Over the River and Through the Woods...

We went to Grandma's house in the countryside, maybe a 1 and a half hour drive from Cheongju, for the remainder of Chuseok.  We visited Grandfather's burial site to pay respects for the holidays, slept on the floor, and went CHESTNUT PICKING--so much harder than it sounds.  

We probably collected a couple hundred of these little suckers, which are hidden up on muddy, tree-covered mountains and are protected by dense shells of prickly thorns.  I loved it though, and I got to spend some quality time with the host fam ;)

I also got to work in a couple of short runs out on the country roads, which felt so good.  The scenery and weather were preeeetty much perfect.

Anyway, I had a nice time, and now I'm smelly and exhausted.  Shower then sleeeeeeep :)

Chuseok

I have the whole week off from teaching--a very merry Korean Thanksgiving indeed :)  So I'm using this break to briefly catch up on what this past month has been like...  Unfortunately, it seems I'm a bit of a failure when it comes to regular blogging.  For now, I'll just hit the highlights:

School
I teach about 700 girls, 27 classes, and 21 hours a week.  I teach with 5 other English teachers in 4 different classrooms out of 3 textbooks and 2 workbooks, and I typically plan 9 different lessons a week.  It's pretty much a full-time job.

Volunteering
I've joined an international nonprofit organization's Curriculum Development Team, which is working to provide virtual English tutoring to students at an orphanage in Korea.  I'm not sure what my role will be yet, but I'm really excited about it!  I'm also trying to start up an English class with a couple other ETAs for local North Korean refugees.  It's still in the works, but we're hopeful :)

Korean
I enrolled in a Korean language class at the YMCA two hours every Saturday, but so far I've only been once.  We'll see how it goes.  I would also like to sign up for a short intensive winter class, but I don't know where yet...

Homestay
They think I'm too skinny, that I only like eating kim and bread, and that I talk like a baby when I speak Korean, but I love 'em dearly.  Momma Kim works awfully hard, Papa Kim is always smiling, my host brothers play games with me a lot (Monopoly and cards), and my host sister is super cute--she has like 10 pen pals in other countries, which I think is hilarious.  Anyway, we celebrated Papa Kim's birthday the other week, and today we've been doin the Chuseok thing, meaning lots of food and lots of family!!

Travels
Daejeon one weekend, Seoul last weekend, Gyeongju in a couple weeks, and now I'm thinking Cambodia, Vietnam,, Philippines, and Indonesia for winter break...  Suggestions, anyone?

Thoughts
I've had a busy, rough, and somewhat tumultuous past couple of weeks.  But overall, I love my life :)

More soon... I promise!

Host Sibs:

Host Rents:

A very cute Chuseok gift from Host Fam:

Lots of family members came!

Food--yummm:

"Songpyeon," rice cakes with a hint of pine-- a Chuseok tradition

Cooking--a team effort!

Ah, and btw, here's my room: