Holy Crap! It's November?

Well, already starting off poorly on the "keep up with weekly blogs" goal. Ah well, just enjoying life, no time to talk about it. (See above glowing sunset for proof of life enjoyment.)

I took my co-teacher out for a great Italian dinner after our teaching video was finished. (Yes, there is a great Italian place in Jeju with a huge and expensive imported wine list!)

Excited kids learning about Halloween

You did what to that pumpkin? Can we still eat it??

3rd graders and their scary Halloween masks

Let's see...school's good. 7 1/2 weeks of school until Christmas. Yoga classes are going very well. Extra English classes are lots of work, but they're okay. My co-teacher and I produced a teaching video that will be used for the National English Teacher training next year (WAY more stress than it needed to be!) Halloween was pretty fun. More fun to teach than to celebrate, really. Nothing like the all out party of last year - fortunately, since I was a little under the weather. I'm really picking up Korean, feeling better about my communication skills every day. I have a new Korean "teacher" who doesn't speak English as well as my last teacher which makes the necessity of Korean communication greater.

A Korean friend's wedding by the beach in Hamdoek

Jason & I at the wedding

I went camping with Jason, Jay and Erin 2 weekends ago. I love that it's warm enough to camp in the forest in the middle of October. We considered going again, but the weather turned cold a few days ago. We'll see...Before that was the 2nd Beach Volleyball tournament. My team was comprised of folks who live in my apartment building and we called ourselves the "Way Go's" - an abbreviation of the Foreign Language High School (that's where we live) or Way-guk-oh Go-deung-hak-kyo in Korean. My team did not fare as well as last year but we had plenty of fun. Beach season is now officially over so it was great to have one last beach camping weekend.

The Way Go's
(check out the matching sweat bands)

In general I find myself exploring the island less and falling into a routine. Not that life here is boring, just that it's not quite as exciting once you've settled in and made some close friends. Is that what it's like living somewhere for more than 1 year? It's been a long time since I stayed in the same city this long.

Bijarim Nutmeg Forest

Jeju is still beautiful, though! Beaches, forests & mountains abound so there's always something to do outside. Next weekend I'll be hiking the Yeongshil trail of Mt. Halla with my friend Erin. It's the prettiest hike for viewing fall leaves. The Bijarim Nutmeg Forest was a beautiful place to camp with hundreds of old-growth Japanese Nutmeg trees, pine trees, and maples.

Just so you know...

My co-teacher & I on a school field trip to Mt. Halla.

"...and many women." Priceless.