2015/02/16

Week 2 of Homestay & School visit in Keller, TX (02 10 2015 - 02 17 2015)

02/10-02/11  Korean culture presentations 
It was at an open collaboration area next to the hallway. There were roughly 100 students to 5th & 6th grade each. The presentations were great opportunities to exchange culture, to enrich each other, and to practice the public speech skills I learned from the last month. The students were very inquisitive and I was delighted. My hanbok was worth it almost after 10 years. It has been dead in the closet after the wedding ceremony. The traditional costume did the trick. 
Guess what? After the 1st presentation, I WAS TWEETED. Thanks, Mr. Sanchez. 

















02/13  Faculty meeting 



Absentees in the morning should attend the meeting in the afternoon. 











02/13  Culture presentations to Ms. Dye's class morning & afternoon
I prepared 2 different presentations, but the students asked so many questions that I couldn't even finish the 1st presentation. I wish Koreans students were like them. I'll keep encouraging my students not to hesitate to ask questions. American students knew 2NE1's song "I'm the Best," but they didn't know the girl group is from Korea. Some of the boys danced to the song. 
 

02/13  Pep rally 


How lucky I was to be able to watch a pep rally of Timberview High. Athletic teams one after another were on stage, and cheerleaders and a couple of dancing teams spiced it up while all the students assembled in the gym. I couldn't forget the excitement when I talked to them in person. Their backflips and acrobatic performances looked awesome. They were not just girls shaking pompoms; they were more like a gymnast.




02/13  Juanita's dinner invitation

 
Juanita taught me how to make tortilla. I was supposed to make a round shape, but it was not easy to use a rolling pan.
And a nail polish night came afterwards. Juanita had SO many colors that she could open a nail shop. It was fun to test them on my nails and paint them on Mindy's. I thought she deserved the luxury though I was not good at it. I wanted to express my gratitude to her. 








02/14  Girl scout meeting & pixie haircut at Ulta & Valentine's Day party with the Gants 
Lilly belongs to the Girl Scouts. I was lucky to see what their meeting was like. It was held at a girl scout's home. All the girls introduced a member of their extended family.
I was hesitant for a haircut in America. I had a bad previous experience in LA. The hairdresser didn't know how to handle an Asian hair. But this time it turned out to be good as people say that you get what you pay for. It was twice more expensive than Korea, but I got a new customer's discount. I felt good and gave the hairdresser a generous tip. 
 




Gift and card exchanges. Above all, yummy chocolate covered strawberries! Valentine's Day party was very sweet! 












02/15  Family Reunion 
It was February 15th at 2:15pm. I was very happy to be able to see a family's intimate party and felt really part of the Gant family. Plus, tasting new food was a pleasure. 
This note hung on the wall of the house I was invited makes a lot of sense. They found this when they were cleaning their deceased mother's articles. 
You don't always know when you say goodbye to someone special, that it will be the last time you will be with them... 
I want you to know, just in case one day I don't get the chance to tell you, that I love you. I want you to know that you made my days brighter and happier. 

02/16  Archery range / No school (Bad weather backup day) 
My right upper arm was sore, but the shooting experience was worth the pain. I felt like Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games. 
 




02/17  Farewell party with Ms. Dye's class & leaving for Austin 

I put the kids' name in Korean with a heart and my name at the end just like the celebrities do. 
Ms. Dye was kind enough to have her students write a short letter to me. The kids were so sweet! 










Week 1 of Homestay & School visit in Keller, TX (02 04 2015 - 02 09 2015)

02/04  Welcome lunch at Bette Perot Elementary School
Finally I met my host mom, Mindy, who is one of the sweetest persons I've ever met. From the far left: Julie, my housemate; Ms. Kim, Julie's mentor; Me; Sarah Han; Mindy I was fond of. 
My home had 2 dogs and 2 cats though I was not accustomed  to having pets around. My family was kind enough to stay their pets away from me because I told I was kind of scared of animals. 
My encounter with Cooper was dramatic. Actually Cooper was taken aback by me, a complete stranger back then. 





9133 Tate Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76244















02/05  Dinner with the Gants and the Baileys at Mi Cucina (means My Kitchen)



















The Gants and the Baileys were all together at a Mexican restaurant. I especially asked Mindy and Elizabeth to bring 8th grader Elise to the dinner. I wanted to talk to a real American middle schooler, but she was demure and shy. Thankfully, she accepted my offer of becoming a pen pal for one of my Korean students. 
Acrobatic Cat Show at Stage West Theatre 
Since Lilly's favorite pet is a cat, we all went to see a group of cats performing acrobatics. According to the main trainer, all of the felines were stray cats and she encouraged the viewers to be a new owner.
























02/07  Rodeo & Stock Show 
Rodeo was a must-see show in Texas. This show was said to have more than a century old. Cowgirls on horseback looked fascinating, especially when they made their horses gallop.



I realized that copying even one stroke of Monet's Water Lilly was very hard. His strokes and colors were definitely the fruit of his hard work.


02/08  Altitude trampoline park & Geocaching


I became a geocacher. We went out to find geocaches hidden relatively near the neighborhood. They were all hidden in camouflage. The smartest geocache was the one inside the pole of the fence. 

2015/02/03

Week 5 in Austin, Texas (02 02 2015 - 02 03 2015)

02/02  The Gutenberg Bible at Harry Ransom Center













Driskill & its 1886 coffee house














Shakespeare's Ale














Cedar Street Courtyard 
















WEEK 5
The lesson I learned: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscape, but in seeing with new eyes. 
-Marcel Proust