Happy Easter

I love Easter!!!
Not just because it is the first real holiday of the year, but because it means spring has indeed arrived.
My school had planned a full day of Easter celebrations on Friday, which meant I didn’t have to teach (well, at least not my Kindergarten class) and we got to play a lot of games, sing songs and eat a lot of candy.
Although my students were incredibly hyper (I blame the candy) we still had a lot of fun.
After the Easter party at school, all of the teachers (16 of us ...including my director and his wife) boarded a bus for Nami Island. It is a beautiful area and is located in Gangwon Province, about 1 ½ hours from my house.
We spent the night at a beautiful cabin by a river, surrounded by mountains and enjoyed plenty of good food and drink (there was even a Nori Bang...karaoke room...at the complex). It was my coworker’s birthday, so we also had a big cake for him.
Everyone stayed up late singing and drinking.
The next day, we woke up early to begin our workshop (the purpose of this little extracurricular excursion). It was a great opportunity for everyone to share teaching techniques (what works for us/what doesn’t) and brainstorm ideas of how to make our school curriculum even better.
After our workshop, we made our way to the ferry terminal where we took a short ride across the river to Nami Island. It’s basically a big park with restaurants, gardens, and even a small museum. Nami Island is also famous for being the set for one of Korea’s most popular TV shows called “Winter Sonata”.
So for the next few hours we ate lunch, walked around, and enjoyed the scenery.
Then we headed back home. Everyone was pretty tired from the night before, and I think slept the entire bus ride home.
It was a great time and I am very grateful to my director for planning such a fun trip. It certainly was nice to spend some time bonding with coworkers and also a great opportunity to see some more of Korea.
Today was Easter Sunday and I spent my afternoon at Hwagyesa Temple, listening to another Dharma talk.
The weather was a bit cool, but very sunny. In a few weeks there will be a large celebration for Buddha’s birthday. It should be an exciting time!
Anyways, I am off to bed soon...need my beauty rest.
Next Friday is my birthday, and I had originally planned to go down to Ulsan to celebrate with some friends, however, being that I am so cash-conscience these days, and trying to get fit, I figure that I might be better off staying local.
Happy Easter to everyone at home.
I love you and miss you all...enjoy the photos below.
Colleen