May Update

I can't believe I haven't written the entire month! I thought I was doing better than that at keeping you all informed as to the happenings here in Korea. Well, I will do my best to give a brief rundown on what's been going on this past month.

The month started off with I-Fest (International Festival). It was good fun, good food, and good entertainment even though it was a little rainy. I sat in the dunk-tank for awhile which was more fun than I thought it would be. I also worked in the prize tent in addition to eating, shopping, and listening to music/dancing acts. The night concluded with a famous TCIS fireworks show.

Another highlight of May was visiting Busan the next weekend to see Ike and Bethany. Ike spent the week in Korea so it was fun to see him and hear his first impressions of the place. I took a much-needed personal day on Friday and met up with Bethany and her friend, Anne, early. Then, Ike came on Saturday evening and Sunday I took them to Taejongdae. It was just as beautiful as in the fall.

The next weekend was Middle School Retreat...a church camp-like weekend get-away for the kids. About 80 kids and 10 adults went to a place called Sunday Beach that was pretty much in the middle of the mountains far from all cities. It was beautiful and really peaceful. I stayed in a cabin with a group of 7th grade girls and I really enjoyed getting to know them better and talking about more spiritual things with them. The kids were funny though because they thought they couldn't survive in such a bug-filled, small, isolated place without their cell phones for a whole weekend. We all had a good trip though. Once again it was rainy and cool but that didn't stop the kids from swimming in the river or making smores. Mmm!

That brings us to this past weekend. On Friday after school I caught at train to Suncheon to see Bethany. I stayed with her host-family on Friday night and then on Saturday we got up early to hike Jirisan, one of the highest mountains in Korea. It was a great hike...up for an hour and down for about 5. It was absolutely beautiful because everything was green and it had rained the day before so there were waterfalls everywhere. I really enjoyed it but I am pretty sore today!

Today was church potluck, softball playing, and the swim team final dinner. Everything is starting to finish up here. Last week was the middle-school talent show (an year-end tradition) which was a good time. Also, we said goodbye to my friend Sarah who spent the semester student teaching here. Now there's only one more week of classes and then a fun week at the MS which will be filled with awards ceremonies, class parties, the creative arts show, and a trip to Everland--an amusement park in Seoul. Next weekend is graduation. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Two weeks from today I will be starting my around-the-world trip and less than a month and I'll be back in the US of A!

End of Season 1

As I am sitting here listening to Big Bang, a famous Korean pop group, I decided that I should write a weekly update since I have nothing better to do. :) It's nice to not be too busy right now. I spent today at a bridal shower for my neighbor and resting at home. This week went super fast. It was my "light week" meaning I only had my full day of teaching on Tuesday and Thursday. On Thursday I gave all the students a proficiency test so I wasn't really teaching that day either. I spent most of Friday grading the tests, though. Tomorrow I will give the students the oral. It is interesting to see what they remember and see how much they learned this year. Makes me feel like I am doing something even when it sometimes seems like they aren't making any progress.

The highlight of the week was this weekend. On Thursday evening I went to the HS musical production of Urinetown. It was wonderful! Then, on Friday night I had all the girls on swim team over for a spaghetti dinner. We had a good time playing Catch Phrase and eating ice cream fondue. They also gave me a really cute giant card. It was nice. Then, on Saturday we had our KAIAC conference championship meet. We left at 6 AM and didn't get home until 7:00 PM so it was a long day, but a lot of fun. Most of the swimmers had their personal best times. Unfortunately, one of our last relays got disqualified for an early start so we ended up getting 7th place (our goal was 6th) by just 3 points. Overall it was still a good day though. It will be nice to have more time in my week, but I think I'm really going to miss seeing my team everyday. Luckily, most of them will be back next year!


Most of the swim team before the awards ceremony. The end of a very long day.

Time is flying...

Time is going so fast that before I know it I will be home! Ok, to update you on this week I have to start with last Sunday. I spent Easter Sunday at a Hanwha Eagles game. The Eagles are Daejeon's professional baseball team. It was a beautiful day to be outside so a bunch of us decided to check it out, and it was quite an experience! Baseball games here are so different than in the U.S. At home, baseball games are about socializing and eating, but here, the entire crowd was doing chants and banging thunder sticks for the whole 9 innings. It was unbelieveable...I felt like I was at a basketball game in the student section, not watching baseball! It was also funny because they didn't have a 7th inning stretch, but instead, after the 5 inning, the players came on the field fou about 10 minutes and actually stretched! haha. It was a good time, though.

