Excitement is in the air!

It's been an exciting month of April of sharing our wonderful engagement news to family and friends. The weather is warming up too here, which only means more adventures and sports activities outside.

Keith has his big Jeju Ultimate Frisbee tournament this upcoming weekend on the most popular beach, Jungmun, in Seogwipo. All the frisbee players (around 100 from the island) will be provided with food, a hotel, shirts and entertainment for the weekend. I will join and cheer my man on with friends as we spend the weekend on the beach and all celebrate Saturday night.

There is so much going on right now that it's hard for me to sort my thoughts. We have midterms coming up at my school in two weeks, which means this semester is ALREADY half way done! Wow, I can't believe how fast time flies when you're having fun. My 2nd grade (8th grade) students just went on their big week-long school field trip last week. It's similar to "outdoor ed" that they offer in US middle schools (I still remember exactly what we did and how much fun we had during my trip in middle school). The students went to the mainland of South Korea for camping, hiking, etc. with only a certain amount of selected teachers. Although my co-teachers had wanted me to tag along on the trip, it was not possible because I had a few 1st grade (7th grade) classes that I had to teach, along with some other projects to work on. So, I had a whole week of LOTS of office time, since most of my students were gone all week. You could say it was a little boring but I definitely caught up on lesson preparation, wedding planning and starting my big trip project.

For this project, I am making a movie using windows movie maker for each country Keith and I visit. For example, I add my best pictures, videos, some music and descriptions to our trip to make it into a dvd. I made one of these videos for me and Keith's 6 month anniversary as a gift to Keith. It turned out great and there's so many fun ways to make the movie look professional and artistic. It's VERY time-consuming, but the end result is worth it. I hope to make a movie for Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea before the summer, so I can bring it home and show family and friends who would like to learn about these countries we visited.

Our professional wedding photo shoot day is coming up on May 22nd. It should be a fun weekend, since we have off that Friday for Buddha's b-day. The photo shop package includes me getting my nails done at a salon that Friday...how fun! We also have off for Children's Day, which is celebrated here in Korea on Wednesday, May 5th. That will be a good day to run errands...I need to go to the dentist, and hopefully shop with some friends here for wedding jewelry and shoes.

Today, Keith and I will pick up my engagement ring (I had to get it re-sized a little smaller) and I hope to also get Keith's wedding band at the same jewelry shop. Luckily, a co-worker in the office knows a trusted family member who owns a very nice jewelry shop in ShinJeju, the next city over.

Soon, we will have our guest-list finished to send home to my parents, who are being so generous to send out all of our invitations. I need to plan our pre-wedding party here in Jeju soon. Like I had mentioned, we hope to have a casual get-together during the day on July 10th with friends and co-workers at a park/beach where everyone will bring a dish and we will have snacks, drinks and celebrate. The party will then turn into a big bonfire/camping out on the beach until the sunrise! It should be a great weekend and a nice way to say farewell to many of our new friends here on the island who are not renewing their contract.

It's nice to know I already have my wedding dress (which I was fortunate to find while visiting Thailand), that our wedding ceremony and honeymoon is booked in Samoa already, and that most of our flights are all booked. We only have to still book the flight home to Chicago. The tickets are very expensive right now, so we are hoping to find a good deal soon!

Japan is another trip we are starting to plan. Since we have a whole week open for vacation during the last week of July, before leaving for Samoa, we are thinking about taking a short week trip to Japan...the central region. Taking the ferry from Korea is only about $140 or so (for a nice cruise ship style), so with the flight to the mainland, it shouldn't be very expensive to get to Japan....then it's only the expenses in Japan, which we have been warned will not be cheap! We want to hike Mt. Fuji, Tokyo, Osaka, and the areas nearby. Hopefully our plans to travel there will be successful, and if so, our summer will be truly an unbelievable mesh of traveling experiences!

It's just insane to think that by August, I will have a husband, a new last name, will have visited about 6 new countries this year, and will have completed my first full year of teaching (which I absolutely LOVE)! What an amazing way to kick off my adulthood! :)

Well, I have to teach in a few minutes but wanted to get a bunch of random thoughts and excitement off of my head so that I can TRY to concentrate at school...we'll see if it works!

Cherry Blossoms and Sunshine!!

Spring is here!! Well, sorta. It's still a little chilly but the beautiful cherry blossoms and other flowers have been opening and the sun have been shining every day! We just need the temperature to get hotter. It will be any day now. My co-teachers have been telling me this cold weather is very strange for April in Jeju.

