A City of Black and White

Hello! And Happy Monday to all reading! 

Today is Monday, February 11, 2013 and it's about 11:00 p.m. my time in Jochiwon, South Korea. Today was, well, another one of those good ol' lecture days. By that, I mean I sat in a classroom from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. learning about ways to become a better teacher to the students of Korea. We spent time listening to lecturers over Teaching Phonics, Teaching Vocabulary, Introductions in the Classroom, and Teaching English in the Foreign Language Environment  Fun, huh? We actually did have a pretty interesting day. We began the day in Teaching Phonics where we learned the most effective way to teach Korean students how to read. Like I have previously discussed, the education system is very different here. I don't know that I agree with all of the practices here but hey, they are the ones making a second language mandatory in their schools. They have to be doing something right. We began mostly playing games, because they always state that games are the most interactive form of learning. Here are some photos. The games got pretty crazy, as you might see. However, the team I was on won both games so I felt pretty accomplished! 

This is a phonics game. What you do: Write two English words on both sides of the paper. 

The object is to get as many papers on your assigned word before time runs out. 

This paper got a little destroyed in the process. 

This is a very common game. Also called FlipCup, we called it Sentence. 

The goal is to be the first to flip your cup and then to pour the words from a sentence onto the table. 

The first group of people to flip all of their cups and to write all their sentences correctly wins! 

After two different sessions, we ate lunch and then Laura and I decided to head out for a walk. We wanted to get some sort of nature in the day so we could avoid outdoor withdraws. Haha! Here we are with a statue of a Tiger. It was cool enough for Blog Photos so we set up shop. 

Then, I saw it! I have been looking for the perfect view of the city since we got here a little over a week ago. I finally found it! Laura was generous enough to be my model. Then of course, I take one acting like a freak. Some things never change! 

We then headed back to the International Building (the dungeon) for another four hours. It's too bad the building is so pretty. I can't even hate it that much. 

See what I mean? Beautiful, right?

The title of this blog was "City of Black and White" I think that is because it is something I have seen so prevalent in Korea. The city (at least the government buildings) are all so black and white. (To me, this has always been so pretty but I know it is often seen as boring and bland.) Then, however, you go into the city part of Jochiwon and all you see is color. The culture here is outstanding in that way. They have so much beautiful history, but at the same time this nation is constantly thriving and becoming a "city of color". All of the South Koreans I have thus encountered are nothing short of that. They bring so much color and love to life. This really is a wonderful place to be! 

For those of you interested, I'll end this post with some more photos of the campus I am staying at. I know people are really interested in things like that (at least, I know I would be!) 

Happy Tuesday to you! Just think, only two more days until my favorite holiday! YAY! 

Kiyana In Korea