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!

Vacation Itinerary

Here is a general itinerary of our vacation.

Day One: Philippines to Malaysia.
Travel ALL day. Airplane, bus, taxi, another airplane and 5 hours in a hotel to rest and shower. Quite the day!

Day Two: Malaysia.
Arrived in Kota Kinabalu around 7pm. Checked into our hostel and explored our surroundings. Exchanged money. Had an early night cause we were still tired from traveling.

Day Three: Malaysia
Walked around the city, eating local food, drinking fresh fruit smoothies, and checked out the shopping centers. We found a place that did super cheap massages, pedicures etc. and Michelle got a foot scrub and I got a massage. It was wonderful! Later that night, we took a city bus to a transfer bus station (which by the way was madness!) and rode out to the only nearby beach in KK. It didn't have a lot to it but we sat outside in this food court of sorts and played cards for like 3 hours. And drank more than our fair share of fruit juice!

Day Four & Five: Malaysia.
I (Kayleigh) went hiking on Mount Kinabalu. It is 4,052 meters or 13,435 ft. The first day we hiked about 6 hours to our lodging in the mountain. We slept a couple hours, ate dinner, then starting hiking around 3am that morning towards the summit. We reached the summit around 4:30am and waited until 5pm to watch the sunset at the peak. It was so cold we hid behind giant rocks to shield us from the ridge. I had to use a headlamp to see and gloves for the ropes. It was a great climb. Then we headed back down the entire length of the mountain, ate dinner at the base, and went home to SLEEP. It was one of my highlights.

Michelle went for a day at the spa and got a manicure, pedicure and massage. It was fantastic except for the girl kept burping the whole time she was giving the massage. haha! Later that day, she went back to the beach to see if it was any better in the daytime. It wasn't. The other day she went to the base of Mount Kinabalu to the hot springs, botanical gardens, and national park. She went on a tour there and saw different wildlife, plants, and soaked in the hot springs.

Day Six: Malaysia
With me hobbling around like a grandma, we met up with a friend I had made on the hike and rode a boat out to Manukan Island. We snorkled, swam, read, relaxed and ate at a yummy buffet. It was beautiful and refreshing. That night we got a facial at the spa shop that was quickly devouring all our money and then went to see the lamest movie ever. We were desperate for a new movie in English and it was a toss up between the Tooth Fairy and The Spy Next Door. Neither had great appeal but like we said, desperation! We saw The Spy Next Door and once again were given a lesson on humor. It is seriously cultural. What we found obnoxious, the Malaysian audience LOVED! It was so funny!

Day Seven: Malaysia.
We went river rafting through the jungle. Our guide was so funny and we enjoyed the beauty of the natural jungle and mountains around us. He told us that you used to see monkeys along the river but they are no longer there because the local people hunt them for food. We were on a team with folks from Taiwan and Hong Kong. I fell out once during a rapid that lifted our boat sideways! It was lots of fun. That night we went to the night market to eat fresh fruit smoothies and local food.

Day Eight: Malaysia.
We were supposed to go on a river tour. But after the beginning of the week we were so tired decided to cancel. It was a three day trip (about 12 hours by bus) and we didn’t want to spend the remainder of our trip this way. So instead we spent the day walking around KK, shopping, eating, playing cards etc. It was relaxing. on a nearby island called Mamutik. It was a beautiful day. We bought snacks and water, loaded up on sunscreen and layed out on the sand in the shade of a tree. We ate lunch on the Island and went snorkeling.

Day Nine: Malaysia
We slept in and decided to spend the day on a nearby island called Mamutik. It was a beautiful day. We bought snacks and water, loaded up on sunscreen and layed out on the sand in the shade of a tree. We ate lunch on the Island and went snorkeling. When we got back to our hotel that night, we discovered a grocery store that was almost the same if not better than an American one. We loaded up on our favorite snacks that we have greatly missed and vowed to come back before we left on Thursday. We seriously spent over an hour just looking around and I shed a tear of happiness/homesickness as I gathered all my treasures!


