Wolmido, revisited today for a picnic with our kids. Needless to say, field trip day is far and away the greatest day of the month, not simply because we don’t have to teach, but because it’s one day where our kids can just be kids, without having to worry about workbooks or flashcards. The weather was beautiful; clear with a slight, but steady breeze that blew refreshingly past us as we ate our fill of kimbap 김밥, the quintessential picnicking food {after having enjoyed kimbap on a number of outdoor-activity related excursions, I can now conclude that it’s simply the best picnic food. Nothing quite compares to the chewy crunchiness that is kimbap.} and played games with our kids until they were exhausted.
When we returned to school, my skin was still warm from having spent the entire morning outside. What a delicious feeling!
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I’ve never gotten so much loving from my students as I have from Richard.
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This is what happens when I try to bond with my students.
In a serious effort to simply have a conversation with my kids, get my boys to stop talking to one another, and just listen to me, I decided to tell the story of Dubu’s poop.
Here’s the story. Back when I had long hair, Dubu inadvertently ate one of my hairs with his food, and pooped it out later. I found out he’d ingested one of the hairs because it was attached to this piece of poop that he couldn’t quite get out of his butt. It was just hanging off his butt hole…until I got close enough to inspect, it just looked like it was simply floating there. He had tried to squeeze it out, but when it wouldn’t come out entirely, he just gave up and just resigned himself to the fact that it was going to be a part of him. I had to chase him down, freaking out as the fresh poop was swinging back and forth as he ran, and finally I managed to pin him down and pull the hair out. It was long. Dubu was not happy.
I told this story to my older boys the other day and drew the top photo to illustrate something so strange to understand in a foreign language as my hair coming out of Dubu’s butt. The next day, my students requested a 4-pannel cartoon on the board and tell the story again. I knew that they were primarily interested in the story because of the poop aspect (they’re 11 years old), but I also knew that they wanted to eat up class time, and let’s face it, so did I, so I drew the cartoon on bottom.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the level of sophistication I’m able to bring to my lessons by the time 5 pm rolls around. My students have a new respect for me as a story teller and as a person who’s touched poop before, so I guess that’s something. That’s a good thing, right?
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We went to 산모퉁이 카페 on Friday. Since we had the day off for the Buddha’s Birthday, we wanted to do something relaxing and fun, so I suggested a visit to this mountaintop cafe, which has held a special place in my heart since my first visit to Korea in 2011.
Initiate flashback sequences:
1) On my very first day in Korea, my friend H brought me to the cafe. I don’t know if it was my idea or hers to visit. I’d seen the drama for which this cafe was a filming location, so maybe it was my idea, but I don’t really remember asking her to bring me. We got lost on the way to the cafe, as it sits atop a mountain, and since I’d just come from the airport, I was wearing thick jeans, a sweater, and socks with my shoes. Socks! In July! What a fool. By the time we made it to the cafe, close to closing time, I was about to die. The heat, humidity, and exhaustion almost got me. Then I drank the coldest, most chocloatey iced mocha ever, and my life was transformed.
2) For my birthday last year, I asked my friends to take an afternoon off to have coffee and sparkling conversation at this cafe. It was one of the most awesome collisions of friends imaginable! Since many of the people I asked to join me hadn’t met each other before, I was a bit worried that perhaps it may be uncomfortable. But after I managed to not follow the directions I’d given everyone as to our meeting time and place, they had some time to get to know each other while they waited for me to stumble across the city like an idiot. So that meeting was amazing…a seriously joyful highlight of my life.
The cafe itself is fairly small, and so popular. Along the road to the cafe, there are signs printed in Korean, Japanese, and English. When you arrive at last, you will find a charming little stone building with some handsome baristas and a spectacular view of Seoul. There are three levels of indoor and outdoor seating, and this is one place, thank goodness, where people don’t sit outside exclusively to smoke. (Every time I see a place with open windows or a balcony, it almost always turns out to be a designated smoking section. This means that it’s a less than ideal spot for your average non-smoker to enjoy the scenery outside or relish a warm breeze. The cafe is a place, at least in my eyes, where you can go to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, feel so far removed from it all, and yet be so close to everything. And, since the cafe is basically the real version of my life’s dream, I’m drawn to it even more.
This time, I went with C and M, my precious coworkers and we enjoyed the warm spring evening at 산모퉁이. Since we have very little time to rest from work, was so relaxing to know that we were free for this one day. We hovered around the terraces until we were able to snatch up an empty seat, and watched the sun sink lower and lower into the sky. On our way down the mountain, we spotted a newlywed couple heading to the top for a private photo shoot. The sun was setting, the lanterns were lit~~ it was super romantic and lovely. Another beautiful memory from my favorite cafe.
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C and I visited Wolmi Island 월미도 yesterday. It was such a beautiful spring day, and we wanted to take a little day trip. Did you know that Wolmido was the filming location for K.Will’s “Love Blossom?” I posted the music video a while ago.
So, Wolmido. To be honest, it’s a bit of a bizarre place. It’s got a horribly tacky amusement park and shops right by the water, and set back a bit is a quiet and beautiful garden. In addition to the pretty ocean views, you’re also guaranteed to see a bunch of smokestacks and industrial buildings. When we arrived, part of me was crushed by the theme park, which was just gross, and the other part of me was so excited to walk through the pretty park. We payed too much money to ride the Ferris Wheel, and the ride attendant took our tickets, which would have also given us access to other rides…so after getting a great aerial view of Wolmido, we headed towards the park to check out the natural landscape.
The park is just huge! We wanted to get to this observation deck thing, but realized we were on the wrong side of the garden, so we walked maybe a mile to the other side, where we bumped into a traditional style hanok 한옥 home and gardens. That was just the best! I love Korean architecture, so it was really nice to be able to wander around the huge courtyard of the home and play some of the traditional Korean games set up for people to enjoy. When our tummies started to rumble, we walked to Incheon’s Chinatown and ate a delicious dinner. Headed home feeling exhausted and happy~
Directions:
from 인천역 take bus 2, 15, 23, or 45.
or walk (it’s not super far, but it can get tiring if the weather is too hot)
or take a taxi (probably under 5,000)
We actually took a taxi from our neighborhood, as the public transportation options to get us to Incheon Station would have taken about 2 hours max. Cost was about 13,000 each way from 연수구, and the taxi drivers were so friendly ^^
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Buddha’s Birthday is coming up. The city hung lanterns a few weeks ago, I’m assuming in preparation for the day (Saturday, May 17~ Koreatime); the lanterns are everywhere. I am looking forward to Buddha’s Birthday because we get a day off, but I am loving the aesthetic beauty of the lanterns. They light up in the evening and cast a really special, warm glow on the streets beneath. I took a few photos on my run tonight, but they don’t come close to doing the real lanterns any justice. If you could just teleport here, I wouldn’t have to post photos in the first place, and you could admire these lanterns for yourselves. So beautiful~
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I have never liked these shoes too much, always thought they were super ugly and just the worst. But wouldn’t you know it, I bought some at 8 Seconds because I’ve seriously stinked up my other shoes. Turns out, I like them a lot. They are so comfortable and light, perfect for warm weather. Added bonus, I now have couple shoes with KM~
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