HOLY PINK!!!!!

On Sunday June 27th, Gwangju hosted the "Pink Ribbon Love Marathon" for Breast Cancer. The race started and finished at the Gwangju World Cup stadium. Although the word "marathon" is used, the race lengths actually consisted of a 5 km, 10 km, or a fun run. Jenni, Anne-Mari, and I decided to run the 10 km. It was a nice overcast day, which was a huge blessing due to the already high temperatures and humidity!

With our race t-shirts, we added to the pink glob swarming in and out of the stadium! It was the most pink I have ever seen at one time! Outside the stadium, there were several stands for snacks, activities, and entertainment. Korea's "Brad Pit" equivalent, Chang Dong Gun, even spoke to the crowd and offered his support. The event was loud, full of strange and fun behavior, and totally enthused about the awesome cause we were all partaking in.




Being amused by an interesting rap group on stage, while a shampoo and conditioner bottle approached.


Stretchin' it out!


The start!!!

The Finish.... 52 minutes 20 seconds 10km run.

Staff and volunteers were lined up, screaming and yelling as runners entered the stadium. There were even two foreigners dressed in pink tutus cheering people on. It was quite exciting!

Chang Dong Gun

How the time flies.....

My Early Bird, Kang Yu Bin

Currently, I am in my tenth month. The seasons have made full circle and now the summer is hot and humid just as it was when I first arrived. This season's food specialties are smoothies (sooo delicious!) and Neng Mien (cold noodles). I'm in love with both and they are great with the heat!

Teaching is still going well. I've realized that most of the jobs I've had thus far in my life have included working with kids in different environments, and I am still not tired of them! It takes a lot of energy and patience, especially with the language barrier here, but I love how excited and creative kids are. It's very rewarding to teach and although the school environment will be very different in the US, I want to keep that as an option for when I get back.

My adult class is going well, but often times they are absent due to a lot of stress and long hours at their software company. It's incredible how many hours a day are spent at the company due to the fact that they are not paid hourly and get only a small bonus for overtime. Nevertheless, the girls are a lot of fun regardless of how tired they are. We discuss articles, hot topics, go over grammar, and free write. I enjoy the change from teaching highly energetic kids who all want your attention at once and often times try to out speak each other! Eeeeek!


Kang Yu Bin, Park Ji Oeng, Cha Sung Bin, Park Jun Hyeung

Kang Sung Bin and Hong Su Hyun with their shopping mall. I'm so glad pig tails are still in style, they are so cute!

Little Buddy, An Yu Bin

Park Jun Hyeung

Nothing is perfect though. I think everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing, has to work to enjoy things once they become commonplace. I still have challenges every day and moral conflicts, unfortunately most are at school with my director. We both will probably always disagree with our perspectives on rewards and punishments, but I think this is what has made me grow the most this year. Work relationships can be very difficult and sometimes feel impossible, I've realized, but it's an interesting experience learning how to deal with conflicts.

Everyday I have to tell myself where I am and be thankful for all my blessings. It is always difficult being away from family, but I try to put everything in perspective and keep connected with home with writing and calling. This blog has been great in helping me reflect on experiences since the weeks fly by so fast!

I find this interesting:

"If you are pained by external things,

it is not they that disturb you,

but your own judgment of them.

And it is in your power to wipe out

that judgment now." ~ Marcus Aurelius

A GIANT Papple. (apple + Pear)

My Celtic knot ring from Scotland, similar to ones my friends Becca and Jacquie have. I love wearing it and being reminded of them and how driven they are to always have fun!

World Cup: Go Korea... Fighting!!!

"Ohhh Ohhh Ohhh Ohhh!!! ...
Singing forever young,
Singing songs underneath the sun,
Let's rejoice in this beautiful game
and together at the end of the day
We all sing...


Jenni (on her scooter), Me on my bike, and Erin. Still smilin even though we lost against Argentina!

This year is the absolute first time I've ever been interested or even watched an entire game of World Cup soccer. The first spark of enthusiasm started with my student's love and praise of Park Ji Sung, Korea's most famous soccer player who plays for England's club Manchester United. He is like the "Kim Yuna" (Korea's figure skating Olympic Gold medalist) of soccer. Korea still doesn't get a lot of national attention with their athletes, but individuals like Ji Sung are making that dream possible. Koreans are so proud of him!

Park Ji Sung (aka... Jenni's boyfriend)

Also, one of my best friends here is from Cape Town, South Africa. Although, Anne-Mari is more into Rugby, she still enjoys hearing about the activity back home. It's so great to hear her describe South Africa and what is going on with her friends and family over there with the World Cup. She, for one, doesn't think the vuvuzelas, the South African stadium horn, should be a complaint!

