http://www.stmartin.edu/whatsnew/insight/InsightsFall2008.pdf
Check it out, yo. This was my life. :)
Friday, August 29
Tuesday, August 26
I miss the Tater Tots ...
Kohsuke, Kimiko, and YusukeI miss the tater tots.
http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/arts/2008/08/10/
http://www.theolympian.com/188/story/543537.html
http://www.theolympian.com/nightlife/story/543537-p2.html
http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/2211/
This article is a year old, but ... I like it. It is a wonderful article, about some of my very favorite people.
Taste of American life: Play Buffet introduces troubled Japanese students to language, culture, production.
Byline: Rosemary Ponnekanti
Aug. 17--It seems like just another night of theater. Eight plays by Northwest playwrights, staged at Theatre on the Square on Saturday night.
But the actors, designers, technicians, musicians and even directors of the Play Buffet are 33 Japanese high school dropouts, some acting in English after just three weeks studying in America.
It's all part of a radical Japanese program designed to provide alternative schooling for kids that don't fit in.
Play Buffet "is a surreal, uplifting and curiously theatrical experience for everyone," says artistic director Bryan Willis, and he's not just talking about the audience. Willis is now in his 10th year of the program, which began in 1995.
The workshop is run by the Academy of International Education, which helps kids who drop out of the rigid Japanese school system because of either academic or disciplinary problems. Two alternative, arts-based secondary schools in Toyko and Kobe qualify students for university entrance and offer a college degree in America. Over four or five years, the students -- either at Saint Martin's University or Pierce College -- learn English and American culture, graduating and returning to careers in Japan.
But the key element is an annual four-week summer theater workshop, culminating in Saturday's performance. Over the years it has evolved from standard plays, under the first director, Charlotte Tiencken, to an exploration of newly-written local works, often specially adapted. Students act, create sets and costumes, do lighting, even make the food for the party afterward.
Those in their senior years direct alongside local professionals. It's the best way, according to AIE founding director Dr. Toshio Ogoshi, of learning a new language, a new culture and self-expression.
At rehearsal, 21-year-old freshman Kokoro Iwano is sitting in a circle with eight other students and drama coach Misty Carson, one of Willis' six staff members. They're working on pronunciation.
Iwano, who plays a memory-challenged goldfish arguing philosophy with a snail in "Colors," says one of her lines in a soft voice, eyes downward, ending up with "ring."
"Ah," nods Carson. "R and L are fun, aren't they? Try a real 'rrrrrrr.'"
"Rrrrrring," says Iwano seriously.
"Mmm, that's it."
Takumi Iizuka, a solid, fresh-faced kid beside her, goes next. "Instinctual," he enunciates, trying hard to separate the consonants. Around the room, pairs of students confer about technical issues, rehearse songs. It's obvious that everyone is competent and committed -- no discipline or academic problems here.
"There's a real willingness to work, to try new things," says Willis, who has taught drama at schools around the region. "Unlike American students, they're very worldly, but not jaded. Imagine that!"
Willis assumes a don't-ask policy on the students' disciplinary background, but Chie Yuhara, an AIE staff member who accompanies students from Kobe to Washington, is open about the issue.
"They want to go to school -- in our society, it's very important -- but they just can't," says Yuhara. "They're too young to explain it, they just start to get headaches, stomachaches, and just don't go. But there aren't many alternatives."
Iwano was one of those students. After graduating from junior high, she began to dislike high school.
"I didn't like the atmosphere, I began to have nervous physical problems," she says, via a student translator. So she left, and entered the AIE school, Shiyu-juku "Rebirth Academy." After seeing videos of older students acting in the Play Buffet, she couldn't wait to go too.
Her ultimate goal? "I want to contribute to society, to support students like myself."
Takahiro Kato is another of the newly-arrived freshmen. Nineteen years old, with spiky hair and a mischievous smile, he's an incredibly polite rebel. "I left elementary school at 11. From kindergarten I knew I didn't want to be there, that I didn't fit into the system," he explains. Despite worried parents forcing him into the car, he racked up truancies, and finally refused to take the test for junior high, joining Rebirth Academy instead. He's finding acting in English difficult, but he's inspired to develop his potential and find a career with AIE.
But while this kind of theater might be entertaining, does it really help the students? The answer, from everyone, is emphatic.
