Muuido Island

Way out with the tides!

Jay and I and our friends Dani, Kellie and Jeanette went to a weekend getaway to an island off of Incheon in South Korea. We went with a group called Seoul Hiking Group. The man in charge plans trips every weekend. We decided to get on a bus and go along! We brought Kip too! We arrived at the island and had the whole day to ourselves to enjoy the sunshine and beach.


We had a fantastic time relaxing and roaming along the tides. We could walk far out and Kip loved playing in the water. Later in the day we went for a hike to the top of a mountain to look out on the sunset over the ocean. We were exhausted but loved it! When we got back we had samgupsal and galbi with a ton of veggies! It was a wonderful day! We stayed in pensions and slept on the warm floor! We played games and eventually went to bed.

Can you tell how tired we were by my red face! :)

The next day we got up to hike, but it was so cold, after some naps, and a warm breakfast, Jay and I got out and hiked a different trail. Kip was so good, he followed along and never ran off. He had such a wonderful time being off of his leash. We left around 3 and we felt very relaxed and well rested! I had a fantastic weekend!

New Beginnings

     In March the new school year starts. So I had to say goodbye to my Wisdom and Dream class and I got two new classes. I now teach 10 five year olds and 9 seven year olds. Both classes have never been in English class before, and let me tell you not an easy walk in the park. They have definitely thrown me for a loop. I sometimes just have to sit and let them run around yelling in Korean before I can step in. They are just as adorable but I have a long way ahead of me. 

     Jason and I both have new Elementary classes. I love my new classes and so does Jay. However, he did end up with my nightmare class and they are running him to! It is nice to have a change up for the next 6 months. We will keep you updated with our classes!

March 1st Movement Day

March 1st is a day to remember the ones who helped start the separation of Japan from Korea. In 1919 a girl from Choenan started the separation movement. Our friend Sunbin took Jason and I and Emily, since it was her last morning to Independence Hall to watch the ceremony. It was lovely, I heard the national anthem and was able to watch a re-enactment. 

They did a re-enactement of when a 16 year old girl from Cheonan started a movement to make Korea their own country. She was later caught by the Japanese and then dies at 19 in their jail. She started the ball rolling and after the second world war all of her work was paid off as it was part of the deal to have Japan remove itself from Korea.

We had to be there early to get the whole ceremony and parade, and the Koreans were very happy that a group of foreigners were there to share their day. We had politicians and newscasters asking us questions.  After the ceremony we had a picnic on the grounds. It was a wonderful way to send Emily off and to have a lesson in Korean history! 

Kinder Graduation

The girls holding up their snowman!

Every year at the end of February we have a graduation to celebrate the 7 year olds who are moving on to Elementary School. All of the kindergarten classes have to do a song or play depending on their age and level. Since I didn't have any 7 year old classes I thought this would be a piece of cake. Boy, was I wrong! The parents take this very seriously from the age of my 5 year old class! My co worker and I had decided to go with a winter theme and a love for English theme. My 5 year old Wisdom class each had a sentence to say about building a snowman. It was adorable, as they were saying they were actually making a snowman together! Let me tell you, that took A LOT of practice! In the end they did so well and I was so proud of them, and so were their moms.




I didn't mention that the kids are decked out in costumes and microphones as well for this. Oh, and there was a huge blow up castle behind them! Of course it would be, in Korea you do nothing small, you go out big for everything!

My other class, Dream was old enough to do a play, we did the Gingerbread man. They were sooo good! They said their lines, sang loud and acted so well! We got many complements on our play. Of course they too were in extreme animal costumes and microphones. Our gingerbread man costume however, was a squirrel, we didn't see any tail in the picture when we ordered it! HA!

Rosie as the Gingerbread Man!

In the end, the kids all get a certificate for finishing their year and their families give them flowers and candy. We too, the teachers, got a lot of flowers and love from the parents! It was sad to see kids move on, and knowing I wouldn't be teaching them again, but I was really happy with how we ended! 

Kinder Birthday Parties!

Mike from Dream Class enjoying doing his birthday speech!

Every season, the kindergarten program at SLP celebrates all the birthdays in the month. We recently had the winter birthday party for all of the birthdays in December, January and February. It is intense! Any child with a birthday in those months, will receive a gift from every one from their class. On my dream class there is 8 kids, so each child got 7 gifts. We had 4 birthdays in that class alone, so not only did mommys have to buy a gift, they had to buy 4! At the party the birthday student is asked to come up and do a speech. (What their favorite color is, their favorite animal...etc) Then each student in their class will bring up a present and hugs them! It is so cute, and the kids go wild with a bag full of presents!
There is also a feast that is served at lunch, noodles, which is every child'd love at school, fruit, cake, cookies and extra special fried chicken! The kids love it! We sing songs and dance! The kids have alot of fun!