Today was an Open Class Day at my school. It was a half day for my students and their parents came in for the whole day. Their parents watched them in a homeroom class and in a special class (like English). Then the students performed for their parents. They did dance routines, musical numbers, and they put on plays. They also had their art work on display in the hallways. I only got to see the grade 3 and grade 5 hallways and classrooms because those were the only two floors that I worked on that day.
Grade 3 classroom and hallway:
Grade 5 classroom and hallway:
Hannah is so sweet for making me hamemade teas! I love my parents class! they are the best part of my Mondays. They are morre like a group of friends that I get together with for two hours. we talk about anything and everything. They are all so sweet and I truely enjoy spending time with them.
I tries two new drinks that I found at the convenience store. One was a plum juice and the other was a peach juice. The plum juice tasted a little wattered down, but the peach juice was good if you like the taste of peaches.
I went to a Korean wedding today! It was a lot of fun and if anyone is ever invited to one you should defiantly go. The Bride was breathe taking!!! I mean it. She was absolutely gorgeous! It was interesting how casual it was for the guests. some people were wearing jeans and sneakers. One of my co-teachers brought her two little boys, ages 6 and 4, even though they weren't invited. Some people stayed for the whole thing and other people left as soon as the bride entered the church and walked past them.
This blog post is about a child abuse case that happened a stones throw away from where I am living in South Korea. It is extremely sad so I will understand if no one wants to watch the video. Please keep in mind that everything that I know about this is second hand knowledge and it was told to me in translated English from a homeroom teacher, not even a fellow English teacher. So what I say in the video might not be 100% fact. Again, second hand, second language.
I was wondering why, on what i thought was a random Thursday in November, I was told to come late into work so I looked it up online. It was because of Suneung, or the South Korean entrance exams for college. After reading more about the exam my mind was blown!!! This test in not only no joke to the students that need to take it and their families, but it literally effects the entire country!?! On this day public building works, such as people that work for the government including teachers, arrive at work an hour later so to reduce traffic congestion to ensure that all students arrive at the exam place on time. Even the stock market may open late. In between 6 am and 10am buses and trains will increase in their frequency. during the 9 hour testing period people are prohibited from honking their horns near schools. All aircrafts are grounded during the testing hours. no planes land or takeoff so that the noise of a low flying plane can not distract a student. Younger students will stand at the entrance and cheer on their upper classmen as they enter into the building to take the exam. Parents will wait the 9 hours accross the street or many of them will go to the near by temple or church and pray for their child's success for the 9 hours. But I think the really cool part about this day is that from 6am to 10am taxis drivers will pick up students and rush them to their exam site for absolutely no charge. For this one day in South Korea the entire country is revolving around these students and this life changing test they must take. And for this one day everyone really pulls together, does their part, does whatever they can do to help, and the people as a whole are willing to sacrifice whatever they have to to help these students succeed. There is something really poetic in that.
There is a fantastic documentary that goes even deeper into the lives of students before they take the exam and the exam day. It is about 20 minutes long but it defiantly worth checking it out! Just click on the link below:
I went to the Mask Festival in October but the video took a while to edit and I just not got the chance to put it on my blog. The Mask Festival is in Andong, South Korea. It is really easy to get to by bus, but for me living in Ulsan that means it is more than a 4 hour ride. If you are willing to make the trip your whole weekend it is well worth it. It is a cute festival where you can watch a show, paint a mask, and take pictures with and in front of huge masks. I went with my two friends Lea and Rosie. we had a lot of fun but it was pouring so that did put a little bit of a damper on the festival. Side note: Andong is also know for its soju which is even stronger than the normal soju found in other areas of Korea.
