First snow of the year and it's FRIDAY!

On the ice skating rink at the Sports Center! :-) 

Instead of teaching....we skated! ;-) 

So it's one of the last Fridays of the school year and also happens to be club activity day because exams finished yesterday! Lucky for me I got to go ice skating with Summer and Ari's class for the club activity! While we were at the skating rink they made an announcement that it was snowing outside. Much like Texas, Changwon doesn't see snow very often so even the little bit that was falling was kind of a big deal. It wasn't until we went to leave the building to go back to the middle school that it really started to fall!!! It was fantastic! It was such a pretty site. I left something at my house so I took a taxi instead of riding the bus with the students and when I got home this is what it looked like!

When I went back to school the whole school and streets were covered in it! (I live 5 minutes by taxi to my school!) It was amazing! When I got back to school my students were waiting and ready to play! They were so so so cute! Some of them have only seen snow one or two times before (like my Texas students) so their eyes were all lit up and they were so sweet!! The following are pictures of my 3rd grade students (9th grade) and these girls are secretly my favorite students and I am so sad they will be going to high school....Marilyn if you are reading this it was like our 8th grade group our first year! 

My lovely 3rd grade girls! I will really miss them! :-(

This girl threw the first snowball! :-) 

"Look Teacher! SNOW!!! :-)"

The boys still playing soccer despite the freezing temperature and snow! 

With my 3rd graders...the one next to me in the back is the snow ball fight starter! 

Showing me their snowman! ;-) They even put it in the freezer for tomorrow~ 

Summer, Ari and I with the girls after the fight! :-)

The one in the picture by herself threw the first snowball at me! It started an all out war....even with the boys!  It ended with me and Ari teaming up to shove snow in her face....after she had put some down our backs!! :-) It was really fun and it was fun to be able to do that with our students!! :-) 

I have really gotten close with my students at Bonggok middle school and I am so happy that I stayed another year here. The atmosphere at this school is really great and it makes me really look forward to my Thursday and Fridays! 

This weekend should be fun! I am excited to relax and so some baking and cooking. I am teaching how to make pizza as my club activity for my adult winter program so I thought I would try it out this weekend to see how it works! :-) 

It is also my week at church to teach sunday school. I am so excited because Kelly is going to teach with me and her and I are making christmas cards to let the kids decorate for their parents! I think they will really love it! 

Also, I had my weigh in today and I have lost 1kg in two weeks! That means I have lost about 2.2 lbs! This is a start! I also now have a bet going with a friend to lose 15lbs by feb 22nd. If I lose I owe 50,000 won so I have to keep pushing towards the goal! ;-) I hope everyone at home has a nice warm weekend! (jealous of that weather right now)

XOXOX

This week has gone by very fast! I can't believe it is already Thursday! I realized today that I have 3 weeks left of school until winter vacation! I have a very fun winter vacation planned! I am teaching at the winter training program for teachers and I am going to get to to go Thailand for 6 days! WARM WEATHER HERE I COME!!!

I had a great day yesterday! I went to boxing after school and then met up with Minsu FINALLY after we hadn't seen each other for like 2 months! My boxing is getting better and I am really feeling like I am getting into good shape because of it! I feel stronger and healthier! I am also eating better! I have started using the Calorie Counter app on my phone. Recording all of my calories consumed and burned. If I stick with this plan for 3 more months by the time mom and dad come I should be 15 pounds lighter. I have been at it for 2 weeks now and have my first weigh in Friday! I am trying to lose weight the healthy way so I can keep it off and keep my energy! :-) I have been doing well eating cleaner....although Minsu and I went to Kraze Burger last night for dinner, but I had half of a chicken sandwich and some salad and felt satisfied! :-) After that we went to Masan to Mario's cafe! I love that place! It is so warm and inviting! He has a Christmas tree and was playing a Christmas movie and music! It made me so happy to be in there!

Here is a picture of my chicken sandwich I ate half of and gave half to Minsu!

When we were in Masan sitting in the Christmas atmosphere it started to snow!!! And you know me (Texas girl) I love to see the snow fall! :-) In Seoul there is so much snow, but where I live we get very little and it rarely sticks! Which means it is warmer than it could be! Which I am happy about because I dont do well with cold weather! hahaha! 

Here is a pic of the snow falling...it is a little blurry but you can get the idea!! :-) 

Also, while we were enjoying our Cafe Lattes, Minsu folded a frog out of a business card...well he said it was a "disabled frog" because he didn't fold the back legs right. So we decided to hide the frog on the spoke of the wheel of the bike that is hanging on the wall! It was really cute! :-) hahaha! I hope it is still there when I go back! 

