I know, I know.... I already failed the challenge! ha! Oh well, you have to give me something for consistency at least- in my lack of blogging, that is! It was a busy weekend as usual. Friday night was Trena's birthday. We went out and had a great time celebrating, which resulted in a late night. Saturday night I went with some friends to see my friend's boyfriend perform in his band. It was a great performance!
Today was a beautiful and relaxing day! I went out for lunch with a friend and he took me to a Caribou Coffee! For those of you that don't know, Caribou Coffee is my all time favorite coffee. It is a company from Minnesota and it basically fueled all my studying, or lack thereof, throughout college. One can only handle so much Starbucks here, so I was extremely ecstatic to taste the wonderful goodness of Caribou again. It made me feel a little more at home!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
lantern festival pictures
Here are some pictures from the Lotus Lantern Festival. There were lanterns everywhere! It really was beautiful!
You could make your own lanterns to keep at the festival. Trena is holding one that is homemade.
A view from below, thanks to Adam- who so far has taken every photo on my blog!
You could make your own lanterns to keep at the festival. Trena is holding one that is homemade.
A view from below, thanks to Adam- who so far has taken every photo on my blog!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
rainy days= northern exposure
There is definitely something to be said about waking up in the morning to the sound of rain on your windows...and then rolling over and falling back asleep! That is how I started my day today. There was no school today because of Buddha's birthday so sleeping in was a nice way to start the day. Unfortunately it rained all day long which eliminated possibilities of doing anything outside, but instead enabled Adam and I to have a very lazy day of watching Northern Exposure- a show that I am now hooked on thanks to Adam! We also watched Human Traffic which was a very clever movie.
In honor of Buddha's birthday, I decided to do a little bit a research since I know absolutely nothing about Buddhism or Buddha at all. There is so much information out there about Buddhism and I didn't want to read it all, but here is what I gathered in a few minutes of looking: I am pretty sure the religion of Buddhism was started by Prince Siddhartha of the Shakya kingdom. The prince wasn't happy with his royal lifestyle and started to seek non-worldly fulfilment. Although his parents didn't want him to, he left the palace on a quest for personal enlightenment. After much meditation I guess he found what he was looking for and spent the rest of his life traveling and teaching others how to find their own path of enlightenment. The name Buddha means, "awakened one," meaning someone who is no longer ignorant but sees things for what they really are. A Buddha is someone who is free from all faults and mental obstructions- so all people can strive to be a "Buddha" or a Buddhist . There are Spiritual Guides that have achieved enlightenment that help others find their path of enlightenment as well.There is so much to the religion of Buddhism that I can't even sum it up here, but that's the most simplified version I can give.
So, happy birthday Buddha! I'm happy you have found enlightenment and that many others have found what they are looking for in your teachings as well. I truly believe that without vision people perish... so thanks for the vision, you have made a major impact on our world!
In honor of Buddha's birthday, I decided to do a little bit a research since I know absolutely nothing about Buddhism or Buddha at all. There is so much information out there about Buddhism and I didn't want to read it all, but here is what I gathered in a few minutes of looking: I am pretty sure the religion of Buddhism was started by Prince Siddhartha of the Shakya kingdom. The prince wasn't happy with his royal lifestyle and started to seek non-worldly fulfilment. Although his parents didn't want him to, he left the palace on a quest for personal enlightenment. After much meditation I guess he found what he was looking for and spent the rest of his life traveling and teaching others how to find their own path of enlightenment. The name Buddha means, "awakened one," meaning someone who is no longer ignorant but sees things for what they really are. A Buddha is someone who is free from all faults and mental obstructions- so all people can strive to be a "Buddha" or a Buddhist . There are Spiritual Guides that have achieved enlightenment that help others find their path of enlightenment as well.There is so much to the religion of Buddhism that I can't even sum it up here, but that's the most simplified version I can give.
