This week we visited my doctor for my monthly baby check up. When she tried to listen for the heart beat we heard a little beat beat beat...then static. My doctor moved the listening contraption over, and we again heard a beat beat beat then static. This happened a few times. Then my doctor called the baby "very active" and said it was hard to follow it around. She too had a smile and a chuckle. We smiled and chuckled too. However, the potential future was running through my mind. A very active kid, huh? This kid has to get bigger while we share my body. Oh no. I imagine I am going to get many kicks to the ribs. And later on? All I can picture is us chasing around this wild toddler as they giggle and wildly run and dance around the room getting into everything and crashing into furniture. Perhaps we should start padding all those dangerous pointy corners on tables etc. now!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
An Active Bub
A few weeks ago, I (Cindy) had to go for an ultra sound. As you ladies know, that involves drinking a whole pool of water, doing the pee pee dance for an hour while the ultra sound people are "running late" (aka chatting to each other and pretending you aren't there) and then eventually praying you don't wee your pants while the ultra sound lady rolls her magic ultra sound wand over your belly. My young ultra sound girl (I swear she was 12 years old) had a form from my doctor requesting certain pictures and measurements. A few minutes into the ultra sound the young technician started laughing and shaking her head. This continued for a while. I thought she would offer an explanation for laughing at my baby....was she/he wearing a clown outfit?......was she/he doing the moonwalk?....was she/he making faces? But no explanation was offered. So I eventually had to ask "What's going on in there?" and in response she turned the screen so I could see the ultra sound. What I saw was this cute wee baby...having a crazy dance party! There were jumps, flips, and wild dancing from one side to to the other. The young tech said it was nearly impossible for her to get the right pictures and measurements with that going on. My thought was how can I not feel that?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Two Years Later....
Well, here we are! (That was for you Graeme) It has been two years since our last blog. TWO YEARS! We decided to take a little (ummm so it turned out a bit longer) break from blogging. Blogging is a wonderful way to keep in touch with important people (and complete strangers), and we really enjoy it, but it does take a lot of time and effort. However, we have decided to start blogging again....because....we have a big event occurring in our life, and we want our friends and family in Aus (or wherever you may be) to feel part of it. And the big event is....drumroll...I am "up the duff". For you non-aussies, that is an apparently not rude way of saying I am pregnant. Our little roo is due on January first. I am currently 16 weeks along and getting fluffier by the day.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Silver Birch and Maple Syrup
Well, we did it. We packed up our home in the land of the morning calm, and said our tearful good byes. It was much harder than we thought it would be. I knew I would be sad to go. But when it came time to start the goodbyes- I realized I was going to be a mess.
We ended our time at Yale with a night at the noray-bang (singing room). I wish everyone could experience a noray bang. It is soooooo much fun. And it's infectious. As soon as the music starts, and someone starts singing, then soon everyone is up singing, dancing, shaking the tamborine, and jumping around. It is just such a good time. We loved every second of it, but it was heart breaking to think that this would be the last time we would experience this kind of fun.
On our last day in Korea, we went to our favourite coffee shop for one last visit. The shop is called At Home, and really, it has been like a second home. We have sat in there for hours, drinking the best coffee we have ever had, talking about our jobs, life, and future, watching Seo Young (the 5 year old daughter of the owner) sing and dance around the shop, and communicating with the sweet girl who owns the shop using what little Korean we know, the little English she knows, and a lot of sign language. We told her we were leaving the next day. She started to cry, so did her friend (who we had never met by the way)....this led to us crying as well. We took a photo, hugged and started to go. Suddenly she produced two presents from behind the counter. She had heard we were leaving and had prepared gifts for us. This touched us so much.
In the afternoon, we squeezed in a swim/wade in the river near our apartment. It was such a nice way to spend our last afternoon. We watched the kids splashing each other and trying their best to catch the small fish. The cool water was very refreshing!
Later that evening, we joined our friend and manager, Eun Ju for some smoothies and muffins. She has been a life saver for us. Numerous times she has redirected taxis, given advice, and shown us around. Korea would not have been the same without her and we were happy to have had that last chance to spend some time with her. Our coworkers and friends joined in later on, and we all moved on to one of those hidden wacky bars that Korea is famous for. We have spent a whole year in this neighbourhood, yet never knew about the bar we visited that night. This is typical of Korea! So many hidden gems, you will never find them all.....and you have to remember to look up. Anyway, this bar specialized in beer served in humongous glasses. This was the perfect ending to the most unique year of our lives. Wacky beer in a wacky bar, served by an even wackier man....all enjoyed with friends and many laughs.
