Mount Kilimanjaro Challenge: Day 2 (FOREST)



After the endless walk in the forest, We faced a HUGE rain! It was too intense that my whole pants and shoes got wet and soaked in the rain water.. After the intense walk for hours, we finally reached our first campus! Pheww



Mount Kilimanjaro Challenge: Day 1



Under 20! :) We are climbing this mountain in order to raise money for the kids who can not afford to go to school



Every person got THIS MANY cadies which we will eat for the next four days! O_o

Entrance to the mountain! The adventure begins!

Kilimanjaro water.. yumm

Church: Annual December Teenage Concert

Today, we had our annual korean church worship! This event is very very special and we prepare from months ago because we perform various things. This year, we had our worship team (I had a solo flute part and I did okay :P), and I was also part of the highschool worship dance team, which consisted of five members.. It was my first time dancing, which made it even more special and I tried my best to not make any mistake (even though I did at the end.. haha). It was extremely touching and moving.

They are all posted on youtube:
Praise Team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH07IRzXco8
Worship Dance Team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5LeReCPQgY

GIN - Shangilia Kids Christmas Party!

This amazing day, we invited the Shangilia kids to come to our school for a Christmas party! Even though we have to "winter" or snow in Kenya, we wanted to make these kids feel special so we decided that we should celebrate together! These kids looked really excited and people brought in baked goods and food for the party!

Habitat For Humanity - Morningstar School Painting

Painting! Painting!  AND Painting! The fumes of the paint was killing me. But this new experience was toooo special that I will remember forever! This trip was special from the beginning when we started moving from school. When we entered Kangemi(one of the top five biggest slums in Kenya), all the people around were wondering why we came. They stared at the group of foreigners but I was totally confortable with these people because I had no doubt that these people will harm us. As we entered the inside of the town, kids came out to welcome us. Even though all they said was "HOW ARE YOU?" or "CHINESE?" I responded to them a bit awkwardly by saying "I AM NOT CHINESE. I'M KOREAN." Im not too sure if they understood what I was trying to say, but I was grateful that they came and approached me.

This trip was really different from the previous trips because we used to go on builds, where we would dig foundations, mix cement and lay bricks for houses, but then all the houses in Maai Mahiu were completed, and all the other houses that needed to be built were too far away, so we’ve started helping renovating schools and building things there. This was new for others as well because, in general, in trips to Mai Mahiu, we would only set up the foundation of the houses but never get to see the final product. In this trip, it was really clear because all the work we did was apparent: the paintings, the cement of the school, and the bricked stairs. We managed to make so much that I was actually really proud that I was part of the group. Painting the school was extremely tiring (not as forceful as the trips o Mai Mahiu) but in general, it was SO MUCH FUN. I really loved this trip.. JUST SIMPLY AMAZING! I got paint everywhere in my clothes, shoes, hat and mostly on my hands, but I didnt really care because the painting itself was really fun. I hope to come visit next time again.

Operation Smile - Ornament Selling (Continued)

In school today, people set up a table in the elementary school basketball court to continue selling ornaments! We sold them each at 250 Kenyan Shillings, and we were able to raise around 15000 KSH! This is more than what I had expected! HOW EXCITING! I really hope to see these kids who are benefiting from our club someday.. :)

Jazz Band - Christmas concert!

As Christmas and New Years approached, we were part of the performance group to entertain the people who came to watch. Students of ISK presented their drawings and things they made. For this performance, the beginning was a bit wavy, but as it progressed I heard the difference in sound, everyone was trying hard to show their best. The music sounded much better than when we practiced during Wednesdays and Fridays, probably because we knew we had to entertain the audience.

Operation Smile - Christmas Ornaments!

In operation smile, we are trying to fundraise money by preparing and selling christmas ornaments! This is exciting because it is almost Christmas season :) Hopefully, we can earn more money for the children! To be continued...

Mount Longonot Training!

Today, I went to Mount Longonot for the training because in about a month, I will be challenging myself to climb the highest free standing mountain of Africa, MOUNT KILIMANJARO! Mount Longonot was extremely exhausting especially because I havent really been excercising consistenty. I was a bit confdent that I would be able to finish the journey earlier than most people, but I have to say, I was VERY VERY tired. I had aches on my thighs so every time I walked, it hurt really bad :( but I rested for a bit and I tried really hard to finish! When I reached the top, there was a huge crater-like circle with a HUGE hole inside.. WOAH! AMAZING! I am now really worried about how I will climb up the highest mountain in Africa... *SIGH*

GISS - International Day

On international day, as part of the GISS leader, 24 of our leaders came up to the audience to introduce the 20 global issues. I took part of <Maritime Safety and Pollution>. This experience was really special because we got to raise awareness for the issues. We presented each issue with power and strength so I thought it was really effective. We presented it by going aroung one by one introducing our issue, then ripping the paer off in order to show that we need to get rid of the problems (We actually practiced for this quite a few times haha). I'm really really excited for this conference as it will be a huge event, internationally (actually its for AISA - Associations of international schools of Africa).

