- My grandmother turned 84 in June and to celebrate we hiked up to Big Rock in Dupont State Forest for a picnic dinner and views of the full moon. I made a spring quinoa salad and a broccoli pesto with orzo, Mom made sauteed leeks with goat cheese, Leah made chocolate chip cookies and we hiked up just before sunset. It rained briefly and part of the meal was eaten huddled under a tarp, but then the clouds cleared after a short shower. We found out after we arrived that the moon wouldn't rise until close to midnight, but there was a lovely sunset, and we played cards by the light of the many headlamps I still have floating around in my purse and no one tripped on the hike back to the car in the pitch dark.
- We also celebrated the 4th of July with my grandmother. I had my traditional Independence Day meal (Indian food and non-American beer), we played more cards and then watched the fireworks from her backyard.
- I've started going to trivia night at a local bar with my brother and some friends. We do okay (one win, a couple of second places and we would have won last night if I could have remembered that the '92 summer Olympic games were in Barcelona), but mostly I just enjoy the chance fix my hair, wear something besides yoga pants and a t-shirt, have a drink and made sarcastic comments about Chuck Norris with friends. (So far, there have been two Korea related questions [which city was chosen to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and who is the Secretary General of the UN] and both times, I insisted on writing the answer in Korean [평창 and 반기문] because (a) I'm TOTALLY that person and (b) I spent a whole two hours teaching myself Hangul by reading subway signs and, so help me God, I will use those skills whenever possible.) (Trivia caller: Man, someone is a dork. Me: YES, WHAT'S YOUR POINT?!) (I bet you thought I would stop writing in Hangul know that I'm no longer in Korea. THINK AGAIN!)
- Speaking of Korea, people following me on Twitter or Google+ (or, you know, real life) know that I can't freaking shut up about how much I want some kimchi jjigae, because (a) kimchi jjigae is really 맛있어요 (which, even after five months back in the US, is still my default way of saying delicious) and (b) I really miss Korea, guys. It snuck up on me; at first I was busy enjoying being back in the US and seeing my family and friends, and then weeks turned into months and I realized how much I miss it. I miss laughing with Audrey about the name of the stations on the Bundang line and I miss the 4th grade cleaning crew who kept giving me Korean homework. I miss Seoul and SnB and seeing the cherry blossoms with Siobhain. I miss my apartment and my neighborhood and, God help me, I was looking through photos from Pru's visit in January and I got nostalgic because omg, that was my Paris Baguette, the one where 친의 convinced me to buy her a kimchi pastry in exchange for a terrible ugly pillow she had made in home ec which I will cherish forever. I miss Nicole teasing me about my terrible Korean while I refrained from mocking her ridiculous ridiculous shoes. I miss having co-workers I didn't actively want to stab in the eyeballs.
Moving to Korea was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself.
- And hey, look, I'm on Google+. I'm unclear how well I'll use it, since I routinely forget I have a Facebook, but I am a big fan of all things Google, so there's hope.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Saturday, July 9, 2011
No Longer Friday Five
Remember when I use to post here regularly? Yeah, me neither. Friday round up, posted on Saturday because I got tired and went to bed.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Testy
So, there's this cardinal that lives at my parent's house. This is not a bird over endowed with brains, and he is convinced that his reflection in the windows of the house is a rival bird. Whenever he sees himself in the window, the bird (nicknamed Testy, short for Testosterone) repeatedly flings himself into the offending reflection in a testosterone fueled attempt to become the alpha cardinal in the area. From sunrise to sunset, the house echos with the thoinks! of the cardinal ricocheting off the house and the swears of my dad threatening to go outside and backhand the thing with a tennis racquet. It's particularly bad in the kitchen and my parents bedroom (both are surrounded by trees and shrubs for him to perch on while contemplating an attack), and my parents have had to drape the windows of their bedroom with sheets and towels in an attempt to hid the reflections, lest Testy wake them up at sunrise by headbutting the house. It looks like someone ineffectually tried to mummify the house. This has been going on for a month and Dad has cracked. He came into the living room today with a gun in one hand and murder in his eyes. I'm praying for poor aim, but I think Testy's days might be numbered.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
April is for Avocados
April was a pretty awesome month. It started with white-water rafting and jungle hiking in northern Costa Rica, plus some really awesome news that made me jump up and down on the side of a Costa Rican highway. (Hopefully May will be the month that I feel certain enough about the news to talk about it.) I spent the next thirteen days bouncing around Costa Rica: Sarapiquí, Sarah's village, San Jose (twice) and Manuel Antonio National Park to see some monkeys.
After Costa Rica, I spent a week at home and my oldest youngest brother came home. He been building a log cabin in the woods of Arkansas since January, so this was the first time I had seen him since February of last year. Then, the next day, my other brother came home for Easter break and for the first time since Christmas 2009, the whole family was together under the same roof. It was... loud and my little sister, who was briefly an only child for the first time in February, informed us that she liked the idea of having siblings more than the reality.
The next day, my parents, sister and I set off for Mexico. For years, my parents' church has supported two orphanage (one in Colima and one outside of Puebla), but this was the first time I wasn't working or in school during the annual mission trip. This year we went to the orphanage outside of Puebla (about three hours southeast of Mexico City) and it was so lovely. I can't say I was thrilled with traveling in a group, but the orphanage was amazing and the kids were precious and hilarious and endlessly forgiving about my butchering of their language. Also, the food was amazing. (I ate everything put in front of me, including every bit of sketchy chili-doused roadside fruit and had no problems. Almost everyone else in the group, the people who avoided anything that could have possible come in contact with the water and totally missed out that time we went to a market in Acatzingo and I tried to eat everything in sight, was ill at least once, which just goes to show that chili powder and lime cures everything.)
While April is now over and I'm probably going to stop getting fresh avocados every time I turn around, my travels aren't quite done yet. I'm heading to Washington DC on Thursday to spend a week with Riah, one of my closest friends from Korea. I've only been gone from Korea for two months and I've already lost touch with so many people, and I'm really glad Riah and I have managed to keep in touch.
After Costa Rica, I spent a week at home and my oldest youngest brother came home. He been building a log cabin in the woods of Arkansas since January, so this was the first time I had seen him since February of last year. Then, the next day, my other brother came home for Easter break and for the first time since Christmas 2009, the whole family was together under the same roof. It was... loud and my little sister, who was briefly an only child for the first time in February, informed us that she liked the idea of having siblings more than the reality.
The next day, my parents, sister and I set off for Mexico. For years, my parents' church has supported two orphanage (one in Colima and one outside of Puebla), but this was the first time I wasn't working or in school during the annual mission trip. This year we went to the orphanage outside of Puebla (about three hours southeast of Mexico City) and it was so lovely. I can't say I was thrilled with traveling in a group, but the orphanage was amazing and the kids were precious and hilarious and endlessly forgiving about my butchering of their language. Also, the food was amazing. (I ate everything put in front of me, including every bit of sketchy chili-doused roadside fruit and had no problems. Almost everyone else in the group, the people who avoided anything that could have possible come in contact with the water and totally missed out that time we went to a market in Acatzingo and I tried to eat everything in sight, was ill at least once, which just goes to show that chili powder and lime cures everything.)
While April is now over and I'm probably going to stop getting fresh avocados every time I turn around, my travels aren't quite done yet. I'm heading to Washington DC on Thursday to spend a week with Riah, one of my closest friends from Korea. I've only been gone from Korea for two months and I've already lost touch with so many people, and I'm really glad Riah and I have managed to keep in touch.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Friday Five, or March in Review
1) I left Korea on February 28th and the culture shock of returning to the US was both easier and harder than last time (i.e. the time I ended up with my hands over my ears in line for security at San Fransisco because I'd lost the ability to tune out other people's conversations and was going into sensory overload). It was easier because I knew what to expect and harder because Korean habits had had two full years to form. It took me a few weeks to stop bowing at people and I'm still muttering in Korean. The one thing that I didn't have trouble adjusting to was having a car again. I still make sure to hand cashiers my money with both hands and slip my shoes off before entering a house, but I'm loving being able to drive again.
