Jindo Parting of the Sea Festival

Beautiful Korean flowers in Mokpo! 

Hey guys! This weekends adventures included something that I've had my eye on since finding out about this program. Korea has festivals for just about every thing you can think of, but who would have thought there would be a sea parting festival? Not me! And on top of that, who would have that that the sea actually parted?! Not me, again! Just call me Moses from now on, because the sea parted and I walked through it! But while Moses had the Red Sea, I actually walked through the Yellow Sea in Jinod, Jeaollnamdo. I'll give you a brief history of the parting and then blow your mind with pictures! 

Don't you dare skip this intriguing story... I know you want to go straight for the pictures, but just wait! 

Legend has it that a long, long time ago, tigers invaded the Jindo island causing all of the people on the island to swim to the nearby island of Modo. Poor Grandma Bbong got left behind and prayed to the God of the Sea that she would be reunited with her family, and just like that, the sea parted and she walked to her family. Ever since that day, the sea has parted twice a year and now it's a tourist attraction for thousands of people from all over the world. So that's how it happened apparently, and thank goodness it did, because it was so cool! 

Grandma Bbong and the tigers that invaded. 

Okay, now that we are all caught up, enjoy these little gems! 

And their off!! Look at all of these people! If you look really hard, you can see them WAY out there.

Proper rain boots are a must, and we went for the bedlam edition. Boomer Sooner! 

I found a starfish!!! Laura was brave enough to pick it up! 

Laura and our new starfish friend! 

Virginia and the Star! 

Emilee and the Star! 

Preparing for the handoff and looking like a kid on Christmas! My only goal for the day was to find a starfish. Mission accomplished! 

OH MY GOSH! 

The aftermath. lol We were all still a little in shock that we actually found it and held it! 

Just hanging out in the middle of the Yellow Sea! 

Me, David and Nat! The coolest English boys I've ever met! (and possible the only ones.. lol but still the coolest for sure!)

When the sea parts, so many sea creatures are in the open, so locals take advantage of this and dig for clams. There were people everyone digging for them with those shovel things. 

We also found this little crab. Laura, aka Miss Brave, was the only one brave enough to hold him. 

Is this real life?!

Look how many people there are, and how far out they are. We didn't make it all the way across, but there were people who did. 

If you were wondering what the bottom of the Yellow Sea looked like, this is what i would show you. 

Check out all the diggers. 

Then there's this little guy just catching octopus like it's a baby puppy or something! What the heck, kid!  

Before the parting happened there were people out there on rocks searching for clams and black seaweed, which this island is known for. 

Some of the parade participants in their super cool hats. lol 

We walked pretty far out into the sea, but we had to be back to the bus by a certain time, so we decided to turn around and head back. It was a really cool experience though and I'm so glad we go to do it. 

As always, I'll leave you with pictures of my cutie second graders. 3rd-6th graders are usually too cool for pictures, so that's why I always only have my second graders in pictures. They're the cutest anyways though, so it's okay. lol 

Quick story about this little guy. Even though I have my days where I get so frustrated, when moments like this happen, I know I'm meant to be a teacher. This little guy speaks English about like I speak Korean (which means he knows nothing at all, if you haven't been keeping up with the blogs). Well last  week he answered four questions right and I'm not sure which one of us was more excited. We high-fived more times than necessary, for sure, but it was just so exciting and fun to hear him use the words I taught him. I loved every second of it, and surprisingly enough, he did too. So sweet! :) Now, I'm moving in on his older sister. She's in my 3/4 class right after him and she speaks just as much English as  him, so my next goal is to get her more comfortable with speaking to me!! 

The little glasses girl is one of my cutest ones, I think! lol Look at her...so precious! And the sweetest little thing you've ever met. 

 Okay, have a good week America! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures. Love you all!

-Kyla