Cherry Blossoms!

It's that lovely time of the year where Jeju is filled with whitish pink cherry blossoms. They have these pretty trees all over the island and they only last for about 3 weeks. Although you can find some cherry blossoms in the states, the cherry blossoms are a symbol of spring arriving in Jeju. It is so special here, as it also is in Japan, that they even have a cherry blossom festival.

Although I didn't go to the festival since we went last year, I did hike the small mountain near our apartment, Sarabong, with some friends (my neighbors Miriah and Dominic) because the mountain is filled with the beautiful flowers. Check out the many photos I took.

The best part about the end of cherry blossom month is when all the cherry blossom petals begin to fall and cover the streets. It looks like snow or glitter- so pretty!

One thing that I love about the island is that you have something to look forward to with each season. They have the tangerine season, and certain fruits to look forward to throughout the year. Along with the cherry blossoms, they also have the yellow popular rape flowers that come in March, and the galdae reed that lasts yearlong. In addition, there are special festivals almost each month, as well as sports events (frisbee tournament and volleyball tournament) for the foreigners. All these yearly events are exciting to look forward to. What are some yearly events that you look forward to at home?

Radioactive rain!

Hi everyone! Well, this week has certainly been a week full of surprises.

The first one came on Monday, when I was ready to start my new reading and b-ball after-school activity class and then I found it will not start now until the next week. This wasn't surprising news, since things are always changed around. Actually, I was also supposed to start a new writing program for next week but now it will be postponed as well. Therefore, I am spending part of today trying to figure out my lesson for next week. I think I've improved my flexibility skills since living in Korea:)

The next surprise came on Thursday, the morning after I did a late run in the rain.

Let me first tell you that on Wednesday, I had special visitors from KIS (the new international school) come visit my middle school. Although I was quite nervous and hoping that I would make a first good impression of my teaching, as well as a good first impression of the schools in Korea (since it was their first school that they visited in Jeju), I ended up rocking it all! My students behaved wonderful...I was very proud of them! And ALL (and by this I literally mean all!) the students in the entire school gave so much attention to the 3 guests. They actually all first thought they were my family, since I had mentioned before in my classes that my family might come and visit Jeju in the summer. Well, the students spoke as much English as they could and tried to flatter them by giving them many compliments!

I felt a little worried because as soon as the guests left my classroom (which they said they were impressed with my class/lesson! yah!), they were bombarded by hundreds of students in the small hallway. They did tell me they enjoyed the interaction with them though so they could learn more about the culture/ age group. Then, after they enjoyed some lunch in the cafeteria, I showed them the gym and schoolyard outside. While we were out there, since it was the students' lunch time, students were following us around and yelling out of classrooms. The guests were especially amused when the 3rd grade boys yelled from the top floor..."I love you Tina!!" "You're my best friend!" :)

Anyways, back to the surprises...

So that Wednesday night, to celebrate the successful school visit and to get to know our new co-workers better, we went out for sushi with the dean of students, the curriculum planner and her husband. We had a great time and afterward stopped at a brewery for one tasty beer. By the time we got home, it was already 10pm! Yet, I still had to go for an hour run. I've been very very good with being consistent with my marathon training and haven't missed a day, so I made sure to still go out for my run, even after the few beers that I had. However, midway through my run it started raining. Luckily, I was wearing my new Nike running jacket that I had bought while in Malaysia, so that helped the situation. But the next day I was pretty concerned.

When I got to my first class I asked my students "What's the weather like today?". They answered..."It's rainy". I then said "and..." and they replied with worried looks on their face..."and radioactivity teacher".

That caught me off guard! By my wide-open mouth and confused look on my face, the students then said..."dangerous teacher" "japan air conmes to jeju".

I then looked around for my co-teacher and discussed the situation shortly with her. By the end of the day, I had heard the story many times through my students and by reading some news articles online. Koreans, especially in Jeju, were worried about the radiation from Japan. They had found small amounts of radioactivity in the air and supposedly the rain would bring more and could bring radioactivity into the body, causing harm.

I was so scared at first knowing that I had ran in the rain for an hour yesterday. However, after reading the articles online and talking to other westerners, I think the amount is so small that it wouldn't affect someone unless they had direct contact with the radiation for LARGE amounts of time. I read somewhere that you would have to drink about 2 liters a day for a year to have it really affect you. So I THINK I'm safe.

I will keep you updated if I hear otherwise, but just know that the Koreans here are being very cautious. I even heard how they were questioning whether to take off of school because of the rain. Now that wouldn't be a bad idea:) haha



Another surprise came last night for our friend Mona. Her boyfriend Josh threw a surprise party for her at Baghdad (an Indian restaurant) in city hall. She's leaving the island tonight so we all had one last nice dinner with her before she headed back to Canada. Another great friend I will miss, but who I will definitely still in contact with.


