26 January 2009

snow!

We got a lot of snow this weekend. It started Friday night and continued all day Saturday so it's much prettier now. This was our first big snow and we found out they didn't do much to clear the roads when we went for a short run on Sunday.

William running ahead of me.
One of the main roads in Anjeong-ri.
Rice field.
The view from the front door of our apartment.
The timing of the snow was perfect, for me at least. It started the same day as my winter vacation, so I don't have to walk through the snow to the bus stop to get to work. Yey!

17 January 2009

language camp

I participated in a language camp from Jan 5-10th. Myself and nine other foreigners taught about 150 students from all over Gyeonggi province. We each chose a topic and came up with a two-hour lesson, which we taught throughout the week. We also had homeroom teams that we were with everyday for one class hour and at meals. This is my green team :) I'm surprised none of them are making peace signs here because they do it in almost every picture.
I taught the human body. The kids seemed to enjoy measuring their heart rates and seeing how much it changed after doing jumping jacks. Unfortunately I don't have any jumping jacks photos because I was busy doing them too. I also showed them how to make people paper chains, which looked cool on the windows.

We took a field trip one afternoon to a traditional Korean village where we all made traditional crafts. That's my teddy bear plant head on the right. I think this was the precursor to the Chia pet because supposedly the moss that we wrapped around the plant will eventually turn green and continue to grow if it's kept watered.

The village also had some animals in pens outside, including an ostrich, some pigs, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, and doves. The kids got a kick out of trying to feed the ostrich and running away when he got too close. You could get right up next to him, as this student didn't realize he'd done as he tried to get a photo of the animals in the next pen over.
I had a fun group of kids and enjoyed also having girls for a change. It was a little sad to say goodbye at the end of the week, even though I was ready to be back home. Here they are again on the last evening while waiting to play games.
And here are the teachers trying to be like the students.

12 January 2009

more riding

Here are some new photos from a bike ride about a week ago. We went to the nearby mountains again. I'm not sure what this first photo is of, but it looks like maybe this spot is used as a concert or performance venue of some sort. I like how the trees line the road/trail in this one.Oops, he had to come back because that trail was really muddy!Snowy, but not icy. This spot got pretty steep, but I followed William up most of the way.It was cold here at the top and on the ride back down the mountain, but otherwise it was a really nice, sunny day.I think the spot I'm standing in for this last photo was the farthest we went. Neither of us tried to get to the steps with our bikes but lots of people were walking to them. Maybe next time.