Jazz Band - International Day

ISK celebrated its diverse culture by setting up an international day. On this day, our school students, teachers and parents come to school and celebrate and share the cultures. Students had to wear their own country’s traditional clothes, and had to bring their own country’s food. As a Korean family, my mom and other Korean parents gathered and decided to bring different types of food that are famous in Korea. It was amazing how fast all the Korean food were sold, they are definitely delicious! Our jazz band performed 6 songs on this day, it is always so exciting to play the instrument in front of other people.

Horse Riding

Last Sunday, after three weeks of no horse riding, I practiced my up-down trotting and controlling my horse, Tornado.  Tornado is a stubborn horse; he doesn't listen to me nor the trainer, unless you whip him or really get him to do the moves. I thought that he was just lazy at first, but when I saw he was trying to bite the trainer, it was quite surprising... but it was funny because I never knew horses bite people. I have been horse riding for about two month now, and my trainer told me that I was progressing really fast. He said that by the time I finish 10 times, I will be able to do the advanced moves, which I am really looking forward to!

Habitat for Humanity: First Trip

On Saturday, I went on a Habitat build to Eldama Ravine in Rift Valley. We had to be at school at 5:30 in the morning and we came back at 5:30 in the evening so it was more tiring than usual. To be honest, this trip was a little disappointing for me because it wasn’t as much fun as the other builds I have gone on. On all the other builds I’ve gone on, we started off by digging the foundations, then we carried bricks and mixed cement, and if we had enough time, we would start putting the bricks into the foundations and filling the gaps with cement. The last step was my favorite and I always had fun doing it. This time, we spent the whole four hours digging the foundations and we still didn’t finish.  Normally, seventeen of us dig the foundations for two houses in less than three hours, so I felt like we didn’t accomplish as much as we should have this time around. I feel like we should have helped more and used more effort. However, I don’t think it was laziness, I just think it was a different terrain that was causing the problem. We used to build houses in Maai Mahiu, which is in the Rift Valley, and is very dusty, so the ground was easier to dig, but this time the ground was wet and hard and rocky, so it was very hard to dig.

GIN: Wema Centre

In this week’s GIN meeting, we had a great presentation from a 12^th grader, Mariam, and she talked about her summer in the Wema Centre. This placed is located near the Mombasa coast where the organization gives homeless people (mostly kids) shelter, education and food. It was shocking to hear about how kids were coming from all different backgrounds, some lost their families and some were pushed to the streets. When Mariam mentioned that kids were going through prostitution for money, I felt so motivated to help these kids, and thought that this is a serious issue that we need to do something. But not everything is all depressing and such, Mariam told us about Janet, a girl in the streets, who got straight A’s and is now living happily with her family after graduating college. I thought that these issues are extreme, especially in Africa, and since we are in Kenya, we should go something ourselves, not just talk about the issues. We actually talked about how we should help Wema Centre, and hopefully we will have a chance to in the nearby future.

Wema Centre: http://www.wemacentre.org/

GIN/GISS: Jump Foundation Leadership Training

During this weekend, I have learned soooooo much that you cannot imagine how meaningful this training session was. I cannot describe how amazing and fun it was, even though it was extremely tiring after about 10 hours of traning (we started early in the morning and ended in the afternoon 8:20am-5pm). To be honest, the two days got me really interactive with others who you wouldn't normally talk with, and I have to say that this opportunity was one of my best so far.

To explain bits and pieces of this training, this leadership training was inteded for the 25 leaders selected to lead the GISS conference that will be held February, 2013. In order to make this summit successful, we definitely needed leadership training to gain confidence, know how to become a good leader or what makes a good leader, and needed great motivations for why we are so into this. This session was extremely meaningful because this made me lead myself to becoming a good leader. I was not confident at first, but we played a lot of games and activities to get closer to one another, which made a good team for everyone.

I even made comments like "The 2013 GISS was the most amazing personal and community experience of my life because I was able to become a change maker as well as lead myself to think about who I am and how to become a better leader. I have managed to plan, act, and succeed on everything that had to be done." This type of prediction comment was so interesting because it's positive and motivating. I will always remember in my mind that I need to become a change maker, not a prisoner who is locked up, to successfully lead the conference. 

Jazz Band: ISK Gala

Today, we performed in the UN Recreation Centre for the International School of Kenya(ISK) Gala. This performance was actually a lot better than the first one, and I thought it was because everyone knew that practice makes better and the new atmosphere got us motivated in playing better. This was a great opportunity for me because it was my first time performing in the UN, and everything was really interesting. I really enjoyed the music that we played, the solo that Mr. Ligon, our jazz band teacher, had led, and overall, the mood was amazing! I hope that in the future we come again and perform. Even though we only played a few songs, the short and strong music was very effective.

