Goodbye Jeju

This update will be short and simple.  This is my goodbye to Jeju and Korea.  I'm going to miss my wonderfully located apartment (but not the 100s of mosquitoes I trapped or killed in it).  I'm going to miss all the walking and healthy food that made staying in shape a breeze.  I'm going to miss the yogio button.  Yogio is the Korean way of saying "over here".  It is perfectly polite to call this out in restaurants when you want service.  Dang am I going to miss being able to do that.

I'm going to miss the summers that were never too hot.  And the beaches and snorkeling that made for wonderful weekends or after work excursions.  I'm going to miss having a lovely beach 5 minutes walk from one of my schools.  I'm going to miss being a giant and being considered handsome and strong by nearly every Korean I met.  I'm going to miss being a minor celebrity on the island, just by virtue of being white and tall.  

Most of all, I'm going to miss my kids and my friends there.  I made such great friends that I could have happily stayed another year, though I liked Prague as a city far better than Jeju.  And my kids who were so sweet, made leaving so hard.  Days after my final lesson I still got messages from them saying "I'm sad.  Don't go."

But I must say goodbye for a new door to open.  Right now that new door is the chance to come home and see family and friends.  After that ..... I don't really know.  But i know the future is bright!

Goodbye Korea

Me with two of my Pyeongdae 6th graders, Min Goung (left) and Hyun Ji (right)

If you're wondering why there have been a dearth of updates lately, it's because i've been preparing to leave Korea and spending just about every free second with friends and girlfriend (talking).  Monday is actually my last day and I've already said goodbye to the majority of my students.  The goodbyes were bittersweet on both sides and i'm not planning to say much more on a public blog.

The only story i'll relate is about one of my favorite goodbyes that came from my smartest 4th grader, Jung Jin.  He knows we are both Christians and we likely won't meet again.  So as I was leaving Kujwa elementary school Friday for the last time, he stuck his head out one of the windows and called out "Goodbye teacher!  See you in heaven!"  Sad as i was to go, i couldn't help telling him "Yes we will" with a big smile on my face.

Jung Jin is the boy on the right in blue.  And the crazy one on the left is Won Sok, a teachers kid and hilarious.

Since I don't plan to relate other, very personal goodbyes, you can just look at the pictures and see for yourself.  I can safely say for my part i love my kids and i really hate to leave them.  And judging by the many presents, cards and hugs i got the last few days, it appears they feel the same way :)

Note:  Korean names, like US ones, have 3 parts but they don't function the same.  All 3 names are one syllable each.  The first name is the family name, the next two are the equivalent of a first name.  So Pak Jung Jin is basically the same as Brazell Luke.  The names are hard to adjust to at first but the one syllable thing really helps.  (and remember, you can click on pictures to make them bigger if you want a better view)

 Sun Ah, my smartest 1st grader and absurdly cute

 The 3rd grade at Pyeongdae in the library.  They're very affectionate and some of my favorites.

 One of our games.  They grab my arm, then i lift them up.  Especially popular with the 2nd and 3rd grade.

A group of the girls at Pyeongdae, mostly 4th and 6th graders.  All angels

The 5th and 6th grade boys at Pyeongdae, taking a break from playing Angry Birds for a picture.  My favorite class to teach.  Enthusiastic, outgoing and well behaved.  I looked forward to this one every time.

The 4th grade girls at Kujwa.  So sweet! 

The 6th grade boys at Kujwa.  When I didn't want to kill them (which was frequent), they were really fun.

ATVs and Udo Island. A winning combination!

This weekend was a 3 day weekend in Korea.  Since I only had 3 weekends left before I go, my friend Jeb and I decided to go visit nearby Udo Island (literally cow island) just off the east coast of Jeju.  We did this A) because we wanted to explore a beautiful interesting island that was conveniently close and B) (and more importantly) because we could rent ATVs and go racing all over the island.  And I do mean ALL OVER.  We only stuck to the roads when we absolutely had to.

We started by working around the coast and stopping for cool photo-ops.  See below.

 Thinking man

 Looks a lot like the Mediterranean huh?

