Chris' Korean and Canadian Musings

The Cat, TESL Toronto

2010-05-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, first, Amy's better. In my last post, I mentioned that she wasn't well due to some bladder stones. We took her in to the vet this morning, terrified that we'd have to put our cat down. Well, that turned out to be unfounded. The vet had never seen bladder stones break up so fast! All those prayers must have helped, and it means that Amy is back home, happy, and currently napping on my partner's lap.

TESL Toronto's Spring conference was last weekend. I went there in order to brush up on my skills for work, of course, and enjoyed it immensely. Like all TESL Canada and TESL Ontario-certified teachers, there's a lot of Professional Development that I'm expected to do to keep my Certification updated.

The first workshop I attended in the morning was on dealing with LGBTQ issues in an ESL, immigrant-based classroom. A lot of cultures are still very much opposed to those who have a differing sexuality than what they consider to be standard. We were one of the smallest workshop groups, which actually turned out well: it made for a more comfortable learning environment. As someone who is reasonably familiar with LGBTQ topics, I was hoping for a more practical approach, but considering that some of the folks present weren't really sure what LGBTQ stood for (it's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer, in case you hadn't guessed), it was useful to have even a general introduction. For my part, I was intrigued to learn some of the issues we have in the classroom in presenting non-heterosexist materials. For example: most grammar books (like the one I use!) focus exclusively on male-female relationships. This is probably not an intentional slight, but it's still a form of exclusivity that can make LGBTQs feel unwelcome.

In short, it's another aspect teachers have to consider, in addition to race, culture, and gender itself, among a host of other sensitive topics in the class room.

The second half of the day was spent in a Vocabulary Module. A really fun system for teaching Vocabulary with low prep, almost entirely practical, and a blast when you had 60-odd teachers racing against the clock to beat each other in the activities. I'm definitely using it in my class!

Other than that, back to work this week, with a PD day on Friday. It's one of those weeks, I guess.

I'm also going to go see the Harry Potter exhibit at the ROM this week, and, of course, Iron Man 2.

Have a good week, everybody!

--Christopher

Staying steady

2010-04-10T17:23:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Well, we keep on plugging away. I'm busy with CTP, which is a College Transfer Program for my school. In brief, we train the students in the classes to be able to survive university and college in Canada. For example, we teach them how to write academically, how to avoid plagiarism, to take good lecture and reading notes, skimming, scanning, etcetera.

It's a lot of marking, to say the least! Between essays, presentations, and other minor pieces of homework (by minor, I mean only one page), I find myself rather busy!

Still, it's interesting work, and it certainly pays the bills.

On a bit of a depressing note: our cat, Amy, is sick. She has several large bladder stones that we only recently became aware of, and thus, she is on pain medication and a special diet to try and break up the stones.

We're hopeful it will help. We cannot afford the surgery to remove the stones, and thus we are faced with an ugly choice should the diet not work, whether to let her live on in pain, or to put her down. She is not an old cat by any means, and has been a loving member of our little family for three years. We are therefore quite reluctant to put her down, but, as my partner has noted, we don't want her to suffer constantly for the next however many years she has left.

We are therefore praying and hoping that her stones will break up with this medication she is taking. Any and all prayers and well-wishes from you, dear readers, would be appreciated on this!

On a positive note: I recently got my acceptance letter from OISE, which is the Teacher's College associated with the University of Toronto. Bachelor of Education, here I come. I've debated about whether or not to go and get my B.Ed for some time, but given that the ESL field is not well-regulated, and that pay scales continue to be moderate at best, I'm looking to eventually move into the public system.

I start in September, and so I will continue to work in ESL until that point.

Hope Amy gets better soon, and talk to you all again, soon!

Chris

Changes

2010-03-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

So, I recently switched jobs. Nothing major, really: I went from working at two part time ESL programs to one, and it was one of the two I'd been working at before. It's full time, and while I'm a bit nervous about taking on extra work/taking over for another teacher who had been doing this longer than I, I'm glad to reduce my stress.

40+ hours of work a week is, to be blunt, insane. Especially when those 40 hours are in front of a class. Teaching is not easy. Add in a long day every day, and you get one tired Chris.

Jen's in Timmins this weekend, and I've been lesson prepping. So, it's been quiet lately. We, like everybody else, I think, watched the Olympics, and rooted heavily for Canada (of course!).

We were both a little peeved at the coverage by CTV. The Hockey announcers, especially, came across as a bit chauvinist, and there was an obvious bias. I understand that, of course: they were Canadians, and cheering for their home country... however, would a reasonably balanced perspective be too much to ask for?

I was also annoyed that the women got criticized for drinking after their Gold Medal, while the men could walk around and do the same without any comment.

Double standards remain.

Other than that, busy week, and busier to come. I will continue to let people know how things are going. Be well, everybody!

Chris

The Autoshow, Presentations

2010-02-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Wow, I've gotta get back in the swing of updating this blog. I looked at how many posts I put up in Korea, vs. back here in Toronto, and it's... a tad embarrassing. Well, consider me chastised. I shall recommence posting more often--depending on time. Gah, that's always the problem, isn't it?

Well, first of all, it's Valentine's Day. I admit to missing Korea's version--they have three days of this, starting with a day (White Day, I believe) in January, where Boys give presents to Girls. Then, Valentine's Day is the opposite of Canadian tradition, where the Girls have to give presents to the Boys. Then, there's Black Day. If you didn't get anything from either gender, you eat jjajeongmyeong, a "Chinese-themed" black sauce noodles.

It's funny to watch a lot of students eating their noodles in Korea--there's a sense of solidarity that makes me chuckle. Even in Canada.

Jen and I went to the Autoshow in Toronto. Lots of nifty cars everywhere, of course. I think the best show of the bunch was by, of all companies, GMC. I've never been a big fan of General Motors. Their vehicles became the butt of several jokes in my family, growing up, and even if Ford or Chrysler were equally notorious to us, we wouldn't even consider test-driving a Jimmy. Now, I'm a bit... well, impressed. I liked the pick-up trucks they showed off, and I'm not a pick-up driver. Jen is, and loved sitting in the giant cab of a Duramax Diesel truck, playing with the steering wheel. A marketer showed up, who obviously knew his stuff, and proceeded to rattle off the features, before showing us a few other trucks that were similar, and more suitable to city and highway driving.

We'd never buy one until they became Hybrids, due to fuel economy, but as Jen is a Northerner, and as I grew up in Texas, we both hold a special place in our hearts for big trucks. They're safe, tough, and, yes, a status symbol. Not to mention, they're great for hauling your boat around.

Hyundai had a good showing, as well--they have a new Elantra Touring out that I thought was nifty. They, and KIA, ironically, are becoming the new Toyota. Do you remember when Toyota was considered the car company, the best of the best? Funny how that's changed, and Hyundai appears to be filling in the gap they've left.

Don't get me wrong, Toyota still makes nice cars. So does Lexus. But they're overpriced, and they underperform. Worse, they're starting to get sloppy. The recent recalls Toyota's suffering is an example of this. Hopefully, it'll wake them up. It's unfortunate that most people looked like they didn't want to get into their cars, either, after all the bad hype.

Ford's material was boring, ironically--I remember them being amazing two years ago, with cool concept cars and Hydrogen-powered trucks. They weren't bad, but they weren't great. A bit stale, is all.

And then there's the classic cars. Holy smokes--the only Ford I would ever drive, other than an F-150 Truck, is a Mustang. And they had some classic ones in the show! 1967, Red and Black paint, bucket seats, manual transmission. I love classic cars. They also had some 40s and 50s-era British roadsters that were these little peppy things with an open top. How did we ever drive these things? You'd be wearing a mosquito mask!

I'm presenting a piece to my co-workers at school about using Drama to teach ESL. Really, I'm not using, say, an actual play to teach, but rather, some of the warm-up and speaking techniques from drama to encourage fluency and comfort in the class.

A lot of ESL tends to wind up as "brain-in-a-jar" syndrome, where the students are sitting in their chairs, talking, or writing. There's nothing particularly wrong with that approach, of course. Studying hard and working on conversation is important. However, as a kinesthetic learner, and as a former martial arts teacher, I cannot overemphasize the need for learners of language to reconnect their bodies to their words. We don't speak with our brains alone--we use muscles in our mouths and tongues, we use body language, we use posture and intonation... and by practicing these actions with drama techniques that encourage reaction to your partner, intonation, and yes, dare I say it, getting up and moving around in the class room, we encourage students to speak as they would on the street, outside the class.

Not to mention, kinesthetic learners require physicality to integrate whatever they're learning more effectively. If you can ground language in more than just speaking, writing, listening, and reading, but also into the physical actions required to express yourself to another human being--smiling, nodding, standing, shaking hands, maintaining eye contact, etc., you can learn a heck of a lot more.

On a final note: Happy Chinese and Korean New Year! Bring on the year of the Tiger!

Talk to you later,

Chris

Dancing

2010-01-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, Jen and I finally got back into Swing Dancing. We went out for Blues classes this and last week. Blues is old, and a lot simpler than, say, Lindy Hop, because the basic steps are mostly left-right left-right all the time, but you can do a lot with it musically. It's easy to dance to, fun, and relaxing after flying around with Charleston at 220 Beats-per-Minute.

We're keeping busy. Just went out for Robbie Burns' night with friends yesterday, some of us had Haggis, scotch, and some Sticky Pudding for dessert. Unfortunately, there weren't any pipers, much to our friends' annoyance, but that's life.

Other than that: it's weird not seeing people from Korea as often. One of our former Supervisors, Hey-Jin, is in town to study TESOL, but we've only seen her once. Others are back in Toronto, but busy, or in Waterloo, so we don't see them much. Others are scattered around the US, or still in Korea. As I said, it feels weird, since we built up pretty intense relationships with people who we worked with in close quarters for a full year, and we do miss them quite a bit.

Hope you all are doing well. Keep in touch, y'hear? :)

Chris

Happy New Year

2010-01-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

So, Jen and I drove down to Virginia on Christmas Eve--listening with crappy reception to twelve different renditions of Oh Holy Night on whichever Christian radio station we passed, given that they were the only ones playing carols. We stopped in at every third coffee shop we could to get hot chocolate and/or coffee, and got in about 1130PM.

We spent Christmas there, and drove back on the 27th.

New Years, meanwhile, was spent here in Toronto, dancing until 2 or 3 in the AM at Dovercourt House for a night of Swing and Jive. Jen and I, having danced for about 9 years, both love to go out this way for New Year's. It's a great way to relax, meet new people, and to work out any stress. I bumped into some old friends from the Waterloo Swing Crew, the troupe I performed with in Kitchener-Waterloo, and it was great to see Angie, Martin, and others.

It's weird being an old hand at something like swing. People ask me during lessons "have you done this before?" and usually follow up with "you're really good." At which point I have to point out that I've been dancing for a darned long time. I'm actually not that good for 9 years of dancing on and off, or at least I'd prefer not to brag about it or show off. Still, it's weird to be on the other side of the learning curve--I used to really look up to those who'd been dancing for a long time.

I remain a very relaxed swing dancer. Some people use a lot more flashy moves than I do, but I prefer to just throw a few neat moves together in between lots of easy, basic steps, so I can actually chat with my partner while I'm dancing with him/her. Heck, it's supposed to be a social dance, so why not?

Otherwise, back into the swing of things (argh, the puns!). Report cards come around often, and I'm slogging away at that this weekend (it should only take me an hour or two, but I'm procrastinating. Might as well get into it. :P

Happy Birthday to my wife, Jen, and Happy New Year to all of you!

Chris

SUPERSPEED!

2009-12-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Wow, this week... is a blur. We've got Christmas off, of course, and Christmas Eve is short, at both my schools. So, I'm finishing early on Christmas Eve Day. We're driving from Toronto to Washington DC for the Holidays to see my mother and family for the first time in two years. I should be happy, right?

Well, I am, mostly, except that this causes my class schedule to shrink to the kind of rushed format I don't remember since Korea. Holy Smokes! I'm introducing 0, 1st, and 2nd Conditionals in one day, when I normally take 3. For those not Grammar nuts like me, that means I'm teaching students how to say "When it rains, it pours," "If it rains, I'll bring an umbrella," and "If it rained today, I'd bring an umbrella." Three different structures, three different meanings, all in one day. Oof!

My afternoon gig is similarly pressed-- We're doing the first week of the course in, essentially, three days.

I'm either way too dedicated to this job, or I'm just got my priorities backwards. I've been offered full-time by the morning job, but had to turn it down, since it wasn't enough hours. Working 40 hours a week is what I need, but they had only offered me Monday-Friday, 9-4, and 9-12 on Fridays. From a stress standpoint, that'd be awesome. From a financial perspective, not so much. I felt sorry to have to let them down, but that's the way it's gotta be.

This leads me to an interesting observation: ESL teachers don't get paid as much as you might think. We're getting there, mind you, but we're not unionized, and we're therefore not as well paid or protected as those in the public system. It's something I'd like to work on, when I'm a bit more established in the area and in the field.

I continue to pursue TESL Ontario and my B.Ed. I love TESL, but to make the kind of money I need to support a family, I need to work in the public system. As someone with 3 teachables before I even get into ESL, I should be able to find work as a teacher in the public system easily.

Different note: It's bizarre being back in Toronto in December. What happened to the weather, here? My Korean students all had this notion that Canada was this frozen wasteland, and then here I am in Toronto, and we've barely had any snow, much less cold weather, this winter.

I love winter: it's by far my favorite season. I love snow and ice, and I love the cold. But this ain't no Canadian winter.

Watch as I jinxed it. Sorry, everybody.

Chris

Christmas

2009-12-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, we're building up to Christmas time again. I'm looking forward to the vacation from work, short as it is, and to seeing my family for the first time in two years.

The short vacation comes from the nature of the ESL business--we never really close, and often end up working year-round with minimal vacation time. However, that said, I understand the reasoning: people who come from all over the world to study English here in Canada expect to still be able to attend school, even in what for Canadians would be holiday season.

It just means I'll be driving to Virginia on Christmas Eve. We're turning it into an adventure: we're going to stop in as often as we can at coffee shops to get Hot Chocolate, and I suspect that, by the end of the trip, my brain will no longer be able to handle any more Christmas Carols.

I'm almost done with my first round of units at the schools I work for, meaning I should be able to start recycling old material soon. Knowing me, I'll still be creating new stuff for use in the class, if only to avoid it getting stale/becoming boring for me and the students, but it's nice to know that there's an end in sight for this.

I still miss Korea--it was, as Jen puts it, a break from reality here. I begin to understand why some call it just that. In Korea, one didn't have to worry so much about bills or constant lesson prep. On the one hand, I miss how easy that was.

On the other hand, I'm glad to be doing what I do--I think it'll serve me in good stead for Teacher's College, down the line, and I am really enjoying some of my classes.

All the best to you and yours this Holiday Season.

Chris

Sloggin' Through it

2009-11-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well, Unit 1 is done. That means I just have to finish my afternoon curriculum to the end, and it's all recycling the material from then on out.

Challenge is, of course, to make it communicative and interesting for students. One thing any ESL teacher can tell you is how fast it becomes boring to just rely on drills all day to teach the material. The current model that's taught in TESL Canada classes is to find ways to create dialogues, roleplays, conversations, etc. that encourage and facilitate integration of the language more effectively.

Of course, nobody tells you that creating lessons that do so requires a lot of experience, time, and patience.

