June Field Trip

Last Thursday we took our monthly Kinder field trip. We arrived at LCI and loaded onto three coach buses. After driving for nearly 50minutes we arrived at Yongin Agricultural Theme Park. It was a huge garden area full of flowers, playgrounds, fountains and activities. The day was so warm with a cloudless blue sky. After walking around for a few minutes all of the kids were hot and wanting a break. Luckily they were able to run through some fountains to cool off. Next we headed to an area with traditional Korean games. The kids had a great time playing and exploring the park. Finally, it was time for lunch. Each class was perched in a hut above the gardens. Each kid came with a lunch of gimbap (rice and veggies rolled in seaweed), fruit, veggies and snacks. Each mom had sent enough food to feed the entire class so we had a huge buffet. All of the students wanted to share with each other and with me. Hailey's mom has also packed me a HUGE lunch with 3 sandwiches, cherries, fruit skewers, iced tea, water and snacks. After sharing with a lot of others, we still couldn't finish it all. The kids were all ready to head back to LCI. Many of the students slept or relaxed on the way home. Field trips are always fun but very tiring. After chasing 10 6 six year olds in the hot sun for hours, it is hard to focus and teach for 5 more hours! It was a very memorable day. It is hard to believe that Fred and I only have one or two more field trips at LCI!

Open Class

A few weeks ago LCI had its yearly open class. Each class has one day when the moms and family members come to watch the class. Fred's class was on the first day and mine was a week later. As teachers we had a lot of prep work to do. We had to teach all of our usual work while preparing our students for open class. This means simply teaching them the exact work for that day. The students need to be so rehearsed that they have all of their sentences memorized. Many of our supervisors kept changing our open class lessons and games so it was very stressful. I had all of my work practiced and got a lot of it changed the day before open class! Once the day came, all went smoothly. My students were a bit shy but they sat well and participated a lot. I was very happy with my students and all that they have learned over the past 3.5 months. Once all of the teachers had finished open class, we had a staff party at a traditional Korean restaurant. We enjoyed a huge six or seven course meal. It was a great relief to be finished.

It is offical that Fred and I are NOT staying for a third year. We were asked multiple times to stay for another year. After some contract debates, we said that we would stay for six months. However, our owner really wanted us to stay for a year. We said that was too long so she wanted us to stay until June 2012. She had watched our open classes and was doing just about anything to get us to stay. We said that 11 months longer is still too long so we decided that we will not extend our contracts. Our last teaching day is Tuesday August 30th. After that we are heading straight to Bali, Indonesia to start our travels. We are going to be traveling Southeast Asia for a few months before heading to South America! I am very excited to start this next adventure!

Hiking in Suji

Dad and Jordan in Korea

Recently my dad and brother visited Fred and I in Korea. They arrived on a Friday night around midnight and stayed for 10 days. The first weekend was spent exploring the Suwon Fortress and Seoul. On Saturday we walked along the Suwon Fortress for a few hours viewing temples and palaces.

On Sunday we went into Seoul and walked around Insa-dong, the Blue House and Gyeongbokgung Palace. We also took them to have beef and chicken gabi for dinner during the weekend. On Monday they came to school and met all of my students.

On Tuesday they woke up early and went on a DMZ tour.

On Wednesday they went to Everland during the day and we all went to a Suwon soccer game in the evening.

On Thursday they went to Jamsil and explored COEX Mall and Aquarium. On Friday they relaxed around Suji and met us for lunch. In the evening we went out to dinner, to Batman Bar and to Norebong. I was very surprised to see everyone singing the night away! On Saturday it was a bit rainy but we went to a LG Twins baseball game. The game went late so we had a late dinner and got home around 11pm.

On Sunday we had a few hours to hang out before they had to head to the airport. It was so sad to see them go. It was a great week but it went by way too fast!

