From One Year To The Next: My Time In Korea Has Ended

 

Leaving Korea

                                                                                           

The Principal and I

Saying goodbye always brings thoughts to the mind of a thinker. I certainly am a girl who thinks a lot. For my last weeks in Korea I tried to reflect on the year and the things that stuck in my heart the most prominently through my experience. The year was full of new experiences, learning experiences, easy ones and difficult ones. I really enjoyed the people I met through this experience, they were all so different from each other and special.  I am truly blessed to have met and shared time with them.  I am about a week into my return back to the USA and know that saying good bye to Korea was simply bitter sweet, I was sad to say good bye to all the special people in my life there yet I was thankful and happy to return to my home

country and spend time with many of the special people here I missed very much.  I would like to thank all of you in Korea for sharing your time and kindness with me, and I welcome emails and look forward to hearing about your lives in Korea.  Before I end, I would like to share a few things that I learned and am thankful for as I say good to my year in Korea.

1.  I am thankful for the loving kindness of the Lord.  It was a challenge being away from all that was familiar to me but His faithfulness and grace guided me from every direction.  Apart from the Lord I have no good thing I am weak but in the love of Christ there is a strength that astounds me.  I was humbled through this experience in a caring way and am truly thankful.

2.  My apartment and the teacher before me who I left Korea calling sister in Christ and friend.

3.  Having Jesse and Teresa in the same country as I

4.  Great school principal, vice principal, co-teachers and co-workers

5.  All my students

6.  Having Mariah Perrin in my life for the whole year!


7.  Frozen milkshakes in a bag

8.  Safety in the city

9.  Public Transportation

10.  Firework shows at random

11. Jayoutuh Center/School Students

12.  English Speaking Church Services

13.  SKYPE, Lord, I am truly thankful for the invention of skype!

14.  Meeting Amy Therkoff and having her in the same area as I.

15.  Mountains- I had many good hikes alone and with friends, I will miss the mountains.

16.  The Keumjung Venturetel Market Lady and her husband-They helped me out throughout the year in
taking my bills to the bank because the bank closed before I got off work.

17.  Being able to travel around Asia at a very affordable price.

18.  Very cheap health care and kind Doctors ( I got sick many times :/)

19.  The D-Deli restraunt owner- she gave me many free meals and was very kind to me

20.  Pickles and corn on pizza- Delicious!

Overall I am truly thankful to all my experiences the easy and the difficult.  I am thankful to all the people I met over the year, it is the experience of meeting so many different people and learning about their lives and sharing time together that I liked the most about living in a different country and traveling through Asia.
Well, I am unsure of what tomorrow brings and what my next adventure will be.  I think that is okay.  I must not worry about tomorrow because today is right under my feet, I just need to walk it out.  Thanks to all of you for reading my blog.   Enjoy a few pictures of my last days in Korea

The Office Staff and I

Jesse and Teresa Visit The City (One last time)

Making Samosas!!!

Making Curry!!!

The day of my last English camp Jesse and Teresa came to Anyang! This would be their last visit to Anyang before heading to the airport to start their adventure filled journey back to the USA. Teresa did a really great job this year coming up with tasty recipes using what Korea had to offer for ingredients. One of her recipes was Curry and Samosas, so we made it one night while they were in the city. It was delicious and tasty (if you want the recipe check out www.theadventuresofjesseandterese.blogspot.com and look under "What's Cooking in Korea"). Apart from making and delicious food we also did some sightseeing in the city. I was excited to have Jesse and Teresa here on a Sunday so we all went into Seoul together to a church. Another thing we did was take a trip to the Seoul Zoo. It was surprisingly fantastic. It wasn't too busy, had decorative surroundings and the animals were very lively. We even stayed a little late to watch the Dolphin show which was fantastic. After the show we were surprised again by getting to see the Hippos awake and clanking around. It was a busy day but a great one. We ended the night by eating pizza and watching an episode of shark week. Having Jesse and Teresa in Korea this last year has been a blessing for me. I will miss them for the few weeks I am left in Korea while they are on their way to America! It has been one unpredictable and a year I won't forget.

Riding the Subway

At the Seoul Zoo

Excited for the Dolphin Show to start.

Fishing in Korea (Last Trip to Bonghwa)

Crossing the street to DongSeoul Station

Towards the last weekend in July the little country town of Bonghwa had it's annual fish festival. Jesse and Teresa had told me about this event and apparently it was a big deal. I thought to myself..."Well, I like fishing, and it's a big deal, I better be there!" I was swamped with prep work for my English camps starting the next week but made the trip regardless. It turned out to be a great time and a nice breather from not only the city but lesson planning.

At the Bus Station

I arrived to the DongSeoul bus station about four hours too early (apparently the fish festival was a big deal and all the buses were booked!). I wondered around and finally the time came to get on the bus for about three hours. When I go to the station Jesse greeted me in Yeonju (a nearby city) and we went to Bonghwa, where Teresa had prepared a delicious fish feast in celebration for the festival.