I enjoy my classes, overall. The students have, so far, been quite good, and I enjoy the level I teach. I would rather it be a bit more beginner--I'm far better at designing more basic activities, and I suspect I remain intimidated by the lack of control one has in an advanced class, but that's normal at that level.

Still, despite the workload, it's going well, and it's what I want to do, so I'm sure I will become accustomed to it.

Have a good weekend, everybody.

Chris

Almost done with the first Unit

2009-11-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

So, busy lately. I've been slogging through my first run-through of my unit with my two new schools, which means I've had to spend most of my evenings lesson planning and prepping and tweaking. Gah.

I'm two days from being done with the first unit for my morning school, which means that when we start back over again with a new class, I can keep my lesson plans, and just make small edits. A lot easier.

The second, afternoon school is about half-way done, but it's becoming less painful. Having finished one unit will make the going less rough for them, too.

Unfortunately, I had to fail a lot of students in my afternoon program. I can see the argument: better that I do it now, than when they get to University and the professor cans them for plagiarism, or for a lack of English ability. There were some really strong students whom I fought to let through, since it was just a matter of time before they reached their full potential, but for some of the others... it wasn't fun.

Failing students isn't why I got into this business. As an ESL teacher, one gets used to doing everything one can to help them--I don't just let people pass, mind you, but the most important thing to me is their ability to use and make sense of the material we teach. If they can do that, but they have a bad test score, so what? I've had bad test scores, but last time I checked, I know how to communicate in English, and in French.

What can you do?

Saw District 9, and Valkyrie, finally, this weekend. It's funny how many movies we didn't bother watching, since we were abroad.

I thought Valkyrie, ironically, was the better of the two. Yes, it was Hollywood-ish, and yes, it was a Tom Cruise vehicle, but take away his eye, and one hand, and suddenly he acts a lot better. There were dozens of brilliant British actors in the show, and it was well-put-together.

District 9 is as subtle as a brick thrown at your head. It's well-done, if low-budget, and yes, it asks some important questions, but it really is blunt. That's part of the point, I suppose, but I can understand why it generates such polarized responses.

All the best,
Chris

Happy Hallowe'en, Jobs

2009-10-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Happy All Hallow's Eve! For those who celebrate it, I hope you're going to have a great night, and that lot's of trick-or-treaters come to your door! It's my favorite time of the year, and I have my costume all picked out. I'll reveal it after tonight's party, as it's meant to be a surprise, so in case any of my guests are reading... I'll keep 'em wondering.

Found a stable job! I was originally working part-time in two positions. The former, an afternoon one-to-one tutoring position, was an excellent position, but unstable. Students didn't always show up, which meant I didn't get paid, and of course, it wasn't a lot of hours of work.

The latter, a morning job, is ESL Teaching, as in with a full class. It's definitely what I've trained and gotten my Certification for, and I'm quite happy with it. We just had our Hallowe'en party, and my students loved the Hanbok I wore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok. I was, of course, wearing a man's version.

On Friday, I got a call from another school, for whom I had interviewed about positions starting in Mid-November. They were in a bit of a panic because a teacher had had some family difficulties, and had to leave earlier than they'd thought. While that's not the way I'd want to have been offered a position, I'm pleased that they offered it to me. It's an afternoon position, from 1-5:30 PM, teaching Pre-CTP (College Training Program), which is designed to help students get into Canadian Universities if they're not Native English speakers. I'll also be teaching some grammar. I start on Monday, so, while I'm taking today to clean the house, and have the Hallowe'en party, I'll be working away at the lesson plan for Monday tomorrow, on Sunday! Busy weekend, eh?

Still, I'm looking forward to it, if a bit nervous. I like that I get to teach the same material in a rotating schedule (basically, finish Unit X and go back to the first one, Y, repeat). It might seem a bit boring, but then, it means I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel. I design my units the first time, and then tweak them as time goes on, fixing mistakes, adding in new elements, and keeping it timely and interesting.

If I choose to change class levels, then I start again lesson-prep-wise, but still, it's a good system. It's one that I wish we'd had in Korea. Our school tended to change the books constantly, and I found that teachers who had the same books, even if bored, knew how to teach those books well and to get the most out of them for the students.

Well, I'm about to head off for the party. In keeping with my last theme, I'll give you some tips/thoughts on job-hunting in the field. Next time, I think I'll talk about some of the best places to work abroad. My experience isn't as diverse as others, but I've kept my ears open, and if I can share some resources for those who want to do the same thing, I'm happy to do so.

Happy Hallowe'en/Samhain,

Chris

------

Some further comments on getting a job in our field:

One thing I can comment on for sure when hunting for a job in ESL: Highlight a few key points on your resume. For example, I put my teaching experience on the front page, as well as my Certifications and Educational Experience. However, don't *just* say where you studied--demonstrate a few things that you did while studying. For example, for my MA, I have listed for some time the accomplishment I'm most proud of from my tenure at U Waterloo: my thesis. I designed, researched, and completed it in 9 months, which is far faster than most. Most interviewers don't have time to read through two pages to find the information you wrote for them. You have to make the first page highlight key items, because the person reading it is likely swamped, stressed out about finding a good candidate, fast, and no doubt has 25 more to read before he/she can go home for the day!

Make sure you emphasize what you've done while teaching, of course. Designed your own curriculum daily? That's a major skill! Designed a presentation and debate course? Again, a useful ability to present to an ESL college in Canada. Practiced Communicative Language method? Good! It ought to be right there with your qualifications and skills listed on the first page!

Most of this should, of course, be basic stuff to anybody on the job trail, but I'm guilty of forgetting it, and I'm lucky in that my partner is a professional career counsellor! She often keeps me from making too many mistakes.

During the interview, try to relax. Most people get hung up on the idea that you're there to be evaluated, that you need to be spectacular and amazing and on the ball and experienced and confident and calm and... stressed yet?

You're there to evaluate the *job,* too. I find that the jobs for which I've been hired were the ones where I went in, asked a lot of questions about the company, and about why the interviewer thinks they're the best. After all, if you're going to work for them, they'd better be a decent company, no? If I don't like the place, I thank the interviewer for their time, and politely decline later on. I don't like throwing away an offer, of course, but if the job didn't jive, I'm only going to hate it later on and be back out on the streets again hunting for work!

Furthermore, the jobs I got offers for all came out of interviews where the interviewer and I ended up chatting about our field, why we got into it, how we like to teach, etc. Your resume and cover letter are the first step--they establish your credentials. If you've been called in for an interview, they already know about those credentials. Sure, you should provide examples of your strengths, of what you do well, and so forth, but at the same time, the interviewer is trying to go past the facts and figures on your resume, and to get to know you.

Ask yourself this question: If you're going to hire somebody, who would you want to hire? Somebody who you like, and has the skills you want, or someone who is only there to go through the interview motions, despite their skills?

There's a lot of competition in the field. As long as you make a good personal connection with the other person you interview with, you should be fine. Teachers, the best ones, are often the most personable people in the world--after all, they really care about their students.

All the best, folks!

Chris

Job, Thanksgiving

2009-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Just got back from Timmins for Thanksgiving, which was amazing. We got to see all of my wife's family (well, almost all, some of them were in Toronto this weekend), and it was nice to keep reconnecting. This has become somewhat of a theme for me this month, as it's what we've been doing, getting back in touch with old friends, and colleagues.

I've been trying, for example, to set up a coffee date with two old friends from Waterloo, but we're all so damned busy it's like herding cats. I'm confident we'll bump into 'em sooner than later. It's just funny how socially active people have such trouble making time for anything.

Jen's been busy, with two jobs, and so am I--I just got another part-time gig working in the morning at another ESL college. This is great--it supplements my income, doesn't interfere with my afternoon tutoring, and has room to expand. And it's actual teaching experience in front of a class in Canada.

It's something that I've noticed some former expats like me go through--we hit our stride in Korea or Japan or wherever, and then come back... only to find out we're not fitting in. So we either go back abroad, or we try to find similar work here, which can be a challenge.

Finding a job based on ESL in Canada requires certifications which a lot of us don't have when we leave for our Korean or overseas adventures--I got mine while abroad, thank heaven. Furthermore, as much experience as we might or might not have after our time abroad, finding work in the field back home runs into one of two roadblocks: we have *foreign* experience, but no experience teaching ESL in a *Canadian* classroom. Fortunately, this is not a common problem, but it still comes up. More importantly, if you taught kids, you're going to have to get some adult/late teenage teaching experience first, since that's what most ESL colleges here in Canada do, and want. If you can find a way to teach Business or similar English classes, that'll help, too--there's lots of similar work here! In the end, most colleges in Canada teach adults, and want similar experience. If you are doing adult ESL abroad, you've got a great head-start.

It's a bit of a Catch-22. We go abroad to get experience, only to find out that we cannot use that experience back home. It's not impossible, of course--some schools don't mind if you teach children more than adults in Korea, as long as you have some experience in the ESL field in general, and/or TESL Canada Certification, since that requires a Practicum and provides actual adult teaching experience. That can be a big 'as long as,' however. It can be expensive to get the training, and the certification itself costs.

Perhaps TESL Canada should offer a discount to students with experience, or perhaps it could be provisional--come work for us, so long as you take some extra classes at home/on the side, and get your Certification by a set end-point. However, these are both options that we, as teachers, cannot control. What you can do is this:

If you want to do this as a career when you return from overseas, make sure you take some classes while abroad, get your TESL Canada Certification mostly done, and that way you can just do the Practicum (sample classes, to prove you can do it) immediately. If you want to do things like LINC (Language Instruction for New Canadians), which pays well, you need TESL Ontario Certification (in Ontario), and I'm sure similar programs elsewhere in Canada and the States requires similar training. All of which takes more time.

So: Use your time abroad to get started on it--many of the courses can be done online, or by distance, and there may even be some that will offer in class training in your country--you never know. If you save up lots of money abroad, you could even schedule your classes for when you get home, so that you get the training, get your Certification, and can move right into job hunt mode in the field.

It's not impossible, but it is a challenge. If you love this work, and I do, and I'm sure others do as well, it's worth it. The outcome, seeing students become amazing English speakers, and get successful jobs because of their fluency in another language, is amazing. Seeing kids become bi-, tri-, or multi-lingual is equally awesome, and it's one of the reasons I loved my job in Korea.

Make sure you know what you're getting into, and plan ahead. Get your training, and get the qualifications you need to do this work back home. It even helps abroad--some countries require a TESL Certificate before you even apply to ESL jobs in those countries to begin with!

All the best,

Chris

Reconnecting

2009-10-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

My apologies for the drought of posts lately. I've been job hunting, and managed to get some work this week with an ESL tutoring job. It's decent pay, and I like both of my students. I teach them both for one hour, and help them with either A) stuff they're working on in their classes; or B) stuff they feel they want to improve.

So for my first student, that's a combination of the grammar and vocab from class, and some idioms, which is what he likes to work on.

For the later one, it's pure pronunciation practice, since she's highly advanced, and wants to break through that 'wall' that students seem to reach when they understand the mechanics of English, but still freeze up when they're looking for words, or when they hear native English spoken at a fast clip.

This is something I've noticed with ESL students--the committed ones learn the language fast, and well, but 'street speak' throws them right off. I don't mean slang, of course, or idioms, although that's part of it. What I'm talking about is something that's called assimilation in phonetics: when we squish sounds together as we speak. For example, her least favorite one is "Didn't you do..." which becomes "didnchadu," and worse. And unfortunately, I'm not sure how much I can do to help her--it's largely a matter of speaking with native speakers and getting used to the way we speak at a full clip. This is something with which I help her, but the best way remains to talk to people outside the class, who are native English speakers. A daunting prospect, for sure, but the best way forward, nonetheless.

It's rewarding, although it's not yet full time. I've been getting used to Toronto, seeing old friends, and missing those from Korea. That said, it's been good, and I am coming to like this strange, sprawled out and English speaking city. Seriously, however, the sprawl is terrible. I suspect they'd have to put another dozen apartment buildings up above each subway before I feel comfortable, after Korea, where everybody's packed tightly close together. It's one thing I do miss--Torontonians have an over-developed sense of personal space, due to the size of the city and the relatively low population density. A word that I have come to loathe after returning from Korea is "sorry," which, of course, I am now saying constantly. I'm not sorry, I'm just trying to move around you.

It's the little things that trip you up, I suspect.

Chris

Job Hunting

2009-09-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I forgot how much I disliked Job Hunting (TM). It's never fun, especially when you have a limited budget and amount of time. I'm presently looking for anything in the Toronto region in my field, and since I'm looking for TESL and similar positions, it means I'm basically having to make massive mailing lists of schools, and send letters out. Never fun.

Oh well. It's better than nothing, and I am hopeful that I will get a job, shortly--after all, without one, it's not like we can keep living in Toronto, right?

This weekend was fun. We had two friends' birthday parties to attend, and it was good to see folks again after so long.

Unfortunately, we didn't get out to TIFF due to budget concerns. Hopefully, next year, right?

Other than that, busy day of job hunting for me today, and more to come. Wish me luck!

Chris

Back in Toronto

2009-09-10T15:36:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I'm back in the Big Smog for the first time since I was 10 yeas old. It's interesting to be back, especially after Korea. I think I would have been panicking like mad had I not already lived in a large city in Suwon. As it is, there's a lot of people, but nowhere near as much pushing and shoving as in Seoul's crowded streets.

We got back from Korea last week. We were overbooked, which was a blessing in disguise, as we were upgraded to First Class for the Tokyo to Toronto leg of the trip, since that was all that was available. Not too shabby! We had a long flight home, and by the end, had been travelling for about 26 hours when we collapsed in our beds in Timmins.

We packed up our stuff one more time over the next two days, and then ported everything down to Toronto over two days and two trips. It was a bit hectic, but we're settling in, and I'm working away on my TESL Canada Certification so I can teach ESL here in Toronto. I fell in love with the work abroad, which surprised me, and I want to keep doing it, here.

At the same time, I miss Korea. I miss kimchi, to the point that I broke down and bought some this weekend, and am happily crunching away on my pickled cabbage as I type. I miss reading hangeul, and stopped at a bibimbap shop on Yonge Street to read the signage in Korean when I passed a bap and barbeque shop. I also miss the people--and you know who you are. It's weird not hearing Korean spoken around me on the street, and it's weird offering money with two hands to westerners who offer one hand back, and it's weird having to overhear random conversations in English again, and it's weird not being packed tight in the subway (we could have fit twenty more in my car this morning in Seoul, trust me!), and it's weird not hanging out with my friends from Suwon.

I'll get over the culture shock soon enough, but it's going to take a few days. And, to be honest, I'm glad I'm suffering through it. It reminds me of how much I have grown over the past year, and of all that I will miss of Korea.

Off to the Eaton Centre over the weekend to do some TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) viewing, and to see the sights in Toronto. I've become accustomed to being more of a tourist within my own city, something I didn't do very well back home in Montreal and Kitchener before my adventures abroad. If I remember to take some pictures, I'll try to post 'em next week.

Good evening, all,

Chris

Last Day in Korea

2009-08-29T02:47:00.001-07:00

Well, here I am.

It's one night left, and it feels bizarre. I have had my share of ups and downs in Korea, but on the whole, as I have said previously, I have been happy with my time here in Korea. I know I have grown in many ways, and learned a lot about the world, and myself, through my experiences here this past year.

I am going through waves of happiness and sadness to leave. To those readers still in Korea, and you know who you are, take care, and we'll see you again, soon.