"It works!" says Daisuke Sakamoto, a fourth-year political science/history student, group translator and the snail in Iwano's play. "I have enjoyed every year. Japanese schools are so strict, there's so much pressure and competition. This develops our creativity and expression in different ways."
Willis sees the immediate learning impact. "When you're learning a language, it's hard to relax, but in this program it's all about fun, plus the agenda of communicating through a play and learning a culture. They make so much progress, and come so far in such a short period."
For Yuhara, the proof is in her own career. A graduate of AIE in both Japan and America, she then chose to work for the institution. "It's my life work. I experienced learning language and life itself through this program."
The program has other spinoffs, too: As playwright in residence for the Northwest Playwrights Alliance, Willis has allowed the Play Buffet to be another forum for local playwrights. Saturday's lineup includes Eva Suter, Elena Hartwell and Dan Erickson.
And for Willis, it represents a possibility that the arts might be more valued in education.
"I believe this program should be the model around the country," he says. "In any given culture there are students who find a home in theater and writing. You don't have to be doing this in a different language for it to work."
Sunday, August 24
Apple Candy, Pho, Baseball ... the list just keeps on goin'
This weekend, overall, has been a great weekend.
Friday night was POLY's semi-semi-(insert many semi's here)-annual dinner goodness. Our school directors took us out to dinner, and then, as is Korean custom, we ended up at a norae-bang. For those of you not in the know, a norae-bang is a karaeoke room. You pay X amount of dollars and rent a room with a screen, a karaeoke machine of types, and assorted percussion instruments for Y amount of time. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I sang karaeoke (in a group). And yes, I laughed for unknown amounts of time while my two directors (Michael and Philip) wowed us all with their Korean rap skills. To sum up their performances in a word? INCREDIBLE.
Saturday started at noon - I met up with Heidi, Angela, Hannah, and Brian and the five of us went on an adventure to Insadong. After meandering through the streets for a while, we all came to the conclusion that we were hungry (minus Angela because she had to leave early) and that the apple candy I had, as delicious as it was, just wasn't going to cut it. So we kept on a'walkin' until we made it to Myeongdong (which, as we all know, is Marcie's very favorite place in all of Seoul). Found a restaurant called Pho Bay and ... oh goodness ... it was great. Not AWESOME, no. But it was still great. "Awesome" would have meant that each table was graced with a bottle of the sriracha (that fire-engine red hot paste) sauce instead of the weird gochujang concoction we were presented with. But still. PHO! :)
Then we wandered around Myeongdong for untold amounts of time, before eating AGAIN (don't worry, there was at least five hours between meal times) at a great restaurant with awesome chicken ANNNND a flat screen TV posted next to us so we could watch the gold medal baseball game (Cuba vs. Korea). We had to leave at the end of the eighth inning, but don't worry! Korean cell phone to the rescue!!! I whipped out my phone, and Brian and I could watch the game on the screen. It was awesome - when the Korea team made that final double play, the ENTIRE street cheered because EVERYONE was watching it on their cell phones. GREAT game by the way. :)
PS - Lotte Anytime mints are AMAZING. Just for future reference.
Sunday began at 11 - met up with the four PLUS Evan, and we headed towards the Express Bus Terminal and Shinsegae. Spent a few hours there with everyone - bought a new cd (YAY, Utada Hikaru!!!), and then returned to Beomgye. Spent an hour in Beomgye, and then hopped the airport limosine (not an actual limosine, but a really nice bus) to Incheon to meet Nico! The bus ride was only forty minutes - I was planning on an hour and a half - so I arrived early. Buuuut that was good because her flight was early too!
So now Nico is in Korea. That's pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. During the ride back to my apartment, I was trying to remember what it felt like to be in Korea for the first (or even the second) time. All I remember about it (arriving to work) was sitting in the back of Philip's car, answering the occasional question and being too shell-shocked to really say anything. Oh, and almost falling asleep. But that's normal, haha.
After getting back to my apartment and getting Nico settled (aka after she changed and then went to bed, haha), my phone rang. The number displayed was 000-0-0000, so I didn't know who it was and when I answered I was pleasantly surprised to hear from someone who I haven't talked to in FOREVER. Okay, "pleasantly surprised" is an HUUUUGE understatement for EXCITED OUT OF MY FREAKIN' MIND!
