Oh, I Would Walk 500 Miles

After my enjoyable ferry experience I arrived in the land of Fukuoka at a cheery 7:30am.  My first destination was the bus terminal where I planned to store my bag until my departure later that night. I also took the opportunity to change, brush my teeth and wash my face in the bathroom classy, I know. I grabbed a city map and decided since I had a large amount of time to kill that day i'd cover the city on foot.  I decided to start with the nearby Gion district which held many temples and shrines, plus it was only a short distance from the terminal, perfect!  My first stop was Tochoji Temple, which is the head temple of the Shingon Buddhism Kyushu sect, and promised the largest seated Buddha statue in Japan. I wandered around the outside and was greeted by a friendly old man inquiring as to where I was from, it was pretty but I wanted to find the Buddha. 

Long Weekend Travels

One of the down sides to living in a foreign country for a year is obviously missing out on things back home, notably the holiday season will be one of the hardest. Last week I gave a "Thanksgiving vs. Chuseok" lesson and I was quickly dreaming of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie - but then my focus shifted back to the present, the fact that I was leaving for Japan in two days! [the pie can wait]

Chuseok is simplified version, the Korean Thanksgiving, many go to their hometowns to visit and spend time with family and remember their ancestors, for me it only meant a 5 day weekend! And with 5 days off of school what better idea could I have then to venture to Japan.  As Friday afternoon came to an end I prepared my escape , left school a bit early and was soon on a bus to Waegwan where I would pack into the train with dozens of other travelers on my way to Busan, where I would then hop on the ferry. Oh transportation, the love hate relationship I have with you is unreal.  

"Oh Shit, They're Good"

About two weeks ago there was some talk around school about a staff volleyball team.  Not being very gifted in the volleyball department I didn't pay much attention to it.  I translated one office message that there would be practice on Friday for all interested in joining, again I let this go. The next week there was another message about a "friendly competition" taking place Thursday afternoon versus Impyeong Middle school.  This one I was a bit interested in, my friend Loudine is the English teacher there and so we thought maybe we should go as cheerleaders for our respective schools, if nothing else I knew that would earn me brownie points with the principal! 

I want to...

I've written before about my students creativity and uniqueness and once again they have entertained me.  Last week I decided to teach the "Bucket List" lesson, first explaining to kids what it is and then giving them some time to write their own. Obviously some of my students took it much more serious than others but all of their answers were enjoyable to read.  I gave the students about 10 minutes and asked them to try and make a list of at least 10 things they want to do before they die, some kids were writing before I said go while others stared blankly into oblivion.

I want to...