To everyone back home: I'll be there soon, and will have a post up as fast as possible to let everyone know that I landed safe and sound.

All the best, to all,

Annyeong-hi-Gyeseyo!

Chris

The last week

2009-08-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

It feels weird to type that title for this post. Last week. 3 school days left, before our contracts end. That is utterly, utterly, bizarre. I've gotten used to Korea, started picking up bits and pieces of the language, I can read Hangeul fluently, now (still don't know whether I'm seeing signs for a newspaper or a karaoke room, though), have become addicted to kimchi, fell in love with the madness of Seoul, and now I have to say goodbye? It's mildly depressing.

Here's a link to our latest exploits.

We saw Sky, an old friend of Jen's from her days as an ESL teacher in Canada, in Seoul on Saturday. We insisted on buying the dinner, since he snuck off with the bill last time. Korean etiquette on payment is funny, in a good way. In Canada, everybody argues over it, and usually we chip in together, right? Well, in Korea, the oldest person pays. Of course, people might offer to pay, but the oldest person (or the most senior in the company, the only married couple, etc.), pays. Period. Of course, if the older person is there, you have to stay out with him or her until they go home. This can, as you can imagine, lead to some rather epic moments if the older person wants to drink with you.

I'm not sure that Sky is older than Jen, but it was an interesting commentary on our time here to see him protesting when we basically took the bill and told him we'd pay this time.

From his perspective, he was paying the first time because that's what's done, in Korea. From our perspective, we insisted on paying him back for the last time. Getting back into Canadian thinking, I guess, and, besides, he did pay last time. It was our turn.

We then met the new teachers, Thomas and Claire, and showed them around Yeongtong, before going out to our last Suwon Bluewings game in town. Suwon lost, and the crowd was dead. One suspects this is due to the recent passing of former President Kim Dae-Jung. Alternatively, it may have been because Suwon is out of the running for the Championship this season. Either way, it was odd, but still a fun experience. We got stared at for being the only people starting the cheers, but then a dozen or so of the Koreans sitting nearest to us got into it, which was awesome.

We're down to a mere 3 days. I mentioned that earlier, but it still feels weird. I mentioned, in my last post, that I have fallen in love with this country. It has bizarre mood swings, but its an amazing country. I remember sheer culture shock threatening to overwhelm me in my first week, to the point that I was almost crying, and wanted to just say to hell with it and fly back home.

And yet, here I am, a year later, saying goodbyes to friends and students whom I've become accustomed to seeing every day, every week, or at least every month.

I will miss this place, but more importantly, I will miss the people. One of my students was sad last night, after class. He said "Teacher, I was in your class for a year. A year, teacher!" And then he smiled, sadly, and said goodbye.

This is one of my favorite students, so it hurt to hear those words coming from him. I know it is not 'goodbye' for some of my fellow teachers, since I'll see them again in Canada, or in the States, I'm sure. I know that for some of my students, this is not goodbye, either, since I'm already getting emails from some of them--one with pictures of Lee Min Ho, a soap-opera actor who is obviously my students' newest crush--but it still feels weird, and sad.

At the same time, I am looking forward to seeing Canada, again, and family and friends. It has been amazing, frustrating, and fun, to be in this part of the world. For what few bad parts that have come my way, I've found a dozen more things that were worth every moment of my travelling here.

I came here thinking I would take a year off from University, to work on PhD applications, make some money, and pay off student debts. Lo and behold, I emerge on the other side discovering that I love teaching, period, and that I don't really want to go back to school again. I've earned my TESL Canada Certification, and I intend to make a go of teaching in Canada. I also discovered that I like kids, and that so does Jen.

In short, while some folks talk about coming to Korea to 'find themselves,' and sometimes don't, I came to Korea to work, and end up finding out a lot about myself.

Funny the way things go, eh?

3 more days. I'll have, I hope, time for one more blog post, to make sure that folks back home know that Jen and I are okay, and then we'll be off on our 22-hour flight back home. Quirk of travelling that we'll be leaving and arriving on the same day, and only five hours later, objectively. Subjectively, though, Sunday's going to hurt.

Talk to you all soon!

Chris

Insadong, 9 days left.

2009-08-16T03:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

It's coming down to that time. We went into Insadong, a touristy part of town, for the last time. Regular readers may remember our first trip into that place along with Dave Gagnier, Daniel Leslie, and Oliver White.

They're still here, but the latter two, like me and my wife, are not going to be in Korea much longer. There. I said it. It's an odd mix of emotions that I have at present, with 9 business days left. I feel tired, and ready to go home... but also nervous about finding work, and about all the various insanities that go into travelling back home across the world.

I feel sad about leaving, but also fulfilled. I have seen much of the world that I might not otherwise have had a chance to see. I will miss Korea--it is strange, and fast-paced, and utterly illogical at times. It is noisy and occasionally bizarre. It is also humble, quiet, and peaceful, with a history and a unique culture, and a sense of pride that you won't find in many other places in the world. To say it's a mixed-bag is redundant, of course, but it is. I've enjoyed it all, the good and the bad, and I'm going to miss it, one way or another.

The reverse-culture-shock is going to be a pain, let's just say.

So, Insadong. We bought a bunch of gifts for folks back home. No hints, here, folks. Suffice 't to say that they are lovely, and you shall enjoy them.

We like that district. It's overpriced, but some of the shops have some genuinely nifty things hidden in the back alleys and sidewalk shops.

A week before that, Dave, myself, Roger Lam, and one of Dave's friends climbed Dobungsan. That hurt, but the view was worth it. Never went hiking in 35 degrees + humidity before, and I can say that I think I lost a pound and a half in sweat before we even got to the first marker. It was great to see Roger again, though, and to take in what is a quintessential Korean pastime: climbing one of the many mountains in this rocky country.

This weekend was Insadong, and a game of Cities and Knights, an expansion on Settlers of Catan with Dave. Man, that game is addictive. I know what I want for Christmas.

Next week: my last Bluewings game. My kids are jealous, and I intend to scream myself near hoarse during the game. After all, my adopted home team ain't doing so well this year, and every little bit helps, right?

Talk to you soon,

Chris

Tokyo

2009-08-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Just got back from Tokyo! What a blast! We took dozens of pictures, but here's what we did:

We got up bright and early, four in the morning, to get to our 8 o'clock flight. We were staying in Shinjuku, a district of Tokyo's West end, and in the sub-district called Kabukicho... Essentially, the red-light district. We're no strangers to this, but seeing guys walking around dressed like pimps was a bit goofy. That said, we got in on time, checked in... and snoozed for an hour. Promptly thereafter, we got some dinner (SUSHI!) and played Mario Kart, then stocked up on supplies for the next day.

Which started hot. We went to the Imperial Palace, not perhaps as impressive as the one in Kyoto, but still interesting. It was, however, blazing hot, enough to make me gag and Jen want to collapse. We took in the Emperor's residence, which was originally built by warlords, and used by Tokugawa Ieyasu to hold Tokyo for himself, and as his base of power. The Shogunate he founded ruled Japan from the beginning of the 1600s, all the way to the 1860s, when the Meiji Emperor reclaimed Imperial power from the Shogun.

The castle is not the same as that in Kyoto because it was targeted by the Allies during the Second World War, so this is understandable. Sad, but understandable.

We then went to Ueno, where we took in a Japanese cultural museum (The Tokyo National Museum), much to Jen's relief from the heat. We saw some old swords, samurai armor, and dozens of relics from Japan's past.

The next day, we dropped into Asakusa, the shopping district, and Roppongi, where the night clubs were. It was neat to see temples next to 300 year old shops, and to see Tokyo lit up like a bulb during the night. As Jennifer has commented, it was very Blade Runner-esque.

All in all, a fun time. We're tired, but happy, and looking forward to our last few weeks in Korea, having just enjoyed our last trip abroad in Asia for the immediate future.

Best to all,

Chris

Intensives. Ready? GO!

2009-07-26T16:11:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

A very brief post, and my apologies for not commenting last weekend. I've been, as I've mentioned before, job-hunting, therefore I'm not always free to blog of late. Hence, as well, today's short commentary.

I'm off this morning, up and at 'em nice and early, to go to the school, and teach our morning August Intensives class. Korean kids get two month-long holidays from school, one in January, and one in August. Unfortunately for the kids, that means extra study time!

They usually sign up for extra classes with a local hagwon, and in my case, I've got about 5 or 6 kids from Middle School and High School to teach. We're doing a debate class, and I'm a bit anxious, but hopeful that it will be decent.

Wish us luck!

Next weekend: Tokyo!

Chris

Holy Cow, Rain!

2009-07-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Title says it all. We went to Seoul to see Dave, our old coworker (now working in a public school in Banghak), and talk about downpour! It was brutal on Sunday morning trying to get back, and we were feeling a little tired.

We had met up to play some Settlers of Catan with Dave. For those that don't know about it, Settlers is an odd cross between Risk, Monopoly, and Empire Builder (an old train building game). It's neat, and highly interactive, and changes every time you play it.

Dave has highlighted in previous blogs of his the difference between public and private schools. It was neat talking to him and his friend Douglas about the fact that you can literally tell who goes to a hagwon and who doesn't: the level of English is like night and day.

It's a weird situation: Korea has a strong private system based on hagwons, although the reason they have the hagwons is the public school system is not very effective, emphasizing rote rehearsal of conversations in English. We therefore teach a lot to tests in the private system, helping students cram for the material that the schools don't make them ready for.

And of course, you still get students who can't speak English, despite having studied it for years, because they're expected to memorize words and grammar out of context. I have students in my advanced classes who are still blatantly struggling to find words, because they haven't learned how to speak fluently in class.

It's worse when you can't afford to go to a private after-school academy. Fortunately, the Korean government seems to be considering how to fix it, but whether it'll really change is anybody's guess.

For our part, Jen and I have our plane tickets back in hand. We have 30 working days spread across 6 weeks left, and we're feeling homesick for the first time in almost 8 months after the initial burst of it when we first got here. We're both pining for the return, but I know when we get there we'll miss Korea, too.

Weird feeling, all around.

Best to all,

Chris

Anniversary

2009-07-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=276533&id=591715424&l=914b13fd26

Hi all!

I've included the link above me words here to let you click on our pictures from Everland. We celebrated our 5th Anniversary there, and went shopping in Gangnam today to get some movies and other assorted stuff. It was low-key, but then, we *are* low-key on a general basis.

It's been a neat five years. Jen and I got married in Kingston, at St. James Anglican Church, after dating for four years (off and on) in University. We met in residence where, gasp!, Jen was my Floor Senior.

Hilarity ensued.

In all seriousness, five years is a long time to be together, and I regret none of it. We've argued, yes, and we've fought, and Heaven knows there've been times when we've gotten annoyed, but there's a lot of good memories there. We've also loved, and gone out for dinner, and had long talks over bottles of wine.

So, while this is not exactly Korean news, let's just say that it is what's on my mind. We just finished watching movies--of all things, Punisher, but then, Jen and I both share similar tastes in movies. Still, I think we'll watch Coraline next. Something more... er... happy.

Have a good night, ya'll. Less than 8 weeks left before we're Canada bound, and more to come, yet, I'm sure.

Chris

Preparing for Home

2009-06-28T05:01:00.001-07:00

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

Busan

2009-06-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

Everland Redux Redux

2009-05-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Just a quick update this weekend: We trundled off to Everland this weekend, again, to enjoy the spring air, and the rides. Unfortunately, two of the better ones, Eagles' Fortress (for those of you in the GTA, this is like the Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, a steel, suspended coaster) and Rolling X-Train (Akin to the Bat, or Flashback, basically, standard two loops and flips each steel coaster) were closed. I didn't mind the latter, since it jars my head around a lot, but the former was a bummer.

Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves: I love the fact that Everland is basically a cheaper, greener Disneyland. It's nestled in amidst these massive hills and mountains, like most of Korea, but where, say, Epcot Center in Disney is carved out of the ground and made of pure concrete, Everland is surrounded by hills and trees. It's something that Korea does very well: combining nature with architecture, and Everland is a pleasant, if goofy, example.

I'm starting my new curriculum this month: basically, we're upgrading folks to a higher difficulty level, on the whole. I'm keeping all of my kids, for which I'm grateful. Some of them have been in my class for 9 months, now, and I'd like to see them out to the end of my 1-year contract.

I'm looking forward to it, since we'll be doing some projects. It feels weird, with 3 months left, but, then, it's kinda fun, too!

I'll link you to Jen's webspace here, since she's got the videos up for Everland.

Cheers,

Chris

Folk Village

2009-05-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

We visited the Korean folk village, of which Jennifer has some great pictures and videos on her blog, here. For the sake of convenience, I've linked to the pictures on Facebook.

It was neat to see an older side of Korea. While we don't know for sure if this is how things would have looked back then, it was still cool. Korea has, for certain, changed a great deal in the last few hundred years. Heck, even in the last 10 years it's changed a lot.

We spent Saturday with Derek, a fellow teacher in Korea, and fellow gamer. We relaxed, rolled some multi-sided dice, and had a thoroughly good time.

We then toodled off to the Folk Village on Sunday (my kids made me giggle today, by mispronouncing folk... five guesses on what they called it by accident). There's traditional dances (as best as we can tell, that's how they looked), see-saw acrobatics, horsemanship, and a tightrope walker, who was rather amusing, if not bilingual.

It was great, and the only downside was a rather oddball recreation of a marriage, that had two elderly folks re-enacting their wedding for their 60th anniversary. It was sweet, sure, but we felt awful for these two older individuals having to go through a rather grueling performance at their age.

Nice museums, lots of animals, and cool shows. In short, it's quite worth checking out.

Speaking of change: Former President Noh (mispelled rather badly as Roh in English) committed suicide on Saturday. There's been a media furore over this here, since he was one of the folks who helped end the dictatorship in South Korea, and was the subject of a major corruption investigation. He became president after promising to root that out. Unfortunately, the investigation seriously tarnished, or threatened to tarnish, his reputation, and while I don't know that the police have come to a final conclusion, one suspects that he committed suicide to avoid further shame.

It is deeply tragic, however, whenever anyone takes their own life, and I hope he finds peace in whatever awaits us after death.

He, and others like him, helped change South Korea into what it is today.

Best regards,

Chris

Busy Busy Busy

2009-05-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

A quiet but busy weekend this time around. Jen and I went over to a friends' house to play a game or two and relax on Saturday, then aborted our trip to the Suwon Cultural Festival when we both woke up with caffeine headaches and the realization that we needed to get some work done.

I'm taking a class with Ontesol (www.ontesol.ca) to get my certificate for when I go back home. As I've probably mentioned before, here, I want to be able to teach ESL when I return to Canada--I've found I enjoy it a great deal, and that I'd like to continue to pursue this as a career in my home country.

So I slogged away at that for a few hours, and got my assignments done. Then sat around and watched some TV on the Internet, and brushed up on the news. It was, in short a happy afternoon. We got some pizza, and went out to enjoy a blustery but sunny afternoon dinner.

It's nice, this time of year, in Korea. We've got sun, but we've yet to have the pleasure of wading through the monsoons, and while it can get hot, it's not yet so bad that we are forced to stay indoors and turn on the Air Con. I'm going to start planning some ventures to Hwaseong and the Suwon palace, as well as to Seoul to see the sights, and since Jen and I are keeping an eye on our budget (we came here to save money, after all), we're looking at Korean destinations for the remainder of our time here.

