Workshop Trip to Andong

Twice a year the school owners take all of their staff on a workshop trip. This is an overnight sightseeing trip AND it is all expenses paid. This trip we went to Andong. Andong is in Gyeongsangbuk province with a population of 170.000. I have been wanting to visit Andong since my first year in Korea but I never got around to going, so it was really nice to finally visit. In 1999 Queen Elizabeth visited Andong on her 73rd birthday. This is another reason why I was interested in visiting. I went to a mini museum that had an exhibition and it was dedicated to her historic visit!

When our bosses take their staff on a workshop they ask us to write a report to show our appreciation and to share our impressions. Naturally we exaggerate our experience to ensure they understand how grateful we are for this culture trip.

Here is our report…..

Our Amazing Fall Workshop Trip 2012                                       Superintendant: Richard Jeong                                                                         Director: Suzi Park                                                                                           Changnyeong English Village,                                                                       Teachers: David Moxon and Rebecca Rhone

Day One: All teachers met at 9am outside of the apartment buildings and we boarded the mini busses. Becky and I rode in Richard and Suzi’s van along with So Hee, Amanda and Brandon. We sent off on our journey to Andong. We stopped half way for a rest stop and we played on a few arcade crane games. We arrived in Andong around lunch time and Richard and Suzi took us into the traditional marketplace and took us into a local restaurant that specialized in the local delicacy, Andong JJim Ddak. This was very delicious chicken and vegetables all broiled together. It was really delicious and this was our first time to try it.

After lunch we headed into the festival site and Richard and Suzi took us on a quick tour of the local area. There were many amazing masks from around the world and it was a great opportunity to see and take pictures of this unique event. Richard and Suzi gave us some free time to explore the local area and to experience some of the activities the festival has to offer. I helped Becky whilst she made a soap and we also had our photograph taken in traditional Korean clothes. This was really fun.

We met up with Richard and Suzi to go and watch a show. The show started with a performance from a group from Costa Rica, this involved a lot of masked dances and told a story. The second part of the show involved traditional Korean dancing and involved a lot of audience participation. Brandon was called upon to go up onto the stage and do a funny dance, it was really amusing. After the show we headed back to where we parked, on the way the festival had transformed into a party atmosphere, we watched a parade go by and danced to ‘Gangnam Style’. We then got on the busses and headed to our hotel. Our hotel was fantastic and it was nice to have a chance to clean up before heading out to dinner. Richard and Suzi took us to our favourite type of restaurant, Bulgogi Jungle. After dinner Becky and I went to find a convenience store before settling in for the night.

Day Two: We woke up and met everyone outside by the vans for 10pm. We set off for the folk village of Hahoe. Richard and Suzi took us for breakfast at a restaurant, we had smoked mackerel and doenjang soup, it was not what I would have usually ordered but was absolutely delicious. After breakfast we took a bus into the centre of the village and spent some time looking around the local area. It was amazing to see a village that has been so well preserved and really gave us a glimpse of what Korea would have been like in the past. After looking around the village we all watched a traditional performance together. There were many amazing masks and costumes on show. After this we began our journey home, we stopped at a rest stop and ate dinner before arriving back at CEV.

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