Needless to say, it was the best 23 minutes and 51 seconds (yes, I just checked the call log) of my entire week. :) So, thank you (in case you read this). It truly, truly, truly was a pleasure to talk with you again and hear your voice.
School starts this week for all of my friends back at good ol' Saint Martins. I'm a little bit sad, to be honest, that I won't be there. This is the first time in a LOOONG time that I will NOT be starting school in the fall. I can't believe that I've made it to this point in my life. I miss everyone dearly (as always) ... but I know that it's not for forever and we WILL meet again (starting with Hannah in December).
So yeah, that's all I've got pretty much. I have to get to work semi-early tomorrow (and by early I mean like, an hour) so I can make sure to finish all of my grading. No worries - I'm a trooper, haha.
PS - Good luck in your baseball game!!! :) Ganbattene!!! (please forgive my poor sounding-out skills when it comes to my limited Japanese, haha)
Friday night was POLY's semi-semi-(insert many semi's here)-annual dinner goodness. Our school directors took us out to dinner, and then, as is Korean custom, we ended up at a norae-bang. For those of you not in the know, a norae-bang is a karaeoke room. You pay X amount of dollars and rent a room with a screen, a karaeoke machine of types, and assorted percussion instruments for Y amount of time. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I sang karaeoke (in a group). And yes, I laughed for unknown amounts of time while my two directors (Michael and Philip) wowed us all with their Korean rap skills. To sum up their performances in a word? INCREDIBLE.
Saturday started at noon - I met up with Heidi, Angela, Hannah, and Brian and the five of us went on an adventure to Insadong. After meandering through the streets for a while, we all came to the conclusion that we were hungry (minus Angela because she had to leave early) and that the apple candy I had, as delicious as it was, just wasn't going to cut it. So we kept on a'walkin' until we made it to Myeongdong (which, as we all know, is Marcie's very favorite place in all of Seoul). Found a restaurant called Pho Bay and ... oh goodness ... it was great. Not AWESOME, no. But it was still great. "Awesome" would have meant that each table was graced with a bottle of the sriracha (that fire-engine red hot paste) sauce instead of the weird gochujang concoction we were presented with. But still. PHO! :)
Then we wandered around Myeongdong for untold amounts of time, before eating AGAIN (don't worry, there was at least five hours between meal times) at a great restaurant with awesome chicken ANNNND a flat screen TV posted next to us so we could watch the gold medal baseball game (Cuba vs. Korea). We had to leave at the end of the eighth inning, but don't worry! Korean cell phone to the rescue!!! I whipped out my phone, and Brian and I could watch the game on the screen. It was awesome - when the Korea team made that final double play, the ENTIRE street cheered because EVERYONE was watching it on their cell phones. GREAT game by the way. :)
PS - Lotte Anytime mints are AMAZING. Just for future reference.
Sunday began at 11 - met up with the four PLUS Evan, and we headed towards the Express Bus Terminal and Shinsegae. Spent a few hours there with everyone - bought a new cd (YAY, Utada Hikaru!!!), and then returned to Beomgye. Spent an hour in Beomgye, and then hopped the airport limosine (not an actual limosine, but a really nice bus) to Incheon to meet Nico! The bus ride was only forty minutes - I was planning on an hour and a half - so I arrived early. Buuuut that was good because her flight was early too!
So now Nico is in Korea. That's pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. During the ride back to my apartment, I was trying to remember what it felt like to be in Korea for the first (or even the second) time. All I remember about it (arriving to work) was sitting in the back of Philip's car, answering the occasional question and being too shell-shocked to really say anything. Oh, and almost falling asleep. But that's normal, haha.
After getting back to my apartment and getting Nico settled (aka after she changed and then went to bed, haha), my phone rang. The number displayed was 000-0-0000, so I didn't know who it was and when I answered I was pleasantly surprised to hear from someone who I haven't talked to in FOREVER. Okay, "pleasantly surprised" is an HUUUUGE understatement for EXCITED OUT OF MY FREAKIN' MIND!
Needless to say, it was the best 23 minutes and 51 seconds (yes, I just checked the call log) of my entire week. :) So, thank you (in case you read this). It truly, truly, truly was a pleasure to talk with you again and hear your voice.
