BUSY week + I'm 24!!!! ahhhh

Immediately following Christmas was a full scheduled week for me. Starting at 5am on Saturday, dec. 26th, Keith and I got up and left our apartment by 5:30am. We had a winter camp that sat. and sund. at an elementary school near Seogwipo, in the south eastern part of the Island. Although we didn't have to be there until 8:30 am, because of the bus tranfer we had to take, we just barely made it there by 8:15 after taking the 6am bus. It was insanely early and cold! Never had to work the day after X-mas and it stinks! The camp was fun, but the first day was very unorganized and new for me, since I usually teach middle level and usually use power pt. and have organized lessons prepared. I had to teach last minute lessons and think of extra activities plus be able to figure out what level these students were at. The next day we got a ride from the head superivor's husband, so that helped us get a little more sleep. This weekend camp went from 9am until 3pm, but with the commute, it was even longer than my normal days at work.

However, the second camp that I worked was much better. This camp went from monday until thursday, and from 9am-1pm, plus it was only about five minutes by car away and our neighbor Paul drove us each day because he also was teaching at this camp. The supervisors were very organized, we had time to prepare our games and lessons, and the Korean co-teachers were even in the classroom to help us out. In addition, we were even treated to lunch at a new restaurant each day after the day was done. Each place was delicious and the restaurants varied from Chinese, to vegetarian dishes, to Korean-style chicken veggie soup + Mandu (dumplings filled with pork and veggies), and a very nice and expensive sushi restaurant our last day on thursday. The lessons I taught varied from teaching them about the western new years, and having them sew a snowman patch onto camp bags that they could keep, to teaching them about Zodiac signs and having spelling bees, snack trivia war, and having them decorate a cake.

Although working this camp non-stop for the whole week on top of celebrations...like my b-day + new years..made it very hectic, the camp was a great experience for me because I was able to learn a lot of activities out of it, how it is to teach elementary students and I was able to meet a lot of the Korean co-teachers, as well as spend time with the foreign teachers during lunch. And this grade level is adorable because the students had such a fun time knowing that Keith and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, and also were excited all week knowing that it was my b-day on wednesday. Cerise, one of the foreign teachers, had her students make b-day cards for me in her class. So it was so cute when I changed classes and had all those students bring me cards and sing to me. It was perfect too, because we did cake decorating during one of the activities, so those same students pretended like they were decorating it for my b-day (one group even wrote my name on the cake!) and sang to me, plus had me pretend to blow out the candles. I even had two students who really seemed to like me and keith, bring me a wrapped gift! I couldn't believe it. It was a spongebob notebook and b-day card that said tina hearts keith inside. Kids are adorable and it made my week just being around that age!

On Tuesday, dec. 29th, the night before my b-day, I planned a dinner out with my friends (about 15 of us) to a california sushi roll restaurant. I had never been there and it was delicious! There were so many different types of sushi rolls that I never knew existed, and some were even baked with cheddar cheese or bbq sauce on top. Afterwards, we went to Chocolat, where we had chocolate fondu! YUMMY! I had planned on going out that night to celebrate turning 24 at midnight, but because of the winter camp the next morning that I had to work, I ended up just making more plans for the night of my b-day. So after working on the 30th, I invited whoever wanted to join Keith and I out to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Zapatas, following going to the movies to see Avatar. Well, my co-teachers at my middle school surprised me by picking me up after work and taking me to Chocolat (I know, again! I am spoiled!). There we chatted and shared lil sandwich snacks. They brought out a chocolate cake for me and lit the candles and sang, then had me make a wish and blow out the candles. They then packaged the cake back up because they knew I was going to Zapatas...so they had me bring it to dinner and share it with my friends. Since my one co-teacher, Eun Mi Lee, is leaving January 2nd for Texas for a month to do an English teacher's program, my co-teachers couldn't go with to dinner and instead dropped me off after we spent a few hours together. About 10 or so friends came to Zapatas. I had a shrimp burrito and a margarita, we all shared the cake, and my sweet friend Kelly brought flowers for me. After dinner, Keith and I plus Paul and his gf Sunghee all went to see Avatar. The movie was so good! I thought I was in a computer game the whole time...and the graphics were amazing and the storyline was very interesting. I would highly recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't yet seen it. It was very long though, so make sure you use the bathroom before the movie begins (and don't drink coffee like I did:)

