Yeongdo Port Festival

Aaron and I were invited to go with the Che Family to the Yeongdo (Island) Port Festival on Sunday! The festival had all kinds of entertainment, and for all ages!

Here is korea's form of bumper boats! There are no motors in these... the kids actually have to pedal them to make the wheels move! It didn't seem to bother them though!

One of the main forms of entertainment for the festival was this quiz game! About 100 Korean middle school students sat here, in these chairs, for over 2 hours, answering questions about the history of Yeongdo Port! The winner won a laptop computer!

This was my favorite part! A Hip Hop contest! These guys were legit!

The festival had police and military ships open to the public to tour ~ Here I am, sitting in the captains chair of a huge police ship! I loved that we were able to play around with the controls, talk on the phones, and sit in the captains seat! That was my kind of tour! (Teju, Aaron, Me, and Emily)
Mr Che arranged for us to ride on this pirate ship around the harbor! Minus the extreme wind, it was really awesome!

Here we are, inside the ship! (Mr. Che, me, and Teju)

I found this jacket and hat hanging on the wall, and put it on! Aaron likes to make faces behind me, when I think he's smiling for the picture!

Emily and I!

Teju, Me, "Wendy's mom", and Mr. Che near the bow of the ship... with the pirate!

It was sooooo windy! I'm actually holding my hair down in this picture and it's still flying everywhere!
You can tell that Aaron builds special relationships with his students, because, as we were walking, Teju grabbed Aaron's hand! In Korea, this is what best friends, or sons and dad's do together. I thought it was really cool.

We had an awesome time with the Che's and Emily, as always! We are so blessed to have such an awesome Korean family to love on us!

Mini World Cup Match!

On Saturday, Aaron, and I ventured over to Gyodeem Elementary School to watch my school play in their first game of the mini-World Cup! As it turns out, we do indeed live in a small world, because when we got there, Aaron immediately noticed that his kids were playing my kids! Yep, it was Yeongdo against Gamjung! With hundreds of schools in the area, what are the chances?!

Here are my boys, with coach Jason, during the halftime break, getting a little pep talk! At this point, the score was 1-0! We were winning!
The game ended in a tie, so there was a shoot out, where each team had 4 chances to make a goal...

This is when my boys thought there were going to win!

and this is when they realized they weren't. It didn't help that Aaron's school's goalie was 6 feet tall!

I felt bad for my boys, because I knew they really wanted to win and had been practicing everyday, but it was nice to see Aaron's kiddos win a victory! They cheered like they were in the major leagues, and danced around the field like David Beckham! It was actually really cute, and was really awesome to see them interacting with Aaron. You can tell they absolutely adore him!

The school happened it be smack dab in the middle of an industrial area, sprinkled with brightly painted walls, rusted from years of rain. We thought this one was beautiful and had to take a quick snapshot! :)

Music Monday!

You guys are in for a real treat with this one! i'd like to introduce you to Korea's heartthrob - RAIN! Girls go crazy when they see him, or hear him! You can hear the screams for miles! (Okay, not really... but you get the idea!)

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's probably because of how he looks at about 3:20 in this video! HhhhEeeeLlllLlllOooo!

Kimbap Class!

Today was the annual Kimbap making class for the 6th graders and I knew I had to be there! I love kimbap and I love my kids, so it made for a perfect Saturday afternoon!

The 6th graders all know that I love chamchi (tuna) kimbap without danmuji (a sour raddish) and mayonaise (because I'm trying to eat more healthy), because we've been talking, in class, about our favorite foods!

Anyhow, apparently they've been listening to me, because they kept giving me pieces of their tuna kimbap rolls and saying, "Alexis, This is for you! Chamchi kimbap... danmuji hago miyonasuh bego" (which means, "There is no danmjui or mayo!) I love these kids! They're always so thoughtful and generous with the little they have to share! Such great examples!

12 hours

For the past 8 months, I've kept track of how many classes I've taught a week... I'm a fanatic when it comes to lists, and I don't think it would be a stretch to say "they make me REALLY happy!"

Anyhow, this week, none of my classes were cancelled, and it's the FIRST time in those 8 months that that has happened! (Oh and by the way, my paychecks are ALWAYS the same amount, no matter how many of my classes are canceled!! Can you believe that?!) It's been like a dream working here! I did a little math this afternoon, to figure out how many hours I actually taught this week, and the majic number was 12!

