September 2011
21 posts
I know, I know. KPop fail.
So sorry for the lack of KPop updates.
(This goes out to you, Phala. hahahah)
I’ve been a little busy this week actually doing teacher things (lesson planning and whatnot— what?? What is that all about??)
But maybe too much of a good thing is a bad thing. So have no fear (mom), more Kpop videos will be on their way, just spread out throughout the year. haha!
Let’s see…...
This article is making is making rounds in our... →
Really interesting article.
Another similar read:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/jan-june11/koreaschools_01-21.html
Education in Korea is fascinating. And horrifying. Sort of all at the same time. You hear about the horrors of high school, but it’s interesting to teach in a middle school and live with a middle schooler and see it all formulate here. Middle school is like turning...
Day Three
Day Three: Shinee
Shinee is a five boy Kpop group that formed in 2008. They’re revered as fashion icons in Korea, and many guys can be seen sporting what is now referred to as the”Shinee Trend” (aka those really tight pants I told you about earlier).
Now… I have a harder time taking Shinee seriously than I do with the other groups. But I’m going to go out on a...
Day Two
Apologies for the lack of substantial info on this one, but I should probably be going to bed.. haha.
Day two: Girl’s Generation. The basics: 9 girl kpop group. Formed in 2007. Super popular.
Here’s one of their most popular song/music videos to date. Warning: this WILL get stuck in your head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7mPqycQ0tQ
My week at school.
This week has gone by pretty quickly. Nothing too eventful, really. I’ve developed a bit of a nasty cough (I feel fine, I just sound pitiful/rather unattractive), so after a fairly dramatic show of choking in front of my students while trying to explain something, I decided that movie week (scheduled for next week) would be moved up a week so as to prevent more of the aforementioned...
Let the KPop festivities begin!
So. October 3rd is going to be a beautiful, beautiful day.
Why, you ask?
Because the Hallyu (Korean wave) in all its glory will be bathing my hometown of Gyeongju. One of the biggest KPop concerts of the year will be here, and Lauren managed to snag two tickets and is giving me one. (LAUREN HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!?!) Anyways. I told her I’d give her a music video every day...
Happy Friday!
Sometimes… you have those classes that make you want to bang your head repeatedly on your desk. And other times…you have those classes that start with one of your students saying, “Teacher! Today…you look very..sexy! Sexy sexy lady!”
And then those other classes are sort of forgotten.
:]
Quiet afternoons at home...
There is some simple beauty in doing your own laundry and hanging it out to dry. It makes you stop life for a second and appreciate the little things.
Umbrellas sun bathing, clothes warming, red peppers soaking up the sun… and the sound of cicadas and bees buzzing merrily.
It really is the little things in life.
5 tags
Korean Heartthrobs
I always find it interesting to see who a culture chooses as their “heartthrobs.” In May of this year, Korean women were asked to rank which Korean idol they most wanted to date. The results:
1. G-Dragon (896 votes)
2. Jang Geun Suk and Lee Min-ho (860 votes)
3. Lee Donghae (823 votes)
5. TOP (718 votes)
Hospitals and wonder shots
Yesterday I went to the hospital!
No worries, I am fine. Here’s a cultural tidbit for you: Koreans go to the hospital for everything. Have a tickle in your throat? Go to the hospital! Is that a sniffle I hear? Go to the hospital! It’s as normal as going to Walgreens to pick up some medicine.
So, when I woke up yesterday feeling super achy and had no appetite, which quickly turned...
World Culture Expo
Gyeongju is the proud host of the 2011 World Culture Expo, running from August to October. I’ve heard so much about this expo, so I was very excited to find out that today our entire middle school was having a field trip to the expo. That’s right. A field trip with 600 something students. I don’t know how Korea does it.
Anyways, it was a very fun day. My students found it wildly...
Happy Chuseok.
Today I made my first venture outside of Gyeongju! (Big day for me.) Lauren, the other ETA in Gyeongju (and the teacher at my middle school’s sister high school) and I planned to meet after school to go shopping for Chuseok.
Chuseok is basically the biggest holiday in Korea. According to Wikipedia (because let’s be honest, Wikipedia knows more than I do), Chuseok is “a major...
When cultures clash
Today I think I had my first, “Wow. This is what we call a cultural divide” type moment. True, I find the fact that Koreans don’t flush toilet paper pretty nasty, and their bluntness can sometimes be rather disconcerting, but for the most part, the differences between American and Korean culture that I’ve experienced have thus far been simply entertaining and rather...
Tonight's Dinner :
Pig intestines with a side of pig liver.
…You win some, you lose some.
A Day in the Life
3:30AM- Wake up to the sound of my host sister’s alarm.
…No, really. My host family wakes up at 3:30AM, or sometimes 4AM if they want a bit of a lie-in.
3:31AM- Wonder about Koreans and their sanity
3:32AM- Fall back asleep
6:20AM- Wake up wake up wake up!
7:00AM- Host brother sticks his head in my room and shyly says, “Liz…breakfast.” and then scurries away.
...