On the way home from the movie, we stopped at the Lantern Festival that was only going on for a few days near the main plaza/river in our area/ Shichan. It was amazing to see so many lanterns lit up by the river and by the bridge at night. There were big tiger lanterns, turtle lanterns and a big ship lantern in the river. Check out the pictures! Plus there were small lanterns all along the river and along a path. All of these had wishes written on them. So Keith and I also wrote a wish for the new year. Our friend Sunghee was reading some of the wishes on the laterns around the river, and she started laughing because one of them said that they wish to be skinnier, and to have a handsome boyfriend and to have a clear face. Haha Guess they think the same as some of us do in the states.

I forgot to mention, but in the morning I opened my gift sent from my parents. And to my surprise, it was a pretty heart locket necklace from the Wheaton jewelry store. I can't wait to wear it and put a picture of my family and me and keith inside! It matches perfectly with the heart tiffanys bracelet they got me a whiles back. Thanks mom and dad!! Also, thanks to Aunt Bea who really surprised me by sending me a box of scrap booking supplies with a travel theme! I am honestly so excited to start the scrapbook tomorrow, right after I find a shop to print off pictures at. Thanks Aunt Bea!! Can't wait to make a book of my memories and adventures in Korea.

Along with having my blog and making scrapbooks, I would also like to make a dvd/video each year which will include pictures, videos, music, and experiences for that year of our travels. This way, we can share this with family and friends at home, and also keep them to remember everything we did, saw and learned from each country we travel to and live in.

Well, my b-day was truly amazing and definitely the best b-day I've ever had. Now I just have to come to terms that I'm really 24. Geeez how time flies. But I guess as long as I make the most of my year and age, I should always look forward to being another year older and having another exiting year ahead of me.

Holidays galore!! Let's begin with X-mas!

This year's Christmas was very different than I've ever experienced, but was still very special in so many ways.

Each year in the past, my family has had consistent traditions. For example, on X-mas eve we open our small gifts from our siblings, then pack all the relative's gifts into the car and head to one house (we alternate each year) to celebrate X-mas eve with a big dinner, gift-giving all around the tree and everyone opening their gifts at once, then treating ourselves with numerous choices of cookies, pastries, and other desserts. The next morning is then spent opening Santa's gifts (or if u want to take the fun out of it, "parents" gifts), and spending the rest of the day relaxing and having dinner at our grandparents house next door.

This year, Christmas for Keith and I was spent on a island (but cold) in Korea! So what was it like? Well, if it wasn't for the big and tight foreign community it would have been just another day. See here in Korea, even if you are a Christian, the holiday is more for couples or for very small children. Usually the family will have a big Korean dinner, along with a cake to celebrate the holiday. And small children might be given a few gifts, such as a scarf or gloves, shoes, or maybe money. However, most families don't have x-mas decorations up or even a tree! It is a funny thing, because students have off of school and it is a holiday celebrated here, but the excitement for the holiday and going crazy over decorations, gifts, x-mas songs, x-mas movies, etc. is almost nonexistent here.

But of course, I did not let this difference in how we celebrate dec. 25th change the way Keith and I spent the holiday. We had a cocktail party (at Kyla and Mike's apartment...2 floors above us) with all the foreigners in our building plus a few. Everyone brought a wrapped gag gift, along with a type of liquor. I also made more puppy chow and brought some for people to snack on. We had everything from White Russians to Dirty Santa's...there were about 15 recipes on their kitchen wall to choose from! This seemed tempting and very fun (until the next morning). The whole night was fun and it was special to be able to have a big group who we're all close with to celebrate. Once again, our friends here on Jeju all felt like a lil family getting together for another holiday. (Of course, it could never relate to my real family at home in Chicago that I was missing so much and wishing I was with). We played "white elephant" with the gag gifts we brought. Fun game! You can exchange gifts with others before and after the gifts are opened to choose the gift you want. The gift I opened I stayed with because it was a bunch of massage tools...one for you back, one for your face/noise?, and one for your feet! Keith also kept his gift, which was a few big knives for the kitchen.

