Winter Break in Saipan

Around the middle of January the conversation in the Wendling household went something like this...

'Rosanne, you want to go where...?'

'Saipan'

'Where is Saipan?'

'I am not sure, but it is warm there...its tropical...'

'Jeju Island was tropical, remember and we had snow there.'

'No, that was sub-tropical. don't worry it will be warm...'

And with that the Wendling family decided to go to Pacific Island Club in Saipan.


So at the end of January the Wendling's, Schumacher's and Joon's - that is 5 adults and 9 children left a very cold Korea and headed to the 'tropical' Saipan. Saipan is one of many islands - that include Guam - that are currently associated with the United States. The Wendling's, with their friends, stayed at the Pacific Island Club Resort, aka. PIC, which is on the coast of Saipan. There, January and February is very cool with 27 degree Celsius weather and cool breezes throughout the day.


The PIC resort had beach, swimming pools, and many activities that ranged from miniature golf to a rock climbing wall. Pictured above is Kyara as she attempts to scale the wall. Kyara with her previous work in gymnastics was able to scale all four portions of the wall - as seen below - with relative ease due to her upper body strength. In fact all members of the Wendling family scale at least the first section of the wall during their time at PIC.


On the second day at the resort our fearless travelers, pictured above, made their way to a private island - it really wasn't private as many of the resorts on Saipan sent their visitors to this small island which had a white sand beach and an amazing area for snorkeling. The Schumacher's - being from Australia had a lot of experience in snorkeling and were able to teach the Wendling's how to do it.

One of the tricks to seeing the fish up close is take bread with you under the water when you snorkel. Rosanne did this and got more than she bargained for. As she took out the bread approximately 20 fish attacked the bread she was holding.

The fish seen during snorkeling were amazing and a highlight of the trip for all.



During their time at PIC the Wending's were able to do many activities. However, the various swimming pools were probably the most enjoyable. Mia spent much of her time in the kiddie pool - which is pictured below. Often though, her sisters and the other children on the trip, would join her there. Pictured below is Ariel, Abbey Schumacher, Kylie Joon, Mia and Justine as they go down the slide in the kiddie swim area at PIC.


On the last night at PIC the Wendling's, Schumacher's and Joon's had a Ocean Side BBQ. Pictured below you can see Jack Schumacher, Ethan Joon and Ariel enjoying their BBQ together. The BBQ was unique due to the fact that the food - everything from chicken, steak, lobster tail, fish and corn - was brought out to the guests for them to cook. The BBQ was located in the middle of the table. On that night the restaurant decided to put all 9 children together and one of the waiters cooked for the kids. Then when the 5 adults tried to cook for themselves the coals were not hot enough - so the waiter cooked for the adults as well. It really is a tough life being there. (The added bonus was that Kevin was able to play a highly competitive game of 2 on 2 volleyball and then made his way over to the BBQ - paradise was never so good.)


Pictured below is Darrin Schumacher and Kevin enjoying their beverages at the Ocean Side BBQ. They are happy because they did not have to cook that night.


Every night after supper at PIC the staff put on a variety show for the guests. The first night the staff showed the guests traditional Saipan dancing and let the guests drink from a coconut. The second night was Line and Western Dancing. The last night was a dance party. Of course the staff always tried to get the children involved. Below we see Mia dancing with her boyfriend Jason. Jason is from Korea and the two of them were seen at the pool together and on the dance floor. He even gave Mia an inflatable green beach ball. (No truth to the rumour that a marriage has been arranged by the families.)


The trip to PIC was extremely relaxing and well accepted by everyone who went. Teaching can be a very stressful job and when you are able to have some time off it is always welcome. However, when you can go to a nice place with good friends it makes that time off even better. Pictured below is Kylie Schumacher, Rosanne and Mikki Joon on their last night at PIC.


Pictured below is the Wendling family- plus Jason - extremely tanned and happy in tropical Saipan. This trip will be one that is not soon forgotten for them as they were able to enjoy the beach and various activities in a beautiful resort found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We are so thankful for this opportunity and for the time that our family is able to spend together.

What is GSIS?

Mia, would like to welcome everyone to GSIS...she is pictured at the ELC...join us for a tour of her school.


Gyeonggi Suwon International School, aka. GSIS, has been the workplace for Rosanne and Kevin and the school for Justine, Kyara, Matteya, Ariel and Mia. However, what it is like to be a member of this community? What are the facilities like? Do the students have what they need to learn? What are the gym, classrooms and playground like? In this blog it hoped that all of these questions will be answered. (Pictured above is a picture of the Athletic complex at dusk on a January day.)

