Hong Kong to Amsterdam....Part FOUR

Sometimes the best places to visit are the ones you stumble upon along your journey...

Our last stop in China before heading to Europe was Hong Kong.  After taking the night bus we walked (or wandered around confused depending on how you look at it...) until we found the Hong Kong border.  We crossed the border and hopped on their subway system until we reached Lantau Island where the Hong Kong International airport is located AND the Ngong Ping 360 cable car.

Fortunately we had 12 hrs. before our flight left for Europe...plenty of time to ride the cable car across the bay and up the mountain to the WORLD'S LARGEST SEATED BRONZE BUDDHA STATUE!

We glanced at the statue for a few minutes and decided we better start the7 mile hike back down the mountain.  We made it to the airport drenched in sweat and happy after an exciting hike through the Hong Kong rainforest.  If you ever want to see the Omaha rainforest in real life than Hong Kong is the place to head! Although exhausting, this was definitely a highlight of our entire trip.   After a quick wet-wipe "shower" we were on the overnight plane heading towards Amsterdam.

After layovers in Thailand and Jordan we left Asia for the first time in a year and made it to Amsterdam early in the morning.  It turns out Amsterdam is beautiful! We spent the day walking along the canals (we've heard it has more canals than Venice) and ended up walking completely across Amsterdam before reaching the bus stop in the evening to jump on an overnight bus to Paris!!

Yangshuo, China...Part THREE!

One of the things we love about Asia is how cheap it is to eat, travel, and shop compared to America.  Don't get us wrong, we love America, but we can do and see a whole lot more while vacationing throughout Asia compared to vacationing in America...

2 overnight bus tickets across China compared to 1 tank of  gas in America:

Our sleeper bus with built in beds!

Dining along the riverside compared to takeout at McDonald's:

The Menu
sweet and sour pork
peppered steak and veggies
white rice
2 chocolate milkshakes

A Mountain Retreat suite compared to a Motel 6 room:

with a view like this... 

Out on a walk

From Beijing Jesse and I headed to Yangshuo, China...one of the most beautiful places in all China.  We spent the next few days swimming, hiking, relaxing, and taking in the beauty of Yangshuo and the Li River.  We even got the chance to ride on a bamboo raft and stay in a suite for the first time ever!  It was so refreshing to spend time with my hubby and relax after a very long school year :)

Swimming spot at the retreat and good
snail hunting grounds

Beijing, China...Part TWO!

The first stop on our journey home was Beijing, China.  We were lucky enough to have Kate join us for all the sightseeing, adventures, and fun! 

Eating a Scorpian off of
Wongfujing Street

Little Boy in the Hutongs:
traditional Chinese Street

Yep, my husband ate one of these

Our Hostel

Day 1


*Leave Korea for the
last time!                                   
*Meet up with Kate at the Beijing Airport
*Travel by bus, subway, and foot
to arrive at The Red Lantern Hostel
*Take a walk through the Hutongs
*Visit Wongfujing Street

Tiananmen's Square

Day 2

Forbidden City

*Visit The Forbidden City
*Lunch in the Forbidden City Rock Garden
*Relax in Tiananmen's Square
*Chinese Acrobats

Summer Palace

Lunch Time!

Day 3

*Summer Palace
*Lunch under a willow tree
*Shopping

Day 4


*Hike up the Great Wall
*Tobbagon Down the Great Wall :)
*Lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant
*Dinner at the DQ




Day 5


*Beijing Zoo
*Farewell to Kate
*Walk to Hubei Lake
*Pack to leave for Yangshuo                                                                                                                   

Heading Home...part ONE

The Seoul Zoo

It's been awhile since our last blog...but for those of you who havn't seen us since our arrival to the States, we are HOME and keeping busy!  We love being home, but before we start in on all the details of what life has been like back in Nebraska, we have a stories from the trip heading home to share :) 

Our last lunch of Cheese Dokki
and banana wine at Jesse's school
before heading up to Seoul

Part ONE:  Vacation in Seoul

After our final goodbyes and packing our bags, we headed on the last 3 hr. bus trip to Seoul to visit the one and only Kate.  We had a great final weekend in Korea filled with good food, relaxation (yay, we are finally done!), a visit to Kate's school, and trip to the zoo!

The Seoul Zoo was beyond our expectations.  We got to see a dolphin/seal show, see different animals that arn't typically found in an American zoo, and experience great weather making the animals awake and active.

Hanging out at the zoo
2 days before heading
to Beijing together!

We also enjoyed a few last things our taste buds will miss most...Korean curry, shakes in a bag, banana milk and chocolate, and Korean pizza topped with corn and pickles!   Mmmmmmm   

Goodbyes

This last month has been full of goodbyes.  With 6 schools between the both of us, it seems like every week since mid July we have been slowly finishing camps and classes with each of our schools.

For me (Teresa), it has been a very busy month!

Mulya Teachers

The last school day at Mulya was full of hand written letters from ALL of my students (with the help of their teacher :) and a chicken lunch with the principal at an outdoor restaurant up in the mountains.  It was beautiful and delicous! 

Bonghwa Grade 6 girls

I can never tell when it will be my last time seeing my Bonghwa students...  The kids are always popping up around town yelling, "Hi, Teacher" and waving happily.  I found a handful of my 6th grade girls playing in the river on my way home from work and said another quick goodbye.  More than once I have repeatedly said goodbye to my Bonghwa kids with hugs and tearful goodbyes. 

*At Jaeson my 5th graders threw me a surprise goodbye party over break.  Their teacher made me leave the classroom for a coffee break while they kids snuck in choco-pies and wrote "I love you Teacher" across the white board with magnets.  What a great surprise to walk into!  (I'm sad I forgot my camera that day!) 