The next morning was pretty rough, which is unusual for x-mas morning. I realized that I have never gone out drinking the night of x-mas eve, and in the future I hope to keep it that way, because it took foreeever to get out of bed to open our x-mas gifts under our lil tree. We first went back up to Kyla and Mike's place around noon for a nice big American-style brunch. We had eggs with onions, lil sausage wieners,hashbrowns, fruit, toast, etc. while watching Elf. Magda, our neighbor who lives above us, is watching 2 lil adorable shitsus for her friend who's visiting the Philippines, so they also came to visit for a while. It's nice having animals around. I miss that. The rest of the day was spent opening our gifts from our family at home, eating Fannie Mae meltaways and pixies that Keith's mom sent, along with hot chocolate. We listened to x-mas music and watched x-mas movies all night...a few of my faves include Elf, A Christmas Story, the cartoon movie of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Love Actually. We also ordered pizza from our lovely and convenient around-the-corner restaurant, Pizza Maru, that we can now somehow order from on the phone. But we ordered in so that we wouldn't have to cook and could snuggle in our warm bed with our new heating pad on high! It was a nice, relaxing night. Also, Keith opened my gift, which was a backpacking bag for our upcoming trips, chocolate chip cookies,a few hallabongs (which is an expensive and popular + delicious fruit on the island/ a mix between a grapefruit and an orange), and also an air bb gun, since his friends Mike and Paul have some so it's his new lil toy! :) haha

I want to say thank you to the family and friends who sent x-mas cards and gifts from home. We definitely did not expect you to send packages to Korea and it meant a lot that you thought of us overseas! We miss all of you! Keith's mom did a great job choosing all of our favorite snacks and health food, including Grape Nuts, Kashi wheat thins, and protein bars...all of these we miss so much since we can't get them here! We have been starting our health kick right this year by enjoying all these healthy snacks, and it allowed us to not have to do much grocery shopping for the next few weeks! Thanks Mary! Keith's dad, Tom, and his wife Bern, sent lots of x-mas decorations that made our apartment look more festive, as well as a sweet hand-painted Chicago Bulls bags set (for the game "bags). Great idea to use for our winter camps and for a fun indoor activity during the winter, or on the beach once it gets warm. Thanks Tom and Bern! And my parents sent us our very first x-mas tree, along with our 1st puppy! hehe We put all the wrapped gifts from our family under this lil tree (my parents also sent decorations for us to hang). The x-mas puppy barks when u turn it on, as well as rolls over! It's so funny to watch and cracks me up every time. They also sent us x-mas stockings, with chapstick of course (which is given to me in my stocking each year)and a Japan travel book and language book...which will be great when we plan our trip to Japan, which will hopefully be either this summer or next year. My brothers sent me a fun and really creative gift. It's a shirt that says Global Trotter on the front with a picture of the world globe. On the back of the shirt it says where I started my trip (Chicago) and where I ended (Korea) and the number of miles that I traveled. I will continue putting all the places I travel to on the back of this shirt...it will be a great travel gift to always carry with me. Love it!! Thanks Tom and Rick!

My co-teachers also brought me gifts the last day of school, Dec. 23rd, before we were on break. Mrs. Kang gave me arm warmers...which is like looooong gloves that cover most of your arm and most of your hand (I'll show u with a picture, but they're popular here). My other co-teacher, Eun Mi Lee, gave me a box of spealized Jeju chocolate from the popular coffee/chocolate house, Chocolat, along with little Korean souvenoirs that you can put on your phone. She had also given me a really nice long black pea coat about a week or so ago. She told me her Aunt who lives in Seoul had given it to her, but it did not fit her since she's so short. It actually fits me perfectly, except the arms are pretty short...and I think this is why Mrs. Kang gave me the arm warmers to cover up my long arms when I wear the coat:) My co-teachers are so kind and thoughtful, and I didn't expect anything from them either. Somehow I feel like Koreans always outdo a kind gesture. For example, if you bring a gift to them or do something kind, Koreans will show the same kindness x 10!

Well, I felt spoiled this year with Christmas gifts and treats and just all the people who showed they really care and are thinking of us while we are living overseas and made it possible to celebrate x-mas here. I hope my family also enjoyed their gifts and cards that I sent home.

Miss you all back at home! Merry Christmas to everyone! xoxoxoxo May the season be warm and filled with happiness!

GIFTS!