The only problem is that when I got home I felt really sleepy but couldn't relax because I had drank too much caffeine before bed time! Next time I will have to order herbal tea! hahaha! 

Today is testing day and I have a lot of free time. I finished my club activity for my winter course and I have also written all of my test questions. I am about to plan for my Sunday morning class! I think we will make Christmas Stockings....and have them draw pictures of what they want for Christmas! :-) Sounds like fun for kindergartners. I will be back on blogging hopefully tomorrow because we are taking the kids ice skating so I will try to take pics and write about our time! :-)

Have a wonderful Thursday! 

Happy Tuesday!

Well it's another Tuesday during exam week here in Korea. I have 3 classes and I get to play review games! These used to be my favorite days in America! I loved playing jeopardy with my students and seeing that they had actually learned something! :-) My first grade students yesterday did really well with the game and I was surprised how much they had actually learned from me! :-) So today I have dance practice and boxing. I so stupidly agreed to do a dance with some teachers for the school festival. First problem, I have never done a dance, a group dance, except for the pep rally and that was more of a joke than an actual dance! Second, I am the tallest, biggest, and only foreign teacher doing it...so guess who is going to stand out....THIS GIRL! :-) Third problem is the costume! They are wanting to get sparkling shorts....now they might look good on chopstick legs....but not on my thunder thighs! hahaha! But I have a feeling my students are really going to love it so it's worth it to make them happy! On another note I have been sticking to my diet plan....except on sunday (which was kimchi day and I will talk more about that later).  I ordered some melon so instead of one melon for 10,000 won I got 4.  Which in Korea produce has become very very expensive so I will take a good deal where ever I can! :-) I just received my order from iherb.com and got my tahini....so you know what that means....its HUMMUS time! this makes me very excited! Hopefully it turns out ok~~

On Sunday I made kimchi at my friend 남가연 (Nam GaYeon) house with her family! I joke that they are my adoptive family in Korea! Her mother is so lovely and her father is a real family man! Reminds me of someone else I know (mom and dad!) :-) so I will post the pictures of the order in which things happen on kimchi day....because there is a process! :-)


Step 1: First we made the kimchi sauce....well its more like a rub....hahaha

What you see here is adding the sliced carrots and radish to the special red paste that GaYeon's mom makes. This is what makes every person's kimchi different the secret red paste. I know also they put some squid in theirs because I saw it when I was helping mix this paste! :-)

Step 2: Cover (rub) the already fermenting cabbage with the red paste you saw above. There had to have been over 60 halves of cabbage we had to cover with the paste. After you have given the cabbage a thorough rub down you fold it nicely and place it in the kimchi keepers. (Special Tupperware made for Kimchi)   

Step 3: The finished kimchi. After you have covered it all and placed it in the Tupperware you put the lid on it and place it in the special kimchi refrigerator. This is just half of the kimchi we made....it all wouldn't fit in a nice picture. 

Step 4: The meal. On kimchi making day it is usual to have a meal of boiled pork, rice, soup and kimchi. You save one cabbage of the kimch you just made and you eat it with the meal. Fresh kimchi has a much different taste than fermented kimchi. Gayeon's mother's kimchi is so delicious and very spicy! :-) 

Step 5: After all of that hard work and delicious food...it is time for the family to go to relax at a 찜질방. (jjimjilbang) This is like the sauna type rooms where you sit in and sweat out all your toxins....or sodium from the kimchi we just ate. I had been to many 찜질방 before but not one like this. When we got out of the car you could smell the fresh smell of a fire. It smelled like someone was having a BBQ. GaYeon told me that this is more like a traditional 찜질방 and the heat is actual from a fire and not from an electric heater. The smell was fantastic and to me it smelled like Christmas time! :-) 

This is my adopted family wearing out towels on our heads like you should in a 찜질방!

It was a fantastic day and I am happy that I could share it with my friend! :-) 

Now I actually have to get to my teaching for today! Happy Tuesday everyone! :-) 

There is one more picture I wanted to post:

This was me one year ago on the same floor making the same kimchi! I am much happier and healthier now! :-) 

Wow the year flew by!