2) No sooner had I made it home than I left again. I got home Monday night and left Wednesday morning for Chapel Hill to go to a wedding and see friends from college. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of my university friends, but the wedding was lovely and I got to meet my senior year roommate's new baby. I also bought a new computer. (In my first 48 hours in the country, I went to the bakery, the library and the Apple store. I have my priorities in order.) My old computer had been slowly dying for the past eight months and I'm loving having a computer with a working mouse again.
3) Being home has been really nice. I've spent a lot of time with my family, specially my little sister, who is now 16, holy crap, when did that happen? I've also been cooking a lot, taking advantage of my mom's kitchen, which has all sorts of fancy utensils I didn't have access to in Korea, like a blender, measuring spoons and an oven.
4) I've also been to the library at least a dozen times. I have a Kindle, which was easily the best purchase of 2010 and is great if you live in a country where English isn't spoken, but not so good if you want to build a fort out of books. I also have a new library card for the first time since high school. I've never been good at returning library books on time and by senior year, my fine had reached an amount so large that I stopped using my card and started using my mom's instead. For years, I've been convinced that the fine was eighty or a hundred dollars, but when I finally checked, it turned out I only owned twenty four dollars, which might have seemed huge to me ten years ago, but is easily payable now.
5) Being home has been nice, but also a tad boring, since I don't know anyone in Brevard anymore, so at the end of March, I left for two weeks of vacation in Costa Rica. I spent the first week with a friend who lives here, and now I'm on my own, trying to remember to speak Spanish instead of Korean.
2) No sooner had I made it home than I left again. I got home Monday night and left Wednesday morning for Chapel Hill to go to a wedding and see friends from college. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of my university friends, but the wedding was lovely and I got to meet my senior year roommate's new baby. I also bought a new computer. (In my first 48 hours in the country, I went to the bakery, the library and the Apple store. I have my priorities in order.) My old computer had been slowly dying for the past eight months and I'm loving having a computer with a working mouse again.
3) Being home has been really nice. I've spent a lot of time with my family, specially my little sister, who is now 16, holy crap, when did that happen? I've also been cooking a lot, taking advantage of my mom's kitchen, which has all sorts of fancy utensils I didn't have access to in Korea, like a blender, measuring spoons and an oven.
4) I've also been to the library at least a dozen times. I have a Kindle, which was easily the best purchase of 2010 and is great if you live in a country where English isn't spoken, but not so good if you want to build a fort out of books. I also have a new library card for the first time since high school. I've never been good at returning library books on time and by senior year, my fine had reached an amount so large that I stopped using my card and started using my mom's instead. For years, I've been convinced that the fine was eighty or a hundred dollars, but when I finally checked, it turned out I only owned twenty four dollars, which might have seemed huge to me ten years ago, but is easily payable now.
5) Being home has been nice, but also a tad boring, since I don't know anyone in Brevard anymore, so at the end of March, I left for two weeks of vacation in Costa Rica. I spent the first week with a friend who lives here, and now I'm on my own, trying to remember to speak Spanish instead of Korean.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2010 Year End Meme
That end of the year meme that's been going around, although you'll notice I waited until 2010 was good and over to finish it.
1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Applied to the Peace Corps! Took an overnight train across China.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My 2010 goals were 1) lose weight (nope) 2) travel more (yep) 3) save money (not as much as I would have liked, but yep) and 4) organize my computer (that would be a no). Next year I want to 1) lose weight/be healthier 2) Travel more 3) Be more fiscally responsible and 4) Blog/write more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My co-teacher Yeong Eun had a little boy.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No
5. What countries did you visit?
China (for a second time), Korea (not sure if it counts as visiting since I'm living here)
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More definite plans for the future.
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Eh, none? It wasn't really a momentous year. A good year, but not momentous.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I applied to the Peace Corps. I became a better teacher.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn't get my Peace Corp medical paperwork finished.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Thankfully no, although I do now have an extensive amount of paperwork documenting exactly how healthy I am.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Kindle and plane tickets to China
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Congress for repealing DADT. My broadcasting club kids worked really hard and I'm super proud of them.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Look, I pretty studiously didn't pay attention to the US elections for a reason. That much rage isn't healthy.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel, books, Indian food, 문구점....
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Traveling. The Peace Corp. Life in general.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
OK Go - Here It Goes Again; My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na; Lady GaGa - Alejandro; The Sounds - 4 Songs & A Fight; 이효리 - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? same same
iii. richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Cleaning my apartment, exercising, studying Korean, keeping in touch with people
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Wasting time (especially my afternoons at work), following celebrity gossip.
20. How will you be spending Christmas/New Year's Eve?
I spent Christmas with friends (lots of friends) and I spent New Years at home. I think I technically rang in the new year by reading about the Black Plague. I never want to do anything on New Years and I always feel slightly guilty about it.
21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2010?
My sister got locked in my bathroom which was more embarrassing for her, but I was a bit red faced when I had to beg the adjoshi to break down my bathroom door so she could get out.
22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Nope
23. How many one-night stands?
Nada
24. What were your favorite TV programs?
Doctor Who, White Collar, Leverage, Castle
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. I don't really hate anyone. Sustaining the anger to hate someone is too much energy.
26. What was the best book you read?
I read 60 books this year: 12 re-reads, 11 non-fiction, 18 Agatha Christie. My favorites were:
Leviathan and Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Oh hell, probably my continuing love affair with K-pop. Basically, my year sounded a lot like this and it was ~awesome!
28. What did you want and get?
To come back to Korea for a second year, see the Terracotta Soldiers, my family to visit me in Korea
29. What did you want and not get?
I really wanted to be finished with the Peace Corps medical testing by the end of 2010.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Inception or Deathly Hallows
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25. On my actually birthday Sarah and I went shopping and out to dinner, and then that weekend a bunch of friends from college came to Brevard and we spend the weekend having Wii tournaments and touring the yarn shops of the greater Asheville area.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have finished my Peace Corps medical paperwork.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Most days I made it out of the house looking vaguely presentable? I sometimes matched my glasses to my knee socks? Actually, socks in general. I own so many cheep Korean socks now. Knee socks, plush socks, ridiculous ankle socks. If they're sold from the back of a truck on the side of the road in Korea, I probably own them.
34. What kept you sane?
iPod and Kindle
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kim Yuna, Johnny Weir, Alex O'Loughlin, Simon Baker
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Relations between North and South Korea, the DADT repeal
37. Who did you miss?
Family and friends back home.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Audrey, Caroline and Riah
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
If you want something and work hard enough, you can get it.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But tonight I'll take my chances,
On the far side of the world.
-- Far Side of the World, Jimmy Buffett
1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Applied to the Peace Corps! Took an overnight train across China.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My 2010 goals were 1) lose weight (nope) 2) travel more (yep) 3) save money (not as much as I would have liked, but yep) and 4) organize my computer (that would be a no). Next year I want to 1) lose weight/be healthier 2) Travel more 3) Be more fiscally responsible and 4) Blog/write more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My co-teacher Yeong Eun had a little boy.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No
5. What countries did you visit?
China (for a second time), Korea (not sure if it counts as visiting since I'm living here)
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More definite plans for the future.
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Eh, none? It wasn't really a momentous year. A good year, but not momentous.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I applied to the Peace Corps. I became a better teacher.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn't get my Peace Corp medical paperwork finished.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Thankfully no, although I do now have an extensive amount of paperwork documenting exactly how healthy I am.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Kindle and plane tickets to China
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Congress for repealing DADT. My broadcasting club kids worked really hard and I'm super proud of them.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Look, I pretty studiously didn't pay attention to the US elections for a reason. That much rage isn't healthy.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel, books, Indian food, 문구점....
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Traveling. The Peace Corp. Life in general.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
OK Go - Here It Goes Again; My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na; Lady GaGa - Alejandro; The Sounds - 4 Songs & A Fight; 이효리 - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? same same
iii. richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Cleaning my apartment, exercising, studying Korean, keeping in touch with people
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Wasting time (especially my afternoons at work), following celebrity gossip.
20. How will you be spending Christmas/New Year's Eve?
I spent Christmas with friends (lots of friends) and I spent New Years at home. I think I technically rang in the new year by reading about the Black Plague. I never want to do anything on New Years and I always feel slightly guilty about it.
21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2010?
My sister got locked in my bathroom which was more embarrassing for her, but I was a bit red faced when I had to beg the adjoshi to break down my bathroom door so she could get out.
