Namhae

Mike and I took a daytrip to beautiful Namhae a few weeks ago. There are regular buses running from Jinju to Namhae. Once there we grabbed a cab and headed towards the coast, stopping our driver to let us off near the water. 

These really reminded me of the women in Tongyeong.

Mike and I

American Village! 

America's ambassador, Mickey Mouse. 

The Statue of Liberty and houses with more western style architecture. 

Five minutes of hiking, fifteen minutes of walking up a paved road led us to...

A little temple! 

I love the cherry blossoms in season all over Korea. 

I love that many temples in Korea are actually occupied by residents. 

Working at ChildU

My new job is a kindergarten teacher at ChildU. This is a private academy chain focusing on elementary students. My location recently started a kindergarten in the building, and I was hired to be the primary, full-time English kindergarten teacher. It is nice to be back at a school where I can get to know the students. I am lucky enough to have great co-workers, lots of resources, and support whenever I need it. Today marks 2 full months of employment here, and 20 months living in Korea. I am happy with the change. 

Here are some shots from my first few weeks...

Art class

 Sculpting with clay

Painting with an afternoon kindergarten class

Science lab with afternoon kindergarten

Cooking field trip

Going to see Hansel and Gretel, a play

This is all of the morning kindgarteners. The program is still growing, we have had two more kids join the morning since this shot was taken, and have interviews for 6 more! It is nice to work at a school that is expanding and improving. 

You can read my posts regarding afterschool programs vs. hagwons here:

ALS afterschool

St. Louis English Academy

Rock Climbing in Samcheonpo

My boyfriend, Mike, likes rock climbing. Previously this had been something of a mystery to me, something I did at camps as a child, indoors on a plastic wall, away from real rocks, dirt, and nature...  But, since the weather is perfect and he is addicted, I have spent quite a few weekends trying it out. Here are some pictures from a trip to Samcheonpo with Mike and his friend Eoin. 

Here is Eoin, notice the rock doesn't go higher than his body? He is lead climbing, meaning he is clipping in the rope every few moves into bolts on the wall. Eventually, when he reaches the top, he will put the rope through a clip, which allows the next climbers to go straight up, without worrying about the gear and everything else. Top rope is easier for me, because if I fall, I only fall a matter of inches, rather than the possible feet down to the previous bolt. 

Mike gracefully swinging around the overhang. This is a part of climbing I truly do not like - overhangs are not my friends.

Nice and safe with my top rope and harness on, don't worry, Mom!

I wouldn't consider myself very good at it, but climbing can be a fun afternoon spent in a beautiful place. 

The person on the bottom is harnessed in as well, since they are controlling the rope and ensuring that the climber doesn't fall. Also, Mike likes to eat turtle feet.