A message from Zachary:
Hello everyone!
As I write this, it is still winter vacation in South Korea, but classes will begin again about two weeks. Actually, the first academic semester begins here in March, as opposed to beginning in September like in western countries. I want to share my recent trip to Seoul with you, and also some updates on classes and what I plan to do next semester.
My friend and I visited Hongdae (one of the many precincts) in Seoul, the capital city, and I was able to try a Korean karaoke room for the first time. Since it is very popular, there are many karaoke rooms along the streets! It was a very interesting experience, and even though I can't sing, it was still fun despite the embarrassment. We also checked out Lotte World! It is a famous Disney World-style amusement park in Seoul. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather, so we stayed on the inside part of the park, but waiting in lines for those rides took hours, anyway.
If you're driving around the MetroWest area, keep a lookout for this cool truck! Tresca Bros. Sand & Gravel, Inc., in Millis, MA, is helping raise public awareness for School on Wheels by placing our logo and contact information on the drum of this concrete truck. Tresca plays a unique role in promoting many charitable foundations across New England by placing logos on their trucks, free of charge. Thank you, Tresca Bros., for supporting the education of SOWMA's kids! Learn more about Tresca Brothers Charity Concrete Trucks.
For a dozen years, we at School on Wheels have watched with familial pride as our students rise above the challenges of homelessness to excel academically and create opportunities for themselves to succeed in school and in life. Whenever a student returns to SOWMA as a volunteer tutor to “pay it forward” by encouraging younger students to focus on their education, we couldn’t be more proud. Lena, once a SOWMA student herself, is a recent college graduate who has returned to SOWMA to tutor 10-year-old Devon.
“About seven years ago, I had a student who became homeless. The change in him was immediate. I saw a happy little child become so tired and just not himself. He moved to two different shelters during that school year. No matter what we could do for him as a school, it did not compare to how thrilled he was when he came in one day with his very own, brand new backpack from School on Wheels. I can still hear him telling his friends how cool his backpack was. That is why I reached out to School on Wheels. I saw, first-hand, the impact SOWMA had on this little boy.”
—Janice Narsasian, Center School Kindergarten Teacher, Easton
Each winter, teachers everywhere read The Mitten by Jan Brett to their young students. Janice Narsasian, a kindergarten teacher at Center School in Easton, uses this story of a group of woodland creatures, who crowd inside a cozy mitten to escape the frigid cold of a Scandinavian winter, to teach children the importance of sharing and caring for others in their community.
[Blog written by Zachary]
Zachary's February Update
Hello everyone!
As I write this, it is still winter vacation in South Korea, but classes will begin again about two weeks. Actually, the first academic semester begins here in March, as opposed to beginning in September like in western countries. I want to share my recent trip to Seoul with you, and also some updates on classes and what I plan to do next semester.
My friend and I visited Hongdae (one of the many precincts) in Seoul, the capital city, and I was able to try a Korean karaoke room for the first time. Since it is very popular, there are many karaoke rooms along the streets! It was a very interesting experience, and even though I can't sing, it was still fun despite the embarrassment. We also checked out Lotte World! It is a famous Disney World-style amusement park in Seoul. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather, so we stayed on the inside part of the park, but waiting in lines for those rides took hours, anyway.
Hello!
In November it got colder here in Korea--about 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit during the days! I'll be heading downtown to buy some warm clothes (Thank you Randolph Savings!)
And of course, here are some more food pictures. The dish with the cheese is Jjimdak, and I didn't catch the name of the food in the pan, but it is mainly fried rice and chicken. The tray was a breakfast from the dormitory I live in. It may be interesting to see! I think in the United States, people would only call that a dinner, and it would be strange otherwise. Quite frankly, I enjoy being able to eat such things in the morning without any criticism.
