Sunday, April 11, 2010

One Month Anniversary

I've been in Korea for exactly one month! The time really has flown by, cliche as that sounds. I've gotten familiar with my job, settled in my apartment, made some new friends, and learned a little about Korean culture. Now that I'm past the very initial stages of getting comfortable, it is time to do some weekend trips and focus more seriously on studying Korean. I feel like such an idiot sometimes only being able to say a handful of words. Bring on the workbooks and audio CDs!

In other news, this weekend was the first annual Gunsan Lifelong Learning Festival. Our school had a booth, so I was working there Friday and Saturday.

It was a city festival with participants ranging from schools to businesses to artists to public health advocates. There were a lot of interactive booths, free food, give-aways, traditional dances, and musical performances. I was mostly speaking English and playing games with little kids, but had some really interesting adult conversations and also snuck away to visit the other booths.


You could drink Korean tea, make squid pancakes, bind a journal, play Korean games, have your face painted, play dress up in traditional clothes, get acupuncture, play with robots, get your nails done, snack on popcorn, throw pottery, and eat sweet bean pastries.

The only bummer was that they tried to time the event to coincide with the cherry blossoms. The festival was in a park with a lot of cherry trees, and all the advertising banners showed trees in full bloom. Unfortunately, it's still been wintery and the trees haven't really blossomed yet. We are finally seeing a few flowers on a few trees, but no explosion of petals. Soon, very soon... and I will be very excited.

Also, if you're reading this, I would love to know! Please feel free to leave a comment, it's always nice to know who's reading.

7 comments:

makewhatyouneedtofind said...

you've done so much in a month! and as for korean don't worry: "enjoy korean experiences. simple and clear korean with patience" (i like the banner ;)

i love the pictures...and the colorful descriptions make it all the more vivid.

hey amber i have a favor to ask you. would you mind changing the link to my old blog to my current blog...that i actually really hope to get going. this is the new: http://www.onlyfivepercent.wordpress.com/

AmberAnda said...

Thanks for your comment Kate! Yes, that banner is a good reminder for any language ( : I changed the link to your new blog and look forward to reading it!

Max Boschert-Zielsdorf said...

I've been reading! I love being kept up to date with your "anda-ments". Ya know... your "go-ness". And the photos fill each post with an energy that keeps me scrolling. It's a real "page down-er". Thanks!

AmberAnda said...

Thanks Max! Great to hear from you. "Page Downer", hah, that's great!

Kelley said...

Hi Amber! My name is Kelley and I will also be teaching in Korea at the end of June. I found your blog on the Korean blog list website and started reading from when you move to Gunsan. I sometimes feel like a stalker commenting on the blogs of people I don't know, but you kept saying that you want to know who's reading! So here I am. Thank you so much for writing. I already quoted one of your posts to a coworker who fears for my safety and the English essays were adorable. I recently started building my own page so I'll add you in the "Blogs I Follow" section. Thanks for letting me share in the adventure! ~Kelley Bingham

AmberAnda said...

Hi Kelley! Thanks for reading and it's great to hear from you! I just joined the Korean blog list a few days ago so I'm glad to know that networking is happening. Yes, it's very safe here, I would be more concerned about the crazy driving and pedestrians not having the right-of-way than any kind of theft or harassment. What is your blog called? Good luck on your move, I have no doubt you will have a great experience!

Kelley said...

Oh my blog is still wayyy under construction but you can take a look:
www.1seoulsearching.blogspot.com

I was going to submit it to submit mine to the Korean bloglist also, but have to write for a month first. Hopefully I'll have better posts up soon! ~Kelley