Poor Sarah was sick.....

After the trip to Naro-do, I came home as quick as I could. Sarah was feeling a little sick and had a fever. Poor thing.

The very next day, there was a 7km run here in Jindo at 6 in the morning. Sarah was signed up to go, but because she was sick, I ran in her place. There was really loud music, and it was still pitch black outside. I ran along with her co-teacher Mr. Hong. He's very nice.




Later that day, Sarah was still feeling a little sick, but wanted to get out of the house. So Mr. Hong picked us up with his wife, and drove us all over Jindo. We went to a small shipping harbor, to a place called "Well-being Mountain", and to the local Chrysanthemum and Lantern Festival. It was nice, but Sarah wasn't feeling well so we went home. I made her some dinner and bought a space heater.







She's all better now though.

- The Harkins

Naro-Do - Troy's first school retreat

I was invited to come along with my Seokgyo Middle School to go to Naro Island to take the students to a Student Training Center.

The teachers did not have to do a thing. All we had to do was sit back and relax. Well, most of the time at least.

The students made crafts, did physical training at 6 in the morning, talked about not smoking, went rafting, and put on a concert.

Since the teachers did not have to do anything, we were pretty free during the time. So of course, we ate, and sang songs at the local Noray-bang. I also tried to spend some free time with the students, so every night before bed, I invited anyone who wanted to talk in English to me to come and relax. They enjoyed it, and so did I.

I was told by my "social manager", Mr. Lee (pictured at the top next to me wearing 2 life vests because they were too small), that I had to sing a song for my students during their concert. I had no idea what to sing, the the Science teacher told me to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". So, I got on stage, sang Twinkle Twinkle, and had my co-teacher Mr. Kim, and the P.E. teacher Mr. Lee (different from my social manager) backup dance. The kids loved it.

I got sick on the 2nd day because all we did was eat raw fish and rice every meal. My body couldn't handle it. The teachers thought it would be a good idea to get some local delicacies at the fish market. I was asked to come along. There were fish, eels, crabs, and shells everywhere! My gosh, it was so much!





Here are some pictures.





- The Harkins

The Furlongs Birthdays in German Village - Oktoberfest!

Our friends Bob and Eddie are twin brothers. They had their birthday not too long ago, and invited a lot of people down to Namhae to celebrate their birthday.

Bob happens to live with his wife in a small area called German Village. The only residents here are people who have both German and Korean passports. A lot of Koreans come here as tourists and just walk around the village. The housing is of course German style housing, and well, it's just a beautiful place.



There is one older fellow from Germany, who lives here with his wife. One of his hobbies is making sausage. We are talking about genuine German Bratwursts here. We all bought some of them and cooked them throughout the weekend. Sarah and I had some leftover, so we brought them back to Jindo and had some nice dinners here.



We played Bean Bags, Blackjack, Texas Hold Em, and even Baseball. The baseball game was Namhae v. Korea. Namhae won by 1 run. It was a nice weekend with them, and one of the most fun weekends we've ever had in Korea.

Here's some pictures.








- The Harkins

Dinners with our new Jindo friends

On a regular basis now, we have dinner together with the other native english teachers on the Island. There are 7 of us total right now, with I think a new teacher coming this week.

We've had get togethers for birthdays, and also just because. Everyone brings something to eat, or we all just cook together and hang out. They are really cool people. We enjoy seeing them.








The 2 dogs names are Choco and Shiro. They are our friend Erin's dogs. Very cute and loving. And probably some of the only dogs on the island that are not "Jindo Dogs", a breed of dog that is raised here on Jindo. We like playing with them a lot.

- The Harkins

What does Troy do on Wednesdays?!

Every Wednesday, I attend a "social" meeting with all of the teachers at Seokgyo Middle School, which is the main school where I teach.

The first social meeting I had was in the parking lot. Some teachers brought sam-gyeop-sal, which is thick cut bacon, and some maekju and soju. It was pretty delicious.

Other times, we've played volleyball against other teachers, and once again had food and drinks.

Once though, we went to Paengmok, a small harbor town here on Jindo, where I catch the ferry every Monday to go to one of my schools. Anyways, we had a nice raw fish dinner. The teachers from my school as well as Seokgyo High school were in attendance.

Here's a picture.



And once again, it is Wednesday, so I will have some more food and drink, as well as broken english conversations with some of my teachers. They really are a nice bunch.

Take care everyone!

- The Harkins

Party in Mokpo

Our new friend Lisa has said goodbye to Korea for now. She was teaching here for 11 months or so when we first arrived. Well, she wanted to go to Mokpo, the closest big city to Jindo, and have a night out. We went out to eat, got some drinks, played in the batting cages. It was a good time.

Here are some pics.



We got a lot of updating to do now. Hope everyone is well back home! We miss you!

- The Harkins

Good Halloween Fun!

Hey everyone! At Jisan Middle School (where I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays), I surprised my students with a little Halloween game. Here are videos of their reactions. It was pretty funny. I enjoy teaching these kids.

Here is my Grade 1:


Here is my Grade 2:


Here is my Grade 3:



Some of the students thought I was taking a picture, so they made faces and things. It was pretty funny.

So yeah, that's a normal day for me.

Hope everything is well back home!

We miss you!

- The Harkins