Bodybuilding Competition + Jeju Boat Cruise!

Wow, there's been so much going on lately. Our friend Ryan and Yojin (who's wedding we went to) just had their baby. She's beautiful like an angel! Look at the picture. Here she is only 1 week old. I think that is the youngest baby I have ever held. She's tiny too because she was born a few weeks early. We also just went out with our friends Jin and Won Bong. They also just got married and now Jin is pregnant so will be expecting next winter. We went out for tea and then saw the new Harry Potter movie.

Other news- I had a free gift certificate to Park Saem hair salon because of the hair show I did back in the fall, so I just went last week to use it. I needed a change and something nice since I will be starting at the new school in a month. My hair is now permed and colored! I have never had a perm before but I really like it. It's a good change for the summer. It's pretty easy to take care of- just throw some gel in it and the color I think is a good brown on me. How do you like it?

So last week we went to our friend, Josh's (who's also from Chicago) body building competition. In his 4 months of training, Keith and I were shocked at how toned and built he got. It was fun to go with other foreigners and be there to cheer him on and watch the competition. He was the only foreigner, the rest were Koreans and it was so funny to see all of them in their little speedos and all very tan with oil all over them. They had to do many specific poses and our friend did a great job. Check out the photos. It must be such a challenge to do because you have to have a specific diet for 4 months along with lots of time for training. Also, the 24 hours before the event, the bodybuilders can't eat or drink in order to have their muscles look the tonest that they can be. During the intermission of the competition, one Korean woman bodybuilder came out and posed and we all dropped our jaws! She looked even bigger, stronger and more toned than the guys! It was really really impressive since women have a more difficult time gaining muscle and having such a small amount of body fat. She must have been the country's all-time best bodybuilder. I also heard she travels around the world doing different competitions. You go girl! I would love to try that out sometime but it would definitely be a challenge.



After the competition, we went on a boat cruise that was organized by Jeju Fury (the sports fundraising group in Jeju). It was a huge cruise boat and we had over 250 people (foreigners and some Koreans) on the boat. Our group of friends in Jeju have all been talking about this party for a while so it was a special night. The tickets were only 14,00 won (about $13 dollars) and the boat sailed for 1 1/2 hours and then stayed at the port for another few hours for the party. It was an open mic event, so there were bands, poetry reading and then everyone was on the front stage dancing to the dj music by the end of the night. What a great time! Keith and I feel so lucky to experience all of this. There are always fun events going on in Jeju so we never have to worry about being bored.





























alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636117805739017154" />

Jungmun Beach and Ripley's Believe It Or Not

Keith and I decided to take a trip to the south end of the island since I still had never been to the most popular beach in Jeju- Jungmun beach. I don't know why I haven't found the time to go there but this past weekend seemed just perfect because we had a free weekend to explore.

We first went and saw Seongbansan Mountain....a beautiful rock cliff with patches of grass on top. If you climb up near the top, you can find a water temple which is neat to see. A five minute walk from the mountain will take you to the beautiful Yeongmari Coast. Keith has been there before to surf in the area. He was excited to show me the area, however, that day the tide was high and waves were strong so the path was closed. That's ok though. We'll be living very close to the area soon (maybe 20 mins away?) so we'll go another time.

Then we went to one of the many fun little touristy museums on the island. We had heard good things about the new Ripley's Believe It Or Not, so we went there to check it out. I had only peeked into a Ripley's in LA in the past but did not spend much time in there so it was pretty fun and interesting to see this one. Ripley has traveled all over the world, meeting incredibly unique people or traditions/cultures and he shares them at this museum (in case you have never been to one). For example, we saw a model and video of the tallest man in the world, along with the shortest man. There was also a picture of the longest finger nails and a man who could pop his pupils out of his eye sockets! So strange! And then there was a car made all out of cardboard and a wedding dress made out of toilet paper. One of the oddest things we saw though was a shrunken head. It is a tradition in one of the tribes in East Timore to melt the head down to a tiny size when someone dies to keep their spirit and soul with the tribe. I just couldn't believe the process that they use and how much the face looked exactly the same but 10 times smaller! Check out the picture! There was also interesting and shocking facts around the whole museum. One area that Keith and I were surprised to see was a torture chamber. It was a spooky area with tons of torture weapons that have been used in different countries. Honestly, it was I think a little too much for the kids who were visiting. One girl was crying because she was so scared to pass by the area to get to the next spot! Poor kid. All in all, I think they put a lot of time and effort into the museum. Keith and I were there for about 3 hours and I think we could have been there the entire day reading all the interesting facts. Since we love traveling and learning about new cultures it was a great place for us to check out.