 Inner peace.  Inner peace.

Then after spending half of our 3 hours exploring at a leisurely pace, we found paradise.  After blowing by a sign we later learned meant "do not enter!", we wandered through a combination cow pasture/ancient cemetery.  On the other side was a large, bumpy, wide open field.  And when you're sitting on the back of a powerful 4wheeler, that is pretty much the definition of heaven!  We spent the next half hour tearing around, bouncing every which way and taking the biggest jumps we could find.  It.  Was.  Awesome!

 Big field

Go fast!

When we finished we completed our circuit of the island and realizing we still had a little time, we then proceeded to race back to the other end of the island and then absolutely tore around the coast of Udo as though we were trying to break the island speed record.  We got back with almost 2 minutes to spare and then headed for the ferry smiling from ear to ear.  And I'd love to go back again.  I'd forgotten just how much fun ATVs can be.

A little basketball, pizza and talking to my girlfriend completed a perfect day.  Now it's time to spend the next two weeks concentrating on finishing teaching and getting ready to go :)

Sports Day in Korea

A candid shot taken by one of my kids

Today we'll be covering what Sports Day in Korea is like (similar to Field Day where i grew up).  We will tell this story through pictures.  Enjoy.

Decorated and ready to go

Prizes for the day

When I came to school I found this in the normally clear field in front of the school.  They had food trucks, new bikes as prizes and tents for parents and visiting officials everywhere.

  Now it's time for the actual sports day to start.  So our first sport is .... playing traditional korean percussion while marching in taekwondo uniforms??  Ok.  Why not!  It makes a good show for the parents.  Note that by now parents for nearly every child in the school were here along with the Vice Principals of every school in the area and half the nearby village.  This was becoming a serious event.

 Ready?

 Catch!

 For a while i just watched with the other English teacher at my school, Duncan (pictured in red).  Then we were called into action to ... catch shoes that where being kicked at us by our students?? Sure.  What the heck!

 Can you spot the foreigner among the parents?

And heave.  Can you guess which team won? (hint: look at everyone else on my team in the previous picture)

Goal!!! 

A few rounds of tug of war later (both parents vs parents and kids vs kids),  and a game of pass the giant ball up and down lines.  It was time for the main events the first of which was .... synchronized dancing??  Ok, a school full of kids dancing in front of the whole town it is!

Y .. M .. C .. A  (not really but wouldn't it be awesome if it was)

After the dancing, lunch and a round of karyoke concluded (yes even singing is a part of sports day here) it was time for the relay race.  First they had a parent race.  When the moms ran, it was cute.  When the dads ran, it was much more serious (and much funnier).  Then it was time for the main event.  A school wide relay race.  Everyone in the whole school participated.  Including me.

And I do mean everyone!  Look at how cute the kindergartners are!

Here Duncan and I are having a laugh before the race.

Standing side by side, awaiting our turn to run.

 And away he goes.  Note the feet.  It was slick and i was able to run better this way.

 After the race (which my team won!), it was time for the closing ceremony (where a random raffle gave presents to nearly every child there, including 8 brand new bikes) and then cleanup.  Being the big, strong guys that we are, Duncan and I were asked to do most of the heavily lifting.  We were happy to oblige.   We actually left school at the normal time.  But as you can see, this day was anything but normal :)

Snorkeling on the south side of Jeju

This last saturday was wonderfully sunny and pretty hot.  For Jason, Tom, Jeb and I it was the perfect day to go snorkeling.  We hopped on a bus in the early afternoon and headed for Wehdlgay on the south side of the island.  When we arrived, we were delighted to find it even hotter and sunnier there.

From the left:  Jeb, Tom, Jason, island

We started by checking out the area from the rocks.  From there we decided to do some low level cliff jumping to enter the water.  Naturally we took pictures while doing this.  First i took shots as the other guys jumped in.  Mine looked like this.

Pretty cool right?

Then i gave the camera to Tom to take a picture of me while i jumped in.  His looked like this.

Try #1: ok that's a failure but at least it's close.  Surely he'll get it right on the next one.