Monday through Thursday our school was being evaluated by a visiting committee from WASC, our accreditors. It was kinda nerve-racking when they popped into my classes, but nothing too bad. The worst was on Tuesday when I wasn't teaching. They came and found all us teacher in our workroom and started grilling us about our curriculum writing and assessments. I tried to make an escape to the teacher's lounge, but was unsuccessful because I was caught by the WASC guy. Oh well, I think we got all good marks and feel confident that we will get the full 6-year accreditation.

This weekend went so fast. Saturday we had a swim meet (which I almost missed because my alarm clock didn't go off. Eek!) that actually went really fast. Our team swam well, too. We just have one week left; next weekend is our conference meet. Then, last night I went with some of my friend to Outback and then to the movie New in Town or Miss Lucy or whatever it is called in the U.S. It was hilarious because it is set in SE MN and it totally plays up rural life. It reminded me of home and made me laugh...a lot. Today the weather was so warm--80 degrees--so I went for a bike ride. I'm starting my training for RAGBRAI. I think I got in about 20k today and maybe 15k on Friday. I hope the weather stays nice so I can keep riding regularly. I don't have any more traveling planned for the rest of the school year so now it is a straight shot to the end. I'm looking forward to my around-the-world trip and for some time at home, but things are still going well here. I hope everything is going as well stateside!

Just call me nurse!

I have finally found time to write about my amazing Spring break mission trip to Boracay, Philippines. Early (2:30 AM!) on Saturday, April 4th, 17 of us--5 leaders, 11 boys, and 1 girl--left for our destination, and after 2 flights, a bus ride, and a boat ride we arrived...17 hours later. For being such a tourist spot, the island sure is difficult to get to. It was definitely worth the hassle, though, because the place and people are absolutely beautiful.

We were hosted by a ministry called On the Rock which is currently building a four-story community center for the people of Boracay. The 1st floor will be a preschool, the 2nd a Bible school, 3rd floor is a medical clinic, and 4th floor is a gym/auditorium. It is BIG project; we spent every morning of the week working on the second floor. We actually only poured concrete one day, but the other days were used preparing for the pour mostly by hauling endless piles of gravel and sand up the bamboo stairs via a bucket brigade, measuring them, and putting them into bags. It was tough work and it was hot so our biggest challenge was keeping everyone hydrated! Some of those boys earned the nickname "ox" because they seemed to never tire.

We mostly had the afternoons free to relax; however, we usually headed for the beach...less than a 5-min. walk away. The beach was lined with restaurants, shops, palm trees, and awesome white sand by clear blue water. Some days we swam, other days we got henna tattoos, we also enjoyed plenty of mango shakes and cerealicious (cereal, milkshake, candy, and ice cream in one!). My favorite day on the beach was when a group of us rode the banana boat and fly fish. We had a blast, but got thrown off a good number of times. hehe. Another highlight of the beach was the little Filipino kids who were always around. One day we played frisbee, volleyball, and rugby with them. They speak English pretty well so we could communicate with them. They were so cute!

We all had plenty of opportunities to interact with the kids at feeding sites. Everyday at four we split into two or three groups, hopped into a tricycle, and went to a more remote area of the island. Sometimes it felt like we were headed into the jungle! While we were there we sang songs with the kids, performed a short skit of the story of the lost sheep, played with the kids while they colored, made paper airplanes (they LOVED them), passed out candy and vitamins, and did basic medical treatments on their many wounds. They also receive a meal there. I think this was my favorite part of our trip because it was so cool to see the boys with the kids. They were so good with them!

Other highlights of the trip included eating dinner every night on the beach. I mean, our tables were right by the water so you could hear the ocean and see the stars. One night we went on a sunset sail. Absolutely gorgeous! On the way back we saw a beautiful moonrise, too. I had never been sailing before, but it was cool how we were kind of like flying on the water. So relaxing. On our last day we took an island hopping tour where we snorkeled and had a picnic lunch at a beach on the other side of the island. But despite all these awesome things, the biggest highlight was getting to know an awesome group of high schoolers. It's crazy how close we got in just one week. It was cool to see them all get along so well and grow so close by the end of the week. One of them even shared that they were "like brothers" by the end of the trip. :)

I think one of the reasons that we all grew so close was because this trip was far from perfect in that we had a lot of mishaps. The most evident being sickness. Now, before we left I had been declared the team nurse. Who knew it would be such a big job! The second day of the trip we had two boys come down with a very bad illness. Both had fevers and 0 energy. One even had to be on an IV for 2 days. One morning I woke up and took his temp and it was 103.5. It was scary, but a couple of the boys stayed behind and helped take care of him. After several visits from the doctor it was discovered that he had hookworm (that he apparently got in Korea...Yikes!) so he was given treatment and recovered in a day or so. The other boy recovered as well, but the next day 3 more people weren't feeling well. On the last day we made yet another trip to the clinic to find out that one of the boys had a perforated ear drum. Ay ay ay! We as leaders had to take turns staying behind with these sick people basically the entire trip. It was a lesson in service that I wasn't expecting. I was prepared to serve the Filipino people, but sometimes it is just as important to serve those who you came with. Luckily, they have all made full recoveries. :)