School starts this week for all of my friends back at good ol' Saint Martins. I'm a little bit sad, to be honest, that I won't be there. This is the first time in a LOOONG time that I will NOT be starting school in the fall. I can't believe that I've made it to this point in my life. I miss everyone dearly (as always) ... but I know that it's not for forever and we WILL meet again (starting with Hannah in December).
So yeah, that's all I've got pretty much. I have to get to work semi-early tomorrow (and by early I mean like, an hour) so I can make sure to finish all of my grading. No worries - I'm a trooper, haha.
PS - Good luck in your baseball game!!! :) Ganbattene!!! (please forgive my poor sounding-out skills when it comes to my limited Japanese, haha)
Thursday, August 21
"Life's like a box of chocolates ...
... you never know what you're gonna get."
- Forrest Gump
Chew on that for a while. I'm going to sleep. :)
I'll expand further later. Promise.
Wednesday, August 20
"It's a sort of emergency situation."
Please tell me that you, also, see the humor in that.
That is one of my student's pencil cases. I just HAD to take a picture of it. And my new obsession is going to be finding one. I have decided what my Korean hobby is going to officially be. Almost every foreigner here has one, whether it be photos of t-shirts, weird sayings, whatever. Mine is going to be finding the most awkward pencil cases or notebooks. I expanded to notebooks when I found a few gems while browsing at my local Art Box.
Yes. Just wait untill I start buying these beauties and sending them back to the states. :) Ooooh, yeeeeah.
Well, it is now post-vacation, and not going to lie - I'm a little sick. I've got a couch, and some gross throat stuff going on. Nothing I can't handle though. Plus, I downed 950 mL of orange juice before classes today. I felt pretty decent after that. Now if I could just fall asleep by a decent hour, hah.
Just kidding. I am taking care of myself. :)
In other news ...
Nico is arriving this weekend! Heck yesss ... I am super-duper excited to see her again! It's been ... my goodness. It's been ... over a year? When's the last time I saw Nico? Spring break my junior year? That seems so long ago, and yet ... I'm drawing a blank for a more recent time. WOW. Wow. Just wow.
So yes. And on Saturday, I think I'm heading up to Insadong. That's the plan, anyways. Insadong, and then perhaps a swing through Yongsan. But definitely Insadong. Maybe I'll hit up Suwon on Sunday, before going to get Nico from Incheon (she gets in at 8 PM). We'll see. Whatever happens, happens. :)
PS in case you haven't read it yet - The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is a MUST-READ. Really. I don't often say that. Okay, that's a lie, I say that a lot. But it's usually true! And this book is ... amazing. If you don't want to read the book, YouTube "Randy Pausch Last Lecture" and watch it. It's incredible. He was and still is an inspiration.
That was random. But that's me. Okay. I need to do some work. Cleaning and the like. Nico, you better appreciate the fact that I'm CLEANING! :D
Loves!
Oh, and Skype is amazing. (Hannah, it works better if I'm not doing anything else on the computer at the time because I just had a fifty minute phone conversation and it seemed fine!)
Sunday, August 17
3 day weekends are the best.
Really.
This weekend was uber relaxing, which was precisely what I needed. I think it was what we all needed.
Just as a short recap, we had (in no particular order) ...
- beach volleyball, sweet potato cake, sling shot riding, ocean swimming, photography, never have I ever, a night out on the town, pizza, sketch accomodation (the first night), wonderful accomodation (the second night), bus riding, roman candles, late night frolicking, and lots of more wonderful things.
It was great. I'll post about it later. Promise. Now, it's too late and I'm off to bed.
But I'll leave you with a little somethin' somethin'. :)
PS - Congratulations to the AIE Students on a SPECTACULAR production. I've heard WONDERFUL things about Play Buffet X, and I can't wait to see the DVD! I miss you all so much, but I know that you're doing well. CONGRATULATIONS!
Wednesday, August 13
My One Problem with Korea -
If you can't see the picture clearly, let me explain to you what it says. It says that the current temperature in Anyang, South Korea is 79 Degrees Fahrenheit and it is partly cloudy. Then, if you look where I conveniently circled it in red, it states that it feels like 85 Degrees fahrenheit, and there is 91% humidity.Ninety-one percent humidty. That is INSANE. I don't think I've ever experienced that much humidity before traveling to Korea or Japan. It's insane.