Try #2:  And fail again!  But just look at that butt haha

He sort of got it on try number 3 but i'll spare you any more pictures like the last two for now.  After that we snorkeled around in the pool for a bit before moving out into the more open ocean.  The waves were choppy enough and the water murky enough that we didn't see all that much but it was still a great time.  Got a few more great pictures while sitting on the rocks, waiting for the sun to dry us off.

Jeb and Tom enjoying the view

Tom and Jason shortly after arrival

Chuckling about something

Being guys we then rounded out the day with pizza and a couple hours of basketball down at the public courts.  And we're considering doing it again this weekend and starting early.  Cause 3 hours of snorkeling and 2 more of basketball clearly is not active enough a day!

To that end, tomorrow at my school is Sports Day.  Much like field day where i grew up, sports day is filled with races, tug of war and other fun games.  I'm even being asked to participate in the relay race.  Unlike my field day though, sports day includes marching drum performances and entire school dance numbers.  Only in Korea :)

The view from our drying off seats

Chuseok: Korea's Thanksgiving

Ran out of new pics so I'm going to use a few old ones you haven't seen.

This week we celebrated Chusoek in Korea.  It is very much like the American Thanksgiving.  The celebration occurs over 3 days, with the middle one being the main day.  It is a time for getting together with family and friends for dinner.  The main difference is that watching football is replaced with drinking massive quantities of Soju (Korean liquor).  For me it meant a 4 day weekend :)

With just over a month left, my students continue to do a wonderful job amusing me.  Thursday, some of the 6th graders and I were playing games between classes when one of them punched my stomach.  Didn't hurt of course but the follow up comment almost did.  He got this surprised look, started poking my stomach and said "Oh Teacher, chocolate belly?"  For a moment I was almost offended, thinking to myself "I've been in the gym 3 times a week every week for the past few months and I do tons of walking.  I do not have a fat stomach!".  Seeing my confused expression another student translated.

Chocolate belly refers to the way a chocolate bar is divided.  Koreans use it to mean 6-pack.  Only in Korea would "chocolate belly" be a compliment!

Here is Hamdeok beach at night from the restaurant overlooking it 

 And a random flower picture for Mom and Granny

Summer break flies by for teachers too

Jungmun Beach on a beautifully clear day.  Note the wave just breaking over the sand

As the title here implies, summer vacation is over for Korean schools and i'm back to full time teaching.  It feels like the summer has blown by in one pleasant whirlwind of beaches, gyms and friends.  It seems I have a talent for choose countries with great summers (and crappy winters).

King Sejong the Great, the ruler of Korea's ancient golden age in front of his main palace, Gyeongbokgung.  

And now i look up to find I have a month left.  Naturally this is bittersweet.  I'm definitely going to miss my kids and my friends here.  But the thought of another dull winter plus all the great things about travel and home definitely have me excited.  For the rest of the year i'll enjoy living in the moment.

King Sejong the Great is considered the best of Korea's kings and is viewed in much the same way as King Wenceslas is in the Czech Republic or King Arthur in Britain.

As an added bonus, this weekend is a 4 day weekend thanks to Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving.  Can't say I have any big plans for it but long weekends are always welcome.  And since pretty much every Korean who can find an open flight comes down to Jeju for Chuseok anyway, i'd say i'm in the right place.  Beaches, snorkeling and hiking are all possibly on the agenda.  For now enjoy these shots of the picturesque Jungmun and my recent trip to Seoul.

Admiral Yi Sun-Shin.  During the reign of King Sejong he defeated a Japanese naval force that outnumbered him 333 to 13 (yes you read those numbers correctly), thus saving Seoul from conquest.

As a final note, we have another weekly winner of the "I have no idea what my shirt means" contest.  This time it was one of my 2nd grade girls who's shirt read "Girl friends are fun.  Men friends are funner."  I swear someone has to making these things on purpose to amuse themselves.

Because of this tremendous accomplishment and other brilliant victories that led to the Japanese being expelled, Admiral Yi Sun-Shin now has a statue in the plaza with King Sejong leading to Gyeongbokgung. (you can see both the palace the golden statue in the background)