So, happy birthday Buddha! I'm happy you have found enlightenment and that many others have found what they are looking for in your teachings as well. I truly believe that without vision people perish... so thanks for the vision, you have made a major impact on our world!
day 2
so here it is, day number 2 of my challenge! I actually almost forgot to write...so here it is, my blog for the day. I don't have too much to say except that I worked all day on getting all my report cards done and I am soooo tired! I am thankful tomorrow is a holiday- my first one while here. I am hoping to go hiking or bike the path along the Han river, but I hear it might rain. My backup plan is going to see Shrek 3, which I am not entirely excited about at all. I made a new Korean friend tonight! She is a friend of another Korean friend I have here, Jinny. This girl, So-young, doesn't speak any English so I am hoping that hanging out with the two of them will help me improve on my Korean! I started taking lessons but as soon as I hit the second level I had to stop because the classes moved way to fast. Instead I went to the bookstore and bought a "do it yourself" Korean language book. I am hoping to get through the book and then rejoin Korean lessons again. Ok, since my day was fairly uneventful, I am going to go to bed now! Have a good night (or day, depending on where you are in the world) everyone!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
free hugs, swear words, and buddha's birthday
For those of you actually reading this, thanks for not giving up on me, I know it has been almost a month since my last blog. I suppose that could be seen as a good thing- my life is just too dang exciting to fit in time to blog! No, actually, the truth is I have just been a bit lazy when it comes to blogging. I heard that it takes 14 days to make something a habit. So I decided that I am going to make it a goal to write at least one thing a day for the next 14 days, even if it is only a thought, feeling, one experience or even one sentence, just to try and make this a habit. =o)
I hugged a man holding a sign that said "free hugs" on Sunday. I have heard about people that have gone around holding these signs and since I have been to Korea I have seen about 4 of them. On Sunday I decided to actually do it. Adam said it was probably just a guy trying to be perverted and cop cheap feels off of girls who hug him, so I made him and another girl do a group hug with me just to keep things innocent. Sunday was the Lotus Lantern Festival. The festival is held once a year to commemorate Buddha's birthday, which is May 24- no school!!! There are lanterns everywhere! The tradition is to make a lantern shaped like a lotus flower and as you hang it up you make a wish (either in your head, or you write it on paper and hang it from the lantern.) That night the lanterns are lit and it is a beautiful sight! ( I have pictures that I will post eventually, once I take them from Adam, my photographer until I buy a camera.) There is also a parade. All the floats are huge lanterns made into different shapes. It was getting dark just as it started, it was great!
May 15 was Teachers' Day. On Teachers' Day it is common to get gifts from your students as a token of their appreciation for teaching them. I was expecting a gift or two, but was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of flowers and gifts from my students. I am lucky enough to be teaching in a very affluent area and I figured out my gift value to be about $300. Let's just say I have enough face and body lotion, shampoo and shower gel to last me all year! We also had our Spring Picnic on May 17. We took the school to Yongsan Park and had a treasure hunt planned for the kids along with various other games. Along with the beautiful weather and sunburns we received, all the teachers had a great time playing with their students. It was nice to let the kids run around all day instead of keeping them cooped up in their desks.
Teaching so far is going well for me. There are always challenges and days where I get really frustrated, but it always keeps me on my toes, which I love! One week I was getting really frustrated with my students and their behavior and it just dawned on me, "they are getting too smart!" Our normal classroom routine just wasn't working anymore. The kids were getting bored and distracted. I am happy for that now because I realize they are learning. Teaching is a constant progression of evaluation and change. I was told this in college, but I don't think one really realizes it until they are actually teaching.
My kids are really funny too! One day, as I was about to put a boy on time out he says in the most genuine voice ever, "Ms. Jasmine, your toes are a beautiful color!" I couldn't help but laugh as I put him in time out! Today we were learning the letter "F." I was playing a game with my students and, not realizing it, I held up the letter F and C. I said, "What sounds do these make?" My class shouts, "Fff" and "Ck" Then all of a sudden a little boy shouts out, "Fuckah!" (imagine this phonetically... then a little girl, "yeah, "fffckkah" pretty soon the whole class is saying it out loud. Granted, they have no idea what this means, or that it is even a word... but here I am in the middle of a group of kids thinking, "I just taught them a swear word...." I thought that was pretty funny too.