Day Ten: Malaysia.
Michelle and I bartered a deal for an ocean boat ride! We took a couple hours boating around the Islands on the ocean. We saw the villages where the locals catch all their fish and also got to see where the houses are on stilts in the water! We saw little children on floating plywood “boats” and fishing or swimming. After awhile in the heat, we needed a place to cool off. We decided to check with the Hyatt Hotel to see if we could use their pool facilities for the night. It was like $6 to get a guest pass and we jumped on it. Or rather "in it". We swam and watched the sun go down, met a nice Malaysian local guy and ate dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was starting to sink in that we had to leave soon and I was not ready to say goodbye!

Day Eleven: Malaysia to the Philippines.
Travel all day by airplane, bus, taxi and another airplane. Tiring! Then, our resort did not come and pick us up so we spent the night at another random hotel until they came and got us the next day.

Day Twelve: Philipines, beach resort.
Our first day at the beach resort. We were welcomed with some homemade coconut smoothies and a large and elaborately decorated sign that said “Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Hixson”. Haha! Apparently not the only miscommunication. We spent the day eating lots of homemade food. The waitstaff was excellent. They were very accommodating and made all of our meals fresh (which were very cheap as well!). We spent some time snorkeling and on the beach or eating and playing cards. We went for a night walk on the beach and gazed at the a black sky filled with stars! We thanked God for all of his graces and prayed for our futures.

Day Thirteen: Philippines, beach resort.
This day we went scuba diving!!!! Our instructor was really fun and engaging. He was from Austria and had been diving for “a long time”. J This was Michelle’s second time to dive and my first. We practiced different techniques on some shallow spots near our resort. We learned how to clear our masks if they were to be filled with water, how to put the mouth piece back into our mouths if it were to be kicked out or in an emergency, and learned all the equipment and it’s purposes. Then, we went out further by boat and dove! We went 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) for 38 minutes. We saw clown fish, a fire fish, coral, star fish, and other colorful fish. This was one of the highlights of our trip!! Afterwards, we came back and had a nice big meal and rested! Diving is a lot of work!

Day Fourteen: Seoul, South Korea
Not ready to leave, but having no choice, we ate breakfast, packed up our stuff and were driven back to the airport. We made it with no problems, other than this was like the 3rd time we our names were called to board the plane. We seriously could never tell when it was time to board! We flew to Manila and transfered to the international terminal. We ate lunch at the airport and boarded our flight back to Seoul. When we arrived, we could see ice and snow at the edges of the runway. It was not a comforting sight. Apparently there had been a blizzard while we were away. We layered up as soon as we arrived, caught the bus back to Gongju and finally made it back to our apts late Sunday night which happened to be Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day! It was a fantastic trip and I'd go again in a heartbeat!

Where Are We?

This is a common phrase that Kayleigh and I often say to each other when we're in either a helpless, ridiculous or crazy situation (which I might add is quite often). It helps us release the tension and move on to find a solution or way out. As many of you know, we were blessed with a fantastic 2 week vacation during the beginning of February. We traveled to the Philippines and Malaysia for some glorious warmer weather, cheap delicious food and relax time on the beach. We had quite an adventure actually getting to Malaysia so I will tell the story as best as I can remember.

Our flight was leaving Korea at 9:30pm on Monday night. Since it takes about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours to get to the airport, we left Gongju at 4:00pm thinking we had allowed plenty of time. We arrived at the bus terminal in Seoul with no problems and proceeded to catch an airport bus. We had never gone this particular way to get to the airport so we asked someone from an info desk where to get the bus. She then explained to us that the airport buses were no longer running and that we'd have to take a city bus. We were confused cause we had just ridden on an airport shuttle bus 2 weeks prior taking Bryon back.

