Children's Grand Park

Last weekend started off on the eventful side. We decided to go to the local bar after work on Friday and have a few drinks to end the week. I didn't end up getting home until about 4:30 in the morning. We ended up drinking for a while, then headed to a McDonalds. Spenser, who tries not to eat meat and does not eat fast food was the champ, downing a four piece chicken nugget and a double quarter pounder with cheese before going back to order an additional ten piece chicken nugget. After that, three of us went to the sauna while Spenser made his way home. The sauna was nice but I think they turn the temperature down at that time of night to save some money. So, it was not nearly as warm as I would have liked it.

Saturday was a photo hunt with Chelsea and Spenser which was a complete failure. We really had no plan but decided to go to the History and Culture Park somewhere. Turns out the History and Culture Park isn't quite open yet and there's a giant green fence all the way around it. Nevertheless, Saturday was successful because Spenser did help me find a guitar that was reasonably priced. So, starting in January, or perhaps sooner, I will again attempt to play, or I should say learn to play, the guitar.

On Sunday, Katrina and I went to the Children's Grand Park in Seoul earlier in the morning. It's a nice place to go but I would only recommend half a day. There's a free zoo so I got to see some animals. Quite sad though, seeing them trapped in a space that tiny, many of them trying to claw at doors or the ground. There are lots of play areas for children as well. And, some other weird and wacky things. Afterward, we ended up going to see Harry Potter. I was not impressed but then again I've never been really impressed. We also went to an arcade in the movie theater which was fun. Here are some pictures:

(The Entrance to the Park)


(Some snails)


(Cool animal of some sort)


(Katrina with some more of the animals. If anyone knows what they are, please share.)


(Water wheel - I believe they spray it at night. Nevertheless, I still like the ice.)


(Some stone statues)


(Fairy tale land with some wooden totemesque poles)


(I believe it's from a Korean fairy tale. Again, if you know, please share.)


(They had some very interesting roots/natural sculptures/interesting displays)


(I'm not sure if this is the same guy or not. In the background you can see some of the roots.)


(Some more totemesque poles - don't know the meaning)


(In the summer this area is filled with water and it's a mini water park for kids)


(Ok, this is the one that gets me. The polar bear was scratching at the ice and Katrina and I couldn't figure out why. Then we saw a picture of a polar bear in the wild clawing through the ice so he could do some ice fishing. Too bad for this bear all he'll get to eat is concrete once he gets through the ice.)


(Sleeping lion)


(Katrina with two sleeping tigers - good thing they are sleeping...)


(This was a cool little area inside one of the buildings within the park. Katrina and the giant heart.)


(Pictures inside the heart)


(Me with a little famous cartoon)


(Me and another famous cartoon)


(Just hanging out with the wooden sculptures)


(Another awesome ice sculpture/formation)


(Grain elevator turned into art)


(I was giving the stone statue a hand holding the egg up)


(These monkeys were intelligent. Somewhere you could buy food for the monkeys and they would stick their hands out to ask for food. After they got one piece they would do a trick of some sort to try and get another piece.)


(Katrina at the arcade. This game was sweet! There were only three different buttons and hundreds of games you could play using the three buttons.)


(My beverage of choice before Harry Potter. Plus, I just was taking random photos with my camera.)


(I wish I knew how to use my camera better. If you look closely, only the green in this photo shows up. I love the concept, the picture not so much. I just need to dink around with it a little more I guess.)

I hope everyone has a very happy holiday, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. I am going to a community house with all of my co-workers, Katrina, and some other friends for Christmas where we will get a real ham dinner - EXCITING! Then, we are going to go into Seoul and go ice skating at Seoul Plaza. It should be a wonderful Christmas in Korea, not quite the same as in America, but it will suffice. To my family and friends, I love you guys and miss you! Have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy the company of those closest to you.

Office Update

One semester just ended and I am half way finished with my contract. When they say that time flies, it does. I cannot believe I have been in Korea for over 6 months now. A year is definitely a very short time and I will probably re-sign with Avalon after my first contract is over. The end of the semester is always good and bad.

First, the negatives. The kids already know if they leveled up or are staying at the same level. Therefore, there is no real incentive for the kids to try. So, classes tend to be a bit louder and a bit more out of control. Also, with one semester ending a new one is beginning. Therefore, I need to prepare for the next semester which includes checking all my books, checking the syllabus for my level, creating 160 Reading Questions for my representative level, preparing for Winter Intensives which means creating two lessons, as well as a lesson plan for my level. So, the end of the semester is quite busy.

With that being said, after three months, I am ready for new classes. I am looking forward to getting some new students and a bit of a change in pace. Also, there are no essays to grade. By far, that is my least favorite part of the job, grading essays for students when they continually make the same mistakes over and over again. No essays for two weeks which is wonderful. I have a new schedule which I am quite pleased with. I will be teaching the highest level as well as a class to prepare students for Cheongshim, an international middle school. I also have three JA levels which is the highest intermediate level and a JI class, the middle of the road. I have break at the same time throughout the week and an extra break Tuesday/Thursday which is nice. However, on Wednesdays I teach four straight classes. Nevertheless, I love my schedule and I am looking forward to the new semester.

Here are some quick photos from the office:

(Mindy, first co-worker to ask me to dinner. There's not much communication at times so I was quite pleased when she asked me to dinner. She is also the one who recently got married.)

