Vacation in the Philippines

After the second winter camp that was held in January finished, I flew out from Incheon Airport to Mactan Airport, Cebu City that was a 4 hour flight. I was a bit nervous about the plane ride since it was with Air Asia but the plane ride was pretty smooth, the only complaint I have was that I wish the chairs were more spaced apart my legs were cramped in the little space that was provided. I'm not a fan of plane rides because I usually get sick. I get nausea, sweaty hands, my ears get f%#&*ed up (clogged) and anxiety. I think I watch to many movies about plane crashes so I get really paranoid...I would feel much safer if I had parachute on board with me seriously, but I'm hoping that since I'm flying often my airplane sickness would go away. After arriving in Mactan Airport, you can feel the warm air welcoming us. We had to catch another plane that took us to Boracay. It was a 45 minute plane ride but it was the most frightening plane ride throughout the trip because this plane was smaller and it had more turbulence. The airline was Cebu Pacific Airlines but when I flew to Boracay I didn't check any bags in but when I was flying from Boracay to Cebu they made me check in my backpack so I had to pay 500 php peso ($12 USD). It was a bummer. The airport is not that up to date with the technology that you would see in Korea or JFK (if you been there you know what I mean) The bags can not exceed over 9 kg or else the baggage fee is higher. 

After arriving at Boracay Airport, we had to take a short car ride to the jetty-port to get to the island. The boat ride took about 30-40 minute. I was not very familiar with the Philippines besides the food but I have learned a lot about the culture on this trip. We spent 3 amazing adventurous days in Boracay. From the first day when we arrived, we meet an Aussie, we went swimming in the amazing white beach, hit up the local hot spots restaurants, participated in a pub crawl throughout Boracay and wondered cluelessly around the island like tourists. The beach was amazing and I love it. I'm a typical beach bum, laying in the soft white sand soaking up the sun. The first day was full of adventure and activities I was exhausted and sleep deprived by midnight. The next day was a big day, Ariel's point. It cost 2000 PHP ($48 USD) The event was from 10am-5pm filled with free drinks all day, a (Philippine food) lunch to go with it and free pick up from the hostel. I was so excited for cliff jumping and I wanted to do it for awhile. Since I went skydiving, I thought I conquered my fear of heights but boy was I wrong. I jumped off diving boards before and they were also really high but I just couldn't seem to get over the fact that I was jumping into the ocean. 

The next day was a relaxing day and soaking up the sun even more. We also did the banana boat which was really fun but everyone on the banana boat was holding on for dear life like myself so no one fell off which I have to say is the best part. We also got our entire body massage for $4 dollars!!! I wanted to get one everyday minus the part were they yanked my hair out. I was gonna fight that punk it hurt so bad...Anyways, It was also my first time eating Halo Halo and it was delicious!!! I loved Boracay and I wished we could stay longer but I was up for another adventure to visit Cebu. We had to get up real early because of the transportation. Southwest was are transportation pick up and drop off which also included the jetty port fee. Are pick up was at 6:30am in front of our hostel and off to the jetty port to Boracay Airport. The plane was delayed for almost 2 hours.. :( As we landed in Cebu, we were greeted with warmth by my friend's cousin and lola (grandma in filipino). We had lunch at a really good Filipino's restaurant but I was sleep deprived from the night before because we had too many San Miguels and cocktails, so my appetite was suppressed. However, my friend didn't sleep at all and she manage to be awake all day. I would have been a big grumpy b*tch, or just be dead asleep somewhere in a corner. We went to visit her family members that she hadn't seen for awhile. 

The next day in Cebu, we headed to the mall to get had lunch and get a cheap haircut. However there was something wrong with my body. I tried holding it in and hoping it would pass by but it just got worst.. I was getting nausea, bad headaches and all I wanted to do was puke. I thought it was because I didn't sleep enough but this lasted two days and I felt awful!! I had the stomach bug therefore I ate something bad. I felt so bad because I didn't want to burden my friend with my illness but she wasn't feeling well either but things were going out her rear end, so are illnesses didn't match. After lunch, I got medicine and her cousin was so nice and dropped me off at the hotel. From there I prepared my explosive vomiting in the hotel room with Gatorade and water. I never felt so sick before. I got better in the evening and we ended up going to a Miss Cebu beauty pageant. 

 The next day I was hoping I felt better but I had such bad migraines and I wanted to puke again. I ended staying in all day resting in bed which I don't normally do but I was that sick I had too. After a day wasted sick in bed I was hoping I felt better but I had severe migraines that didn't go away.. They would come and go it was horrible. I think it's from all that puking and dehydration. It was the last day and we checked out the hotel and headed to the mall to get our eyebrow f$&@&ed up. There isn't much eyebrow threading done in South Korea and if there is it is really expensive so we took advantage of this but it didn't turn out that great. I enjoyed my trip until I got sick. I'm going to be very caution next time eating.

