how well they all speak English. I think that all of the students in the school know English but when their younger they are more eager to use it and as they grow up that fades away.
Also I decided that while I was in Asia I was going to use this as an opportunity to travel. I’m going to visit my brother in Japan at the end of this week, he lives in Yokohama. I will be taking a much needed break from my life here in Seoul.

Half Way

This week was the first week I finally felt settled. My weeks and lessons are now starting to become more routine. Teaching is becoming easy because I'm now familiar with the students from the different classes and grades. This week was Easter in Seoul and I managed to find my way to the Myeongdoung Catholic Cathedral for Sunday morning mass. The church was beautiful, the people were friendly and even though the mass was in Korean it was pretty easy for me to follow. This week at the school I taught Storytelling for 4th and 1st graders. It was my first week teaching the 1st graders and I really enjoyed it. Whenever I first came to Korea and found out I was having 6th grade I was a little upset at first because I prefer grades 1-3. So after teaching the 1st graders Tuesday it reminded me of how much I love teaching that age level. However I am enjoying my time here teaching the 6th graders and I'm thankful that I was given the chance to work with the other grades as well.

Ray in Seoul

This past week my brother Ray came to visit me from Seoul, it was such a great experience. We went to the DMZ on a half day tour which was really neat. We got a chance to walk through the 3rd tunnel. It was fun but at the same time I could not help but be a little uneasy considering all of the tension between North Korea and the entire world lately.Throughout the rest of his time here I got a chance to take him to Insadong for some shopping and to try out some new restaurants. One night we went and saw Namta which is basically "Stomp" only with Korean chefs in a kitchen. It was awesome, there was a lot of acting so we could following along very easily. My favorite thing we did was go to a Korean baseball game. I loved the atmosphere of being at the stadium. It was also the first warm day I've had since I've been here so that was also really nice.



This week in school I had a successful experience teaching my social studies lesson to all 5 of the 6th grade classes. For the most part I feel like I got through to everyone with the part two conclusion of my facts about Missouri lesson. I still have those few students that just stare at you like they have no idea what you are saying to them. I had the students make K-W-L charts which we transfered to poster board and hung up in the classroom. I think they all enjoyed the activity.The next lesson I'm planning with be about American symbols then specifically focusing on the American Flag. I'm looking forward to teaching this lesson now that I am more familiar with the students and their learning habits.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Before we went to the palace we went to see the Cheonggye Stream, it was beautiful. It was int he middle of Seoul, right in the heart of the city!
The visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace was very fun and interesting. The palace was huge, so were the grounds that the palace sat on. I was so impressed with all the details of the building, I couldnt believe it was 600 years old! I wanted to go to the Folk Museum but we didnt have any time. Following the Palace we went to Insadong and had lunch with Professor Seon and his family. Then we went to Professor Seons office and tasted some tea. My favorite was the last kind of tea we drank which was from China and fermented in mud! (sounds gross but it was actually good!)

Fridays Off!

Finally some good news! We will have the next 5 Fridays off to work on our portfolios! Everything is finally starting to settle down and we are getting into a routine. Now that we have a better understanding of my daily and weekly schedule. Monday and Tuesday are very busy school days filled teaching and our nights filled with lesson planning. Wednesday after Drama we have to stay and plan lessons until 5, which mean we dont get home till 6. Thursdays are way too long, we're at the schools from 8-5 then have to go to Korea University for an arranged social gathering between ourselves and Korea University students. However we do get free pizza so that is my favorite part about those meetings. So we don't get backing our rooms until about 9pm, that is a long time to be gone in one day. It doesn't really bother me anymore because now I dont have to wake up at 6am the next day. I'm so thankful to Kate for allowing us to have this time to prepare our graduation portfolios!