A day in which we swim and picnic...

Well, we've had a wonderful weekend. The Abroad Kids (the big kids) "graduated" on Friday, leaving us with just the Little Ones. Esther decided to take us all on a field trip to swim. I did not bring my bathing suit, because I didn't think in a million years I'd be swimming. So I just wore "hot pants" and a t-shirt, and armed myself with my trusty new Korean phrase "mope-she tup-kuun-yo"... "it's awfully hot, isn't it?"

Right after lunch the Little Boys and TA Henry were having a soccer match. Joy and I cheered along the side, like the soccer moms we are. :) Then one of the boys dropped out of the game, so I asked if I could take his place. Henry said no. :( I think they thought I would cheat like Joy did when they let her play last week! So I begged a little, and finally Henry said I could play, if I played for the OTHER team.
What a can of worms that boy opened.
Of course, I had to win and show off... a little. :) The kids were all yelling and screaming and everyone was VERY shocked that I could actually play. It was so fun!! Justin and Phillip and Pat joined in shortly thereafter. Henry, I think, is eating humble pie that he didn't want the girl on his team! Hahaha!

Once we were all sweaty and covered in pieces of turf, it was time to get into the cars to go to swim. Justin, Pat, and Kevin took all the boys in this WICKED GHETTO van. It was pouring black smoke out of the exhaust pipe, and it took Justin several minutes to even get the engine going. 

This is how the boys felt about the van....

Henry, Joy & Christina took another car with some girls; Esther took Sarah and some of the bigger girls in her car... they look so cute windblown! 

Phillip and I took his car with Lucy, Lucy and Sunny. They sang every pop song EVER all the way there... Korean pop and American pop. Phillip and I were no match for their overwhelming knowledge of every lyric ever written, but we did our best.

These little pagoda things were for families to sit in or have lunch in. It had a beautiful little lotus pond in front!

This is Phillip about to get a closer look at the lotus pond...

All of us in the creek....

...which flowed into a pool-type thing before flowing BACK into a creek. Very cool.

This is me losing the Game. We hit a volleyball around and if you put it over someone's head or didn't catch it, then you got put in the middle and splashed. Obviously, I am losing and Henry is loving that fact.

Justin lost quite a few times....

The most epic picnic. We had brought GIANT rice cookers to boil water in so the kids could have ramen. Who brings ramen to a picnic?!?!

Serving up some ramen... we have very serious picnics in Korea.

It began to rain.... A LOT.

I am not sure that ladle is going to keep you dry, Phillip!!

Everyone running for cover. 

I love the towel, wrap, Princess-Leia thing that Miles has going on....

We ended the day with Pat's birthday party!

We decided to go back to school to not get the party rained out....

Obviously from Kathereen and Emily's faces, having fun is lots of hard work.

So, that was our fun day at the park. It was one of the best days of my summer. 

-elie

A day in which we explore tae kwon do...

So today, we had midterms. Our morning was spent calming irrational fears and trying to get everyone to just try their best and let the rest go. It was stressful. Luckily the reading midterm was not to 1:00PM, so I got to sleep in!! YAY!! So I tried to sleep in, but I only made it to 9AM. Then I was wide awake!! How irritating!! So I took a 30 minute shower... walked around the dorm room for awhile... brushed my teeth for an epic-ly long time... then I decided at 10AM to just go and hang out in the teachers lounge for awhile. :)

We all had a grading party and got our midterm grades ready. It was not fun. All our English babies are trying so hard and I hate to have to mark things off; but I know it would not be fair to pass kids to the states who are not ready. :( It's a sad day.

Doing grades, the other side of the room. :) 

After all our grades, Georgette, Mary, Bobbie & Briana decided to join me in the Tae Kwon Do gym to watch our kids in their gym class. It was the white belt class, so all the beginners. It was so fun.

The floor was awesome and bouncy so I basically just jumped around. :) Justin was very kind to let us all watch. It was very interesting to watch our kids in their cute little outfits as they learn their routines. We laughed the whole time, even though we had NO IDEA what Justin was saying. Here are some pictures and videos from our adventure in Tae Kwon Do. 

Our cute little babies... aren't they sweet? The floor looks like wood laminate, but it's squishy and rubbery.

