Korean Folk Village

Orientation has been packed with fun cultural activities.  On Sunday we took a break from our daily routine of listening to lectures and went on a field trip to a Korean Folk Village.  We made crafts and had Bibimbap for lunch.  Then we saw many exciting cultural performances, including a traditional male dance where the men where ribbons the rotate when they spin their heads.  Also I saw an old man perform an amazing tight rope walk and bounce on the rope in socks.  The grand finale was a horse acrobatics show...I was in shock at how good the performances were.

On our bus ride home, there was actually a Karoke machine built into the bus.  So if you can image, the entire 2 hour bus ride home we sang Karaoke to English songs and a few Korean K-Pop songs!  It was very fun.  Our Korean counselors were a hit...I can tell they've done a lot of karaoke before.

These past few days of orientation have been packed with lectures and ideas for helping us be good teachers in Korean classrooms.  I have been given access to so many wonderful teaching resources.

I went out with some students from orientation and had Korean Soju and Cass Beer.  To my surprise, there is a big drinking culture here in Korea.  Soju is similar to vodka, but it doesn't burn as much when it goes down.  Koreans mix soju with their beer so that they can't even taste it.  I tried a little with some new friends.  It was a lot of fun!

Tomorrow I have to present a model lesson plan and get feedback from my peers and some current EPIK teachers.

On Thursday I will leave orientation and move in to my apartment here in Daejeon.  I will be meeting my Co-teacher.  On Monday I will start working at Taepyeong Middle School!  I was under the impression that I would be doing elementary, but I am excited to do middle school!