We have one vacation planned to Tokyo for a few days, simply to see the biggest megacity this side of the Pacific, but beyond that, we plan on getting out to Korean Folk Village, to Everland, Busan, Jeju-Do, and for me, Hae-in-sa, site of some of the oldest Buddhist scriptures in Korea.

We also started a weekday Kindergarten class this week on Thursdays and Fridays at school. Guess who got the first two?

It's good to have the same kids in these classes, and to teach them at a more convenient time. The other teachers seem to have been a little surprised at how much I run around with them, but then, if I don't, they'll go to sleep!

It's been a good week, and I'm feeling rather zen about everything--we've got three months left, and I'm becoming more and more actively aware of what I'm doing, trying to preserve the memories for the rest of my life so that, when I return to Canada, I can tell the story of my time here in Korea.

I hope it's been fun for ya'll, as it has been for me.

Best regards,

Chris

Pictures from Thailand

2009-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Here are three links to our photos from Thailand.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Enjoy!

Chris

Thailand

2009-05-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, I'll be adding pictures on a separate post, once they upload to my computer (since we took hundreds, it's taking a few hours). We just got back from Thailand, or Tae-Guk as my kids call it. We departed bright and early on Wednesday morning to Incheon airport, and spent the next 6 hours flying over the South China Sea towards Bangkok. We landed in the afternoon, got our tickets for our next flight, and had our first meal of the day in Thailand.

I had my first of many coconut-based drinks while in the airport, literally straight out of the coconut, along with Pad Thai. This will become somewhat of a theme for us on this trip, as you might imagine.

We linked up with Daniel, who was taking a separate flight via Hong Kong, and then the whole lot of us flew out to Koh Samui, on the south-eastern coast near Phuket. I should add at this point that our group included myself, Jen, Daniel, Sumi, Paulina, and Ashley, all members of the teaching team at our Academy. Daniel invited us down to stay at his Aunt's guest in Mae Nam/Bang Phor (pronounced pour).

We got there late at night, and, after meeting Daniel's lovely relative, Linda, and her roommate, Louise, we settled in for the night, and made plans.

The next morning, we went out to Chaweng Beach (Ban Chaweng), on the east coast of the island. It was Jen's first time swimming in the ocean, and my first time in the Pacific on this side of the world. I considered it a life-long goal fulfilled, to have swum in both sides of the two biggest oceans, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. A goofy goal, perhaps, but I was glad to do it.

We ate lunch at a place called Aladdin in Chaweng. Anyone going to Koh Samui is recommended to visit, as well as the Sea View restaurant in Mae Nam, where we ate that evening with Linda and Louise. While I shall spare you any further references to how awesome the food was (since that was not the main point of the trip), suffice it to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed being able to eat such great food on the cheap. A Pad Thai with eggs, ordered from a street vendor (like an American hot dog stand) cost 35 bhat, which equals 1,500 Won, or about 1.75$CAD. We were, in short, in paradise, food wise.

The beaches, meanwhile, were simply amazing. The view was gorgeous at Chaweng, with a view of the Pacific stretching out to the horizon, deep aquamarine seas that went on forever, and palm trees everywhere. We spent most of the first day on the beach, getting a little crisped by the heat. The temperature was about 40-50 degrees each day, so we all felt a little tired at the end of the day, but it was entirely worth it.

The next day, Daniel and I went off to explore the island while Sumi, Paulina, Ashley, and Jen got facials at a nearby spa. Daniel and I checked out Ban Taling, Hat Lamai, a few temples, got lost somewhere in the south-western end of the island for an hour, before driving through Ban Nathon (na-tawn), where the docks are, and back to Mae Nam. We checked out all sorts of stuff, and it was a good chance to chat with my coworker and get to know him better. We've been working together for 8 months, but Daniel is sometimes a private person, so it was nice to talk with him.

Over the next few days, we would check out Lamai beach and Big Buddha Beach (Bo Phut, in the north), a Muay Thai fight or two at Lamai market, and Jennifer and I went clubbing at the Green Mango club in downtown Chaweng. It was a great scene, and we both enjoyed it. Our coworkers gave us a polite push in the general direction of the club, insisting that we spend some time alone with each other. It was a cute gesture on their part, and we appreciated it, since we both love dancing.

We got a Thai massage (or two) on our last couple of days in Thailand, and checked out Chaweng one more time before we left. It's probably the best beach of the bunch, given that it's so central, and has such great water.

We also went on a bit of a tour around the island, checking out a waterfall, a restaurant on the top of one of the mountains on the island--the view was spectacular, and, as I said, I'll have pictures up ASAP--and riding on an elephant.

In short, we really, really, really needed this vacation. We were all of us stressed as the last four months went on, and I for one have had almost zero break time during that period, between working the kindergarten class on Saturdays, the new curriculum, 4 out of 5 classes having essays, and a mess of other changes at work. I like my job, but, don't get me wrong, I was bushed.

Linda and Louise are great people, and I'm grateful to them for their patience and generosity in putting us up in their guest house this week. We were literally in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by dogs, water buffalo, a few snakes and scorpions, flowers, chickens, the endless sun, and the trees. It was, in short, perfect.

While I have to get back to work this week, I'm feeling a lot less stress, and Jen looks like she literally shed a year or two from her face. My kids all think I look more relaxed, which is good--they still have tests, though, despite the flattery!

All in all, well worth it.

------

Movies

I love this week-end: Wolverine, Star Trek, and Angels and Demons are all coming out at the same time. I've seen Star Trek already, last night, and am going to see the other two over the next two days. Movie marathon! I'll post a review on the weekend.

Cheers,

Chris

Alienation and the Law

2009-04-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Weird title, neh? I got to thinking this week about something odd, and decided I should bring it up here. So, most everybody who lives in Korea knows about HomePlus, but for those keeping tabs on me back home, it's basically a giant chain of, well, giant retail stores. Think WalMart on steroids, and you'll have a sense for how the place looks. Four or more floors of shopping, all at sometimes annoying prices (peanut butter at 5$ a small jar? Please!).

Anyway, gouging aside, they started a new advertising campaign featuring a rather famous Korean ex-ssireum wrestler. The fellow's on everything from Two-Two-Chicken (KFC, but better, because they have beer), to cell phones, to Home Plus, now.

I was looking at one of the ads, and I suddenly got this weird vibe, as if I was looking at it from outside my own head. Now, before you ask, no, I was not under the influence of anything--I was, in fact, depressingly off of caffeine due to a dentist informing me I couldn't have coffee for a week, until a filling set. The experience was, instead, one where I suddenly wondered what it would be like to be a Korean reading these signs, and seeing them as normal.

What would it be like, to be other than me? To see me as a Korean: I'm a skinny red-head with glasses who likes to jabber away in a Canadian dialect of English at speeds that make jumbo jets look slow. I mean, seriously, have any of us ever considered what it feels like for the other people around us in this country? We probably have, but it's that kind of alienation that made me stop and think.

I am, in this country, the quintessential Other. I have not learned Korean. I am decidedly Caucasian, and pale to boot, at that. I do not fit in--I speak my mind, often, make crude jokes when I'm in a bad mood, and while I respect the importance of being part of a social hierarchy, I tend to get annoyed when it is too rigid to recognize its own failings.

In short, I am a sore thumb, sticking out. I wondered, for a brief moment, what it would be like to be a Korean, living in Korean, and hearing me jabber away in English. I can understand how it feels, sort of--when other people speak Korean near me, I can't understand it, but it sounds like Korean to my ears, now. How might it feel to hear English for someone who is not able to speak or comprehend the language?

Weird thoughts, I know, but something to consider. How much of our language informs our thinking, or shapes what we believe? In English, for example, we place a lot of emphasis, not on class or status as in the Korean language (there are three versions that I know of for asking one's name: Ireumi-myoiyeyo, Ireumi-myoiyo, and Ireumi-Myoiya, in decreasing order of politeness and rank), but on time, and placing things in order as they occurred. Look at some of our stupid grammar tenses: past perfect progressive, or "I had been studying, when I got hit by a car." I mean, honestly, my kids are right to ask "Teacher, WHY?"

It's just a weird thought I had, but something I will undoubtedly ponder for a while. I know I am going to have culture shock when I come back to Canada--I will miss my Kimchi, and my cheap kimbap rolls, and public displays of affection between people of the same gender, and yes, there's a small part of me that will miss Korean illogic, and the hilarity that often ensues. I will miss my students, and I will miss my coworkers, but I wonder above all how much I will miss being the Other, of being able to speak in English and be fairly certain my conversation is private, and of being alone in a sea of people who are different yet similar to myself.

More than I thought I would, I think.

-----

Legality and labor issues have come up a few times lately, both here and on other blogs, as well as facebook.

While I am not directly involved in the issues mentioned on those webpages linked above, nor shall I endeavor to intrude with my own thoughts, it's ironic to note some of my fellow staff and I have been curious about similar legal issues with our own school. We're lucky, in that our Korean staff are courteous, hard-working, and generally up-standing folks. We're lucky, in that our branch manager is not a bad person, and works hard at being good to the foreign staff in spite of the Korean management style.

So, we have not yet run into the issues these two women have, for which we are grateful. No, our concern has been that our Korean coworkers, particularly, the counter staff, have been working themselves nigh unto death on a repeated basis. Naomi, of whom I have spoken before, quit because she was stressed from 70-hour work-weeks. Now, we find out that the majority of the Korean staff do the same, and are not necessarily given time back (vacation hours in exchange for overtime) or paid for those excess hours.

I find it sad to say that I wasn't surprised or shocked by it. I am glad, however, to find that I can still tap a little of my old protestor rage when I hear such things. I am not, though, as unwise as I once was, and I know that I neither know the legal system, here, nor do I speak the language. Therefore, any attempt to protest the issue by myself will likely result in, at best, the attitudes of my employers and possibly my fellow employees, turning sour towards me (read, making my life hell, which is what managers do back home when you stir the pot about bad labor practices), or worse, getting fired.

Similarly, if there is to be change to the Korean labor system, it has to come from within. I am not Korean, and while I could try to challenge some of the unfair practices I see here, it is quite likely I will be dismissed for being A) foreign, and B) not sensitive to Korean culture. We have heard the latter before, and I can understand the concern: I wouldn't want someone from Korea coming to Canada and trying to tell me how my labor system is unfair. It goes back to my earlier point about alienation, but I am acutely aware of how little power I have here.

I did make sure to look up the Korean Labor Standards Act, which goes into some detail on what Korean laborers and managers should and should not do. I get the sense, however, that these rules are consistently broken. Hagwons are, in a way, a bit of a weird case--we're offering a public service, yet we're also a business. The chief employees are foreigners who do not understand Korean, or the Korean legal system. It is therefore sadly common to hear stories of how foreigners get into bad situations. I am wholly sympathetic to those who are good, hard-working teachers, and offer them my support and help, meagre though it may be.

But in terms of changing the system, there isn't much we can do. Canada had almost a hundred years of struggle by labor unions and others, to establish the legal rights we take for granted in the workplace. Korea, I suspect, is only starting this process, and while Korea is likely to be faster at getting the same result given that it is developing so fast, it is nevertheless still early goings yet.

This leads me to make a few modest suggestions, none of which should be construed as legal advice. I know next to nothing about Korean law, and my understanding of Canadian law is not as good as others, because I am not a lawyer. If you do have questions about the law, here, or are thinking of coming but are unsure about this, look up some of the stuff in the Labor Standards Act--it's been updated since the version I posted above. There's also the Korean Labor Board, which admittedly, apparently has little power. Similarly, check out options here and look up the issues on Dave's ESL Cafe. There is information out there, and you should be careful, but understand that the majority of schools are usually run by decent people. There are bad apples out there, but they are thankfully not the rule.

If there is a serious issue, find a Korean lawyer who speaks English, and that you can trust.

As to blogging--you'll notice I've never mentioned my school by name, right? That's another wise thing to do. Future employers do know how to read blogs, and the internet. If I was working in HR, I'd look up a potential applicant on google. I'm on there, as are most people, now. My one serious suggestion is to be careful what you talk about online. If you are going to be critical, or to comment, as I have, here, avoid naming too many names. I have included them where appropriate, but keep it polite, because you never know who might be reading.

I believe the only real advice that I or others can give is just that: to be polite, to be careful, and to use your common sense. Korea and Asia both are beautiful places to live and visit, and have a ton of things to offer expats looking for work. Remember that our conduct reflects not just upon ourselves, but upon our countries and others who come to work here, and that we must therefore exercise our best judgment when problems arise. Hopefully, Korea can be a fun and enlightening work experience for those that come here. If it turns into a challenge, know that you can handle it with common sense, courtesy, and effort. Just be careful, is all.

Keep on Trucking,

Chris

Soccer and Easter

2009-04-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

First, for those who celebrate it: Happy Easter! We normally have a family gathering with either Jen or my family, so it feels a bit sad to not be able to do so today. We made up for it, however, by holding a friendly ol' Easter potluck at the house.

After recovering from a bad hangover, we got up on Sunday and puttered about the house for a bit. we went out with a Korean friend of Jennifer's, and I made the mistake of trying to go toe-to-toe with him on drinking. I won't make that mistake again.

We went out to a Bluewings match, which, for the price, is the best show in town. I can't think of any sporting event in Canada or the States which would cost 10$. With beers, it's maybe 15-20, depending on how much one chooses to imbibe. A few people had a lot, especially some of the Ultras in the front.

It was nice to see David again, and Roger, both of whom were former coworkers at our Hagwon, and nice people to boot. The atmosphere at these games is insane: the stadium's not even full, but you can hear the chanting from outside the building!

It was a lot of fun, and definitely worth doing. We also plan to get back to Everland at some point, since Dave is a fan of rollercoasters--and so am I.

Anyway, we then went home to clean the place up and get set for the potluck. Our guests included Dave and Roger, Ashley and Sumi, and Jessica, all either coworkers or former colleagues. A good time, and we were all stuffed: I may have to have Jen roll me to work today.

Happy Easter, indeed.

Cheers,

Chris

A Quick Update

2009-04-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

(A fun picture of the 'old gang,' Me, Jennifer, Daniel, Oliver, David, Stephanie (taking the picture), Ashley, Sumi, and Sarah)

Hi all,

So, a quick update this week. I know that I'm starting to wear down around the edges--I can kind of feel the cognitive blurring that happens when you get really tired. It'd be an interesting thing to study, were it not happening to me.

What's happening? Not much. We relaxed this weekend, both of us being exhausted, and I still managed to drag myself out of bed at 4 in the morning to Skype home, and play some D&D with some friends by remote conference. It was neat, and, I have to say, pretty amazing to be able to see my friends again, even if only digitally.

Wonders of modern technology, eh?

Speaking of which, I'm taking a TESL Certification course online, at www.ontesol.com. It's pretty good, so far, although I've had some issues with their quiz design (4 adjectives in one sentence, and I have to guess which 2 out of the 4 that the computer will recognize as correct answers, oi).

I'm discovering that I really enjoy teaching ESL, and would love to continue doing it back home--maybe to adults, maybe still to kids. Either way, it's a decent living, and one that I feel good doing--always important.

Anyway, I'm going to grab some coffee and wake myself up--gotta do some grading.

Still hanging in there,

Chris

Food

2009-03-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Jen and I had a busy weekend. We plugged away on Saturday at the office, teaching an "Intro to Essay Writing" class that went over reasonably well. I'm hopeful that some of my students understand what they're doing afterwards, and that they begin to write decent essays if only to save my own sanity from some of the more interesting experiments in creative design that have resulted from their last few attempts.

