I must admit I haven’t gone on many adventures lately.  Part of that is due to the weather getting warmer and I don’t want to start sweating on a crowded bus to get to my destination but it also has a lot to do with MERS.

MERS, or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, has made it to South Korea.  Some schools have been cancelled, who knows how many have been quarantined, and many citizens are unhappy with how the government has handled the situation.

I’ve been going to work, the grocery store, and the mall like I always do but I’m trying to play it safe and avoid crowded attractions away from Cheonan.  I’m not all that worried, after all there isn’t much I can do except stay away from hospitals where MERS patients are located and use plenty of hand sanitizer.  But if you are reading this, please keep the MERS patients and the families of the people who have died in your thoughts and prayers.

In the meantime, I’m staying busy with school, but not as busy as my students since their final exams are approaching.  They did get to have a break from studying for sports day.

Once a year, Korean students gather on an empty field to show their athletic prowess and fight for the chance to brag for the rest of the school year that their class was the best.

They do relay races, play soccer, volley ball, dodge ball, perform dances, and partake in all kinds of merriment in coordinating t-shirts.

beginning of the day, when the teachers still had energy

The students were still running around with full energy after eight hours, but this day was definitely not relaxing for the teachers, especially if you had a homeroom class.

our school had the whole stadium for the day

Probably the most entertaining activity was the student vs. teacher soccer game.  Two teachers commentated the entire time, and I didn’t have to understand everything to know it was hilarious.

Of course there were bumps and bruises, and some nasty scrapes for the students who fell while running on the track, but the students had a blast and I enjoyed myself.  It’s nice to see them not stressing about school or after-school programs.

I also finally found pizza that tastes more like the pizza I’m familiar with.  For me, a good slice of pizza in America doesn’t involve corn, but that’s just not the case in Korea.  The e-mart bakery makes a giant pizza for only 13,500 won, which is about 13 dollars.

It’s part cheese, beef and onion, combination, and pineapple and ham with sweet potatoes.  I decided to pick the sweet potatoes off.

The thing I love the most about summer in Korea is how lush everything is.  I love walking around my country school and seeing the rice fields with the mountains in the background.  Happy summer everyone!