Rain, rain, go away: July 1-16, 2013

Living in Korea at this time of year is definitely an experience. I say this because the rainy/monsoon season has arrived! It is currently raining as I am typing this entry, and it has been raining non-stop for the past two weeks which feels like forever! I have never seen so much rain in my life, it is hard to explain. I guess to start I should say it pours everyday and doesn't light up! To help picture this amount of rainfall, here are a few anecdotes. Two days ago, the rain and wind combo broke Ian's umbrella in half.  My friend Isabelle said the rain actually pierced her umbrella on Monday night. At my school, on a daily basis they line the entrance doors with bags of sand to prevent flooding. These are only a few stories, and we still have a few weeks left of rain! At least all my students have learnt a new phrase from me "it's humid." Oh well, not much we can do about the weather.

What my cellphone weather app always tells me...

If it is not rainy, this is what the sky looks like. I took this from our apartment window. 

 Besides the insane amount of rain falling from the sky, here are some other updates.

On July 1st, I visited Ian's school because I had the day off. It was cool to see his office and get a mini tour of the school. It is drastically different than my school, especially his office set up. I also met most of his co-teachers, who were all excited to chat with me. I only met a few of his students, and just kept thinking how old they all looked! 

Ian hard at work at his desk.

At our schools, things are wrapping up as students start their summer vacations next week. Ian and I have been busy planning English summer camps and final classes. Although my "after school free talking classes" involve more planning (I have no co-teacher and the level of English is low), I have started to really enjoy the three after school classes I have a week. I have really gotten to know these students which make for fun classes. On July 4th, I celebrated Independence Day with pinwheels my teta gave me for my students. They absolutely loved them and were running around the field with them after class.

My kiddos celebrating July 4th. They are holding up their pinwheels so that the fans spin them.

I want to add that I of course did celebrate Canada Day with my students. Here is a picture from my kindergarten class.

Happy Canada Day from my k class!

Our weekend life is winding down during the day. We have still been going out at night in Hongdae, an area in Seoul but during the day with the downpour of rain, it has been hard to motivate ourselves. The past two weekends we celebrated Isabelle's and Emma's birthdays, which were both so much fun! On Sunday we went to one of Ian's favourite places in Korea: a Cat Cafe! It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

New cat cafe that opened up in Bupyeong.

As for upcoming trips, we have one more in Korea and a bigger one in Vietnam! We are going on our last weekend trip in Korea this weekend. It is the annual Boryeong Mud Festival, and although we don't really know what to expect, we are both pretty excited! After this weekend, it will be under three weeks til we are in Vietnam! I can't wait for this trip to get here! Last week, Emily, Isabelle and I went to do some trip planning and check out the Hello Kitty Cafe in Seoul after school. It was definitely a cute little cafe with Hello Kitties everywhere - one of those only-in-Korea moments.

So that's about it from us. We are enjoying our last few weeks in Korea and are looking forward to our Vietnam trip. It is crazy to think we will be in Canada in 45 days!