GIN: September 20th, 2012

GIN is planning an event to raise money for children in Shanglia! Shangalia is an orphanage-art school in Gangemi. If you are part of the shangalia service team you go on the service trips every wednesdays to play with the kids or teach them various subjects! To support this group, our club planned for two main events: Goals to Go and the Shangalia team performing in our school. :) Goals to Go two years ago was a HUGE success (even though I wasn't there, I heard that it was) so I am really looking forward to this event! The Shangalia performance is also very exciting because these kids are extremely talented. Last year, I was part of the Shangalia service team and I have seen many performances from them. I am hoping to raise a lot of money because I know that the Shangalia kids deserve it.

These are some pictures and videos of the Shangalia team from last year:

 

Operation Smile :)

Operation smile is an organization for children wth cleft lips, cleft palate, and other facial deformities around the world. This club raises money to pay for their surgeries, for kids who can not afford to pay the surgery because it is expensive (one surgery costs $240, if you think of it, it is expensive, but it's not that expensive compared to saving a child's life. A child's life will change forever in just 45 minutes of surgery). It is truly amazing how bright a child's smile can be after the surgery is done.

Apparently, this year, we are planning on collaborating with the Composer's Club to raise money. I am lookng forward to support many kids to bring their beautiful smiles :)

Visit the homepage for more information :) http://www.operationsmile.org/

Operation Smile Video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01aTvJSsA68

Jazz Band: Welcome Back Community Picnic

Jazz Band performance in Welcome Back Community Picnic!

Unfortunately, I have to say that the first performance this year was not that great. After all the saxophones left the club and new students joined, the jazzy quality of the sound definitely dropped a lot. Some people even said that the flute was the loudest (normally the flutes are ignored much under the grand sound of the brass instruments) But through this performance I learned that practice is really important as well as the harmonious sound that creates excitement for others. I am looking forward to our next performance in the UN Recreation Centre.... hopefully we will perform much better! :)



I am on the right, my eyes are half closed..



Golf Club!

Every Monday, Gold club awaits for you!

Today, it rained. It started to rain as soon as we were heading to the Windsor Golf Club.... It was my first meeting, but the rain kept pouring, so Ms.Thompson, our golf teacher, had decided that we should go back because the heavy rain doesn't seem like it will stop any time soon. As I was returning home, the rain stopped.... I reurned home in vain without any practice. It wasn't raining for weeks, then, when I was just about to start...... RAIN!! It was really frustrating, but I had too much work to do so I was relieved at the same time.

This is my Junior Membership Card :)

GIN: August 30, 2012



For now, I will be advertising Goals To Go!



This year, I got elected as one of the two heads of the Public Relations Committee!! This committee basically involves in publishing articles after major events done in GIN, and making sure that people are aware of what we're doing. We make videos for the assembly and go to other schools to announce what we are doing so that they can interact with our events. Although I am not so confident about this group because I haven't really gotten involved with this committee, I am really looking forward to leading this group! This year is already so pumped up!





Jazz Band: First practice!

Jazz Band is a club for any musicians who want to inprove their skills and perform in local areas. I play the flute along with another peer, and I have been playing the flute for around 6~7 years (including 2 years that I haven't really played). We meet every Wednesdays and Fridays in the morning before school starts, and practice the music that we will be performing in our upcoming concerts. Our first concert will be in the PTO Picnic next month and I am really looking forward to this because last year was so much fun! But this year, I am a bit worried because there are a lot of new students who aren't as skilled as the students who left.

I love music, listening to music, playing jazz music. Music is my life.



Jazz Band T-shirt from last year :)



Global Issues Network: First meeting!

Global Issues Network (GIN) is a club held in international schools that discusses issues around the world. This is my second year in GIN and today was our first meeting (we have a meeting every thursday after school). Today's meeting got me super excited because this year we are the host for the GISS (Global Issues Service Summit) conference that will be held in February 2013! This conference is held annually between international school of mostly Africa, but some others as well, and we were introduced about what we will be doing this year. This club stood out to me because the fact that an individual can help make change gave meaning to everything. I am really looking forward to how much I will be learning in this club!

This is a link to the Global Issues Network homepage: http://www.global-issues-network.org/

Horse Riding: First Day

Horse Riding session! I go every Sunday to Thigiri horse riding academy to get lessons with my trainer. On my first day, I was able to adjust to the environment quickly because the trainer was really nice. My horse name is Janet and she was really calm. I could see that the horse was tamed well because she listened to me well even though I was a beginner. The first day was quite tough because I didn‘t have good balance, which is crucial in horse riding.