2nd Winter Camp 2015

I have one more winter camp left before my vacation starts, however this winter camp is held in January. It started today and lasts for 5 days. I have to say this is the longest camp I have so far. This school has the smallest class size averaging about 27 students for the entire school. Yep! 27 students consisting from grades 1st-6th. I don't mind it at all, having small class sizes gives me the opportunity to work with students one on one... The students so far are a little more advance in English compared to my other two schools. They are great caring students and probably one of my favorites so far. I have not have any problems with them so far and I'm in my 6 month here in Korea. Time sure does fly by fast. The first day of camp started today and I thought it went great for the students. As I was teaching new vocabulary and talking, I was not trying to be funny but somehow it was to the students. I just started to laugh with them but it made the class go by so much faster. Majority of the students seemed really happy and amazed. I have lesson planned this camp back in December, but here is a sneak peak of it. 

The theme is Christmas, since I had another camp back in December. (I'm keeping it brief and not writing the details because that is why I have a lesson plan sheet completed):

Day 1: Camp rules, Learning about awards, Team placement, Learning each other names, Santa Knot

Day 2: Christmas Scavenger Hunt and Spelling Contest 

Day 3: Cooking Class: Reindeer Poop (Muddie Buddie)

Day 4: Science Class: Magical Snowflake

Day 5: "A wish to be a Christmas Tree", Comprehension check and bomb game.

Winter Camp 2014

This week I started one of my winter camps for my main school. It was suppose to be three days but it was cut down to two days only. I did mainly fun learning activities. I would like the camp to be longer so I can get to know my students a little better. It is better than desk forming. 

The first day I did name tags, reviewing camp rules, splitting them into teams and the Santa knot activity (human knot) since my camp theme revolved around Christmas. It was a two hour class. The next hour we did a Christmas scavenger hunt around the school. There was also a bonus there was one item that was a present. It was a surprise for the group, each box had a piece of candy for each of the members. It was a hit! The students loved it. 

The second day, we did a cooking class. We made reindeer poop (muddie buddie). The students were gross out about the mixture because it didn't look so appetizing. It looked more like "dong" as what the students said. "Dong" in Koren means poop which I thought was hilarious. In my head I was thinking wait until you try the crack (finish product)...It's like crack!! It is that good..After finish making the snack, the students were able to sample them. It was a HIT!! The students were begging for more but we had to play a Christmas bomb game. 

First, we did a review as a class and then the bomb game. At each table the snack was laid in the center and the students were handed one plastic glove. The students had a sandwich bag to put ther reindeer poop in when they earn points from the game. It was hilarious watching them trying to earn the points. They could even eat the snack either. I wanted them to wait until we finish the game or otherwise they will be eating instead of paying attention. It was a great amusing winter camp. I have one more winter camp to go that is one week long in January. So this will be my last post until next year. See you all in the following year.

Happy Holidays & a Happy New Year!!! <3

XOXO,

Chuiee

Bugok Hawaii

It getting very close to winter break and almost towards the end of the semester. My main school treats the students to a fun event during this time of year. From what I heard from last year, the 5th and 6th graders went skiing and the 1st-4th graders went to Bugok Hawaii. I had the opportunity to go to the first field trip with my students, therefore I was sooo excited. The students had many field trips throughout this semester but I was not invited to any trips...which I believe it has to do with the budget. The other times when I wasn't invited to the field trip I was in the school library fiddling on the computer. I wasn't sure were we were going tho but I found out when I got to our destination. There is limited usage of English at my main school. First event was snowtubing. It is really different from America. I use to go snowtubing in college in Pennslyvania so I can explain about the differences. In America, there are conveyor belts that pull you up with your snowtube, however in Korea you have to drag your tube up the hill. The hill is less steep compared to America. This is great a great exercise for the students and would wear them out more quickly...lol They also don't have double tubes but this could also be that this is an older snow/theme park. I was told that it is about 30 years old. Since Korea is so civil there is no need to make dividers but there is no person helping you down the hill. I remember when I went in PA there was a guy that would push you down the tube either with crazy spins and etc... but I tried doing that and one of my students, he mentioned to me that it was dangerous. He was so cute and adorable.

Very similar just some differences..

First Open Class

My first open class for my second school that I teach at, it was surprising to me because I thought my main school hosts the open class. It happened to be the week of a English talking competition and just around the corner of Thanksgiving. Before my open class, I also had to participate in the judging part of the English talking competition. I listened to over 15 speeches of my students and most of them were about their life and what they would like to do in the future. It was really great listening to my student's speeches. So my lesson for my open class was about Thanksgiving and making a turkey and discussing about what the students were thankful for. I ran out of time for the speaking time but the students got really crafty making the turkey. I don't think I did that bad but we will see. 

One of my cute students!