I kid. The majority of my students know how to write an essay--they just need help making them more readable.

We hung out for the duration of the weekend: our plans to go to Everland were quashed by cold weather, and so we just... well, relaxed.

We grabbed a pizza on Saturday and sat out in the park, munching away happily and chatting about nothing.

However, we made a minor mistake on Sunday: we cooked. Now, both of us are actually pretty good cooks, but the problem is, we cooked Western style, and with olive oil.

We're not used to either, having lived in Korea for over half a year, and subsisting on rice and various veggies and meats that we've now become totally accustomed to. We've also become used to Korean portions: something I think I am going to miss when I come home.

So, a plateful of home-fries and chicken later, and we're both feeling a bit yucky this morning. We only got a few hours of sleep because, well, we ate too much.

It's a minor point, on the surface. Asian cuisine involves less food per person than does American or Canadian. Looking back, however, I'm frankly shocked by how much more a "Western" portion involves, and not at all surprised that the manner in which we cook (big portions, lots of starch, fried food, etc) results in health concerns and size differences between Canadians and Koreans. I'm only about 70 Kilograms (160 pounds), while Jen is a little bigger.

But Koreans on the whole tend to be slimmer and smaller than Westerners. Part of that is genetic, I'm sure, but a large part of it has to be the diets we live on.

Something to consider if you come here, and for when I come back, I think. I have no intention of returning to the consumption rate I used to live on, back home. I don't need as much food as restaurants serve in North America. I suspect, if I can live up to such a plan, I will be healthier for it.

Cheers,

Chris

Seeing Old Friends

2009-03-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Well, a brief-ish post today. I spoke last time about how we were losing some of our old core staff members, like Naomi (Kyong-Hee Hong, is her Korean name). She's a sweetheart, and basically a dear friend of the majority of the English staff who had worked at our Hagwon over the last two plus years.

Well, we decided to ask her to go for dinner tonight, alongside another friend and former co-worker from our school, Dave, whose blog is featured here. Dave's a smart guy, and a lot of fun to hang out with, not least because he shares Jennifer's and my mutual love of Settlers of Catan. Settlers has become the mainstay at our on-again, off-again games night with the folks from work, and it reminds us of home, where we first started to play it.

Dave, Jen, and I went out to our second Bluewings game of the 2009 campaign, against Jeju United. Once more, Suwon lost. I think this is a case of Championship Blues, or the like: Suwon won the K-League title last year, and played recently against David Beckham's LA Galaxy team. They're also in the Asian Football Championship Tournament, so I can understand some sluggishness. Still--losing to Jeju? Gah.

It was nice to relax a bit this weekend. I'm still teaching Kindergarten, but I had a breakthrough with one of my reticent kids. His name is Rick, and while he's cute as all get out, he was a problem child at first: I suspect his English is limited, and he was actively refusing to take part in class. His mother gave him heck, I think, because he came in after two weeks of rolling around on the floor in class and actively took part.

Well, paid attention, at least, even if he didn't understand. This week, though, I was able to get him to repeat words, and, better yet, to point to material in the books we were reading that was the same. It's moments like that, when my kids have an "Ah-ha!" moment that I feel like I'm doing something of worth.

----

On that subject: I had an odd weekend. I read a coworker's blog, where she discussed having trouble connecting her personal perspective with her work here. I can respect that: there's a lot of strange decisions going on in our school, and at times it's easy to fall back on the "It's just Business" motto. I know all about that: I even fell back into that mentality at times, if only to protect my mental stability from the pressure of trying to get these kids to care.

I nearly broke down this weekend. Seriously, literally, and totally broke down. I was on the verge of giving up and going home, I was literally that angry. Our new curriculum took a month for us to sort out, and I was tired of having to come in early every day to fix things. I was ready to give up.

Jin, one of our Korean team-mates, fixed things, after a lot of work, and I feel better now. But it feels as if I'm struggling to swim upstream, all the while somebody's attaching a rope to my feet from the other direction.

I'm obssessive compulsive--I need organization, especially in my work space, in order to function. I need it that way so I can keep my brain focused, and thus not go completely nuts when things go wrong. I admit to being a perfectionist, as well, so when things get disorganized, I get mad.

It was frustrating, to say the least, this last month.

I am glad, though, to have spend an hour or two trekking with Jen around the highlands near Kyung-Hee Dae University, near our school and apartment. The mountains in this country are utterly gorgeous, and incredibly peaceful. One can easily lose hours climbing over the hills around one's own house, and its easy to see why hiking is so popular, here.

It was a mini-date with my wife, which we needed, I think. We talked about a host of subjects, about life, work, and faith. I maintain my spirituality as a private matter--I don't discuss it with my coworkers, as my perspective would take some serious discussion to describe, not to mention, it comes across as seriously heretical to most Christians. I am what is called a Gnostic Christian, and the closest to my interpretation of my faith is the Universalist and Quaker traditions within the mainstream church. Of course, calling the Universalists "mainstream" sounds funny, but you get the idea.

I hold to the belief that God exists, not as a personal being (i.e., an incarnate "old man in the sky"), but as the fundamental spirt of all that lives, what John Shelby Spong calls "the ground of being." As such, I tend to distrust literalism and strict dogma--perhaps this comes from some innate distrust of authority engendered on me in my youth, but who knows, right? For me, like the Gnostics, God is to be found in the shared experience, those wonderful moments when the universe seems to click, and you have an "ah-ha" moment on some deep, fundamental level about life and the meaning of life itself. I've experienced that only a few times, and it leaves me shaken to my core when it does happen.

But a fundamental part of my faith is the belief that I, being constrained by an inherently subjective perspective (I don't accept the idea that God will tell me everything, and even if God did, I would be biased by said subjectivity), have the right to tell others what they should think. As Albert Camus said, I cannot tell others what is right, but I can rebel when I see something I think is wrong. In short, I don't talk much about my faith because I worry that I might interfere in the path and development of others. So long as their path does not prevent others from pursuing their own truths in turn, I find myself unwilling to interfere.

Perhaps that is an odd perspective, but it is my own... and it was nice to talk with Jen about it this weekend. We fell in love because we were both thinkers and loved to have good, rational arguments about things. I still love her for that, and I hope that I can, in my small way here, encourage my kids to do as I was taught: to question everything, and try to grow.

Or, perhaps, in seeing my old friends, I am feeling nostalgic.

Peace,

Chris

Change

2009-03-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

It's odd, seeing how things change. Sarah and Amber, two long-standing members of the team at work, have headed home, their contracts here finished. We had to say goodbye to them at the end of February/early March, and it was odd to realize that Jen and I were, suddenly, among the most experienced/oldest ones in our branch of our school.

I mean, seriously? We're the old hands, now? After six months, we're supposed to be the experienced kids in school. Really?

We miss Sarah and Amber. Sarah helped me and Jen to acclimatize when we first got here. Similarly, Daniel, one of the others who joined us in September as new teachers, helped Sionna and Paulina, two new folks 2 months ago, to settle in. So, the older teacher helping the newer one(s) is a bit of a tradition in our school. It was therefore weird to say goodbye.

It was weirder, still, when Naomi, one of the Korean workers in our school, chose to leave. Naomi had been there from before Sarah and Amber's time, so at least two and a half years. She's one of the folks who helped keep us all sane, and to keep the branch running. I'm slightly nervous about how well we'll operate with her gone. The counter teachers are all hard-working, but of all of them, Naomi seemed to basically know where everything was at all times, and how to keep things working.

I wish her the best, of course, and understand why she left. She was working, essentially, 70 hours a week, while being paid for far less. That kind of stress, no-one deserves to have to handle. I've been volunteering to teach a kindergarten class with the school on Saturdays, and I'm exhausted from 50 hour weeks for the past two months. I can't imagine how Naomi felt.

It's odd to see that happening here. Maybe it's cultural, maybe not, but people seem to be putting themselves through hell, whether in the academy as a student, or at school, or work. Maybe it's a left-over from the devastation of the 2nd World War and Korean War--a desire to work hard to rebuild, or to make up for what was destroyed by the fighting... I don't know, maybe it's something else. Whatever the cause, the consequence of over-working is obvious: stress, and loss of staff members like Naomi, and Liz, another Korean staff-member leaving at the end of March.

I hope nobody else leaves--I do not want to be the most-experienced staff member, period, in the school. While that is unlikely, it does worry me.

All else goes well. With the new essay classes I'm teaching, and problems with some of the test books, I've got a lot of work to do, but that's normal. It's nothing I can't handle. I just keep wondering about the future of the school, and looking forward, in some small ways, to coming home. I'm on the other side of half-way to being done with my contract, and it's weird to start counting down, instead of up.

Cheers,

Chris

Long Week

2009-03-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

A shorter post this week, as I'm rather exhausted. In short, at work, I was asked to help out by taking on a second kindergarten course, one which will run for another six weeks, in addition to the six I'd already agreed to. In other words, instead of finishing my run on the 14th, I'll not be finished teaching the little ones until mid-April.

While I love teaching the kids, the truth is, I'm exhausted. I need a break from six-day workweeks, and the sooner the better. The worst part is, the group I'm teaching for the second shift are mostly unable to speak English--so I'm jabbering at them in English to sit down, or to play, or whatever... and they don't understand.

Oh well.

We're also implementing a new curriculum, the details of which I shall spare you, gentle reader, since they involve a lot of frustration. I like the uniformity, but I don't like some of the difficulties we've had getting the system set up. I'm also working on an essay rubric--I'd like to have something we can give to the parents so that they know where their kids need to improve. We'll see how that turns out.

Jen, new teacher Jessica, myself, and the counter teachers Jin and Hong (Naomi) went to the first game of the season for the Suwon Bluewings. The atmosphere was great, even if we did not win.

We also finally finished Chi Bi, by John Woo, and saw the Watchmen. Both were decent adaptations of their respective fictional forefathers. The former was actually based on real events, but played out like a rather-heavily adapted version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while the latter endeavored to stay reasonably close to its comic book original. Neither were perfect, but they were enjoyable.

Best regards,

Chris

Theatre, Tae Kwon Do

2009-02-28T18:07:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

My apologies for the lengthy delay in between my last post and today's. I've been busy, and sick, and while having a cough and working on report card's is no excuse, I hope, as an explanation, it will suffice.

We spent yesterday in Seoul--camera-less, for which I apologize--after Kindergarten class in the morning at school. I'm up to 8 munchkins, now, and I've got them hopping around happily all class. It's a ton of fun, and they remain incredibly cute--it's tiring, but totally worth it. And if it helps give our campus a shot in the arm, which it looks to be doing, more power to 'em. I hope this project succeeds--if it does, we could start getting more kids to learn English at a younger age. For fiscal reasons, this is incredibly important--they stay longer, after all, but more importantly, it will help give them the phonemes necessary to learn English from an early age. Phonemes is a fancy linguistic term meaning the sounds used by a given language. I can hear, for example,t he phonemes in Korean, but I miss the ones in Chinese by a mile, having never been exposed to it. I'm very good at hearing Japanese, French, and Spanish sounds, having spoken or been around speakers of those languages regularly in the past.

That said, while it's entirely possible (and, indeed, some argue, easier) to learn a foreign language as an adult, it can't hurt to get 'em hooked on English young. I agree with this website's assessment of language learning--we can learn as adults, too, if we work at it, but getting used to language when young makes it incredibly easy to develop one's skills in it as one gets older (I can still, for example, speak reasonably good French, thanks to my mom and dad exposing me to it early, and living in France for a year when I was young).

Anyway, I digress. We went into Seoul with Jessica, one of our new teachers. We're going to be losing Sarah and Amber, both of whom have been here for nearly two-and-a-half years. The loss in teaching experience, in addition to the transfer of another teacher, Oliver, who came when we did, means that our school is going to be changing a lot in the next few weeks, between that and the new books and new term we're starting (Korean schools begin their new grades on March 2nd this year). It's sad to see those two go--they helped ease us into Korea, and they're a great pair of people.

So, we went into Seoul to show Jessica how to get into Gangnam (pronounced Kang-nahm), Kyobo books, and a few other things. We got a few cheap movies while we there, including John Woo's Red Cliffs, which, frankly, is made of pure awesomeness.

We then went further North, leaving Jessica with Sarah and Ashley, our coworkers, while we went downtown to meet up with another friend for some Korean performing arts. We saw a traditional dance (very different, it was all men doing the dancing), zither performances, and some really amazing folk drumming. Just when you thought they couldn't go faster, they did. Ditto with the volume--my ears are still ringing a bit.

We then went off to Myeong-Dong with Sumi, our coworker, and her friends Janice and Andrew. Why Myeong-Dong, you ask? Well, that's where Seoul Tower is. We had planned to get back to Gangnam for 9 PM to meet up with Ashley and Jessica again, but by this time it was 8, and I was pretty sure we weren't going to make it, with the 30 minute wait for the cable car, and another 30 minute wait for the elevator to the top of the tower.

The view was awesome--dark, yes, but worthwhile to see the lights of the Sprawl below stretching out like trees across the mountains. It was like looking at a William Gibson cyberpunk novel, a city that has become so large that it integrates the surrounding, formerly independent cities, into it, and claims the title Megapolis or Megacity with ease. Tokyo, I hear, is the same, and I look forward to seeing that colossus in time--it reminded me of looking at Beijing by night--massive, and unapologetic about it. But Seoul has a unique feeling to it. Smaller in terms of population (if only slightly), but cramped into tighter space, the city grew up instead of out--apartments rise and stack on top of each other like cardboard boxes, or plants reaching towards the sun, while 10 million people happily swarm around each other, hive-like, but each an individual.

Humanity has always fascinated me--we are capable of producing some real wonders, and cities are one example of this.

-------

Tae Kwon Do

Why a digression on my favorite Korean martial art? Well, because, after nearly fourteen years of studying it, I am coming to the conclusion that I either have to look for a new form of training, or a new art. I love Tae Kwon Do--its eminently practical at times, utilizing the power of the fighter's legs to give one the ability to do massive damage to an attacker, fast, and then get out of the fight once you've made sure that you can't get hurt.

Tae Kwon Do is not a new martial art--it's about fifty or sixty years old, and was explicitly designed after World War Two to combine the various divergent Korean martial arts into one that could be universalized across the country, and, eventually, around the world. I recall reading somewhere--don't remember where exactly--that it's become one of the most popular martial arts in the world, partly due to its usefulness, but, sadly, also because it becomes exceptionally easy to turn into a McDojang (you go in, pay your money, and get a black belt in a year, which is, pardon the phrase, bullcrap in my mind).

It evolved from Tang Soo Do, Takkyeon, and older forms of Korean fighting, which date back to the original fighting arts of the old Three Kingdoms period. The Hwarang, a group of young men picked by the Ssilla (Shilla) Kingdom's rulers, which eventually evolved into an elite, aristocratic fighting force, helped develop some of these arts, which may well be the origins of the style I've practiced for over half of my life.

In its best forms, Tae Kwon Do mixes speed training, kicks, punches, 'harder' strikes (elbows and knees, in my mental classification), throws, and self-defense training (close in combat techniques for when someone grabs you or comes at you with a knife). My first dojang (training hall) in Dallas, was an exemplar of this. Our instructor borrowed liberally from Hapkido (a Korean variant on Aikido), weapons training, and Ju-Jitsu (Japanese grappling) to produce a martial art that was flexible and focused on developing the art of fighting and self-defense.

