it's hard to believe, but i've been in seoul for almost a month. i haven't blogged yet, so here's a summary. i'd just like to say that this entry was inspired by my impressively tech-savvy grandparents who wondered when i would post again. so, here goes:
it was strange to return to work after traveling. good strange, i guess. but also exhausting. we're at sullivan school, where morgan and jasmine worked before we all started this adventure. for the first 2 weeks, we were creating standardized (sort of) tests for the 3 levels of kindergarteners here. that was quite a process. and that was just midterms... we still have the final exam to do. we've also been responsible for updating and refilling the "theme boxes." every week there is a different theme (summer, community helpers, ocean life, etc.) off of which the teachers base their lesson plans. i know more about elementary education resources than i ever thought i would. it gives me such appreciation for how hard my teachers had to work to keep us entertained and enriched for all of those years.
now we're preparing for summer camp, which is not as carefree as it sounds. we will have a good amount of time built in for art and games and songs, but that's smattered (not really a word apparently) between intensive academic classes, complete with workbooks and assessments. seems to me these kids are too young to be pushed so hard, especially during their vacation, but i only have so much control over the structure and syllabus. so we've got some great things planned for the times when fun is the main objective.
we're living in a nice apartment near a bus line that takes us to and from work. i've gotten pretty good at the bus and subway systems. it's good to be able to get around. i'm not as confident as morgan, though--he's spent so much time here getting to know different areas of the city. and he can read korean, so that's a big help. i have him around most of the time, so that's nice. i have been venturing out on my own on sundays to play ultimate frisbee. that's been a highlight of my time here so far. there's a great community made up of half koreans and half westerners playing weekly. next weekend, i'm planning on taking a trip to busan, a city on the south-east coast, for a beach tournament. i hope the weather cooperates, but since it's currently rainy season, i'm not going to hold my breath. besides, disc in the rain is fun, as long as it's not lightning.... i've been taking a yoga class once a week as well. that's not weather dependent, so that's good.
the hardest thing so far has been eating vegetarian. EVERYTHING has meat in it. i have a feeling i will get really sick of the one dish i've found: bipbimbop. (and even that isn't consistently vegetarian--i have to show the server a note requesting it be made without meat, just in case.) but for now it's a staple of my diet. and it's not like i'm starving; there's always rice to eat, not to mention western food.
speaking of food, i'm off to the corner store for a snack. love to all.