When we left the restaurant to head back to our apartment, it was still raining. I used my umbrella but Keith insisted to not try to keep it over his head because his crutches made it too difficult. Well, since his head was getting pretty wet a few Koreans were staring at Keith with concerned looks on their face. They quickly ran over to me and expressed their worry about the danger with the radioactive rain. They told me to take care of him and make sure he doesn't get wet. :) ha I don't know whether to take their concern seriously or think how silly it is for everyone to be out on such a "dangerous" night.

We will know soon enough. Hopefully Keith and I won't get sick within the next few days.


Another surprise was today when, after studying for Korean throughout the week, I was able to text my friend, Eun Mi, in Korean!! Yes, it was difficult at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it. It's so nice to be able to read, write and have success in communicating in Korean! I felt very proud of myself and now will have to start working on my speaking. Eun Mi was very excited too when she received the message in Korean. We had a nice time chatting and practicing some Korean today when we met up at lunchtime at the Paris Baguette cafe near my school. Next week, we will begin trying to have a Korean conversation. This means next week I will have to really try to learn some useful phrases and prepare them for next Friday's meeting. Although, Eun Mi is due any week now! She will be having her baby boy very very soon! Each week I see her she is looking more round and ready for that baby to pop out! I cannot wait to meet him. I already know her 4 year old daughter, Hey Ji, who is so sweet and cute. She is also beginning to learn English, so hopefully we will both be able to communicate together.

Well, besides the surprises, the radioactive rain, and improving my Korean, I am doing excellent with my marathon training. It's actually going smoother than I had imagined it would go. I haven't had much soreness, only some knee pains for a short time during my long runs. It always seems to go away though. I am proud to say I ran 14 miles last week, which is a lil longer than half a marathon! Tonight my goal is to run 16 miles, which should take me about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Wish me luck! y goals next week are to do more yoga, weightlifting and boot-camp on top of my running. On Mondays I run hills for my cross-training and I am on 10 hills. This weekend and next I will be practicing ultimate frisbee for the big tourney that's on April 23rd and 24th. I hope to quickly improve because I haven't had much practice yet.

Well, that seems to be it right now for updates on the week. Oh and one more thing....the cherry blossoms are beautiful right now! My school and Sarabong are surrounded by this pretty pink flower. I will try to remember to take pictures to upload on here next week.

Cheers~

Japan's Tsunami

It is truly horrible what happened in Japan with the earthquake/ Tsunami. I just want to say that if anyone is concerned since we live so close (2 hours by plane!), you don't have to be. The radiation and waves hit in the opposite direction so we have not been affected at all. My co-teachers have made it clear to me that South Korea has been doing everything they can to check the air and make sure we are not at risk.

Thanks for everyone's concern and I hope that the small radiation that they found in Chicago will not be harmful at all. Please give me updates!

Goals for April

Wow, I can't believe it's already April. I am certainly happy that it's getting closer to summer. Jeju weather seems to be getting warmer and sunnier each day.

Last year, we had quite a surprising and special April... Keith proposed to me on Easter! This year, we will still be celebrating the special occasion. To go along with the April theme of "achieving our dreams", I will be working hard with my semester goals.

Some goals I will be focusing on are:

-training for the Jeju June marathon!!
-practicing and playing in the Jeju ultimate frisbee tourney
-practicing for the May Jeju beach v-ball tourney
-improving my Korean
-always improving my teaching
-continuing with yoga (I take a class each Sunday and also do sports yoga in our apt. a few times a week)


School

This month, I will be starting my after-school reading class and after-school basketball class. The b-ball class is part of my required teaching hours; however, I will get paid extra for doing my reading class. In the after-school classes, I usually only have about 12 students and they are usually all really well-behaved. So I really enjoy having this time to get to know my students, help them individually and see them succeed.
Also, teaching in my regular classes is going great. The students all seem to have fun in my class but also show a lot of respect for me. I always have students saying hi to me in the hall, stopping by my office to say hello and for the most part, behaving well in my class. Since our school is a "model" school, we will be starting a new writing program this semester. Therefore, in 2 weeks I will start teaching writing to my students. I am interested as to how the students take this since usually my class is fun (lots of games, ppts and visuals) and conversational. However, from some experience already with the grade 1 students, they seem to be better behaved and quiet with writing lessons! I will keep you updated, but I'm excited if it's true that all my students will be more quiet during class because they will be writing.


