A year in photos – Day 137

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Wednesday, July 11

There’s an intersection near my apartment that only has flashing yellow lights for all 4 directions. You hear a lot of honking in intersections like these because that’s how people signify that they’re going to go through first. I was always really surprised that I’d never seen a wreck here because it seems so dangerous.

Today, it finally happened. Maybe it was the rain or maybe it was the weird 4 way yielding intersection, but the black SUV and the white car were getting a lot of honks this morning.

A year in photos – Day 136

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Tuesday, July 10

Have you ever seen these Korean melons before? They are called cham way (참외) which means melon in Korean. They are very popular in Korea, but I’d never seen them before I came here.

Go Go Power Rangers

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Meagan & Dave | HappilyEverExpat.com

This morning I’ve been trying to get rid of unneeded files on my computer and I stumbled across this video I took in one of my 6th grade classes last year. The students were playing a game and it ended a few minutes early so one of the boys in my class decided to act out scenes from the Power Rangers movie. I had no idea what was going on, but it looked funny so I decided to record it.

A year in photos – Day 135

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Monday, July 9

I’ve lived in Busan for just over 16 months now. Sometimes it’s strange to think about that. Before coming to Korea, I moved around at least once a year. I never stayed in any one place for too long. I’ve been living in my tiny apartment in Busan longer than I’ve lived anywhere in a long time. I do love it here in Busan and I’m going to be a bit sad when it’s time for me to go.

A year in photos – Day 134

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Sunday, July 8

On Sunday, Dave and I did some shopping in Insadong. It’s this great area of Seoul where you can buy street food, souvenirs and traditional Korean furniture and pottery. There aren’t many places to get souvenirs in Korea so I always try to stop by Insadong when I’m in town.

A year in photos – Day 133

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.