Mt. Geumdang & More Kids

After a long 2 months of nothing but cold and snowy days, the last few weeks have been much warmer here in Gwangju. It was even in the 60s for the first time this weekend. I've been hiking Mt. Geumdang, which is a 5 minute walk from my apartment.


I tried to get to the summit of the mountain in the winter but it was so icy that most of the trails were closed. It takes about an hour to reach the top, where there are two little old Korean women selling cold drinks and of course, kimchi. There are a few pieces of exercise equipment and jagged rocks to climb. The view from the top isn't too great, but it's really quiet with not many people around at all. I was sitting on a rock at the top listening to my iPod when a Korean guy tapped on my shoulder and we began to have a conversation about the nuclear crisis in Japan. I'd say about 1 in 1000 people here speak English, and this guy was almost fluent. These are the kind of things that happen on mountaintops in Korea, I guess.


My three-year old class is showing some unbelievable progress. Last week, they could barely speak a single word, but this week, one boy named Tristan is able to repeat colors, numbers, and animals. He can even put the letters of the alphabet in order. It must be my amazing teaching...I take all of the credit.


These kids take a lot of naps.


We've moved on from rolling the ball back and forth to "dribbling", which consists of the kids dropping the ball and watching it bounce.


At this rate, they should be dunking by age 7.
The Korean MJ? I think so.

Location:Pungam-dong,Gwangju,South Korea