Krista Lea's Experience in Jeju City, South Korea

 "As much as my husband loves to tell everyone I went to South Korea just to go riding horses and play on the beach (which I also did), it was actually a very busy business trip. The trip was sponsored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Keeneland and in partnership with the Lexington Sister City Commission, with the goal of exchanging knowledge and ideas, strengthening the connection between Lexington and our sister city, Jeju City and encouraging the sale of American horses to the Korean racing market. Those are big ideals for a single extension specialist, so my focus specifically was simply to meet with farmers and talk about how forage production is managed in Jeju, and how that compares to Lexington. Even with some research going into the trip, the similarities and differences were surprising to me in many ways. My itinerary included a trip to a thoroughbred auction, a training facility, a few breeding farms, two museums, a garden, a large-scale hay production farm, a tangerine orchard, a sit down with the mayor, and a workshop with horse farm managers where I talked about forage production in Kentucky. Thankfully, I brought bourbon for everyone!

 

The climate of Jeju is similar to Lexington: the summers are just as hot and humid, but the winters are not quite as cold and snowfall is rare. The soils contain volcanic ash, so they are well drained and contain less clay than ours. Compared to mainland South Korea, Jeju island is much more productive. Several of the farms we visited relied heavily on Italian ryegrass as their main pasture and hay crop and would be similar to the perennial ryegrass we would be familiar with in Kentucky, though it is managed more similar to a European style of regular tillage and replanting. Other farms were planting in perennial mixtures of Kentucky Bluegrass, orchardgrass, and tall fescue, the same mixture that I plant on my own farm and recommend to farms throughout central Kentucky. This mixture appeared to be thriving in Jeju. Also similar to Kentucky, farm managers were still unsure how to identify these grasses in the pasture which was a great opportunity for me to do what I do best and show them how to!

 

Space was a major difference that Korean farm managers are challenged with that Kentucky managers generally aren't. Pasture and hay land is Jeju is very limited. Very little horse quality hay is grown in S. Korea, so most is imported from the US, making hay feeding very expensive. Pasture is also very limited, and what is available must be intensively managed and frequently replanted to be maintained, also making it very expensive. In some cases, feeding more concentrate and minimal amounts of forage is more economical, a stark reversal from the US. 

 

This was a truly incredible trip and I am so grateful for the opportunity to go. What I hope anyone who reads this takes away is a bit more curiosity for our sister city of Jeju, South Korea, and a greater appreciation of the riches of soils and pastures that we are blessed with here in the Bluegrass."~ Krista Lea, University of Kentucky Extension Specialist

Isabelle and the holidays in Deauville

 

Bonjour! 

It’s Christmas time in Deauville and the town is shining like a star! Last week was the illumination ceremony in the town square where the town gathered to celebrate the season, the kids caroled, and the school created a Christmas market for all the families. It was such a fun and joyful night, and I was so proud of the kids because I had been teaching them “Jingle Bell Rock” in English class. They definitely rocked the night away!

I’ve been in Deauville since the end of August and it’s been such a beautiful fall here. In class, the kids learned about Halloween in the United States and the town celebrated with the annual haunted house at Villa Strassburger. Going into November, we discussed Thanksgiving, why we celebrate it, and what we’re thankful for. Then we went to the kitchen to make apple pies! 

Since I’ve arriving here, I’ve been able to travel around Normandy and France quite a bit! I’ve been to Rouen, Caen, Honfleur, Étretat, Paris, Toulouse, and Montpellier. 

I’m excited for the holidays here and to see what’s happening in the coming months!

-Isabelle Helton, Teaching Assistant in Deauville

Maelia's first semester at the University of Kentucky

 

Hi everyone!

 

I am doing amazing! Everything is going great, the classes, and the new encounters with people!

 

It's been already more than three months that I've been in Kentucky, and I am living one of my best years of my life. All the experiences are crazy, with new encounters and people from everywhere all around the world. I learn new things everyday, such as new food, new experiences with friends I made and so much more! 

It is overall a wonderful experience, first of all to improve my English, but also to become a new person!

Katherine's Summer Update as a Deauville Teaching Assistant

 Bonjour! We are finishing up summer and heading into the new school year here in Deauville.

The school year starts the first week of September in France, and typically teachers will start the

week before to get ready for the school year. Between organizing rooms, cleaning and lesson

planning- there is a lot to do!

