Welcome to Korea: Some of Our Adorable Students

Welcome to Korea: Some of Our Adorable Students:
is a blog written by one of my old co-teachers and it in it they had some lovely pictures of my old kindy class, that we all taught.

What? How is this even possible?

Somehow while cleaning my apartment, I managed to make it messier.

I guess I should commence my attack on the blob of crap lying around my apartment.



Also, I am hosting a female couch surfer from China on Wednesday! (Hence the need to REALLY clean my apartment and not just reorganize the junkpiles)

Muuido

One of the many pleasures of living on the coast, and in a port city, is that you have the opportunity to go to a lot of the small islands around the city. I had a great weekend in Muuido, which is one of those small islands in Korea. By the way, "do" - pronounced doe - means island in Korean. The water, which was about the temperature of bathwater, wasn't exactly refreshing but it was nice to be on a beach all the same. We had badminton, booze, beach, bonfires, and birthday cake. It was a really nice end to summer. I still don't have my camera, since it was demolished at Jisan, but my friend Taylor got a lot of really cool pictures, which I will include below.

Directions: The easiest way to get to the airport island is to take the 303 bus to the airport. Then from the airport take the 222 or the 302 (+ a five minute walk) to Jamjindo Wharf. It's 3,000W (...and you don't have to pay on the return ferry). Once you're there wait about for the village bus and ride it for about 20 minutes to Hanagae Beach - you have to pay a small entrance fee. (2,000W) The beach huts are 30,000W plus a 10,000W deposit. Or you can pitch a tent. It's free to camp if you own a tent or you can rent for 4,000W. There are seafood restaurants over there and a corner shop so not need to cart your food and drink all the way there.

Jisan Music Festival

I went to a great festival. My camera was utterly demolished by concertgoers and completely broken, but the sim card is intact. (If we're friends irl or on facebook then you'll see pictures soonish) I lost 70,000 won when it fell out of my pocket between the hours of 2 am and 8 am.(possibly in the giant communal showers) I laid around a pool and went down this giant dinosaur slide at the pool. I lost my cute going out shirt when I took it off during MUSE. (I had a tank top on underneath to soak up most of the sweat because it was ridiculously hot) I met the creator and owners of TOMS shoes. Also, I saw some great music and danced around like a crazy person.

Can kimchi cure my cold?

1. Kimchi eliminates cholesterol
"Selenium from the garlic works to scoop cholesterol off of arterial walls. Allicin from the garlic works with the onions to raise the levels of HDL transport molecules which carry the cholesterol down to the gall bladder. The high levels of Vitamin C are used to convert the cholesterol to disposable substances. And the glutathione peroxidase made from the garlic along with the phytochemicals from the fruit and vegetables all work to magnify Vitamin C's availability. If there is a single-food defence to heart ailments, kimchi has to be it!"

2. Kimchi promotes intestinal health
"Kimchi also works to clean out your system by feeding the lactobacteria and bifidobacteria that live in your intestines. These are the “friendly bacteria” that we need to be healthy. Kimchi nourishes them so they can thrive and outnumber the “unfriendly bacteria” that threaten our health from the inside. The bifidobacteria that are responsible for producing many of the B-vitamins we need, including the B-12 that is so frequently missing from vegetarian diets. Since the body cannot produce these vitamins for itself, these bacteria are essential for our health. The lactobacteria prevent flatulence and keep sticky, sludge-like waste matter from accumulating in the intestinal tract, adhering to the intestinal walls, and interfering with nutrient absorption."

Also, it makes you poop leading to ...

3. Kimchi makes you lose weight
From what I remember at the Kimchi museum the same lactobactilli that's in Yogurt (which helps you lose weight) is in Kimchi.

I went to the Kimchi Museum a couple of weekends ago and made 2.2 pounds (1kg) of Kimchi.
We even got cute little totes!


Anyways, I have a cold now. I also have about a pound left of Kimchi. I am going to eat Kimchi everyday in hopes that Kimchi is the cure to the common cold. I mean, I have been told it prevents Cancer... so hey maybe it will get me better too!

Sweet Nana Claire

My surrogate Nana passed away. She was hooked up to oxygen tanks the last time I saw her, but she was still cracking jokes and seemed to be okay. She was so full of life and an amazing person. I mean she was definitely the best adopted grandma a kid could ask for- and she took on five extra kids. We don't have any grandparents that live in Georgia, so she took that role and had us call her Nana Claire. My mom met her because she was the mother of her best friend in college. She acted like a mother and then a friend to my own mother and she came to every major event in all of our lives. I'm really going to miss her big hugs and kisses with her signature line, "Oh you look so beautiful, darling!" in her rich voice. She was amazing and she lived a great life. That's about all you can hope for at the end of your life, to be loved, missed, and to have made a difference. I love you Nana!

To Mommy, Aunt Susie, and the Gilberts, I hope you know you're all in my thoughts and I love you very much as well.

Happy Mother's Day

I know a lot of people would say this, but no offense my mother is the coolest.

She has been an editor, journalist, photographer, public relations specialist, communications consultant, an organizing member and first vice-president of the Atlanta chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, as well as a special education teacher and has been very active in organizations involving women’s politics. (She was president of the Georgia Chapter of the National Women's Party Caucus) She produced a TV show, interviewed presidents, raised 5 children, maintained a happy marriage for over 30 years, and she just won yet another award for the service work that she does with her special needs class. Her class has sold books and with the money they made bought seeds. They learned about which fruits and vegetables work best their climate and grew a garden. Then she taught them about how homeless people have high sodium diets and they donated the fresh fruits and vegetables to the soup kitchens and shelters in the Atlanta area.

Earlier this month she was being honored for a project she designed for Read-Across-America day. Her high school special education students work with other special education students at the pre-kindergarten level to help them with reading. Her class wrote a Seuss-style children's book and donated copies to local elementary schools and local libraries.

My sister wrote to me today:

"B and I went to cheer on mom at the award show this week. She was the first one honored but we both agreed they should have called her up to the podium and give her an award. Then we proceeded to cry as each kid Pre-K thru 12 was awarded!"

Her father refused to pay for his daughters to go to college so she worked her way through college in 3 years to get a BS in Jounalism, then worked my dad through law school, and then went to Columbia for a BFA in photography. It wasn't until I was in 8th grade that she decided to get a degree in Special Education. My father is a lawyer, so even with 5 children she didn't have to get a job. She works because she honestly cares so much about making a positive difference in the world.

Oh and did I mention that the reason I have camped in 48 different states is because my mother took all 5 of us- in one van- camping across the US, every summer for 4 years. (occasionally my father would fly out to meet us when he could get off work)

Happy Mother's Day to my hero and inspiration, My Mother.