Rapid Ascent Inadvisable

So, as I previously mentioned us no longer having a working camera. Since then I occasionally snap off a shot on my cellphone. It's a handy camera that I always have with me. Due to Mel's ingenuity, I've found that I can email them to myself. So, now I have a couple interesting shots. Most of the interest is provided by the spontaneity. Usually I find interesting stuff in places I'd never have bothered to bring a camera. Also, even if I had a working one... I'm really too forgetful to remember to lug it around

So, a while back I mentioned that we went to Yongsan. It was there I found the following gem.

Oh, wow! An Mp3 player! Amazing! Am I right? Boring! Look closer...

Yeppers, that's an "All In One Pragmatic Player". According to Merriam Websters:

1archaic a (1): busy (2): officious b: opinionated
2: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic <pragmatic men of power have had no time or inclination to deal with…social morality — K. B. Clark>
3: relating to or being in accordance with philosophical pragmatism

So, that's pretty funny.

In all of my classes we eventually played the monster game. This usually involved me stating a number of various body parts and the kids drawing monsters with the quoted amount of each body part. It works well because they all better learn the parts of the body. The higher level classes I add wings, horns, ie extra vocabulary. Also, they get to draw, color, and have a good time.

After every class had had a chance, I collected all the drawings and they now adorn a wall in my f


Sorry the pictures are so shitty all I have is a cellphone camera. Give me some slack!

Usually while the kids were busy with their monsters I would draw one to the same specs. This is my favorite. There are three heads each with distinctive personalities. I am amused every time I look at it :D

Wednesday afternoon we went and played sports with other teachers at another elementary school. It was raining so we didn't get to play volleyball as intended. The school we visited was quite well off and actually had a gym. We played a game that I have no desire to describe due to the inanity of the rules. Then we played floor hockey....

It appears that in South Korea, I'm pretty good at floor hockey. I had to explain that I'm from Michigan. We live right near the place where hockey was invented. Everyone has a rudimentary understanding. No I have not played professionally... ect...

They also played cho-gu. That's volleyball, but you can only use your head and anything below your waist (mostly feet). It's odd and I was happy not to have been asked to participate.

On Thursday it was fieldtrip day for the 5th and 6th graders. Well, all the grades really, but the 5th and 6th was the trip I went on. Long story short, it was a good time. I got to spend some time bonding with the kids and got out of a day of school.

So here's some pics with appropriate captions.

A giant pagoda statue. I have no idea the significance. It's in the national museum in Yongsan. Those kids in front are some of my 6th graders. It was a big statue.

Il-kyu and I outside of the Egyptian exibit. No photos inside and I only have a cell camera anyway. Wasn't much that would be interesting via photograph anyway. In other words... you had to be there :D

We went to the war museum too (also in Yongsan). There's a big boat, but I'm not really sure why it's there. The whole museum is pretty much dedicated to the Korean war, so it seemed a bit out of place. Nice to look at though.

Lastly, we recently went to a castle in Suwon with a couple of our friends. At one of the gates you could head on up and check the view out from the top. The stairs were huge though and really old stone. Of course, there was a warning sign...

Later!

Aaron