Sadly, we lost in a roaring upset in the 8th inning, but it was still a good game!
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| Go Bugil!! |
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| Lining up for the school songs |
Bugil students singing their school song
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| Swing batter, batter, batter, swing! |
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| Score!!! |
Monday, August 26, 2013
Bugil Baseball Game
Bugil High School is known for their baseball team. This famous team has won the high school championships in Korea a few times. Many of the players are recruited and go on to have major league careers in Korea. The President's Cup, the final tournament of the season, was held on August 26th and all the students at Bugil got the afternoon off to go watch the game and cheer on their team. JM and I decided to join them.
Sadly, we lost in a roaring upset in the 8th inning, but it was still a good game!
Sadly, we lost in a roaring upset in the 8th inning, but it was still a good game!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Back to Korea - New job!!
Well, now that I'm back in Korea it's time to make an announcement: I HAVE A NEW JOB!!! That's right folks, I will no longer be teaching at Bugil Academy. Over the summer, many disappointing actions from Bugil prompted my decision to leave. I applied for and was miraculously accepted to teach English at Dankook University in their General Education department. I have been given a 1 year contract and a lot more responsibility. This is a great step for my resume and confidence.Dankook is literally just down the road from Bugil. It is the closest university I could possibly have taught at and my commute to work in the morning is only a fraction longer than what it was to get to Bugil. Since I have a bicycle, it will only take 20 mins or so to get there.
Considering how stressed I was the last few months at Bugil, I am very happy for this change. JM is still teaching physics at Bugil with the Global Leader program and they are not associated with the department I was previously working in. The hardest part about leaving is that I did not get to say goodbye to my students and I have been struggling with this. I went to visit Bugil twice this week already, but it was really hard. I love those students wholeheartedly and I would do anything for them. Unfortunately, things did not work out at Bugil, so I'm really looking forward to a fresh start with my Dankook students!
Jennika
Given to me by the dean - my certificate of employment, in a blue velvet folder!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Preventative Care
After being plagued with plantar faciitis (PF) last spring during my ultimate season, which was so painful and caused me a lot of trouble walking, I decided to take action. Korea was lacking in medical things to give me the care I needed, so I turned to the next best source: the internet. haha.
Through my research, I learned that when we sleep we tend to relax the foot muscles and point our toes. What happens is that the muscle then stiffens in this relaxed state and when we wake up and step out of bed, the muscle stretches too much and micro tears are reformed, causing intense pain that will last the whole day. Stretching this muscle before stepping out of bed is a great way to loosen it, but over the course of the day (and standing for hours teaching), it over stretches and becomes painful. While there is no perfect remedy for PF, there are a combination of things one can try.
This summer, I bought many insoles for my shoes that are specifically meant to address PF. On Amazon.com I found a night brace to wear while I sleep and a support sock to wear while I am running/working out. Unfortunately, the items that I found would not ship to Canada or Korea, USA only. So I asked a friend if he would mind bringing a couple things back to Korea for me from the US. Thankfully he is a very light packer and he had room for my brace.
Because we have another ultimate season coming up, this is my attempt at preventative care. My foot has been feeling better since the summer, but I don't want to go through that PF hell from the spring ever again. So I've begun sleeping with this brace and wearing the sleeve when I work out - and it's working well! If anyone is experiencing PF, I highly recommend these products. In combination with stretching and squishy insole, my foot pain has decreased a lot. Hurray!
Through my research, I learned that when we sleep we tend to relax the foot muscles and point our toes. What happens is that the muscle then stiffens in this relaxed state and when we wake up and step out of bed, the muscle stretches too much and micro tears are reformed, causing intense pain that will last the whole day. Stretching this muscle before stepping out of bed is a great way to loosen it, but over the course of the day (and standing for hours teaching), it over stretches and becomes painful. While there is no perfect remedy for PF, there are a combination of things one can try.
