Clams for Dinner

This is the night that Renee, Anne, and myself straight up had clams for dinner. Seriously though, it was just clams. We must have eaten 12390801247 clams each.

there are clams in this too.

This was a three course meal. Of clams.

But then we had dessert.  No clams, just straight up patbingsu!

Directions to Clam Restaurant

From Oncheonjang station, take Exit 1 and turn left. Walk until the first crosswalk and take a right. The clam resturant is at the corner.

May Instagram

In May, I...

... finally went to the top of my roof.

... went on a solo trip to another country for the first time.

... had the best cup of green tea, ever.

... was reminded of home.

... fed some dragons.

... was humbled by beauty.

... walked slowly, slowly, slowly.

... ate flowers.

Meet Bert

This is my beautiful new bike, Bert.  I named her after both:

Albert Einstein

And Bert from Sesame Street 

(who I always liked way better than Ernie)

Spoon Bread

Spooonbread is another cute cafe and eatery that everyone in Busan should go to! I was shown this little gem after my Saturday beach yoga.

Spoon Bread calls itself an "American style homemade cake shop." You can buy special order cakes, organic light meals for breakfast and lunch, as well as hand made juices.  I had their mango smoothie and open faced chicken sandwich, which were both a amazing. It was a tasty reprieve from the daily rice and kimchi I eat most days.

omlette scramble

open faced chicken sandwhich

The owner even served us dessert free of charge! She was super sweet!

This was seriously melt in your mouth amaze-choco-ball-goodness

I had such a great experience I even bought some cookies to take home.

Directions to Spoonbread

From Geumyeonsan station, take Exit 3.  Walk down the cobbled road toward the beach.  At the end of the road turn right.  Continue walking until you past Sharky's. Make the next right onto a side street and Spoon Bread will be on your right.

Buddha's Birthday: Children's Park and Samgwangsa Temple

For Buddha's birthday I did another Yoga Mala hosted by Callie and Andrea, two yoga instructors in Busan. I didn't have any plans for the day (except to start my morning with the mala), which unfolded itself to be one of the most memorable so far.

After we finished the the mala, the group had lunch at a Daejeon Vegan Tea House.  We all ordered the set, which came with various side dishes, soup, rice, and meatless bulgogi.

At the tea house

yummy

Afterwards, several of us went to The Grand Children's park. The park surrounds a beautiful reservoir. Walking around the area makes you forget that you are in the middle of the city. It is so scenic, serene, and quiet.

The park itself has a zoo, an amusement park, and a science museum. We set ourselves up near the lake, exchanged stories, shared oranges, and took naps.  At one point Callie even held an impromptu Zumba class.

This guy stole our hearts. JUST LOOK AT HIM!

At dusk we made our way to Samgwansa Temple, which CNN reviewed as one of their 50 Beautiful Places to visit in Korea. 

Food vendors lined the streets

fresh pressed sesame oil

buckets of kimchi and other side dishes

taffy type things

As night began to set, we made our way closer to the temple. In honor of Buddha's Birthday, the temple was adorned with hundreds, if not thousands, of lanterns.

It was a simply a spectacular surprise of a day.

Map to Dajeon Tea House

Directions to The Grand Children's Park and Samgwansa Temple
You can take a taxi from downtown Seomyeon. OR from Seomyeon station, take Exit 13 go to the nearest bus stop and ask for the appropriate bus.  The Children's Park and Samgwansa are walking distance from each other.

Teaching: Term II

Some of my mantras, to inspire me in the classroom and in life.

It is hard to believe that I am half way done with my time in Korea. I have taught English for two 13 week terms.  Now I only have another 26 more weeks to go.

With each passing day and each class taught, I feel myself growing as a teacher and connecting more with the students. I had an amazing second term and was so lucky to have met the students that I spent it with.

First off, I was able to change classrooms into a more larger space. I took the time to add posters, etc. to the walls to make it feel like classroom.

UPGRADED

from the front of the class

I decorated the walls with quotes and large sheets of paper that the students could draw on.

One of my teaching mantras...

I would display the student's work on a mini clothespin line--- super easy to change out work.

A world map!  One of our books was about "Map Man" and his travels around the globe.
The students had fun making decorations for our class map.

I even made an appearance in South America.

What truly and honestly made this term special was the students.  They were brilliant, creative, ingenious, and fun beyond compare. They made ME smile everyday when I cam to work.

They amaze me.

Even the middle school students were so awesome.  Even though they would rather be a million other places than learning English throughout the hours of the, they still worked really hard.  At times they were the most challenging, but in the end the most rewarding classes.

My students taking a break after final evaluation testing. Poor things.

^^

^^

At our class pizza party! KOMBE!

I can feel that this last term was particularly special. I am so sad to see it go and terrified once again of what the new term will bring. Next, I will be teaching the younger students, some of who are just being exposed to English for the first time. A new set of students, a new classroom, and new curriculum. Although I am sad to see the last term go, I am grateful that I had the experience at all.