Dosan Park - Fall

I went for a walk in Dosan park after work on November 21st. Here are some of the pics I took.Only the day before, the leaves were still on the trees, but due to a couple of VERY windy days, all of a sudden the leaves were gone.You can sure tell where the Gingko trees are by the yellow circle of leaves under them.I love the trees here. My favorite is the Gingko tree. The leaves are so different, and they turn a bright yellow in the fall. Some of the trees have gigantic leaves and bark that looks like camouflage. We don't have them back home.There are other trees with big leaves, too. I'm not sure what they are, either.For some reason, no Korean I've asked knows what any of the trees are. You can see my school through the trees at this corner of the park. My desk overlooks the park from the 3rd floor.I love parks. :)

planning

I'm getting excited. I'm planning my trip to the Middle East. I've got my tickets booked, and will pay for them this week. I've figured out which countries I will go to and just have to figure out how much time to spend in each, how much money I might need, and of course, what I have to do for VISAs. I'll have 9 weeks there. Very exciting.
I will fly into Dubai to start off my trip. From there I will go to Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and then Egypt before flying to Dubai to catch my return flight.

manners

On November 12th, we had a field trip to the Hilton Hotel for the annual Manners Luncheon.All of the 7 year old classes (meaning all western age 5/6) from all of the school branches were there to learn and practice proper table manners and etiquette. With up to 9 students at a table with one teacher, as you can imagine, it was quite interesting.[my table]
We spent a fair amount of time getting up to help the kids with what ever they needed.[Monica's table]I think it might be the most expensive field trip of the year. The tables were set with white linens, silverware, and all.The starter was some sort of shrimp salad. The food was brought out and then a speaker went up to the front to talk to the kids about what was on the table, which fork or spoon to use for what, which bread plate etc. belonged to whom. It was amusing to watch how all of the kids dealt with not being able to use their fingers, and not being allowed to use a spoon for everything (Koreans use chopsticks and spoons for everything). Some did very well. A few resorted to using their fingers (trying to be sneaky about it) every now and then.Jane was trying her hardest not to use her fingers. She had no idea what the green vegetable was that was decorating her shrimp salad, and was determined to get it off. The main course was specifically made for the kids, and not a normal dish that would be served at a proper event. It was hamburger steak and omelrice (thinly fried egg around a ball of rice) with ketchup on top.Ashley did so well using the knife and fork, even though she could barely reach over the edge of the table. She could actually comfortably rest her chin on the table (which she had done when we first arrived and sat down).
The kids learned how to properly dab the napkin at the corners of their mouth.Alvin was so cute trying to do it exactly the way the presenter showed. Really, Alvin needed to wash his whole face (which applied to a quite a few of the students).The desert was half of a banana with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, with whipped cream and chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Yum!! The kids enjoyed the fact that they were finally allowed to use the spoon that they had been eying since they started eating (though some did sneakily use it for the main dish).
All in all, it was a fun and exciting field trip for the kids, and an interesting (and busy) one for the teachers.
I'd imaging cleaning the linens afterward would be quite the chore.

bonfire

At a country hof/restaurant with little cabins, each with a fireplace, filled with wooden tables and chairs and at least half a dozen large fire pits between cabins, around which the patrons can sit (though there is no service at these outside fires).

turkey trotter

It says, "THIS T SHIRT CONTAIN ONE SLIGHT FANTASTIC TURKEY TROTTER"Teddy Bear. Too cute. :)
[sorry the front one is a bit blurry. It is hard to get kids to stand still and in trying to get him to stand still, I moved a little. This was the best of them.]

