The Dream Chamber!

I brought my camera to school today. I'm sure some are curious about what my school looks like. The kids loved having their picture taken but they are sooooo shy, as you will see. It was good timing for pictures because the cherry blossoms lining the road into campus were in full bloom and it was a nice day today. There were numerous vendors selling food on the sidewalks as well during lunch- kimbap and a nice warm day under a cherry blossom lined roof make for a pretty good afternoon in Korea. Enjoy the photos!

(click thumbnail for larger image)


Changwon Times. Local city newspaper (English edition) I picked up at the community center. Changwon is known for being one of the first 'planned cities' in Korea. It's pretty young in terms of other cities but it's growing fast and attracting a lot of industry and expansion.



Neighboring school, about a stone's throw away from ours. I think it's some type of private academy. You can see the mountains in the background, they're everywhere on the horizon. The city is completely surrounded by them and kind of reminds me of a smaller scaled Willamette Valley.



Cafeteria where we all eat lunch. The food is actually pretty good, no complaints here. You can always expect rice, kimchi, and some sort of soup among other dishes each day.


The students' bike rack. Still trying to figure out what these little creatures are... maybe cartoons promoting the buddy system or friendship? I have no idea but I see them often.



Our school gymnasium and sports field. Kids play baseball, basketball, and soccer out here all the time. Can't imagine slide tackling anybody on hard dirt though.



Cherry blossoms near the school.



Road heading into my school, Gyungwon.



More blossoms.

Even more.







As you can see, the whole street for a long distance is lined with them.




Outside of my school.


Shoe locker where the teachers store their shoes for the day. Everyone (faculty and students) wears slippers indoors all day. I'm not complaining, it's pretty comfortable.



Fish tank right inside the main lobby. The students are responsible for feeding these. I just look at them and violently pound on the glass to say hello each morning. Just kidding.



Cherry blossom gift from the 3 students below.



These three always come hang out during lunch. They're really nice and sweet but are totally shy during pictures.


One of my girls classes. All the classes are seperated by gender. They are SOOOO much easier to manage than the boys classes. This happens to be my smartest class by far. Really fun to teach to.


All they want is peace. It's actually pretty funny- 8/10 shots taken here in Korea with girls will be flashing the peace sign.

They are pleading for peace to you as well.



Group shot.


One of my boys classes.



Some of the material from the books we work out of. Look at 1-C.

The SUPER shy girls class. They wouldn't even look at the camera but Ms. Lee would!



My battle station.



Pretty nice LCD screen I use for lessons. It's got a touch screen too which makes games and other things really convenient.


Wonder what the time in Moscow is? Oh, wait..



The calm before the storm.



The English room, dubiously titled the 'Dream Chamber'. I think they poured more than $100,000 into this room. All the stuff is brand new and was literally opened days ago.



Beware, all ye who enter here.

There it is, my day-to-day for the most part. It's really fun and a lot of the time doesn't seem like work at all. A LOT less stressful than deadlines and 10-keys.