She wrote down a number and said we needed to get on bus 9800 or something. So we waited for this bus and after about 20 minutes it arrived. We asked the driver if it was going to Incheon airport and he did what most bus drivers do to us, wave us on and nod even if they have no idea what we are saying. hmm...(mind you, we are carrying our luggage with us, clearly headed to the airport)

So we sat right up front and already I did not have a good feeling about this bus. My next clue was that we only had to pay 2500won instead of 14,000won like last time. There was no way this could be right. After a few minutes, I decided we should ask the bus driver again. He again nodded yes to our question. After a few more minutes, the guy sitting next to me asked if he could move my bag. I looked at him with astonishment and gratefulness. He could speak English. So I asked him very nicely, "Do you know if this bus goes to the airport?" He smiled and said, "no, I don't think so." I asked him if he could please check with the bus driver and after a few agonizing seconds, he got back to me and laughed very politely and said, "no". Well crap.

I explained to him that we needed to get to the airport and he was very kind. He discussed this with the driver and he ended up making a special stop just for us to let us off at another airport bus stop. So we again waited for the airport bus that may or may not be running. They only run every half hour and we were getting a little pressed for time. Luckily we made it to the airport with no further problems, minus me leaving my boarding pass behind while we quickly grabbed a smoothie (found it, Thank the Lord!) and were soon in the air. We left Korea layered up with long johns, sweaters, the works and then had to peel most of it off the moment we landed in the Philippines.

We had gotten some really good deals on our tickets but the downside of that was that we had from midnight to 4:00pm the following day to kill time. During this time, we also had to transfer to another airport that was located 2 hours away from Manila (where we had flown into). So here we were at 1:00am asking for the best, cheapest etc way to get from Manila to Clark Airport. We were laughed at each and every time we asked. I took that as a bad sign. Finally someone helped us by calling a bus terminal and getting the times it was leaving for Clark. We were told there was a 2am and 6am bus and thought we had a very good chance of making the 2am bus. So we hopped in a taxi and headed to the bus terminal. He tried to rip us off but I was prepared to be fiesty. I felt very proud for winning that small victory until he pulled up at the bus stop. It was in the middle of ghettoville, just outside of shadyland. It was 1:30in the morning, we were 2 white girl tourists and I did not have a good feeling.

We went through the padlocked gate via the security guard and started asking if we could buy tickets to Clark for the 2 am bus. No one would give us a straight answer and all they did was continue to ask us over and over again what time our flight left. We were not getting anywhere. Finally we managed to understand that there was no 2am bus and our best shot would be at 6. Since we had no desire to spend the next four hours there, we cabbed it back to the airport. However, they would not let us in where we had exited so we had to go to this lobby and just sit on the ground and wait. After a few miserable hours in the airport, we broke down and decided to just pay the $50 for a taxi that would take us directly there. By the grace of God, we had a very friendly taxi driver named Ronnie and he also had great taste in music so we were riding along at 4in the morning to some great 80s bands. Thank you Ronnie.

When we arrived at Clark airport we were exhausted yet much happier. However, it was only 6am and the airport wasn't even open yet. So after a minute or two, another angel sent by God arrived via minivan. I noticed a hotel shuttle van dropping off a couple people and since we still had until 4:00 to catch our flight, I decided to negotiate with the guy to see if he could get us a room so we could sleep for a few hours. He apologetically told me that they had no rooms available so I asked him "what about the people you just dropped off?" He told me that they had to clean the room and if we were willing to wait a half hour, we could have it. Done! So Noel took us to the hotel and after a few minutes, we crawled into a wonderful king size bed and slept for the next 5 hours. They even gave us a late checkout time so we could take showers, plus took us back to the airport. Let me just say that our attitude improved greatly at this point. :) God was really good to us for the entire trip and we got the rest and relaxation that was much needed. Winter has been long, challenging and somewhat miserable for both of us and this trip was just what we needed to face the second half of our time in Korea. I am truly grateful!

English Camp!

In Korean school systems, the end of the semester is the last day of December and begins again on March 1st. So Kayleigh and I have been on "winter break" for the past 2 months. However, this does not mean we weren't teaching and/or that Korean students do not attend classes. There is very little break time involved. For the first 3 weeks of January, I was teaching supplimentary classes to incoming freshman students and the nice part about that was that it was only for half days. Then the last week of January, our school combined Kayleigh and I to help each other out with English camp.

