B&KiK: On the Go

The next three days were a bit of whirlwind.  Wednesday, we went with Dionne to the Folk Village.  We walked all over the grounds, watched a horse demonstration, a farmer's dance and a tightrope walker.  It was a really good look at traditional Korean culture for Bob and Kris!

The next day, we ventured up to Camp Casey, where Bob was stationed during his stay in Korea in 1970.  We were hoping we'd be able to get on the base using our passports but it quickly became clear that that wouldn't be possible.  We settled for walking down the streets he remembered (which was so cool!  I'd love to be able to come back to Gwangju in 40 years and reminisce on my time here!), took some pictures and ate lunch at an American style bar - the first Philly cheese sandwich I've had in who knows how long!  Awesome.  After that, we took a quick trip to Olympic Park, where the 1988 Summer Olympic Games were held.  What a beautiful park and great museum!  And, the weather was absolutely perfect.  I'll definitely be going back there!

Friday was the first day of school so Bob and Kris came with me to see what Kyunghwa EB is all about.  It was so fantastic to be able to show them why I love my job so much.  Everyone was so excited to meet them and all of the students were so adorable when they realized who they were meeting.  We only had two classes that day because of various changes to the schedule, but they were well spent!  I gave a short presentation on who my parents are and then gave the students time to ask them questions.  Bob and Kris were such good sports!  Some of the questions included, "Is Noelle Teacher a good daughter?", "How would you feel if Noelle Teacher married a Korean man?", "When was your first kiss?" and "Do you like kimchi?"  I. Love. My Students.  After school, we went out for dinner with some of the teachers at school.  We went to our usual tofu restaurant and fully enjoyed talking and sharing with each other.  I am so lucky to have both such fantastic co-workers at school who were willing and excited to share a meal with my parents, but also to have parents who are so open to trying new things and meeting new people!  I already knew both things, but this trip definitely reinforced all of these emotions.

Last post: DMZ, Uzbek lunch, Chinese dinner (again :) ) and saying goodbye.  Oh man.

Also, I read this article today and loved it.  Enjoy: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/things-my-grandmother-taught-me/