I had my first visit to the dentist today. I chipped a tooth way back in the 10th grade, about 10 years ago, and it has slowly been getting worse. Yesterday I finally made an appointment to get it fixed. Going to the dentist made me feel a little more like I live in Korea, instead of just visiting. You don't go to the dentist when you visit a country, at least on a good visit you don't. I have been here for almost 3 months, but sometimes I feel like I am still on a trip.
I will leave you all with this. I am feeling more and more like I belong here. I am making some great friends, exploring, and constantly trying to become a better teacher. This is day 1 of my 14 day blogging challenge, so feel free to hold me accountable on this one. Expect some pictures soon. I will leave you all with a quote from an amazing book I am reading (that you all should read too) "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. "The mistakes I have made are dead to me. But I can't take back the things I never did." Chew on that one for a bit! Until tomorrow...
I hugged a man holding a sign that said "free hugs" on Sunday. I have heard about people that have gone around holding these signs and since I have been to Korea I have seen about 4 of them. On Sunday I decided to actually do it. Adam said it was probably just a guy trying to be perverted and cop cheap feels off of girls who hug him, so I made him and another girl do a group hug with me just to keep things innocent. Sunday was the Lotus Lantern Festival. The festival is held once a year to commemorate Buddha's birthday, which is May 24- no school!!! There are lanterns everywhere! The tradition is to make a lantern shaped like a lotus flower and as you hang it up you make a wish (either in your head, or you write it on paper and hang it from the lantern.) That night the lanterns are lit and it is a beautiful sight! ( I have pictures that I will post eventually, once I take them from Adam, my photographer until I buy a camera.) There is also a parade. All the floats are huge lanterns made into different shapes. It was getting dark just as it started, it was great!
May 15 was Teachers' Day. On Teachers' Day it is common to get gifts from your students as a token of their appreciation for teaching them. I was expecting a gift or two, but was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of flowers and gifts from my students. I am lucky enough to be teaching in a very affluent area and I figured out my gift value to be about $300. Let's just say I have enough face and body lotion, shampoo and shower gel to last me all year! We also had our Spring Picnic on May 17. We took the school to Yongsan Park and had a treasure hunt planned for the kids along with various other games. Along with the beautiful weather and sunburns we received, all the teachers had a great time playing with their students. It was nice to let the kids run around all day instead of keeping them cooped up in their desks.
Teaching so far is going well for me. There are always challenges and days where I get really frustrated, but it always keeps me on my toes, which I love! One week I was getting really frustrated with my students and their behavior and it just dawned on me, "they are getting too smart!" Our normal classroom routine just wasn't working anymore. The kids were getting bored and distracted. I am happy for that now because I realize they are learning. Teaching is a constant progression of evaluation and change. I was told this in college, but I don't think one really realizes it until they are actually teaching.
My kids are really funny too! One day, as I was about to put a boy on time out he says in the most genuine voice ever, "Ms. Jasmine, your toes are a beautiful color!" I couldn't help but laugh as I put him in time out! Today we were learning the letter "F." I was playing a game with my students and, not realizing it, I held up the letter F and C. I said, "What sounds do these make?" My class shouts, "Fff" and "Ck" Then all of a sudden a little boy shouts out, "Fuckah!" (imagine this phonetically... then a little girl, "yeah, "fffckkah" pretty soon the whole class is saying it out loud. Granted, they have no idea what this means, or that it is even a word... but here I am in the middle of a group of kids thinking, "I just taught them a swear word...." I thought that was pretty funny too.
I had my first visit to the dentist today. I chipped a tooth way back in the 10th grade, about 10 years ago, and it has slowly been getting worse. Yesterday I finally made an appointment to get it fixed. Going to the dentist made me feel a little more like I live in Korea, instead of just visiting. You don't go to the dentist when you visit a country, at least on a good visit you don't. I have been here for almost 3 months, but sometimes I feel like I am still on a trip.
I will leave you all with this. I am feeling more and more like I belong here. I am making some great friends, exploring, and constantly trying to become a better teacher. This is day 1 of my 14 day blogging challenge, so feel free to hold me accountable on this one. Expect some pictures soon. I will leave you all with a quote from an amazing book I am reading (that you all should read too) "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. "The mistakes I have made are dead to me. But I can't take back the things I never did." Chew on that one for a bit! Until tomorrow...
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