ME = Annoying

It's April. I have 15 more working days and 3 weekends left. Time is moving at lightning speed. I've noticed it sometimes takes me leaving a place for me to truly take it all in and appreciate everything in a whole different way. I'm not sure if that is something strange or human nature, but it is my nature. It's actually starting to annoy me. I keep having these feelings of panic every time I hangout with friends or experience anything Korean. My mind immediately thinks this may be the last time I experience that here in Korea. This also occurs when I go to restaurants. I think I need everything because I may never eat it again or that they may run out of it before I leave the country. Good thing I have a gym membership that I use "all the time". At this rate they may need to roll me on to the plane.


This past weekend was one of the first really beautiful spring days here. I spent the afternoon riding my bicycle along the Han River, which runs through the entire length of Seoul. The river was jam-packed with tons of people. They were decked out in all the latest athletic clothing and equipment. Many people wore their ninja masks/head coverings and gloves to protect themselves from the poisonous sun. I saw a man playing soccer while holding a sun umbrella. He was quite the multi-tasker. I was impressed and felt embarrassed for him. He needs to live on the edge and not worry about tanning his skin. People were also wind surfing on the river, which makes me cringe just thinking about how polluted that water is. I would imagine it is as clean as the Hudson River in NYC. Those people are brave and possibly crazy. Anyways, we rode for about 3 hours throughout the city and stopped at a park that we stumbled upon. We stayed true to the Korean outdoor food tradition and bought some ramen noodles ( with a slice of cheese for added nutrition) for a snack. It was delicious! Ramen is so much better here, I swear! Then we people watched, played some games, and discussed how good the ramen was.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day!













I love this city so much! Even terrible smells are lovely these days. I guess it's the perfect time to leave. :)

On a unrelated note, my kindergarten students told me they had a vampire party over the weekend where they drank blood. They wouldn't give me more details. Apparently they are "vampires" now. Interesting.

This next weekend I am headed to Gyeongju. It is the old capital of Seoul. It is supposed to be amazing and the cherry blossoms will hopefully be blooming as well. It has been on my list of things to do here for the past 2 years, so I'm so excited to finally get to see it! It will be nice to get out of the city one last time with some fabulous friends.

I hope you are all well. I miss you all very much! Sorry for the lack of communication these days. I literally have something planned every day, so it makes it difficult to catch up on Skype. I hope you understand!

xoxo

Ch-Ch-Change

Well I have officially made it through the first week of the new school year. It has been a pretty chaotic few days. I would use a few choice words to describe it all but it wouldn't make me look like the mature and sophisticated person that I am. Our school bought another floor in the building for new classes (which means more students) and decided to change around the entire kindergarten program without being at all prepared for the first week of school. It has tested my patience everyday, but it has been doable. I actually have enjoyed walking into the classroom and finding out the kids have none of the books that are needed for the class I was supposed to have taught them. It has kept me on my toes and brought a lot of laughs. I just have to keep reminding myself not to show my students the frustration I am feeling- they have nothing to do with it.

I LOVE my new classes but I miss my old students. My new kindergartners are babies. They are so tiny. Then I remember they were only in preschool 2 weeks ago. They are totally confused by the amount of brown spots on my body. We had a 10 minute discussion about how they are not chicken pox. Now everyday whenever i go near my student Sophia, she always rubs my arm and says, "They aren't chicken pox." I think she is trying to reassure herself. Clearly I didn't explain myself very well. Another girl in my class is very curious about them and asks to see my body every day. Apparently, seeing my face and arms covered in them is not enough. My favorite kinder logic goes something like this. "Teacher, I think you were made in the dirt. That is why your sparkles are brown. You have a lot of dirt but you need more." (Then they started drawing on my skin).

I'm trying to soak in as much as I can in this last month of teaching. I am going to miss teaching this age level where they actually like their teachers. I live for the hugs each day from my old students who come to say hi (or when i go find them b/c i'm a stalker) or my new ones who think i'm made of dirt.

I'm doing my best not to stress about the future. No job? That's ok.... errr.... There could be worse problems.

I'm currently trying to find reasons to hate Korea and my life here. It will make it easier to leave. So far I haven't come up with many things other than that you all are not here with me. That is a GREAT reason though.

I hope you are all doing well and spring is finally arriving where you are. I hope it brings you new adventures, happiness, and bust-a-gut kind of laughter.

xoxo


Kaila and Therese. The three of us will be conquering Nepal and India starting April 27th. WATCH OUT SE ASIA!

