Jeju Trip Part 1

(Written by Mr. Rogers)

Our trip to Jeju began with a bus ride. Buses are funny things. You find them in almost every country in the world and they can be as different as the people that occupy them. Sometimes dirty, sometimes smelly, sometimes your not sure how it's still alive. But sometimes they're quite pleasant, comfortable even and having to spend the better part of a day with them doesn't seem so bad. Such is the case here in Korea usually. Then sometimes, the more time you spend with them, the more you start to see the side of them that wasn't so apparent at the beginning.
Enough silliness. The bus was long, and the driver was an AC Nazi as in he only turned it on for a minute at a time. Incredibly uncomfortable by the end.

Arriving in Mokpo, we stayed at a Love Motel for the night, then made our way to the ferry. The "ferry" was one of those old cruise ships from the 80's that at one time may have been luxurious by someone's standards. Our Meet Up crew was comprised of nearly 100 foreigners, the majority of which had spent the entire night drinking themselves silly. Many of them decided that the 4 hour ferry ride was a good time to go for a round 2. Van and I spent the majority of the time trying to find some sober people to socialize with. Not much luck.

When we finally arrived on Jeju, the weather was starting to turn. We had been forewarned that foul weather was on the way so we weren't too disappointed. We wandered around for a bit, then made our way to our first restaurant on the island to have the famous "black pig BBQ" of Jeju. Think super thick, super fatty bacon. Pretty yummy but not really any different from the traditional Samgibsal we've had a million times before. From the restaurant we had a good view of the ocean out the back though and as the night progressed, a fantastic lightning show gave us quite a bit of entertainment.

DAY 2
Our first stop on our official tour was to some Lava Tube caves. The rain had gone and blown itself up into a full on typhoon. As we made our way through the river in the parking lot, we were looking forward to being deep inside the nice dry caves. Funny thing about underground caves though. They leak. They leak a lot. In fact, at certain points, it didn't seem much different from being outside. The underground waterfalls were quite a sight however but man was it cold. On the way out, the storm was getting particularly strong and just as we were leaving the cave a HUGE bolt struck right next to where we were and I got zapped through our umbrella leaving my thumb numb for about half an hour!

So with the weather being what it was, our guides decided to rearrange the schedule a bit, so our next stop was to a trick art museum. We had seen some of this before at an exhibition a while back so we weren't thrilled about it but it was pretty fun and we got some good pics. Our new friends Kayla and Autumn helped make it even more enjoyable. By the time we left, the skies were finally starting to clear.

Our next stop was a quick ferry ride over to Udo island. The plan was for us to rent ATV's to tour the island with. Having been on one before with little success, I was apprehensive about getting one and thought that the Golf Carts might be a safer, more pleasant alternative seeing as how it was still raining a bit. After being duly ridiculed, Grandpa Kyle gave in to the peer pressure and agreed to go with the ATV. Turns out, they were all set to 2nd gear anyways, so not having to shift made it super easy and very, VERY fun! We took a lunch break at a Pirate themed cafe, that was a bit hidden off the main road. The Bibimbop there was exceptional and the owner and his wife? were quite the characters. Again, Kayla and Autumn putting around with us made the day exceptionally good! We ended the Udo trip with a visit to a black stone beach that was quite beautiful. Kayla fell and we all laughed. Good times!

After Udo, our next stop was to Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, a giant crater that is known as being the best place to watch the sunrise and sunset from. We were a bit behind schedule so we had to book it to the top but the view was well worth the effort. Amazing end to a fantastic day!

For dinner, we went to a restaurant right around the corner from our hotel that's known for their "giant herb burgers." They were certainly giant and not half bad.

Orange candle

And yet another pinterest idea come to life is the orange candle.  In Korea, clementines are very popular during the winter season.  I thought oranges were in season in the summer in the states, but what do I know about growing produce; squat.
In the preschool, these tangerines are given often as gifts. They're a delightful snack, but I've found a new use for them in addition to a healthy treat, a candle.

