Shouting!!! World Cup Fever!

Wow! I have to say I've never seen a country that enjoys cheering on their soccer team more than S. Korea. Granted I haven't seen many, but that is besides the point~ During the month of June, Korea played against several different teams including Argentina, Nigeria and Uraguay. The country literally came to a standstill during these match-ups so that everyone had a chance to watch the game. We soon joined in the FIFA fever! I have never been more interested in soccer in my life. My good friend Jon Lennon, tried to give me all the ins and outs of the game, including his occasional sarcastic crack about how the U.S. is the only country in the world that takes time outs, whines about plays...etc etc. Despite his half-joking attitude about us, he did prove to be a good teacher to help me understand what was going on. He's a great sport and says things like "it'll be grand". He's Irish by the way, did I mention that? And he happens to completely remind me of my brother-in-law Josh.

Anyways, so back to the soccer frenzy. Kayleigh and I went out with the rest of Gongju for a drink at one of the local university bars and watched with intense concentration. Well, maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, but we did try. In between catching up on the usual daily chatter. :) Now the games ranged from 9pm, 11:30pm and 3:30am start times. Luckily most of them fell in the 9:00-11:30 start time. One happened to be at 3:30am while I was traveling with my students to Jeju Island and to my utter shock, every single student and teacher (minus me!) stayed awake all night to cheer on their Korean idols.

The last game in which we sadly lost, my friend decided we needed to do it up big, so we drove to Daejeon World Cup Stadium and crammed in with tons of other Red Deviled fans. It was actually one of the most exciting games I've ever been to and we were just watching on TV! I had a stomachache towards the end wondering if we'd ever score and finally when all hope seemed lost, we got a goal. If we had happened to win this game, we'd meet up with the U.S in the next round which put me in a dilemma. Who do I vote for? Fortunately I did not have to make such a difficult decision. Uraguay put us out of our misery by getting one more goal in the final minutes.

This was definitely the highlight of June along with my trip to Jeju which I'll write about shortly. Sorry, this summer is flying by and it's hard to keep up! 26 days until we actually fly home. I can hardly believe it! Hope you are staying cool this summer and enjoying some travel with friends or family.

Buddha's Birthday = Beach Trip!

We had a 3 day weekend in late May in honor of Buddha's birthday but since we clearly had no spiritual connection to this holiday, we decided a trip to the beach was a good way to celebrate. In fact, a trip to the beach is the perfect way to celebrate anything in my opinion! :)

Navigating and organizing this trip were Namuk and April. Kayleigh and I were mostly along for the ride and Namuk was driving and brought 2 of his other Korean friends. This made for a unique situation since they didn't speak English, we don't speak Korean and April and Namuk had to act as international translators for the entire trip! :) Luckily some things can be communicated without words.

Our trip began with a long drive to Gojedo Island. We got out and explored a rock beach for awhile and then found some lunch. We spent the rest of the day at a POW museum and headed back to the beach in the late afternoon. We decided that April looked entirely too comfortable burying herself in the sand and plotted to drag her in the water. After much kicking and screaming, we managed to dunk her and as revenge, she then proceeded to knock Namuk in next. It was really funny! After the beach and changing clothes, we found this amazing buffet that served all you can eat, meat! It was the most delicious meal I have had in Korea. Wow!

The next part of our journey was not quite as enjoyable. Because it was a holiday weekend, we were not able to get a hotel and that means we were stuck staying at a Korean jimjilbang (public shared bathhouse). This was to be my 3rd experience at this type of place and I fully anticipated getting zero sleep and my expectations were right on target. If I can instill a mental image for you, picture me laying down on the hard floor in between a set of lockers in a girls locker room, using my rain jacket, shorts and t-shirt as a blanket, my other pants as a pillow, lights on, people everywhere, talking loudly, slamming lockers. And then at 3am, having a old naked Korean woman telling me to move because she couldn't get into her locker. Not the ideal way to be bothered in the middle of the night. I can't say she woke me up though, because that would imply that I slept. However, since this particular situation was out of my control, I did the best I could and tried to enjoy the remainder of our trip.

We drove to Jeonju the next morning and ate bibimbab which Jeonju happens to be well known for. Then we walked around the city and participated in a traditional Korean tea ceremony. We also went to a foot spa and soaked our cold feet in different mixtures of therapies based on our personality test. That was interesting. The weather was rainy the entire day and after fighting with it for hours, we settled into a warm and dry tea shop for some drinks and games. We left Jeonju around 5:00 and headed back to Gongju. I was worn out and grateful that Namuk's friend still had energy enough to drive us safely home!

Sports Day!