Lotus Lantern Festival

We have had the past four days off of work due to Children's Day. Once school closed on Wednesday we were ready for the long break. Fred and I decided not to travel due to the large number of travelers on the roads. Instead we stuck around Suji and Seoul. On Thursday we met up with some co-workers and headed to a nearby park for a picnic and some soccer. After a few hours in the sun we were ready for margartias in honor of Cinco de Mayo. We headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant for food and drinks. On Friday it was rainy so we spent the day inside and shopping around Suji. On Friday night we went out for chicken galbi and met up with our friends Ann and Collin. On Saturday Fred, Ann and I headed into Seoul for the Lotus Lantern Festival. The city was transformed in honor of Buddha's birthday, this coming Tuesday. We walked around temples before getting our seats for the Lantern Parade. The parade started at 7pm and didn't end until after 9:30. The lanterns were very cool and full of details. I even got one from one of the parade walkers. It turned out to be a great long weekend!

Car Museum Take Two

This past Wednesday we went to the Samsung Transportation Museum. We also went there last spring so this was my second field trip to the exciting car museum. This field trip was very different than most, as we were let loose in a large two story building without a lot of structure. We were not told where to go or when to be back. All of the teachers took their classes off in opposite directions. My kids were very excited to see the brightly painted cars and the cars from Korea. They also pointed out all of the "London cars" which to them meant that I must love these English classics. After walking around for a while the teachers grouped together and passed the time away. Finally, it was time to head back to LCI. The kids had a good time on the field trip. Some of them were more interested than others but they liked the experience of leaving LCI. My kids were very well behaved and they listened to all of my directions! I was a very proud teacher!


Dana and a MN plate


Fred and his class


Hailey and Zion

My class

Daniel and Brian

Birthdays and Song Contest

The past week at LCI was very busy. We were suppose to have a field trip but we didn't due to rain. Fred's class also had 2 birthday parties on different days. They had a lot of extra activities to try and fit into the schedule. They celebrated Sean's birthday on Monday and Julianna's on Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon we also had a school wide song contest. Fred's class sang "Rockin' Robin" and mine sang "Little Green Frog." Neither of our classes won but it was still a good afternoon. This week we were both also observed by the Korean supervisors. All of LCI has been preparing for Open Class which is during the second and third weeks of May. All of the Kinder students mothers will join in on the class. Last year I even had a few fathers, sibilings and grandmothers. It makes for a crazy day because you never know how your students will act with all of the extra people in the room. Overall, the week was super busy but it made it fly by. On Friday after work we went to Jamsil with Ann to meet up with some of her friends. We spent Saturday inside as it thunderstormed all day. This morning we got up early and headed out for some American style breakfast at "Butterfingers." We then went shopping for some clothes and supplies for our upcoming trip. This week we have a field trip on Wednesday (if it doesn't rain) and we have Thursday and Friday off due to Children's Day. Yes, there is a National holiday in Korea called Children's Day. I hope that we can get through Monday and Tuesday quickly!

Kylle and Ray Come to Korea

This past week Fred's sister and brother came to visit us. Kylle and Ray arrived last Monday and they left yesterday. They spent their first day relaxing around Suji and visiting LCI. We took them out for Korean BBQ for dinner before calling it an early night. On Tuesday they ventured off to Everland. Once they returned we went to a rotating sushi restaurant for dinner. They got up very early on Wednesday and left our apartment at 5:15am for a DMZ tour. They got back to Suji in the late afternoon and rested. We went out for chicken galbi and drinks after work. They got to meet some of our friends at Batman Bar. On Thursday and Friday they went into Seoul and explored. We all went out to a duck galbi restaurant for dinner on Friday. We then met up with more co-workers at Batman. Later in the evening, we went to a Noraebang (a singing room) before heading home. On Saturday we went to an afternoon LG Twins baseball game. The crowd was wild. They were singing for each player, each pitch and each inning. After a sad 5-2 loss, we headed back home. On Sunday we woke up early and went into Seoul. We took Kylle and Ray to a palace, a temple, the art district, the shopping area and out for food. Once the sun was setting we headed to the 63 Building. We walked along the river running through Seoul before heading up to the 63 Building Observatory. We were able to see all of Seoul with its lights and night activity. On Monday we all had lunch before they had to head off the airport. It was such a fun week having them here. The time flew by and we wish that they had not yet left. We can't wait to get together again in MN!

