I actually ate this...

Well, for those of you who know me well - you know I don't try ANYTHING in regards to food. I hate trying new kinds of food. So here are some pictures to make your heart stop. Mom remember to breath when you see these pictures.




This is me eating tofu. It wasn't that bad and I have lived to tell the tale. Notice I am eating with chopsticks too.








This is purple rice. I actually ate this too.
I would NEVER eat anything like this at home.





This was at my favourite restaurant in Insadong. We had bulgogi and there were like 10 different mini dishes that come with it. I tried the cold calamari, but I left everything else.

Before we walked around Insadong, we went to Gyeongbokgung palace. I took Beth there and I am glad I went too. Ben took me the last time and I didn't have my digital camera at the point. I got some wicked pics - enjoy.

But before I get into that, here is a bit of a history lesson. Gyeongbokgung Palace was the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, built by King Taejo. The palace was built in 1395. In 1592, the palace was burnt down during the Japanese invasion and left in ruins for 273 years. It was restored in 1868.

Now for the pictures:





Beth and I dressed up as Korean guards. Beth was dressed as a the Daejol (this is a guard of the palace gates). I was dressed as a Jeongbyeong (this is just a regular soldier).










This is the changing of the guard ceremony.















This is the throne room. The white beam across the roof is represents the dragon, which was thought to repel evil and bring good luck. The closed being equivalent to a dragon was the king.












This cute guy was beside the bridge that lead up to the building above.






This is the throne room. The painting behind it is very famous.
Tried to find a description of it, but to no avail.





















This is a picture of the ceiling in the throne room. I missed this the last time.
















This is the chimney of the 10 longevity symbols in Jagyeongjeon. The 10 symbols are the various birds and floral decoration on the wall.









This is one of two pavilions in this palaces. They were cleaning out the lilly pads while we were there. These men were shoulder deep in that nasty, slimy water. Ewwwwwwwwww!!!!








This was such a visually busy day. Also, my legs were super tired after all the walking. It was a fantastic day and we both had so much fun. It was a good day.

Dumb Things Parents Say

Well, I have almost finished a month at Kid's Club. I can't believe how time has flown. My kids are all wonderful and it's been great being able to sit and talk with them. After talking with them, their parent's fill their heads with the stupidest things.

Dumb things they have said:

A doctor and a girl's mother told her, her bones are older than she is. She is only 11 year's old. I sat for about 15 minutes talking to her and trying to understand exactly what she was saying. All I could do was laugh.

Another incident with the same girl. Sarah has the most beautiful hair. It was halfway down her back. She came to school last week with shoulder length hair. Her mother made her cut it off because she told Sarah that she would not grow TALLER if she didn't. Makes you wonder, eh.

There was another student whose parents told him that he got sick because of the air conditioner in my classroom. It has been almost 35 degrees everyday.

Will post more dumb things that parent's say as the year progresses.

Waiting for the Sun

The rain just won't go away no matter how many times I get my kid's to sing the nursery rhyme. It has been sunny on and off. At least the weekends have been nice. The heat is still unreal and the humidity has been 100%, bringing the temp up by almost 10°. It's been around 40° every day at least. THANK GOD FOR AC!!!!

This was a short week as we had Monday off for Korean Independence Day. The weekend was spent playing hockey, reintroducing myself to Korean Night life and outfitting my apartment with a desk, chair and bed so it is now more comfortable. There will be pictures of my apartment soon - it just needs some cleaning. I also took Beth out, she is the new teacher that arrived just a week after me. We went out last Thursday, for a welcome and good-bye dinner. Scott, who taught at LCI for 4 years, finished on Friday. Here is a pic of the crew.

Going Clockwise from the guy with the glasses:
Ian, Beth, Scott, Sharlene, Angie, Ross, Kalee, Me, Peter and Kevin
It's nice working with this many people.

Everyone has been really nice. Peter took Beth and I out to show us where the LG mart was. It's kind of hidden and then we went for drinks. It was supposed to be one, but you know how that never works. So much for an early night. I also have a small roommate that likes to visit occassionally. Kalee, my neighbour has a beautiful siamese cat - Sniff. It took forever to get a decent picture. Just this evening, she was enjoying a playful moment with one of my flip flops.