The month of May had several holidays as well as school activities. My school happened to celebrate their 30th anniversary and it was exciting to be a part of that. We had a school festival, talent show and an alumni concert. There were hundreds of former students and staff that attended and our school pride was clearly visible during these events. I have formed a great bond with my coworkers and students this year and getting to see them shine was a great highlight for me. We also had a Sport Day festival in which every class participated in different events such as tug of wars, jump roping, 3 legged races, baton races and the biggest competition; volleyball! This Sport festival lasted all day and it was a great way for classes to express their team spirit. I was appointed as one of the judges to see which class had the most spirit throughout the day and watching them perform cheers and make up songs with my name in it (in order to win of course) was truly hilarious!

Because of all these events, holidays and trips, May FLEW by and I can't believed how long it has been since I blogged! Sorry for being such a slacker! Hope the end of the semester has gone well with all of you and you are enjoying whatever your summer may bring! I can definitely say that I miss being at home this summer. There are so many summer activities I love to do and I am really excited about seeing all my friends and family again in a couple short months! Until then~Annyeong!

Spice Chicks Tour Busan

My friends Abigail, Meghan and Kayleigh and I have decided to form our own version of the Spice girls. Abigail being Kooky Spice, Meghan, Chill Spice, Kayleigh Fit Spice and Me, Wit Spice! Haha, we've really enjoyed getting to know these girls and have had a blast exploring Korea with them. At the end of April, we took a weekend trip to Busan, the 2nd largest city in Korea. It's located in the south and is right on the ocean. It was a fantastic city to visit and luckily our friend Meghan had lived there for a year prior to coming to Gongju so she acted as a perfect tour guide. We got in late Friday night and hit up some of the popular foreign hot spots. Stayed out way too late and then spent the night in a jimjilbang. For those who don't know what that is, it's a common way to stay somewhere for very cheap. However it does come with a price and that is, YOU DON'T SLEEP! For those who know me well, I am a pyscho sleeper anyways and this is not in any way the ideal place for me to try and get rested. More to come on the terrors of the public bath house sleeping rooms in a later addition...

So the next morning we crawled out of our capsules and headed out for the day. We traveled to Haeundae Beach and had breakfast and watched the morning beach goers. It was a beautiful day in the 70s and there was one guy that kept us amused as he practically screamed at whoever he was talking to on his "handphone" while wearing a business suit and hanging out at the ocean. Tranquil was not in his vocabulary. We played around at the water's edge, I fell in after trying to show off my gymnastics abilities (wet underwear is not a pleasant way to start the day, just FYI) and then we headed to our next destination. We dropped our stuff off at a hotel, which much to my delight had the softest, bounciest beds we have slept on since we arrived in Korea and trekked to Beomosa Temple. It was a beautiful place to walk around and one of the better temples I've visited. I'm kind of getting to the point where you've seen one, you've seen them all. Ok, correction. I am at that point. But anyways, we enjoyed that and then tried to find a place where we could get on cablecars and ride to the top of a mountain. After a long, expensive, completely misunderstood taxi ride, we gave up and just decided to hit the spa.

We went to the largest bathhouse I've ever seen. In it, there were different pools such as green tea, barley tea, pine etc. and many different temperatures to enjoy a long soak. I won't be posting any pictures from this part of our trip! :) After spending several hours at the spa, we went and ate dinner, had drinks at a fun bar that Meghan knew and then made our way to noribang (karaoke). We sang the night away, again way too late! But it was so much fun! We only paid for an hour but the guy was so awesome, he just let us keep going even though our time was up. I think we stayed for a little over 2 hours! haha We made it back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

The next morning we headed to a famous fish market and walked around considering our options and checking out all the amazing kinds of seafood. We decided to have a traditional Korean sushi breakfast, along with some BBQ'd fish. We met a super awesome man named Mr. Joo who helped us pick out the best ones. He prepared it all for us and sat and chatted with us while we ate. We headed out to an island next where you can walk around and visit a cool lighthouse and see the cliffs along the coast. We finished up there, had a late lunch and started to make it back towards the terminal to catch our late afternoon bus. We took the KTX to Pusan so it was only 2 hours. It goes over 300 kilometers an hour! Super cool like the bullet train (Shinkansen) in Japan. You can check email, do karaoke, visit the snack car, play videogames or just relax. It is a very nice way to travel. I'm sad that Abigail is leaving in just a week and our Spice Chicks Tour must come to an end but it's been an awesome ride. Thanks for the memories girls!

Refreshing Spring

Ah! Spring is finally here! The weather is so beautiful. There are many festivals all around Korea to celebrate the new flowers. There are cherry blossoms, forsythias, tulips, magnolias, daisy, and green buds on the trees. The spring really brightens the mood! Michelle and I have been traveling every weekend. WE have spent the weekend at flower festivals near temples and visited friends in Seoul. We are also planning to go to Pusan, a pottery festival, buttery festival, and more! I have also been hiking a lot lately because the weather is nicer. My friend April and I often visit a nearby mountain for a day hike and to look at the temples. The time is flying by, which I am bittersweet about.

