Teachers Meeting December 12th
1. Host: Phoebe
2. Small Talk
3. BAND, "Phonics is fun": An eBook for phonics.
My Summer Vacation, Danny, 14 years old, Bundang, 2009
Teacher: Ariane
The best summer vacation I ever had was last year. I traveled all around Europe. Though it was summer in Korea it was not that hot in Europe so I had to wear a jacket. Because it was not very hot or cold it was very nice to travel. First I visited England and I went to see a Manchester United soccer game. The English Premier League is the best soccer league in the world and I got to see it in person. It was very impressive.
The next place I visited was France. I saw many people having very long lunches. My family once had a long lunch like most of the French. It was very good because I didn't have to think of the time. Also French food tasted very good although it tasted a little weird. In France I liked Brie cheese the most. I thought it was very different from the cheese that I have eaten in Korea. In France I also visited the Eiffel tower. I have seen a lot of pictures of it in books, but I felt that seeing it in person is the best choice.
The third impressive country I visited was Italy. I could see all the things that I studied in social studies. For example, I saw the Coliseum in Rome and I thought it was very big and gorgeous. I thought it was weird that a part of the Coliseum was broken. Also, when I was having a break at a fountain alone, a gypsy came to me and asked for money. I said I didn't have any money but she tried to follow me so I ran away. I was a little scared at the time. The most interesting thing that I discovered was that so many people were good-looking in Italy. For example, I caught a taxi in Abruzzi and the taxi driver looked like one of the top stars in Korea!
I liked those three countries the most, but I also liked the other places I went in Europe very much. I think it will be the best trip I ever had. If I have a chance in the future, I would like to have another journey like this.
Angela's Summer Story, Adult, KwangJu (전남 광주), 2013, Teacher: John
This is my story about my favorite hobby. My favorite hobby is wakeboarding. Approximately five years ago, I experienced wakeboarding for the first time. I was in a skiing group, but we couldn't enjoy skiing during the summer months, so we found a new hobby – wakeboarding! Wakeboarding allowed us to experience the same thrill during the summer that skiing gave us in the snow.
At first, I was afraid of wakeboarding. I was afraid of the boat's speed when it was pulling me. I was trying to maintain my balance on the water. With time I overcame these fears and came to enjoy wakeboarding very much! Moreover, I liked how wakeboarding built my self confidence. At first, I fell into the water many times – but I never gave up trying – and therefore, I was able to improve and master wakeboarding. Little by little, the number of times I fell while wakeboarding reduced. That made me so happy!
Nowadays, I don't fall into the water, but I still cannot perform difficult stunts. So I will try to perfect these maneuvers in the coming year. Wakeboarding challenges me, and I enjoy being challenged to overcome my fears!
Mr. Cho's Summer Story (Video), Adult, DaeJeon (대전), 2013, Teacher: John
This summer, I decided to join the Ironman competition in Canada. In order to complete the competition safely and successfully, I had to train a lot over the summer. I swam, cycled and ran a lot.
To date, I have completed 14 Ironman competitions, even though I am a pure amateur. My personal best record was at the German Ironman during the summer of 2009. I completed the swimming portion of the race, a distance of 3.8 km in 1 hour 10 minutes. I completed the cycling portion, a distance of 180 km, in 5 hours 35 minutes, and the running portion, a distance of 42.195 km, which is a full course marathon, in 4 hours 40 minutes. In total, my overall completion time was 11 hours 25 minutes. My goal was less than 13 hours. I was determined to achieve that goal, and finally I made it!
As I grow older, I think completing the Ironman without injury is more important than achieving a new record. During the middle of the race, I often ask myself, “Why am I doing this hard and painful race?” But when I pass the finish line, I forget my doubt and pain: everything looks beautiful and fantastic. I feel happy. I think I am addicted to the Ironman!
Teacher: Courtney/Seth
Hello, my name is Kevin. I'm 13 years old. I'm going to tell you my winter story. Are you ready to hear what I did last winter? I think winter is a cold and fierce season, but we can enjoy it with our warm hearts. When the snow comes, there are many things I can do. Let’s go to a winter playground. Wow! There is a lot of snow. I like to play in it with my sister Cara! We can have snowball fights and roll the snow into balls to make snowmen. We'll make a small but fantastic snowman. We’ll put it in the freezer, so we’ll be able to see snow in the summer. How exciting!
One day it was so cold and windy. The reservoir was a frozen lake. We went ice-fishing with my grandfather, uncle, sister, mother and grandmother. It was a great day. We had to break the ice with a lever and hang the bait on the line. A short time later, the fishing line began to swing. We pulled out the fishing line and I saw many fish. It was very exciting when I saw it come out of the water. After we went fishing, I pulled my sister's sled. We fell on each other and laughed together. We enjoyed ourselves very much. We also went skiing. Wow! There were so many people! We wore heavy ski boots, carried two ski poles and walked to the ski lift. It was very exciting, even though we had to wait in line for a long time. When it was finally our turn, we got on the lift. We admired the white snow and skied on the intermediate course. When we came down the mountain, my heart began pounding powerfully, boom boom! I can remember that feeling, like a hero would have in a movie. Those are my favorite winter memories. Thank you for listening to my winter story. Bye~~~~ Happy New Year!
