Placement: Hwacheon, Yuchon...Cangchok?

My host family, is on the left and my Co-teacher and her husband are on the right.

This lovely home, built by my host father's uncle, is where I will be staying for the remainder of the year. The inside is just as nice as the outside.

My living quarters

Dolgone, the family dog, is very lively and to my astonishment feeds on people food!

Mind, Body and Seoul

The American Ambassador to Korea, Kathleen Stevens, welcomed us at her residence for a much anticipated American barbecue. She is in fact, the first female American Ambassador to Korea, as well as the the first to speak fluent Korean. I only spoke with her briefly, but her presence in itself spoke great lengths of her achievements. Also at the barbecue was U.S. Congressman Mike Honda (Ca-15), who addressed us all the while sipping on a chilled Budweiser. The event itself was a great success, not only because I was able meet Ambassador Stevens, U.S. Congressman Mike Honda, and other imortant figures, but because I feasted on, or rather inhaled, excess amounts of delicious American food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, tater tots galore. That is not to say Korean food isn't tasty, just very different.

After the barbecue, some friends and I walked five minutes to Seoul City Plaza where the Korea Philharmonic performed on the eve of Korean Independence Day to celebrate 64 years of independence from Japan. Not only did they pay tribute to many classical and operatic greats, but they managed to include a mixed variety of Korean music as well. It was terrific.

This is on the morning of "Yonsei Day," which is not a Korean holiday, but rather the day all the ETA's are shipped off to different parts of the country. My entire year in Korea will begin to fully unfold on this day. My experience here was a bit surprising, however. While many ETA's got to meet their Principal and Vice Principal, I was welcomed by my Co-teacher and her husband. A wave of relief washed over me, and the anticipation and anxiety of meeting my Principal and Vice-Principal was assuaged.

Intense English Training Camp (IETC)

This is a yearly 1 day-2 night camp organized by the members of the Kangwon English Yard (KEY) Club. The objective of the camp is to bring together several of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) and the KEY Club members and to provide Kangwon University students with the chance to improve and polish their English-speaking abilities.

The camp was a lot of fun! Below are the photographs I took during my weekend there. Enjoy!

Somewhere between Seoul and Chuncheon

A family enjoying a nice weekend camping trip.

Along the river were tents for the public to stay in. Some Fulbright ETAs thought it would be a camped out in these for the night. We feared we'd leave them behind in the morning, so I volunteered to search for them. After 20 minutes of walking, I abandoned the mission and hoped that they'd brought their alarm clocks.

The campsite was full of these roofed dining areas.

We introduced our group members to PB&B! It is quite rare to have this in Korea, so we were thrilled at this opportunity.

Group Five posing for the camera!

One of the Key Club members jumping off into the water.

Hello 승현!

Splish Splash!!

Some of the Key Club members having fun in the sun.

On the left is my language partner 지은! She does her best to help me with my Korean. I on the other hand don't do much. She speaks English so well!

The peace signs are a very common pose when taking photographs.

My fellow group member 주 cooking up a storm!

These were some friends making a funny pose at the end of the night!