This girl is tired of migraines!

I don't know if it's the weather change, or my exhausting week, but I'm tired of having headaches!!! Seriously. Monday I had to come home and sleep in the dark. No light was dim enough to not cause excruciating pain and pressure radiating through my temples. And every day this week I've felt a migraine coming on. Like right now ...

This is how I've felt all week.

Now, the seasons are changing and I have been told that winters are very dry here (unlike the super humid summers). My skin hasn't been affected yet, but my eyes sure have. I already have dry eyes from laser eye surgery, but the pressure I've been feeling behind them is troublesome. Worst, my vision appears to be affected by this dryness/pressure. In the summer, I discovered that my left eye had developed a slight astigmatism (which means the image is distorted before it reaches my retina, probably because of the irregular curvature of my cornea - thanks laser eye surgery). It seems now this problem is getting worse.

Have any of you experienced this before? I'm going to go through this Canadian bottle of Advil Liquid Gels and my special Canadian eye drops very quickly if I don't get a solution. :(

Jennika

Mine is definitely a vertical focus thing.

Thanksgiving on Muuido Island

Last weekend we explored Muuido Island in Korea with the Seoul Hiking Group. They had organized a weekend excursion that included a turkey dinner feast. The island is located near the airport in Seoul. It was a beautiful setting with mountains to hike and beaches to enjoy. We want to go back when the weather is warmer so we can go swimming in the Yellow Sea. The 'resort' we stayed at was right on the beach. I put resort in quotations because it was not like resorts back home. More like a camping resort.

We met some new friends, ate a delicious feast of turkey and ham, hiked up a mountain where there was a gorgeous view at the top, and collected many, many seashells. We want to make some art/decor for around the apartment with the shells. It was nice to be by the seaside again. I think Jean-Marc felt a little closer to home.



Waiting 2 hours for the ferry that went 20 feet.

On the ferry.

Goodbye Mainland!

The entrance to the resort.

Mmmmyummyummyum. Turkey and ham dinner! Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunset on the Yellow Sea. The tide came in that night and the waves were rockin'!

View from our Sunday morning hike. That is the beach we found shells on. It was nice to be near the sea again.

Taking a break from our hike to pose.



After the hike we decided to walk along the shore and collect sea shells. The shoreline was very rocky and when the tide comes in, you wouldn't want to get caught against it. But Sunday morning the tide was so far out we couldn't even see the water. So we walked on the ocean floor!



Collecting seashells! Jennika's favourite seaside activity.

Jean-Marc found a big one.

Hermit crab!

     Goofing around.                                                      The tide was so far out.   

         

View of the shore.



Stretch it!

 


The rocky shore. Take that Rocky Bay!

A secret cavern deep in the rocks.

Jean-Marc looking shnazzy.

          

Beautiful day.




Some of the seashells and sea glass we collected. All cleaned up!

Bugil Art Festival Day

Today was one of our school's big festivals. The students put their creative work on display, made and served food, put on a play, and had all sorts of talent shows. I got electrocuted by the students of the Engineering Club who then explained various electronics at their booth. With the Science Club, we got to create glow sticks from scratch. At another booth Jennika made some room spray/air freshener with tea tree oil, eucalyptus, and lemon. We even took an old school Polaroid picture together!!!



The homemade shock device! he he.

The Engineering Club

Jennika and I making glow sticks. To get the chemicals into the tub we used syringes. Not so easy. 

Jennika got to make perfume like an expert chemist.

Next we saw the students give an entertaining druming performance similar to the one we saw at Chuseok. They were wearing costumes and ran all the way up the hill and into the soccer field where they did some cool formations, all while keeping beat.



The students snaking their way up the driveway in an S formation.

We got to enter the girls school, which we don't often do because it is on the other side of campus. Inside they served us waffles (so good), a parfait, and then we got our hands on some soft shell tacos. To show our appreciation we danced to Gangnam style. The girls really enjoyed our dance moves. Especially when I shook my tush down to the floor. The room erupted with screams and laughter.

Also in the girls school, there was an art display. Jennika and I are looking into purchasing some from the students to help decorate our apartment.

I love the movement in this one.

This owl is so cool. I don't feel the same way about the fish.

Giraffes!

Frogs!

Sunflowers Stiples.

This one is made from what looks like rock shavings. Stunning!

Later in the day, the students had a talent show with a singing competition. One of my students Seong Pil participated and blew the socks off everyone and left his competition in the dust. We didn't stay for the results be we voted for him. The stage was very elaborate, with smoke, bubbles and even pyrotechnics!!


One student singing his heart out.

All in all it was a really fun day. It was nice to see the students just being regular teenagers, and not study machines or robots. Jennika's students were interacting with the girls from the Girls School, flirting and holding hands. And we got to see their more creative and talented sides. It was nice.

Sending love to everyone back home,

JaMs (and Jennika)

Picture of the Week #3 - GUESS WHAT WE FOUND!?

That's right ... Strawberries!!! We haven't seen these in months. Sooooo excited!!!!!

The Inexplicable World of Korea, 4

This one almost goes without saying. I'm in my office with heat blasting on me so I check the gauge to turn down the temperature.