I'm gonna give you the rundown without a picture tutorial, but if you'd like a picture tutorial, you can visit this site.

• Cut the orange in half (hamburger wise)
• Gently work your finger inbetween the skin and the pulp.
• Pull the skin away from the fruit, being careful not to tear the skin.
• One of the ends will have the wick (the white skin that goes in the middle of the orange)
• BE VERY CAREFUL not to break this wick.
• You should have two orange cups now. 
• In the cup with the "wick" pour olive oil, careful not to wet the entire wick.
• Cut a hole into the top of the second orange cup.
• Light the "wick"  (this takes patience, but as long as the olive oil isn't too high or the wick didn't get wet, it will light within a few times)  A lighter is better, but if all you have is matches, plan on using at least three.
• Put the orange cup with a hole on top and enjoy your natural candle.  It smells delightful and will last a couple of hours.

*Note: Don't leave completely unattended.  This only has happened once but the top of my orange caught on fire (a slow fire) after three hours of burning.

Snowman fridge

As I said before, I've become a little obsessed over Pinterest.  Its not necessarily a "time waster" because its an idea trove, and in general the creative process takes time.  Cultivating creativity isn't as simple as waving a wand.  Rather it requires tender loving care, sunshine, unpleasant climate and time.  (Unpleasant climate because if I have to stay inside, I have to get creative)

(follow me)

Because of pinterest, I've been busy trying out new things.  One of my most recent projects was the snowman fridge.  I saw a picture of it on pinterest and FELL IN LOVE.  So I decided to try it out on the preschool mini-fridge first.  I was so proud of it, I had Kyle make his way over to gawk and applaud me. Because my husband is very creative, I asked for his input.  "A hat, he needs a hat." he said, and went to work making him a top hat.

 We then took the idea to our own home.  Everytime I walk into the room, I'm surprised.  Truly, I yelp with delight.  We don't have a tree this year, but this snowman makes up for it.  He seriously makes my day every time I see him. I want to do this at other times of year with other animals. Wouldn't that be fun?  Or is it just me?

Fancy Grilled Cheese with Spicy Tomato Soup

I never like tomato soup with my grilled cheese as a kid.  It was GROSS in my opinion.  In fact, I never liked it until I tried an Italian recipe for tomato soup with chopped toasted almonds and no sugar. It was the sugar in the soup that I disagreed with I realized not the soup.  I don't remember the exact recipe, but at this point in my cooking life, I feel comfortable winging things so here it is:

Spicy Tomato soup

• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (Italian seasoning)
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped (2 1/4 cups)
• 1 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh jalapeño chile including seeds
• 1 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 small serving of yogurt (85g)
• 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1/4 chopped toasted almonds

Directions: If almonds aren't toasted stick them in the oven on broil until brown.
Olive oil in the pan, saute onions, jalapenos, garlic and ginger until caramelized md. heat.  Add the seasonings stir for a few seconds.  Add tomatoes, broth.  Cook until warm.  Add almonds and yogurt and serve.  So simple and so delicious.

And tomato soup isn't complete without grilled cheese. And my husband, well, he might be simple in some aspects in his life, but when it comes to food, he's NO simpleton.  Even a grilled cheese sandwich has to be COMPLICATED!  So here is his FANCY SCHMANCY grilled cheese:

Fancy Schmancy Grilled Cheese

• bread
• butter
• cheeses (of your choice) we like munster cheese and pepper jack
• 1/4 of an onion
• jalepeno to taste
• pinch of garlic, cumin, chili powder
• deli slice of turkey

Sauteed onion, garlic, candied jalapenos, pinch of cumin, chili powder in skillet.  Remove and set aside.
On the skillet heat the turkey deli.  Remove and set aside.
Buttered bread toasted on both sides a little and add sauteed goodies, add the Munster cheese and possible other cheeses of your choice on top of that so that it will melt on top of all the goodies. The turkey slice comes next, followed by the bread.