22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Nope
23. How many one-night stands?
Nada
24. What were your favorite TV programs?
Doctor Who, White Collar, Leverage, Castle
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. I don't really hate anyone. Sustaining the anger to hate someone is too much energy.
26. What was the best book you read?
I read 60 books this year: 12 re-reads, 11 non-fiction, 18 Agatha Christie. My favorites were:
Leviathan and Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Oh hell, probably my continuing love affair with K-pop. Basically, my year sounded a lot like this and it was ~awesome!
28. What did you want and get?
To come back to Korea for a second year, see the Terracotta Soldiers, my family to visit me in Korea
29. What did you want and not get?
I really wanted to be finished with the Peace Corps medical testing by the end of 2010.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Inception or Deathly Hallows
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25. On my actually birthday Sarah and I went shopping and out to dinner, and then that weekend a bunch of friends from college came to Brevard and we spend the weekend having Wii tournaments and touring the yarn shops of the greater Asheville area.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have finished my Peace Corps medical paperwork.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Most days I made it out of the house looking vaguely presentable? I sometimes matched my glasses to my knee socks? Actually, socks in general. I own so many cheep Korean socks now. Knee socks, plush socks, ridiculous ankle socks. If they're sold from the back of a truck on the side of the road in Korea, I probably own them.
34. What kept you sane?
iPod and Kindle
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kim Yuna, Johnny Weir, Alex O'Loughlin, Simon Baker
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Relations between North and South Korea, the DADT repeal
37. Who did you miss?
Family and friends back home.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Audrey, Caroline and Riah
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
If you want something and work hard enough, you can get it.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But tonight I'll take my chances,
On the far side of the world.
-- Far Side of the World, Jimmy Buffett
Sunday, September 26, 2010
China, Day 3 & 4: The Summer Palace
The Tower of Buddhist Incense, Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake
I went to the Summer Palace twice. The first time, I went with Sarah on Wednesday, the day we got back from Xi'an. It was cloudy and overcast all morning, started to drizzle on the ride and then began to pour as our taxi arrived at the gates to the Summer Palace. We bought tickets anyways, hoping the storm would blow over, but were forced to abandon that idea once it started lightening. Sarah and I tried to wait out the worst of the storm under a covered walkway, but after half an hour, we decided to just go get lunch.
The first taxi we saw was black, not the normal color for a Beijing taxi, but the driver assured us he had a meter, the puddle we were standing in was lapping at our ankles and there were no other taxis in sight. It wasn't the time to be picky. We got in, made sure our drive flipped on the meter and then, maybe ten minutes into the drive, I noticed that the meter was already at 100¥, more than double what the much longer taxi ride from our hostel had cost. We demanded the driver pull over. He refused and said this was the normal price. We pointed out that we had taken a taxi TO the Summer Palace, so we knew how much it actually cost and also, PULL OVER. He ended up turning off the meter and driving us to the nearest subway stop, which was decent of him, considering it was still pouring rain.
We ate lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant and ordered an obscene amount of food, including four different dishes of hummus. Mmm, hummus. Then I bought Korean World Cup stickers at an Art Box. In China.
I drug Mom and Leah back to the Summer Palace the next afternoon, once Sarah had left for the airport. Our first stop, after we walked past some halls of various beatitudes, was a name calligraphy booth. Artists would write western names using different Asian-esque pictures to represent each letter. (There's a video [not mine] of the Summer Palace calligraphy here.) Leah had her name written and I lamented that none of the letters in my name are depicted with a dragon.
Our next stop was Kunming Lake. Kunming Lake covers two thirds of the park and is surrounded by bridges, pagodas, pavilions, temples and gardens. It's absolutely gorgeous. When I was at the lake the day before, I could barely see through the rain, but on Thursday the storm had temporarily driven away the smog and haze, and there were brilliant blue skies. We rented a paddle boat and went out on the lake. Mom, who had a broken foot, sat in the front of the boat while Leah and I did the heavy lifting in the back. The lake was full of boats and the paddle boats don't exactly have a sophisticated steering systems, so we kept running into other boats. Luckily, paddle boats also don't go very fast and most of the collisions were avoided by Mom leaning forwards and pushing the other boats away.
The Tower of Buddhist Incense, perched on Longevity Hill overlooking Kunming Lake, is the highest point in the Summer Palace. We climbed to the top of the tower to get a view of the lake and the park. The Summer Palace is big enough that by the lake, the trees and hills hide the sprawl of Beijing surrounding the park, but from the top of the tower we could see the city spread out in front of us. It was definitely worth going back a second time.
Lotus blossoms at Kunming Lake
The Tower of Buddhist Incense
Decorated eaves on the Tower of Buddhist Incense
The rest of the pictures are here.
Friday, September 10, 2010
China, Day 2: Xi'an and the Terracotta Army
The travelogue continues! The trip to Xi'an is one of the more crazypants things I've ever decided to do. When Mom and I booked our tickets to China, we planned to spend five days in Beijing and five days in Shanghai. I asked Leah what she most wanted to see in China and she immediately said the Terracotta Army. I have also wanted to see the Terracotta Army for approximately forever, but it's 750 miles from Beijing. Not exactly a day trip. Or is it?
Enter Sarah. Sarah decides she is going to China and we have the following conversation in a ten minute break between classes:
The plan was to take an overnight train to Xi'an, spend the day at Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (home to the Terracotta Army) and then take an overnight train back to Beijing that night, essentially treating this like a 1,500 miles (2414 km) daytrip. (It also meant two and half days without showers, and China is hot in August.) Ca-ray-zee.
Guys, it was so, so worth it.
We left Beijing on Monday evening from the Beijing West Railway Station, the largest train station in the world. Sleeper trains to Xi'an were four berths to a compartment. We booked our tickets through our hostel, and the travel agent was only able to buy top bunks, meaning we were separated into two compartments. Luckily, there was an Austrian group in the same situation, and we were able to switch berths and end up in one compartment. The sleeping cars were nice, if small. Bedding was provided and there were two bathrooms (which quickly ran out of toilet paper) at the end of the car. I was lulled to sleep by the rocking of the train in the suburbs of Beijing and woke up to sunrise in Shaanxi province.
The Terracotta Army was amazing! The army was built from 246 BC to 210 BC by Qin Shi Huang, who unified warring city-states in the Yellow River basin and became the first Emperor of China, to help him rule another empire in the afterlife. It was buried when he died in 210 BC and rediscovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well during a drought. The sheer scale of the necropolis is staggering. There are an estimated 8,000 soldiers guarding the tomb, and in addition to the soldiers, there are horses, water birds, musicians and acrobats awaiting the Emperor in the afterlife. Only three pits of soldiers open to the public, but dozens of other pits have been excavated and there's a really excellent museum full of the finds. There's no AC in Pit 1, which is really just a glorified air craft hanger, and it was sweltering hot, but we still spent hours walking around the army until our clothes were plastered to our bodies. Well, Sarah and I did. Mom and Leah abandoned us to play cards in a gift shop.
We stayed at the Mausoleum until closing time, then caught a bus back to Xi'an. We made the mistake of getting on a local mini-bus instead of the tourist bus that goes directly to the train station. They cost the same, but the mini-bus has a much longer route and there was a tense twenty or so minutes as we stared out the window and tried to figure out why we kept seeing fields and not a train station. We just barely made it back to Xi'an in time to catch our train back to Beijing.
The trip to Beijing wasn't quite as pleasant as the trip to Xi'an. We weren't able to switch bunks for the ride back, so we were in different compartments. Also, Mom and Leah found out the hard way that you *must* show your train ticket before exiting the arrivals terminal in Beijing. Sarah and I had our tickets, but Mom and Leah left theirs on the train. Mom blustered her way past the guard, but Leah, who was prone to getting stuck places on this trip, lacked Mom's gall and was detained, so Mom went back to wait with her. Sarah and I tried to pass Mom and Leah our tickets, but we were caught and the guard started ripping everyone's tickets so they could only be used once. Someone eventually gave Leah an extra ticket and she made it out, but Mom was still stuck. Eventually a guard took Mom back to the train to search for her ticket, but due to the language barrier (we spoke no Chinese, they spoke no English), all I knew was that Mom had been taken away after pissing off the guards in the Chinese train station. I spent the thirty minutes Mom was gone freaking out about how we hadn't even be in China for 48 hours and ALREADY someone had managed to get arrested or detained or whatever, what am I going to DO and, oh God, Mom has Leah's passport, I can't even take her back to Korea with me. Luckily Mom reappeared waving her ticket before I started contemplating calling the Embassy.
