Field Trip

Hi everyone! Hope things are going well in the USA. Things in Korea are good. Last week I went on my first field trip with my kinder students. We went to the Korea Design Center, which has a lot of hand on activities for kids. We took the kids to an interactive sport exhibit. The kids really enjoyed the day and it was a nice break from teaching for a morning. I have posted some pictures from the field trip.

Other than that, things are fine with work. We are back into the swing of things after Christmas break. On March 1st the new semester begins. My elementary students do not have their regular (Korean) school until then. They have January and February off. They also get some time off in the summer before the first semester of school starts in September. I will have a new kinder class and new elementary classes in March. I will really miss my kinder classes and I think we have a graduation ceremony for them so that will be fun.

This past weekend I was able to go to Seoul with a friend and eat out at a Mexican restaurant. It was a nice treat and break from Korean food. But, I can't complain too much because most Korean food I have had is good and I like most things.

I'll post again soon. It is still cold here but, hopefully spring will come early this year!
Take care,
Colleen

Christmas in China

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I came back to Korea on Friday from my week long trip to China. I flew to Guanghzou, China, where my friend from college, Sarah lives. She is Chinese and I met her when she was doing an exchange program at my school. It was good to see her after three years. I stayed with her and got to tour her city. I met her family too. Her parents and grandma did not know English so she had to translate but, her younger sister and cousin were able to speak in English with me.

We spent a few days in her city and I also went to her village where she grew up. It was about 45 minutes from her apartment. It was cool to see. I have never been stared at so much in my life! Sarah said I might get some looks because they are not used to foreigners in the village.
Sarah and I also went to Hong Kong for two days. It was a three hour bus ride from her city. Hong Kong was awesome! It is a very international city and there were people there from all over the world. While we were there, we stayed at her aunt and uncle's apartment. They have two daughters and they were so excited we were staying with them. They toured the city with us too.

I am also posting some pictures from the Christmas Concert at school. My class did really well and they looked so cute! I go back to work on Tuesday. It will be nice to ease into a four day week. The vacation went by too fast! I am so glad I went to visit China. It was a great trip and an eye opening experience. I was so lucky Sarah could be my tour guide and show me her city and Hong Kong. It was great to meet her family and see how Chinese people live. It was a Christmas to remember!