This Christmas

we're traveling... (Yay!! I'm so excited)
and although by no means is it necessary to buy us presents, if you WISH to buy us presents; if you just can't help yourself, we would LOVE IT if you donated to a cause of your choice in our name.

Some of our favorite groups include:

Unicef- an organization which attempts the prevention of malnutrition of children. They have lots of ways of giving.  You can buy gifts, Christmas cards, birthday cards, art work, etc.  There are LOTS of options.


Humane society- work to reduce suffering and improve the lives of all animals by advocating for better laws; investigating animal cruelty etc.

Heifer international- I LOVE what this group does. Heifer's approach to providing global assistance to struggling countries has been characterized by long-term development, rather than short-term relief.  Every family and community that receives assistance promises to repay their living loan by donating one or more of their animal's offspring to another family in need. This practice of "Passing on the Gift" ensures project sustainability, develops community and enhances self-esteem by allowing project partners to become donors.



NRDC Green gifts-

NPR-and PBS
Are by far the best radio and television news channel in the USA. It has in depth coverage and doesn't focus on fluff as so many other news channels do. If your a fan, donate to your public news station today.

Pinterest

"Pin What?"  That's what I said.  What is this strange sounding word all these peeps are buzzing about that I can't even pronounce? I don't get it.

Because I'm a curious creature, I followed my nose, and sniffed it out. What did I discover, but a treasure trove of ideas, recipes, decoration tips, susie homemaker advice and an all out ADDICTION!  Ahhhhh... Beware all you creative types out there, Pinterest is for you, but tred cautiously my friends for it sucks you in with the force of the inhalation of a blue whale about to sneeze.  In the words of my two year old student Jearom, "Its danger."

Be warned all ye who wish to dive into the depths of the foreign land known as Pinterest.
Welcome to the world pinterst
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
You can check out anytime you like
But you can never leave.

So what is Pinterest?  Its basically a virtual pinboard like one of those cork boards you might have in your house of magazine cutouts of pictures you like or goals your striving for and such.  Except because its virtual, its so much better.
Your first step is to create boards.  So as an example some of my boards are:

Recipes
Decorating
Nifty ideas
crafts
teaching


And then as I look through others boards or look at websites, I pin the picture I find inspiring to my board.  That picture is a link to the website from whence it came giving more detailed info.  Get it?

No, you wont get it until you try it!  If you'd like to try it send me an email or a comment and I can send you an invite.  Don't forget to follow me.  When you follow others you can share ideas with each other which is the whole idea!

Did I mention the ladies?

I totally forgot to tell you about the ladies.  They wanted to be involved too... but unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, they couldn't grow facial hair to support movember.  So they did the next best thing.  They made their own mustaches and then posed for pictures.  They didn't have ANY students this week... they had a LOT of time on their hands and this is what they came up with.  Cute, cute, cute! Too bad I couldn't play too... but alas, I have tiny tots to chase all day.

Movember

Interview
Vanessa: Ummm... what's that above your lip?
Kyle: What? What do you mean?
Vanessa: It looks like you have a caterpillar crawling on your face. Hold still, let me just..
Kyle: HEY! That hurts!
Vanessa: Wow, it's really attached on there.
Kyle: Let go, its not a caterpillar.
Vanessa: Hold the phone. Your growing a mustache? Did you develop an unhealthy obsession with Tom Selleck?.
Kyle: No, but Tom Selleck is pretty bad ass. This is Movember.
Vanessa:  Wow, you've been in Korea way too long.  The month is called November, not Movember.
Kyle: Movember is the month of mustaches.
Vanessa: Does this having something to do with video games?
Kyle: No, but speaking of video games, have you seen the new video game that I can't stop thinking about.  It's called Skyrim and it is the most...
Vanessa:  Can you stay on track please?
Kyle: Its just that Skyrim is like my dream come true, it's got dragons and swords and...
Vanessa: Kyle!  Movember!
Kyle: Movember (The month formerly known as November) is a mustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health issues such as prostrate and testicular cancer.
Vanessa: I see... so that caterpillar on your upper lip is there to stay?
Kyle: Yep.  I look mighty sexy don't you think?
Vanessa: Its coming off the first of December right?
Kyle: You didn't answer my question?
Vanessa: ummm... yes I did.
Kyle: So you think its sexy?
Vanessa: Its coming off in December right?

