"Mom, I want to be that dog!"

So, one of the 4th grade teachers stopped me in the hall today and told me that one of her students saw me at the bus stop waving to a dog yesterday and said to her mom, "Mom, I want to be that dog right now, because Ms. Alexis is waving to it."

Field Trip Day!

Yesterday, we took the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on a field trip! We went to the Fisheries Museum and the Busan City Museum. I decided to make a slideshow, so I could post all of the pictures! There are 2 slideshows, because there was a photo limit for each slideshow. :) Hope you enjoy:

Some pic explanations (If you care to know!):
1. The picture of me giving the thumbs up, is because the wax Korean figure in the background is making my favorite vegetable pancakes, which are amazing!!
2. The picture of the kids talking to an older lady with light brown hair and an older hispanic guy was one of my proudest moments as a teacher! My kids were running up to all of the tourists and practicing their English! :)
3. The picture of the kimbap (which look like California rolls) and the fruit was a picture of the kids lunch! They all brought kimbap and fruit! There were no chips or cookies!!
4. The crazy looking seafood was my lunch! The parents of the kids all get together and prepare lunches for the teachers! How awesome is that!?
5. The picture of the 3 old men was "just because!" I couldn't pass it up!
6. The picture of the bus is the bus we rode on. There are no school busses in Korea. All fieldtrips are taken on luxury busses, and students ride the city busses to school.
7. The picture of the beach with the buildings is Gwangalli Beach. We were driving on the bridge.
8. The picture of the wedding was on the grounds of the Busan Museum. Apparently it's a very popular place for wedding photos, which, by the way, are taken MONTHS before the actual wedding!
9. The picture of the harbor from on top of the mountain is the VIEW FROM MY SCHOOL! Not bad eh?!
10. The pictures of kids holding food are kids who were offering me parts of their lunches! How cute is that?!
11. Every student you see in these pictures is one of mine! I know them all and love ALMOST every single one of them! :)

"Work it grandma... work it!"

So, my school offers a free class to the student's grandparents on Tuesday afternoons.  Last week, we had a traditional Korean drummer come and teach them how to drum.  This week, we had a traditional Korean folk dancer come and lead dancing classes!  I happened to be downstairs when the class was happening, so I stopped in to see the action!  

There are no words to describe the sight I saw... but I will try!   There were 50+  women AND MEN, between the ages of 70 and 95, mimicking a Korean folk dancer; jumping up and down, flailing their bodies like birds, twirling around, and skipping arm in arm.  I only hope I can be 1/2 as active and excited about dance class as they are when I'm that age!  "Work it grandma!"

Monday Teacher Meetings

Every Monday, all of the teachers at my school have a meeting with the Administrators.  I went to the first 2, but when the 3rd Monday rolled around, I asked if I could be excused... (It's not like I understood anything they were saying.) My Vice Principal made a deal with me that he would e=mail me, each Monday, of whether or not I needed to attend the meeting. Here was today's e-mail:

"Jill. You may not attend teacher's meeting today. So you'll wait in your room. And door lock well. If you an emergency call me to phone 2200-102."

Dinner in the Country!

Sometimes I wonder what life would be like without Mr. Chun!   Most of the coolest experiences we've had have been thanks to him!

Tonight, he invited us  to dinner at his friends house in the countryside!  It's a very rare pleasure to be invited into someone's home in Korea and this was the 1st time we had been invited.  It was one of my favorite experiences to date!

When we first got to the house, his wife's friend had these "appetizers" out on the table!  Yes, in Korea, you CAN'T expect crackers and cheese, or chips and salsa before dinner... What you can expect is fresh lettuce, random leaves, and vegetables picked from their garden!

After we sat for a little while, eating the lettuce, Mr. Chun took Kevin and I on a walk around the neighborhood!  The pathways through the countryside were breathtaking!

On our walk, we walked passed a honeycomb farm.  This was the biggest bee I have ever seen!  It was literally 2 inches long!
 

This was the sweetest little labrador puppy!  Mr Chun told me not to pet it, because it was for food.  You can imagine the look on my face!  Apparently it's common for Koreans who live in the rural areas to raise and eat their dogs.  Every dog we saw after that, I would ask, "for food?" and Mr. Chun would shamefully nod his head, yes.   

Mr. Chun is an extremely chivalrous man!  He always makes Kevin carry my stuff and tells Kevin to hold my hand while we walk, or to give me massages after we go hiking!  I love it!  :) Today, on our walk, he told Kevin to carry me on his back!  Isn't that hilarious?!   

One of the thousands of gorgeous trees in Korea!

When we returned from our walk, there were 4 other couples at the house!  Apparently all of the husbands have been friends since Junior High and over the years, they and their wives, have met once a month for dinner!  We were so excited we were essentially at a Korean dinner party! 

I loved that one of the wives was sitting on the table, and loved it even more when she motioned to me that I could join her!  Really, when do you ever get to sit on the dinner table?! 

When we were leaving, I asked all of the wives if we could take a picture together!  And by "ask", what I really mean is that I motioned with my hands and said "picture!"   Never a dull moment when you have a language barrier the size of the Mississippi!