A couple of weeks ago three of us teachers visited Jeju for the weekend. Jeju is a small island, just south of the Korean mainland, and is every Korean's favourite place. It's the top honeymoon destination, it's everyone's dream holiday destination, it's where everyone wants to go, and Koreans call it 'The Hawaii of Korea.' I'd heard from foreigners that it was a bit rubbish, so I didn't really have high expectations, but it was pretty good. Nothing at all like Hawaii, more like a Korean 'Isle of Wight.'
We visited some nice scenic locations, Jeju is used to shoot many of the Korean dramas on TV, so many locations have helpful signs pointing to the 'Flimming location' (not sure what that is?), we saw some waterfalls, some nice temples, took a trip on a submarine, and visited a Teddy Bear museum. Now if, like me, you've often wandered what visionary businessman and Apple founder Steve Jobs would look like as a Teddy Bear, you are in luck! Because here it is;
If you also want to see great works of art re-done with a Teddy Bear theme, again this is the place for you!
And also, if you are easily confused by doors, and are confused by whether or not they are open or closed, and you like every single thing you see to have a helpful sign, then you'll love this;
Overall, Jeju was much better than I expected. It is a genuinely nice place to visit. Though certainly not the paradise that Koreans make it out to be.
My last post mentioned some of the unusual names of students at my school (such as Milk, Blue, and Carrot), so I thought I would add a few more, as I keep coming across kids that I forgot to mention last time. So the latest bizarre names of children at my school include;
- Lucifer
- Bean
- Ain
- Lamech
- Sun (see below)
- Sunny
Remember these are all 100% genuine names that the children have either chosen themselves, or had chosen for them by teachers or parents. These names are on the register, and the kids wear name tags with them on. I've highlighted Sun because the different classes have different names. We have BlueSky class, BigTree class, and SunShine class among others. Each of these classes is then split in half for activities. So BlueSky class becomes Blue team and Sky team, BigTree becomes Big team and Tree team, and SunShine class becomes Sun team and Shine team. The student named Sun is, of course, in the class called Sun. He was called Evan, but like a lot of students decided to change his name, and chose the name Sun! Imaginative!
Away from school, spring has sprung, and sports have returned to Korea! Tragically for England's chances of success in the World Cup in Brazil this summer, I have managed to injure my other knee (regular readers will know I have not fully recovered from knee reconstruction surgery on my right knee), so am unable to play football again until I have another operation to repair the damage. However, as I am a reckless lover of sport, I am still playing baseball every Saturday and cricket every Sunday. This weekend saw the first games of the new baseball season, and next weekend sees the first games of the new cricket season. At the baseball, a hobby enthusiast (you could say 'geek'), brought his remote control helicopter and gyro-camera and took a bunch of aerial shots of the game.
Finally, the Adventures of Tyrion the Turtle
Obviously little Tyrion is delighted that his namesake has returned to our screens in Game of Thrones, but sadly, he hasn't read the books, so he doesn't know what's in store for his favourite character. To cheer him up for the dark times ahead, one of my students made a tiny origami turtle for him! Check it out!