Ok so I haven't written in my blog in a LOOOONG time! I have since started another year here in Korea. I am very happy that I decided to stay another year and I am enjoying myself much much more these days! I have been home twice since last January, once was for my brothers wedding and once was the show my Korean friends Texas and California. I have also decided that I am going to gradually start to become a Vegan. I have been inspired to change my lifesyles and become a more healthy individual. I have bought an oven...I real improvement in my life in Korea. I now can have my friends over to bake cookies and I have even made roasted pumpkin and apples when I am feeling like I need something sweet. I have met a new friend Joanna and she has opened my eyes to the world of delicious and flavorful Vegan cuisine and I am hoping I can keep learning from her! Last night I went to her place for dinner and she cooked lental stew with yellow and red peppers. We also ate a Persimmon salad with delicious citrus dressing! I have been reading blogs on vegan cooking and I am going to start trying out different recipes and get my body feeling good and healthy! :-) I have realized a lot of things over the past few months and I feel like I am finally happy and content with what I am doing in my life. I am trying to experience as much as I can and learning everyday! I have stopped trying to compare myself to other people and just be happy and content with Jessi. Now that everyone knows my new outlook on life I would like to say I am really going to try to blog more and hope that I can be held accountable. The cold weather is coming and I know with that came a very cold and dark time for me last year. I want to make sure that I keep myself warm and happy in these next VERY VERY cold months! I will be busy teaching, learning new things in the kitchen and preparing for my parents to visit me! :-) I am also going to break up the cold weather with a warm trip to Thailand! :-) excited to get on the beach and be in a warm climate for a a week! :-) I also was introduced to a wonderful site: iherb.com! I will be placing my first order this week and I am super excited about it! Here is to a whole new world that I am about to explore! :-) I will keep you updated on the progress of the cooking! :-)

Another week!!

Wow, what a BUSY weekend I had!! Let's start with Friday....My friend came over and I cooked spaghetti and we worked on the puzzle! It was really fun! I went to bed early because saturday morning I had to run 10 miles! It was a rough run...but I made it! After that I cleaned my apartment and did some laundry. I had to teach a class at church from 7:30-9:30 and I was so exhausted!! So after that class I went home and went straight to bed!! Yesterday I went to church and then went to the grocery store for the week! I was really missing some Tex-mex this weekend so I made some homemade salsa....well its more like pico but its really delicious!! I was very proud of myself.....As I am writing this blog I keep smelling something very strange...it smells like dog poo....I think I might vomit! SICK! I am finished teaching for the day and I am just sitting at my computer.  I really want to find the source of this smell bc I don't want to be here all day smelling it! I am very excited because the weather is getting warmer and I have to run 40 minutes after school! It's going to be awesome!! I've been enjoying the weather when I am running lately! Alright I have to get back to doing nothing at my desk...hahaha Just kidding!! :-)

Mac and Cheese!

Hello! It's been a long time since I have written on this blog! Let me fill you in on what has been going on in my life in Korea. During my 6 week winter vacation I taught Korean English teachers at the Teachers training center near my house. It was a great 4 weeks and I met some really awesome and interesting people! I made some new friends and got to hang out with my bike friends a lot too! After that class I went to Texas for 10 days! It was nice to be at home and I really needed to see my family and friends! During my first 5 months in Korea I gained about 10 lbs (5kg).....It was not a pretty sight! hahaha! Luckily since my return to Korea I have been training for a half marathon and lost 4 of those 5 kgs! I will be running in a half-marathon in Incheon on April 1st. I am very excited to have the opportunity to run a race in another country! Plus I get a really cool wind breaker out of the deal!! After winter vacation I had to "teach" for 1 week and then had another vacation for 2 weeks.  I put teach in quotes because it was the last week of the year and so I basically kept the kids from killing each other and brought some candy. Then my students graduated, which meant it was time for Spring vacation. During that time I took a trip to Seoul for 4 days and 3 nights. It was really great! I got to take a tour of the DMZ and see North Korea. It was a nice break. Now I have been back at school for over a week. I have new students in 1st grade and two new co teachers. I am so glad that my crazy co teacher is no longer going to be in my life! Her replacement is an angel! Her classes are 100% different from my previous experience! Over all I have really enjoyed teaching the last week! I have also started teaching Kindergarten Sunday school at the church I have been attending. ****I just have to make a side note here and say that my other new co teacher now sits next to me and she is now sighing so much and clicking her pen that I am having trouble concentrating on what I am writing!**** I love teaching the kindergarten kids and it really makes me happy to see them on Sunday mornings! I am also teaching some teachers at a local high school on Tuesday nights to make some extra money! The kindergarten I do as volunteer work but the teachers I am getting paid an extra hundred dollars a week! Sweet!! I bet you are wondering why the title of this blog is mac and cheese....let me explain that....so since I have returned to school I have been drinking Green Vibrance (if you don't know what it is I suggest you look it up and try it because it is amazing!) instead of eating in the cafeteria. This has been one of the main reason I have been able to lose weight! Since I haven't been eating in the cafeteria it has now become a thing because I told everyone I was on a diet so they didn't think it was because I didn't like the food.  Well since everyone now thinks I am on a diet they are watching my every move. I bring a nutri grain bar for breakfast every morning and usually one person a day asks me if that's on my diet! But this week I have been very hungry because I am in the longest distances of my training! So today I was looking at recipes to cook in a slow cooker and I came across one for Mac and Cheese....For those of you who know me well you know I LOVE Mac and cheese!! So now I have this craving for some really delicious mac and cheese. I don't think it will be possible for me to buy all ingredients for it but I am going to try this weekend. So after my 10 mile run I will be making some mac and cheese to enjoy!! I can't wait!! I have one more class today and then I am off to teach some teachers!! I will try to be better about writing on here!!