Well, this is quite long, but it was such a great week! We all had a blast and grew a lot. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to go on the trip, to meet the amazing people on the island, and to help with a variety of really awesome things that On the Rock is doing there. Plus, now there are 16 other people on campus that just make me smile when I see them because we shared a week full of good, bad, hot, fun, challenging, rewarding, memorable times.

Be sure to check out the pics! :)

My computer's fixed!

After a long week or so of having a broken computer I have finally got it working again. So, I guess it is time for another blog entry. :) So far nothing too exciting has been going on in my life. Just the normal: work, coaching, more work, hanging out with friends. Time is still flying by though. We started 4th quarter this week. I can't believe we only have 8 more weeks left of school! I have survived the final parent-teacher conferences of the year. They are always so interesting since not all the parents speak English. I always wonder how much is lost in translation. haha. I did get to talk to a good number of parents, though. After the conferences were over all of the middle school teachers went out for sam-gae-tang, which is a small whole chicken in a bowl. It was tasty...and something I hadn't tried yet.

What I am most looking forward to now is spring break. We leave next Saturday (just one week! ahh!) for our LASA trip to the Phillipines! We are staying on the island of Boracay...home to one of the best beaches to visit I'm told. And we will only be 5 min. away! I am going with a great group of kids and adults. The high school Spanish teacher, one of my RA friends, and two other middle school teachers make up the leaders. As for the students, I don't know many high schoolers, but I actually know some of the team members from swim team. There is only 1 girl going so that will be a little strange, but I don't think it will be a problem. Pray that we have safe travels (it will take us 6 hours--2 flights and a ferry ride) and a safe trip as we will be doing some pretty intense construction I am told. I guess they had students up on scaffolding on the last trip, which makes me worried because I'm the trip nurse! I'm sure I will have plenty of stories upon returning so stay tuned. :)

A busy week...whew

Hi all, so much has happened this week that I thought I would write a quick entry so I don't get too far behind. I am writing this post from school because my computer crashed this week! Sadly, there will not be any pictures for now, but I will add some later!

Ok, so this is my week:
Monday: After a full day of teaching we had the World Hunger Banquet to raise money for Zibabwean refugees in Mozambique. It was a great event in which all attendees were split into low, middle, and high income sections. I was in the middle so I got a slice of pizza and a can of coke for dinner. Most people got a bowl of rice and a select few got an amazing pasta and grilled chicken dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. The students did a good job presenting information and providing entertainment...and promoting the event. There were over 250 people there and with a 25,000 won ticket they raised over 9 million won!

Tuesday: Tuesday was my b-day and I had a great day. After school I had swimming practice. As soon as I got back to the school I was met by a group of friends. We went out to eat at a local restuarant and then headed to the middle school band concert (so much fun!) which was followed with some cake in Jaesoon.

Wednesday: After school I once again had swimming practice. After eating dinner with a couple of teachers and the new student teacher, we went to a performance of "The Knights of the RAD Table" by one of the middle school drama classes. It was a great performance. I mean, I was laughing out loud! After that some of my hogwan friends came over to celebrate my b-day and chat until way later than I wanted to be up!

Thursday: School, practice, and then a meeting for our upcoming LASA trip to the Phillipines. I am so excited for the trip! We are going to Boracay. There are a few swimmers going on the trip with me so I already know some of the students. We will be doing work, distributing food to 50 little kids, and spending a good deal of time after work at the beach that's 5 minutes away. Yay! Anyway, after the meeting my friend Lyndsey and I hit up Jin and Kino's--a great little American restuarant by the school that had been closed for quite awhile since Jin and Kino were in the US--before heading to the high school band/choir concert. I wanted to go since lots of my swimmers were performing, but I was definitely tired after and went right to bed!

Friday: Today hasn't been any less exciting than the rest of the week. This morning we celebrated Pi Day by having a contest to see who had memorized the most digits of pi. One of my 8th grade students was the winner...88 digits!!! After 2 classes and lunch we began the middle school Creative Arts Show, a quaterly event in which the students present what they have been doing in their art classes. It was great. When it finished there was only about 1/2 an hour of class left. After school I went to my Korean class which left me mentally drained, but I feel like I'm learning something. Now, I am at school working on calculating final Q3 grades which are due on Monday. Eek!