Running

So far, the marathon training is going great! I started March 1st, so I am now one month into my training. Sundays are my long days, and this Sunday I will be running 14 miles, which will take me about 2 hours. It feels great to be taking baby steps towards my goal and I cannot believe I am already halfway there.





Getting ready to go on a run!



















Korean

To improve my Korean, I am studying whenever I get the chance....on the bus (reading signs or studying my notes), in the taxi (great conversation practice), with my students (to impress them), at the office when I am not teaching (to keep me productive), with a grade 1 student who comes to visit me in my office after lunch, and also when I meet with my Korean friend, Eun Mi, once a week. We spend a few hours catching up in English and also working on my Korean. Right now, I am mostly focusing on writing and reading Hangul (the language), as well as learning some of the rules. Soon, I hope to learn more phrases/vocabulary to use in conversation. I have recently collected some "Korean Made Easy" books and a English-Korean dictionary so those are helping as well.



I hope to see improvements and I hope to achieve my goals this semester. Then, in June, after the marathon, I hope to alter my goals to new ones. I am thinking about taking a salsa dance class with Keith, and then in the fall start training for a possible tri-athlon. Therefore, I would be cycling, swimming and running for training. There is also a new Italian cooking school that just opened. It will be near our new home in September (in Seogwipo/ the south end of the island). So, maybe cooking classes will be a new hobby of ours. Guitar is also something that both Keith and I hope to learn sometime this year or next year. A friend of ours will be handing over one of his guitars to us. We cannot wait! I think life is all about trying new things, having new experiences and living life to its fullest. Why not keep life exciting by exploring all the options you have in life and seeing which ones truly make you the happiest?

New bikes/ new friends

This is the bike that I just bought last week. I'm extremely excited because I haven't had a bike since middle school. Our friend just left the island so she sold it to me for a great price. The bike will be perfect for our new location, since we will be very close to the beautiful Olle trails, nature (away from the city), and to many bike paths.

Since foreigners are always coming and going on this island, there are constant farewell parties and things for sale. We also just bought a toaster oven and Foreman style grill for really cheap (like $10 each). And these items seem to be specialties here. Our neighbors are also donating their Christmas tree and decorations to us when they leave next month.


But with the fun parties and for-sale items, comes the time that we have to say goodbye to good people. It can be difficult to constantly say bye to a new friend that we have only just started to get to know. Some people here try not to attach because of this. We just have to hope that our paths will meet again one day in the future. This is actually likely though, since everyone here loves to travel and is constantly living in new countries overseas. For example, we have a friend who will be living in Argentina, another friend in Australia, one in New Zealand, one in Peru and one in Spain! This will be wonderful for staying connected, for possible future jobs and for having someone to visit when we travel or live in a new country.

How would you like always meeting new people, but also always saying bye to people? It's an interesting concept. Some positives but also negatives to the situation.


Below is a picture of Jeju friends at our friend, Sarah's b-day dinner. We met new people here and also were saying bye to friends that night who are leaving the island. For example, the other picture shows our friend Sachin, who is also from Chicago. He just left and had a big farewell celebration at the popular bar, Island Stone. He made sure to take a picture with everyone who came so that he'll always remember them.

Korean/Japan relationship

One interesting thing I learned from my Korean friend last week is about the Jeju dialect. The younger generation all learn the Korean language; therefore, when they travel to the mainland they all speak the same language. However, the older generation (students' grandparents) seem to speak their own language at times, which the younger kids don't always understand. It's funny to hear this, but I think I can relate this to western culture. The older generation in the US sometimes also speak words or phrases that younger kids don't especially know or use these days. And likewise. The even more interesting thing that I learned is that the reason behind this secret Jeju dialect is because the grandparents lived at a time when some Japanese lived in Jeju. This was the period that Japanese tried to take control of Korea. While they were in this process, many Koreans picked up some Japanese phrases, thus, combining Korean and Japanese into their Jeju dialect.

My Korean friend also taught me about the history of the relationship between Japan and Korea. The first big event was actually in 1885, when Japanese gangsters killed the Korean Queen. They burned her so that there would be no body; therefore, no memory of her existence. Then, in 1910, there was the Japanese Ruling Era which was the time that the Japanese took control of the Korean government. During this period, the Japanese tormented the Koreans. She gave me detailed examples like piercing the Korean's fingernails, making them faint by intense pain, raping women, having a room with spikes and pushing them into the wall, pushing their noses into spicy water, cutting off body parts. I was shocked that she could explain this to me and felt sick to my stomach after hearing all of this.

The Korean people were also used for Japanese medical experiments. For example, Korean and Chinese people were put into a gas room or cold room to see how long a human body could last in this extreme environment. The Japanese also inserted bacteria to see the results. Basically, they were used as animals in order to improve the Japanese medical studies. Thus, that is one reason why they have become a country with such an advanced medical field.

