A Day of Wacky Fun with my Coworkers

If you are looking for wacky, family fun day games, you can learn a thing or two from Koreans!

Wednesday through Friday of this week is final exam time.  The students take finals in the morning and then go home.  Teachers spend the rest of the day planning, socializing, and having fun.  Today’s big event was a competition among the teachers…so much fun!

After lunch, the teachers all geared up and headed for the gym.  We divided into three teams based on departments.  Then…let the games begin!

First up was team jump rope.  Imagine 14 people trying to jump rope…at the same time!  We formed two lines of seven as two other team members began to rotate the rope.  Let me just say…it is hard to do synchronized jumping with that many people.  The winning team had a total of 3 jumps…my team got 2…the other team…none.  Since I was participating in this one, I don’t have a picture.

My principal and a coworker.

Next up was your good ol’ three-legged race.  A family-friendly competition just wouldn’t be complete without this one!  My team came in first for this one.

After some good laughs over the three-legged race it was on to Rock, Paper, Scissors...you know it as Ro-Sham-Bo.  Koreans call it Kawi-Bawi-Bo.  And they LOVE this game!  It solves disputes between students instantly.  If they’re arguing over something, just tell them Kawi-Bawi-Bo, they get a winner, fight ends…simple as that!  I even attended a wine party that included Rock, Paper, Scissors as part of the ice breaker.  So it’s only natural that it showed up at today’s competition.  My team came in second for this one.

Steal the flag was a fun game.  Imagine wearing flag football belts and flags and trying to rip them off the other team.  It’s a free-for-all of everyone running every which way.  So fun!  Even though my team lost. : (

 

The last three left...and the man won.

The next game was so unique and one of my favorites.  I refer to it as shoe toss.  There was a starting line and a target.  Then you had to flick your shoe into the target.  The team with the most shoes in the target area wins.  Hilarious!  And my team was the victor for this one. : )

And to bring it all home, the last game involved kicking a soccer ball past the goal keeper and into the net.  We came in second…I think (kinda lost track).  I did get a goal, though, so I was pretty proud of myself for that.  : )

And of course what day of wacky games would be complete without door prizes.  Names were drawn and prizes handed out throughout the afternoon.  I was even called one round to pick and read the names of the winners…good thing I know Hangeul (Korean writing system).  It made me feel good to be included in that.  : )

All-in-all very different and fun day to spend with my coworkers!  As always, looking forward to more adventures to come!

Camping...Korean Style

Seonbawi: a famous view along the Taewha River.
It is easily seen from a popular Korean camp site.

Koreans hanging out under the bridge.

Once the weather got nice, I quickly noticed that camping is a big past time for Koreans.  That would explain all the camping and outdoor retail stores (they are as frequent as Waffle Houses in Atlanta).  I first discovered the camping past time as I walked along the Taewha River.  Koreans love to gather there...under the bridge.  Yes, under a bridge!  I mean no disrespect when I say this, but...it kinda looks like a community of homeless people.  And when they camp out, they don't spare any of the luxuries.  They're grilling out Korean-barbecue style and have massive tents...whole families easily fit in these tents.  There's plenty of beer, makeoli, and soju flowing to keep the good times going.  The younger kids love to cool off in the river. One somewhat odd thing about all of this is that it takes place within a 5-minute walk from the town.  And I thought car camping was the easy way out.  City lights keep the area lit all night long!  And when I watch all of this, I can't help but feel envious of the good times and memories being made.  It makes me miss the camping weekends at Lake Alatoona!

Koreans campsite under the bridge.

I got really envious of the camping scene as the 4th of July approached.  As you know, celebrating the 4th usually involves outdoor barbecues, picnics, and going to watch fireworks displays.  At first, I felt a little cheated by missing out on that.  Then, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Why not gather some foreigners (especially Americans) and have a picnic by the river?  Well, that's exactly what we did.  

Sam, Shara, and Kelsey

Sam and Kelsey are Americans that live in my part of town.  Shara is Canadian, but she was up for the festivities.  We met at the 7-11 (yes, the same 7-11 chain you see in the states), made our plan, and split to get supplies.  After meeting back up, we made our way to the river armed with beer and fried chicken (a VERY popular combination over here...it even has it's own name), and of course, since we were in Korea, we needed popular Korean picnic food:  kimbap (rice, vegetables, and some meat wrapped in seaweed...yum!). 

Picnic dinner:  fried chicken and kimbap.

As we approached the river, we started to feel self-consious.  Clearly, this is not a popular thing for foreigners to do, as we were the ONLY foreigners there.  We were not going to let this stop us from celebrating the independence of our country.  So, we found a little spot off to the side.  We did get many stares, but we carried on anyway.  We arrived at the river about 7:00 and left around midnight.  It was such a good time and perfect evening for a picnic dinner.  We ate, drank, listened to music, and enjoyed good conversation!  We had access to fireworks but didn't feel comfortable setting them off.  We're unsure of the regulations over here, and we didn't need to call any more attention to ourselves.

All in all, it was a great 4th of July in South Korea


!  We celebrated the American holiday with a Korean flare and made good memories!  Looking forward to making more.  : )

Another view from the Taewha River.