Movember is now officially over. They raised four hundred dollars and the school nearly matched it.  This year however instead of donating it to the movember website, the boys decided the school (the Korean staff) would be more involved if they donated it to a local charity. They donated the money to "Angel house" one of the schools for disabled and mentally challenged children.

Hummingbird moth

When my co-teacher told me about this, I almost didn't believe.  Maybe there was something lost in translation, I thought.
"There is a moth that looks like a hummingbird." she said excitedly.  She loves anything about animals.  We share  this love of animals.
"Really?" I said incredulously.

So I looked it up on the internet...and low and behold, she knew what she was talking about.
They are medium to large moths witch mimic hummingbird behavior.  They fly about, wings beating quickly, sipping nectar from the vibrant flowers of gardens nearly as elegantly as the birds they mimic. But they are not birds. Not at all.  They are in fact MOTHS!

I had the pleasure of seeing one the other day.  Had I not been aware of its existence previously, I might have mistaken it for a hummingbird, but upon closer inspection, I saw that it was indeed a moth.  The same moth I had gawked at on the internet was flying around me. It was exhilarating being near such a strange creature.  Had I had my camera I would have caught footage, but alas, I was without.  So you will have to do with others photos.  I am astounded by nature everyday.  Its just so amazing.

heres the video (I didn't take it)

Crazy Hair Day

Every Friday is Theme day at our Preschool.  A few days back, we had "Crazy Hair Day"  We spent most of the morning doing our hair in crazy dos and helping those students whom hadn't done their hair already, fancy it up.  It was an exciting day in the preschool.  Many parents went all out, putting flowers, rice, ribbons, color spray and pipe cleaners to adorn their children's hair. Most of the kids had a blast.  Top on the other hand was non to thrilled too be participating in this childish endeavor. I swear he is like a grandpa in a four year old's body.  "Why are you doing this to me?" Is what he's thinking right now.  "Play your silly games if you must, but don't expect me to enjoy myself!"

Mudfest 2011 in pictures

 Mud Fest 2011 was fantastic, it was also MONTHS ago, as in at the BEGINNING of the summer.  But I found this in my drafts and although I put up the Mudfest video post I didn't put up pictures!! Oops!  Well... no worries, picnik is here to save the day once more.

Trip to Dague

 We went to Daegu, another large city in Korea for an impulsive, unplanned getaway for a weekend.  It was a fun trip, but ended up costing us way more than we expected to originally pay.  Ce la vie.

First, we, the ladies, sat in a cafe, while the boys went to find us a roach motel.  And a roach motel they did find. The pictures of this LOVELY suite can be found in our youtube video about "love motels."  Its the peptobismal pink one with the plastic flooring coming off.   While they searched long and hard, we took silly photos...







We then found a cultural event which was happening near the medicine market. daegu is known for its natural medicine remedies, but also its plastic surgery.

• We played dress up
• dipped our feet in the medicine fountain
• crushed some type of medicine
• played some traditional games
• gawked at old men playing some board games
• watched some random parade drive by
• watched a drum and sword performance. 

It was quite a cultural day for us.

The second day we went ice skating before heading home.  We realized once on the ice however, that ice skating is quite dangerous without proper protection, such as pants... Because it was early September, it was still quite warm, therefore leaving us vulnerable to the sharp, gritting teeth of the ice below. Luckily non of us fell, although Sam tried when he decided to do some type of fancy jump on the ice.

random guy out at midnight with his dog wearing sunglasses.

Two barber poles signifies not just a barber shop, but a special place with "special" services. Don't know what THREE poles mean...

sam jumping, and miraculously not killing himself.

Moother goose

Somedays I feel like mothergoose with little duckling following behind me.  Not sure why??