History Chimes (Apr 27)

• Seeing historical sites with 18 6/7-year-olds is totally different that seeing them with your peers. This is what I learned today on our school trip to Gyeongju. Winter and I accompanied all 5 grades on the trip, but we rode the bus with the first and second graders and were in charge of helping corral the first graders. It was fun because most of the students in our English class are first and second graders. However, that class is CRAZY and so was being with them ALL day. They were definitely cute: wanting to hold my hand and carrying their little backpacks. The first place we went to was a Buddhist temple. Seems like all of the schools around us had a field trip today and they all went to this temple! TONS of kids around. I got several (older students) coming up to me and asking to have their picture with me (I love that I’m “famous” here) and a few were doing an “English Mission” so they needed to ask me questions too. It was fun :) The temple was really beautiful and I was amazed at the people who were actually worshiping, despite the noise of hundreds and hundreds of students milling around. I’m sure normal visitors are much quieter and more respectful.

After wandering for a while, we sat down to eat lunch. I think the first grade teacher was desperate to find a place - the kids were whining - because we ended up plunking down in the middle of a wide walkway, instead of the really nice park just another few minutes’ walk away. Oh well. I found out, though, that when Korean children pack a picnic lunch, they all eat kimbap and fruit and chips and sit on these little mats! 

This is a Korean sack lunch :) And this little boy
shared some of the stuff on the left with me.

It was so adorable. And also really yummy – our mentor teacher had bought us kimbap, but the first grade teacher urged us to share hers with her first, as it was homemade by one of the students’ moms. It was so good! And there was lots of fresh fruit packed with it, and I tried a kumquat!

You have to eat the peel too!

Even after lunch, we were all pretty tired…but there were 3 more places on the itinerary to visit. The next one was a commemorative temple that had an outdoor museum, with paintings illustrating several important events in Korean history. We spent only about 20 minutes there – about enough time for the students to run up the stairs, around the museum, down the stairs and then go to the bathroom.

Then we went to a site that is famous because it is where the last king of the Silla empire was before it fell. There wasn’t much to see here so the kids basically ran around some more. I wandered off to see what else was there. Not much – it would probably be a nice picnic or reflective spot if there weren’t 75 students wandering and yelling.

Finally, we went to a site where 5 important people are buried.

There was a guide who was trying to explain things to the kids…but they were tired and not into listening. And then a “parade” of 3-year-olds walked by in a line, singing and they were totally distracted. So we walked around a little bit and then got on the bus home. You’d think that with all the walking, the kids would be really tired – but no, my little heathens yelled and hit each other with their wooden swords the whole way home. Oh so tired after getting off that bus. Props to their homeroom teachers who teach them for 6 hours a day.

• Tonight friends met up in Gumi to see The Avengers. Yes, it was out in Korea before it was out in the US! Woo! And it was AMAZING. Robert Downey Jr. made the movie fantastic (yes, I love him and how he delivers his lines but he really did a great job) and it was so well-done. I would post more details but I know I have lots of friends who want to see it XD I’m very excited for the next one!

Jeanette, Deanna and Abby pointing to their fave boys ;)

• After the movie, we went drinking. It was fun but I found my soju limit...the rest of the weekend was spent recovering :(