Last night I had hockey and that was a blast. Tyler, aka The Dark Lord, decided that he would be the welcoming committee. Well, he initiated me into the team. Keeping me on my toes and well, off my feet. I wish I had had a video camera to tape my stellar, um, nose-dive towards the ice. I wasn't even ready for it and Tyler was behind me and just SHOVED me!! It was hilarious! Well this week, we were on the same team until some guys starting leaving so I played on the opposite team. Much to my dismay, I had to take a face off. Not that I didn't want to, but it was against Tyler and my past performance against him hadn't been that impressive. So I lean in for the face off and even before I am set, Tyler cross-checks me right. I was sort of ready, but not really and I fell flat on my ass. It was picture perfect - all I could do was laugh (don't worry mom - I was and am fine). So when I took the next face off, one of the other guys snuck behind Tyler and crouched down so if I pushed him he would fall. That is exactly what I did - Tyler was too busy yapping, so I got my revenge :) I shoved him and he ended up on his ass!!! It was too funny. I am so glad I have my equipment here.

I am calling Aaron and his friend to see how they are doing and if they are coming up this weekend. I hope everything is okay. I am just talking with him now and his friend was sick. His school sounds completely unorganized. Well, it is a Wonderland, but that is another story. Until later, ciao.

My Mailing Address in Korea

Here is an address where you can send me letters and carepackages:

Alexis Orgera
c/o LCI Kids Club
1017-3 SungSo B/D, SinJung-Dong,
Yangchun-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
158 070

OR my Apartment address:

New Kids Building
1012-15 sinjeong 4-dong
Yangcheon-gu
Seoul, South Korea

Pictures of my Students

These are my kindy kids. Left to Right:
Jason, Woo-Jae, Sonia, James, Ryan (Front Row)
The two sitting on my lap (L to R) are Jenny and Carol
They are really quite sweet and very bright.
They should make it an interesting year.

This is Sarah and George. Only two kid's in this class so far.
They are also quite bright and fun to talk with.
I teach this class Monday to Friday.

From the back: Shelly, Lucy, Tommy, Emily
These two pictures are one class. I teach them on MWF.
The guys speak more than the girls. My goal is to get them to want to participate.

Here is my Tuesday/Thursday Class.
L to R: Sarah, Leslie, Jessikah, Tyler, Conrad and Bryan

One week down, 51 more to go

My first week of teaching at a new school was fairly typical. I am slowly getting settled into my new surroundings. The school is really, really close. It only takes about 3 minutes to get to school, which is great. The subway is about a 10 minutes walk. There are 10 teachers in total at this school. I am the first of the new batch that is set to arrive. There are about 3 or 4 teacher's leaving between now and October.

We all have our own apartment and it is strange to have a place to myself. I have not adjusted to coming home to an empty room. My place is quaint and cozy and a good size. I am just working on organizing my space. Once that is done - I will post some pictures. The area I live in is really different from Godeok (the last place I was). This place is supposed to be where you live if you have money. I like the location, it is way more central.

I have played hockey twice so far. The rink is a quick 5-minute cab ride away. Once I know the area better or have more time - I can walk or take the subway. Sunday games are a little early, they start around 8am. For a couple of hours, twice a week, I get to escape home. I really missed the smell of the ice. The ice surface is decent. Fairly hard for summer, especially here. The only hazard is the water that has dripped from the ceiling and frozen on the ice surface. It does it in at least 4 places, the entire width of the rink. Reminds me of the Valley rink before they repaired the roof. You had to watch where you skated because parts of the roof would freeze and then small sheets of ice would fall onto the surface. Either way, the bumps are no big deal. Although the corners are a tad scary.

Well, I have done enough procrastinating for the day. I need to do some lesson planning. So, until then - enjoy the summer weather, the barbeque and the beer.

My First Day of School

So, I have survived my first day at my new school. It is a 360° turn from Wonderland. I thought today was going to be a disaster. I couldn't fall asleep and I was worried I was going to be tired in the afternoon, but I got through the day okay. I have 3 classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This compared with Wonderland where I taught 9 classes a day.

My kindy kids are really cute and seem to adjust well to my being their new teacher. I teach them on and off all morning. Classes go from 9:30 till 2:20. Still about the same as Wonderland except that I only had to deal with two 70 mins classes instead of all morning. The good thing is that the kids get playtime so it breaks up how long they have to sit still.

My afternoon classes were pratically a breeze. A bunch of kids are away because last week was their vacation. I had 2 kids in one class and 4 in another. The books are fairly straight forward and the Korean teachers practically hand you the lesson plans. They have a lesson Journal to remark how the kids are doing, etc. Similar to Wonderland, but I think they actually take this seriously.

I will have more students as the week progresses as each teacher teaches a particular subject for kindy. I am the arts and crafts teacher. I am using the same arts and crafts as I did in Wonderland. I hope they are better stocked than the ones at Wonderland. This ought to be interesting.

One day down and a ton more to go. I have lesson plans to work on. I really need to get a desk and chair, typing on my bed is a really bad idea. I have to find recycle city tomorrow and scope out what they have. They are like a second hand store.