There, we studied dozens of kick variants, arm techniques, weapons forms, poomseh (katas in Japanese, or choreographed forms in English), and sparring techniques, all designed to emphasize the training of the body to react instinctively to threat. In short, Tae Kwon Do can be an extremely effective martial art, especially if it leads the practitioner to realize that it can be supplemented with, or used to supplement, other arts and thus combined to make a better whole. Tae Kwon Do is not without flaws, even then--the emphasis on jumps, spin kicks, and high kicks can leave one exposed in a real fight, which, I think, is the real reason one studies martial arts. In its purest forms (whatever that means), it lacks strong hand and arm techniques, and often, emphasizes the legs to the exclusion of all else. That's fine, except if your opponent knows how to fight up close and can grapple.

In its worst forms, I've seen Tae Kwon Do dojangs where the student goes in, pays their money, and gets their black belt in such a short matter of time that they could not possibly hope to fight a real opponent and win, or, worse, where they lack the self-discipline and enlightenment necessary to realize that the most valuable fighting technique is the ability to avoid a fight in the first place. I hold a second-degree (2nd or Ii Dan) black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and have held it for almost 8 years--I've not levelled up higher than that because I've had to move often in the last eight years, and went to a few dojangs that basically told me I'd have to start over, again, in their style (annoying, but when they're the only dojang around and one doesn't have a car, you smile, nod, and swallow your complaints, and take from the school what you can). I have not fought another person in that entire time, nor will I, if I can avoid it, for the remainder of my life. I know I could cause the other person harm, and that entering the fight in the first place is a failure on my part, as a martial artist, to find a more appropriate way out of the situation.

Some dojangs, like one I went to, here, are exceptionally good--but focus on sparring, training for the Olympics and competition, or demonstration. The problem I had with the local dojang is that they were trying to get me to do the same. I'm not interested in sparring much anymore--I have significant knee injuries that I have acquired over fourteen years of heavy training (most of which are my own fault, or came through sparring!). I also recently discovered I have a problem with one my vertebrae, so, while I'm also simply getting older, I'm not so stupid as to willingly throw myself into sparring with the Korean National Demonstration Team, nor try their tricks. I don't see any practical use in throwing a 720 degree kick in mid air, upside down, in a fight.

I emphasize practicality in my own training, and when I teach others. If you can't use it in a fight (if you can't get out of the fight, I should add), then what good is it? Unfortunately, I lack the Korean language skills to explain my concerns to the instructors at the dojang, and I've had one too many injuries while there. Part of this is the language barrier... but the other part is a sense in some Tae Kwon Do dojangs, and especially, it seems, here in Korea, to wave off pain as part of the learning experience. Sure, pain, sparring, and the occasional bruises are normal in martial arts training.

However, and I must say this is a large however, one should not put a student in a position where one is liable to get hurt, simply for the sake of doing so, or for teaching techniques which are only to be used in demonstration. There are some wonderful demo teams out there--the group at this dojang included, they're simply brilliant. I'm not that good. Sure, I'm a good fighter, and I can hold my own in a sparring contest, and I know I could break bones if I got into a real fight. But I'm not interested in demonstrations--I'm pragmatic in my training, and maybe a bit old, and I know when I need to stop, back away, and think about things.

I hurt when I get up in the morning--another sign, sadly, that I need to take a break. I continue to keep up my exercise, privately, at the gym, and in the park near our apartment. I will continue my training, but I will do it my way. I'm not a master--I never earned that privilege. However, I am entirely capable of practicing on my own, and teaching others.

While this blog is dedicated to my travels here in Korea, I may, as time goes on, begin to discuss martial arts in more depth, and my thoughts on them. I begin to suspect that I will endeavor to begin blending, as my old master in Dallas did, various martial arts to find a more perfect union of them. Tae Kwon Do is incredibly valid, and I have no trouble at all with people who want to train for the Olympics and for demonstrations. I simply have no interest in that route. And while sparring is a necessary part of training, it should not be done in such a way that it is unsafe. One of my favorite lessons from my old teacher was that, in a dojang, one studies with the other students--one should not go out of one's way to hurt one's training partners!

I love the martial arts, and will continue to train in them--but I will do so in my own way, and with care and concern for myself, and those who train with me. The goal is to learn self-defense, and self-discipline, not self-injury. It is so much a part of my identity, that I have no intention whatsoever of stopping completely, but I sense a time has come for a pause to reflect on my progress, my capabilities, and what I want to do in the future with my studies. If I should continue in Tae Kwon Do, I will be happy. If I choose, instead, to begin branching out and to study other forms of martial arts, I will be equally happy. I continue to study, and in so doing, to discover more about myself as I grow older and, hopefully, somewhat wiser.

Anyway, rant over--I've meant to talk about this for a while.

Best regards,

Chris

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

A brief post, as I'm a bit rushed for time this week--between a sore throat and running around for work, parent-teacher meetings, and the like, I'm in vegetable mode when I come back home.

We went to Changdeokgung, a palace in Seoul. Once the secondary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea for several hundred years, the palace became the primary one after the Japanese destroyed the main palace by fire during the invasions in the late 1500s. It's gorgeous, set into the hills and forests of a garden complex in the north end of Seoul. Tucked into the foothills, it's designed to be as natural as possible.

It has a bit of a sad history, despite the beauty and its role as the former seat of power in Korea. It was there that the last Korean scion of the Joseon died in the late 1900s. It was there that the Japanese annexed Korea.

It's a beautiful and sad reminder of how lovely this country is, and how much history is here, both good and bad. I love teaching here, and learning about Korean culture and tradition--it's just a wild turn to see the differences between, say, Canada and Korea, since we don't have the history of a war as catastrophic (within Canadian borders... World War One and Two were devastating to Canada in their own way) as what happened to Korea during the Occupation.

Anyway, enough of the tragedy. It was beautiful, and we had a laugh walking past the National Ddeok (Teok) museum... basically, a rice cake museum. Oh, bother.

We celebrated Valentine's Day by watching JCVD without subtitles and laughing ourselves silly.

All the best, folks,

Chris

Kindergarten

2009-02-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Started teaching, on a voluntary basis, Kindergartners on Saturday morning. The tykes are exceptionally cute, and I've got a trio of little geniuses in the class. All three speak very well in English, so it's almost like teaching English Kindergarten back home.

We started out by playing Sit Down, Stand Up. Basically, the idea is to have the kids learn basic English words, most of which they already know, and to warm them up. It's also important, since it keeps the kids happy. Jen's mother said, and I think she's right, that teaching kids that age requires almost twice as much work as other classes: its like having 20 mini-two-minute lessons, so that you can keep their attention.

We then went to finish the book, do some drawing, and at one point, I had them hopping around the room (saying the word 'hop' as they did so), to teach them the word, and because we were reading about a frog. The little ones were exceptionally cute.

I noticed that as well: we're using a basic readers book, which, while good, is a bit dry--it's lots of reading.

That said, it's a great idea: it's a pilot program to see if we can start teaching younger children at the Hagwon. This'd be a great strategy if it can work: the younger ones are more interested, and are exceptionally fun to teach. Plus, while it's great to have older kids, the younger ones, if they stay, are a more lucrative source of revenue--they stay longer.

I admit, I've come to enjoy teaching my young classes a great deal. They often get me laughing along with them, and I really and truly genuinely like my students. It's good to know that I can handle kids, especially if Jen and I ever decide to have children of our own.

I don't talk much about teaching on this website, if only because, well, there are a dozen other blogs and websites out there that already do--one of the best is Dave's ESL Cafe, which is expat central online in Korea. That said, if you're going to do this, it's worth trying. It's not easy--there are a host of things that can go wrong, Korean and North American work habits and organizational styles are different, and sometimes, no matter how good your school might be, you might have a bad day or have trouble connecting with a student. All that said, if you go in to a school with an open-mind, and a bit of determination, it can turn out brilliantly.

Like with my little kids, for example.

If I can, I'll try to take a picture with some of them, and post them online. I'm a bit no-nonsense in my class, and forgetful to boot, so I might not have time or might forget, but I will endeavor to do so and have some pictures online by the time I leave this country, since my kids are either: A) very cute; B) fun; C)funny as all get out; or D) just plain neat to be around.

We can probably all tell stories, those of us doing this mad tour in Asia. Some of 'em good, some of 'em bad. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to say that, so far, at least, things are going well.

-----

Went in to Yongsan in Seoul. The electronics capital of this tech-crazy country, Yongsan has anything and everything of a tech nature a geek like me could want. The only problem is money, and that some hardware (say, a Wii, or PS3), is wired for Hangeul, and I don't trust my computing skills to reconfigure it/care to pay the kind of money it costs to buy one. They're cheaper, here, but that doesn't change the fact that they're still pricey.

Or that I have a ton of stuff to do, as is!

Also, if you want to find cheap films, Yongsan is also the place to go. Holy smokes.

-----

On a sad note, we're trying to find someone to babysit poor Amy, our cat. She's a sweetheart, but the trouble is she A) needs attention, and B) needs to be the only cat in the house. Pete, a friend of mine from back home, has been able to take care of her up 'till now, but, well, she's started having dominance issues with his own cat, Penny. Not the cats' fault, really, and I'm sorry that Pete's gotten stuck having to clean up after Amy since she's upset.

I'm hopeful we can find a solution, since we don't want to lose our cat.

----

Later,

Chris

Full list of Japan pictures

2009-01-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm including, below, links to the full range of photos from our Japan trip, due to size and space constraints in my story earlier.

Here we are:

Japan in January part 1,

1.b, 1.c

Man, I love facebook.

Japan

2009-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

(Nijo Castle)

Hi all,

Jennifer and I ventured to Osaka and Kyoto, Japan, for the Korean/Chinese New Year. It was a nice break from routine, and I know Jen needed the time off from work--she's been doing more work than I with Intensives, and was getting tired, understandably. We set off on the morning of Saturday the 24th of January, taking the bus to Incheon International.

With the snow being so heavy, it took us nearly two and a half hours to get there, when normally it takes an hour to an hour and a half. Thank goodness we left early!

We arrived at Kanzai Airport, about forty-five minutes outside of Osaka, and after a few minutes deciphering the Kanji of the train station schedule, slapped our foreheads when we realized that it was also in English on another board. Easy as cake. We got on the train, snapping pictures as we went of the countryside.

We arrived in Osaka, dropped our stuff at the hotel, snapped more pictures as we walked towards Osaka castle, our first stop on the "tour" I had mapped out in my head. Well, that's like suggesting we had a plan, here, which we didn't. We decided to do what we had become comfortable with after five months in Korea: to throw ourselves into a foreign culture and just see what we could find.

The results were well worth it--open air markets, temples everywhere, shrines, castles, and incredibly friendly people. The only "planned" portion of the visit were our hotels, trains, and the visit to Kyoto's Imperial Palace, which has to be booked in advance.

Anyway, we got to Osaka Castle, and wandered around the grounds. Built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the tail end of what's called the Sengoku Jidai (the age of the country at war) from about 1500-1620 or so (yes, over a hundred years of civil war), it was a massive series of fortifications meant to ensure control over access to Kyoto and Osaka's own shipping.

(Osaka Castle)

The building has been burnt down on several occasions, so the version we saw was a rebuilt one, but entirely worth coming to see. Lots of history on display inside the Castle too, and seeing dozens of sets of samurai armor was probably the best part.

We continued to tour around downtown Osaka, going to Tenjinbashisuji (I think) District, which is a 2.5 km long shopping arcade. We got dinner, which was, of course, overpriced (everything in Japan, food-wise, is expensive due to it being an island), but yummy, and met a very nice restaurant owner who helped us figure out how to get food in very good English.

Wandering around for another hour or two, we finally headed back to our hotel, with tatami mat floors, futons, and a communal bath house for washing. It was an interesting experience, especially being the only foreigner in the latter (I got a few stares). A nice hotel, however (Hotel Taiyo, if you're planning a visit), especially given the owners speak English pretty well.

One thing that is fundamentally different from Korea in the tourist aspect: the English on major sights' signage is damn-near perfect. I found one or two grammar goofs, but only in the subway, or on out of the way spots.

Anyway, the next morning, Jennifer wrote her GRE examination (they don't do that in Korea except twice a year, and she needed to finish it for PhD applications) in Osaka in the morning, while I checked out Shitennoji temple.

(Shitennoji Temple)

One of the oldest operational Buddhist temples (possibly the oldest extant one) in Japan, built to honor one of the founders of the Buddhist tradition in the country. One thing that is also neat to note about this place is that, en route, I found about a half-dozen smaller Shinto shrines scattered around Tennoji station. This was to become a bit of a fun footnote to our entire tour: we would walk past about five shops, find a shrine, pass a cemetery, another five to ten shops, then another shrine or temple, and so on. Japan, especially Kyoto, is literally history central, in a good way. There are so many sites to see that it is hard for me to describe them all!

Anyway, once Jen finished, we hopped aboard a commuter train to Kyoto, checking out the mountains on the way.

Kyoto is a smaller city than Osaka, not that that is necessarily good or bad, but it has a very different, more slow-paced, feel to it.

We dropped our stuff off at the hostel (BJ Family House), the finding of which should provide a warning to tourists in Japan: city streets are not always clearly marked, or if so, are marked in Kanji (Japanese characters). When they are marked, as in Kyoto, they are often named as a combination of the two streets (so Shijo-dori and Kawaramachi-dori become Shijokawaramachi on the signs). We figured it out quickly, but it's something to be aware of. Streets are often labelled, but when outside the main 'tourist spots' it can be a little confusing.

Anyway, then we were off to check out some of the sights. We first visited two massive temples, Higashi- and Nishi-Honganji Temples, near Kyoto Station. The entire district is labelled as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, due to the sheer size of the temples and how gorgeous they are. It's interesting, again, to note the differences between the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese architectural styles we've seen so far. China tends to build large, with massive stone and jade and gold structures, Korea tends for more simple stone and tile buildings, while Japan emphasizes wood and bark (especially in the Torii or spirit gates of temples).

We then went to Gion District, the old geisha area, to see if we could catch a show at Minamiza Theater--no luck, but we'll try again next time we're in Japan. I really want to see a Noh play or a Kabuki production.

The next morning, we were off to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which you have to get permission to visit beforehand. The Palace is interesting, and the former seat of the Imperial Family of Japan. It, and nearby Nijo-jo (castle) were where the Tokugawa Shogunate surrendered power back to the Emperor Meiji.

Nijo, meanwhile, was our personal favorites. Check this place out if you're in Kyoto--it has the world's only remaining nightingale floor. Jen has a link to it on her blog, here. The sound it makes is amazing: it sounds like birds chirping whenever you try to walk on it. No ninja getting in here, sorry to say!

The fortification was used by the Tokugawa Shoguns whenever they visited Kyoto (to meet the Emperor) and was quite impressive. What astounds me the most is how in tune Japanese buildings like this are with nature. In China, Tienanmen Square and most of Beijing is a concrete block. Beautiful and stark, yes, but very much man-made. Nijo and the temples are literally enmeshed in trees. Especially our favorite example, from the next day: Kiyomizu-deru.

I'll leave off at Kiyomizu, since it was the last big thing we saw: a Buddhist temple built into the side of a mountain, literally overhanging over the valley and forest, with a magnificent view of Kyoto beyond.

