North Korean Mad Scientist

Thought I'd spice up my posts with a little bit of humor.

Up and Running Again

Hello everyone,

Some of you were probably by the blank spots littering my blog. I'm not sure what was the cause of this, and I apologize for any inconveniences. All of my past posts are now re-uploaded. This includes all of the pictures and videos that I posted for Dalseong Park & Zoo last week.

Daegu Arboretum

Being in this area definitely reminded me of back home. I can't recall if I saw the long "vine and spaghetti strand" cactus anywhere in AZ.

I couldn't resist getting an action shot of the walk through a bamboo "forest".

Many kids were hanging out at this small pond. I had to sneak around them try to get an artsy shot.

Last stop I made in this park was the shrub and bonzai trail. When I walked halfway though many of the plants were not fully bloomed yet. I'll have to come back in a couple weeks.

Chased by a Peacock...

Took one more trip to Dalseong Park and I captured this nice picture of a peacock running towards me.

Luncheon is Served

My school usually serves pretty good lunches. This was one of the best and it was one I needed to post here.

Zooing in the Park

Here are a few videos and videos I took while I was at Dalseong Park. When I first visited this park I was not expecting to see a zoo in the park.

This is the main entrance leading into the park.

A nice memorial area that was meant to remind us to always care for our children and their futures.

The elephants looking happy to see all of the people. It's been a long time since I've even seen an elephant in person.

Two out of only about 2000 bengal tigers remaining in the world. They are an endangered species, so it was cool to actually see them. I missed the moment when they were roaring at each other however.

A friendly looking bear catching food from visitors..... Of course I can only say "friendly" because I was far away from him.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Daegu's baseball team the Samsung Lions - that's right, they don't even bother to hide the name of their corporate sponsor!

Everybody...let's dance

The "Shots" song that was played during this dance performance was hilarious. I wished I would have recorded the beginning part of the song. At the start Lil' John yells, "Everybody let's get f***ed up!". Most of the Koreans just sat there with NO reaction. The rest of us expatriates however were laughing hysterically. I guess that's what happens when people don't understand a language!

At least this performance was not trying to promote the nightclub scene to the audience. This a variation of the traditional butterfly dance along with more elaborate outfits.

Drawing in Class

For this week the topic for my 8th graders was to re-create a folk tale. I did this Mad Libs style by taking out about 50 words out of each story. The students had three stories to choose from and were asked to make drawings with their re-made folktale. One of my students goes, "Teacher, you're in our story," and
showed me this picture. They tell me that I won't die in the story, even though their drawing shows me trapped in an elevator shaft.... "Teacher, it's a good ending," they said. I guess I'll find out when they all present next week!

In Motion: Geumsansa

As promised, here is some video footage from the Geumsansa Temple Stay.

This tour was right after we had finished unpacking at our sleeping quarters. Check out the huge pots that were used to cook dinner.

One of the many walks we had during my temple stay. In this video we were doing a regular walk. Whenever the Buddhist monks were praying (meditation walks), we were asked to walk in silence.

As the sun was setting the drum ceremony began. Our host monk takes over the drumming later on as the other monk goes over to the bell.