Next stop, North Korea!

This weekend, we decided to go to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea.
Our tour took us to a tunnel that was discovered in 1978, that the North Koreans tried to dig between their capital city, and Seoul. Another part of the tour took us to an observation area where you can see across the demilitarized zone into North Korea. Unfortunately, it was pretty hazy on Sunday so we couldn't see a whole lot. Finally, we went to a railway station that was renovated in 2007 and was supposed to connect North and South Korea by rail so that South Korea can ship goods by rail to other countries like China. It is pretty much abandoned now, but its main claim to fame is that it's the only station in the world that shows the next stop 'Pyongyang,' which is in NK.

We definitely maximized our weekend... and it will pretty much be our last one in Korea, since we fly out early next Sunday.

Now we are wrapping up camp. All the kids are writing final tests today and tomorrow. I have also discovered that they love Tom and Jerry cartoons! I am cracking up because they are from the '50s and I have heard them say 'Zoot Suit' and 'Gee whiz' so far!

Gyeongbok Palace

For our day off, we went to Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul... it was SO hot... so we didn't enjoy it as much as we could have... we were mostly trying to avoid the blinding sun! It was pretty cool, though, we could see traditional houses and buildings. We also went to an exhibit about one of Korea's famous Kings and military heroes. They had lots of cool interactive exhibits, and we got to write our name in Korean.

Then we went to a shopping area and wandered around a bit before coming home.  We are making the most of our 1 day off a week by seeing lots of cool stuff!

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2nd Week at Camp!

Things at camp are still good -- the time goes by quickly. 

We took Kim Young Dal out for dinner last night to a really delicious barbeque restaurant. It's quite handy, too, because he can order for us in Korean!! In class today, we are making a special dessert with our classes -- called Patbingsu.  It is kind of like ice cream... shaved ice with toppings: red bean paste, chocolate syrup, sticky rice cake and fruit cocktail... We'll see how that goes... the kids are excited about it!

We have continued to sing very contemporary songs... the ABBA hits have come out... and next week I have two days of the Carpenters, back to back!! "Top of the World" and "Yesterday Once More"... although thankfully no Willie Nelson (or Beethoven's Attic...)

We work today (Friday) and tomorrow, and then have Sunday off again... Kim Young Dal suggested that we go to a palace in Seoul, so we will probably do that. After tomorrow, we will be half way through the camp! We are starting to get excited about Tokyo!

My students are doing self portraits at the moment so I have a few minutes to update the old blog!  Hope you all enjoy your long weekend... while I only have one day off.... :)