Muay Thai Kickboxing photo shoot

Ok I lied, I forgot I wanted to add one more blog. I visited Keith and his kickboxing trainer at Dragon Gym the other day because I wanted to thank the trainer for coming to our pre-wedding party and also for his "kick-boxing statue" gift.

I started to take just a few pictures of Keith since I knew that he might be ending kick-boxing soon (he's been doing it for the whole year!). Well, after taking a few pictures, the trainer started what would be a 1 hr or so kick-boxing photo shoot! It was hilarious, because the trainer only knows a little English but he was so determined and excited to have Keith pose in every kick-boxing move that he's learned in order for me to get some good pics!

Check them out! I also have some pictures with the trainer himself, and a video of Keith practicing some kick-boxing moves with the bag.

One Last Blog Before Getting Hitched!

In only 3 weeks, I will be a wife, a Mrs. and a Wojewnik! Isn't it hard to imagine? Keith and I still can't believe that the time is coming so soon and we are so happy and cannot wait to start this exciting journey through life together as husband and wife.

There is no other man I could dream of that I would want to wake up next to each day, come home to after work (the best part of my day), have dinners with, share stories with, run with, go on adventures together, and grow older together.

It makes me want to cry to think how lucky we are to have each other and how strong our love is. It's a rare thing in life to find your soul-mate and someone who you cannot live without. Be patient if you have not found that person yet, because that person will come at just the right time in your life and then you'll realize why you had to wait and first focus on finding your true self.


After we get married in Samoa on August 7th, while we are relaxing on our honeymoon, we will be thinking about all the important people in our life and truly looking forward to seeing all of you on August 21st for the big wedding celebration! We love and miss you!!! Can't wait for our dream wedding and the celebrations to begin!



Here are some great quotes that I'll share with you...


"Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!"


"Love is not about finding the right person,
but creating a right relationship."


"The goal in marriage is to not think alike, but to think together."



A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. (Germaine Greer)
It's not about how much love
you have in the beginning
but how much love you build till the end."


"Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one."
-John Keats


"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."

Differences and Difficulties

It has now been almost a year since I have moved to Korea. Learning about the Korean culture and the many differences about this country has indeed been an exciting adventure. We have tried new food, new drinks, new games, listened to new music, seen different types of plays, performances, concerts and traditional Korean clothing, experienced new holidays, traditions, experiences like hiking Mt. Halla, doing a Temple Stay and learning about Buddhism and meditation. We’ve also learned some of the Korean language, and learned how to communicate in other ways other than speaking.

Although it has truly been exciting, by this time of the year, we have also experienced language barriers and cultural differences and even cultural difficulties. At this moment, because of the language barrier we have had to change three flights and come back 4 days earlier because of confusion with the contract. We have also had a neighbor of ours (another English teacher) who have had language barrier trouble with one of our Korean neighbors (in the building next to us) because of parking which has caused some small issues with our apartment (since it is all foreigners so they are seen as a ‘group’). I also have been having difficulties with one of my co-teachers. She had tried to turn around our pre-wedding party by forcing Korean traditions onto us which has brought so much frustration. Either way, traveling and teaching overseas has definitely taught me that you have to be a very patient, understanding and laid-back person to take this type of adventure, since you will at some point be put into uncomfortable situations. These situations will come because life is so different in other countries, and there is such a big language barrier that eventually it will become frustrating.

My Opa was right when he told me before I left in the fall that although I will love traveling and enjoy other countries, but that I have to remember how wonderful the US is. He is definitely right! We are so lucky that everyone thinks so differently in the US, and most people have an open mind since there ARE so many cultures, customs, beliefs and differences in America. There is so much freedom! I am also so happy that we are independent and can stand up for ourselves. It seems like at times, the general traditional crowd in other countries, tend to have limited choices and must do things in a specific way or must listen to others because of giving the level of respect to elders or to those who have more power. Freedom tends to be taken away at times.

It will be interesting as we continue to travel around the world, to notice the things we love and maybe do not like as much in other cultures. I think it is important to always be open-minded, and to learn and pick up new ideas and customs from all over; however, I hope to always continue holding onto the values that I grew up with in the US which has made me the strong and independent person that I am. God Bless America! 

'Share Your Life With The USA' project

This last month, I have been working on a HUGE project with my middle school students. The project is called 'Share Your Life With The USA'. The students worked in groups of 5-6 students and had to choose one topic related to Korean culture. This could be clothing, Jeju Island attractions, food, music, games, school life, temples, the home, holidays, etc. Each group in a class had different topics and they could make a poster, PPT, video, magazine, book, recipe book, etc. The whole idea was for them to learn more about their culture, share their culture with my friends and family (when I go home this summer/ sharing this info with everyone), being creative, learning how to work in groups, and also improving their English by writing, researching, reading, listening, and speaking.

Here's the layout of our 4 week project.

1st week= Explained the project, students got into teams, decided team leader and group name, choose a topic and began brainstorming with a tree graphic organizer
2nd week= Students did research using the computers and English books/magazines/newspapers that I brought to class.
Week 3= Students made their project and wrote/ practiced their scripts for the upcoming presentation.
Week 4= Students presented their project and I chose one winner for each class. They received a chocolate pie treat.



The students in general did a great job with the project(minus some of the lazy and bad boys!) and seemed to really enjoy the project, instead of the typical lectures and listen/repeat that they have in their other classes. Here are some photos of the students work in progress. I was really proud of them and one of my girls' class did an excellent job presenting in front of the camera, since I had to be video-taped/inspected for my company EPIK in order to be renewed.

I will show some photos from their finished projects when I return at the end of August. However, I want to share some of the projects with those at home attending the wedding party as a special surprise so don't want to give it away yet!























The next week after their presentations was their finals, and then the following week the English teachers and I looked over all the winners from 1st and 2nd grade (7th and 8th grade) and chose one final winner from each grade to win the pizza party with Tina Teacher!

Here are some photos from the pizza party! I have videos too of them saying hi from Jeju Dong Middle School! They wanted to make it short and sweet though, because they were eying the pizza boxes and hungry for the treat!




The Winners!!


2nd Grade



1st Grade

Keith's school

Keith took some photos of his students and co-workers for the sideshow I made for the pre-wedding celebration. Meet his students and staff from Dong Gwa Elementary School!