I've always wondered why I never really payed attention to the world's most played sport. Most of it is because the US has too many other sports that are more popular and have more press time on tv. Spending this year in Korea, away from the hype of American football and basketball (which I do miss watching), has given me more of an opportunity to get into Korea's main sports: Soccer and Baseball (Gwangju is home to the KIA Tigers who won the National Championship last year!!!).

After watching Korea's first win against Greece (2-0), it felt like the shops were painted red with all the "Go Korea" T-shirts and other merchandise. For the next game against Argentina, a group of friends and I went to our running spot, in Sangam Park, to watch the game on a big screen along with hundred of other fans! It was so neat to see every one's enthusiasm and to watch the game outside in such a beautiful location. Unfortunately, we lost big time with Argentina's key player, Messi, but managed to avoid an upset with the final score being 4-1.

Now, I have gotten into watching Korea play, but the excitement doesn't stop there! Every night there is a great game to watch and truly admire this "beautiful sport." With the way the players use their bodies to pass, defend, and move the ball up field, it's almost like an art! Also, I just love the fact that countries around the world are hyped about this time, that teams and players are gathered to play and relationships are being made, and that attentions are less on war, but on the WORLD CUP.

Oh and speaking of wars, North Korea made it into the world cup this year, first time in over forty years, due to a goal Park Ji Sung scored on a team allowing to the enter into the tournament. That is pretty neat and I think N. Koreans are very appreciative of him. North Korea plays the Portuguese, one of my favorite teams, tonight. The US has actually been doing quite well with their tie against England (1-1) and tie against Slovenia (2-2), in which they should have won, but were denied a great goal due to a poor call on a foul. Geez. But they haven't lost!

This morning I woke up at 3:30am to watch Brazil play a great game against Cote D'lvoire (3-1). I'm realizing that there are many styles to soccer. It's more enjoyable to watch when refs let the players play instead of calling every touch. I've never seen so many slide tackles before!

In the mean time, I will continue to obsess about the World Cup with friends (poor Jenni, she sticks with me when I get overly passionate about commentating games, plays, and players) and students. It's a great topic to get open discussions started at school!

Anyway, I'm excited to see how the tournament continues to go..... :-D

Korea's beautiful flag

... We all sing

WHEN I GET OLDER,

I WILL BE STRONGER,

THEY'LL CALL ME FREEDOM

JUST LIKE A WAVING FLAG...."

Jeju Half Marathon... HHHHOOOOPPPPAAAA

"Water can be both good and bad, useful and dangerous. To the danger, however, a remedy has been found: Learning to swim." -Democritus



For the past couple months, a group of friends and I have been training several times a week for the June 14th, Jeju "marathon" (all races here, no matter the length, are called Marathons). The winter season this year turned out to be an inactive one for me when it comes to running. So, training for the 21 km started at ground zero this spring and couldn't have sprung forth without the encouragement and enthusiasm of a few delightful Chamdan gals!

Five days a week at 8 am, I have ridden my bike fifteen minutes to Erin's house in Chamdan to run with Erin, Jenni, and Anne-Mari. At the beginning, we would only roam the streets for about twenty minutes. On some days, we would run a few times around a 840 meter spongy path at the Sangam park. The length of the runs started to increase after we all signed up for the half marathon on Jeju Island, "Korea's Hawaii" and honey moon destination. With new shoes and a determined attitude, we all started putting in around an hour of running four times during the week and committing to a longer run on Saturday. The streets were difficult for me to get used to since I normally try to run on dirt trails without busy traffic and never ending stoplights, but we found cushiony and less "stop and go" paths between apartment buildings and at parks.

The Sangam park has felt the pounding of our steps a monton in the last few months! Running around the pretty pond surrounded by flowers, trees, and several other people indulged in various activities, has been a great place to keep track of distance and time. Every Saturday, we would increase our distance until we ran 20 laps (17 km) two weeks before our race day. Not only were we strange because of the amount of running we did in a culture that stresses how walking and hiking is better than running, but we were four female "way-guks" (foreigners) together at one time!

On one Saturday, a school was having a "trash pick-up" day at the park. It's nice to see people when running, but I have never been "hi", "hello", "bye"-ed so many times in my life! One kid even ran next to us so his friend could take a picture further along the path. We were quite a spectacle and no matter how much you repeated "hello" back, you would get the same kid repeating their "hello" while giggling uncontrollably. It was quite silly, but completely harmless. It will be weird going back to such a mixing pot of a country and blending in after standing out so much in here.

