Sunday, June 28, 2009

Preparing for Home

Hi all,

My apologies for not posting last week. I've been a bit busy. As some may know, I'm working on a TESL Course, and wrapping up the last few assignments (including some essays) in the final lesson for my Methodology Course. While it is not necessarily easy, I've learned some techniques that I'm already incorporating into my classes with my school.

I'm also swamped with 5 essay classes, still. It's about 50 kids with an essay every 5 days, so it's a bit nutty. And, of course, I'm job-searching for work back home.

That said, Jen and I are still doing some fun things: we'll be celebrating our 5th Anniversary next week, and getting out to see some sights before we leave. Stay tuned for more on that front.

As you can tell, this is going to be a short one, because I've got to get back to job hunting. I thought that I should let everyone know that I'm alright.

By the way: much as it looks otherwise, we're not hearing huge warning signs about North Korea. As I may have previously commented, I'll start panicking the moment my Korean coworkers do, not before. They're more worried about the fact that Michael Jackson died. Strange, that, since his music has been around my whole life. I'm not a huge fan, but I know the impact he had on music and TV, and how much it still resonates, especially here in Asia, where he's still quite popular.

Sad day, that one.

Take care all: we're doing well, and approaching the home stretch!

Best regards,

Chris

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Busan

Hi everybody,

Jen and I just went to and got back from Busan, at the very southern end of Korea. We spent the weekend touring around, and seeing various parts of a very different city in Korea. For your convenience, I've attached the pictures on Facebook here.

It was fun. We checked out Beomosa Temple, a World Heritage Site, in the North end of the city. The whole town stretches around the curve of the bay in which it sits like a second coast, and we basically used the subway to go back and forth from one end to the other. It was pretty cheap, and got us where we wanted to go. The Temple is gorgeous, built up into the hills naturally.

We went from there to a cable car to get to the top of one of the nearby mountains, and saw a small hermitage up there. The view was spectacular: we could see literally every part of the city from up top.

We were staying in Yeonsan-Dong, near the heart of the city, and from there we checked out the Jagalchi fish market, all 7 stories and 3 blocks of it. The smell of fish was strong, but it was neat to see the place--you could buy food for a year there, all fresh.

We also went to Haeundae, a beach on the eastern side of the city, where the Aquarium is. Jen had never been to a big one before, and it was worth it. They have a lot of different fish, animals, and other critters inside, and a fish car out front. Yes, a fish car--as in, full of fish. Hilarity ensued.

We took the KTX there and back, and we're a bit tired. I'm starting to realize that I'm stressed, and am raising my voice more than I want to in class. I will endeavour to relax more, and institute a more calm feeling in class--it's hard when the kids act like monkeys, but it'll work out.

Cheers,
Chris

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hi All,

Nothing going on this weekend. Well, not really. Did some reading, and worked on a TESL program.

I've discovered that I like teaching ESL, and that I'd like to do it when I get back. Therefore, I've decided to work on getting certification to teach it in Canada.

That was my weekend--blah. That, and preparing for our trip to Busan next weekend, and our trip to Tokyo in July.

I also did some writing, and some reading of Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. Good book, if a bit bleak--it's about how neo-liberalism and the modern capitalist regime in the world got into power. Most of it, I already knew about, but some things, like how the ANC in South Africa was tricked into giving up a lot of power, or how Solidarity in Poland were abused by the neo-liberals, was a bit of a surprise. If you're curious about capitalism, and how and why the US and othe major players involve themselves in the rest of the world, it's a good read.

Cheers,

Chris