(Justin and Lucy, part of the corner I am in. I sit directly across from Lucy, right next to the wall and Liz.)

(Liz)

(The Head Instructor Anna. Yes, she is Korean but she is the Head Foreign teacher)

(Middle School Teachers)

(Elementary School Teachers - Calvin and Jen)

(Ciaran - last day at Avalon. He's coming back to Korea but will be teaching at a different company.)

(Benjamin taught in the Middle School for two years. Great guy, it was his last day as well. I did get an invite to South Africa and might take him up on his offer.)

Friday Morning Hike

There are some positives associated with working from 2 pm until 10 pm. One, a large part of my morning is free. A co-worker started a Morning Club on Facebook where he plans events and then whoever wants to show up, can. I've been to a soccer and ultimate Frisbee event thus far. Well, this Friday was a hike.

I do not know the name of the mountain but it is less than 30 minutes away by bus. So, I will definitely be back at some point. All I know is that it is close to the Suwon Reservoir. The hike itself was nice since there was snow and the ground and it was relatively easy - about an hour up and an hour down. Here are some pictures from the hike...

(Just wanted to get the older Korean playing croquet with snow at the ground. This was at Manseok Park, the place where we met.

(Matt and Eun Ji trying to figure out what bus to take. I will say the public transportation in Korea has been phenomenal. This was Eun Ji's first Morning Club activity.)

(Had to get off the bus and transfer at the fortress so I figured I'd snap a few photos of the main gate)

(As I'm sure you can tell, there was some leftover snow/ice still on the trail. It wasn't exactly ideal hiking conditions but we made the best. Fortunately, nobody fell although we were all close to falling at one point or another.)

(You had to grab ahold of a rope and pull yourself to the top of the mountain. I wasn't planning on doing it but then I figured I walked that far already, what's another few feet.)

(Sweet view on Suwon in the background)

(Not so sweet view of some other mountains in the background)

(On the way down there was a little workout area so I decided to life some weights. I have never lifted in the snow before and thought this was an ideal time to start!)

(Just a random photo as we were headed down the mountain)

Indian Food, Seoul Forest, Dr. Fish, and the Flu

Woke up Friday for the first time in my life feeling achy after not doing some sort of exercise or physical labor. Additionally, I developed a runny nose, cough, headache, and sore throat. I've never felt achy from a cold before so it was quite the new experience, and not a pleasant one I might add. If I had sick days, I would have taken one. However, I do not get any sick days and didn't want to risk losing a vacation day so I trudged into work.

I was hoping on Saturday I would be feeling better. Katrina and I made plans for her birthday to grab some Indian food at a new restaurant then head into Seoul to visit Seoul Forest (I will call it Seoul Park from here on out, it reminded me of Central Park in a way). After that, we were going to go to a Dr. Fish place, which I will explain later. I woke up feeling worse on Saturday but it was Katrina's birthday so after laying in bed for about 4 hours, I met her at Suwon Station. A co-worker told me about a place around the station to get some cheap Indian food.

We met around 1 pm and set off to find the restaurant. The directions were fantastic so there were no problems finding it. I actually was at the station a few minutes before Katrina so I was able to go and find it before we met. I don't even know what I had to eat and I couldn't really taste it for that matter so it wouldn't have made a difference. The food was a lot cheaper than the other places we have gone so far but I guess it wasn't quite as delicious. However, 6,000 won vs. 25,000 won per person is a big difference. I would like to go back when I can taste.

After lunch, both of us were exhausted so we canceled the Seoul trip, Katrina because she was out until the wee hours of the morning celebrating her 26th year on Earth and me due to illness. Nevertheless, Sunday we made it to Seoul Park, where you can rent bikes, which I would recommend if you go and to Dr. Fish. Dr. Fish is the name of the fish that eat dead skin and not the name of a place. Here are some photos from the adventure.

* Disclaimer - I just got my camera sent from the States so there will be a lot of pictures of Katrina and not so many of myself.

(Seoul Forest - aka Seoul Park)

(The place we rented bikes from. About $15 for two hours for the two of us. Katrina got this pink bike and I got a mountain bike.)

(Sweet Statue inside the Park)

(Deer! Just like in Nara, except they are fenced in and can't bite you, kick you, or butt you! You can buy food to feed them though.)

(Katrina making friends)

(Our bike ride on the Han River. We got a little lost thinking we could swing back around into the park but saw some pretty amazing things (rose garden, rock climbing wall, wind surfers, wind surfing educational centers). I want to go back in the Spring or Summer.)

(Seeing if we could swing back around but it didn't look promising. An Olympic soccer stadium in the back.)

(Katrina and her ups)

(Cool area we were in - saw a huge bird.)

(Sweet flower mural in black and white now)

(So, Dr. Fish. These little fish eat the dead skin off your hands and feet. I must say, it is quite a strange sensation. The only thing I could remotely compare Dr. Fish to is the tingling sensation you get when your feet fall asleep. Regardless, my feet felt fantastic afterward.)

(Sense the strange feeling by the look on Katrina's face. This Dr. Fish was inside a cafe in Gangnam that one of Katrina's co-workers told her about. You had to order a drink then it was only 2,000 won for the Dr. Fish treatment. Plus, with the drink, you got all the free bread you wanted... I won't tell you how much a drink costs.)

(That's me with my feet in and people drinking coffee in the background)