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!

Two weeks ago Keith and I went camping for the first time in Jeju. It was so much fun! We went with our friends Sarah, Brady and Dan (who's in charge of all the Jeju Fury sports' events). Although it was raining that day we still went since Dan had big tarps to cover our tents. We ended up going to the south end of the island, where we camped out near a beautiful and famous waterfall called Donico, which is hidden in a forest. We brought snacks with and games and just all hung out in one of our tents after getting all of our tents and the tarps set up. I was very happy that our tent was really easy to put up and our tents were comfortable and kept us warm and dry.

I really would like to do more camping this summer. Maybe each weekend? It's so nice to be out in nature and not have technology around you. Hopefully next time we go it won't be raining so we can have a bonfire and hang out more outside, maybe on a beach. It's still rainy season though so we might have to wait until July. I checked the weather forecast today and it looks like rain and thunderstorms every day for the upcoming week! When will it stop?

Actually, I like having some rainy days though. Like today, for example, Keith and I had such a relaxing day. We slept in, talked to Keith's mom on skype, then I made home-made guacamole, home-made granola bars and a smoothie and we watched The Office. I did yoga and then played some guitar...learned my first song! (twinkle twinkle little star...hopefully I'll step it up to a more difficult song soon:) And tonight we're talking to some of Keith's friends on skype and will just be relaxing around the apartment. It's nice to have some lazy rainy days.

Raw Food diet?

It’s been about two weeks after my marathon and I am just so happy to have a life again! I'm relieved to take a break from running and focus on other things, like I'm getting really into cooking. I've been discovering all of these vegan and vegetarian websites/recipes and trying to make my diet more of a raw/ natural diet. Each day, I make something new. It's a lot of fun! Also, I'm starting to learn how to play the guitar, I’m still studying Korean, and I'm also swimming, doing yoga and doing boot-camp. Besides that, school is coming to an end for me in a few weeks and Keith is currently getting his scuba diving certificate here in Jeju. He has one more day in the water...but there's supposed to be a typhoon and thunderstorms this weekend so it might be held off a week. Also, we booked our tickets for our 1 yr anniversary trip to Sri Lanka in August! I'm so excited! I can't wait!

Here are some vegan/healthy websites if you’re interested:


http://www.rawmazing.com/

http://www.naturallysavvy.com/

http://steamykitchen.com/recipes

http://www.thehappyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/

http://www.veganchef.com/

Even if you're not a vegan or vegetarian you can still get great ideas and substitute some of the ingredients.

Enjoy!


Next time, I’ll try to post some pictures of what I’ve been making.

2011 Jeju Full Marathon!!!

WOW! The marathon was incredible! It was truly the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life and; therefore, I feel so accomplished right now. :)

Let me tell you about the race day...

Keith and I got up super early on Sunday, around 6am. I immediately ate a bowl of oatmeal with a little bit of banana and peanut butter and then did some stretching until our ride arrived. We went to the race with our friends Sarah and Brady. Back in January, me, Brady, Keith and a few others were sipping on some hot chocolate at Chocoart Café and had that day made a pact to run the Jeju June marathon (everyone running different distances). Unfortunately Keith got injured and other things came up for the others who were originally going to join, but Brady and I were able to keep our promise! And so, the day had finally come and we were so prepared and excited to conquer this goal that we had been training for since the winter!

Well, the race was at Gimyeong beach, which is about 45 mins away from our place. It was a little hard to find the start location because it was so foggy out! But as soon as we arrived, we saw hundreds of people stretching on this big track field and preparing for the race. The whole event looked as though we were at a festival. There were clowns on stilts, kids dressed up in traditional Korean costumes, mascot animals walking around and posing for pictures and people marching around the track while playing musical instruments.

Keith and I made a few laps around the track (just walking) as a warm-up and then I did lots of stretching and last minute preparations before the race started at 9am. I saw a lot of people running laps and sprinting which I thought was a little silly. Why would you use up your energy?? Right before the start of the race, I drank a sip of OJ and had a bite of my last cliff bar (my parents sent over a dozen of them for my long training days), and also made a quick trip to the bathroom. Then, at 9am after many long Korean announcements (haha) the race had started and we were all off! Hundreds of people were all slowly running (actually walking for a few minutes!) while balloons were flying over our heads and people were cheering and taking pictures in the stands. I felt a great burst of energy in the beginning, but of course, I made sure to quickly find a good pace so as not to go too fast. I had a looong way to go!

I was pretty worried about how late the race time was considering it's already June and the weather has been pretty warm. However, the weather was absolutely perfect that day!! It was overcast, misty, very foggy and a lil breezy since we ran along the coast. But it was also very very humid that day so I was sweating like never before! The mist and breeze really helped and they were handing out cold wet sponges at the food/drink stations and that felt AMAZING!

