School Picnic!

Today was the school picnic! Mr. Kim gave me a ride to the location, which is a small mountain in Gwangyang called Marosansang. It only took about 15 minutes to climb and once we got to the top, we just had free time. Pretty much the boys all just sat around and talked, horse-played, and ate their kimbap lunches. I sat around with the teachers, not understanding what they were talking about, but enjoying the company, the nature, and the nice weather nonetheless. I got sunburned on my face, though. Today was actually kind of hot (mid or upper 70s?) and the sun was pretty strong. The lunch they prepared for the teachers was amazing! Although right after we sat down to eat, an elementary school showed up and they sat all around us! There were hundreds of little kids -- and all the girls were screaming because there were crickets everywhere and they were afraid of every little bug. It was kinda cute! Anyway, our lunch was sushi and kimbap. I realized I like kimbap (Korea style sushi) better -- although I'm not really sure why they taste different? I hear they prepare the rice differently in Japan than in Korea, and probably the ingredients are different. Then, the VP and Principal arrived slightly later and we sat down for lunch again. I didn't have any more sushi, because I was stuffed, but I did help myself to fruit -- cherry tomatoes (yes, tomatoes are really eaten like fruit here), grapes, and these strange things that were brownish and kinda tasted like an apple. They tasted good, though! And then there was this other thing: the best way to describe it would be like granola, except made from rice instead of oatmeal. It had a slight syrupy taste to it, and was topped with nuts and craisons and raisons -- DELICIOUS! I wanted to eat it all, but only had 2 pieces. Most of it didn't get eaten, and they gave it to the students! :-( I should have snagged it and brought it home. Anyway, good times.

We descended from the small mountain around 2pm. Then I went with 5 other teachers to Hollys Coffeeshop in Suncheon. I got a mint chocolate iced drink and it was INCREDIBLE!! It really made me want mint chocolate!! So I asked mom to stick some in the care package she is preparing to send to me. Yummy!! :-)

Anyway, I was pooped when I got home around 3:30. But I found that soon after I got home the new episode of Project Runway was posted online, so I had to watch that. There are only 2 episodes left in the season!! Grey's will be online tomorrow, but I'll be at the Fulbright conference from Friday-Monday night, so it will have to wait until next week. Along with the VP debates -- which should be a real show. I can't wait to see what kind of crazy stuff Sarah Palin says. "I can see Russia from my house, ha!"

I had my second Korean dance class tonight and after class the teacher told me I was a "great student!" Although, I'm sure she was just being overly kind, because I know I still looked like a fool! Possibly even moreso than last time. In a couple weeks I'll try to get a video of some of the stuff we do in class so you can see it for yourself. But, she did help me with some hand positions and arm positions today. I figure if I can learn one or two bits of the technique each time, that would be pretty good! Here are my notes:
*on the "ton" react not only with your limbs but also with your stomache/back
*always keep your knees together when walking
*hand position: first finger straight and slightly raised, thumb straight, but towards the palm, other fingers either straight or curled, depending on the position
*when holding your skirt, grasp it directly at each side and raise it to your natural waist. Make triangles with your arms/wrists.
*watch curves of the arms: concave or convex?

Ay yi yi! I have so much to learn.
Ok, I must be getting to bed. I need to finish packing and have a long day ahead of me. Have a great weekend everyone and I'll be back in a few days.