In 1945, after the atomic bomb in Hiroshima occurred during WWII, there was the Independent Movement in Korea. Since Japan lost the war to the US, Japan finally declared Korea's independence. Therefore, Aug. 15th, 1945 is Korea's important Independence Day. Last year, Keith and I were gone for the holiday because of our wedding so it will be interesting to see this August how they celebrate this special day.

Because of this horrible past with Japan, many Koreans (mostly the older generation who lived during this era) despise Japan. And by do not like, I mean they really really do not like the country. However, the younger generation is very different. Children and those in their 20s/30s study Japanese in school, travel to Japan, listen to Japanese music, read their comic books, and basically are really interested in their culture. So I think it is more the country as a whole that Koreans frown upon. But when it comes to the culture and people, Koreans are interested and accepting.

It's so great to have Korean friends here. Not only are they helping me improve my Korean each week, but also teaching me about the history and culture. I am also returning the favor, by teaching my Korean friends the US history and culture.

Since I will be the new ESL teacher at the international school, one of my goals this semester is to improve my Korean so that I can be very helpful in my class and fully understand my students. Knowing how to read and write, along with some basic Korean phrases and words really go a long way in the classroom. I somewhat understand what the students are asking or I can teach them how to spell Korean words in English. By practicing the language in my class, my students are also helping me improve my Korean.

Language exchange is a wonderful thing. I would highly recommend it for anyone living overseas. It's the best way to learn firsthand about the language, culture and country's history.

Times a flyin!

I cannot believe how fast this semester has already taken off! We are four weeks into the new semester, which is already one month of four finished. In August, we will be leaving EPIK and beginning training at the new international school, KIS. It has been exciting to start learning more about the school and to begin meeting more of the staff. KIS created a website that includes all the staff members (teachers, dean of students, board specialists, curriculum planner, directors, etc). The website is intended for everyone to meet one another before arriving to Jeju in August for the training. The website is also a great place for us to start learning about the curriculum they are creating, the philosophy and goals of the school, details about our specific department, a place to share ideas and documents, etc.

During the first week of April, the director (who interviewed and hired us), curriculum planner and dean of students will visit my middle school in order to observe how a Korean school is run. I will show them around, have them see the cafeteria, PE, Korean classes and my class in action, meet the principal and teachers, etc. Wish me luck when they observe my class!

Other things going on... Well, what's not going on??! Let me show you an example of how busy our weekends are-

This weekend:
Friday- Language exchange (I'm helping a student with English and they help me with Korean), then housewarming party for our friend
Saturday- AM workout, zorbing (can't wait! this is where you are in a big ball and you roll down a hill) and dinner for Angela's b-day, salsa dance performance for our friend Abby, then meeting up with a few friends to say bye since they're leaving the island
Sunday-early 8am skype with friends from home, 12 mile run (about 1 hr. 45 mins!), then clean apt, then yoga class and weightlifting at gym, then dinner and finally grocery shopping at E-mart

Yes, that's how busy we are right now. It's always a mix of fun things and errands but having a completely packed schedule can be exhausting!


Something else new is my schedule. After finally receiving a set class schedule after 2 weeks of school, a new teacher (our friend Simon from England actually) just got moved to my school on Fridays. I have always had one other foreign teacher come once a week however this semester they were not going to do this. Well, like things always do here, this was changed and now I have no classes on Friday! This is great because now I have time to work on lessons, catch up with e-mails, and also with my blog each Friday! Plus, the week seems a lot shorter. Only 4 days of teaching...thank you:) On the other hand, my Mondays through Thursdays are very busy. In April, on top of my 18 hours of classes, I will have an after-school reading class and an after-school basketball class. These times occur during my office hours (3:30-4:30, so it's nice that I can still leave at the same time. However, this means that I will have 5 or 6 classes each day M>R. I'll see how I like this schedule. So far though, I like being busy throughout the week. It makes the day go by faster and I am more productive when I do have free time.

I will try my best to begin writing a little bit about Jeju life, Korean culture, and updates on Keith and I each Friday, so that I'm not only writing about our trips.








A group of friends going zorbing for Angela's b-day!!








The zorbing balls














The path that you roll down for zorbing









Dune Buggy!! So much fun~



















The b-day girl Angela, with a beer and barbie. Very appropriate:)













Keith and I zorbing together. Too bad his hand came out of the wrist band and smacked me in the head! Ouch!! ha but good times!

































Our beautiful friend (and neighbor!) Abby at her salsa dance recital! Keith and I hope to join in June. Looks like so much fun.