Well, the race overall felt excellent. I knew that all my hard work during training days had paid off, but don’t get me wrong, the race was still not easy and by the end I had to walk a lot more than I had expected. One thing that made the race seem SOO much longer were the signs at each km!! There are 42 km in a marathon (26.2 miles) so yeah, seeing 42 signs made the race super lengthy. I listened to music but had a hard time letting my mind drift off like it usually did during my long training runs. I think this was because I was enjoying the coastal view and was excited and engaged in the people that were cheering me on at the sidelines. They were all yelling "fighting"...a popular expression they use here for ..."don't give up". I actually wrote it in marker on both of my arms for extra cheering! haha

The view of the scenery was amazing that day. Since it was so foggy, it felt mystical running into the clouds with a view of the ocean and the jeju black rocks along the coast. Although there was not the crazy amount of spectators like at my half-marathon in Chicago, there were a small group of about 4 or 5 Korean students at every 3 km cheering the runners on. This was perfect for me because it made the race more relaxing and similar to my training days, allowing me to focus on just enjoying the moment, as well as reflecting on the journey that I was about to end.


About halfway through the race I realized that most of the students that were on the sidelines cheering the runners on were MY students from my middle school! I was so surprised! And so were they when they found out their foreign teacher, Tina Teacher, was in this event that they were volunteering at! I found out later that those students are part of a volunteer group that sign-up for events (like the marathon) each year to help out at. It was so great to not only have Keith and Sarah rooting me on at different points in the race, but also to have my students who I am so close with!


All in all, I would describe the whole race as peaceful. I very much liked how after the turning point for the half-marathoners, I was pretty much running on my own- all runners were at their own pace and pretty far apart from one another. I did meet a few really nice Korean and Japanese runners during the race though. We all pushed each other when we ran for a short distance with one another or slowly passed one another.
I also loved how even though people had passed me up a lot at the beginning of the race, after the half-marathoners and 10-k runners had turned around, I started passing some of the full-marathoners.

I wasn't that fast, I finished in 5 hrs, but I am more than happy and satisfied with that time, since my main goal was to just finish the race. My friends and Keith said that I was the only one who sprinted as fast as I did at the end so I was pretty happy and proud to hear that. Most people were walking the end or jogging very slowly by that point. Also, I felt good after my run which means that I trained really hard and ate/drank the right amounts during the race. Keith was a wonderful trainer! I couldn't have been luckier to have him helping me throughout the whole thing.

It felt wonderful to finish strong and then to see Keith, Sarah, Brady and even my students at the finish line, greeting me with congrats and hugs! I chugged a huge bottle of Gatorade afterward and then quickly stretched and stood in absolute awe and amazement at my personal goal that I had just achieved!!! Words can't describe how happy I was. It had taken me a few years, yes a few years!, to find the time, commitment and health for training and completing the marathon. In 2008, I had started my training and then had to stop for 3 months because I had needed shoulder surgery. Also, last year when we had first arrived to Jeju, Keith and I trained for several months but since we had not found an indoor gym that first winter, it was so difficult to continue training on cold winter days, rainy days and during vacation days while we were traveling. And then we got engaged and started planning a dream wedding! And so as you see, I feel very fortunate to have finally found the time, commitment, motivation and health to reach such a difficult and time-consuming goal.

As of right now, I don’t know if I would do another full-marathon. I think a half-marathon seems more practical because of the long training commitment and also because it isn’t as hard on your body. But who knows what I will want to accomplish next. Maybe a tri-athlon or half-ironman will be the next big obstacle…. we will see.

Thank you for everyone's support and encouragement throughout the entire journey! You have helped me get to where I am today!

2011 Spring Jeju Fury Vball Tourney

Updates here...

We just had a 2 day vball tournament. It's a fundraiser vball tournament that happens here on the island each spring and fall. Do you remember from last year? We were once the champions for a smaller tournament that was after the big one last June. The event is run by our friend Dan Nabben who's friend Canada. About 400 people (foreigners and Koreans) attend (some who fly in from Seoul) and it's pretty much the best weekend of the year. There's music, food, drinking, partying, camping out, beach v-ball games all day and just a lot of fun socializing. Keith volunteered and was the MC (announcer) and kept count of the scores/ranks for all the teams. He worked so hard helping out since he couldn't play because of his ankle injury. But things are looking up for him. He has been off his crutches and has been going to physical therapy and will be starting to swim soon and build up his strength. :)

But yeah, our team did pretty good and it was just an overall amazing and sunny weekend with nice weather (70s.

It's those days when we're sitting on the beach with tons of friends, playing v-ball, drinking a beer and watching the sunset, feeling really relaxed with no worries that we just can't believe where we are and know how lucky we are to experience all of this.


Anyways, I only have only 4 more weeks of teaching until my students have their final tests and then soon after they will have their summer vacation. Also, Keith and I will be starting to swim and bike more after my marathon (in only 1 1/2 weeks!) and might (if Keith's foot is better) start taking a salsa dance class.

We're also going to start exploring all the beaches on the island, as well as the other islands nearby. We also want to do more hiking and camping and photography around Jeju.

Right now we're in the middle of planning a 1 yr anniversary trip (hopefully) to Sri Lanka (near India). The island looks AMAZING....7 UNESCO sites, beautiful national parks with wild animals like leopards, many ruins and ancient cities, beautiful beaches, etc..... I had no idea until I did the research.


We're still trying to figure out vacation dates but I will let you know if we end up booking the trip. And if we're not able to, hey, we will still have an amazing Aug 7th celebration here in beautiful Jeju filled with laughs and love.


-Tina