A year in photos | Life Outside of Texas

Saturday, July 7

On Friday night Dave and I flew up to Seoul for the weekend. We woke up really, really early on Saturday so we could go on a tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.

We were able to go to the JSA (joint security area), walk through a tunnel that the North dug in the 1970’s to be able to enter the South undetected, and Dorasan Station which is the last train station in South Korea. If the North and South unify, they hope to expand the railway all of the way through to Europe.

I took this photo in the JSA while I was standing on the end of the room that is in North Korea. This is a South Korean soldier that was selected to be a guard in the JSA based on his height weight, intelligence and the fact that he is an expert in at least one form of martial arts. They must stay in this “ROK Ready” stance. They are so still that they look like statues.

A year in photos – Day 132

Image

Friday, July 6

I did the Flat Stanley project with my 6th grade after school class. It’s based on a book a about a boy that was flattened by a bulletin board and was then mailed all over the world. I did this project when I was in 4th grade and I finally had an opportunity to do this project with my students.

The kids sent their letters to Australia, England, Ireland and the USA. Last Friday the girls got their letters from London, England and Perth, Australia.

The packages were all so great and the kids loved getting mail from other countries.

A year in photos – Day 131

Image

Thursday, July 5

Elementary school students all across Korea are taking final exams today. Test days like this are nice because I don’t have any classes. I do have to grade tests. Usually it’s a chore, but I enjoyed it today because the students seemed to do really well.

There’s a lot of pressure for students in Korea to do well in school. I know we took tests back home, but we never had “midterms” or “final exams” until middle school. They start in 3rd grade here. Most of my students seem okay, but the stress does take its toll on some students. This morning a 10 year old girl in another province committed suicide. You can read more about it here. The suicide rate is quite high here. It’s a shame that children so young feel that much pressure.

A year in photos – Day 130

Image

Wednesday, July 4

Sinks in Korea are different than the ones back home. One nice thing about them is that there’s a removable basket that catches all of the stuff that would otherwise clog up your sink. The down side is that there’s this tank of water in the bottom that never completely drains. It just stays down there stagnant.

I didn’t realize how bad my sink had gotten until I took it all apart. It was kinda icky. I ended up replacing my basket and sink cover and adding a cleaning tablet into the basket. Hopefully it will keep it nice and clean.

A year in photos – Day 129

Image

Tuesday, July 3

I needed some replacement parts for the drain in my sink. All I had to do was wait for this shop to pop up across the street from my apartment. I bought a drain cover for 2,000 won. I probably could have talked to woman down, but I didn’t go for it.

A year in photos – Day 128

Image

Monday, July 2

PC Rooms are extremely popular here. You can pay a small fee to go there and use a computer to surf the web or play video games. This is a big one near my apartment. I always liked all of the window clings. I’ve never been here, but one of my friends went and said there was a roach crawling around near her…. I guess it’s pretty fitting that this place is called “Love Bug PC Zone.”

A year in photos – Day 127

Image

Sunday, July 1

A really popular street food in Korea is silkworm larvae. You can sniff them out half a block away. They smell a bit like death. You can also buy them in cans in the grocery store.

A year in photos – Day 126

Image

Saturday, June 30

Have you ever had Tim Tams? They are very delicious. Ever since Dave and his mom found out I like them, they’ve bought us enough to last a very, very long time. They are so sweet.

A year in photos – Day 125

Image

Friday, June 29

I am waiting for my train to arrive and then I’m off to Ulsan for the weekend. Getting the train is pretty painless. I just have to say the name of my station, pay 3,900 won (about $3.50) and then they issue me a ticket. The tickets are in English and Korean, which is nice.

The weather has been pretty good for the past few days, but it’s starting to get humid. Today will probably be the last rain free day we have for a while.

A year in photos – Day 124

Image

Thursday, June 28

The top photo is my school’s playground On Thursday morning and the bottom photo was taken after school on the same day.

I asked two 5th grade boys what they were doing and they told me the Korean word for construction. I waited until I saw one of the high level 4th grade girls. She told me that they are making the playground “more bigger.”

For now, they have blocked off the construction area so I guess I won’t be able to see until its all finished.