Warning: Long post ahead!!
This week I had the awesome chance to join the grade 6 kids and teachers on their graduation trip. We went to Seoul for an overnight stay at Korea's biggest amusement park, Everland. It was absolutely amazing and I can't believe I was paid to go. My coteacher was unable to attend, so I was a little nervous to be a burden on the Korean teachers. I went into study mode and finally learnt all their names. I was put under the care of the young science teacher and her friend who was a homeroom, and unsurprisingly everyone was super sweet and always looking out for me. The two ladies, Su hyeon and Kyeong hui (Romanization rules make those names look harder than they are. Anne romanization would be Soo hyun and Kyoung Hee) are both my age and were so nice and fun. I think that despite our language barrier, we definitely formed a friendship.
The first stop on the trip was to the Seoul Science Museum. I totally geeked out and had a lot of fun with the Natural History section. There was also a "traditional Korean Science" part that was really neat.
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| Traditional Korean pottery. |
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| Oriental style rowing... |
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And western rowing! I had a chuckle at these
cartoons. |
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I was super happy to see my anecdotal
observation of Korean size changing
with generations was scientifically known! |
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| Newton looking good. |
Our next stop was Everland. This is the big amusement park, and they had the ingenious idea of also making it a resort. Travelling with about 250 students, this was the only way i can see a trip like this working out. We got to Everland around 4, we set our bags in our rooms, and then the students were basically set free. They were allowed to roam the park until 9pm! They had dinner vouchers to go find their own food, and the teachers got to have dinner and coffee together. It was lovely. We then all met up, counted the kids, and then it was bedtime.
Sharing a room with three other young Korean ladies was interesting. I felt very much like the dirty European from ancient times, back when all Europeans just put on wigs and perfumes instead of showering. Compared to these ladies, my hygiene routine was seriously lacking! I had showered in the morning and figured I could go one evening without showering in the awkward looking showers and just shower upon my return the next day. This baffled them. I also was the only one to use deodorant ie powder/perfumes. They brush their teeth three times a day and for SO long. I think they think I skipped because I would go do it so quickly comparatively. They also had so many creams and ointments for their skin and hands. My current makeup routine is applying mascara which is insanely fast compared to theirs. Pretty much, we woke up at 6 30 and they were ready to go at 8! Ironically, I am the only who uses soap after the using the bathroom to wash my hands.
Luckily, one of the women who had taken me under her wing was the only Korean interested in riding the roller coasters! We started by riding the
T Express, the world's steepest wooden roller coaster! It was super fun, as I love roller coasters. We also rode the "biking" which initially confused me until I saw the ship and realized it was the Viking!
Students were out of their minds excited and were all so happy. They were totally shocked to see me come along for the trip. We were staying in beautiful cabins surrounded by blossoms (Seoul's colder climate means they're still peaking) where the students were extra confused by my presence. Word that I had gone on the T Express traveled very fast, and some boys asked me to ride with them the following day. I was happy to oblige Adorably, many students formed "couples" on the trip, due to the romantic nature of the park ;)
At night we got to watch a light and fireworks show. The plot involved some colourful people being attacked by some demon guy and his dragon, and then defeating him with the help of a phoenix. Seemed like a good time. Fireworks are always a fun way to end a night ! There was an animal section I didn't take full advantage of sadly, because I didn't want to be totally antisocial and run away from the other teachers, but I did get to play with some budgies!
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| Our overnight room. |
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| Korean style beds |
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Tons of the kids (and some teachers) bought new
shoes for the occasion. |
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Eating a potato chip with chopsticks.
When in Rome... |
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| I died watching this band perform. Very funny. |
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Jaeweon's blazer always makes
me laugh. |
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| In Korea, everything is cute. Even neck pillows! |
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| Check out that steepness! |
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| The biking |
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A huge line of strollers were bike-locked to the fence.
I laughed. |
The ladies I was with asked if I would like to get animal ears with them. These headbands are extremely popular at amusement parks. I obviously agreed. My students absolutely freaked out when they saw me in the ears. They said I was very cute and very beautiful. Cat ears will have that effect! In the following picture I am eating my very first churro (odd place to finally try one I admit!) and am also carrying a tiger shaped popcorn case while feeding some budgies. My coteachers were absolutely terrified of the budgies, and I had to hold one's hand out quite firmly to prevent her from running away to let the budgies eat her seeds.
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I am CROUCHING I am taller than these children.
Note the adorableness of the ears! |
Ok the FINAL leg of our journey (and this long blog post) was the Korean Independence Museum. It was mainly a photo-op to get a nice picture of all the students. We walked around a bit, but everyone was pretty beat by this point.
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| That weird flower name is the hibiscus. |
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Here are all the grade 6 kids. I teach one other full grade,
and half of a third grade. Stop asking me if I know
all my kids names yet because it's not going
to happen :( ! |
In conclusion: I have the very best school and such an amazing job that this fun trip would be a part of!!
