The Lantern Parade in Seoul

During the month of May, brightly colored lanterns line streets of Korea to honor the birth of Buddha. Last weekend, I went to the Lantern Parade in Seoul to celebrate Buddha's birthday (which is actually today, May 25th). While I'm not religious, Buddhism aligns itself closest to my ideals, and ultimately what I think the meaning of life is. I won't get too much into my views on this, but I'll say that Buddhism is worth learning about. Here are some pictures from last weekend. During the daytime, Lena, Ivan and I explored, shopped, and chilled. Then in the evening we met up with Grace and Moon to eat and look at the lantern parade! Sorry about the blurry pictures. Night time photography isn't my forte.

Street carts + the ever present crowd

Lena! My cutest friend. ^_^

Shopping! I forget which area this is, but it's close to Jonggak station. 

We found this peaceful church...

...and after a long day, we decided to meditate here for a bit. 

DJ playing a track for the kids!  They were really getting into it. :3

Surprisingly quiet crowd listening to a monk's lecture.  

It was a good weekend. For dinner we ate a pizza that had a hash brown crust. Yes, you read that correctly. It was delicious. :)

Korea is going well. I've been on my own here for over 3 months now, yet I still feel like everything is new. I'm told that for the first 6 months, teachers tend to just settle in. I'm also learning a lot about myself. Or maybe my tastes and interests are starting to change. I enjoy spending more time exploring on my own, and being around less people. My inner world is rich with life, but I'm trying to get out of my head and live in the present. After learning about Buddhism I tell myself to stop daydreaming, and start living more frequently now.

Sports Day

This is the view from my office at Jangyang Elementary.

Sports Day at Jangyang Elementary school was tons of fun! The students, parents, and teachers got to compete in fun games and sports. :) My favorite was definitely the baton races. It was truly a wonderful experience for everyone! And it brought a sense of unity to the school. What I loved seeing the most was the sportsmanship displayed amongst the students. After a game was finished I saw the winners hug the losers, and at the end of the day the whole student body helped clean up and put the chairs back in the school. I saw little second graders carrying their chair back into their classrooms! And if a student was struggling, an older student would come to their rescue. It was so heartwarming to see, and I think the world could learn a lot from this culture.

D'oh! :3

These two ladies always sit with me during lunch, and try to get me to take more kimchi. :P

Coordinated dance!

A game is in session. Hi Jinbo Teacher!

From left to right: The principal, and the vice principal! They are playing rock paper scissors.

4th grade cuties!

3rd grade sweetheart! :3 

Go Joon Ik! Wave that flag!

Ahhh! Faster!

Two (adorable) troublemakers from my 5th grade. :) Two peas in a pod!

Fighting!

I talked to quite a number of my students, and we'd have an English conversation. I would make sure to use language that they had learned in class, and it was the cutest thing ever to see their parents behind them swelling up with pride!!!! :') It was also funny and nice to hear random students shout "Anisha Teacher, I love you!!" 

I had the day off, but I'm so glad I went and got to witness such a bright and friendly event. I hope I get to see more while I'm here!

Happy Lunar New Year!

*This has been in my drafts for a couple of days so it's late. Posting this from Wonju!*

This week has been pretty hectic, and mostly filled with classes and our two practicums. We were given one 10 minute solo-teaching practicum, and one 20 minute co-teaching practicum where we had to create and teach our lesson in front of the class and evaluator (who had to act like our "students"). I was given Kindergarten/Colors for solo teaching and Kindergarten/Emotions for co-teaching. I can honestly say that I did pretty well!!! I got to have fun, bust out my playfulness (dweebiness), and also sing a song. :B I received good feedback, and I also loved watching everyone else present. Overall, it was a great learning experience. :) I do wonder what it's going to be like teaching older grades though, because according to my previous scholar I'll most likely be teaching grades 3-6. I'm confident with my teaching abilities, and don't feel too nervous about teaching. Classroom management is another story... :P

So last weekend we ate Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) and it was so good I cried a little I'm not even kidding. Have you ever cried because of good food?! 

Samgyeopsal

On the way to class!

Another picture of our orientation venue

babez~ bffz~ humes, mama grace, lethal sheetal

spicy seafoody

Me being brilliant @ the Aquarium on Haeundae Beach

temple cultural trip

more temple!

Gwanganli Beach

Taekwondo Class

aw :3

Orientation has come to an end, and I'm honestly going to miss all of the wonderful people I've met. I love the fact that our generation is small so I've been able to meet almost everyone, or at least see familiar faces around. :) It has been really eye-opening to meet people from all sorts of different backgrounds, and walks of life. It made me happy to see their talents, and I've learned a lot from them. Hopefully I'll be seeing everyone when we plan our trips together. We arrived at our assigned provinces yesterday, and I'm typing this from my own apartment in Wonju! :) I hope that Wonju will be just as welcoming, and I'm excited for the school year to begin.