Tis the season to give gifts! So I was finally able to bring my teachers' gifts to school (after holding myself back from bringing them too early...I tend to do this because I get so excited about the surprise). Giving Christmas gifts is not very common among teachers, or even in many families, so the teachers were very shocked and literally speechless when they saw that I had brought them a present.

I found these cute x-mas/holiday cloth gift bags that I put each of the gifts in. All my co-teachers, principal and vice-principal all received different things, such as a cute animal beanbag cell phone holder, mittens, or x-mas decorations for their houses/school. My vice-principal actually put the wreath I got him on his desk hanging on one of his computer speakers. haha All the teachers stopped by and were smiling and giving me the thumbs up:) I also included a picture frame & picture of me and the co-teachers...which they all have on their desks. Cute! Of course, I made my special home-made x-mas cards that I make each year, for the teachers, and added the hot chocolate/ snowman poop joke with the marshmallows. I think they understood the joke...but I guess I'll never know!

It was interesting seeing the Korean teachers all try the puppy chow I made and to try and figure out the meaning of the name..."Puppy chow", which I wrote on a sign by the treats. After explaining what "chow" means, one male korean teacher actually backed a lil away from the treats, and looked at me as if hoping it wasn't really puppy food. hehe
For the most part, Koreans do not like sweet treats and they think it is for the kids. However, by the empty bowl of puppy chow that I brought home at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure they all enjoyed the sweets.

I felt like Santa all week because today I brought the puppy chow, yesterday I gave all the x-mas gifts to the teachers, and yesterday I also pulled 10 students names for their lottery. The students who won all came down to the my office and were allowed to choose one prize (first come, first serve) from my bag of mystery gifts. I had lots of fun things....a baseball, frisbees, the puzzle dice that you have to match up all the colors...can't remember the name of it, a small English dictionary, Simpsons' notebooks and pens, an ornament, a few US dollar bills (these were the first to go/ very popular!), cute Korean socks with names of their favorite music bands on them, etc.

So I'm officially done with teaching for the semester!! I feel so accomplished to have gone through so many changes successfully...first real teaching job, first apartment shared with my boyfriend, first time living in a foreign country (and I must say I am very proud of the fact that I came with only three suitcases and no hairdryer/straightener!! :), first time away from family and friends from back at home, and first time paying for all the bills and being an adult! Plus now I am used to the students and staff that I will again be working with in the spring semester, and have so many lessons prepared, creative activity and game ideas, plus am in better control of classroom rules, management, discipline and how to modify lessons according to ability and grade level.

To continue talking about gifts, Keith had four of his co-teachers over for dinner last Friday. It was delicious...we ate this incredible bruschetta that Keith made on his own...he used fresh and cooked tomatoes, onions, garlic, a teenie tiny bit of bq sauce, plus this powerful cheese on top. In addition, he served three types of cheese (that he got from a specialty cheese store in ShinJeju) with crackers as an appetizer. For the main course, we had an olive oil base pasta with tons of vegetables (mushrooms, brocolli, garlic, peppers, onions) and grilled chicken, with garlic bread on the side. He was going to make this otagi pancake for dessert (pancakes that have cinnamon baked and melted on the inside), but of course, we were all so full so he's going to postpone that to a breakfast for the teachers at school one day this week. The whole night was fun and his co-teachers were funny and interesting people! All very young with a great sense of humor, and we all had a lot to talk about. It was nice that they could see our new floor table setup, as well as all the x-mas decorations our wonderful family sent us from home. Well, since Koreans love to give gifts whenever you do something nice, and because it's a tradition to bring a gift when you visit a home for the first time, Keith's co-teachers brought us a huge, warm, soft comforter for our bed, as well as a huge box of cookies! The funny thing is that I felt like that was the one thing we still needed for our apartment since it's getting colder and to make our bed more comfortable. It was like they read my mind! So with our new heating pad and new soft, warm comforter, it's very very difficult to get up out of bed and out into the cold wind to go to school in the morning!

