Lots has happened since the new teachers arrived. In Sun is determined to do at least one day trip a weekend, to maximize my remaining time spent in Korea. I'm down with this, and I've got to tell you, it's been a pretty awesome past month.
Chuseok weekend came up first (that would be Korean Thanksgiving), in which we had Monday and Tuesday off. On Saturday, Denise, Trevor and I headed up to Seoul, where we went to the Yongsan electronics market and bought netbooks for them, and a camera for me. It's Canon, pink, and delightful. Also, the pictures aren't blurry, which is a definite improvement over my previous picture-taking device aka my ipod. We then went to Insadong, where we watched the 16,000 strand candy makers do a little show for us about how to make their honey/flour delicacies. The show was actually better than the candy, although it was still quite good. We finished up the day by going to Yeongdongpo, in which the Times Square mall is located, where we did some bargain hunting in the underground shopping complex.
On Sunday (still the Chuseok holiday), In Sun and I headed up to Seoul Land, which is an amusement park near Suwon. Our goal was not the park, but the modern art museum located behind it. This was quite an exciting day trip. First of all, the subway ride was long and brutal. Then, once we got to the subway station, we had to wait for a shuttle bus to the museum. While we were waiting, we got to witness a father shouting at and beating his child while the baby-toting mother looked on and pleaded with him to stop. Delightful. Were this Canada, I would have called the cops. Unfortunately, this is Korea, so we couldn't do much more than sit there and glare.
The art museum was pretty cool. They had an exhibition of about a dozen French artists who had won some prestigious award. Some of them were awesome – my favorite was a series of brightly painted sculptures of polygon animals and people – while others were lame. Considering how ridiculous modern art is, I was quite impressed by the high percentage of not-horrible art featured.
Monday was the highlight of the holiday weekend. We, being me, In Sun, Lyle, Denise, and Trevor, went to... wait for it... drum beat please... EVERLAND! Everland is, of course, the most awesome Korean amusement park, featuring such rides as the T-Express wooden roller coaster, Biking Ship (more on that later), and assorted other attractions.
And I have to tell you, it was pretty darn fantastic. It's massive, it's a legitimate theme park (unlike Canada's Wonderland, which tacks on the 'theme' part as an afterthought), the rides are pretty sweet, the food is excellent, the staff are beyond friendly, the music is catchy... awesome. The biking ship is actually a swinging viking ship, except when my kids talk about it, they can't pronounce the “v”, so it comes out as “biking”. Except then they write it with a B in essays and refuse to correct it. Hence, the biking ship, despite the fact that there are no bicycles in any way associated with the ride.
We went to the safari area and looked at various zoo animals, then went to a hilarious animal show. After that we went to the T-Express, which is a giant wooden roller coaster. Imagine Behemoth, except made of wood. Phenomenal. I wanted to ride again, but by that point we had to get to the main plaza for the fireworks show. It was over the top and amazing, as many things seem to be in Korea. I'm really going to miss this country.
Tuesday was just a relaxing day, so not much to talk about there. The next weekend, Lyle, In Sun and I took a bus trip out to see a sheep farm, an herb garden, and the East sea. It was... fine. We had to wake up at the insanely early time of 4am, which was less than ideal, because we had to be in Seoul by 7:30 am. The trip itself was alright. The herb garden was beautiful, but then it started getting rainy and windy, so the beach and sheep farm weren't the most pleasant. One of the highlights for me was the fish restaurant at the beach, where we had sashimi and noodles – spicy yet delicious. I'm becoming quite adept at consuming spicy food.
The Sunday of that weekend was another relaxing day. Oh no, wait, we went to Songtan. I bought more stuff to bring home – I really need to stop spending all my money! - and we had some delicious Thai food. It sucks that the new teachers arrived just as I was leaving, because I really like them.
Almost caught up! Phew. Okay, so last weekend was our day trip out to Seodoksa temple, the West sea, and shrimp BBQ. The temple was cool – it's the same one I saw on my Apple Festival trip back in Fall 2010. So it was enjoyable but not exciting and new. The shrimp BBQ, on the other hand... wow. So they have these big tanks full of shrimp swimming around, and then the lady scoops out a kilogram of them, takes them to your table, dumps them into the sizzling skillet, and holds the lid down while the shrimp scream and squirm about as they are fried to death. Once you've murdered a kilogram of shrimp, you pull off the head-plate section, and then eat the entire thing, eyes and all. It sounds disgusting, and the concept certainly was, although the taste/texture wasn't half bad. So not something I would do again, but definitely a cool experience.
And that pretty much sums up the last three weeks. Oh no, wait! On Sunday (the day after the BBQ shrimp adventure), I ended up going to Myeongdong in the evening. That would be the trendy shopping area. I acquired many things, got a massage, and ate a plethora of foodstuffs, including a bacon-wrapped sausage, a foot-high soft-serve green tea ice cream cone, and a fried potato spiral on a skewer. I also got interviewed by some college girls who were doing an assignment for their English class! Their English was terrible, but they were trying really hard, so I went along with it.
As of the time I am writing this, I have 8 full teaching days left, assuming my evening classes don't get cancelled due to Holding. Holding, as a reminder, means the two-week period in which students study for, and then write, their midterm tests. I have 5 weekend days (as Monday is a holiday), and then... free! I'll have to check with CK and make sure that he remembers I'm leaving, because he tends to have trouble with that sort of thing, lol.
September 27, 2011
Special edition section! The following is a collection of quotes I have gathered over the last year from my students. Read, laugh, and enjoy.
1
“Teacher, he is touching my body!” - Tony, re: Jerome
“Teacher, he is touching my thigh!” - Tony, re: John
2
Dean: You are gangster.
Me: I am Michelle “Red Tiger” Proulx.
Dean: I am “Red Evil”.
Me: I think you mean “devil”.
3
Victoria's Essay (topic: my best friend): “In third grade and fourth grade, we're same class. She is intact. I feel little awkward. But we can intimate indebtedness old days recollection.”
4
Me: “Michin go-ni?” (crazy person)
Mike: That is bad word. You will get punishment.
Me: What will my punishment be?
Mike: (shakes finger) You will know.
5
Me: If you could be any animal, what animal would you be?
Student: Giraffe.
Me: Why?
Student: Because strange.
6
Orangeman Essay: “I couldn't believe my eyes. Mt. Sulack was covered with snok. It was fantastic. I felt comfortable.”
7
Me: What animal do you want to be?
Nick: A carrot.
8
Leah's #1 favourite song: Puff the Magic Dragon
9
Lucia: I don't like Harry Potter because he is very short.
10
Me: Now, girls, why do you love Beast so much?
Leah: Because they are Beast.
11
Me: Meep meep! Meep meep!
Sun: Shut up! Shut up!
Me: (pretends to cry)
Sun: Teacher! Sorry! Sorry! You are beautiful!
12
John: Art is like Jerome.
Jerome: Terrible.
13
Me: What makes you different from other people?
John: My face.
14
Me: When you mix a horse and a donkey, what do you get?
Victoria: Don Quixote.
14
Me: What is that delicious smell?
Jerome: (points at CK)
Me: CK?
John: CK BBQ.
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