This summer, I bought many insoles for my shoes that are specifically meant to address PF. On Amazon.com I found a night brace to wear while I sleep and a support sock to wear while I am running/working out. Unfortunately, the items that I found would not ship to Canada or Korea, USA only. So I asked a friend if he would mind bringing a couple things back to Korea for me from the US. Thankfully he is a very light packer and he had room for my brace.
Because we have another ultimate season coming up, this is my attempt at preventative care. My foot has been feeling better since the summer, but I don't want to go through that PF hell from the spring ever again. So I've begun sleeping with this brace and wearing the sleeve when I work out - and it's working well! If anyone is experiencing PF, I highly recommend these products. In combination with stretching and squishy insole, my foot pain has decreased a lot. Hurray!
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| My remedies! |
Friday, August 16, 2013
Summer in Canada (4 weeks in a nutshell!)
Hi Everyone!
My summer vacation started on July 19th. I flew home to Toronto to spend a week with my family before continuing on to the Maritimes.
On Saturday, July 20th the whole Soles clan went tree top trekking for mine and Andrew's (my brother) birthdays. It was fun, and quite a lot more dangerous than the trekking/ziplining I'd done in Gatineau and Costa Rica. There were no brakes!! They just expected you to barrel toward a padded tree at full speed, grab the green rope, and pull yourself up onto the platform. Well, it happened a few times that the rope was missed, after body slamming into a tree. Seriously Mom, I wish I had that on video.
On Sunday, the lovely Maryse came to visit me! It was so nice to see her and even nicer that she drove all that way. After having lunch with my Grandad on Tuesday, I made my way to the city to have dinner with Sandhya. She always treats me so well! We had delicious Mexican food and Cold Stone for dessert. I was ecstatic to be back in the land of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
The rest of the week was spent enjoying my grandfather's company. Being 90 means time is extra precious. Knowing that he cannot travel far, I really just came home to see him. Getting on a plane used to be exciting because it meant you were going on vacation, but now when I get on a plane back to my life 10,000km away, it's more emotional. Saying good bye is always the hardest part.
I flew to Moncton, New Brunswick and met up with JM late Thursday night. JM's friend Kris was getting married on Saturday, and while we were supposed to have Friday as a day off for touring, torrential downpours kept us indoors. But it was ok! We hadn't watched any English TV in a really long time. So catching a few reality shows about the Canadian Border Services and home design was kind of relaxing.
For our 2 year anniversary, JM had booked us a romantic getaway at Kindred Spirits, a cute B&B in the Cavendish region of Prince Edward Island. Our package included chocolates and sparkling juice in our room, a single fluffy robe, national park and Green Gables passes, a picnic basket for two, homemade breakfast, and more. We thoroughly enjoyed driving around PEI and exploring the north shore, with the sand dunes, the ocean, and the eroded red sandstone. We even walked through a red fox pack!
The one on the left has a toilet in the back. The one on the right looks like a trailer drove into the house.
The next weekend we scooted up to Ingonish in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Friends of mine from McGill, Mal and Ben, were on an Eastern Canada bike trip. They were passing through Cape Breton the first few days of August so we met up with them and camped for two nights at Broad Cove Provincial Park. This was my first time in the Highlands National Park and it was beautiful! I had no idea that it was so mountainous. Together we hiked the Franey trail, swam in the brook at Broad Cove and then made a great camp dinner of sloppy joes. The next morning, JM and I got up at 5am to watch the sunrise and we saw some seals in the water. After camping, JM and I drove the rest of the way around the Cabot Trail, stopping to hike a few trails along the way. We saw a waterfall, a bog, and even a MOOSE! It was an amazing weekend.
The next few weeks were spent between Cape Breton and Halifax. JM's niece was born August 5th, which he was really happy to be in the country for. We spent lots of time with friends and I even got to tour the department I'm interested in at Dalhousie University. I packed up and said good bye to Canada on August 16th, only to come back to Korea and have a few more holidays before starting my NEW JOB! All in all it was a great summer!