Well, I gotta get back to work. Hopefully my computer will be fixed soon and I can get some pictures up from all these great events (and our second swim meet tomorrow), but until then you will just have to imagine the fun...and chaos...that I have been experiencing this week. :)

Hola again

Hello all. Sorry it has been so long since I have written. I hope you are still reading! Over a month since the last post...wow. Time is flying here in Korea. I will try to update you on the happenings of my life in as few sentences as possible.

Last time I wrote we were just finishing up Lunar Break. Since then, we have had another break. We had all last week off and while most people traveled, I stayed in cold Korea. It was wonderful because Mom and Dad came to visit me! It was so fun to have them here and for them to experience my life here. Besides the food and the crowds everywhere, I think they enjoyed their trip. We spent the first few days in and around Daejeon before heading to Suwon to the folk village and on to Seoul, where we did all the touristy stuff: Insadong traditional markets, Seoul Tower, palaces, museums, the DMZ tour, and my favorite--Nanta, a modern-day dance/percussion show with tidbits of Korean cultural dance.

Besides my parents visit, I have been keeping busy around Daejeon. Many of my friends have celebrated birthdays recently, so I have been getting my fill of cake! Mmm. Recently I have met lots of people from church who don't work at the school and have been spending time with them. They have introduced me to a Korean class. It is pretty intensive. 1-on-1 instruction for 1.5 hours. My head hurts so bad by the time it is done, but I really really want to learn so it's worth it.

I have also been staying involved in school activities. On February 13-14 Seoul Foreign School hosted a 30 Hour Famine. We had about 50 students from TCIS attend and I chaperoned. Along with the 130 from SFS the students raised $25,000! It was an awesome event. A bit challenging to get 60 middle school girls all sleeping in the same room to shut up and go to sleep, but besides that it was a lot of fun.

On Friday, February 20, all of the middle school World Language teachers collaborated to plan an event in which all the students--Korean, Spanish, and Mandarin--came together and had a joint class. We called it the World Language Festival. The students gave presentations about what they have learned in their respective classes and we all learned a little bit of all the languages. Then, the students formed groups with all the classes mixed up and went to various stations and played games from Mexico, Korea, and China. There was also a station where they made mandu, or dumplings. At the end of class we broke a pinata. The kids loved it and it was a lot of fun...and educational of course. :)

Now I am coaching the high school Swim Team. I am still getting to know the girls, but so far I am enjoying it. We have our first meet on Saturday so hopefully it goes well. I'm sure it will be a good time no matter what because it is at OSAN, the U.S. Military base. And that means we get to eat lunch at Chile's! I'm pretty excited.

Well, I hope this is a sufficient update. Things are still going well. My leg is finally healing and I can pretty much walk normally now. I still have a little pain sometimes, but I am going to the doctor again on Friday for hopefully the last time.

I am looking forward to the rest of the year here. In April, I am going on a mission trip to the Phillipines. Then, just a short 6 weeks later, my friend Lyndsey and I will be embarking on our around-the-world adventure. Beijing, Cairo, Spain, Toronto, and then home for the summer. It won't be long now!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Yep, snow is falling as I speak. It has snowed here almost everyday for the past 2 weeks. I guess it is really uncommon to get that much of the white stuff here. It's been pretty cold, too, with wind chills in the single digits (farenheit). Maybe I just bring winter with me wherever I go. hehe. Those of you that know me well know that I don't mind snow when it doesn't last long, when I don't have to drive in it, and when I get to go sledding. Luckily, the snow never last very long here. It is usually melted by the time school gets out with the exception of yesterday where there were a couple inches all day! I do not have to drive in it which is so nice. I do not miss scraping the car, that's for sure. The only bad thing about this snow is that I can't go sledding in it. I am still recovering from my broken leg. I got the cast off on Thursday (YAY!), but my muscle is so weak that I can't really walk properly. I am trying to do stretches and build up the muscle as quickly as I can so that I can get back to being active.

Other than the weather, things are going well here. Right now we are in the middle of a five-day weekend because of Lunar New Year, the biggest holiday in Korea after Chusok in September. I am just hanging around Daejeon resting, watching movies, and being with friends. It has been great so far to get some much-needed relaxation since I have been on the go a lot lately.

I am posting links to some pictures. Just click on the underlined words to see them. You will have to go to the end of all the albums to see the new ones. Some are from Alicia's visit to Daejeon the first week in January. Others are from our time in Seoul together. We had another swim meet on Saturday so I have added more to the swim meet album. I also have some of my co-workers and I on twin day at school. Last week was Spirit week so we had dress-up days. Monday was black and gold day, Tuesday was crazy day, Wednesday was twin day, Thursday was opposite gender day, and Friday--my favorite day--was "bring a cuddly stuffed animal to school" day. The kids were so funny, and almost everyone brought a stuffed animal. It was great fun. I wish I had more pics from the week, but be sure to check them out.