Teaching this semester is going wonderful. I have all new students and we have had a lot of fun doing various lessons. These days the lesson is on inventions and advertisements. The main project is to create an invention and then make an advertisement of their invention using colored paper, crayons, and other decor. Prizes will be given to the ones with the best English, the most interesting, and my personal favorites. So to win the "Ms.L's Favorite" prize, a lot of them are naming their inventions after me. So far they have created a nose picker, flying shoes, a machine that you step into to give you a new hairstyle, nose shape, face shape, and eyes, an eraser that will erase anything (including people!), and so far the most peculiar, is a desk for students that will chop your head off if you lay down to go to sleep during class. Yikes!

We have about 4 more months left before returning home. I am getting anxious! I have already started a list in my mind of all the foods I want to eat and all the dishes and treats I wan to bake in an oven! Ohhhhhh, to be reunited with an oven once again! What a joy! Some of the places and foods I am looking forward to eating are...Oregano's, Cheesecake Factory, Subway, Papa John's Pizza, Sweet Tomatoes, whole wheat bread, salads, good cereal, spaghetti sauce, and Circle K Thirst Busters.

As I think about all the things I am looking forward to when I return home, or if my mind dwells too much on actually going home, I am reminded of this verse I read recently. James 4:13-15 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." This helps me to live in the moment.

We have started up our ladies bible study again. We are reading through 1 Peter and are being challenged and comforted by it. It is always encouraging to get together with other women, especially when you are out of your "comfort zone". I look forward to meeting each week to be refreshed from a busy weekend!

Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Kayleigh

In my opinion, language is so funny!

This past week, I've been doing a lesson with my girls at school about giving opinions and also using the expression "Do you mind...?" Both lessons have led to some really funny dialogues. Here are a few of my favorites.

A: What do you think about Miss Hixson?
B: In my opinion, she is a good teacher.
A: What do you mean by that?
B: She is beautiful, funny and kind.
A: That makes sense.

Awww, how sweet!

A: Do you mind if I hit you?
B: Sure, no problem

A: Do you mind if I wear your underwear?
B: No, I don't mind.

A: Do you mind if I put my 2 fingers in your nose holes?
B: Sure, no problem.

A: Do you mind if I fart here?
B: Yes, I do mind.

haha

A: Do you mind if I steal your home?
B: Sure, no problem.

A: Do you mind if I open your shirt?
B: Sure, no problem

next...

A: Do you mind if I touch your skin?
B: Sure, no problem.

had to stop them at that...not sure where they were headed.

A: What do you think about your sister?
B: In my opinion, my sister is an annoying person.
A: What do you mean by that?
B: I mean that my sister makes a lot of noise. (clamor) **dictionaries make everything fun
A: That makes sense.

A: What do you think of your home?
B: I think that my home is very happy.
A: What do you mean by that?
B: I mean that my house has a lot of food.
A: That makes sense.

A: What do you think about toilets in our school?
B: In my opinion, they are very dirty.
A: What do you mean by that?
B: It seems to me that is smells bad and there is dung around the toilet.
A: That makes sense.

A: What do you think about chicken?
B: I think that it is very delicious but it can make you fat.
A: What do you mean by that?
B: It is too oily.
A: That makes sense.

I really love my students. They keep me laughing~ Hope you enjoyed!!

Update (Thank God for Spring!)

So there hasn't been too much to report over the last month. We both started back to school the first week of March and are really enjoying our second semester. Each of us have new students, mine are some old, some new, but it has been fun getting to start fresh with a new batch. I'm teaching 22 classes a week same as before and it keeps me really busy. I have a new coteacher this semester and she is fantastic. I was really fond of Mr. Kim and he really went to bat for me but my co teacher is a good friend and her communication skills are awesome. It's so nice being understood! Kayleigh is doing a little bit different classes this semester. She is the main teacher once a week and then the assistant to a Korean teacher for the same classes the second time in the week. She enjoys getting to know her students more because of seeing them twice a week now.

The weather for all of March was still very cold and rainy. We have so badly wanted to see spring and I think it has finally arrived! We had a wonderful Easter weekend in the 60s and bright sunny days. The trees are just beginning to bloom and it was gorgeous! I've heard that April is a beautiful month and I can't wait to see it in action. We've got several upcoming festivals and weekend trips planned and it should make the spring go by very quickly. We've been making more friends here in Gongju with other foreigners and it's fun to travel together. Some new teachers have just arrived for the new spring term and it's nice to see some new faces as we've sadly had to say goodbyes to several as well. It's hard to believe that we have less than 5 months left here and it's going to fly by I'm sure! I will really miss my school, students, coworkers when I leave and please pray that I'll figure out what to do when I get back to AZ. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for me and I have no doubt he will again. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Easter and were able to rejoice in the fact that Jesus created a way for us to have unlimited access to knowing God in a deep and personal way. I am so thankful for the cross! Please keep in touch with us! We'd love to hear what's new in your lives. Happy Spring!!!! = very happy Michelle!