This April, the students and faculty at Daebul Elementary School took their Spring field trip to Yudalsan (Yudal Mountain), the Mokpo Natural History Museum, the Mokpo Ceramic Livingware Museum, and the Mokpo Maritime Museum. I finally experienced the historical and cultural side of Mokpo that I've neglected to seek out for myself. I lucked out!
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| Good morning, Mokpo! |
I arrived at school early and puttered around until we departed at 9:30am.
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| Students lining up for the school trip |
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| Daebul Elementary School |
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| Buses loaded and ready to roll |
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| Cherry blossoms blooming on the school perimeters |
We first drove for 20-30 minutes to Yudalsan. I sat at the front of bus #8 with Vicky (the other English teacher) and Min Jeong, the new PE teacher. She is the same age as me, but we don't talk because neither of us can speak the other's language. I'm glad she's here, though; I'm pretty sure that the last PE teacher didn't like me -- At least this one says "hi!"
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| heaps of students on the trip |
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| 4th graders |
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| Me + Vicky |
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| Panoramic view of Mokpo |
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| I spy with my little eye: a bird's nest |
We took our time walking around the park and following a few paths. The weather was warm, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The air smelled fresh. T'was a nice day to explore Mokpo.
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| more 4th graders |
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| Me + Min Jeong (the new PE teacher) |
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| waiting to get back onto the bus |
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| I picked some cherry blossoms to put in my hair :) |
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| Korean picnics are serious business. No sandwiches here! |
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| Rice, meat, heaps of side dishes, rice cakes, fresh oranges & strawberries |
The oranges tasted so sweet & delicious. I thought, "Wow, Korean oranges are awesome!"
Then I read the sticker: USA.
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| Picnic by the Mokpo Shores |
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| Assembling the kids to go into the Mokpo Natural History Museum |
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| Life-size statues of animals scattered across the park |
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| a humpback whale skeleton |
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| koi pond ♥ |
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| Spring flowers! |
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| More flowers |
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| Mokpo Ceramic Livingware Museum |
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| Ceramic model squatter toilet |
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| Ceramic model toilet |
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| Chillin' with some 3rd graders |
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| Kangaroo, take me back to Aus! |
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| Maritime Museum by the Mokpo Shores |
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| The frame of this ship took up an entire room / hall! |
The trip essentially took all day, and I was pretty exhausted by the end. Working with kids is tiring! But I learned that Mokpo has a lot more to offer than Emart, which makes it seem like a pretty neat place after all.