Here are some pictures from the Cherry Blossom festival we went to (except the location did not actually have cherry blossoms for some reason! lol). At the festival, black pork and horse were being served. They also had the popular rice cake, which is a type of bakery treat made out of rice, which usually has some type of filling, maybe red bean or honey. We also saw some very insane performers, who looked like men dressed up in woman's clothing! We were a little confused by that!! :) Some pictures are of the beautiful cherry blossoms and other flowers that you can see all over Mt. Sarabong (the mountain/park near our home). I took these earlier this week when I was hiking Sarabong after school with my friend Magda. It always amazes me how beautiful of an area we live in and how this park is so natural and has so many breathtaking sites! Here's a video I took, so you can try to experience it as well.

I also randomly put in a picture of my principal, Mr. Kim, and I from back in December during a field trip we took on the last day of school to a fossil museum. He IS shorter than me, but encouraged me to duck down so that he could be taller. :) He has a great sense of humor! You can also see a few of the other young and first year teachers at my school...we're all the same age, which is very important and special in Korea. Age matters a lot and this means that we're all close friends, because we're close in age!

Our Wedding Plans: KEEP AUG 21st OPEN!!!

So, although the proposal was a big surprise on my part, and I know my family was very shocked, I WAS actually expecting it since we have been planning our wedding for a few months now. I am SO happy to finally have the BIG secret out! It's been so difficult talking to my dad and brother through e-mail all the time and not being able to tell them, and also seeing them on skype and not saying anything. However, we wanted to keep the proposal special and the big surprise of the whole event.

We've actually been planning the wedding since January ...for many reasons! First, we knew we wanted to get married either next winter or the summer afterward. However, because we have decided to resign for one more year and therefore have more vacation time this particular summer, and because we didn't want to deal with traveling home during the winter weather into Chicago and possibly having trouble with flights for the next winter, and since we really have been excited about starting our married life together, we were looking around at possible destination wedding locations (this is the type of dream wedding we have always talked about), and we came across an amazing deal at a beautiful resort in a unique, wonderful location...Samoa! We probably did research for over a month on the best deals, locations, looking at reviews, etc. and finally we were sold with Sinalei Reef Resort.

This resort was actually made in honor of The Rock, since he is from Samoa (Apia). Also, the island and resort are very isolated so will be a perfect place to have a nice quiet, relaxing wedding and honeymoon. If you do not know where this is, it's in the Polynesian islands near Fiji. We will be flying into Auckland, New Zealand, and then will fly to Samoa, where we will stay for 7 nights and 8 days. We will be getting in on a Wednesday and will have a few days to relax, get to know the staff, and get ready for the wedding. The wedding will be on that Saturday, August 7th. We will be taking part in the “Canoe wedding package” where I will come in from the ocean on two canoes connected by a floral archway (I will be sitting in a nicely decorated white chair) with about 5 Samoans paddling and blowing conch shells to announce my arrival. Then they will drop me off at the pier, which is a little off into the ocean, and right off the beach, were I will meet Keith and we will have our wedding ceremony. Then we will enjoy a celebration and romantic dinner on the beach. We will have a videographer and photographer so that we can share this special, unique experience with you!

The rest of the honeymoon will be spent exploring the island and possibly the other connected island of Savaii, swimming with the big turtles, snorkeling, kayaking, and many other activities. There is also a Fiafia night featuring an island buffet and cultural show with an amazing fire knife show performed by the World Champion Fire Knife Dancers.


After the honeymoon, it will be time for the big reception celebration party back in Chicago! We cannot wait to celebrate with all of you! We will be returning home around the weekend of August 14th and we hope to be home for 1 1/2-2 weeks. We will be having the reception celebration on AUGUST 21st....so PLEASE keep that date open! Once we finishing planning the details, we'll send invitations with the specifics. However, we want you to know the date ahead of time before you start booking up your summer. Also, if you'd like to be apart of planning this celebration, please let me know!!! It should be fun to plan and to have all our family and friends together in one spot!

For all of you who are living in Jeju/ South Korea...we will also be having a big pre-wedding party on the second weekend of July (Saturday July 10th). We are hoping to have a day event with co-teachers and friends at a park/ temple, then we will move to the beach at night with friends for a big bonfire/camping on the beach for the night. We have met so many wonderful people here in Jeju and are excited that you can be apart of this special event. We also hope to have this event be one more big celebration with those that are leaving in August. We will miss you and we must, MUST stay in touch!

Again, we're sooo excited and very happy to share this news with you!! It's been such an amazing year for us, with such new experiences....moving overseas, having our first teaching jobs, and now getting married!! Can't wait to see you all and talk to you all soon!

It's true!! We're ENGAGED!!

THE PROPOSAL!!

This has been the most exciting week of my life!! If you haven't heard already, Keith proposed to me on Easter, US time...which was Monday morning for me before work while we were talking to my family and grandparents on skype! Here's the detailed story...