This is Blackbelt Kevin who is saving Sarah from the GIANT JUMPING BUG that came out of the carpet.

Gross.

Thank you Blackbelt Kevin for saving the Damsel in Distress, Little Princess Sarah... 

Here is a video of Justin and the kids! 

Justin and I... obviously, I'm his favorite white belt. :) 

Blackbelt Kevin showing off the bouncing floor... it was wicked awesome.

So that's what's new in Eumseong. We are loving life, trying tae kwon do, grading til our fingers bleed, and mostly just having a party. 

Tomorrow we're going on a PICNIC!! We're taking all our babies to a park nearby to have a free day. Look for pictures of the boys throwing me in the pond (it's been promised, since they discovered I didn't bring my bathing suit to Korea), us wearing "hot pants" (otherwise known as shorts), and all our babies having summertime adventures. 

Shoot me a note, I'd love to hear from you!!

Pouring Cats & Dogs...

I am writing to request your prayers for the people of Seoul! It has been raining quite heavily for several days. I know it's rainy season, but it has been quite a downpour.

This is Seoul... about two hours away. Everyone here in Eumseong is fine, we have a few puddles and some crazy weather as we walk the 10 minutes to and from our housing to class. :)

This is from the BBC:

Ten die in South Korean flooding

Seoul's main road is flooded

At least 10 people have died and another 17 are missing after heavy rains hit South Korea, the emergency services say. There were flash floods and landslides as monsoon rains inundated the eastern province of Gangwon.
More than 2,000 people are reported to have fled their homes and are in emergency shelters.
The severe weather is forecast to continue over the next few days with the capital, Seoul, also affected.
The 10 confirmed victims were killed by mudslides in Inje, 165km (102 miles) east of Seoul, and Pyeongchang, 180km (112 miles) east of the capital, the emergencies agency was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
There were no immediate reports of possible flood damage in North Korea, South Korea's neighbour.











We ask for your prayers for our neighbors as they deal with this flooding. It's crazy for me to think that I was flying down that highway less than a week ago on our way to pick up our girls from the airport.
Hope you all are doing well! I would love to hear from you about your own crazy summer adventures...
--elie

P.S. the post is dedicated to Georgette, she is my new wonderful west coast friend!

Recent Events... aka the Californians have arrived...

We've had a good weekend, starting with the trip to Eumseong with Justin and Kevin, meeting the Californians and teaching them about ACE camp. We've had so much fun! Georgette is our bubbly friend who has jumped in with two feet. She is such a sweetheart and compassionate friend-- already! Mary is a sensitive soul who always enjoys sharing a laugh with us about the silly things that go on! Bobbie is Mary's daughter, she's 18, but has fit right in with our "out of school and not quite over the hill crowd" (that was for Charles!). I have really enjoyed getting to know them.

Here is a glimpse of our life in the dorms:

This is Paige and Vera stalking our friends on facebook while they sleep. :)

On Sunday, we got to go to Mungyeong, the new GVCS campus. It was a fun bus trip, which I really appreciated as a chance to see more of Korea. Between my bus trip with Vera and our trip on Sunday, I have seen more of Korea then I imagined I would in 2 weeks.

We got to have a pizza party with GVCS' founder, Pastor Nam. Here are some pictures of our pizza party:

TA Christina and I after church at Mungyeong.

Grace Academy respresent! :) My cute student....

My roommate Joy and I with our office manager, Kevin, & our boss, Esther.

This week of class has been good, everyone is used to each other and our routines are a little more set. Our students are showing the signs of their weariness. Today in G-Class (the language babies), Grace was trying to tell me about something but she was soooooooo tired that her eyes were crossing behind her glasses and her lids were falling and fluttering. It was so distracting that I can't even remember what she was trying to tell me!

Yesterday was midterms. Everyone was crying and stressing... it was... insane. I felt stressed and I was GIVING the test! I feel like I am slowly turning into Mrs. Maxwell, my high school Latin teacher, with her pacing and anxiety before OUR exams. Everyone did well, so it was worth it.