The classrooms at GSIS are very large. Pictured above is Kevin's Math classroom which could easily seat 30 students, but would need to only to sit 24 students as there is a cap on the number of students per class. In fact, many of the class are less than that, some classes are even smaller than 10 students - a great opportunity for students to learn and teachers to teach.



In each classroom, teachers have a desk, computer with printer, filing cabinet, shelving and a really comfortable chair. Although it is not Kevin's principal office, it still is great place to work. Notice as well there are no blackboards - but rather, whiteboards. However, not pictured is the LCD projector that teachers can use to put up worksheets, homework, DVD's, or other types of media to help


The picture above shows a typical hallway at GSIS, in this case the fourth floor hallway and the distance between Rosanne and Kevin's classrooms. Note how clean the hallway is - no marks on the floor, graffiti on the walls. This is typical of our 3 year old school - the cleaning staff spend a lot of time and care making sure that the hallways, classrooms, and school are maintained.



Pictured above is Rosanne's Middle School, (Grade 6, 7, 8) science classroom/lab. The picture above is the teaching side of the room , while the picture below is the lab portion. The lab has an incredible amount of resources that any teacher from Grade 6 - 12 could use in Canada. In fact, many of the items still have to be taken out of the box.


The door at the back of this picture leads to a science storage room which is also quite big. Yet, the most amazing thing is the money that is used to help keep the equipment current for the students - in fact the budget for middle school science is over $40 000. That is more than any budget Kevin has ever had a principal of a school.


Pictured above is a typical elementary classroom - in this class the Grade 1 class. At GSIS there is one class for each elementary class - JK - Grade 5. It should be noted that each school - Elementary, Middle and High School all have their own office area, secretary and principal as well as curriculum coordinate whose job is to support teachers with their classroom work. As you can see International Schools are definitely a different world.


Pictured above is the elementary hallway. Like any school it has bulletin board with student work and small lockers or cubbie holes for students to put their personal belongings in. It is refreshing to know that schools are still very much schools no matter where you live in the world.


Pictured above is the Elementary Library. This part of the library was opened three years ago and contains many, many books. How much? In the first three years the library has spent $100 000 per year. However, the shelves are not full - they never will be as books are very expensive but an important part of any school.


The Middle School/High School library, pictured above, was open this past year and has place for students to work. The elementary and MS/HS libraries are connected but currently are divided so that each can operate on its own. Between the library is rooms for teacher resources and textbooks - a true treasure trove.


Pictured above is the GSIS cafeteria. The cafeteria provides meals for the 70 dorm students and lunch to all of the day students. As well, staff and their families can have lunch here as well. Although the Wendling's are getting use to Korean food they are still very lucky due to the International/Western menu at the school. This menu allows for the Wendling's to have foods which they are a little more familiar with.


As was mentioned in a previous blog, Mia hangs out in the Early Childhood Center, ELC, pictured below is her classroom complete with toys, books, TV - 50' Flat screen, and DVD. The ELC has two classrooms like this and it is staffed by 2 full time and 2 part time staff.



Just outside of the ELC is the playground equipment. All of the Wendling children, except maybe Justine, have spent many hours playing here during recess time, after school and on the weekend. This playground is typical of structures at International Schools and often when the Wendling family goes to another school for a tournament or sports event the girls will look for the playground.

Picture below is the soccer field and Athletic Complex which are found in the GSIS school yard. During recess time students are able to play on the playground or on the soccer field. Soccer is probably the most popular sport in Korea and many students enjoy the time on this field.

Hopefully this short tour of GSIS helps you understand the school which the Wendling's work at.

Lunar New Year on Jeju Island

After two weeks of being at school the Wendling's, and the rest of Korea, were able to enjoy a few days off because of the Lunar New Year Holiday. Lunar New Year is the biggest, or second biggest holiday in Korea. It usually involves people returning to their hometown and spending time with family.

The Wendling's though decided to go to Jeju Island for a 'tropical vacation' with our Australian friends the Schumachers.

Jeju Island was created by volcanic activity over 300 000 years ago. Evidence of this still exists as the island is quite beautiful with mountains, caves and rock formations which you will see in the pictures.


Jeju Island is located off the Southern coast of South Korea and is accessible by either plane or ferry. The Wendling's decided to go by boat. So they left Suwon for a four hour bus trip to Mokpo. However, like the Niagara Region, Korea experienced some nasty weather and the four hour trip took eight hours. Then the following day, the ferry ride which should have taken 4 hours was an an hour longer since the seas were very rough.