I'm a Hot Mess

This past week we had kindergarten graduation. It was a hard day. I have been dreading it for weeks. I have gotten so attached to these children this year. They have taught me so much about myself. They made me a better teacher and a better human. I fell in love with these children- even the ones who drove me nuts on a daily basis and brought tears of frustration. I had tears in my eyes when I said goodbye and melted when they gave me hugs. It has been an amazing year of ups and downs teaching them, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I will get all new classes tomorrow. I will be teaching kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 4th grade for the remainder of my time here. I'm sure it will be wonderful and I will love my new kids as well..... but just not quite as much. :)













xoxo

hong FOOD kong

Hi again. It's me, Megan. For Lunar New Year vacation, I was able to take a trip with some friends to Hong Kong. We were able to stay my a friend's apartment in the city, which makes my credit card happy. The websites and travel books were very accurate when they said Hong Kong is the place to shop. I have never seen so many places dedicated to shopping. A lot of the businesses were closed for the New Year. I was a little bummed, but shopping is not how I want to spend a vacation. As you know, I would much rather spend my time consuming the local food. Guess what? That is actually what we did. Because HK is a former British colony, they had A LOT of cheaper imported foods. We spent a lot of time looking in grocery stores remembering what food from back home looks and tastes like, and buying some that required no preparation. My favorite was the fresh salmon sushi rolls, Cheetos, and musseli cereal. When we weren't in grocery stores, we could be found indulging in the markets and restaurants. I ate enough dim sum to last a life time, but I see more in my future. In between eating, we did see some great sights.

Temple on New Year's Day

monk

temple grounds with the Buddha statue in the background

The incense aroma was everywhere on the temple grounds. It was a very peaceful even though it was pretty chaotic. There were hundreds of people bringing in offerings in hopes of having good luck this year.

cute family. Sadly the dad moved, but I didn't have the heart to crop him out.


Buddies

Don't talk behind this guy's back.

After giving up trying to find a good place to watch the parade, we opted for looking out the window from our friend's hostel. It was a great idea. Plus we ate snacks as we waited.


"Year of the Rabbit"

Coastal area of Hong Kong




Sleeping on the subway after a long day. I have a talent of being able to sleep anywhere.

Just call me Cinderella.

Hong Kong Disney Land


Lunar New Year firewoks

ferry ride of the city





Just a few thing I ate.

The next time I fly, it will be leaving Seoul. What a year it has been.

xoxo

Holy Smokes, February!

Hey everyone! I have no clue where the last month went. Time seems to be flying faster and faster these days. It can only mean one thing, my time in Korea is running out. I'm trying really hard to stay mentally present in the "now", but I am often times thinking of the future. I'm so excited for my upcoming trip, moving back to the States, and seeing people longer than a visit. I have started applying for teaching jobs, which is the scariest part of it all. It seems like teaching positions are few and far between these days. I'm optimistic I will find one, but I will also take any job that pays me money so I'm not homeless. Being homeless is not on my bucket list.

This has been an eventful month. In Korea and many countries in Asia, they celebrate Lunar New Year. It is a holiday to spend time with their families, wear their traditional clothing called hanbok, and children and unmarried adults bow to their elders for cash. Families eat a soup made of dumplings and rice cakes. For every bowl of soup they eat, it represents another year they will live. At school, we had a day of festivities for the holiday. We made kites, played games, and the children bowed to their teachers and the owner of the school to get money. I plan on bowing a lot when i get home. Mom and Dad, get ready. :)









Mercury class. As you can see, it is never a dull moment with this class. They drive me bonkers, but I love them all.

We went on a field trip to go sledding. It was complete chaos, but so much fun. About 30 Kindergartners fly down this small, icy hill on inner tubes hoping they will survive so they can go again. I would like to report there were no major accidents but a lot of criers. Some teachers went sledding as well. My butt barely fit in the tubes, but I was not going to miss out. It was a great day.


Kaila and I prepping for the big hill. I was hoping my tube wasn't going to pop as I went down.


Spidermen. Always a good idea.

William is another one of my favorites. Adorable. However, his head is in the clouds about 70 percent of the time. He is also a twin. Be have bonded.

Joseph is my favorite student of all time. Just look at him.


This week is my last week with my students. I'm really sad to say goodbye to them, especially my kindies. I will still see a lot of them when they come in the afternoon for elementary classes though. They graduate on Friday. I'm sure it will be Korean style graduation, so it will be over the top and ridiculously awesome. We have 9 teachers leaving this week and their replacements came a few days ago. Things are going to be strange for the rest of my time here. A lot of changes are happening, but I think it is going to make it easier to say goodbye.

xoxo