(Kiyomizu-Deru)

I also have to admit, while I have included pictures of the Buddhist temples (they are massive, after all), I tend to prefer the Shinto shrines: they are simple, peaceful, and almost understated in their intentions to honor the kami, or spirit, of the area they are built in. They are ubiquitous in Japan, and represent a polite quality to spirituality: instead of building up, the Shinto tradition seems to be to build in, that is, to create a space within an area, and allow people to simply become part of that space as well.

While both are not my tradition, I do have a great deal of respect for Shinto and Buddhism.

We got a few stares walking around the shrines of the former, as Shinto is an inherently Japanese tradition, but still, we never once felt unwelcome in any place we visited.

A wonderful trip, to be sure, and one I would recommend to anyone else.

Best regards, all,

Chris

Inauguration

2009-01-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, President Obama.

It's 21:33 hours on Tuesday, January the 20th. As of this moment, it is Inauguration Day in the United States, about 0933 in the United States, in Washington DC.

At 1200, President-Elect Barack Obama will become the next President of the United States, and the first African American to do so. I wish him the very best, and hope he will succeed in turning things around in the United States.

I am enough of a cynic to worry this will not be possible, but enough of an optimist to continue to hope, and to be willing to help in my own ways--if you are interested in doing so, and live in the United States, facebook is a great place to start, as is http://change.gov, which is the website Obama's team has set up so you can link volunteer groups and other organizations together with volunteers. In short, Obama has tried to start putting his words in action. On this front, I can salute him quite happily.

Anyway, it's a new day, and I'm hopeful it will be a new era for the US. I may disagree with the actions of their government, and I don't doubt I shall continue to do so. However, I still very much admire the potential that they represent, as embodied in the argument of their declaration that all men and women, are created free and equal.

It's interesting to note that it was forty years ago, yesterday, that Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered. President Obama's inauguration cannot atone for that death. It does, however, represent the beginning of the realization of the goals Dr King once had: to see all people united in the realization of their common humanity, hopes, and dreams.

Here's to the end of the beginning of that dream. And here's to the hope that, in four or eight years' time, we can look back on this day and say that good things began here, and now.

Cheers,

Chris

Week One of Intensives, Birthdays

2009-01-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, Jen had her birthday on Thursday, January the 8th. We celebrated with a bottle of wine at home and watching some videos from www.ted.com, which was nice since we were both exhausted. While it may not sound like the most romantic of evenings, considering that we both had had an extra 9-15 hours of work this week (before factoring in our presence at the office yesterday--Saturday) we felt a large party that evening before having to get up for another 12 hour day was out of the question.

Why so much work? Well, we just finished week one of our Intensives, which is when all the Korean kids come into the Academy for more studying when they're on winter holiday. I have one poor kid who is also in my wife's class. She is in 6 Academies, including two classes at our school--mine and Jen's. Both of those classes are 3 hours a-piece, and she goes five days a week. Now imagine how much more work she has on top of this from her other Academies, and homework and... well, I don't blame her for being less exuberant than Jen describes her as being normally.

I can also understand how Korean kids hate vacation. I asked all of my kids what they planned to do for the January break, and the answer was, universally, study. The one or two who were going on trips were also, unsurprisingly, studying on the plane flight.

So, we took a break from that on Friday night for Chicken, Beer, and Noraebang. Exactly like it sounds, we went out to a Hof, which is basically a fried chicken and beer bar, and ate some stuff that will probably contribute to health issues in later life if I ate it everyday. It was, of course, utterly delicious.

The Noraebang was awesome, and we spent a good hour and a half belting out songs completely off-key, before heading to Pavox, a local bar, to have a few late night drinks. I think we've adapted well to the Korean style of partying: basically, all bloody night. While my headache the next morning was nothing to sneeze at, it was well worth it for bonding with our two new teachers, Paulina and Sionna, both from Bermuda, and for helping everybody unwind after a very long week.

Well, back at it in another twelve to sixteen hours.

Cheers, everybody,

Chris

A quiet night before the storm...

2009-01-05T04:25:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Suitably ominous, I hope? Like the rumblings of some distant twister or hurricane, bearing down on my thatch-roofed house in the tropics?

Well, sort of. We're starting Intensives this month, which basically translates into working from 9AM to 8PM every night. The reason for this switch is that Korean schools are out in January and August. The extra time away from Korean school translates into an opportunity to make our kids do *more* studying in the Hagwon system. Result: some of my kids are in a Monday-Wednesday-Friday 9AM course for three hours, and then in my Tuesday-Thursday class at 5PM for another 3 hours. I am lucky, in that I only have the tykes for the extra classes on Monday-Wednesday, but I can imagine this is a stresser on the kids.

It certainly leaves us exhausted.

We went to Seoul to meet Wong, a former ESL student of my wife, Jennifer, in Kingston, Ontario, at the Queen's University School of English. It was nice to meet him, in my case, and a great chance for Jen to see an old friend and student. He was a bit too generous, as he paid for drinks and dinner, but I hope to make up for this by buying the next round.

This may be a bit of a symptom of a Korean tendency to make friends with English teachers to improve their skills in the language, but even so, it provides a great opportunity to connect in this country. Especially if it can be parlayed into learning, in turn, about Korean culture!

We drank far too much, and then relaxed on Sunday with our colleauge, Oliver, before starting to roll with Intensives on Monday.

Yeagh! Talk about a lot of work. It's worth it, in the end, for overtime pay, but it'll be a long month!

Cheers,

Chris

Beijing, Xi'an, and the New Year

2008-12-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

(The Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven)

Hi all,

Wow, a lot happened in the last week. As I mentioned previously, Jennifer and I were set to hop on a plane on the 26th and go off to see China. We arrived at the airport at the painfully early time of 630 for our 930 flight, and got through customs without a hitch.

Why it is that they have "exit" customs in Korea in addition to entry customs is beyond me. I did enjoy the slight thrill of suddenly feeling that I was persona non grata, although this lasted about as far as the gate to the plane.

We were off to Beijing, darnit! We'd both wanted to see China forever, and since we were in Korea, it appeared to have been the best possible time. We arrived in Beijing, and were promptly whisked off by our tour guide, Bai Jing (Bar-jing, not to be confused with the city name) to see Tiananmen Square.

I should point out at this point that, yet, we were taking a guided tour. For those of you who don't know, Chinese "official" tours can be somewhat different from those in other countries. They are contractually obliged to take tourists to factories that make cloisonne, jade, silk, and so forth, where one is politely pressured into buying some things by the sales representatives.

This did not, in any way, spoil our trip. Both of our guides in Beijing and Xi'an did not seem overly enthused to be taking us to the factories, and were quite happy to let us linger in the various tourist sites as long as we both wanted.

Before it sounds like I'm criticizing China too much, here, I will say that I do understand where this is coming from, and that I wanted to get this one mildly negative point out of the way before proceeding to talk about and put up pictures from the best part of the trip:

WE WERE IN CHINA!!!

I can't express in simple words how very excited we both were to be here.

We got to Tiananmen, taking in the sights of the massive plaza. Built, originally, on the site of the first gate to the Forbidden City, and where the Emperor's officials addressed his people in the old Dynastic China, it was the location where Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, declared the creation of the People's Republic of China.

Those of you as old as I may also recall it as the site of a major demonstration, and ensuing massacre, in 1989. It was also the site of a series of other major events in Chinese history after the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, and it was one of those places to which I felt it necessary to go to pay some homage to history.

Flanked by the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China as well as the Department of Intelligence, it is quite clear who is in charge now. Mao's mausoleum rests opposite the front gate to the Forbidden City, where his portrait also famously hangs.

We ventured into the Forbidden City, enjoying the sites of the old Ming and Qing Dynasty palace. The palace goes on for literally a kilometre in almost every direction, and is well worth the visit. We enjoyed hearing our tour guide talk about the history, explain the significance of the lions and draconic imagery on the walls (most of the latter I knew about, but the lions I was less clear on), and thoroughly enjoyed his presence. Bai Jing was incredibly *happy* to be able to show people around his country's capital.

Before one thinks that I'm suggesting this was forced in some way by the government, let me make it clear that China is rather different than thirty years ago. There are still police on the streets, and the army is still present in places. But one can talk reasonably freely, and one can go about business normally in the country as long as one gets the right permits. While the state remains authoritarian, it is not as brutal as it was in the days of the Qing, nor as brutal as the early days of the 1900s or the era of the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward.

The result is that our tour guide was genuinely proud of how far China had come since the old days, and even more proud of the legacy of over two thousand years of history and civilization.

This is one thing that struck me, also, about China: this country is *old.* Don't get me wrong, Korea's old too, and so is the UK, which we saw last year... but China dwarfs them in its history. Things still stand here that were built over two thousand years ago, such as the Great Wall or the Terracotta Army.

In Canada, most things are considered old if they're over the hundred year mark. Here, that sort of thing is just starting to be considered teenaged in comparison to the landmarks.

We moved on from the City into the rest of Beijing, dropping in to a restaurant for dumplings (yum!) and Peking Duck for dinner.

I have to say, Peking Duck is simply awesome. It totally made up for not having turkey for Christmas. While generally, I don't much care one way or the other for Chinese food (I prefer Korean and Japanese, of the Big Three Asian countries) due to the amount of salt and oil, I was happy with the food we were served throughout our trip. No stomach issues this vacation!

Anyway, we wound up our first day with an acrobatics show that was quite cool, before trundling over to the hotel to catch some sleep.

We went out to the Temple of Heaven the next morning, as well as the Ming Dynasty Tombs. Again, the sense of age and the weight of that antiquity is easy to feel like a physical presence in these places. These graves are not as old as the tombs in Kyongju, Korea, but they feel just as magnificent with their size and grandeur.

We visited a few other sites throughout the day, like the Bird's Nest stadium, and the usual factories, before going up to see the Great Wall.

Now this was worth the price of admission. While I am aware that some parts of the Wall are crumbling (particularly those areas out in areas that are less tourist friendly like the desert), the Wall is still spectacular, especially for something going on 2,200 years old. I hope I look that good after so long!

We climbed up the wall, and, while Jen waited at one battlement, I went up to the top of the mountain on the wall to check out the scenery. Jen's always wanted to see the Stone Army, but for me, the primary appeal of China has always been the Wall and the Tiananmen Square.

They did not disappoint.

We visited one of the old Hutongs in Beijing, basically, Mongol-era (Yuan Dynasty) buildings designed for a whole family to live in together. We finished our last day in Beijing in the big shopping district near the Square, and bought some books--I've wanted a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms for, well, ever, and any copies I've seen in Canada have only included one of the three volumes. Happy camper, I was.

We also bought *way* too much tea, but c'mon, this is something we'll actually use!

We went out to Xi'an, formerly the old capital city of Chang'an, the next day. Compared to Beijing, Xi'an is rather old-looking, but in a very different way. Beijing has ancient structures, and a sense of power to match its age... Xi'an has many buildings that are half-finished, crumbling, or simply weathered by time. In short, Xi'an has not survived as well as Beijing's relics have, and this may be a sign of the disparity between the rich cities of China, like Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau, and the rest of the interior of the country.

That said, Xi'an did not disappoint: we took in the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of a unified China (not counting the more feudal-style Zhou Dynasty that preceeded him). The tomb is a massive mound of earth, trees, and stone, which reminded me very much of the similar structures in Kyongju back home in Korea--and, whoa, I just admitted how much Korea feels like a good home... neat! Also similar are the old dolmens in Salisbury, England, the pyramids of Egypt and the Sudan, and others scattered around the world. It's neat to see the relative commonality of that practice.

We also, of course, saw the Terracotta Stone Army. That was another area well worth the price of admission, as it were. Amazing. Statues that have, despite fires and looting, survived the ages in such form that they can be rebuilt and returned to their original positions... amazing. We toured the facility, checking out all the statues, and retired to a theatre/restaurant to take in a show done Tang-Dynasty style.

We returned to Korea the next day happy, having also walked (biked in my case) around the Chang'an city wall. That bike tour of the wall made me feel like it showed me more of China than many other parts of the tour--inside the wall, old Xi'an is generally poor, and older-style buildings clump together amidst constant demolition and construction work. Outside the wall, modern, gleaming skyscrapers claw at the sky, hazy with the pollution of 7 million people.

China is ancient, and struggling to take advantage of its newly-regained power and strength. It is modern, and yet burdened with history's mistakes. China is on the cusp of being the next great superpower, and I am not sure what direction it will chose to take with such power.

It is such a paradox, and I am deeply moved to have been able to have seen it up close.

-----

New Year's Day in Korea.

For those of you reading this at first publication of the post, it should be about 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time, back home in Toronto and Timmins and Waterloo (our three-point home towns in Ontario). We've just woken up about two hours ago from our naps after going out to a Noraebang and bar for New Year's Eve with a friend, Roger Lam, one of our fellow teachers at our school.

The Noraebang, as you may recall, is the Korean version of Karaoke, where one gathers with a few friends in a small room with some awesome sound systems to bellow out tunes in a semi-drunken or just loud voice while random clips play on TV to accompany the words of the song. It's always a blast, and Roger was great company.

We went from there to Pavox, a local bar, where the bartenders put on a show (think like the movie Coyote Ugly, here). It's a fun place, and it was nice to ring in the new year with friends.

2008 has been a wild year... I never suspected for a moment, last year, that I'd be in Korea at this time. I think that's true of most people, but I was expecting to go on to PhD (a program I am growing uncertain of as time wears on), or to be working somewhere in the NGO field back home in Canada.

How things change, neh? We've seen a new President come, and we've seen things here in Korea almost change entirely, with Kim Jong-Il's illness. We've seen the Iraq War get better, and get worse. We've seen a New Great Depression loom, and the first knells of what may be the change from a unipolar world, where the US dominates, to one of many poles of power, like China/Japan, Europe, the US, and Russia.

Who knows what this year will bring? I hope we will continue moving onward and upward, and resist the urge to fall back into petty squabbling when we need unity on so many issues.

I continue to have hope, which is, I suppose, the whole point of the New Year.

Best regards, Chris

PS: I've linked to Jen's facebook profile, where she's got all of our pictures stored from the trip--with commentary from both of us, of course!

Forbidden City, Arrival

Cloisonne Factory, Ming Tombs

Jade Factory, Great Wall

Hutong, Temple of Heaven

City of Beijing, Summer Palace, Leaving for Xi'an

Xi'an: Qin's tomb, Hot Springs

Xi'an, Stone Army

Dinner and a Show

City Wall, Chang'an, and Departure

Merry Christmas from Korea

2008-12-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

Well, that's that!

We're done for December, and taking a well-deserved break until January 2nd. We had to fight a bit to have as much time off as we got, but we're pleased with the results.

(Meandering about for dinner)

The office also threw a nice little Christmas/Secret Santa party. We started out with Pizza and Chicken (how Christmassy!) and, even, to my delight, some pie. It ain't Christmas without Apple Pie or Cobbler in my family, so even the addition of the walnut pie we had last night was awesome. It made us feel at home.

(Happily munching away!)

There were some really neat surprises with the Secret Santa--one of our coworkers basically made a DVD with a whole bunch of photos and music on it, some of the photos being, of course, embarrassing.

Since they were playing some really nifty Ella Fitzgerald and other swing-style tunes, Jen and I got up to Jitterbug a little:

(Charleston-style, and Swinging Out)

It was nice to celebrate Christmas with the kids, too. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures with them, but they all *freaked* right out when I walked in with Rupolph antler's and a red clown nose on. It made them laugh, and helped them remember that half the point of being in my class is fun.