If you haven't heard my melodramatic moaning, my DELL died. It was a rough night. I turned it on, everything was fine then all of a sudden..... "PBR...done." It was sad. I immediately FREAKED. Charles was laughing, Joy was trying to shout and understand what I was bursting into sobs about. I pulled out the battery, restarted in twice... in a desperate attempt to do SOMETHING, I started blowing light into the vents to try to get dust out... thinking maybe Dell's just overheated! So then Charles starts laughing because he thinks I'm trying to give Dell CPR (even I'm not that stupid). So then we both start pleading with God....

"He's too young..."

"I didn't get to say good-bye"

"It was so sudden..."

"There was nothing you could've done..."

"Just one more month...."

It was tragically melodramatic. Charles' cpr... trying to pump life back into Dell... was not productive and just a little heartless to mock a mourning woman. :(

I hope your summers are providing lots of laughs and many adventures...

That's my crazy Korean adventure so far!







The Death of Dell

This is a sad day, where we are remembering the life and good deeds of Dell Herman. He was a faithful and trustworthy friend, a memory full of moments including high school graduation, college life, college papers, saved emails that brightened long Final Week boredom and stress, pictures of adventures in regular life, Europe, and Asia. Accustomed to my strange patterns, odd hours, and my favorite things. Greeting me each morning cheerfully, no matter how harsh I was firing off morning emails or creating lesson plans. Dell never gave up, wheezing his way through 30 page papers, struggling to adapt to new countries in an effort to help me on my international way.

Dell will be remembered for his selfless acts of service and long hours of friendship and comfort. He brought music, games, and social contacts into his home. He provided a venue for laughter to be streamed into our lives.

Dell was brought to us late in the summer of 2006, a gift from Aunt Patty for graduation. And served as a constant companion for the whole family, providing hours of entertainment and academic support.

His last moments were spent contacting Miss Whitney Moore of Staunton, Virginia. His final words were "PBR....done."

Thank you Dell for your life of good works.
The family appreciates your support and prayers in this time of trial.

Trip to town...

Today, Charles and I arranged a trip to Eumseong to walk around and see what there is to see! Justin and Kevin Cho were our drivers and tour guides! Here are some pictures of Eumseong... it's  like the  Hagerstown of Korea. It's a city, but it's not really big and there's not like internationally ranked historical landmarks or anything like that. It was just nice to see other places, too! It's like the first weekend in college... you would pay to go ANYWHERE not on campus! :)

LOTTERIA.... yummy...

Justin (one of the Tae Kwon Do masters) helping Paige on the aerobic machines in the park. Love her face in this picture! I wish I'd caught his laugh .001 seconds later.

Georgette trying it out! 

Kevin (in red) and Justin giving us a social studies lesson about the thing in the middle of the pond. 

Charles working out... the kinks in his back.

Sorry, out of order... the inside of the place. The history lies with Buddhism, the colors and flowers go with that symbolism. It  was a place  used for special events for the elite in Eumseong a long  time ago.

"WAKE UP! BLACK BLACK GUM!" 

Charles and I laughed for a looooooooong  time about this...

the produce market and a woman in traditional korean clothes. she looked like a princess...

Korean man who spoke English... kind of... he was very very old, and we're not sure what he was telling us.

Official Tae Kwon Do studio in Korea. This is a big deal. Kids cannot graduate from GVCS without their blackbelt.

The group....

Me with the group....

Mary (CA), Pat (MD), Bobbi (CA), Paige (MD), me, Briana (MD), Georgette (CA) and Kevin Cho, our translator. 

So that's my life so far... I'm enjoying my weekend, and hope you do too! Saturday was lovely... I hope it will be for you!

--e

My Bus Adventure.

So I have some funny stories for you today, which is a blessing I'm sure from my usual ramblings on about my "children." :)

The story begins.... yesterday at 1:15PM. Vera and I were going to take the buses (yes, BUSES) to Seoul to the airport to pick up the kiddos flying in from DC and California.At first, I wasn't sure why Esther kept cautioning me about buses and going, trying to make sure I was still sure about going... and I thought, "geesh! what could be SO bad?" Ah... so the fun begins.
We were sitting in the bus stop, the  SWELTERING bus stop for 20 minutes wondering where the  bus was. Then a tiny 1,000 year old Korean woman came and informed us that the 1:30 bus was cancelled!!