I never taught English camp in Japan and my school had never had English camp before but it is apparently becoming the "in" thing to do during winter and summer break. What it means is that Kayleigh and I had to plan intensive, yet fun and engaging lessons for a group of 25 girls for 8 hours a day for a straight week. This was a lot of work for us but it was also wearing on the students as well to communicate in English for such long periods of time. Despite how drained we felt at the end of each day, English camp was definitely a highlight for me. I had a great group of girls that were very motivated. I mean, they choose to be there during their winter vacation time.

Our theme for the week was dating which included internet dating, pros and cons, blind dates, first dates etc. Since I'm such an expert in this area, I thought it would be a fun topic for my high school girls. haha :) They loved it! We had other activities besides our dating theme like baking, scavenger hunts and a field trip to a cultural theme park. I felt like I had a great opportunity to really get to know the girls better and bond with them. Seeing them everyday instead of just once a week allowed for that to happen. Kayleigh enjoyed teaching girls for a change and it made the week so much more bearable to have her help everyday. At the end of the week to celebrate, Mr. Kim treated everyone to a Pizza Hut party and the girls gave us sweet notes thanking us and also little gifts to take on our trip to Malaysia. It was so much fun and very thoughtful. We felt so appreciated and that doesn't happen a lot. Hope you enjoy seeing them in action!

Ice Fishing Festival

These last two weeks were a lot of fun! Bryon came to visit us! We spent a lot of time in Seoul traveling as well as Gongju and some other surrounding cities. But the highlight was the ice fishing festival! There is an organization we like called Adventure Korea. They set up weekend trips for foreigners to various places around Korea. They take care of everything (transportation, food, lodging, activities, etc…). So, the weekend started out with a bus ride to the festival in a northern province (about 30-40mins away from North Korea). There were hundreds of people there. We started off the adventure appropriately with some ice-fishing. Within 10mins Bryon caught one! We put it in our plastic bag to eat later that night. We continued fishing and Michelle was using multiple strategies. If I can recall, loosely and with my own interpretation ;) she was wiggling her fishing line and pole to the “dance”, the “bob”, the “sway”, and some rapid fire jiggling. Unfortunately, her moves just weren’t interesting the fish. But that’s ok because soon our Adventure Korea guides (along with the paparazzi) came over to string our lines and hooks with some already caught fish for some picture and marketing purposes. My roommate, April, was the main event of the photo shoot topping it off with a kiss for the fish.

After that, we enjoyed various things around the festival such as fried/grilled foods, warming our frostbitten toes in the tents, looking at snow sculptures, and sledding on the ice with wooden boxes. There were also 4-wheeler rides on ice, ice skating, and tubing.

But among all these exciting festivities, none could compare to the bare hands fishing. Imagine, 2-4degree Celsius water outside in one of the most northern parts of Korea in a little pond filled with fish. We were instructed to strip down and put on a bright orange t-shirt and shorts. Then, we huddled together outside in the cold before lining up on the edge of this man-made pond. Once on the ledge, our feet were stinging from the snow and ice under us. There were news cameras and a band of Koreans circled around us shouting and cheering for all the shivering foreigners. Finally, they instructed and cheered one of us to dive in the start the event. The goal was to catch as many fish as you can with your hands.

I should preface this: A group of Koreans went before us to do this, they were shoving them down their t-shirts, putting them in their mouths, and catching them one after another. So many people from our group were determined to catch 3 or 4.