However, that is my ONLY problem with Korea. Other than the insane humidity and heat, I LOVE this country.
Work today was great - level testing. I now have a stack of writing tests to grade for first, second, and fourth graders. No worries. :) It won't take long at all.
PS, this photo is of my favorite time of day - the mad rush for the elevator. It was an easy night tonight - maybe ten of us or so. There's been times where literally, you just stand back and stare at the awesomeness of stuffing like, twenty kids in the elevator at once. Another note? That kid standing next to me in the white shirt who's taller than me? Pretty much the greatest student ever - just so you know.
Now I just have tomorrow, and then ... three day weekend! GAH! So, I could TOTALLY make it back to the states in time for Play Buffet and then back to work on Monday - what do you think?
Okay, just kidding. As much as I want to be there, I know I can't be. I've accepted it, I really have. There's just so much that I'm missing out on back in the states. But ... it'll all work out. You're just going to have to deal with looking at a bunch of pictures (as I post them on here and cry about it, haha).
Okay. That's it. I'm trying to update this regularly. So far, that means every night, haha. It'll soon taper off, I promise.
Photos of my place ...
My bed
My TV - above that on the wall is my air conditioner
My sink/stove/kitchen "area"
My desk with my computer on it
The side of my closet/armoir thingie
Tuesday, August 12
Three Cheers for Michael Phelps ...
So, today Michael Phelps beat PARK Taehwan in the men's 200 meter freestyle.
The Bucket Crew
My cousin & my aunt
And I didn't let my students forget about it. :)
Today, in second grade science class, we were studying things in motion and the terms "fast" and "slow". The example given in the textbook used SWIMMING ... so of course I couldn't pass that up. So I would nonchalantly work in Phelps-related comments such as "So, if you swim FASTER than someone, it means you win like Michael Phelps. However, if you are not as fast, maybe you get SILVER, or second place." The response? "Marcie-teacher! VERY BAD! Marcie-teacher, you are Korean people! You should cheer for Korea!!!"
:)
I love my life.
Korea is still great, and I'm still happy. Really. However, I do miss a lot of people. Want to see them? These are just some of them ... in reality, there are tons more I miss.
Hannah June & Leah Marie
Father Benedict & Nicholas Dong-Jin
The AIE Students & Father Benedict
The AIE Students
Craig, Chrey, Jay, & Rachelle
The Bucket Crew
Kohsuke, Hannah June, & Makoto
Paschel, Jun-Ho, Chang-gi, John, & Nicholas D.
Emmy Brigid & Brian Christopher
Just a few of those I love and miss ...
:) I hope you're all doing well!
Monday, August 11
I Like to Take Pictures of Flowers ...
Strange, right?
Oh well. I had to think of something to title this post with. And then I found myself staring at the photo on my blog, a photo that I took while I was in Japan. And I realize that I have a large amount of photos of flowers that I've taken.
Okay, by large, I mean like twenty. Whatever. Don't judge. That's a lot for me.
So, another day, another dollar (or 1,000 won ... however you want to look at it). Today was a good day - I like Mondays because six of my classes are vocabulary classes. Vocabulary day is a really chill, laid back day. Then I have two reading classes, and a TOEFL class. Not bad at all. Plus it's fun to hear about what everyone did on the weekend.
Today was an especially special day, because it was one of my student's birthdays, so his mom sent him to school with a cake. It was so cute, watching this little boy (second grader) walk into the classroom with a big cake box and his backpack. Korean kids are adorable.
And it rained today, while I was at work. Not going to lie, I was pretty sad that it rained while I was AT work, but not while I was walking home FROM work. What can I say, I like the rain! But we'll see. Maybe it will rain tomorrow, on my way to work. That would be pretty cool.
Oh well. That's all I've got for now. Four day week this week! Wahoo! That means THREE DAY WEEKEND! BAM! Gotta love it.
Oh, yeah, and I have "CRAZY" written on my hand.
Oh well. I had to think of something to title this post with. And then I found myself staring at the photo on my blog, a photo that I took while I was in Japan. And I realize that I have a large amount of photos of flowers that I've taken.
