Water Fountain Show

Because we bought a package ticket we were able to go to the water fountain show for free. I thought it is cool at some points and boring at others. I wouldn’t have paid extra for it but I also didn’t feel like I wasted my time in going either. It was aimed towards children not towards adults so I found the kiddy parts boring but the actual water show parts were pretty cool. So if you have kids I would defiantly go and it was only 30 minutes long so its no real waste of time even if you do hate it.

Ocean Park

The Hotel I stayed at in the Philippines was called the H2O Hotel. It was located in the Manila Ocean Park. The restaurant has low priced and served delicious food. It had a pool, gym, lounge, and spa. On the first floor was part of the Ocean Park and in the surrounding buildings were the Ocean Park’s attractions. The pool and gym were free and the spa and room service/restaurant were well priced. Inside the hotel on the first floor were rides like bumper cars and 4D rollercoaster. The Manila Ocean Park is the biggest Ocean Park in all of Asia. You can buy tickets to individual shows or exhibits or you can buy a package ticket. There were 9 different shows and attractions to go to. We went with the 5 attraction ticket which included the sea lion show, the dancing jelly fish exhibit, the water fountain show, the marine life habitat, and the oceanarium. All 5 of these attractions came to a total of 550 php or about 10 us dollars.

The Dancing Jellyfish

Sea Lion Show

Manila Vacation

I was able to go away on my winter vacation. I went to the Philippines with my friend. I had fun there and I would suggest going there if you ever find yourself in the Asia area. But please keep in mind that it is a poverty stricken country. So traveling alone there would be dangerous. While I was there I went on a horse drawn carriage ride, saw a sea lion show, saw a water fountain light show, went to an aquarium, went to a few night clubs, enjoyed the Filipino food, and swam with sharks and dolphins.

Teacher Training

I had to go to a training seminar with my co-teacher. It was only about 3 hours but it took place on a Saturday and that stunk. My co-teacher was real sweet and took me out to lunch and we went shopping together before we went to the training center.

They had 3 native English speakers give mini lectures on their experiences teaching in South Korea. The first native teacher taught in Korean Elementary Schools for 2 years. The second had been teaching in Korean Elementary Schools for more than 5 years. They were both working for the training center now. The third was a native English speaker that had been working in a hagwan (after school school in South Korea) for a few years. There was 1 main lecturer at the end and he was born in South Korea but moved to America when he was ten. He moved back to South Korea ten years ago and became a teacher here. He gave me an interesting prospective on teaching to ESL students because he could remember being one in America. He also gave use classroom management ideas as well as different reward systems to use.

After the lectures we were treated to musical performances. They were using traditional Asian instruments. A singer came on stage and sang Ulsan Lady. Ulsan Lady is a famous song about Ulsan which is where I live here in South Korea. We also had a condensed version of a Korean Musical preformed for us by the local high school. Lastly a group of boys gave us the "drum experience" as they called it. It was actually really cool. It was two parts. The first part was each of them drumming on traditional drums. The second part was them using brooms and barrels and other non traditional items as drums.

High School Musical

Music

Drumming



So it was my birthday this week. To do something special for it I went to Daejeon for the first time. A wonderful friend hosted me for the weekend. She is the absolute best!!! We did many things but the coolest was going to a dog cafe. Yes dog cafe, which is exactly what it sounds like it is. You walk in and pay a cover charge of 6,00 won which is less than 6 dollars American.For the 6,000 won you get to stay and play with all of the dogs for as long as you want and you get any drink you want off of the menu. In the center of the room there is a fenced off area and there were about 10 dogs. outside of the fenced in area are table with comfy sofas where you can drink your drinks. If you want to you can carry the dogs out of the fenced in area and cuddle with them back at your table, which I totally did with the white Pomeranian you see me holding in the video.

This was such a great experience! I had so much fun playing and snuggling with all of the dogs. The dogs are constantly being handled by people so they were all really loving and mellow. It was my first time going to a dog cafe and it won't be my last. I know there are cat cafes too but I haven't been to one yet. A few of my friends have been to cat cafes and from what I understand they have a cover charge as well but there is no fenced in area they just roam free in the cafe. If you are ever in South Korea you should go to one of the many dog cafes that can be found here!

My Top 5 Thing I Dislike About South Korea

My top 5 things that I dislike about South Korea. The main reason for me posting this is because I did the 5 things that I loved so I figured I should hit the other end of the spectrum and do the top 5 things I dislike.

5. Littering

4. Honesty

3. Cold

2. Germs

1. Driving

Top 5 Things I Love About South Korea

This is a list of the top 5 things that I love about South Korea.

5. Safety

4. Cuteness

3. Food

2. Tradition

1. The People