I had told Keith close to Easter that I was missing my family’s Easter egg hunt, which has always been a tradition in my family. My mom always spends so much time finding the perfect hiding spots around our living room…in places that relate to each of us. For example, she would hide a plastic Easter egg with candy inside maybe near the piano, since I used to play piano, or near Whiskers' (my cat's) bed, etc. Well, Keith surprised me on our Easter day by hiding similar plastic Easter eggs with candy inside in places, like the blender (I’m always making fruit smoothies), by our plant (that I always water), by my laptop, etc.

Then, that night, when I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, he snuck a note inside one Easter egg and a ring inside another! The next morning, my family and grandparents saw us on skype to wish us a happy Easter before they had their big Easter dinner. Keith then mentioned the Easter egg hunt to my parents, and then what took me by surprise, was when Keith pulled out the note in the egg. I was so confused b/c I had never seen a note the day before during the Easter egg hunt, so I thought I had missed them. Well, to make things more confusing, I was sitting on the floor in front of our low table, while Keith was sitting a little bit higher on our futon. He had reached over holding up the note to the computer screen to show my dad. Then Keith showed me the note and it said, “May I have your permission to marry Tina?” I think my family was all shocked, because when he asked my dad this, my dad didn’t know what to say! He was speechless, which was exactly how I felt. Then Keith got down next to me (I was sitting lol ) and then he poured out his heart of how he felt about me and how I was the only person that he wanted by his side the rest of his life. After asking me to marry him, of course I said yes, and have been gazing at my new beautiful princess-cut diamond ring on my finger ever since and imagining our dream destination wedding on the beach! Check out the pictures of the ring…it’s amazing! Keith had spent so much time researching diamonds…probably 4 or more months! He knows every small detail about the importance and value of the color, cut, shape, size, etc. and has found a very unique ring with the top quality in each section! He is also very proud of the fact that he shopped around and found an excellent deal.

Keith actually had a very difficult time getting the ring to Jeju, South Korea. Unfortunately, they don’t have a wide variety of diamond rings here, if any (he couldn’t find any of real value). Therefore, Keith searched and searched online after learning everything you could imagine about diamonds. Since sending diamond rings overseas costs over $1,000 to get through customs, Keith knew he had to find a way to send the ring over from home or have someone actually bring the ring. Ironically, one of my friends from college had randomly told us a few months back that she would be visiting her friend in Seoul during her spring vacation, since she is a teacher. Although she was extremely nervous, she agreed to wear the ring on her finger and to meet Keith in the airport. Keith’s mom was also a huge help, because the ring was sent to her in Naperville, IL, so she made sure the GIA certificate was accurate. She also went out of her way to meet up with my friend before my friend was taking her trip to Seoul. The funny thing was that asking my friend, getting the ring to her, taking her flight AND meeting up with Keith all took place within 2 weeks…so it was very last minute and luckily it all worked out perfectly! Keith flew out to Seoul, picked up the ring, showed it off to some of our Jeju friends that were also taking the same flight from visiting Seoul back to our island, and he hid the ring (very well) until the engagement…and the rest is history!!

After Keith proposed, we had a little time together to smile our faces off and squeeze one another with hugs and kisses, then it was off to work for us! I bet you could only imagine how happy I was all day at school! I could finally announce our engagement to the world!! It was fun hearing from friends, family, and people I haven't heard from in a while, through e-mail and facebook. Also, it was exciting sharing the news and showing off my ring to my co-teachers, principal and vice-principal and students. Let me tell you, the girls went CRAZY!! All my students had just met Keith less than 2 weeks ago so they felt like they knew Keith and were so happy to hear the news. The kids couldn't believe it was a real diamond, and asked me "Is Keith rich?", "Is it REALLY real teacher?", and jokingly..."Teacher, give me ring, I must sell it!" These middle school kids crack me up!

That night, we went to a fancy and romantic restaurant, called The White House, which was right off the sea with an amazing view. The restaurant specialized in Italian food, so we enjoyed some shrimp pasta, a veggie calzone, salads, soups and wine to celebrate. After dinner, we then headed off to have our favorite special treat- delicious ice-cream, where we took plenty of pictures of the ring!


Well, like I said before, what an INCREDIBLE week! Just thinking about the thoughtful way Keith decided to propose along with the touching speech in front of my family, and the extra effort he made to find the perfect ring, as well as finding a way to get it here in Jeju, makes me feel overjoyed and teary-eyed. I feel very fortunate to have such a caring boyfriend, now FIANCE!!, who puts in all his time and effort to make moments like these special! He is my best friend, soul-mate and perfect match! I can’t wait to be his wife!