Cabbage decorating the side of the road. Why use flowers when you can use cabbage? :-D

Back in the Groove

I have almost survived the second week 1. Today was the last heavy day of the week so the way I see it is already done. :) I have gotten back into the groove of getting up early, working all day, and doing the same the next day. It's weird though because we all think that time seems to be moving so slowly. Maybe it is just because we are being so productive. ;) I worked a basketball game last night and had swim practice today and Tuesday.

I can still tell, however, that this week is different. It seemed like week 1 again because the break from school was so long. I could tell the students were feeling the same way because by 2:00 everyday they were wiped out. It was really fun to go back and see all the students again, and even more fun when they shouted hello from down the hall or across the field. They were excited to be back, too. And rested, which has resulted in them being more motivated and well-behaved. All of the teachers are hoping it lasts! One of the highlights of the week is that I have new students! I have 3 new Spanish students (now all my classes have an even number :-D) and 3 new Bible students. 2 of my Bible students moved to mainstream classes so it was a nice surprise to see I had picked up so many more. They all seem like really nice kids, but I definitely have challenges ahead of me. Especially trying to get the Spanish students caught up to the rest of the class. It has made my other students realize how much they have learned, though.

It was a good week, but I am so ready for the weekend. We have another MS swim meet on Saturday and this one looks to be an even longer day. We are leaving at 6:00 a.m. and probably won't be back until 6:00 pm! I will let you know if I survive that one!

A School Night

It has arrived...another school night which means that our three-week break for Christmas is over. Although I admit I'm not ready to go back, I had a fantastic break. Three teacher friends and I went to Thailand for the first two weeks. We took off right away on December 20th and returned on January 4th. The trip began in Phuket where we stayed at a resort not far from two popular beaches. Besides sitting on the beach we took a couple speedboat tours to nearby islands, saw a show, had a few massages (they are so cheap there!), and shopped...a lot. Even though I couldn't get in the ocean because of my cast, I was still able to do most things. My favorite part of the trip was the sea kayaking. I have posted some pics; to see them click here.

The second leg of our trip took us to Chiang Mai in the north. We left Phuket on Christmas day and a taxi ride, flight, another taxi ride, and a 15 hour train ride later, we finally arrived to our destination. In Chiang Mai we stayed at a place called the Juniper Tree and it was amazing. Not only was it beautiful and we had a large space, but they also provided meals and did our laundry. I think Chiang Mai was my favorite place because of all there is to do there. We shopped at the large night market; visited silk, jewelry, and umbrella factories; rode elephants; went whitewater rafting; and ATVed through the jungle/mountains. It was so fun! Everyone thought I was crazy when I first showed up and doubted that I would be able to with a broken leg, but I didn't let it slow me down too much. It did prevent me from doing the zip line adventure which I have been wanting to do for a long time, but I know I will do it someday. Chiang Mai pictures

After our time in Chiang Mai we took the train back to Bangkok. Some of Sarah's friends picked us up and took us to another friend's house where we stayed for the next few days. Our time in Bangkok was really relaxing. We visited the Grand Palace one day and took a tour to a floating market and cultural show another, but besides that we spent time resting and going wherever we felt, which usually took us to a mall (even though we were extremely shopped out by the time we arrived). My favorite part of our time there was the last day when we just hung out with our new Thai friends all day. Some of the girls came over to make us lunch and then in the evening everyone came over to "our house" and played cards, slept for a few hours, and then saw us off at 3:00 AM. Follow the link for more pictures.

Upon returning to Korea I headed straight to Seoul to meet Alicia. She and a friend spent the week here and it was wonderful to have them. We did some sightseeing in Seoul before coming back to Daejeon to shop (what else! :-P) and experience some of the local culture. We also took a daytrip to Daedunsan, a nearby mountain. It was really nice and I plan to go back there when my leg heals as well. On Friday night we caught a bus back to Incheon since their flight left early Saturday morning. The visit was too short, but really good. Pictures will be coming from that, too.

And that brings me to today. Winter is here and it is COLD...so I'm trying to get acclimated to the temperature (Thailand had perfect weather). I also went in to school and worked for a couple hours to prepare myself for tomorrow. Hopefully the week isn't too busy, but I have a feeling it will be with a swim meet coming up this weekend. Not to mention the 4-hour season premier of American Idol. :)