So, another day, another dollar (or 1,000 won ... however you want to look at it). Today was a good day - I like Mondays because six of my classes are vocabulary classes. Vocabulary day is a really chill, laid back day. Then I have two reading classes, and a TOEFL class. Not bad at all. Plus it's fun to hear about what everyone did on the weekend.
Today was an especially special day, because it was one of my student's birthdays, so his mom sent him to school with a cake. It was so cute, watching this little boy (second grader) walk into the classroom with a big cake box and his backpack. Korean kids are adorable.
And it rained today, while I was at work. Not going to lie, I was pretty sad that it rained while I was AT work, but not while I was walking home FROM work. What can I say, I like the rain! But we'll see. Maybe it will rain tomorrow, on my way to work. That would be pretty cool.
Oh well. That's all I've got for now. Four day week this week! Wahoo! That means THREE DAY WEEKEND! BAM! Gotta love it.
Oh, yeah, and I have "CRAZY" written on my hand.
Sunday, August 10
... and then I saw a dead turtle.
Okay, not really. The turtle REALLY wasn't dead. But it sure looked like it.
Today, after waking up at the crack of noon (late night last night), I found myself on the subway, headed towards 대공원 (also known as the exit on Line 4 that takes you to Seoul Land) and the ZOO!
So, aside from birds, puppies, and stray cats, I haven't seen an animal in nearly two months. After spending a large chunk of my life on a farm, I was getting kind of sad. Add that to the fact that there is hardly any green grass or open spaces near where I live, and you get a slightly morose Marcie. It's funny the things you can take for granted, like having open space. Or green fields. Or ...
You get the picture. But today, I saw green grass AND animals AND open space (okay, that was where the lions were penned up, but I'll take what I can get). Granted, it was also one of the hottest days I have ever experienced, but after downing two bottles of water and an ice slushie, I hardly noticed (okay, tiny lie. I noticed).
There were lions and tigers and bears and elephants and giraffes and snakes (ew) and crocodiles and hamsters (among other things) and we even watched a dolphin show! Oh, "we" refers to me, Angela, and Angela's friends - Ruby, Ruby's husband, and their daughter Becky.
My favorite part? The dolphin/seal show. By far. It was so cool to watch (and the fact that it was all in Korean didn't detract at all). My new belief is that the coolest job in the world would be to work as a dolphin/sea animal trainer. Not that I could do that. But it would still be wicked cool.
Least favorite part? Well, you know me. I hate snakes. So, looking at pythons and anacondas and whatnot ... not the icing on the cake. But not wholly bad, either.
So, the turtle comment. We were in a room with different exhibits, and I wandered away to look at ... something. I can't remember what. Maybe it was a crocodile. And Angela walks over, and was like "there's turtles there, eating chicken. And there's a dead turtle." So, me being me, I walked over to look. Sure enough, there were a dozen or so turtles knawing at various raw chicken parts in a tank of water, and there was one lone turtle just kind of floating on it's own. It looked dead. Really. As in, it wasn't moving. At all. But I just couldn't believe that the zoo staff would leave a dead turtle floating in a tank. I mean, REALLY. So I stared at that turtle. I mean, I REALLY stared at that turtle. Finally, it blinked. Then, it blinked again. And then it moved it's little head. So it wasn't dead. Really. Just a little dazed.
The zoo was fun. Really, really fun. It was hot out, but once you got past that, it was a great day. The zoo wasn't the best - I felt really bad for some of the animals and the size of their imitation habitats. But it wasn't the worst zoo I'd ever been to.
PS, you know you're not in the States anymore when you go to a zoo and they have an exhibit dedicated to raccoons. No lie.
Pictures to come - I have to recharge my camera battery first so I can turn on my camera so I can upload photos, haha.
Today, after waking up at the crack of noon (late night last night), I found myself on the subway, headed towards 대공원 (also known as the exit on Line 4 that takes you to Seoul Land) and the ZOO!
So, aside from birds, puppies, and stray cats, I haven't seen an animal in nearly two months. After spending a large chunk of my life on a farm, I was getting kind of sad. Add that to the fact that there is hardly any green grass or open spaces near where I live, and you get a slightly morose Marcie. It's funny the things you can take for granted, like having open space. Or green fields. Or ...
You get the picture. But today, I saw green grass AND animals AND open space (okay, that was where the lions were penned up, but I'll take what I can get). Granted, it was also one of the hottest days I have ever experienced, but after downing two bottles of water and an ice slushie, I hardly noticed (okay, tiny lie. I noticed).