Yes, it is only 1ºC outside, so we need heat. But if it were friggin' 30ºC outside right now, you'd be blasting the A/C!!!! Why do the people at Bugil, students included, believe that turning up the heat to 30ºC will make the room heat up faster? Put a sweater on people!

The Fry Pan

We went out to eat at the chicken place from my previous post. Here is a picture of the half eaten meal Jennika and I shared. The first time I ate here, me and two other friends ate one of these each and shared another.

We got ketchup from Burger King for the chips.

Oddly enough, The Fry Pan has the best salads we have found in Cheonan. No pictures of the salad because as we all know....

Actually we just ate it too darn fast.

Cheers, JaM's

Remembrance Day/Pepero Day

Today is Remembrance Day back in Canada, and like other dutiful Canadians, I would normally be wearing a poppy and attending a ceremony to commemorate the soldiers that fought and those who died in WW1, WWII, the Korean War, and other peacekeeping missions. Those who risked their lives for our freedom. Those who came to Korea to fight for the freedom of the Korean people.

In Korea, however, they do not celebrate Remembrance Day or a Veterans Day. Nope, instead on November 11th they have a Valentine's-like holiday called Pepero Day. This day was developed as a marketing strategy from the Lotte Candy corporation to get people to buy Pepero sticks and give them to their friends and lovers. What are Pepero sticks you ask? Well, they are like a sweet cracker/cookie thing dipped in chocolate. And because they are sticks, they resemble the number 1. So the candy company decided to market 11/11 as their day because the four 1s look like four Pepero sticks. I find this is extremely tacky and disrespectful.

Pepero sticks in many varieties

After some internet research, I came to learn that while Remembrance Day is celebrated world-wide, it is a memorial day observed by Commonwealth nations (of which Korea is not) and the United States, who call it Veteran's Day. I'm not irked by the fact that Korea doesn't celebrate Remembrance Day, it's not their culture, but I think it's rude to have a made up holiday on that day when a large part of the world are mourning. It's not even like Pepero Day has a deep history - it started in the 1990s! Hallmark may have taken advantage of Valentine's Day for marketing purposes, but at least St. Valentine was a historical figure and Valentine's Day was celebrated long before we dedicated the day to honour our soldiers. Considering the number of American soldiers who are living in Korea, I think Korea could have been a little more respectful just to NOT have a 'candy' holiday on this important day. By their logic, there was nothing stopping them from making Pepero Day January 11th (1/11) or November 1st (11/1). Of note, Korea does have their own Memorial Day, on June 6th, to honour their soldiers

Perhaps I haven't been in Korea long enough, or perhaps I'm just too Canadian. But November 11th will always be Remembrance Day for me. Lest we forget.

Furniture love!

Last night Jennika and I left our apartment to go to Mount Fishtail Restaurant (a yummy Indian eatery in Cheonan). On our way, we noticed some lovely discarded furniture. We almost left them behind, but we thought it would be best to rescue them before our meal. It is a good thing we did because three high chairs we left behind were taken by the time we walked back from our meal.

Our new additions. Don't they look regal?

I love these types of chairs. They remind me of a chair my friend Lauren from 2018 Oxford St. had that I loved.

Cheers, JaM's

Field Trip With the GLP

Today is the Korean SAT, an interesting event in Korea. It is a BIG deal here! It is the day that decides the students' future. A good score can basically set the course of her future life. So everyone takes it serious. Government officials leave for work later in the day to free up morning traffic. Airplanes are rerouted to avoid school zones. The police are out in full force to aid traffic. A late student will be escorted by police to school with sirens blasting. We did experience the last two personally today. The student jumped out of the police car and ran to write his future.  At the entrance of the school, the community comes out in full force to cheer on the seniors.

Since our students do not participate in the Korean SAT, we had to be off campus for the test time 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. So we went on a field trip.



Our first stop: A pagoda famous for being created out of stone. It also has some historical significance. I think has to do with a famous general who created the turtle ship. Don't quote me on that though; I heard a student talking about the general and so I connected the place to the story. 

On the same location as the pagoda there is a cool museum (Buyeo National Museum) with artifacts from ancient Korean civilizations. The following are some beautiful stone tile carvings.

This was one of the highlights of the museum. It is a Hoja. One lucky servant got to carry this baby around, so his patron could "go" where and when he pleased. Apparently it is designed to look like a tiger because peeing into the mouth of a tiger is good luck. Korea you are awesome!

This is an assortment of stone swords used well into the bronze age. Bronze swords were to costly to provide for the average warriors. The warriors were relegated to using the stone variety. 

The museum had a collection of many historically relevant tools that would dampen an anthropologist's undergarments. The progression of technology is so interesting and alive in the museums of Korea.

Next we had lunch and, typical to Korean field trips, we went on a hike.  Hiking in Korea is not the same as in North America. Here you will see many people on the path and there might even be a paved road that leads up the mountain. I think we hiked around Busosanseong Fortress of Buyeo. After the hiking up and down the other side, we took a boat back to our buses.



Getting on our ride back to town.

Our last stop... a palace. The place was large, but not as significant as Gyeongbokgung Palace. They did have a large drum you could pound though and the students enjoyed making music.



A rare view of the drum sans student musician.

Good times had by all.

Cheers, JaM's