That's right people... 12 hours in the classroom! Granted, I'm still lesson planning outside of those 12 hours, but I'm re-using the lessons I planned last year, so that time is VERY minimal!

I think it's a good time to ask, "Anyone wanna come teach in Korea with me?!"

Mini World Cup

With the World Cup just around the corner, the school district decided to hold their very own "Mini World Cup!" Here are the 16 players representing Gamjung, before school this morning! I asked Ella if they are going to have uniforms, and she told me they will wear matching soccer socks! haha

If they knew I was dating a former college soccer star, they would go crazy!! I'm sure they would love for him to be their coach! Unfortunately, all I can offer is a little cheering assistance! Sorry boys!

A little relaxation!

Sometimes, after a long day at work, all we really need is a little relaxation, right?! Maybe a massage, a quick trip to the nail salon, a comfy night-in with a good gossip magazine, some jazz music over a delicious home cooked italian meal, or a romantic comedy will send us into that fabulous relaxing state we all love!!

Well, enough of that! I've got exactly 50 days and counting until this body of mine is gonna be in a bathing suit on the beaches of Boracay! I can't be wasting anymore time...

So, tonight, I pushed those thoughts of "relaxing" out the window and hiked the mountain, which happens to be my backyard - literally! When I finally made it to the top, I plopped down on a rock and took in the beauty before me and realized that this spot and I are gonna become great friends over the next 50 days!

I miss you Target!!!

Ladies... If you wear a size 9 shoe, you know how easy it is to find shoes in America! If you're a size 9 in Korea, it's impossible! I am in DESPERATE need of some black heels, and literally every store carries sizes up to an 8 1/2! I've tried squeezing into them, but I can't get my heel to drop into the darn sole! ggrrr!!!

So, tonight I had the bright idea of going online to my favorite shopping websites, hoping to find some black heels - to no avail! They were either $100.00, or used and disgusting! So, I thought TARGET! I love Target's stuff, and they will ship to me! So, I went online and found the most adorable black heels - PERFECTION!

I proceeded to check out, grab my wallet to pay, and then I was told that shipping to Korea was impossible! Denied by Target... my favorite store in the world!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the only thing Korea needs, in my opinion, is a Target store that carries size 9 shoes and has a snack bar with that delicious Target popcorn that we all grew up on! :)

I miss you Target!

It's here! It's here!

My blog book arrived in the mail today at my school and I am so excited about it! It turned out really beautifully, if I don't say so myself!

Printed on the back cover:

"This book is a memoir of my 1st year living abroad, teaching English in S. Korea. During the year, I traveled through Korea, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, learned a new language, lost love and found new love, ate foods I never imagined I would ever try, walked and rode a bus to work, attended funerals, weddings and birthday parties, had a beloved pet die in my arms, hiked gorgeous mountains, shared soup with strangers, found a love for writing and photography, laughed at Konglish T-shirts, bought my food from outdoor farmers markets, learned new games, wore slippers at work, fell in love with coffee, realized I'm great with kids, and ultimately found myself in all the adventure!"

Here are some random pages for you to get a little peak at:

I'm hoping this book remains in my family for generations to come, and is a way for my great great grandchildren to get to know their grandma Jillers! I can't thank Aaron enough for this incredibly thoughtful birthday gift!

Politics... Korean Style!

So, we're in the midst of the big election season around here and things are starting to get a little rowdy! :) On every street corner, you're bound to find men and women, dressed in matching outfits, doing a little jig in support of their candidate!

Watch this!!!

If that's not enough to get you to vote for their candidate, maybe this will pull you to their side... a makeshift truck, decorated with the candidates pictures, and sometimes adorned with dancing voters! Not only do these trucks sit in parking lots, blasting karaeokee style songs about the candidate, they also drive slowly through neighborhoods at all hours of the day blaring reasons why you should vote for their candidate!! Lovely, huh!

Good news is, June 2nd is election day, so I get the day off!

Just in time...

I got to school early today, hoping to have some time to look over my lesson plan and check my e-mail! Unfortunately, I got here just in time to break up a fight between a 4th grade boy and a 6th grade girl! (As a side note, the idea of "boys shouldn't hit girls" doesn't really exist in Korea! It's more of a free for all!) Anyway, their classmates were all standing outside the door to the classroom while the 2 of them went at it inside. "Miss Alexis, Help!" was the first thing I heard when I turned the corner to my hallway... I threw my stuff down and entered the firing zone!!

