We had an open house for all of the church families who helped us move. I found these two little guys running around my apartment. I should have seen this coming.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The pictureless post
Places and cultures are all different. I'm taking this chance to highlight some unique things I've experienced here in Korea.
The school where I work is located somewhat near a military base. Not close enough for me to see it but close enough that for one day a week the doors in our school rattle as mortar rounds are being fired across the nearby mountains. On the way to school this week I saw 2 tanks driving in the road coming from the opposite direction. I've never seen that in the states.
Our school is surrounded by rice patties. They are all dried from the long cold winter. As I speak I can look outside my classroom window as the patties are being burned. These burning fields are not 40 yards from the school where children are playing outside. That's something new for me.
Couches. Its not uncommon for a family in Korea to have one. It is uncommon though for them to sit on it. Generally when going to someone's house I end up sitting indian style on the floor rather than on the plush couch near me. This leads to legs falling asleep and me shifting around a lot. It's not a big deal it's just different.
Another difference is in the heating of homes and buildings. Many Korean building heat their floors. Never once have my feet touched a cold floor. Even in the morning when I first crawl out of bed. My toes are warmed.
Groceries store bags. Free, you would think. Not so in Korea. One must tell the clerk how many bags one wants and then must bag ones own groceries. I'm not so good at guesstemating how many bags I'll need so this can be somewhat problematic.
They are many more differences I'm sure. But I have time for only a few. This is what I love about traveling. I get to experience new sights, sounds, smell, and tastes.
The school where I work is located somewhat near a military base. Not close enough for me to see it but close enough that for one day a week the doors in our school rattle as mortar rounds are being fired across the nearby mountains. On the way to school this week I saw 2 tanks driving in the road coming from the opposite direction. I've never seen that in the states.
Our school is surrounded by rice patties. They are all dried from the long cold winter. As I speak I can look outside my classroom window as the patties are being burned. These burning fields are not 40 yards from the school where children are playing outside. That's something new for me.
Couches. Its not uncommon for a family in Korea to have one. It is uncommon though for them to sit on it. Generally when going to someone's house I end up sitting indian style on the floor rather than on the plush couch near me. This leads to legs falling asleep and me shifting around a lot. It's not a big deal it's just different.
Another difference is in the heating of homes and buildings. Many Korean building heat their floors. Never once have my feet touched a cold floor. Even in the morning when I first crawl out of bed. My toes are warmed.
Groceries store bags. Free, you would think. Not so in Korea. One must tell the clerk how many bags one wants and then must bag ones own groceries. I'm not so good at guesstemating how many bags I'll need so this can be somewhat problematic.
They are many more differences I'm sure. But I have time for only a few. This is what I love about traveling. I get to experience new sights, sounds, smell, and tastes.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
New Place
li
ds
Here are the pictures for the new apartment that I live in. It's a nice place. Much nicer than any that I've paid to live in in the states.
Everyday I stay busy. Between my preschool duties and my afternoon classes I stay busy from 8 to 6. It's good for me.
I've taught more in the last few weeks than perhaps my whole life. In the afternoons I teach kids ranging from 8 to 12 years old. I teach for two hours with them. I've found that when working with grade school and elementary kids I can tend to be a little bit of a tough teacher. I have fun but I don't put up with much junk from the kids. It's funny because I find myself doing very teacherly thing. For example today I made one of the older boys stay a few minutes after class so we could discuss his behavior. It has started to feel natural for me to teach. I'm far from accomplished but I enjoy it and learn a little bit more everyday.
On the preschool side of my job everyday is fun for me. I'm working with 12 kids and 7 of them are new to the preschool this week. Everyday get to play with and engage them in new ways. Its fun work.
Today it snowed a bit and I got the chance to have a snowball fight with the kids during lunch break, which I probably won't ever do again. The odds get a little sketchy when its twenty kids to one. Not to mention there was about half an inch of snow on the ground. After about ten minutes of intense snow ball warfare there was basically only mud and mush to throw, which didn't stop the snow balls from being launched at me.
This last picture is a funny one. This little boy attends the Korean speaking kindergarten that is downstairs from the one I work in. This week was his first and he spent two days running throughout the building to avoid his class. The teacher seemed to allow him to get away with it. Yesterday, his second day of running, he wandered up to my classroom late in the day. There was no one else there and I was just hanging out. He grabbed a puzzle starting working on it, and after about 5 minutes ended up like this. It was picture worthy.
Thanks to all for your continued prayers and support. All of your comments and e-mails are greatly appreciated.
ds
Here are the pictures for the new apartment that I live in. It's a nice place. Much nicer than any that I've paid to live in in the states.
Everyday I stay busy. Between my preschool duties and my afternoon classes I stay busy from 8 to 6. It's good for me.
I've taught more in the last few weeks than perhaps my whole life. In the afternoons I teach kids ranging from 8 to 12 years old. I teach for two hours with them. I've found that when working with grade school and elementary kids I can tend to be a little bit of a tough teacher. I have fun but I don't put up with much junk from the kids. It's funny because I find myself doing very teacherly thing. For example today I made one of the older boys stay a few minutes after class so we could discuss his behavior. It has started to feel natural for me to teach. I'm far from accomplished but I enjoy it and learn a little bit more everyday.
On the preschool side of my job everyday is fun for me. I'm working with 12 kids and 7 of them are new to the preschool this week. Everyday get to play with and engage them in new ways. Its fun work.
Today it snowed a bit and I got the chance to have a snowball fight with the kids during lunch break, which I probably won't ever do again. The odds get a little sketchy when its twenty kids to one. Not to mention there was about half an inch of snow on the ground. After about ten minutes of intense snow ball warfare there was basically only mud and mush to throw, which didn't stop the snow balls from being launched at me.
This last picture is a funny one. This little boy attends the Korean speaking kindergarten that is downstairs from the one I work in. This week was his first and he spent two days running throughout the building to avoid his class. The teacher seemed to allow him to get away with it. Yesterday, his second day of running, he wandered up to my classroom late in the day. There was no one else there and I was just hanging out. He grabbed a puzzle starting working on it, and after about 5 minutes ended up like this. It was picture worthy.
Thanks to all for your continued prayers and support. All of your comments and e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