Yeoudio Cherry Blossoms and Varekai

Yesterday Fred and I had a great Saturday. We woke up early and headed to Yeoudio Park in Seoul for the Cherry Blossom Festival. We arrived and there so were so many people. At one subway station we took the escalator down to the track and we were unable to get off of the escalator due to the amount of people waiting to get on the subway. Fred said that it looked like all of the people were fleeing the city. After a very crowded ride we arrived at Yeoudio. We walked around for hours looking at the cherry blossoms and admiring the Han River and Seouls skyline. We stopped at a restaurant and enjoyed the day by sitting outside (a real treat in Korea). In the late afternoon we headed to Coex mall for some Mexican food. After dinner we went to an English book store before we headed to see Varekai. Varekai is a Cirque du Soleil production and is touring in Korea. We had great seats and loved the show. We even ran into 3 old LCI teachers whom are now at a different school in Seoul. We had a great day and it was nice to enjoy the great spring weather. Tomorrow Kylle and Ray arrive! It shoud be a very exciting week in Suji!

Moms Second Trip to Korea

For the past 10 days or so my mom has been visiting Korea. This was her second trip to visit me in the last 19 months. She arrived on April 6th and I met her at the bus stop. She went right to sleep and spent the afternoon exploring Suji. On Thursday she came to school and watched my classes. On Friday she spent the day exploring than she brought ice cream to my Kinder class to celebrate my birthday. On Saturday we had planned to go into Seoul but I was feeling sick. Instead we went to a flea market in Suji and enjoyed a great spring day (and my birthday). For dinner we met up with Ann and Stephy and headed to my favorite pasta restaurant. We then headed to Batman bar to meet up with other friends and co-workers for some drinks and cake. On Sunday we went to Suwon and walked around the World Cup Soccer Stadium. We had planned to go to a game but the team was playing away. On Monday mom went into Seoul to get some shopping done. On Tuesday we all went out to dinner to celebrate Freds' birthday. We went to a duck galbi place where you cook on your table. We had a very famous Korean meal filled with tons and tons of side dishes. We then met up with others and had cake to celebrate Freds' birthday. On Wednesday mom went into Seoul to visit the Korean War Museum. When she got back we went to dinner before relaxing at home. On Thursday mom went back into Seoul for her final day of exploring. Today she came to school, with donuts for our Kinder classes, and watched until lunch. After we had lunch I had to bring her to the bus stop. It was so wonderful having her here. The time went by so quickly. I wish that she could have stayed longer!

Mom and I with some cherry blossoms

Mom and Fred

Our 2nd Birthdays in Korea

This past week we celebrated both mine and Fred's birthdays. To celebrate mine, my mom brought ice-cream to school for all of my Kinder students. In the afternoon the Korean Teachers gave me a cake and made all of the afternoon kids sing to me. On Saturday, my actual birthday, Fred, mom, Ann, Stephy and I went out to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant near Suji. After dinner we went to Batman bar for about an hour to meet up with my other co-workers. I have been sick for the past week so it was a pretty low-key evening. Yesterday, for Fred's birthday, he brought ice-cream for his Kinder students. A few of them gave him cards and treats. For his first grade class one of his students moms came with pizzas and soda. He also got a nice LG Twins sweatshirt from a first grader and a Starbucks mug from another. During his 3rd and 4th grade classes they had cookies and snacks. The Korean staff also brought him a cake, which poor Fred, it was chocolate, and made the students sing to him. After work we met up with Ann and Colin and headed to dinner. We went to a duck galbi restaurant where you cook your food at your table. We then met up with some of our other co-workers at Batman. Overall we had great birthdays but we can't wait to celebrate at home once again!