12 Days of Christmas

A warm up to Christmas.
This is Jinny. She is in my 5 yr old after school class (meaning she is 4 years old western age). Her regular class is doing this song for their Christmas concert and she loves it. She often starts singing it at random times during the class. She is one of the sweetest and cutest kids ever, really!!

winter hiking

On the 6th I went on a hike with Adventure Korea to (대둔산) Daedunsan (san=Mountain) in Jeollabuk-do (do=province).It was an early start as we were picked up at the Gangnam Bus terminal at 8:30 AM. It was SO cold that morning, a windy -10 Celsius (or so). After a few hours on the bus we arrived at the mountain. It had warmed up quite a bit and the air was clean and fresh. Korea is mostly mountains, with something like only 25% of the land being usable. Most people live in a few very large cities (the largest being Seoul, of course). I love the countryside in Korea.
As it had snowed in that area just before the weekend, everything was still crisp and white. Beautiful. It certainly wouldn't have been the same if there was no snow. It would have been all just brown.
You can either hike up all the way, or take a cable car a huge portion of the way up (which was of course what we did).

[view from the cable car landing][sign says "A Path up a moutain, An Observatory, Boarding Gate]

Then the hike up starts with stairs. A long ways up, we reached the first suspension bridge.

Scary.[looking down - down in the center you can see people going up stairs][above the first bridge]Then more climbing and more stairs.[looking back down][looking back at the first suspension bridge][So glad there was snow!!!][view of the stairs from the side]

Further up we reached the second suspension bridge, which is in the form of very steep stairs. VERY scary. Not only am I afraid of heights, I also have a fear of stairs. I, of course, was the first one to go up.
A sign at the base of the bridge:

Caution
1. The 60 person is the maximum number for passing over the girder bridge at a time.
2. Don't shake and trifle on the girder bridge.
3. No passing the old, the weak, the drunken and the children.
Headman of wanju country.

The bridges both moved quite a bit.I was shaking quite a bit by the time I got to the top of the stairs bridge.From there it is still a ways yet up to the peak.Such beautiful views the entire way!!!

Then it was time to hike down. All the way down. Some people chose to take the cable car back down, most chose the hike.It was about a 2 to 3 hour hike to the bottom, going up and down following the ridge, on icy slopes,rocks, a few stairs, and along trails through the bamboo underbrush(bamboo is evergreen for those that don't know).What a wonderful day!!!
Thank goodness for the spikes we got for our shoes!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been keeping myself quite busy, sort of.
There's work, of course. Then there are a couple of after work gigs. Add onto that an attempt to go to hot yoga, doctor appointments, dinners with friends and/or the boyfriend, weekend trips and evenings out, and I am BUSY!!! When I am home, I don't feel like doing anything. At home I've been downloading music (had to find some for work) and looking for Christmas movies to download - after the Christmas concert I'll bring my computer to work and my class will watch Christmas movies for the rest of the day (and maybe the following day as well!!).
Work is nuts these days, in preparation for the Christmas concert. Unlike last year's concert, which was only a month after I started, this one is a lot of work. Last year, they had already started teaching the songs and one of the songs the kids already knew because it was used in the Parent's Night show. Also, the concert was just upstairs in the gym, only 3 classes in a concert. This year, we can't use our Parent's Night song, because the moms all saw it. And the concert is in some hall or place with a stage, half of the school in concert at a time. My class is second last the second day, with 4 classes up before us. We were told we had to have them doing 3 songs (choreographed) and a poem. Well, I didn't like any of the poems and decided my kids would do a 4th song instead. I'm glad the school agreed. They thought it was a great idea as all of the other classes were doing poems, which can end up being a tad boring.
So, my kids are singing : I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys, All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, and Happy Christmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon. Many of the kids already know the words to all of them (or most of them) and most of the dances as well (which I made up with a little help from my co-teacher). Our assistant teacher is now making the costumes that we decided on - a vest (red for boys, green for girls) with a reindeer face on the front and their names along the bottom. Very cute.
We had our first demo today with the supervisor watching. She was impressed with how much our kids knew. I think some of the other classes changed their songs or are just starting some of them. Our kids just have to practice. And we have to start practicing with the bells for All I Want for Christmas is You and glow sticks (glowing hearts and star wands) for Happy Christmas.
We have 2 weeks left before the concert. We'll be ready.
I'll post some videos of the kids practicing sometime in the next couple of weeks. They are so good!!!

