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Archive for February, 2009

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the wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Ganghwa is not particularly easy to get to or get around.  By car it takes about an hour to travel from the Seoul area, but it took us about 3 hours by bus to get to the Incheon airport today (2 hours from Ganghwa to the Incheon Bus Terminal and an additional hour to the airport).  I don’t think I will be making that trip too often.  It is a miracle we could even figure out how to get from point A to point B ~ all the timetables and signs are in Korean, of course, and no one speaks English (not even the tourist information person). 

The bus drivers are on a precise time schedule and they get very, very crabby if you delay their assigned route. 

“home” at last

Friday, February 27th, 2009

It has been an extraordinarily long day … but we are finally “home”. 

We started loading luggage at 730a.  Most of us were involved in “evening services” last night and feeling a bit crunchy this morning, but somehow everyone managed to clear out of the dorms by 10, just in time for the Closing Ceremony (more cultural experience performances, presentations, star awards, blah, blah, blah)  and the final goodbye to roomies and new friends.  Lots of tears and exchange of info …  ok, enough.  Go away, it will give me a chance to miss you.

The first stop was the Incheon Metro City office of Education, where we met our co-teachers and reviewed paperwork.  Next, we drove to our schools to meet the Principal and Vice Principal.  Finally, we went to our apartments. 

There are four of us placed in Ganghwa ~ a married couple from New Zealand South Africa (correction), Tim from Canada, and me.  We are all in different schools, but Tim and I are living in the same apartment building.  Trevor and Nicollete are living somewhere across town, but we already ran into them at the market, so I suspect we will see each other occasionally. 

We won’t have internet access in our apartments for a week or so, but we found a PC bang (game room) in our neighborhood, which is where we are right now. 

The last hurrah

Thursday, February 26th, 2009
The focus today was presentations, essentially a "peer review" , to prove to each other that we are ready to teach.  Let's assume that everyone passed with flying colors ... We met with our POE supervisors this afternoon.  I will be ... [Continue reading this entry]

so many stories, so little time

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Wow ~ I have some serious catching up to do!  It's Wednesday already, we've been here for 6 days and I haven't had any spare time to blog.  Tragic. We have had full schedules every day from 730a - 1030p, and ... [Continue reading this entry]

rumors of mischief

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Rumor has it that we have already lost a few comrades - 2 failed drug tests, 2 caught smoking pot on campus, and a couple having sex in an elevator (well, the sex scandal has not been confirmed ...) How do ... [Continue reading this entry]

I absolutely refuse to eat that …

Monday, February 23rd, 2009
After a few days, you sorta get used to the  kimchi  three times a day, soups made up of combinations of noodles and mysterious floating things, and the neon-colored raw vegetables, but the lunch feature today was simply not an ... [Continue reading this entry]

I read the news today ~ oh, boy

Monday, February 23rd, 2009
It was very exciting to get my hands on a paper copy of the Korean Herald  ~ until I read the headlines: 'NK may test-fire missile within days'.   Fantastic. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has declared it will scrap peace agreements ... [Continue reading this entry]

and on your left, we have the Seonangdang

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Today we went on a field trip to the Korean Folk Village in Yong-in City.  The Village is about 250 acres of traditional houses from different regions, various artisans (potters, weavers, blacksmiths, etc)  and a market/bazaar.  We spent all day ... [Continue reading this entry]

first day in SK

Friday, February 20th, 2009
It is a beautiful day ~ the sun is shining, there are about 2 inches of fresh snow, and the temp is a crisp 32 degrees F. First thing on the agenda this morning was the medical exam (routine physical + ... [Continue reading this entry]

27 degrees and snowing

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

When I left Minnesota, it was around 30 degrees and snowing. When we arrived in Incheon, it was 27 degrees and snowing. Didn't I mention that the weather is very similar? It's like I never left home ... [Continue reading this entry]

a new adventure ~ South Korea!

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Hello everyone!!  I'm leaving for South Korea on February 18, 2009. I want to thank all the people who have encouraged me to write another blog ~ I ... [Continue reading this entry]