Keith also had gotten a gift for his kickboxing instructor. He got him hallabong, which is a type of tangerine/ grapefruit. It's huge, very very delicious and also very expensive. The very next day, his instructor gave him a gift in return...a Muay Thai kickboxing shirt that he had received in Thailand during a match. What a cool gift to get! Such kind people here. Another funny thing I have noticed is that I feel like every single time I am doing something nice for someone, I randomly see a kind gesture in return from someone else. For example, when I was buying the lottery gifts for my students at a toy/arts/school supply store, the owner gave me a big discount. And when I bought a treat for one of my co-teachers one day at a Family Mart, the owner gave me a Christmas pin. Also, not sure if I already mentioned this in an earlier blog, but when I was buying all the food for when I was having my co-teachers over, I was going to take a cab back to our apartment, but instead a random generous lady (also a teacher) who spotted me in the grocery store (and who had sometime seen me before at our apartment area) insisted on waiting for me to finish my shopping and then drive me back to our apartment. I haven't seen her since, but maybe she's seen me?? lol

Another lovely gift is those randomly given on some cereal boxes. We have gotten everything from lil fleece blankets (yes blankets!), bowls, spoons, mugs and tea cups, lil garbage bags, plates, pancake flattener, to dish soap and tissue paper! It is so funny and we laugh every time because these large items are just stuck onto one side of the box. So sometimes we have to decide whether we are choosing the cereal we prefer or the gift that's on the cereal box! I wish we had known about these gifts before stocking our shelves with kitchenware!

Also want to mention some winter activities we have found while we have this cold weather....sledding, snowball fights, making snowmen and snowangels; an indoor fitness center near our apartment that has swimming pools, a basketball court, an indoor gym with treadmills, bikes, weight machines, free weights and a room to do abs, yoga, etc.; a new invented sport by our neighbor Paul, called Purling (a cross between curling and putting. You buy green putting turf (very inexpensive, maybe 10,000 won/ $10, a putter, and about 18 golf balls and color half of them different colors to make two teams. The closest ball to the hole gets a point, as well as the other two that are closest to the hole, and a match is when you reach 5 points on your team, which means your team wins the game. Multiple games are played with nine shots hit for each game by each player until one reaches 5, and 2 matches won out of 3 means you are the winner. This will most likely be a new indoor game that we'll play at each other's apartments until we can play outside again on the beach! :)



I was just informed as we speak that today is officially a red bean day. This means that Koreans will eat red bean soup, and other food/treats that have red bean cooked into it. It is a special day that happens each December 22nd to scare the bad spirits away. Very interesting. I wonder if Mrs. Hyun is saying this to encourage me to go each the red bean soup for lunch. Unfortunately, I have been having less and less of an appetite to eat Korean-style food. So for the last few days of lunch, I have either brought some food or snacks or go to lunch but nibble on everything. I am hoping this is just a phase. Some other EPIK teachers have gone through this at different times of the semester also...trying to get used to the food or taking a break and eating more western food. Luckily, Keith has not had a problem with his appetite. hehe He's always hungry for more pork and spicy food!

Good news, just had lunch and ate a delicious bowl of Indian curry (chicken with vegetables and rice)= probably my favorite lunch we have here! Hooray, it's another good day. Happy red bean day!

Sledding on an Island??!

Yes, we really did sled on the island. Although Jeju is supposed to be the Hawaii of Korea, tourist advertisement is mistaken about their winter weather. With the wind whipping hard in your face and with it getting to about -3 degrees celcius (25 degrees fahrenheit), it has been getting pretty chilly and hard to handle here with the few winter clothes I have. Fortunately, I bought a warm peacoat, a few hoodies, boots, sweaters, a hat and gloves...all for reasonable prices. Some days its warmer too....I think this wednesday it will get up into the high 50's/ lower 60s degrees farenheit. But this past Sunday (after a few days of resting from the cold weather and from being sick), we were lucky enough to go with our neighbors, Kyla, Mike, Paul and Sunhi to Mt. Halla where we saw all the beautiful snow and made a snow day out of it!

We took long winter wonderland walks in the beautiful snowy forest area, where the beautiful galdae reed still was blowing in the wind around the mountains. There we found a private area to sled and in several different places on small hills tried to make a fast sledding lane. Keith used his powerful strength to pull me as fast as he could down each mountain and on the way to the next place to sled!! Talk about a fun way to hike Mt. Halla! We also all made snow angels, and had some snowball fights, and also had a competition...girls and guys to make the best snowman. Curvacious (the snow"woman") against Big Head (the snow"man")! They both ended up looking great! Check out the pictures from our snow day! The night ended with hot chocolate, a steamy hot shower and getting cozy and warm in bed with our new soft comforter and heating pad on the highest temperature! :)