AND THE HARDEST GOODBYE WAS HAVING TO SAY GOODBYE TO THESE LADIES...

Since November I have been teaching an English Bible Study at the church next door to our apartment.  It has been such a blessing being able to have fellowship, sing songs, pray, and meet with these ladies once a week.  They will be GREATLY missed. 

My co-teacher, July and I

Tomorrow is the last day at Bonghwa...and I will have to say one last goodbye to one of my main co-teachers, July.  I am very excited to come home, but it is bittersweet saying goodbye to everyone who has been so kind to us this year.

WE WILL MISS YOU KOREA!!

A Very Quick Recap of Teresa Teacher's Year...

So the end is finally coming to a close. Here are some pictures from the year that I never got around to posting... some of my favorite memories as a teacher this year :)

Carving Pumpkins for the first time on Halloween

Two of my favorite people in Korea

Teachers Class Last Fall

"I'm Thankful" feathers for Thanksgiving Lesson

Jude playing 'pin the feather on the turkey' :)

  

One of my favorite classes...
Jude, Jake, Paul, Heroe, Alex, Julie, Eve, and Madison

Spring Field Trip to Seoul

My old co-teacher, Uni, and her first graders

One of my weekly visitors to my office
having a picnic in Seoul


Official Countdown... 2 Days left in Bonghwa!!!

The Great Bonghwa Fish Festival

Right now, as we are typing, hundreds of Koreans are charging through the river by our apartment, the smell of cooked squid is wafting through our window, and an excited Korean is blasting his voice over loud speakers.  Is there a logical explanation for this?  Yep, there is.  You see, the river is full of sweet fish!  It's the Great Bonghwa Fish Festival! Hooray!

The biggest festival in Bonghwa is the Fish Festival.  It is celebrated every year by filling the river with sweet fish (supposedly they taste like watermelon...), concerts, fireworks, sand castles, lots of fishy food, and plenty of water games and fun. 

The festival lasts for nine days and our friend Kate came all the way from Seoul to help us celebrate.  One of the highlights was renting a giant goose boat and eating chicken-in-a-cup.  Tonight is the closing ceremony, so we are hoping to enjoy some fireworks from our roof-top...the perfect way to end our last weekend here in Bonghwa!

Saturday on the Sea Train

Last weekend we realized that we are quickly running out of time here in Korea, so we decided to make the most of it and get out of town!  In a spur-of-the-moment decision, we decided to hop on the morning train to see the East Sea (or Sea of Japan for those of you who live in Japan... :).  It was a 3 1/2 hour ride to Jeong Dong Jin, the world's closest train station to the ocean. 

Crazy Hotel on the Hill

Unfortunately, because of the train schedule you end up spending more time on the train than you get to at the ocean...but it was still worth it.  After all, train rides are part of the experience...why America don't you have more trains and better public transportation!?!?!  Anyway, we spent a couple hours playing on the beach, picking up shells, digging up strange crustaceans, and eating a cold corndog on a stick (that may have been sold to us by a crazy lady).

Going to the ocean was a great way to spend one of our last weekends, and luckily for us we have a full week of the Bonghwa Fish Festival to use up our remaining two weekends here!



So, what is it really like to be Jesse Teacher?

I thought I'd give you a feel for what a typical day looks like for me here...

6:30 am Monday(4:30 pm Sunday for you Nebraska folks)-Alarm goes off, eat some corn  flakes, if you don't want rice for breakfast this is about your only other choice.

8:00 am -Start walking to school, it's a nice 15 minute walk along the river

8:50 am -This is when my first class of the day starts, each class lasts for 45 minutes and has about 30 students.  My students are middle-schoolers, in the US we would say 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, here we say Middle School grade 1,2, and 3.  My classes are alway pretty crazy- discipline is tough when the students don't really speak English.  Sometimes there is a co-teacher in the room that may or may not help with classroom management (it just depends on the day : )

Back in the states I would be Mr. Williams, here I am  제시 (Jesse) 선생님 (sunsangnim) -Jesse teacher.  Korean classrooms are definitely different than American, corporal punishment is still often used (especially in the country), students are free to hit eachother as much as they want as long as it doesn't disturb class, and giving the middle finger is more common than waving and simply means they don't agree with someone or don't like them.

My lessons always consist of videos and games to keep it interesting (the only way to hold the students' attention).  My goal is to teach them conversational English, no 'this is the subject, etc...) -just teaching them how to speak.  Some want to learn, others don't care.

I teach 4 classes on Monday, the rest of the time is spent planing, preparing, etc...

12:20 pm -Lunch time... Usually not a part of the day I look forward too...It usually is just me eating a pile of rice and getting asked if I am feeling well since I barely touched my squid (or kimchi, or octopus, or pig intestine, or dried minnows, or whatever the special of the day is)

4:30 pm -Time to go home! I walk home, meet Teresa (she will have been teaching at Mulya country school all day).  We sit on the bed (I can't remember the last time I sat on a couch...) talk about our day and watch a little animal planet (the one English channel on our TV).

6:30 pm -Teresa whips up a delicious American-style supper using an assortment of Korean ingrediants.  After supper we go for a walk along the river and eat some dessert (maybe ice cream in the shape of a fish filled with red-bean paste, or some banana milk, or some other treat)

10:00 pm -Bedtime.  we usually end the day by watching a TV show (our favorites are Big Bang theory, 24, Modern Family, and Simpsons) on the computer.  This is a little tricky since our computer is dying a slow and terrible death and has problems overheating, so we watch about 5 minutes of the show, let the computer cool for a few minutes, and repeat.  If it is a weeknight or schoolday there is guarenteed to be someone partying, drinking, and making noise, so after they settle down it's off to bed to start again the next day!

Thank You Korea

Our Fourth of July present from Korea....parasite pills.  We hope you had a great 4th too!