Teresa and I with the Creepy Statues

We spent the time wondering through the festival and around Bonghwa. We saw some creepy statues, cars being pulled by giant robot animals, and lots of food. To get the festival started right, the night of my arrival we took a ride in a GIANT goose. That was a lot of fun. After our goose ride we waited for a spectacular firework show which really was impressive. The next day we did a little more wondering, and I stayed to see the anticipated fishing expedition before heading back to the city. This was a great last trip to Bonghwa and I will miss the simple and slow paced life of Korean country living. It was great to have Jesse and Teresa here in Korea to visit and even better to get to see a different part of the country! Though I loved the visits, it helped me to see how perfect being in the city was for me in this season of life. It is always good to take a break but just as good to return!

Giant Goose Boat!!!

The fishers charging into the river!

Some very smart fishers!

FIELD DAY AT ANYANG JUNGANG!!!

This is one of my favorites!

A nice tune to start the day!

I remember when I was in elementary school, having field day. It was a day where us students played games and celebrated physical activity all day. Guess what!... They do that here too! Yep, we had field day at Anyang JungAng Elementary. I was instructed to wear athletic clothes and shoes. I had no problem with that. It was a lot of fun. The day started with a song played by the whole school on the recorder which was followed by a nice warm up consisting of none other than the national sport of Korea..Taekwondo. And then to get the celebration off right, they released balloons that contained an origami swan. The swan had the dreams written of each student on it. Of course there was a swan for each grade/class. It was a really neat thing to experience. The rest of the day consisted of many games directed towards grade levels. Running was the core activity. Wow, these kiddos can run.

Like I said, both the USA and Korea have field days, but the games played are a little different. There was one game which was similar to pinata. The students had to throw little balls at a big ball until they broke it. They raced against another team. Surprisingly, the large balls were nearly impossible to break. But with a little persuasion from an adult they budged and set free some candy, confetti and balloons. Another part of field day I found very interesting was a display of pictures and art made by students. It was a great break from the field to take a glance into the lives and minds of these young athletes and dreamers that I call my students!








What is a athlete without their protein and bokki? Well, I don't know, but I do know there was plenty of this food to go around. I even got a unwanted taste of some delicate pig intestine. A student of mine came up to me and held this black thing on a stick near my mouth, as I opened my mouth to say a kind no, he slipped it right in. I was unable to chew it all the way through so I toughed it out and just swallowed it. At the time I had no idea what it was, then later found out that it was pig intesting. Wonderful ^^ Did you know that this is a heart healthy food for woman to eat after giving birth in Korea. Well you do now!


Another student gave me a surprise I liked a little better. he bought me bokki, which is one of my favs here. It is rice cake in a very spicy sauce! What a nice moment we had eating our delicious bokki together! I wrapped the day up with a story during my weekly story time program and then enjoyed a little more time out on the field. Coming soon...a look into my classroom...or rather a day in the life of Kate as a teacher.

Birthday Cake in Korea

Delicious Fruit Birthday Cake

Birthday cake in Korea is DELICIOUS! My co-teachers surprised me with a fruity cake from Paris Baguette (a very popular bakery) for breakfast, yes breakfast! It was lovely, and they spoiled me with their singing and fellowship before a day full of teaching. Clara my friend and co-teacher made sure the students knew it was my birthday...all week... thus, my ears were certainly not deprived of hearing the joyous song of "Happy Birthday" in English and Korean. It was very sweet and cute of my students, some of them missed it even amongst all the commotion, they did however notice it in the weeks to come, so it really was my Birthday all month long! Thanks to all my friends back in the states and here in Korea for all the messages of happy wishes ^^

A little bit of cultural information...here in Korea birth age is ordered a little different. Their one year begins at birth (or closely around there..not sure...I think there might be a big celebration at the 100 day old mark, not sure which marks)...point is my age is a year older here than what it is in the USA :p Yep, so when I came to Korea I was 25 and I am now 27, the plus is when I return home I will be 26 again, that is if I can remember, this age thing joggles my mind a little too much for my recall. Enjoy the photos!

Soo, brought me this cake <3

Clara and I

A gift from a student <3

The Principal greeted me with this flower :0)

Some of my students singing to me!

The Change of Seasons

The beginning of Spring from a view  at work.

 

 

 

Walking on water???

Seasons come and go, as they do so they bring new surroundings and perfect opportunities for new adventures. As spring took full speed in Korea I took full speed on catching up on my outdoor time that I had deprived myself of during the cold winter. Seeing the cherry blossoms was a must. It has always been a dream of mine that my grandmother also shares. Hopefully my photos will capture the beauty I experienced and give her eyes an illusion of seeing blossoms in Asia during the spring. Gyeonju is the ancient capital city of Korea and the place to be to see the blossoms. I took a day trip to this city, which was 2 hours by express train. Jesse, Teresa and a friend of theirs were there to meet me! We had a fun day of hiking, walking on water, eating street food, and enjoying the spring season together. Here is a small glimpse of what we saw.....

To stretch my traveling legs a little further one weekend I took another short venture into the country land of Korea (AKA Bonghwa...Jesse and Teresa's home for their year in Korea). Jesse and Teresa greeted me at the bus stop, we shared a meal Korean style on the floor! We then took a night stroll by the river and played a competitive game of midnight croquet. Which I dominantly lost. The next day we visited the street market, made gimbap for a picnic lunch, hiked through the country side, visited a beautiful stream called SoakJan and went to a cookie festival where cookies were absent. I then caught a bus back to the city life.

More adventures coming soon of what should be called "The Adventures of Kate, The Ever so Consistenly Inconsistent Blogger"