We escaped the the train station, caught a taxi to our hostel, and I took the best shower of my life. It was an awesome trip!
There are many, many more photos and more information that you could possible want about the Terracotta Army at my Flickr page.
Enter Sarah. Sarah decides she is going to China and we have the following conversation in a ten minute break between classes:
11:34 AMAnd like that, I decided that maybe going to see the Terracotta Army was something I should seriously consider. Clearly, I'm easily suggestible if I already want to do something. (I was already planning to go back to China over Chuseok just to see the Terracotta Army, but I would rather go with someone. China can be intimidating by yourself and if I go by myself, I have no one to make excited seal noises to.) I shot off a quick email to my mom, letting her know I was going to Xi'an for a day (on a family vacation, no less) and inviting her and Leah to come along. They thought it would be fun. And like that, we were going to Xi'an.
Sarah: how close are the terra cotta soldiers?
me: um, fairly far away
unfortunately
11:56 AM
Sarah: um
so I totally want to see the terra Cotta army
apparently it's only and overnight train ride away
I'm totally up for that
The plan was to take an overnight train to Xi'an, spend the day at Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (home to the Terracotta Army) and then take an overnight train back to Beijing that night, essentially treating this like a 1,500 miles (2414 km) daytrip. (It also meant two and half days without showers, and China is hot in August.) Ca-ray-zee.
Guys, it was so, so worth it.
We left Beijing on Monday evening from the Beijing West Railway Station, the largest train station in the world. Sleeper trains to Xi'an were four berths to a compartment. We booked our tickets through our hostel, and the travel agent was only able to buy top bunks, meaning we were separated into two compartments. Luckily, there was an Austrian group in the same situation, and we were able to switch berths and end up in one compartment. The sleeping cars were nice, if small. Bedding was provided and there were two bathrooms (which quickly ran out of toilet paper) at the end of the car. I was lulled to sleep by the rocking of the train in the suburbs of Beijing and woke up to sunrise in Shaanxi province.
The Terracotta Army was amazing! The army was built from 246 BC to 210 BC by Qin Shi Huang, who unified warring city-states in the Yellow River basin and became the first Emperor of China, to help him rule another empire in the afterlife. It was buried when he died in 210 BC and rediscovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well during a drought. The sheer scale of the necropolis is staggering. There are an estimated 8,000 soldiers guarding the tomb, and in addition to the soldiers, there are horses, water birds, musicians and acrobats awaiting the Emperor in the afterlife. Only three pits of soldiers open to the public, but dozens of other pits have been excavated and there's a really excellent museum full of the finds. There's no AC in Pit 1, which is really just a glorified air craft hanger, and it was sweltering hot, but we still spent hours walking around the army until our clothes were plastered to our bodies. Well, Sarah and I did. Mom and Leah abandoned us to play cards in a gift shop.
We stayed at the Mausoleum until closing time, then caught a bus back to Xi'an. We made the mistake of getting on a local mini-bus instead of the tourist bus that goes directly to the train station. They cost the same, but the mini-bus has a much longer route and there was a tense twenty or so minutes as we stared out the window and tried to figure out why we kept seeing fields and not a train station. We just barely made it back to Xi'an in time to catch our train back to Beijing.
The trip to Beijing wasn't quite as pleasant as the trip to Xi'an. We weren't able to switch bunks for the ride back, so we were in different compartments. Also, Mom and Leah found out the hard way that you *must* show your train ticket before exiting the arrivals terminal in Beijing. Sarah and I had our tickets, but Mom and Leah left theirs on the train. Mom blustered her way past the guard, but Leah, who was prone to getting stuck places on this trip, lacked Mom's gall and was detained, so Mom went back to wait with her. Sarah and I tried to pass Mom and Leah our tickets, but we were caught and the guard started ripping everyone's tickets so they could only be used once. Someone eventually gave Leah an extra ticket and she made it out, but Mom was still stuck. Eventually a guard took Mom back to the train to search for her ticket, but due to the language barrier (we spoke no Chinese, they spoke no English), all I knew was that Mom had been taken away after pissing off the guards in the Chinese train station. I spent the thirty minutes Mom was gone freaking out about how we hadn't even be in China for 48 hours and ALREADY someone had managed to get arrested or detained or whatever, what am I going to DO and, oh God, Mom has Leah's passport, I can't even take her back to Korea with me. Luckily Mom reappeared waving her ticket before I started contemplating calling the Embassy.
We escaped the the train station, caught a taxi to our hostel, and I took the best shower of my life. It was an awesome trip!
There are many, many more photos and more information that you could possible want about the Terracotta Army at my Flickr page.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
China, Day 1: The Olympic Park
We left Seoul and flew into Beijing on August 2nd. We were meeting up with my friend Sarah and leaving Beijing that night, so the first few hours in China were a bit crazy. We needed to go the train station to store our luggage, we needed to have our tickets to store our luggage, we needed to find Sarah who had our tickets, we were at the wrong train station, etc. etc. Around and around we went, and it was 2:00 by the time our luggage was safely stowed and we made it to the restaurant for lunch. In addition to Sarah, two other friends from high school were also visiting Beijing at the same time (it's a small world after all), and we all met for lunch at a pizza place near Wendy and John's hotel. It was great to see them again, and so strange that we should all happen to be in Beijing of all places.
After lunch, Wendy and John left to see the Temple of Heaven and Mom, Leah, Sarah and I went to the Olympic Stadium. My brother is a huge fan of the Olympics, and Mom wanted to visit so she could tell him about it. Leah and I wanted to visit because we knew it would kill him just a little to know that we had been and he hadn't. (We're sisters, not saints.) Sarah came, I think, because the Water Cube has air conditioning.
I moved in the middle of the 2008 Olympics and missed pretty much the whole thing, but even I know what the Bird's Nest looks like. It was cool to see in person, all post-modern and grandiose. We spend twenty or so minutes walking around the stadium, dodging groups of Chinese tourists. I was surprised that almost two years to the day of the Opening Ceremonies, there were still hundred of tourists at the Bird's Nest. Of course, I would quickly learn that this is China and there would be hundred, if not thousands, of Chinese people milling about everywhere I went. Wikipedia tells that the Chinese government plans to turn the Bird's Nest into a shopping mall and hotel, but for now it's just a tourist destination.
Next to the Bird's Nest is the Water Cube. Part of the complex has been turned into a water park (which officially opened a few days after we visited) and much of the upper levels has been devoted to gift shops selling official Water Cube merchandise, but we eventually found the pool where Michael Phelps won all the gold medals ever. The pool was delightfully air conditioned, there was a video showing the highlights of the 2008 Olympics and we had an hour to kill before we left for the train station, so we camped out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Not a bad start to the trip!
After lunch, Wendy and John left to see the Temple of Heaven and Mom, Leah, Sarah and I went to the Olympic Stadium. My brother is a huge fan of the Olympics, and Mom wanted to visit so she could tell him about it. Leah and I wanted to visit because we knew it would kill him just a little to know that we had been and he hadn't. (We're sisters, not saints.) Sarah came, I think, because the Water Cube has air conditioning.
I moved in the middle of the 2008 Olympics and missed pretty much the whole thing, but even I know what the Bird's Nest looks like. It was cool to see in person, all post-modern and grandiose. We spend twenty or so minutes walking around the stadium, dodging groups of Chinese tourists. I was surprised that almost two years to the day of the Opening Ceremonies, there were still hundred of tourists at the Bird's Nest. Of course, I would quickly learn that this is China and there would be hundred, if not thousands, of Chinese people milling about everywhere I went. Wikipedia tells that the Chinese government plans to turn the Bird's Nest into a shopping mall and hotel, but for now it's just a tourist destination.