So after all the hard work, fun running stories, spaghetti dinners, Saturday post-running ginormous breakfasts; we arrived at the race day weekend! Jeju Island is located directly south of South Korea and about an hour flight from Gwangju.



WE MADE IT.... now, what do you want to do?


Minbak (home stay) with are gracious 아저씨 Grandfather.






My Carroll College friend and Korean tutor, Kim Mi-Young, encouraged me to meet her at her home in Jeju city after returning back from the US this past January. It is amazing how well it worked out to meet her and her family in South Korea after knowing her in Montana. Although, her husband was busy with business meetings, I was able to have lunch with her and her two sons at a Samgyupsal restaurant, Korean pork barbecue.


Samgyupsal

Although, Miyoung says it feels great being back home, no longer stretched financially under the US dollar, her two sons really miss Montana and their friends. Shortly after lunch, her oldest had to go to school to study on his off Saturday (usually students have school on every other Saturday). The pressure these boys have, especially in their performance in English since they lived in the US, is extremely high, Miyoung told me. Although, they speak English well in comparison to others their age, their test scores aren't above average due to the emphasis on written grammar and memory. Testing and grades here in Korea are so different in comparison to the US. Personally, I don't think creativity is encouraged enough here, but kids are quite advanced in mathematics, science, and critical thinking skills.


Later in the afternoon on Saturday, Miyoung and Grandpa 아저씨 took us to nearby Lava tubes, cave like channels where lava once flowed.


The Grand Finale at the end of the Tube.




We also enjoyed getting lost in a local maze!

Erin and I going back into time~~~~


"Coach Gerry" from South Africa. Gerhard is a great friend who joined our Jeju crew with great enthusiasm for seeing the Island. He gave us amazing support, as well as, a fresh Gatorade at the finish line!





"Same-Same" Couple Set lost in the Maze!


Jenni outwardly showing disappointment at having to turn around!
Miyoung enjoyed our silliness.



RACE DAY!!!

Jenni, Erin, Anne-Mari, Me, and an Orange slice.

Our Minbak was a five minute walk from the starting line, so it was an easy going morning and then a stroll to the stadium at 8:30 am. At the stadium, there were drums and traditional dancers and people everywhere getting warmed up. It was amazing to see so many people and I really enjoy the attitude and energy of running events.

With some time to spare, an aerobics lady marched up to the stage and directed everyone with an microphone through a stretch/mini aerobics warm up. I wasn't sure what was going on, since normally I'm used to individuals who warm up on their own, but soon enough I was one out of hundreds of men and women engaged in the enthusiastic punches in the air and steps to the right, left, front, and back! I don't know how many people were there, but they were all doing the same moves as if we were in an choreographed class. So strange, but neat at the same time, because it's not something that happens very often in the US.



The 21 km (13.1 miles) along the northeast coast of Jeju was absolutely amazing. The salty, cool air from the water refreshed us, and the overcast sky kept us from burning. People would sit outside their houses near the street and yell "fighting" to the runners as we went past. There were some grandmas spreading various types of seaweed, shells, and garlic bulbs out to dry near the road, who waved and smiled, as well. Students, at a nearby school, must have volunteered to help with the race, because every few kilometers there were tables where the students would serve runners water and wet sponges . Overall, the race had a great set up, it was well organized, and very fun to run with many picturesque views and happy people to see.

Most of the race, we ran around a 5:30 per km pace. Unfortunately, with two kilometers left till the finish, our friend Erin started showing signs of fatigue and mentioned that she was getting tired. Al through she remembers none of this, she started striding saying her muscles were tight until she slowed into a staggering walk. Her color completely left her face and she had to be caught by surrounding walkers before falling. Luckily, an ambulance was driving right past us when this happened and was able to turn around pick her up, put an IV into her, and bring her back to stadium. What a great friend, she kept saying over and over, "go, finish the race. Keep going!" as she was given medical attention. It's amazing how far the mind and body will go even with lack of consciousness. Although, her body was quite fatigued and sensitive to the food and liquids she consumed the rest of that day, Erin recovered and we were all able to get medals and bags at the finish line.

My race time ended up being 1:58:14.







BEACH TIME!!!

"Korea" (Hanguk)


Later on we went to a little beach near our house after making a good lunch. It was so convenient being so close to our Minbak and the sun came out in perfect timing!



Gerry and Jenni playing in a sand pile.



Everywhere you look there are lava rocks. Jeju Island is famous for them, especially, because it is the material people use to make fences around their fields and homes. It's amazing because even during the stormy season these tall fences, or lava rock walls, stay in tact without any use of cement or other materials.

The colors in the water were so pretty!


Even at the beach you can't get away from construction!! It's everywhere!

Jenni leaving her signature angel.