At 5 am we lugged our bags down our road, found a taxi and began the long journey back home. One bus ride, and two plane rides later, we arrived in Toronto airport, feeling like zombies and not smelling so fresh, but happy to start a new adventure.
Our first few days here have been filled with family, friends, settling into a new life, and trying to ease the heartache for the life we left behind. We miss Korea terribly. But its not going anywhere, and there is always the opportunity to visit or teach there again in the future, so that makes us feel better.
It's been wonderful to see our friends and family again. We look forward to a year of adventures and misadventures in the land of the silverbirch.......but does anyone know where we can find some kimchi??
We ended our time at Yale with a night at the noray-bang (singing room). I wish everyone could experience a noray bang. It is soooooo much fun. And it's infectious. As soon as the music starts, and someone starts singing, then soon everyone is up singing, dancing, shaking the tamborine, and jumping around. It is just such a good time. We loved every second of it, but it was heart breaking to think that this would be the last time we would experience this kind of fun.
On our last day in Korea, we went to our favourite coffee shop for one last visit. The shop is called At Home, and really, it has been like a second home. We have sat in there for hours, drinking the best coffee we have ever had, talking about our jobs, life, and future, watching Seo Young (the 5 year old daughter of the owner) sing and dance around the shop, and communicating with the sweet girl who owns the shop using what little Korean we know, the little English she knows, and a lot of sign language. We told her we were leaving the next day. She started to cry, so did her friend (who we had never met by the way)....this led to us crying as well. We took a photo, hugged and started to go. Suddenly she produced two presents from behind the counter. She had heard we were leaving and had prepared gifts for us. This touched us so much.
In the afternoon, we squeezed in a swim/wade in the river near our apartment. It was such a nice way to spend our last afternoon. We watched the kids splashing each other and trying their best to catch the small fish. The cool water was very refreshing!
Later that evening, we joined our friend and manager, Eun Ju for some smoothies and muffins. She has been a life saver for us. Numerous times she has redirected taxis, given advice, and shown us around. Korea would not have been the same without her and we were happy to have had that last chance to spend some time with her. Our coworkers and friends joined in later on, and we all moved on to one of those hidden wacky bars that Korea is famous for. We have spent a whole year in this neighbourhood, yet never knew about the bar we visited that night. This is typical of Korea! So many hidden gems, you will never find them all.....and you have to remember to look up. Anyway, this bar specialized in beer served in humongous glasses. This was the perfect ending to the most unique year of our lives. Wacky beer in a wacky bar, served by an even wackier man....all enjoyed with friends and many laughs.
At 5 am we lugged our bags down our road, found a taxi and began the long journey back home. One bus ride, and two plane rides later, we arrived in Toronto airport, feeling like zombies and not smelling so fresh, but happy to start a new adventure.
Our first few days here have been filled with family, friends, settling into a new life, and trying to ease the heartache for the life we left behind. We miss Korea terribly. But its not going anywhere, and there is always the opportunity to visit or teach there again in the future, so that makes us feel better.
It's been wonderful to see our friends and family again. We look forward to a year of adventures and misadventures in the land of the silverbirch.......but does anyone know where we can find some kimchi??
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Farewell Korea
It is now 4:54am. We have not been to sleep. In the next hour we will leave the apartment that has been our home for the last year. We will take a taxi to the bus terminal. We will take a 1 hour bus to the airport.... And then, we will say goodbye to Korea.
It has been an indescribable year. A life changing journey, full of challenges and celebrations. We have met so many truly amazing people and experienced things that we had never before dreamed of.
This is not the end, we still have many stories to tell. Stay tuned! Maybe once the smoke settles after we have returned home, we will find the time to relive some of the adventures that we have had over the last few weeks while we have been too busy to write!
Thank you Korea! We love you! And, we will miss you!
It has been an indescribable year. A life changing journey, full of challenges and celebrations. We have met so many truly amazing people and experienced things that we had never before dreamed of.
This is not the end, we still have many stories to tell. Stay tuned! Maybe once the smoke settles after we have returned home, we will find the time to relive some of the adventures that we have had over the last few weeks while we have been too busy to write!
Thank you Korea! We love you! And, we will miss you!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Admiration
Hey, this is Brett.
There is one class at Yale whom I have had the privilege of teaching since I arrived in Korea. They are called Admire, and are a third grade middle school class which makes them about 15 years old. They are also among the top level students at Yale.
When I began teaching them they were a class of lifeless, soul destroyed teenagers. They were overcome by the pressures of the Korean education system and the fact that it was 9pm, they had been in school all day and were now expected to read and answer comprehension questions on American history. The material they were working on was equivalent to what a grade ten student would be studying back home. For fun they got to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which although amusing to English speakers, contains so many nonsensical words, that it was almost impossible for them to comprehend.
