Final Winter Camp

I just finished my last camp today and it went so well. I am so happy to leave Korea on a positive note, and again the kids have made this whole experience worthwhile.

For this last camp I decided to borrow an idea from another native teacher and make music videos. Each day I picked a type of song (pop, rock, country, rap). We listened to the songs, played a game using each song and completed a lyrics worksheet each day. Afterward each student was given a white sheet of paper with lyrics on it and they had to illustrate the lyrics. I took pictures of the pages and uploaded them and made a video for each song. The kids seemed to really like the outcome and loved seeing their pictures on the video.

So here are the music videos the class made. I let them draw whatever they thought the lyrics meant, so don't judge me when you see the video from "Bad Moon Rising."

My 5th grade girls (love them!) surprised me again. I was treated to the "Habil Hotel" where I was the VIP. So funny!

Our traditional Korean food picnic.

I didn't have my camera so we had to get creative to get a picture of all of us with my phone. We were in the drum practice room so we stood in front of the mirror, I thought it was pretty smart of us!

The girls all play the traditional Korean drums so they played a song for me too.

Afterward I treated them to Baskin Robbins as a thank you and we exchanged emails and said our goodbyes. I didn't cry, but it was hard to say goodbye since I've become so close to those girls over the year.

We still have lots to do before we leave. These lasts days will be filled with more packing, canceling phones, Internet, power and getting ready for Europe. We're really looking forward to our trip, but with so much stuff to do before we leave it hasn't really set in that we will be in Europe in less than a week.

Well, T minus 5 days left. Last post will be from Derek!

Chinatown

We just got back from China two days ago and I have to say it was one of my favorite trips yet! Beijing had such a great mix of history, culture and modernism. It wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation, but hey we'll get plenty of relaxin' back in the states staying with the folks! I don't think we've ever walked so much. By the end of every day we were drained especially the day we went for the hike on the Great Wall.

This is probably one of the last posts. Only two-and-a-half weeks left and our co-teachers are already getting the paperwork and everything ready. I promise we'll post at least one more before we leave, but for now, here's China...

Jingshan Park. The hill that the temples were built on was formed from all the excess dirt they had from digging the moat around the Forbidden City. And although this is kinda creepy, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hanged himself in this park after Beijing was invaded.

Looking into the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park.

Inside the Forbidden City. They call it the Forbidden City because for 500 years commoners weren't allowed into the Palace.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace looking towards Tiananmen Square.

Tiananmen Square was heavily monitored. You have to go through security just to enter the square and there were about 6 cameras on every light post.

The Summer Palace where the emperors got away from the city. It was huge! We were exhausted from walking all over the palace grounds.

Azure Clouds Temple. This temple is in Fragrant Hills Park which is built into the side of a mountain outside the city. It was so nice and quiet and we really enjoyed this temple because nothing had been restored and it all seemed so original. It dates back to the Yuan Dynasty.

Sally and Lewis were in our orientation in February but we never met. During summer vacation we ran into them in the Philippines and hung out. During fall vacation, we bumped into them in Tokyo at the Sumo Tournament. On our first day in Beijing we walked down to have breakfast at the hostel and guess who we saw! We've never actually met in Korea, but this makes 3 countries where we've bumped into them!

The Jinshanling section where we started our four mile hike to the Simatai Section.

The beginning of the hike looking towards all the wall we have to climb. The first couple of towers of this section had been restored.

The end! It was such a great feeling after the hike. I would say it was one of the most memorable moments of the year.

We don't know why, but for some reason all over the city people would tie together long strings of firecrackers, light them, and just walk off. It felt like we were getting shot at every time.

Fireworks for the new year. This was like a 360 degree show. Pretty much everyone in Beijing was shooting off fireworks.

White Cloud Temple. Lonely Planet said they had a big celebration for the new year, but turns out it was of a more religious celebration. People were lined up around the block to get into the temple to burn incense, give money, pray and make wishes to Buddha.

Ditan Park's New Year Celebration. Pretty much the exact opposite of the White Cloud Temple celebration. Street food, fairway games, vendors and rides it reminded me of a mini fair.

The Temple of Heaven where they prayed for good harvest. I thought it was cool this structure is completely wooden with no nails!

798 Art District. It use to be electronics and military factory buildings that a bunch of artists converted into contemporary art galleries. My favorite is the little cat house.

Ghost Street, where we had Peking Duck on our last night. It's called Ghost Street because they use to have "Ghost Fairs" that lasted till dawn on the street. The fairs sold groceries, vegetables and fruit. The merchants' lamps made a spooky atmosphere which is where they got the name "Ghost Fair."

Okay... so probably one one or two more posts till the end. I can't believe the year is almost over!

Hogwarts Winter Camp

Happy New Year! The last couple of weeks have been pretty relaxed. Just working and saving up for our trip to Beijing next week. I have three lessons everyday and I have been able to leave by noon. The students who come to my lessons are the same students I had for afterschool class every week so I thought I would do something fun and different for their final camp with me. I decided to do a Harry Potter-themed camp. I found the basic lessons online and changed them to fit our camp. We have one more week of camp left, but the last week has been great. The kids seemed to enjoy the lessons and here are some pictures of the past week at the Hogwarts English Camp!

The students' spell book which has all the handouts, worksheets, games, and activities we do during the camp.

Magic Freeze Tag-the students with the wands (Voldemort) try to tag the students without wands (Harry) and make them do an action (dance, clap, jump).

Potions Class 1- Mentos and diet coke. Didn't turn out like we wanted, but it was still fun.

Find The Snitch- I hid a small, clear ball in the field and the first kid to find it won some candy.

Troll Boogers- cornstarch, plus water and food coloring.

Polyjuice Potion- The students had to mix tomato juice, orange juice, grape juice, and cider, then try and drink it. The dragon's blood is the tomato juice.