Ok, back to the big dive in. Some brave soul from our group went for it, dove head-first right into this arctic water! We were then all instructed to get in. Michelle and I were quite slow to get in. In fact, I am pretty sure I was the last to get in. Once I was in, my legs and feet were numb with pain. My feet and legs went rigid and it hurt! My brain was saying to me “this is not right, this is not right, you’re going to get frostbite and never be able to use your toes or legs again!” There were people taking pictures and video recording us, but there was no posed smile on our faces. I just screamed frantically into the news camera. Michelle, our friend Stephanie, and I were the first ones out. I would definitely say within 30 seconds of being in the water we headed out. We waddled, feet numb, over to the tent with a large wooden foot spa where we carefully put our feet in. At first you could only let the steam hit is because the warm feel of the water hurt your numb feet so badly, it took me about 5 minutes before I was ready to fully submerge my feet and calves.

So, you might ask, did anyone catch some fish with their bare hands!?!? The answer is no. Why? Remember the group of Koreans that went before us? Well, they caught most of the fish. There were like 5 fish left for the foreigners. We were all just splashing around, going completely numb looking for these dang fish when all along there was nothing there! To say the least, I think we got played. But on a brighter note, Bryon and the excellent fisherman he is, caught a fish with his bare hands! However, as soon as he held it up in the air to show, it slipped out of his hands back in the water never to be seen again.

It was a fun adventure! Enjoy the pics!

Love, Kayleigh

If you see me walking by and the tears are in my eyes, walk away, baby walk away!!

So while living in Gongju, random things often happen to us. We don't plan for these things, we don't try to make them happen in any way but they just do. For example we happened to come across the lighting of "the" Christmas tree in Gongju at just the right moment, got to meet the mayor once again, (luckily he remembered us from the chesnut festival) and then proceeded to be in the local Methodist Church Christmas photo of the lighting of the tree. It was hilarious!

However, one incident in particular was a little more "spicy" than we cared for. We were walking from the bus stop to my house after church and out on the street, there was a group of about 15 women churning up cabbage and making a smell we well recognize these days. It was kimchi making day in this part of the neighborhood and everyone was pitching in! I made the mistake of getting a little too close, innocently asking if I could get a picture of their mad kimchi making skills. As fast as you could say, 1, 2, 3...."say Kimchi" for the smiling shot, the woman standing closest to me shoved a giant piece of freshly made kimchi into my mouth and then in the next second, another woman nabbed Kayleigh. We smiled and said thanks and started to walk away.

About 20 feet after leaving their presense, both of us looked at each other in utter horror and started spitting it out as fast as we could. Our mouths were on fire, I couldn't feel my lips and for the next 5 minutes till we got to my house, you'd have thought we were 2 rednecks from S. Carolina (if my friend Jeff is reading this, you know I love S. Carolinans!!) spitting left and right till we could start to gain feeling in our tongues again. It was an atrocious experience and one we will not soon forget.

Lesson learned: Fresh kimchi will kill you!

Where Did December Go?

Wow, it's been a busy month! And we're a week into January already. I can't believe how fast time is going by. We've just finished 1/3 of our contract here in Gongju. We did our very best to have all of the normal Christmas traditions throughout December even miles and miles away from home and thanks to many of our friends and family, it was a very meaningful holiday time. On the 2nd weekend in December, we spent an entire day at our friend Virginia's home baking cookies and listening to Christmas music. We were a machine for like 8 hours straight! We made enough cookies for each of us to have a small bag to take home and also to deliver to over 60 children at an orphanage that our friend volunteers at.

It was so wonderful to be inside an actual home and have kitchen space to move around in. Plus Virginia has two little boys that were a delight to play around with. They are half Canadian/half Korean and the oldest can speak both English and Korean. It's such a great gift for him to have this skill. He may not appreciate it now, but I guarantee he will in the future! Poor little baby Aidan got his first taste of kimchi the night we were there. It was not an enjoyable experience for him. But that's what older brothers are for right? To torture and aggravate the younger one?

The next day we traveled to a nearby city after church to have a Christmas party with middle school students that live in an orphange that our friend Lisa volunteers at. We had a great time with crafts, games, lots of candy, music, snacks and all of this was done with very little Korean on our part and very little English on theirs! Fun is definitely a universal language. It was a great experience and I'm very glad we got to participate.