This did not discourage the two families as they decided to spend some time in a Karaoke room in order to help pass the time away.

Upon arriving in Jeju, it was difficult to get a taxi, so one of Jeju Island's finest drove Rosanne and a few of the girls to the hotel. One rule though, he couldn't take any luggage - image thing I guess - but no matter Rosanne, Justine, Kyara and Matteya arrived to the hotel in style - while Kevin slummed it in the regular taxi.


After renting a car, (driving in Korea should be a blog all onto itself), the travelers arrived in Hallim Park. Hallim park was built 35 years ago when a Korean bought a large parcel of land around Hallim. He then proceeded to take out all of the volcanic rock and put in dirt so that trees and plants could grow. As well, he allowed the two lava shaft/caves to be cleaned up so that eco-tourists would be able to see them. Pictured above is one such cave.


Kylie and Darrin Schumacher, pictured above, are from Australia and are teaching at GSIS in the elementary school. They agreed to join the Wendling's on this trip. They, like the Wendling's, enjoyed the natural surroundings at Hallim Park.



The statue above depicts a Korean folk tale about how a young boy gained great insight after a struggle with a fox who appeared to him as a young girl. If there is one thing that we have learned here in Korea is that it is an ancient civilization that is based on many beliefs that come from nature. From this culture there is much to learn and be understood - which is part of the reason why we came to journey to this land in Asia.



The garden which Justine, Kyara, Matteya, Ariel and Mia are seen in above has many trees, flowers, plants and statues in it. It was an extremely beautiful and peaceful and yet celebrates the many gifts and presentations made to Hallim Park. Although it was cold on the day our family went to Hallim, it was still well worth our visit as the natural settings revealed to us another side of itself.


From a beautiful natural park, the Wendling's moved onto the world famous Teddy Bear Museum. Justine is pictured above with Michael 'Teddy Bear' Jordan. The Teddy Bear Museum has many different bear representing iconic figures, popular stories and cultures from around the world.


Of course Elvis would have to be at the Teddy Bear Museum - this bear clad in the traditional Elvis in Las Vegas outfit - represents many of the type of bears found in the Museum. Other bears not pictured here due to lack of space include: Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, Mother Teresa, Mickey Mouse, the Mona Lisa, VanGogh, Albert Einstein, and many others. (Kevin did not make this trip as Darrin and him tried to discover the Hooters across the street - but alas it was closed down.)


However, not all was fun and games at the Teddy Bear Museum - here the Wendling and Schumacher children are running for their lives from a live bear who was let loose at the museum - unfortunately all the children were recovered.


Another natural sight that the Wendling's saw was the Pillars. These volcanic rocks on the South side of the Island are similar looking to the rock formations in Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia - however, like the entire island it is made by an underground volcano. In Canada, many of our natural wonders were made by an ice age, so to see a world formed by a volcano is a far different perspective.


Here at the end of a tiring day the Wendling's still seem very happy - however, we had not yet experienced the tropical vacation promised to us - perhaps that would change.


At the beginning of the next day we decided to check out a natural maze on the Eastern Side of the Island. Unfortunately someone had the idea that we should make it a competition - not the best of ideas as Rosanne, Kylie and Matteya won - Darrin and Kevin cheated and the rest of the kids became incredibly upset that their parents both beat them yet only the men had cheated. Still, it was pretty neat to see ferns well over 10 feet tall in the shape of a maze. The second time around, the adults allowed the children to find their way through the maze on their own...no cheating!!!



Later that day the group arrived at the Lava Tube. This UNESCO Heritage site is one of the few Lava Tubes in the world. A Lava Tube is a cave that at one time carried Lava to a volcano. The tube that was visited has many aspects of a Lava tube including: lava rafts, lave shelves, lava balconies, etc. Basically, if you can imagine a river of lava running through an enclosed area of rock - this would be a Lava Tube.


This Lava tube was 13 meters high at points, approximately 40 ft high and 11m wide, approximately 33 ft wide. It is difficult to describe such a place other than amazing. It reminds us that the natural world existed long before humans were on the earth - and will continue long after we are gone. Keep this in mind, it is estimated that this cave would have had lava in it over 200 000 years ago.



Another beautiful sight was that of Sunrise Peak. This Mountain/Rock is on the Eastern side of the Jeju Island and is a UNESCO world heritage site as well. It is pictured in many Korean tourist publications - of which the pictures do not do it justice. The Mountain is a 45 minute hike from the bottom to the top, however, one cannot go inside of the crater.