Jennika
My summer vacation started on July 19th. I flew home to Toronto to spend a week with my family before continuing on to the Maritimes.
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| Korean Cultural Center in the Incheon airport. You can paint a traditional fan! |
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| I did this while waiting for my flight to Toronto |
On Saturday, July 20th the whole Soles clan went tree top trekking for mine and Andrew's (my brother) birthdays. It was fun, and quite a lot more dangerous than the trekking/ziplining I'd done in Gatineau and Costa Rica. There were no brakes!! They just expected you to barrel toward a padded tree at full speed, grab the green rope, and pull yourself up onto the platform. Well, it happened a few times that the rope was missed, after body slamming into a tree. Seriously Mom, I wish I had that on video.
On Sunday, the lovely Maryse came to visit me! It was so nice to see her and even nicer that she drove all that way. After having lunch with my Grandad on Tuesday, I made my way to the city to have dinner with Sandhya. She always treats me so well! We had delicious Mexican food and Cold Stone for dessert. I was ecstatic to be back in the land of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
The rest of the week was spent enjoying my grandfather's company. Being 90 means time is extra precious. Knowing that he cannot travel far, I really just came home to see him. Getting on a plane used to be exciting because it meant you were going on vacation, but now when I get on a plane back to my life 10,000km away, it's more emotional. Saying good bye is always the hardest part.
I flew to Moncton, New Brunswick and met up with JM late Thursday night. JM's friend Kris was getting married on Saturday, and while we were supposed to have Friday as a day off for touring, torrential downpours kept us indoors. But it was ok! We hadn't watched any English TV in a really long time. So catching a few reality shows about the Canadian Border Services and home design was kind of relaxing.
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| JM's beautifully wrapped gift |
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| Barn wedding! |
For our 2 year anniversary, JM had booked us a romantic getaway at Kindred Spirits, a cute B&B in the Cavendish region of Prince Edward Island. Our package included chocolates and sparkling juice in our room, a single fluffy robe, national park and Green Gables passes, a picnic basket for two, homemade breakfast, and more. We thoroughly enjoyed driving around PEI and exploring the north shore, with the sand dunes, the ocean, and the eroded red sandstone. We even walked through a red fox pack!
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| Enjoying Green Gables! |
Going for a walk on Lovers Lane (from the Green Gables books!)
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| The Green Gables house |
Our prime picnic location .. a private locals only beach (ie: not on the map!) on the north shore!
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| Our picnic! Baguette, meat, cheese, apples, pecan tarts, and Raspberry Cordials! |
Cool rock formations. Clearly seeing the layers!
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| Panoramic of the view |
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| The sun finally came out! The sand colour was so much more beautiful. |
Some interesting architecture in North Rustico, PEI. The right one is called the Mother In Law's Door.
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| Our B&B - Kindred Spirits |
The next weekend we scooted up to Ingonish in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Friends of mine from McGill, Mal and Ben, were on an Eastern Canada bike trip. They were passing through Cape Breton the first few days of August so we met up with them and camped for two nights at Broad Cove Provincial Park. This was my first time in the Highlands National Park and it was beautiful! I had no idea that it was so mountainous. Together we hiked the Franey trail, swam in the brook at Broad Cove and then made a great camp dinner of sloppy joes. The next morning, JM and I got up at 5am to watch the sunrise and we saw some seals in the water. After camping, JM and I drove the rest of the way around the Cabot Trail, stopping to hike a few trails along the way. We saw a waterfall, a bog, and even a MOOSE! It was an amazing weekend.
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| Sunrise over the ocean from Broad Cove campground |
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| View from top of South mountain |
The next few weeks were spent between Cape Breton and Halifax. JM's niece was born August 5th, which he was really happy to be in the country for. We spent lots of time with friends and I even got to tour the department I'm interested in at Dalhousie University. I packed up and said good bye to Canada on August 16th, only to come back to Korea and have a few more holidays before starting my NEW JOB! All in all it was a great summer!
Jennika
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