The Bus Ride:
Fifth graders Tony, Alvin, Harry, and Ethan on the Omni bus on the way there.
The Omni bus with newly added seat covers and curtains...stylin!
Keven- fourth grader
Lily and Andrea being adorable.
An hour and a half bus ride...entertainment? Play with teacher's camera!
Other sources of entertainment were their PSPs and cell phones.
Are we there YET?
Gyeongju World: Things are done a lot different here in Korea. For example, after we arrived at the amusement park, the kids were told to go and play...so all kids of different ages ran off to explore on their own with no adult chaperone. Some kids did stay with teachers, but most just met up with us at 5pm to leave. Korea is extremely safe, so that allows more freedom for the kids.
Gyeongju World: Things are done a lot different here in Korea. For example, after we arrived at the amusement park, the kids were told to go and play...so all kids of different ages ran off to explore on their own with no adult chaperone. Some kids did stay with teachers, but most just met up with us at 5pm to leave. Korea is extremely safe, so that allows more freedom for the kids.
We're there! Notice the boys in the front all holding hands. Can you imagine fifth grade boys in the US doing that? It's weird, even straight men hold hands here.
6th grade girls holding hands ♥
Alex, first grader. This little boy is hilarious! On the bus ride to the amusement park, he used his cell phone to call everyone in his family, including aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. to tell them where he was going and to ask how they were doing. He was acting so grown-up. Oh, and yes, even first graders have the latest cell phones here! :)
Gyeongju World
Josephine, Frank, and John waiting in line to go on the Viking ride.
Lily and Andrea on the Viking ride. It's too bad that Lily was scared out of her mind after the ride started and refused to go on any other rides the rest of the day.
Terry- fifth grader
Terry in the last row on the Viking.
Bumper cars which this group of boys waited an hour in line for.
Tony
Alex and Frank sharin some tunes.
2 of our youngest students Amy and Alex- first graders
Taking an ice cream break
Sarah and her little brother Harry
Joanna and Rachel
Melissa, Jessica, Sophia (Omni's receptionist), Alex, and Amy
Mega Drop!
Melissa after Mega Drop dropped 230 feet!
Tornado, the scariest ride ever!
Dinner: After arriving back in Ulsan, we went to a hamburger restaurant called "Chi Chi's."
When we drove up to the restaurant, the servers had already set out all the kids plates filled with food, so they could immediately dig in and refuel!
Sarah enjoying her cheese burger, fries, bananas, and cookies.
Mmmmm!
We ended our field trip at 7:30pm exhausted, but happy we got to have such a fun day with our kids before leaving Korea. We've been so impressed with the kids' behavior in Korea. We didn't have any crying, fighting, or tattling during the entire trip and RARELY have any of that kind of behavior in the classroom, either, which makes them so fun to teach! We'll really miss all of them.
This was very interesting,Melissa. We can see that you love children and are good with them!
ReplyDeleteWe love you and are eager to see you in June.
Grandma and Grandpa Watson
Hi Frank and Melissa!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amy, and I stumbled upon this blog while researching about living in Ulsan - it has been really interesting to read! A friend and I will be teaching in Ulsan starting in August (Sunflower Language School, heard of it?). At this point I think our main concern is getting there and feeling completely lost, as neither of us has either been to Korea or speak Korean. Did you have trouble acclimating? We are also going to be teaching elementary-aged students. While my friend has, I have never taught before. What kinds of things did you start with? What were some of your best/most popular ideas for lessons? Your videos were adorable! It made me so excited to get over there and start getting to know the kids! If you don't mind answering some of these questions (my email is amylmatt@gmail.com), I'd love to hear more about your time teaching in Ulsan!