Next to the Bird's Nest is the Water Cube. Part of the complex has been turned into a water park (which officially opened a few days after we visited) and much of the upper levels has been devoted to gift shops selling official Water Cube merchandise, but we eventually found the pool where Michael Phelps won all the gold medals ever. The pool was delightfully air conditioned, there was a video showing the highlights of the 2008 Olympics and we had an hour to kill before we left for the train station, so we camped out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Not a bad start to the trip!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Back To School
Today was the first day of the fall semester. Technically the students came back yesterday, but it was a half day and mostly consisted of the kids cleaning the school. Today was my first day of class - the first regular class in almost two months and the first class period in a month. As boring as desk warming was, there was still a part of me that went noooooooooo as my first class filed in. September is going to be a crazy busy month; after school classes start next week and the English broadcasting club has a presentation on September 16th that I found out about today.
It was good to see my kids again though, and they're still super cute. I overheard a boy in 4-2 bragging to his friends about how he met Teacher's Mother and Teacher's Sister at English camp. Apparently, they are tall which, I can't fault the kid's observational skill. I come from tall people. Also, I found out I'll get a full week off for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) at the end of September so, you know, I'll live.
It was good to see my kids again though, and they're still super cute. I overheard a boy in 4-2 bragging to his friends about how he met Teacher's Mother and Teacher's Sister at English camp. Apparently, they are tall which, I can't fault the kid's observational skill. I come from tall people. Also, I found out I'll get a full week off for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) at the end of September so, you know, I'll live.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Door Story or, Let's Start This Trip Out Right
Alright, finally, travelogue time! Mom and Leah arrived on Thursday afternoon. Since my apartment is tiny and Mom's best friend from when we lived in Dallas happens to live in the same suburb of Seoul as me (small world, right?), while we were in Korea, Mom stayed with Shaunna and Leah stayed with me. The first night, we ate dinner in Shaunna's neighborhood, then Leah and I headed back to my apartment for the night. I let her have the first shower, because I'm a gracious host like that, and also I had a suitcase of goodies to paw through.
Now, because of the sink-shower contraption, my bathroom door repeatedly gets wet and over time has warped so it no longer fits properly in the door frame. You can mostly shut the door, but it doesn't latch. I normally just leave the door cracked and don't worry about it, but Leah pulled it all the way shut, and then, after her shower, couldn't get the door open. We yanked and shoved and attempted to remove the door hinges to no avail. After a good fifteen minutes of trying, we figured out the problem was that the deadlatch (the medal rod that actually keeps the door shut) had separated from rest of the doorknob. Shoving and pushing wasn't going to work; short of dismantling the doorknob, Leah wasn't getting out of my bathroom.
Leah: Moooooooooommy!
Cait: I've had you in my care for an hour and already I've gotten you locked in a bathroom. HOW IS THIS MY LIFE?! I AM NOT ACTUALLY A TERRIBLE BIG SISTER, I SWEAR!
I ran downstairs to get the security guard/adjoshi-who-is-always-hanging-out-with-the-building-manager-and-does-maintenance. While my Korean has improved a lot in the past months, at no point in my studies have I learned the phrase "Help, my younger sister is trapped naked in my bathroom. Can you get her out?" (An additional complication of the sink-shower is that you can't bring clothes or a towel into the bathroom with you lest they get soaked.) I did, however, manage to say "Help me, sister in bathroom door no" and beckoned for the guard to follow me upstairs. He fiddled around unsuccessfully with the doorknob for a bit while I hovered behind him, poised to throw Leah a towel should he manage to open the door. After ten or so minutes, he left in search of someone with a bigger toolbox, telling me he would be back shortly.
While we waited, I sat outside the bathroom, chatting with Leah (who was punch-drunk with adrenaline and exhaustion) and worrying about how many old Korean dudes were going to see my underage sister naked, when I noticed the slit at the bottom of the door. Mayhaps, I though, it would be big enough to slip a towel through, or at least some underwear. Turns out, it WAS big enough and by the time the second maintenance man was fetched, Leah was fully dressed and had even fixed her hair. Aided by several large and impressive looking tools, the maintenance guys were able to rip apart my door knob and after nearly an hour of her being stuck in the bathroom, I got my sister back. THANK GOD!
An annotated after shot of my bathroom door.
Now, because of the sink-shower contraption, my bathroom door repeatedly gets wet and over time has warped so it no longer fits properly in the door frame. You can mostly shut the door, but it doesn't latch. I normally just leave the door cracked and don't worry about it, but Leah pulled it all the way shut, and then, after her shower, couldn't get the door open. We yanked and shoved and attempted to remove the door hinges to no avail. After a good fifteen minutes of trying, we figured out the problem was that the deadlatch (the medal rod that actually keeps the door shut) had separated from rest of the doorknob. Shoving and pushing wasn't going to work; short of dismantling the doorknob, Leah wasn't getting out of my bathroom.
Leah: Moooooooooommy!
Cait: I've had you in my care for an hour and already I've gotten you locked in a bathroom. HOW IS THIS MY LIFE?! I AM NOT ACTUALLY A TERRIBLE BIG SISTER, I SWEAR!
I ran downstairs to get the security guard/adjoshi-who-is-always-hanging-out-with-the-building-manager-and-does-maintenance. While my Korean has improved a lot in the past months, at no point in my studies have I learned the phrase "Help, my younger sister is trapped naked in my bathroom. Can you get her out?" (An additional complication of the sink-shower is that you can't bring clothes or a towel into the bathroom with you lest they get soaked.) I did, however, manage to say "Help me, sister in bathroom door no" and beckoned for the guard to follow me upstairs. He fiddled around unsuccessfully with the doorknob for a bit while I hovered behind him, poised to throw Leah a towel should he manage to open the door. After ten or so minutes, he left in search of someone with a bigger toolbox, telling me he would be back shortly.
While we waited, I sat outside the bathroom, chatting with Leah (who was punch-drunk with adrenaline and exhaustion) and worrying about how many old Korean dudes were going to see my underage sister naked, when I noticed the slit at the bottom of the door. Mayhaps, I though, it would be big enough to slip a towel through, or at least some underwear. Turns out, it WAS big enough and by the time the second maintenance man was fetched, Leah was fully dressed and had even fixed her hair. Aided by several large and impressive looking tools, the maintenance guys were able to rip apart my door knob and after nearly an hour of her being stuck in the bathroom, I got my sister back. THANK GOD!
An annotated after shot of my bathroom door.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
영어 캠프 - Week Two
(I promise this is the last post about English camp until I start to plan for the winter camps in December.)
6th graders posing on the last day of camp.
During week two, the 3rd & 4th graders studied body parts and animals. Both units were covered in the regular lessons, but review is always good, and I used the opportunity to teach extra vocabulary and grammar. During the body parts unit, I put the students into pairs and had one student trace their partner's body on a sheet of butcher paper. Once they were done, they drew in additional features (such as the face) and labeled the body parts. Their favorite part about the activity was how they didn't have to sit at their desks. My favorite part was how few students actually sat on the ground when tracing their friends; half of them chose to Asian squat and do a funny squatting waddle as they made their way around their partner's body.
During the animal unit we read Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Well, I read Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? and the students listened to me and looked at the pictures. The first time, they just listened to the story. The second time, they made their own copy of the book. I gave the kids pictures of the different animals (bear, bird, duck, cat, etc.) and as we read the story, they colored the pictures the appropriate colors and wrote descriptions of the animals (brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, purple cat, etc.) Or at least they tried too. One boy had some trouble.
Whoops.
On Wednesday afternoon, 안 수빈 and 신 다해, two 4th graders who aren't in English camp, saw me in the hallway and followed me back to my classroom to play. We colored the animal flashcards from camp and they entertained themselves for a while by writing things like cat and ice cream and I love you Teacher on the whiteboard. Then they gave themselves eye tests. 다해 wrote an eye chart on the board and 수빈 sat on a desk a couple of rows back, covered one eye with a fuzzy plush ball and called out the letters. Apparently this was fun, although they did get into an argument when 다해 told 수빈 her eyesight wasn't very good. The eye chart reminded me of the eye test I had during a medical exam my first year in Korea. I had only been in the country for a few days, the only Korean I knew was hello, kimchi and I love you very much, and all the eye charts at the hospital were entirely in Korean letters. Eventually, the nurse found an eye chart used for very young children that had pictures instead of letters, and I had to identify the pictures in English while my co-teacher translated my answers into Korean.
They also wrote out the Korean alphabet and, with some help, transliterated it into the Latin alphabet.
My mom and sister arrived in Korea on Thursday and I brought them to school with me on Friday. They made quite an impression on my students. Fourth Grade, Chapter 7 is titled Who Is She? and it was a gratifying moment when every single one of my 4th graders looked at my family and asked, "Teacher, who are they?" Yes, retention! My students were also the only people we met during Mom and Leah's trip who accepted that my sister, who was adopted from Korea as an infant, was American without question. I guess I'm so firmly linked with America in their minds that despite looking like a Korea person, my sister must be American. While they didn't question her nationality, they did seem a bit fuzzy on her age. My 5th & 6th grade class objected to me calling Leah my 여동생 (Korean for younger sister, as opposed to 언니, older sister), so I asked them how old they thought Leah was. "Is she 30?" one girl asked. For the record, my sister is fifteen. I'm twenty-five. While I'm routinely mistaken as my 21-year-old brother's younger sister, this is the first time someone has ever asked if I'm younger than Leah.
Leah is on the left. Does that child look 30?!?
At the beginning of camp, I divided the 3rd and 4th grade classes into three teams and told the students that group with the most points at the end of camp would get a special prize from America. Teams could get points for winning a game, volunteering to speak in class or having the first person to finish an activity. On the last day of camp, I brought in Silly Bandz my mother had brought me from the US and gave them to the winning teams. Despite the fact that I guarantee you that none of my students have ever seen a Silly Bandz in their life, they loved them. I gave the older students Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (also from America) and my kids, who have only ever had Korean candy, were throughly impressed. "Teacher," they told me, "VERY GOOD CANDY!" I know kids, I know.
All the photos from English Camp are here. I'm so glad it's over!
6th graders posing on the last day of camp.
During week two, the 3rd & 4th graders studied body parts and animals. Both units were covered in the regular lessons, but review is always good, and I used the opportunity to teach extra vocabulary and grammar. During the body parts unit, I put the students into pairs and had one student trace their partner's body on a sheet of butcher paper. Once they were done, they drew in additional features (such as the face) and labeled the body parts. Their favorite part about the activity was how they didn't have to sit at their desks. My favorite part was how few students actually sat on the ground when tracing their friends; half of them chose to Asian squat and do a funny squatting waddle as they made their way around their partner's body.
During the animal unit we read Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Well, I read Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? and the students listened to me and looked at the pictures. The first time, they just listened to the story. The second time, they made their own copy of the book. I gave the kids pictures of the different animals (bear, bird, duck, cat, etc.) and as we read the story, they colored the pictures the appropriate colors and wrote descriptions of the animals (brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, purple cat, etc.) Or at least they tried too. One boy had some trouble.
Whoops.
On Wednesday afternoon, 안 수빈 and 신 다해, two 4th graders who aren't in English camp, saw me in the hallway and followed me back to my classroom to play. We colored the animal flashcards from camp and they entertained themselves for a while by writing things like cat and ice cream and I love you Teacher on the whiteboard. Then they gave themselves eye tests. 다해 wrote an eye chart on the board and 수빈 sat on a desk a couple of rows back, covered one eye with a fuzzy plush ball and called out the letters. Apparently this was fun, although they did get into an argument when 다해 told 수빈 her eyesight wasn't very good. The eye chart reminded me of the eye test I had during a medical exam my first year in Korea. I had only been in the country for a few days, the only Korean I knew was hello, kimchi and I love you very much, and all the eye charts at the hospital were entirely in Korean letters. Eventually, the nurse found an eye chart used for very young children that had pictures instead of letters, and I had to identify the pictures in English while my co-teacher translated my answers into Korean.
They also wrote out the Korean alphabet and, with some help, transliterated it into the Latin alphabet.
My mom and sister arrived in Korea on Thursday and I brought them to school with me on Friday. They made quite an impression on my students. Fourth Grade, Chapter 7 is titled Who Is She? and it was a gratifying moment when every single one of my 4th graders looked at my family and asked, "Teacher, who are they?" Yes, retention! My students were also the only people we met during Mom and Leah's trip who accepted that my sister, who was adopted from Korea as an infant, was American without question. I guess I'm so firmly linked with America in their minds that despite looking like a Korea person, my sister must be American. While they didn't question her nationality, they did seem a bit fuzzy on her age. My 5th & 6th grade class objected to me calling Leah my 여동생 (Korean for younger sister, as opposed to 언니, older sister), so I asked them how old they thought Leah was. "Is she 30?" one girl asked. For the record, my sister is fifteen. I'm twenty-five. While I'm routinely mistaken as my 21-year-old brother's younger sister, this is the first time someone has ever asked if I'm younger than Leah.
Leah is on the left. Does that child look 30?!?
At the beginning of camp, I divided the 3rd and 4th grade classes into three teams and told the students that group with the most points at the end of camp would get a special prize from America. Teams could get points for winning a game, volunteering to speak in class or having the first person to finish an activity. On the last day of camp, I brought in Silly Bandz my mother had brought me from the US and gave them to the winning teams. Despite the fact that I guarantee you that none of my students have ever seen a Silly Bandz in their life, they loved them. I gave the older students Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (also from America) and my kids, who have only ever had Korean candy, were throughly impressed. "Teacher," they told me, "VERY GOOD CANDY!" I know kids, I know.
All the photos from English Camp are here. I'm so glad it's over!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Home!
I'm back from China! I flew into Seoul on Wednesday night with over a thousand photos, quite a lot of new jewelry and an impressive array of bruises.* I knew I was home when I saw two giant advertisements featuring Kim Yu-na before I even made it out of the airport. I went back to the airport yesterday morning to drop my family off and managed to get stuck on the Incheon Bridge for over an hour when my bus broke on the way home. Because of course it did. I've spent the past two days holed up in my apartment, trying to go through vacation photos (the terracotta soldier photos just won't end) and discovering that post vacation/house guest laundry is easier to accomplish when you have a dryer.
My plan is write a travelogue about the trip and upload my pictures to Flickr, but I have never successfully finished a travelogue for any vacation longer than four days, so we'll see. (I always start one, but I usually get bored and quit after day four or five.) I do have a solid week of desk-warming to work on it though, so hopefully I'll at least get to the part where my little sister got locked in my bathroom for an hour or my mother was briefly detained in a Beijing train station. FUN TIMES!
* I might have fallen down a flight of stairs.**
** And by "might have fallen down a flight of stairs," I mean I totally fell down a flight of stairs. Face first. Sometimes I'm not so good at walking.
My plan is write a travelogue about the trip and upload my pictures to Flickr, but I have never successfully finished a travelogue for any vacation longer than four days, so we'll see. (I always start one, but I usually get bored and quit after day four or five.) I do have a solid week of desk-warming to work on it though, so hopefully I'll at least get to the part where my little sister got locked in my bathroom for an hour or my mother was briefly detained in a Beijing train station. FUN TIMES!
Monday, July 5, 2010
[July, July, July // it never seemed so strange]
The spring semester ends on July 16th, which means I have two weeks of class left. Even less actually, since the end of the semester if rife with tests (yay, only one day of actual teaching next week!) and fact that the last period of the day has been canceled due to unknown reasons for the rest of the semester. It would have been nice to know in advance - I could have rushed the axed classes through the last lesson, or at least said goodbye to students I won't see again until September - but that sort of forewarning is asking an awful lot of a Korean school.
I could not be more ready for semester to be over. The kids are restless and ready for vacation to start. They're also far more preoccupied with their upcoming national exams than they are with Lesson 8: What Will You Do This Summer. (My favorite answers so far come from 6-5 class. One rather rotund little boy plans to eat 100 ice cream bars. Another simple wants some meat.) (That being said, I was super proud of my 5th graders today. They're normally highly unmotivated and well, not very bright, but I was trying to explain why "Let's go baseball" and "Let's play swimming" are incorrect. We ended up doing some brainstorming on the board and a decent number of students realized without being told that "Let's play..." was used when talking about games or musical instruments whereas "Let's go..." was used with locations or the present participle and I actually got examples that hadn't been used in class and just, that's a big deal. It was one of those moments where I could see the students understand the lesson and actually learning, and those moments are few and far between, especially with the 5th graders.)