(bus stop)

(view from bus stop)

So Vera whips out her phone and calls Justin & Phillip (the Tae Kwon Do masters/Gym teachers here). Not 5 minutes later, a tiny white sports car FLIES up the road with two Korean men with American rap thumping in the speakers, leaning back like they're "G's." Phillip rolls down his window and says "get in." Like he's some kind of Korean mobster. Hahaha! :)
Never have I feared for my life like I did on that car ride... and I've ridden on motos in Africa, taxis in Spain, 50 year old trains in Italy... it was... TERRIFYING. Justin drives with one hand, "singing" along with the sounds he could mimic. Very comical when I wasn't screaming silently. Phillip was trying to carry on a normal conversation about Hagerstown and where we can visit when he gets there (is Hagerstown known for anything famous? Ummm... no).
Finally we avoid running down old men in crosswalks, old women on vespas, taxis, buses, tractors... (you think I'm kidding, but I am TOTALLY not). Vera grabs my hand and we SPRINT through the bus terminal to the bus, boarding as the  driver shifts into gear. yikes.

 Would you like a snack for the bus?

 Beautiful lake and mountain... the mountain went straight INTO the lake. 

 Vera and I on the bus, obviously Vera is thrilled about buses.

Ha. Yeah, the metro in Barcelona was NOTHING compared to this insanity.

So off we go... until we get to this HUGE terminal... 4 floors, 2 city blocks wide... I think that maybe they are flying into a closer airport; but no... this is  a BUS terminal. Holy cow. Yeah...Wow.  

Vera asks me "would you like lunch?" 

"Sure." So we go to Lotteria and get cokes and mozzarella sticks. 

"Ok, we have 4 minutes to get to the bus..." Vera says as we get our food. Ok, WHAT?! 

So off we RUN... flying through this terminal; and I'm sure that all the Koreans were wondering why is that American chasing that Korean teenager? 

Bus #2, you have to go through this dark hallway, then through a back parking lot, then climb over the highway guardrail to where the bus is sitting.  Finally we arrive, the driver announces we will wait 5 more minutes... so Vera LEAVES me on  the bus, because she needs to go to the bathroom. So I sit  there, hyperventilating because if we leave without her, I don't know what to do next!! The bus driver starts  the engine and I am trying to figure out if I should get off or just hope he remembers to wait for  her. Blast me not being  about to speak Korean. She gets on and he  pulls  off  before she makes it to her seat. 

The ride on Bus #2 was  fine... long, rush hour  traffic around  Seoul's beltway. But it was fine. We arrived at the airport at 7:00PM.

 The green wavy thing is a fairway for the Seoul "golf course" 

Beautiful, foggy, Seoul on the river...

We arrive at the airport, an hour late. Sorry, girls!! But here is the picture of the group sitting and waiting! 

Of course, we took them to Kraze Burger for dinner... Then we boarded a bus with the 25 Californians (yeah, we didn't know we were getting EVERYONE). 

 Karla and Dominique.... passed out in the Charter Bus

Mid-laugh, but it's ok... Brielle & me (and John McBee's hand)

Nearly 3 hours later, the bus driver stops for his 2nd cigarette break and announces casually to Vera that he has no idea where we are. Oh, excellent. It's now 11:00PM... and I'm exhausted and Vera's exhausted. So we both just sit there and stare at each other.... you've got to be kidding. The driver's on cigarette 2 of this break, not seeming upset, as he leisurely smokes, that 35 people are lost on a coach bus in the mountains of Eumseong...yikes.

We sit and call people for 20 minutes... calling everyone we can think of, Esther's not answering, Henry's not answering, Justin.... Phillip.... Christina... Sarah... panic is setting in... 

So two of the other GVCS boys (who came to pick up the Californians too, but not with Vera and I... yeah, whatever that is...) run off, to see if they can see  GVCS from the top of the mountain! It was like a bad horror movie. 

The boys run back... we're 5 minutes away. If we had turned one more turn... 20 minutes ago... we would have been 1/2 a mile from our dorm. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I've never been  so happy to see Lydia Dorm. :)

So that was my best adventure. I've  decided not to go on any more public transportation adventures...  It took us  nearly as long to go pick them up (10 hours) as it did to fly to Korea from Washington DC (13 hours). 

I'll post again soon!!

-e