Summer passed by quickly with not only work but vacation as well! I had all of July off for

vacation and I went to Pornic which is on the coast by Nantes and on the border of Brittany.

Afterwards I worked the first two weeks of August at the Centre Loisir- “Club Ado” that is run by

the city of Deauville. There, we work with adolescents, kids 12-17 years told. It’s kind of like a

day camp in the United States.I got to participate in all sorts of activities from board games and

beach volleyball to crossfit. They had a theme this past summer of “USA” which made it fun to

incorporate American food and activities into the schedule. We played cornhole and did some

country dancing. At the end of each week they have a “soirée” and the week that I was there we

ended the week with a trivia game, “Burger Quiz” that had American-themed questions such as

“Who was the first President of the United States?” “Burger Quiz” was a trivia TV show that was

popular in France and so for our soirée we played the game while eating burgers for dinner.

I am excited to be starting the school year again and ready to welcome the students back!

Cecilia Reed's Summer in Shinhidaka

  "My time in Shinhidaka was terrific. I learned about this internship from my friends Anna and Jaquelyn who did the same internship in 2023. I felt like I won the jackpot with my host family, they were the sweetest people. My host family was the Amano family, consisting of my host dad and mom, grandma and grandpa, and then their nine year old daughter. They made me dinner everyday and we would eat all together, they also showed me some restaurants in town. I really enjoyed sharing meals together because I got to try their favorite foods, and we would talk together about so many interesting things. My host family only knew Japanese so we talked in Japanese all the time, it was great practice for me to hear their unique voices and vocal habits." 

      "Besides my wonderful host family, I had my internship at Shizunai High School. The principal and vice principal were very welcoming to me and helped me figure out my schedule the first few days. The English teachers would invite me to their class and I would join them in class. Often I was reading out loud passages and vocabulary, and the students would repeat after me. After the school day ended all of the clubs would start and I would choose a new club to go visit everyday. The school had an exemplary calligraphy club and I loved watching the students practice their writing. They also let me try a few times and I really enjoyed it. They also had many sports clubs and I would watch them during practice.

      My internship was one month long and ended during mid July so that I was there during the school festival. Leading up to the school festival the students are decorating their classroom, practicing chorales, creating parade floats, and creating costumes. For the school festival I also got a room that I was able to decorate. I ended up making six posters about American culture and also comparing Japanese and American high schools. The day of the school festival the students faculty and locals walk all around the school to visit the decorated classrooms, so many people visited my room and I got to talk about Kentucky with them."

      "I’m really glad I got to do this internship, because my long term goal has been to enroll in the JET program once I graduate, and teach English in Japan. I know that in the future I will definitely return to visit my host family." 

Katherine in Deauville - Teaching Assistant

Bonjour! We have just come back from Spring break and we are now in our last period of the school year. Time is flying by! 

As the end of the school year approaches - so do a lot of field trips and school events! 

The students participated in the “Cross,” a race designed for each grade level. It was also a bit of a celebration for the new stadium Stade Commandant Hébert opening. Four different schools participated and it was so much fun getting to cheer the kids on!

Going to school in Deauville gives the kids lots of amazing opportunities: swim lessons, horseback riding lessons, and bike lessons (piscine, pony, et vélo). How cool is that! Now that they have done the cross, next is a triathlon which is a very big sport in this area. 

At the end of the school year, they will have an end-of-year performance, karmesse, which we are starting to prepare for. At Saint-Arnoult we are working on singing Flowers by Miley Cyrus and at Tourgéville we are working on singing We Are the World (USA for Africa). The kids are doing great with both! 

The past few months since I arrived I have tried to get more involved in the community. I joined the local soccer team AS Trouville Deauville and we are currently first in our league! 

I also tried a new sport for the first time, la marche nordique (Nordic Walking). I was by far the youngest one there and everyone was so kind, helpful, and welcoming! I ended up loving the new sport and even bought my own set of poles.

Katherine Rintamaa

Chloe Adams in Deauville during Spring

Hello! Deauville is starting to blossom into spring, and everyone has been enjoying the beautiful weather! It is currently a spring vacation for the students, and they will get two weeks off. Right before break, we finished up projects and gave evaluations, where the students showed that all of their hard work was beneficial! Personally, I love to go for runs and long walks now that the skies are baby blue and the paths are lined with flowers! Because of the nice weather, the city is generally busier, as tourists accumulate in the markets and on the beach. I am so happy to be here to witness the city become more a little more lively! 

Chloe Adams