I also had my last after school class last Thursday, which is probably for the best, since I had completely given up caring. I made the world's weakest attempt to teach comparisons, said "Oh, fuck this," half way through and gave the students a word search. And then we watched part of School of Rock. Between being sick and the classes being a joke in the first place, I just could not bring myself to care last week.
Not going to miss the classes. Am going to miss play time with 3rd graders.
Once the semester ends, I have two weeks of English camp. Last year I was ~super~ stressed out about the camps. This year, I'm far more confident in my ability to BS a lesson plan in the half an hour before class starts and subsequently way calmer. I will also have one of my regular co-teachers teaching with me, which means I'm not responsible for ever single facet of the camps myself. In fact, I'm so calm, I've yet to even begin planning. My co-teacher and I are going to the bookstore to buy textbooks for the camps tomorrow and I'll spend my days off next week writing up the lesson plans, but in general, I'm not worried.
Then, once the camps are over at the end of the month, my mama and little sister are coming to see me! We're going to spend a few days in Korea, and then hop over to China for ten days - five days in Beijing and five days in Shanghai! I am all sorts of excited about seeing (half) my family for the first time since February and getting to show them around Korea, and also going to China. And, of course, visitors from home means they can bring me things from home! Tell me, does anyone have any thoughts on the best way to transport hummus on an airplane?
I could not be more ready for semester to be over. The kids are restless and ready for vacation to start. They're also far more preoccupied with their upcoming national exams than they are with Lesson 8: What Will You Do This Summer. (My favorite answers so far come from 6-5 class. One rather rotund little boy plans to eat 100 ice cream bars. Another simple wants some meat.) (That being said, I was super proud of my 5th graders today. They're normally highly unmotivated and well, not very bright, but I was trying to explain why "Let's go baseball" and "Let's play swimming" are incorrect. We ended up doing some brainstorming on the board and a decent number of students realized without being told that "Let's play..." was used when talking about games or musical instruments whereas "Let's go..." was used with locations or the present participle and I actually got examples that hadn't been used in class and just, that's a big deal. It was one of those moments where I could see the students understand the lesson and actually learning, and those moments are few and far between, especially with the 5th graders.)
I also had my last after school class last Thursday, which is probably for the best, since I had completely given up caring. I made the world's weakest attempt to teach comparisons, said "Oh, fuck this," half way through and gave the students a word search. And then we watched part of School of Rock. Between being sick and the classes being a joke in the first place, I just could not bring myself to care last week.
Not going to miss the classes. Am going to miss play time with 3rd graders.
Once the semester ends, I have two weeks of English camp. Last year I was ~super~ stressed out about the camps. This year, I'm far more confident in my ability to BS a lesson plan in the half an hour before class starts and subsequently way calmer. I will also have one of my regular co-teachers teaching with me, which means I'm not responsible for ever single facet of the camps myself. In fact, I'm so calm, I've yet to even begin planning. My co-teacher and I are going to the bookstore to buy textbooks for the camps tomorrow and I'll spend my days off next week writing up the lesson plans, but in general, I'm not worried.
Then, once the camps are over at the end of the month, my mama and little sister are coming to see me! We're going to spend a few days in Korea, and then hop over to China for ten days - five days in Beijing and five days in Shanghai! I am all sorts of excited about seeing (half) my family for the first time since February and getting to show them around Korea, and also going to China. And, of course, visitors from home means they can bring me things from home! Tell me, does anyone have any thoughts on the best way to transport hummus on an airplane?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
[finally for this one night // I'm about to have a fun night]
I finally saw Wicked and it was wonderful, if a bit of an adventure. The tickets were a Christmas present, bought long before we realized this was to be Our Winter of the Snows and that buying tickets in advance for a show an hour and a half away was a dicey proposition. The show was on Friday. It started to snow Thursday afternoon. My mom, sister and I spent the evening glaring out the window and frantically checking the weather report. Many of the websites we checked told us there was a 30% chance of snow that very day, to which we looked out at the snow sleeting down outside and shouted, "OH REALLY! YOU THINK? PULL THE OTHER ONE, IT HAS BELLS!" Needless to say, we were all a bit high strung that evening. However, we awoke Friday morning to rain instead of snow and we decided to risk the drive.
The show was in Greenville, SC, nearly two hours down the mountain. There was weather predicted for that evening, so we packed a change of clothes, just in case we were stranded for the night. My mother, in a vote of confidence, insisted that her winter coat be in the back of the car instead of the trunk, just in case of an accident. I contended myself with the prayer my dad taught me the first time we ventured out on icy roads, back in December: Holy Mother, full of grace/Don't let Dad smash my faces. Turns out, the worse road of the trip was the one we live on. We drove through a spectacularly beautiful forest of ice covered trees, but the interstate was clear.
We ate at a Lowcountry restaurant for dinner (verdict: YUM and also, I would like to be having more Hoppin' John & she-crab anything forever), then crossed the street to the Peace Center. The show was amazing! I've been a huge fan of the soundtrack since college, but never had the chance (or the funds) to actually see the play until now. There was a bit of a disconnect at first; I was so use to the Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel version I had trouble accepting different voices, no matter how good the performers were. I got over it after the first few songs though, and throughly enjoyed the rest of the show!
We hightailed it out of town after the show, calling my brother at home to check on the conditions of the road. (Long-Suffering Little Brother: The internet says nothing until after midnight. Can I go now? Dad: Have you actually looked outside? Me: The internet is like the ditzy blonde in Mean Girls. There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!) We made it home, safe and sound, around one in the morning, only to learn that the winter storm advisory had turned into a flood warning. WTF, weather.
The show was in Greenville, SC, nearly two hours down the mountain. There was weather predicted for that evening, so we packed a change of clothes, just in case we were stranded for the night. My mother, in a vote of confidence, insisted that her winter coat be in the back of the car instead of the trunk, just in case of an accident. I contended myself with the prayer my dad taught me the first time we ventured out on icy roads, back in December: Holy Mother, full of grace/Don't let Dad smash my faces. Turns out, the worse road of the trip was the one we live on. We drove through a spectacularly beautiful forest of ice covered trees, but the interstate was clear.
We ate at a Lowcountry restaurant for dinner (verdict: YUM and also, I would like to be having more Hoppin' John & she-crab anything forever), then crossed the street to the Peace Center. The show was amazing! I've been a huge fan of the soundtrack since college, but never had the chance (or the funds) to actually see the play until now. There was a bit of a disconnect at first; I was so use to the Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel version I had trouble accepting different voices, no matter how good the performers were. I got over it after the first few songs though, and throughly enjoyed the rest of the show!
We hightailed it out of town after the show, calling my brother at home to check on the conditions of the road. (Long-Suffering Little Brother: The internet says nothing until after midnight. Can I go now? Dad: Have you actually looked outside? Me: The internet is like the ditzy blonde in Mean Girls. There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!) We made it home, safe and sound, around one in the morning, only to learn that the winter storm advisory had turned into a flood warning. WTF, weather.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sledding!
Winter Storm v2.0 blew through town Friday afternoon and I awoke on Saturday morning to eight and a half inches of snow. Then it sleeted for a while, giving the snow a crunchy layer of ice on top and creating the perfect sledding conditions. My parents' house is on a hill, and at the bottom of the hill runs a creek, which makes this a tad bit more chancy that your average sledding hill.
The sledding was excellent yesterday and I spent the afternoon chanting, "Creek, creek, creek!" whenever someone else was sledding and frantically bailing out of the sled when it was my turn to go. We had several near misses (I spent a lot of time yelling at the sledders "Look, all I want in this world is to see a loved one sled into a creek. WHY MUST YOU DENY ME!"), but at the end of a long afternoon, my younger brother finally got an impromptu bath. I'll be honest; I was too busy laughing and shouting, "YES!" while pumping my fist in the air to really help him out, although I did almost fall in myself trying to rescue our sled.
Later that afternoon, we lit the burn pile (covered with a tarp before the snow started for just this purpose) and made s'mores, and then went back inside to drink hot chocolate and watch the Ocean movies. I walked the road today and we're still snowed in, but we never lost power and our neighbor plowed the driveway with his tractor, so we can skip the hour of shoveling snow once we can get out. Not a bad way to spend the weekend. The pictures are here.