Another place visited was the Jeju Korean Folk Village. Jeju, like other parts of Korea, has a rich history and culture based on the environment, natural resources and the people of the island. Although we have visited a number of different villages and there seems to be some similarities, there are many differences that need to be understood.


On our last full day on Jeju Island the Wendling and Schumachers ventured to the high country. There they found SNOW. (Yes indeed this was to be a tropical vacation.) However, as seen in the picture, it was truly a Winter Wonderland as the snow, though thick, hung on the boughs of trees.


Although this was weather that the Wendling's were very use to, the Schumachers were not. As they referred to the snow as frosting - marshmallows and other phrases which make snow seem very magical and peaceful. (Perhaps some time back in Canada with 30 - 40 cm of the stuff in a storm and -20 temperatures would wake them up.) Yet, this day was very special as the snow storms and cold weather gave way to sunshine and temperatures around 7 Celsius.


From the top of the mountains as pictured above - to the coastline with its beaches as seen below - we experienced the contrasts of Jeju Island. (These two pictures were taken on the same day within a half hour).


Then it was time to come home. All aboard the Ferry which took us from Jeju-si back to Mokpo. However, this time the Ferry was little smaller and the areas which we stayed on the journey back made some in our family feel like they were about to sold into slavery. However, in the end many of the children on the boat suddenly appeared in our sitting area to play Nintendo DS, watch movies, or colour. As these children appeared so did food, everything from mushrooms to ice cream - which sounds strange but in fact actually makes sense. Koreans are extremelly generous people who appreciate kind gestures. Once again our children realized that language is not a obstacle when it comes to meeting people of other cultures because 'playing' is a universal language. Pictured below is Mia with a new friend.

As we finish the blog and say goodbye to Jeju Island we realize that in the end the world is a pretty cool place with many natural wonders and good people to share it with. The Schumachers and Wendlings enjoyed their trip and the time spent learning about another country and the specialness of the Natural Sights that make Korea. Hopefully, we will get another opportunity to return to actually see the Tropic Country side which Rosanne kept referring to.

Christmas in Canada

After spending the past 5 months in South Korea it was time for the Wendling family to return home to Canada. The journey home began at 3:00 PM on Friday, December 19th with a bus from GSIS taking the Wendling family and others to the airport.


Prior to leaving the Wendling's, who are pictured above, put up their Christmas decorations and did some shopping as they prepared to come home to Canada. However, Christmas in Suwon was not the same as in Port Colborne. In Korea, Christmas is not an important day. Both Lunar New Year and Tusok are more important holidays. So prior to Christmas there is little if any Christmas music or decorations in and around the town. Simply stated, it did not feel a lot like Christmas.

As the plane approached Pearson Airport in Toronto all of the Wendling's came to see the Christmas lights from people's homes and snow was everywhere. (In Korea there is not much snow - but cold temperatures - so the sight of snow was a welcome one - even if it caused the family to wait one hour for a gate to become open so that we could disembark.)


The Wendling's were lucky that Me Mere, M'oncle Paul and M'oncle Rich were at the airport to pick up them up. Then through the snow and slush the family made it back to Port Colborne. There the family celebrated Christmas and New Year's with the Lafontaine family. With a two day stop in Waterloo to see Grandma and Grandpa Wendling and to go to Disney on Ice in Toronto.


On New Year's eve the Lafontaine family go together for a family skate at the East Side Arena in Port Colborne, followed by watching the USA vs Canada Junior Hockey game and finally taking in the ringing of the New Year from Victoria Park in Niagara Falls via the TV.


Going home reminded the Wendling family of how important family and friends are. Whether it was lunch with friends, skating with the family, a sleepover or just sitting with Me mere and having chips and watching TV - all of these events reminded us of life in Canada and time with our family. Although we have made friends in Korea and love the students that we work with - we still have many strong connection with Canada.


To the Wendling's the Christmas of 2008 will be special for many different reasons. Seeing family and friends and coming home to Canada will never be forgotten. However, another important reasons is that in Korea there were very few visible signs that Christmas was coming. Other than School and our Church there were few symbols or signs of the Christmas season, this is understandable as the Korea Christian population is 10 per cent and so Christmas does not get the same attention as other holidays. However, these symbols were missed.


On behalf of Rosanne, Justine, Kyara, Matteya, Ariel, Mia and Kevin we would like to wish all of you the best in 2009. May God's blessing be on each of you as you continue on your own personal journey.

Change of Website Name

To all,

We have changed the name of website location, it is now:

http://familywendling.blogspot.com/

You may want to bookmark it so you don't miss our latest post.

Our next post should happen sometime this week.