Chori Chori

Do you remember Snow?? (No, not the white stuff that falls in winter.) I was listening to some Persian songs and came across this... It is a Bollywood/Persian mix of a song and had me nearly rolling on the floor!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! Certainly not what I expected. I kinda like it, actually. Listen and you'll know what I mean.
Chori Chori by Aneela and Arash

And here's the original.
Informer by Snow

Lyrics [from A-Z Lyrics]:

"Informer"

[CHORUS:]
Informer
You know say daddy me snow me-a (gonna) blame

A licky boom-boom down

'Tective man he say, say Daddy Me Snow me stab someone down the lane

A licky boom-boom down

Police-a them-a they come and-a they blow down me door

One him come crawl through through my window

So they put me in the back the car at the station

From that point on I reach my destination

Well the destination reached in down-a East detention

Where they whip down me pants look up me bottom

[CHORUS]

Bigger they are they think they have more power

There on the phone me say that on hour

Me for want to use it once and-a me call me lover

Lover who me callin'-a the one Tammy

And me love her in my heart down to my belly-a

Yes say Daddy Me Snow me I feel cool and deadly

Yes the one MC Shan and the one Daddy Snow

Together we-a love 'em(?) as a tornado

[CHORUS]

Listen to me ya better listen for me now

Listen to me ya better listen for me now

When-a e rock-a the microphone, me rock on steady-a

Yes-a Daddy Me Snow me are the article don

But the in an a-out (?) a dance an they say, "Where ya come from?"

People them say I come from Jamaica

But me born and raised in Etobicoke I want ya to know-a

Pure black people man thats all I man know

Yeah me shoes are-a tear up an-a my toes used to show-a

Where me-a born in-a the one Toronto

[CHORUS]

Come with a nice young lady

Intelligent, yes she gentle and irie

Everywhere me go me never lef' her at all-ie

Yes-a Daddy Snow me are the roam dance man-a

Roam between-a dancin' in-a in-a nation-a

You never know say Daddy Me Snow me are the boom shakata

Me never lay-a down flat in-a one cardboard box-a

Yes-a Daddy Me Snow me-a go reachin' out da top

[CHORUS]

Why would he? [repeat]

[MC Shan:]

Me sittin round cool with my jiggy jiggy girl

Police knock my door, lick up my pal

Rough me up and I cant do a thing

Pick up my line when my telephone ring

Take me to the station, black up my hands

Trail me down 'cause I'm hanging with the Snowman

What an I gonna do, I'm backed and I'm trapped

Smack me in my face, took all of my gap

They have no clues and they wanna get warmer

But Shan won't turn informer

[CHORUS]

Happy Pepero Day!!! :)

For those that don't know, November 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada. Here in Korea, it's a very different type of day. It's Pepero Day. They figure 11/11 looks like Pepero sticks, hence the day. It is basically just a way for Lotte company to make more money (along with all of the other brands with similar snacks). Pepero is basically bread sticks dipped in chocolate. There are several other varieties of Pepero: [1983-chocolate Pepero; 1984-almond Pepero; 1994-strawberry Pepero, flake Pepero; 1995-cheese Pepero, coffee Pepero; 1996-peanut Pepero, hazelnut Pepero, bulgogi Pepero [really??? sounds gross... bulgogi is meat!!]; 1997-peanut butter Pepero; 2000-nude Pepero [basically inside out with the chocolate on the inside]; 2005-black Pepero; 2006-Cocoa Pepero; 2007-nude Pepero, lemon cheese Pepero]
And of course anything here in Korea wouldn't be complete without characters, e-cards, a song and animation.
I posted about Pepero a couple of years ago, so if you are interested in finding out more, check out that post.