Friday, January 8, 2010
[see I was born and raised in Texas // and it means so much to me]
It's been eleven years since I lived in Texas, but for some things time doesn't matter. Even though I know nothing about football* I am deeply invested in the 'Bama Longhorns game currently playing, as are my staunchly pro-Texas siblings. The only holdout is our father, who is supporting 'Bama just to be contrary. We kept interrupting dinner to point at him and shout, "Hook 'em! HOOK 'EM!" He would respond with something about slaughtering cattle. I finally told him, "That's right (you're not from Texas)."
No one got the reference, so I guess I'm the only Lyle Lovett fan in the family.
*True conversation I just had with my sister.
Baby sister: We have three sacks!
Me: I would be more impressed if I knew what a sack was.
Baby sister: I'm pretty sure it's a good thing.
Me: I'm pretty sure it's a type of bag. I think maybe you carry groceries in it?
No one got the reference, so I guess I'm the only Lyle Lovett fan in the family.
*True conversation I just had with my sister.
Baby sister: We have three sacks!
Me: I would be more impressed if I knew what a sack was.
Baby sister: I'm pretty sure it's a good thing.
Me: I'm pretty sure it's a type of bag. I think maybe you carry groceries in it?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Christmas Update
Merry Christmas, one and all! I got a trip to the dentist because being responsible is sometimes no fun and a ticket to see Wicked because musicals are always fun. Also, the baby sister and I have been bursting into Wicked duets at the drop of the hat for the past month.
SCENE: AT THE DINNER TABLE
Brother: Don't make me laugh!
Baby sister: ♫ Think of celebrated heads of state, or specially great communicators! Did they have brains or knowledge ♫
Me: ♫ Don't make me laugh! They were POPULAR! Please! It's all about popular. ♫
Father: I was reading an analysis in the Wall Street Jounral...
Me: ♫ Don't be offended by my frank analysis! ♫
Baby Sister: ♫ Think of it as personality dialysis! ♫
Entire family: No seriously, we will kill you.
Me: Elphaba - why couldn't you have stayed calm for once, instead of flying off the handle!
Baby sister: ♫I hope you're happy! I hope you're happy now. I hope you're happy how you've hurt your cause forever. ♫
Me: ♫ I hope you think you're clever! ♫
We also made and decorated approximately seven million sugar cookies to give out as Christmas gifts. After the third hour of decorating cookies, my brothers and I tried to storm out, but we were snowed in and there was nothing but sugar cookies. Endless sugar cookies. I will admit, however, that the end results were pretty cool looking.
There are stores about the individual cookies here. (Scroll over the picture for the notes.) I made a Kirk and Spock cookies, because I'm a giant dork. Later that evening, I was reading while my parents were talking about the cookies and I heard my dad say, "...those two gay guys that Cait made." And then I fell out of my chair laughing. Oh Dad, if only you knew.
SCENE: AT THE DINNER TABLE
Brother: Don't make me laugh!
Baby sister: ♫ Think of celebrated heads of state, or specially great communicators! Did they have brains or knowledge ♫
Me: ♫ Don't make me laugh! They were POPULAR! Please! It's all about popular. ♫
Father: I was reading an analysis in the Wall Street Jounral...
Me: ♫ Don't be offended by my frank analysis! ♫
Baby Sister: ♫ Think of it as personality dialysis! ♫
Entire family: No seriously, we will kill you.
Me: Elphaba - why couldn't you have stayed calm for once, instead of flying off the handle!
Baby sister: ♫I hope you're happy! I hope you're happy now. I hope you're happy how you've hurt your cause forever. ♫
Me: ♫ I hope you think you're clever! ♫
We also made and decorated approximately seven million sugar cookies to give out as Christmas gifts. After the third hour of decorating cookies, my brothers and I tried to storm out, but we were snowed in and there was nothing but sugar cookies. Endless sugar cookies. I will admit, however, that the end results were pretty cool looking.
There are stores about the individual cookies here. (Scroll over the picture for the notes.) I made a Kirk and Spock cookies, because I'm a giant dork. Later that evening, I was reading while my parents were talking about the cookies and I heard my dad say, "...those two gay guys that Cait made." And then I fell out of my chair laughing. Oh Dad, if only you knew.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Life in a Norman Rockwell Painting
The storm has pasted, leaving us blanketed in a scene straight out of a Boy's Life cover. Saturday morning my sister and I built a snowman and hiked down the road to see how snowed in we were before returning home for fresh baked banana bread. We made hot cocoa in a pot on the stove and baked sugar cooked. Mom and I played card games, while my dad and sister made a Brio train track around the Christmas tree, then the whole family headed back out into the snow to go sledding. We had a roast chicken for dinner. And then Norman Rockwell came and threw up all over us because the scene was to picturesque even for him. (Granted, a Norman Rockwell painting never featured my brothers shouting about how I had to take pictures of them sledding down their snow ramp so they could have awesome Facebook photos of them catching air, but you have to allow adjustments for new technology.)
Today the whole family partook in the age old tradition of shoveling snow so we could get the car out of the driveway. The verdict: we are no longer officially snowed in, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to drive on our one lane snow and ice covered dirt road, especially not since my dad fish tailed the entire way to the main road. At least we have power again. It still looks like this outside, so I guess I'm okay with being a homebody for the next few days:
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Appalachian Snowfall
Good News: It snowed today!
Bad News: It snowed *a lot* today and down here in the Land of Cornbread and Dixie, we are not exactly equipped to handle lots of snow, even in the mountains.
Good News: At the last measurement, we had six inches of snow. I've never seen this much snow in my life!
Bad News: Snow on trees means trees on power lines. We lost power around noon.
Good News: We have a generator!
Bad News: Of course, the generator can't power the entire house. We don't have lights in half the house and the oven, washer/dryer and microwave don't work. We also don't have heat in the upstairs (where the bedrooms are), but that matters less since we're going to turn off the generator at midnight to save power. It's going to be cold tonight.
Good News: At least we have enough power to have a Star Wars marathon this evening. (Oh Han Solo, BE MINE!)
Bad News: While we still have some power, the nearby jail does not.
Good News: This might mean our power will be fixed in the next few days, instead of the current wait time, which is "indeterminate".
Bad News: The JAIL has NO power. I guess those people in orange jumpsuits aren't from the power company?
Good News: The weather is perfect for playing outside. It's not too cold and the snow is light and fluffy, which means we could stay outside for hours without getting frozen.
Bad News: A game of snow football gone awry resulted in my brother and I colliding and banging heads.
Good News: There were lots of cold things to press against the instant goose egg that appeared.
Bad News: My head still aches, bad enough that I can't chew and can only eat soup, and I'm not allowed to go to bed due to a possible concussion.
Good News: It looks like this outside:
The full set of photos are here, with more to come tomorrow once it stops snowing.
Bad News: It snowed *a lot* today and down here in the Land of Cornbread and Dixie, we are not exactly equipped to handle lots of snow, even in the mountains.
Good News: At the last measurement, we had six inches of snow. I've never seen this much snow in my life!
Bad News: Snow on trees means trees on power lines. We lost power around noon.
Good News: We have a generator!
Bad News: Of course, the generator can't power the entire house. We don't have lights in half the house and the oven, washer/dryer and microwave don't work. We also don't have heat in the upstairs (where the bedrooms are), but that matters less since we're going to turn off the generator at midnight to save power. It's going to be cold tonight.
Good News: At least we have enough power to have a Star Wars marathon this evening. (Oh Han Solo, BE MINE!)
Bad News: While we still have some power, the nearby jail does not.
Good News: This might mean our power will be fixed in the next few days, instead of the current wait time, which is "indeterminate".
Bad News: The JAIL has NO power. I guess those people in orange jumpsuits aren't from the power company?
Good News: The weather is perfect for playing outside. It's not too cold and the snow is light and fluffy, which means we could stay outside for hours without getting frozen.
Bad News: A game of snow football gone awry resulted in my brother and I colliding and banging heads.
Good News: There were lots of cold things to press against the instant goose egg that appeared.
Bad News: My head still aches, bad enough that I can't chew and can only eat soup, and I'm not allowed to go to bed due to a possible concussion.
Good News: It looks like this outside:
The full set of photos are here, with more to come tomorrow once it stops snowing.
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