After exploring the museum, we had a sandwich at Kraze Burger (Keith loves this place) and then we took a 5 minute walk down to Jungmun beach. The sun was just setting and we just relaxed there and enjoyed watching one Korean woman do a little photo shoot with her husband. It was so funny to see.

The beach had a lot of people but it wasn't too packed, probably because it was overcast that day. The Hyatt Resort overlooks the beach on one side, and on the other side there is a food area which is part of a cave/cliff. Really cool! There are also some ajummnas (older woman) selling some seafood and other snacks near the beach. The sand is pretty soft but also very sticky. It's impossible to get the sand off of you!

We ended up staying at the beach for a few hours then having dinner at the Hyatt resort. I had gnocchi(yum, what a treat!) and Keith had a pasta dish and we both ordered fresh juices. It was a fantastic weekend!



Oh and here are a few photos of the view from our rooftop of our apartment. We can see the ocean and port and many colorful buildings. I can't believe we will only be living here for another week, then we have our big move! I will try to take pictures as soon as we move in, which won't be until about the second week of September. I also have a picture of flooding on our rooftop. I go up there sometimes to workout and when I went up there that day, I couldn't believe the water was so high! It only lasted about a day though and then it drained and dried up. Good thing rainy season is over! Now it's just hot and humid. Oh, the hot summer days! It's a love-hate relationship. :)

Boryeong Mudfestival

We went to the Mud festival on the mainland last weekend with a huge group of friends. It was wicked! The festival is on the mainland, and about a 3 hr train ride south of Seoul in a city called Boryeong. We stayed in a wonderful jijjalbong (sauna, bath house) both Friday and Saturday. It's actually a famous jijjalbong, called Dragon Hill. It was huge! It had 6 floors, including a fitness center, a sauna and spa area, areas to sleep on the floor, restaurants, an arcade area, and many sections where there were hot and cold rooms and hot and cold pools. In the girl area (where you are naked :) my friends and I relaxed in a warm pool which was partly outdoors so you could hear the birds singing and there was a big tree in the center of the room. It was so relaxing and peaceful. The best part is that it only costs 12,000 won ($11) to stay there for the night. I can't believe it.

The festival was another story though! Let's just say it was pretty much like spring break back in college. There were tons of young foreigners (a lot of military guys) and everyone was just drinking all day and either hanging out on the beach or in the mud area. The mud area looked like it was entirely for kids. There were inflatable pools (filled with mud water) and inflatable obstacle courses and slides. When we first arrived early in the morning when there were no people and it was all getting set up. The whole thing looked like a joke. However, only a few hours into the afternoon and the place was filled with tons of young people, having mud fights, wearing water bottles as a necklace filled with wine, beer or soju. There were tons of food tents and tons of cameras everywhere. I'm pretty sure Keith and I will be in some random pictures to advertise the festival. It was raining on and off that day which made the experience a little chilly but it was fun being covered with mud. It's supposed to be very good for your skin, hence, the reason why Koreans have the festival, so I was happy to be all dirty that day.

Our friends we went with were a good group of people and for the most part we all stuck together throughout the crazy day. However, by around 6pm, Keith and I, and a few of our friends were passed out on the beach and had enough of the drunkenness. We decided instead of staying at the hostel near the festival that we had planned on staying at, that we would go back to the clean and relaxing jijjalbong in Seoul. So, we went to the hostel to pick up our stuff but before we could go inside, we had to be cleaned off with a hose by the owner (an ajumma, older woman)! It was hilarious so I took some photos of her cleaning off Keith. The water was freezing!

Then, we took the 3 hr train ride back to Seoul and spent a quiet night getting rest. The next day we spent time around Seoul area, shopping and eating at the various restaurants they have there.

It was an excellent weekend and a good experience, although I think one time going to the mud festival is enough! ha

Last day at Jeju Dong Middle School

It was the students last day at school before their summer vacation, which meant it was my last day of seeing all of them. I have made such close relationships with so many of my students and co-workers so it has been hard to say goodbye. I had a little party after lunch with some of my students and took a few pictures. I do have boys at my school but they were too shy to come to the party. haha Also, I brought in a cake and some treats (bread and doughnuts) for the staff at my school to show them my appreciation with working with them. Some of the teachers took it as a chance to celebrate the new job opportunity that I was lucky enough to get, so they cheered for me and told me good luck.

Below is the picture of the cake that I brought, some pictures with me and my students and one with my principal. I am still going to school each day for a few hours, but only a few teachers and the vice-principal and principal are there. My vice-principal is very generous and has been letting me leave by lunchtime each day, which makes it extra nice to have more summer vacation time. Asah! ("awesome") I now officially have 2 more days in the office and then Keith and I leave for our 1 year anniversary Sri Lanka trip! Can't wait!