More: Spa and Maisan

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Here are some more pictures from my Spa/Maisan trip that I didn’t feel fit anywhere in the blog post but still wanted to share with you.

Week 44: Spa day and Maisan

Pedro took a small group of us to a spa outside of Gwangju known for using ginseng in many of its treatments. If you couldn’t already smell it when you walked in then you could at least admire the display of ginseng roots piled to resemble the twin peaks nearby (Maisan).

Due to the conspicuousness of my camera as well as the fog inducing heat in every room, I was unable to take any pictures inside but I’ve borrowed from someone else who came more prepared.

Vignette: “Rash”

I was playing the “word game” in one of my 6th grade classes. It’s a little like catchphrase except only one person per team can guess the word. Everyone else on the team knows the word and has to explain it to their team member using English. In theory, they should try to use complete sentences when possible but usually the kids end up flinging out keywords. The word I gave them was “rash” (the noun not the adjective).

In the chaos of voices raising to be heard, I heard one girl shout innocently to her team member “Teacher’s face has!”

Gee. Indirect slam from one of my students. Thanks a lot. A few pimples do not a rash make. It’s such a shame that saying goodbye to your teenage years doesn’t come with a magic wand that waves away acne.

This of course happened on the same day one of my other students told me “Teacher, you look pretty.”

[Shrug]

Week 43: A Trip to the Dentist and Sitting with a Stranger

Life is just full of little adventures aren’t they?

I decided I needed to go to the dentist for a basic check up, in part because I had a few things I was worried about and also because I’m overdue for one.

Writing

For those of you who keep suggesting that I do more with my pictures and words than write this blog, check out the January/February issue of (this relatively new) online magazine