I knew I had to do something. My first goal was to get rid of their current text books, and then to introduce some more interactive activities and conversations. It did not take long for these students to start to come out of their shells. I started to see their hidden personalities that were laying below the surface. Week by week they became more open, happier and more talkative.
As a reward for finishing our absolutely horrible reading comprehension book we held a Monopoly party. Completely against school policy, this turned out to be the most successful lesson I have ever taught. I modified the rules so that if they spoke Korean I could fine them! For 45 minutes these students were actively speaking English in a real life context, and enjoyed every minute of it.
These days, I laugh more during their class than at any other time throughout the week. These kids make me laugh more than anything. They tell jokes and banter with each other in English. They tease me and I give it back to them. Their wit is quick and clever and they are not too proud to joke about themselves if it means getting a laugh from the rest of us.
I cannot take credit for their ability, they have done that on their own, and they are amazing. They are who they are, and who they are is awesome! I am proud that I was able see past their tired eyes and create an environment in which they could be themselves and enjoy learning.
As a teacher every now and then you have the pleasure of teaching a class that is all those things that you wish for, respectful, humorous, hard working and friendly.
There is one class at Yale whom I have had the privilege of teaching since I arrived in Korea. They are called Admire, and are a third grade middle school class which makes them about 15 years old. They are also among the top level students at Yale.
When I began teaching them they were a class of lifeless, soul destroyed teenagers. They were overcome by the pressures of the Korean education system and the fact that it was 9pm, they had been in school all day and were now expected to read and answer comprehension questions on American history. The material they were working on was equivalent to what a grade ten student would be studying back home. For fun they got to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which although amusing to English speakers, contains so many nonsensical words, that it was almost impossible for them to comprehend.
I knew I had to do something. My first goal was to get rid of their current text books, and then to introduce some more interactive activities and conversations. It did not take long for these students to start to come out of their shells. I started to see their hidden personalities that were laying below the surface. Week by week they became more open, happier and more talkative.
As a reward for finishing our absolutely horrible reading comprehension book we held a Monopoly party. Completely against school policy, this turned out to be the most successful lesson I have ever taught. I modified the rules so that if they spoke Korean I could fine them! For 45 minutes these students were actively speaking English in a real life context, and enjoyed every minute of it.
These days, I laugh more during their class than at any other time throughout the week. These kids make me laugh more than anything. They tell jokes and banter with each other in English. They tease me and I give it back to them. Their wit is quick and clever and they are not too proud to joke about themselves if it means getting a laugh from the rest of us.I cannot take credit for their ability, they have done that on their own, and they are amazing. They are who they are, and who they are is awesome! I am proud that I was able see past their tired eyes and create an environment in which they could be themselves and enjoy learning.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Lifting King Kong
You may remember that way back in March we were involved with the filming of a Korean movie. We spent a fun filled day as extras in a movie portraying the story of a Korean weightlifting champion and his prodigies. Well, the epic tale has now been released and after months of anticipation we were looking forward to finally seeing ourselves on the silver screen.
We knew that the movie would be in Korean. We didn't mind. We haven't had any clue what people have been saying to us all year, why should this be any different? The lady at the ticket counter tried to make it very clear that the movie was in Korean. The young guy who took our tickets was also adamant that we should know that it was a Korean film. I wanted to say "Look man, don't you know who we are? We're the stars of the bloody show!" I knew it would just be lost in translation, so I did what I always do, nodded my head and said "nae" (Yes, in Korean).
So we took our seats and as the movie started we realized we were the only people in the theater. We had the whole place to ourselves which made it easy to analyze/criticize the movie out loud.
The opening credits began to roll and we watched intently. We thought we got a glimpse of ourselves but we couldn't be sure. Anyway, we sat through the movie knowing that our big part was in the climax of the film. The tension was building. Finally, it was our time to shine. There we were, in full digital colour, on the big screen, for everyone to see.... for exactly 7/8 of a second. We were so proud. And, I can honestly say, we did a great job!
We may not have left our mark on the Korean film industry, but we are treated like movies stars by the locals in our neighbourhood anyway, so that is good enough for us.
We may not have left our mark on the Korean film industry, but we are treated like movies stars by the locals in our neighbourhood anyway, so that is good enough for us.
Here is the trailer. If you look to the left of the screen at about the12-13 second mark, you may catch a glimpse of one of your favourite Canaussie Karaoke characters. (Glasses or contact lenses may be required)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)