I softly yelled, "Ya! Ya!" which means, "Hey!" then I separated them and made them sit on their knees with their hands in the air! I apparently didn't get there fast enough because the girl had a fresh black eye! She probably deserved it! She's a real B! I stared them down for about 2 minutes, as tears rushed down their cheeks! (No Korean student wants their teacher to stare them down.) Once I felt like I had adequately embarrassed them infront of their classmates, I sent them back to their classrooms, and that was the end of it!

No principals office, no detention, just a simple stare from me is enough punishment for them!

Boracay, voted #1 beach in the world!!

... and I'm gonna be there in July! That's right, for 14 days, I'll be relaxing on the white sand beaches, snorkeling in the crystal clear water, eating delicious Phillipino food, and probably reading books, while sipping on my 20 cent diet cokes!

I'm doing it EAT, PRAY, LOVE style, since I'm going alone!

I'm excited for the chance to travel alone and see what experiences it brings! :) I did my homework, and found an incredible deal! I saved myself over $300!! For a measley $458.00, I'll be on my way to Paradise and back!

It's moments like these that I realize how lucky I am to be living here in Asia, and how much I was meant to travel! I just can't get enough of it!

I still can't believe I get to go to places like this for my vacations!

Music Monday!

Group Name: GIRLS GENERATION
Song Name: OH!

If you didn't think Korean girls were cute before... Think again!

Korean Commercials...

This is one of my favorite sets of commercials right now in Korea! It's for a won cashing place (which is basically like an American check cashing place!)

It's a 2 part commercial... ENJOY the craziness!

The Down Side

Aaron snapped this picture of Togi today,

with her trail of poop and said,

"This is the downside to having a rabbit!"

Then I snapped this picture a couple minutes later and said,

"This is the downside to living in Korea

and being prescribed cough medicine

that looks like rabbit poop!"

I've only taken one dose, because it tastes and smells so gross!

As you can see, Togi is MUCH more interested in her poop

than I am in my medicine!

Samkwangsa Temple

Last night, Aaron and I ventured over to a huge temple in Busan for Buddha's birthday! Here's a little history lesson for ya! Seokgamoni, the founding figure of Buddhism was born on the 8th day of the 4th lunar year (which usually falls sometime in May) and Buddha's birthday is the most important holiday of the year for Buddhists.

The temple complex is so big in fact, that there is a space for 10,000 Buddhists to gather together at one time!! There were thousands of people walking the grounds of the temple last night... and probably tens of thousands of lanterns lighting the way!

On the street leading to the temple, street vendors had set up shop to sell their fruits, vegetables, traditional Korean sauces, fried chicken, fresh pajung, sweet potato fries, squid balls, candy, etc... It was a party, for sure! Here's an ajuma selling some traditional Korean rice cakes which she probably made in her own kitchen.

This was a Korean traditional candy making table. Kids love this stuff! The candy is made from melting brown sugar at just the right temperature. It's then flattened and stamped with a shape like a heart or a star and the kids use toothpicks to try to punch the shape out!

These gorgeous traditional lanterns lit the street leading to the temple!

Each lantern within the temple structure has a special paper hanging from it with a number and a name. I'm not sure what this means, but some people were searching for their lantern and stopping to pray at it.

We spotted this woman, tucked back in a balcony area of one of the temple structures, meditating and chanting...

Me and Aaron :)

This was a 9 tier, 8 sided, 90 foot tall Daebo Pagoda carved with 53 Buddha relics. Buddhist followers were walking around the pagoda with their hands in a prayer position chanting sutra to the 53 names of Buddha. They believe it deepens their piety and gets rid of evil spirits.

Dragon's are a huge part of Buddhism... Apparently they represent defenders of the faith and are a positive symbol in the religion. Interesting huh?

I'm always taken back when I see this sign! I have to remind myself that it's not the nazi symbol! This was one of the main buildings on the temple grounds, adorned with colorful lanterns!

It was magical the way the lanterns lit the night sky...

I had heard about this temple, but I had no idea until I got there how incredibly beautiful it was! Visiting a Buddhist temple during this time of the year is an experience that I think everyone should have! I've seen beautiful beaches, gorgeous monuments, and fantastic nightscapes... but I have never, in my life, seen anything like I did last night!