Today I took my pre-kindergarten class to the Ice Museum. Well, it was more like a giant freezer, but we still had a lot of fun. It was about a 30 minute drive from my school and was located in a rugged town, on the bank of a stream. When we arrived, we were filed into a line and given thick, blue ponchos. We looked ridiculous, but it was all in good fun. Everyone looked liked penguins. Ironically, my class is named, Penguins.
When we went inside, there was music playing and ice glowing. The rooms were filled with beautiful sculptures everywhere. Some were dyed with bright colors, while others were intricately carved. The highlight, was two giant ice slides! Of course after all of my students went down, I shortly followed. It was a lot of fun.
I happy to say, that being surrounded by ice, I only had one incident with a student. Although, his tongue did not stick to the ice (yes, he tried), he had a bad spill. I had told my students to keep their arms out through the holes in the ponchos (to break their fall). The one student that did not listen, slipped and fell...flat on his face. Everyone just stood there. He didn't cry or flinch. I was afraid to see the damage. When I picked him up, he didn't even have a scratch on his forehead. However, he was a great listener and stuck to my side like glue the rest of the afternoon.
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| The Penguins |
The impact of the 8.9 quake in Japan causing a tsunami is greatly effecting me. Japan is very close and although I did not feel the quake, I am still a little bit worried. The South Koreans are primarily concerned with the nuclear power plants. They keep replaying video footage of the reacters and have interviews with experts on the news. It is a concern of mine, as well.
When I would watch the news at home about natural disasters, it seemed so far away. Now, it is right next door. My thoughts go out to all of the victims and their families.
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| Just the Girls |
The people that you meet along your journey's path will always impact you in a special way. I have always felt that my fellow co-workers are kind and generous and this weekend has proven me correct.
The weekend prior to my birthday, we had a farewell party for one of my co-teachers. During the party, I had asked a friend if she had plans for her birthday and if not, we should have a combined celebration. She was very short with me, and I thought that she just wanted to have her own party. I had asked around, but people had plans and so I thought that I would just go to dinner with my co-teacher (Scott) and his girlfriend (Kwijung), on Tuesday.
Dinner was very delicious and the company was great. They took me for steak (at my request) and Kwijung gave me a budhist bracelet (one to match hers). I have always liked her bracelet and she put a lot of thought into surprising me with it.
Wednesday was my birthday and I thought it odd that nobody had invited me to ice cream or cake for my b-day. Friday rolled around and Kelly said that she would take me to dinner on Saturday. She said that she invited everyone at work, but they all had plans for the weekend. I did invite my friend Suzanne and found it a little odd that Kelly insisted on e-mailing her the directions to the restaurant.
When I walked into the restaurant, I heard a group of people singing happy birthday! I was so surprised and shocked that I never figured it out. Everyone from work was there and a few of my other aquantances. The restaraunt was in Seoul in a hotel. It was all you could drink: champagne, white wine, red wine, spumante, sangria, beer, soju, and all you could eat appetizers. We were there for at least three hours! The best of the evening was when the pianist sang happy birthday to me in Korean! At the end, she said in English: Happy Birthday Kerry. Everyone in the entire place clapped.
After the restaurant, we went out dancing. It was so nice to see everyone having a great time! What a great birthday celebration!!
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| One Big bottle of Bubbly |
