Location: A Bowl of Rice, Rice Baby!
This was my first week teaching in Seoul. Everyday it seemed like the classes where going to be different. Monday was Drama with 5 year olds, then 7 year olds. Earlier in the day story telling. Then story telling was canceled. And in the afternoon my class consisted of only 2 seven year olds. During all this schedule shifting there was still a curriculum that needed to be developed. Every class was about finding out what worked for the students and what didn't. Group activities are best for the 5 year olds and the children that are a little bit older can start to improvise. My 2 person Drama Troupe performed the Princess and the Pea. Everybody LOVES the accordion. Well... almost everybody, there are a few children who think it is probably sent from the devil. Maybe those kids have been creating all those accordion hate websites... By the end of the week though another big shifted happened. The yoga teacher split Seoul and left her students hanging in Downward facing Dog. The school director quickly recruited me to take over. He even made some kind of appreciation video for me, which I'll post if he ever gives me a copy. This is the point in which I invite anyone pedagogically interested to engage on a debate about whether or not Yoga is even an appropriate "skill" to teach young children, let alone adults. That's right, I'm going against the grain and saying yoga (typically) is not a good idea. But back to Seoul and away from inciting comments.
The work out plan is to run along part of the Han River ever other day. The North Shore is about 5 minutes away from the elevator. It's a really gorgeous view in the morning. Maybe I'll bring my camera tomorrow and take some pictures of the sunrise for everyone. Speaking of pictures... I added a few more to the slideshow. If I walk north, away from the river and underneath the subway station and I come up very close to some kind of government park. I think it might be part of a US military base.... or maybe not... hmm... that's where the picture of the hand and the man and the birds are from. I also managed to make it to I-park all by myself!
Saturday afternoon was spent at the Dragon Spa! $10 and you get up to 12 hours in this place. Saunas, hot tubs, pools, restaurants, movie theatre, sleeping rooms the works! I loved it. I'm definitely going back at least once a month. Maybe once a week! Depending on how this yoga thing goes. Today I went to the electronics market and figured out how to get there on the subway. It's only about one stop from where I live. I bought a pair of headphones and they sound great. Other than that I've been reading the Korea Herald which has a lot of postings for language/friend exchange. Where you exchange a friend of yours for the Korean Language. Err.... I mean you exchange your language and friendship for someone else's. Sounds like a plan!
This was my first week teaching in Seoul. Everyday it seemed like the classes where going to be different. Monday was Drama with 5 year olds, then 7 year olds. Earlier in the day story telling. Then story telling was canceled. And in the afternoon my class consisted of only 2 seven year olds. During all this schedule shifting there was still a curriculum that needed to be developed. Every class was about finding out what worked for the students and what didn't. Group activities are best for the 5 year olds and the children that are a little bit older can start to improvise. My 2 person Drama Troupe performed the Princess and the Pea. Everybody LOVES the accordion. Well... almost everybody, there are a few children who think it is probably sent from the devil. Maybe those kids have been creating all those accordion hate websites... By the end of the week though another big shifted happened. The yoga teacher split Seoul and left her students hanging in Downward facing Dog. The school director quickly recruited me to take over. He even made some kind of appreciation video for me, which I'll post if he ever gives me a copy. This is the point in which I invite anyone pedagogically interested to engage on a debate about whether or not Yoga is even an appropriate "skill" to teach young children, let alone adults. That's right, I'm going against the grain and saying yoga (typically) is not a good idea. But back to Seoul and away from inciting comments.
The work out plan is to run along part of the Han River ever other day. The North Shore is about 5 minutes away from the elevator. It's a really gorgeous view in the morning. Maybe I'll bring my camera tomorrow and take some pictures of the sunrise for everyone. Speaking of pictures... I added a few more to the slideshow. If I walk north, away from the river and underneath the subway station and I come up very close to some kind of government park. I think it might be part of a US military base.... or maybe not... hmm... that's where the picture of the hand and the man and the birds are from. I also managed to make it to I-park all by myself!
Saturday afternoon was spent at the Dragon Spa! $10 and you get up to 12 hours in this place. Saunas, hot tubs, pools, restaurants, movie theatre, sleeping rooms the works! I loved it. I'm definitely going back at least once a month. Maybe once a week! Depending on how this yoga thing goes. Today I went to the electronics market and figured out how to get there on the subway. It's only about one stop from where I live. I bought a pair of headphones and they sound great. Other than that I've been reading the Korea Herald which has a lot of postings for language/friend exchange. Where you exchange a friend of yours for the Korean Language. Err.... I mean you exchange your language and friendship for someone else's. Sounds like a plan!
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2 comments:
Do your stories have to be approved before you tell them? Maybe you should give me your supervisor's e mail.
The accordian will be liked better if you remember the show biz axiom always leave em wanting more.
I'm worried about you being tapped to be the successor to the one who abandoned the hanging dog children. Be careful you don't agree to do something you don't know how to do. Maybe you should try characterizing it as a dramatic interpretaion of a mythical form of yoga to demonstrate the power of improvisation.
Try to avoid trespassing on governmnent property and if you do meet any nice government employees, like guards or whatever, please remember your manners. I hopw you won't go running by yourself in isolated places.
Don't get over heated at the spa.
Make sure you play the headphones at a low volume to protect your hearing.
Be careful on the subway. Do they have bump and grab pick pocket artists there like they do in other big cities?
And for goodness sake, don't go meeting strangers who run aluring ads in the public newspaper.
But most of all, have fun!
Love, Dad
Gee, thanks Dad!!!
I think I need to buy a straight-jacket and chain myself to a chair in my apartment to follow all of your advice. Maybe I can hook and IV up so I don't have to worry about feeding myself either.
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