Kimchi making day

First I would like to start this off by saying that I lost a very special person to me this week. Kellie Bryant was one of the funniest and strongest people I know. The last three years I got to spend with her were wonderful. I am very sad to have to say goodbye to her. I know she is not longer in any pain and is in a better place, but I can't help and feel selfish because I want her to still be with us. I love you Kellie and I know you will be watching over us!

So this weekend was very busy! Friday started off by me going to have coffee and eat dinner with my friend GaYeon (Summer). We ate Bibimbop and had americanos. After that we went to Lotte Cinema to watch Breaking Dawn....It was amazing. It was after the movie I got the news about Kellie. Friday night was kind of rough because I was really sad and angry. I had to finally go to sleep because I was catching a 6:55 train to Seoul with some friends. Seoul was a lot of fun. I went shopping at H &M and forever 21. It was really crowded in Seoul and I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people there :-) After shopping for a LONG time (we couldnt exactly find the stores so we were wondering for a bit) we had a little lunch and then went to the street where they sold all the korean style souvenirs. I bought a few things including Kimchi chocolate for mom and dad! :-) After that we decide we are going to find a motel to stay at for the night. Well after wondering for about an hour and a half we decide to try a different area of seoul because we couldnt find anything cheap enough. After finally finding somewhere to stay we were unloading all of our stuff when I realized I lost my return train ticket. (the train was leaving at 6:10 because I had to be back for kimchi making day). That was 50,000 won down the drain. So after realizing that I decided I was going to try to go back to Changwon saturday night and that way I could sleep in later. This was around 9:20.  We looked up times for the train and the last train left at 9:55 and we were so far from the train station there wasnt enough time. So then I decide a bus is the best idea. So I gathered all my stuff and took the subway to the bus station and caught a bus back to Changwon at midnight. I arrived home around 430 and went to bed.

I woke up very late this morning and was very exhausted. What a long weekend it had been so far. But it wasn't over yet. Today was Kimchi making day. I was to arrive at my friends house at 12. I was told to dress comfortably. I wore my new grey sweat pants that I had bought the day before at H&M...this was a bad idea. There was about 200 halves of cabbage and a TUB full of kimchi sauce. HOLY COW....was there a lot of kimchi to make. We spent about 3 hours spreading sauce on cabbage leaves. I was COVERED in red sauce.  My new sweat pants were COVERED in Kimchi sauce...hahaha I even had it all over my feet. It was a lot of fun though and really awesome to experience. While making kimchi my friend's mom kept giving all of us "kids" pieces to eat. Now I like kimchi but today I ate more kimchi than I have the whole time I have been in Korea. Not to mention to fact the last piece of kimchi she let me try had a raw mussel in it. While chewing I almost threw up. It didnt taste bad but the texture was AWFUL! OMG! After that I was FULL of kimchi, but for dinner her mom prepared boiled pork and rice. Which we wrapped the pork in kimchi that we had made. This is a traditional meal when families make kimchi. I was also given a GIANT box of kimchi to take home. I am not exactly sure when I will be eating kimchi again after today but it was really nice of her mom! I really enjoyed being with a family today. It really felt nice!! Over all it was a nice day...I am exhausted tonight but I have exams this week so mon-wed I will not be teaching...just desk warming. :-) So it was the perfect weekend to do all of this stuff!

This is Jessi  Henson, signing off, with kimchi sauce in my hair.....HAHAHA  :-)