Last week was the best week I had here in Korea so far. It was just a really good week. Things were going my way and I was the happiest I have been in a while. First off, the swine flu scare has been increasing here and there were a number of students at my school who were infected. (Supposedly, not really sure if it was actually the 'swine flu'.) The administration decided to cancel classes beginning Monday afternoon, which meant that I had no classes to teach the rest of the week. It was a nice break, but by Wednesday I was bored out of my mind during the day. Finally Wednesday afternoon the administration decided that teachers did not have to come to school Thursday or Friday, so I had a four day weekend! So fabulous and I got some much needed rest. Because the students were not at school there was no cafeteria food for lunch which meant that the teachers were ordering out and going out to eat. Wednesday the sixth grade teachers all brought in things to cook lunch at school. I went up to the office to see what was going on and how they were going to accomplish cooking food in an office room, but they were all buzzing around like worker bees: washing and cutting vegetables, heating up portable grills they brought in, preparing side dishes, etc. They brought out at least 4 pounds of meat and began frying up some Korean BBQ right there in the office. It was great. They also told me that no Korean BBQ meal is complete without alcohol, so they busted out the beer. Could you imagine downing beer in the Hayes teachers lounge during school hours (or any time!)?? It was a fantastic afternoon and I left school that day feeling full and happy.
My co-teacher wanted to go hiking on Thursday morning and I agreed like usual. I woke up and got ready to go wishing that I was still in my warm bed, but once I stepped outside and saw the sun shining I knew it was going to be a beautiful day. We drove to Yuldong Park in Bundang and walked around the lake there. I got some pictures of the park and there was this crazy book museum and sculpture garden there too. There is also a bungee jump there that I will do once the weather warms up again, though it's nothing compared to jumping in a gorge over the Zambezi. We hiked up this mountain near the lake and at the base was an amazing and quant little Buddhist temple. With the sun light peering through the trees and the air filled with morning mist it made for a really peaceful and enjoyable hike.
the lake and bungee at Yuldong Park
sculpture at Yuldong Park
Buddhist temple
On Friday I went a visited my friends Sara and Hayley at work. They work at a private language institute called Wonderland. Since I had the day off and I was curious to see how private school life looked, I visited during their Halloween celebrations. The kids were kindergarten age and were so adorable in their little costumes. Being there really made me wish I could work with little ones, but I am thankful to have a public school job where I work less hours and have some free time.
Wonderland kiddos
Halloween here in Korea was nuts. There were people dressed up all over Itaewon, a foreigner heavy neighborhood, as well as Hongdae. I got together with some girlfriends and enjoyed getting ready and hanging out before we hit the bars. There were so many creative costumes here- I couldn't believe it. The mother nature costume turned out well and I got lots of compliments. I had a fabulous time celebrating our western holiday in an eastern land.
my friend Sara and I on Halloween
Happy November!
Namaste
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