The Kids are great!

-- 058 --


-- 051 --


-- 028 --


-- 013 --
-- 027 --

-- 057 ---

Greetings,

Last week we spent one whole morning visiting two local museums with our classes
to a visual arts museum and a provincial museum - the province of Gyenonngi,
where Yongin si is located.

(#057) The Nam June Paik Visual Arts Museum is a place to experience art. Paik was a contemporary artist, especially known for his video art. He was a native of So. Korea, born on in 1932 and died in 2006. The building in Yongin was completed in 2007 and is itself a work of art.

In #027 you see my class viewing themselves in a constantly moving video - sort of like a moving fun house mirror.

#013 Feel like meditating? He is is a TV emptied of all its parts, just a burning candle to meditate on.

#028 Kids having fun

#051 Enjoying the sunshine on the stairs

#058 Denny, who has been to the provincial museum many times and gave me his own version of a special tour. His enthusiasm was contagious.

I am writing this on January 23, the last day of classes at the ESL Camp- an awesome experience for all involved. I will write more about my experiences, but not tonight or even in the next few days. Tomorrow I fly back to Hong Kong, then take the ferry back to Zhuhai, China to be with my friend Alina and her family for Chinese or Lunar New Year, which is the biggest holiday in this part of the world. Families gather from far reaching places. I think I will be traveling with half of Asia. Tomorrow night is actually the Eve of the new Year. It's a celebration which lasts several days.

I wish you good fortune in the New Year.

Blessings, Jane

Korea: Kimchi, Kulture, Konrad and Kids #4

Topgol Park in Seoul is where Korea protested the Japanese invasion of 1911 and made their Declaration of Independence. The bas relief shows the declaring of independence of the Korean Republic.


Modern Seoul is a bustling place, prosperity returned beginning in the 1960's after the Armistice was signed to end fighting between North and South Korea.

Korea: Kimchi, Kulture, Konrad and Kids #3

I share a guest house apartment with Karla Konrad, an ESL teacher and professor in the Lifelong Learning Center at Luther University. In the photo where she is wearing the pink sweatshirt; we are eating bowls of Korean Beef soup accompanied by various side dishes and rice.

We are having lunch with four professors and an administrative assistant, who keeps the ESL Camp organized. The main dish is beef barbecued on a charcoal fire, built right into the table. There is another K in the picture, kimchi, which is the Korean national dish. It is fermented cabbage with a hot pepper sauce, some versions are hotter than others, but it is present at every lunch and dinner.

Karla has been with me on most of my off campus adventures. She's a great sport. Chelsea Madden, a recent college grad who volunteered at ESL Camp last summer, joined us at Camp one day late because of visa problems (Does this sound familiar?). She went up to the Seoul Tower with us last Saturday. You can get a bird's eye view of Seoul in the background. We are standing in front of a fence covered in locks. If a couple puts a lock on the fence, they are joined together as long as the lock stays locked.

more k's to follow, but not tonight.
Jane

Korea: Kimchi, Kulture, Konrad and Kids #2

After doing a lot of walking it's always nice to have a good cup of tea. If you are in the street shopping area called Insa-dong, the place to stop is the Bird Flying Tea shop, which is tucked in an alley and up a flight of stairs. It is filled with antiques and actual flying birds. The tea is delicious.

Korea: Kimchi, Kulture, Konrad and Kids

All work an no play makes Jane a dull girl, so I’ve come up with lots of K’s to tell you more about my life in So. Korea. On Saturdays and Sundays we go into Seoul, which is about an hour bus ride to the north. Seoul is a very modern, upscale place, however, if you look you can find remnants of earlier days.

One of the places we visited is the Changdeokgung palace, which is in the midst of the modern city. It was first built in 1405 during the early Joseon dynasty. It was the residence of the last members of the royal family. The end of that line came with the invasion of the Japanese in 1911. The change in the city in less than one hundred years is astounding.

ESL Camp in South Korea - Luther Universtiy

I am finally back with my own laptop connected to the Internet...

We have finished our first week of classes ESL Camp at Luther University and it was very productive. I'm really enjoying the children, especially playing word games, like I do with my own grandchildren. We have about
55 students in the morning in three groups and eight students in the afternoon
in two groups. (photos 037 and 049)

In the morning (9:30AM - 1:00 PM) first I teach Bible Devotions to 1st-2nd graders - using power point, next it is 5th-6th grade reading and writing and finally grade 3-4 speaking and listening. (photo 040)

I have a two hour break in the afternoon, then from 4:00-5:30 PM, I teach a group of four ( two boys age
11 and two girls age 7). That's more of a challenge because of the age difference. One little girl,
Dorothy, was falling asleep about 5:00 PM the first two days, so I decided to add games in for the last part of the class. Now I tell them, if we get our work done we can play a game - they love the games, so they work hard.
(photos 052, 001, 004)

It's a little like teaching Vacation Bible School, however we are teaching English and Bible stories at the same time. The parents expect homework.

Children's ESL Camp at Luther University

ESL Camp with with 6-12 year olds is quite a change of pace for me, especially since not all the materials had arrived (CD's with games and different English speakers.) Fortunately I had brought some games with me and still know some of the old tricks of the trade for elementary school teachers! I will send some new photos and dialogue later this week.

Luther University

Luther University in Yongin-si -- Korea

I have lots written for the blog and saved on my computer, however, my computer is not yet on the network here - so one day you will get lots of new material for the blog.

In the meantime I am doing fine, getting ready to teach beginning tomorrow, January 5. The facilities and people are great.

The weather is colder than Macau - in the 20s -40s. It's sunny and bright, no snow on the ground.

More will follow when my computer is connected.

Happy new year.

Blessings,
Jane

Gifts We Don't Expect

Sometimes we receive Christmas gifts we don't quite expect; I received one of these big surprise gifts yesterday (Dec. 23). My visa for Macau expires Dec. 25.

I am now going to Seoul, Korea on December 31st and will return to Macau on January 24! I will be working at a three week winter children's camp at Luther University -- Yongin, Gyeonggi, Korea.

Luther University was recently a seminary only and it has expanded programs to become a University. The children go to this camp to learn English. There will be 3 or 4 American teachers and several Korean students, who will be TA’s. The children range in age from 6-12 (same as my grandchildren). I will stay in a dorm, as it is semester break. I will receive a stipend which will pay my plane fare and most of my expenses. This should be another adventure with plenty of pictures.

Sometimes our Lord answers prayers in mysterious ways. They were going to have to cancel this winter camp, if they didn’t get another teacher. This will give me enough time away from Macau, so they can apply for and get me a better visa. I have almost everything packed including the puppets and Arch books that Matthew and Tracy got together for me before I left MA. All my students in Macau will be covered by a new short term volunteer who is coming into Macau this Sunday.

Blessings to all in holy season,
Jane