There were lions and tigers and bears and elephants and giraffes and snakes (ew) and crocodiles and hamsters (among other things) and we even watched a dolphin show! Oh, "we" refers to me, Angela, and Angela's friends - Ruby, Ruby's husband, and their daughter Becky.
My favorite part? The dolphin/seal show. By far. It was so cool to watch (and the fact that it was all in Korean didn't detract at all). My new belief is that the coolest job in the world would be to work as a dolphin/sea animal trainer. Not that I could do that. But it would still be wicked cool.
Least favorite part? Well, you know me. I hate snakes. So, looking at pythons and anacondas and whatnot ... not the icing on the cake. But not wholly bad, either.
So, the turtle comment. We were in a room with different exhibits, and I wandered away to look at ... something. I can't remember what. Maybe it was a crocodile. And Angela walks over, and was like "there's turtles there, eating chicken. And there's a dead turtle." So, me being me, I walked over to look. Sure enough, there were a dozen or so turtles knawing at various raw chicken parts in a tank of water, and there was one lone turtle just kind of floating on it's own. It looked dead. Really. As in, it wasn't moving. At all. But I just couldn't believe that the zoo staff would leave a dead turtle floating in a tank. I mean, REALLY. So I stared at that turtle. I mean, I REALLY stared at that turtle. Finally, it blinked. Then, it blinked again. And then it moved it's little head. So it wasn't dead. Really. Just a little dazed.
The zoo was fun. Really, really fun. It was hot out, but once you got past that, it was a great day. The zoo wasn't the best - I felt really bad for some of the animals and the size of their imitation habitats. But it wasn't the worst zoo I'd ever been to.
PS, you know you're not in the States anymore when you go to a zoo and they have an exhibit dedicated to raccoons. No lie.
Pictures to come - I have to recharge my camera battery first so I can turn on my camera so I can upload photos, haha.
An Explanation ... or two
It seems that nowadays, everyone and their pet has a blog. No lie. If you don't believe me about the pet reference, feel free to check out http://daisythecurlycat.blogspot.com/. Trust me, it's true.
Being as Daisy the calico cat has a blog, I decided I could give this another shot. I have tried to blog in the past, and I feel I should warn you, I'm not quite consistent with my blogging. But I will try. I promise.
With that being said, I feel the need to explain a few things before getting started on my ... what is it now, third? ... blog attempt.
1.) This blog (www.beingabear.blogspot.com) is going to hopefully be my outlet. As to what I will be letting out, well, that's still up in the air. Basically, I needed a place where I could write about whatever I felt like. And also so that the people who still love me can read about what's going on in my life since I am a complete and utter failure when it comes to updating things.
2.) I know, I know. Next question. "Marcie (or, "Marcie-teacher!" as my students call me), why the heck is your blog centered around being a bear? You don't even like bears!" Well, actually, I do like bears. :) But my blog really has nothing to do with that. Not going to lie, the whole bear thing comes from something someone said a few weeks ago. It just kind of stuck. That's all. And when I was stumped and couldn't think of anything for my title or URL, it just ... yeah. That's all.
I think that's it.
:)
Being as Daisy the calico cat has a blog, I decided I could give this another shot. I have tried to blog in the past, and I feel I should warn you, I'm not quite consistent with my blogging. But I will try. I promise.
With that being said, I feel the need to explain a few things before getting started on my ... what is it now, third? ... blog attempt.
1.) This blog (www.beingabear.blogspot.com) is going to hopefully be my outlet. As to what I will be letting out, well, that's still up in the air. Basically, I needed a place where I could write about whatever I felt like. And also so that the people who still love me can read about what's going on in my life since I am a complete and utter failure when it comes to updating things.
2.) I know, I know. Next question. "Marcie (or, "Marcie-teacher!" as my students call me), why the heck is your blog centered around being a bear? You don't even like bears!" Well, actually, I do like bears. :) But my blog really has nothing to do with that. Not going to lie, the whole bear thing comes from something someone said a few weeks ago. It just kind of stuck. That's all. And when I was stumped and couldn't think of anything for my title or URL, it just ... yeah. That's all.
I think that's it.
:)
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