Back to Jungmun Beach we go

 Sanbangsan near Seogwipo on the south side of Jeju

I'll start by saying that I'm in a fantastic mood today.  Those of you who know me well might be able to guess the cause.  My Cowboys just got done whipping the Giants in the NFL's season opener.  The heavy investment they made in cornerbacks this offseason looks like a great move so far and I'm really excited for the rest of the season.

So while I'm in a break at school and feeling so cheerful, I thought i'd tell you about last weekend.  On Saturday morning, Vicky, Jeb, Tom and I got up early and went down to the south side of the island to visit Jungmun Beach and it's huge waves.  This was Vicky's first trip down and a morning of bodysurfing was the plan.  Unfortunately the beach had other ideas.  We were bereft of wind.  An unexpected circumstance on this normally breezy island.  Without the wind, the waves were sadly small.  Fortunately we still swam, built sand castles and generally had fun.

Photographed at the peak of their hopefulness before a wave came to crush their dreams (and sand wall)

After an hour or 2 at Jungmun, we headed for a small nearby mountain named Sanbangsan (pictured at the top).  Again luck was not in our favor as the hike up had been damaged by the recent typhoon and the mountain was closed (yes in Korea they close whole mountains).  But again fun was had when we discovered a series of old Imperial Japanese caves along the ocean.  Exploring, hiking and pictures followed.

Cool huh?

The rest of the news is quick.  The two typhoons that blew through did little to no damage.  We actually went out and played soccer in the stronger typhoon (it was crazy fun!).  And after the typhoons moved on, the weather has been cooler and gorgeous!  High 70s to mid 80s has been perfect summer weather for almost anything we can think of.  And the cool evening zephyrs let us throw open our 7th floor windows and enjoy the night.  They also make walking home instead of busing it a very pleasant suggestion (20 minutes vs 6 by bus).  One Vicky and I are about to take right now.  Bye.

PS.  If you want something funny that is huge hit here and is becoming surprisingly popular in the US, click on the video link below.  It's for a video called Gangnam Style.  All you need to know is that it's mocking the richest neighborhood in Korea and the lifestyle it espouses.  And the dance is hilariously, awesomely terrible :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Typhoon Bolaven is coming

This is what's coming and that arrow points to where we are

If you can see the above image, you can guess the focus of this post.  A large typhoon is headed for Jeju.  It will hit Monday evening here (Monday morning in the US).  As of right now, both Vicky and I are expected to come to work despite this.  The predicted wind speeds are sustained winds around 60-100 mph with stronger gusts.  That plus rain does not sound like fun to be out in.  This is the path the typhoon is expected to take.  The eye won't pass directly over us but it will be plenty close enough.

Jeju is the island just North-East of the eye at 9pm Monday

So for all who are reading this I have a simple request.  Please pray for our safety as well as the safety of our island home.  I don't expect a ton of damage but this is a Category 3 hurricane rolling over us.  Prayer certainly can't hurt and would be greatly appreciated.

PS.  If you want to track the progress of the storm, you can do so here
http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/KO/Jeju.html
and here
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201216.html

Liberation Day = vacation day!

Jeju sunset

Nothing beats a random weekday off for a holiday you didn't even realize was coming up.  And that's exactly what we got today as Korea celebrated Liberation Day.  This celebration marks the surrender of Japan to end World War II on August 15, 1945, which freed Korea from it's colonial yoke.

For the previous 35 years, Korea had been ruled by the Empire of Japan which had done everything in it's power to destroy Korean culture.  The goal was integration but the result was near annihilation.  The resentment and anger this period produced still lingers today.  Sadly the independence gained would be short-lived before the country was split in half and war again consumed it.  But Koreans, both North and South, celebrate this day as the beginning of their glorious futures (though how glorious the North's future has been is, let's tactfully say, debatable).

We celebrated by catching up on some much needed sleep, spending time with friends and watching a parade from our 7th floor windows.  Basically we enjoyed Saturday on a Wednesday and that's always cause for a smile :)

Not listening in my class? Busted!

Jeju City on a cool rainy day

This has been a very boring week.  So I'll leave you with one funny story and hope for a better report next week (i only have to work on Monday and Tuesday due to a national holiday Wednesday and the school choosing to be closed Thursday and Friday!)

Remember the class I told you about that never talks?  Of course you do!  The boys are getting more talkative but the girls remain determined to be unsociable and taciturn.  I tested this recently by asking about their weekends.  The boys said they played soccer and computer games.  So far so good.  When I asked the girls what they did, they stared at their desks and shook their heads.

Did you play soccer?
No
Did you play games?
No
Did you see a movie?
No
(with a grin towards the boys)  Did you eat food?
No

At this the boys started laughing and the girls looked up trying to figure out why.  The boys explained in Korean while still giggling.  The girls turned appropriately red at being busted not listening and participation was better for the rest of class.  Victory!

The school behind our building

Happy Birthday to me

Some moments you just have to stop and enjoy

For those of you who remembered my birthday on Friday, thank you.  I had a great day and a great Saturday too.  For those who forgot .... shame on  you!  My students remembered my birthday and I didn't even tell them.  They wrote birthday messages all over my white board and behaved extra well.  The other two English teachers even brought me cakes and pastries.  The pastries I would describe as dry bread with bread filling.  But the thought was sweet.

However, Vicky outdid them all by finding a piece of chocolate cake!  And the next day she took me out for a great lunch, then went screen golfing with me.  It was her first time to really ever try golf.  By the end of our 9 holes, not only was she hitting the ball consistently, she even made par on the final hole!  I was so proud.  To paraphrase George of the Jungle, "Luke good teacher!"

A small island, only visible on the clearest of days

Vicky's first week went pretty well.  Since the last teacher in her school had never heard of the word "discipline", she inherited a few wild classes.  This has led to many amusing stories that began "Guess how much I got to yell at the little troublemakers today!"  I fully support this method since taking joy in discipline early means you'll get to take joy from a well behaved class later.

My own classes are fine.  I have one middle school boy who took 3 months to say his first words to Jess, the former teacher.  I got him talking, albeit extremely quietly, on day 2.  He doesn't always answer questions and never above a whisper but at least I've got him to engage and that i'm quite proud of.  Ironically my biggest problem class isn't one that talks too much but one that talks too little.  They answer questions correctly at a whisper and don't like games.  I nearly always finish with over half the class time remaining and no way to continue to force them to talk.  Fortunately there are much worse problems to have.  For now i'm off to enjoy a nice warm day outside.  TTFN.

 Sunset over the sea