Of course, the other half is working, so we did have to do some things. But I managed to get a few of my classes singing Christmas Carols, in English: both the real and the goofy version of Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty, were all prominent.

Most of my kids were rather zany, due to it being two days to Christmas. I still find it aggravating when they essentially *demand* a pizza party from me, which results in them not getting said pizza party. They still get presents from me, and we play enough games as is.

That said, I've had a blast teaching these kids, and I know most of them are going to changing teachers next month. I'm going to miss a lot of them, and I hope I've left them better for having been in my class.

Well, we're off to get some bread and supplies for Christmas Eve dinner!

Have a Happy Holidays from me and Jen!

Chris

Report Cards... Fun...

2008-12-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, it's that time of the month.

Report cards are due tomorrow night, for my Tuesday and Thursday night classes, and tonight for my Monday-Wednesday-Friday kids. I've done all but two of the latter, while I'm waiting on them, and the 7PM class to finish some essays. Unfortunately, I don't know that I should expect them to actually do this, but I'd like to give my kids the benefit of the doubt.

This week has been largely uneventful--we stayed in this weekend due to some sickness and a case of the blahs. It's almost Christmas, and, of course, we're not anywhere near home. Now, don't get me wrong, Jen and I really love Korea. We enjoy working with our kids, and our team of counsellors at our hagwon. We enjoy the country itself, the food, the climate, the people, etc. Unfortunately, it's not the same as being at home, having turkey and mashed potatoes with one's family after going caroling.

That said, I was pleased to see some carolers doing exactly that on Yeongtong street, near our house. What was really sweet about it was the elderly gentleman who offered me a balloon and wished us both a Happy Christmas in perfect English. The spirit of the season, I suppose.

I admit, as I have done before, that I'm not overly religious. I practice my faith quietly, and personally. I am still pleased to feel a sense of kindness in the midst of winter from strangers. To those of you celebrating Christmas or Chanukah away from your own families, may you have peace and fellowship.

After all, we're all here together.

Now, back to these darn report cards.

Happy Holidays, everyone,

Chris

--PS: Back on Tuesday with a follow-up to the office Christmas Party, and then Jen and I are off to Beijing on the 26th to do some touring. Should be a blast!

Everland Redux

2008-12-09T03:01:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

We ventured back to Everland on Tuesday, as the teaching staff had the day off due to some scheduling issues (we're ahead in one or two classes, schedule wise, so they had to move things around).

We got there at 9:30 AM, and found the park, essentially, dead. There were some poor staff workers who got stuck with the skeleton crew shift, and one or two other clusters of people walking through the fog. I seriously expected zombies or something to burst out from nowhere and start attacking us for lacking enough Christmas Charm. It was something out of a creepy horror film.

The Holiday music blasting at full tilt only reinforced this. We've gotten used to a lack of political correctness, here. It was interesting to hear nothing but Christian Christmas music blaring on the radio after every other song (of the "Jingle Bells" variety). Back home, Disneyland would get sued if they played that, either for not being inclusive enough (i.e., have Channukah and similar music) or for including any religion's music (i.e., get rid of it all). I kind of liked it, actually--I haven't heard Christmas tunes at a theme park since I was quite small.

We got to the T-Xpress in about fifteen minutes. One might recall, from before, that this ride cost us four hours of waiting and several rain delays last time we went to the park. Well, not today (sorry, Dave!). We rode the T-Xpress twice in five minutes in the morning, wandered around the area, got on a lion safari ride, and then walked up to get some lunch and go on all the other rides.

We were done with all the big rides by four o'clock, so we wandered down to an artificial ice rink to skate for a while. I haven't skated for a long time, but I had a lot of fun--the girls (Jen, Sarah, and Amber) sat out and had hot chocolate while I enticed Korean kids to try and chase me around the rink. Lots of fun.

We went on the T-Xpress one more time (waiting for a whopping ten minutes, oh, horror!), and then went back home to nap.

I'll endeavour to edit this with pictures as soon as I can--my camera's currently on the fritz/needs batteries.

Cheers,

Chris

Birthdays

2008-12-07T01:25:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

While I'm not exactly taking a pause, here, or anything (as this post demonstrates), my comment this week shall be brief. December 7th is my birthday, so Jen and I went into Seoul to dance, to the Boogie Woogie Swing Club.

We weren't impressed. We met with a friend from the Big Apple club in Gangnam, ate Tacos and Burritos for dinner, and went to the club, to find it emptying of all the Beginners within about fifteen minutes. Dim the music, turn up the lights, everybody out, the whole nine yards. While this does happen in some clubs, its usually not a good sign.

Newbies, like us, are usually also grabbed quickly for a dance. We weren't. Another bad sign.

The music stayed tepidly slow, a final bad sign. We left after an hour--my ribs and lats are hurting from Tae Kwon Do, but combined with the rather poor scene, we didn't want to stay any longer.

Tonight was nicer--Jen and I went out for tuna, served raw and frozen, along with miso, sashimi, and juk (porridge). All and all, it was quite nice, if a bit cold for the season. I'd been craving proper sushi for months, so this was a bit of a treat for my birthday.

Other than that, we're hanging around at home tonight with some friends for games of Settlers of Catan, some soju, and general R&R.

More from this week, as we return to Everland on Tuesday--expect some pictures from that on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Cheers,

Chris

Prorogue

2008-12-04T16:52:00.001-08:00

What exactly is Prorogue? It's when the Parliament is suspended by the Head of State (usually a King or Queen, but in Canada's case, the Governor General) in a Parliamentary Democracy or Constitutional Monarchy. This is exactly what happened today in Canada.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper convinced the Governor General, Michaelle Jean, to close the doors of Parliament until the next big Confidence Motion occurs. For those unfamiliar with Canada's political system, major pieces of law, such as the budget, the speech from the throne, and so forth, are subject votes of Confidence in the House of Parliament. Usually, in a majority, these easily pass unless the Prime Minister has managed to alienate his entire party.

In a minority Parliament, like that which we have right now, the danger occurs that every single one of these votes is a potential time bomb for the ruling party. Any major vote could single that the ruling party lacks the Confidence of the House, and thus, either another party must try to form a government (usually with a Coalition, as has happened here), or a new election must occur.

Proroguing Parliament right before a Confidence Motion as has happened here is unprecedented. Stephane Dion, with whom I very much disagree, happened to say it right, here: our Prime Minister is running away from the Parliament.

Considering that the major issue that Harper's been trying to impress upon Canadian voters, with an advertising blitz worthy of World War Two-era propaganda, is that we should fix the economy and help avert an economic crisis, this choice is sheer hypocrisy and an utter failure on the part of Harper's government to negotiate with the other parties. Doing so is not only expected but necessary in a minority government. If one cannot do this, than one shouldn't be governing.

If Harper is as deeply concerned about the economy as he suggests, why has he: A) not included a deeper series of economic aids in the budget, rather than putting up a law that his own Budget Office said would contract the economy further; and B) decided to effectively cancel government for a month in the midst of the biggest recession to hit the global economy since 1929?

I'm exceptionally angry about this decision, since it sets a bad precedent: whenever there's a problem with the ruling party, they do not have to face the wrath of the Parliament or the vote of the people. Our Parliamentary democracy rests on the principle that a government that cannot command the confidence of the majority of the House must fall, and either be replaced or else be subject to new elections to try and resolve the issue.

This decision suggests that the ruling party of Canada can essentially preserve its own power at the expense of the voting population once it fails a Confidence Motion. This is exceptionally dangerous, as it would allow later governments to do the same to preserve power even in the face of opposition. It says that they can just dodge a confidence motion and extend their run in power.

One might expect this from, say, Robert Mugabe, or from some rogue state, but not a developed, modern, western democracy.

Simply put, this was the worst possible option the PM and the governor general could take.

Best regards,

Chris

Canada

2008-12-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well, this is a bit odd. Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is facing a revolt in Parliament.

Harper and the Conservatives tabled an economic update, which the Opposition Liberals, New Democratic Party, and Bloc Quebecois all absolutely hated. The reason, they say, is that it does nothing to stimulate the economy. There appears to be some proof to this, according to the Budget Office in Canada.

So, what to do? The Opposition has signed a document which would, in effect, create a Coalition government led by the Liberal Party. This hasn't happened since the 1920s, with the King-Byng affair. In that case, the result was a majority for Mackenzie King, the ousted PM at the time. So it is entirely plausible that Harper might let this happen. He could, after all, wind up with a majority if the other parties foul up completely.

Then again, it could also go the other way. The Liberals, once they get their new leader in place, could come across very well. Ditto the NDP, which has been making a lot of inroads and gaining support in the past few elections. There are accusations from the Conservatives that the big two in the Coalition are betraying Canada by allying themselves with the Bloc, which Harper calls Separatist. Nevermind that the Bloc these days tend to demand sovereignty and greater control internally in Quebec over separatism, but the Tories did the same thing to the Martin Liberal minority government a few years ago!

I for one am curious to see how this will go forwards. I don't want another election, or a Constitutional crisis, in the midst of a global depression. The best thing, I would think, would be for Harper to consult with the other parties and cut a deal on the update--to try and find some wiggle room to make a better law and maybe help stimulate the economy, instead of running us into record deficits, as has been commented here earlier.

Of course, Harper has shown less and less likelihood of doing this. He may be playing this sort of game in the hope he can spin it and win a majority. Of course, then, his real agenda may emerge--so far, he's been toning down some of the neo-Conservative rhetoric, although his accusations of "socialism" directed at the Social Democratic NDP is telling.

What happens next is anyone's guess. I like the idea of a Coalition trying to get things done--its what would happen in a Proportional Representation system, which is my personal preference (and is what has happened in countries around the world!).

Let the Coalition try, if Harper is too stubborn to play ball. Let's see if these other folks can run the government better. If they can, great--more proof that Harper's style of leadership is incompatible with current Canadian politics and with Canadians. If not, then it'll lead to an election anyway, which is exactly what Harper's facing if he is unwilling to work with others.

--Chris

It Don't Mean a Thing...

2008-11-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

So Jennifer and I went to Seoul this weekend--I know, we've been going there a lot lately, but it is the heart and soul (groan) of the country. We had heard that Seoul had a great Swing dance scene, but we were more than a little surprised to see how big that scene was once we got into town. Jen went ahead early to secure our Chinese visas so that we could visit there in December, and I came into town a bit later with our shoes.

We got to the Big Apple, on the outskirts of Seoul at Bangbae station. The station was a bit creepy actually, since there was a town of exposed vents and walls--apparently, they were cleaning out Asbestos (yikes!). Anyway, we trumped up the hill to the dance hall. There, we discovered that Korean swing involves especially big dance rooms and great floors. No, seriously, it was equal to the size of the new Cat's Corner back home in Montreal, and they've got a pretty huge floor, too!

The Korean dancers were quite something, and it was a bit intimidating at first for us--we didn't know if it was kosher to just walk up and grab a partner for a dance like back home. It was after Jen and I, as well as Rebecca, another dancer from North America who had just recently arrived in Korea, started dancing together that *we* got grabbed for dances by some rather friendly Koreans. More than half of them spoke very good English, too, so it was easy to communicate, and our Korean, while terrible, is good enough to enable us to ask the other person's name and if they wouldn't mind us cutting in.

All told, it was a lot of fun, and we're likely to do it again this weekend.

We also got together for a big US Thanksgiving get-together with our co-workers in Suwon. We bought chicken, since there wasn't any turkey on hand, and others brought lasagna, pasta, chili, and a ton of dessert. Jen also made Candy Apples, which went over well--I'm still cleaning the sugar from my teeth, though.

It was, overall, a bit of an up-and-down week. It started out with an odd Monday night, when Sumi, Ashley, and myself went out to Tae Kwon Do after class, and witnessed our Korean Dojang instructors arguing over who had to teach the foreigners. The regular instructor, Master Cha, wasn't there, and I'm aware that it's embarrassing trying to teach someone if they don't speak your language and vice versa, but still--I've had to teach Spanish, Korean, and other non-English speakers back home in Canada. I may moan about it on occasion, but never *in front of* the students in question.

Oh well. We had some student issues this week, too: several of my kids left due to the financial crisis and its effects on their families, while others migrated to other schools or are just taking December off. It's unfortunate, because if they choose to return in January, they're going to have missed a month's worth of work, especially in classes where we're teaching out of a grammar book. That's a lot of data to lose, and if you can't use verbs properly to begin with...

I understand the Korean desire to learn and use English, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's helpful for some of my kids. Well, that's not true, I've wondered about this for a long time, but you get the point: if a child does not want to learn English, but is being forced to, why is the child's parents forcing them to do it and spend money that could be put elsewhere into an education that child does not want or sometimes need? Don't get me wrong, I want as many kids in my class as I can, that's how I stay employed! But still, I know I've got one student or two who want to go to an art hagwon instead. Let 'em. I'll even subtly encourage her--I don't demand she put away her art book in class, since I know that's what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

I digress.

If you're reading all this and want to find a Swing spot for yourself, check out the link I put up above for the Big Apple. There's about 12-14 other spots in Seoul, and apparently, more in Busan in Suwon, if you can find them. Key word, there: it's a bit like an in-crowd, so if you don't know where to go in those cities, you have to find the right people to ask, which is a bit of a challenge.

The other option is to check out a meet-up group, like this one , or facebook.

We did, and it worked out fine.

Best regards,

Chris

Seoul Soul, Insadong Style

2008-11-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Jennifer and I decided to join fellow teachers Ashley, Sarah, Amber, and Sumi to head into Seoul this weekend and hit Insadong. Regrettably, Jen and I didn't manage to get in to Xanadu Travel in Itaewon, to process our Chinese entrance visas for our December trip, so we'll have to go again next week. Oh well.

Still, it was quite fun to go into what is essentially an entire street devoted to arts and crafts in the bustling heart of Seoul. Insadong is rather interesting: at the extreme north end of Insadong-gil, you have a series of old palaces and temples built by the Joseon kings. At the south end is the recently restored canal, of which I have spoken before.

We wandered about, collecting knickknacks and postcards. Jen picked up a pair of KimChi pots, in miniature. Our coworkers like to joke that we both have rather odd obsessions: I love architecture, and so love dragging people to see things like Hwaseong or the palaces and the like. Jen likes Kimchi. More accurately, she really likes the Kimchi pots.

We dropped in to the only Starbucks in the world that doesn't use the Roman alphabet, and more particularly, English, on its sign. The front door literally has Hangeul-ization of Starbucks (Seu-tah-buk-seu) on it. Ironically, inside, the signage is still half-English and half-Korean. The Christmas blend remains the same.

We also ventured around into various little arts stores to look at craftwork and things. It's a bit sad that a lot of what someone might think are neat little originals are also on sale at the discount stores halfway down the street. Mass production of touristy things must be going on at breakneck pace behind the scenes.

Still, it is interesting to note how much human beings love to shop. It doesn't much matter what culture one is from, we still end up going to markets and browsing. I was struck by the similarities in this when I bumped into a few Korean couples haggling over prices over the same set of bow and arrows I picked up (suction cup tips and all) from a street vendor, by the group of elderly women all hamming it up for a photograph (flashing the peace sign and all), and by the sheer number of people doing the same thing as us: happily browsing away.

Homo oeconomicus? Hardly. But we do really love our shopping.

Cheers,

Chris

Our Long-Awaited Return Trek to Hwaseong

2008-11-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

(Guard in historical uniform at left, view of the Haenggung, or Palace, at right, from above)

Hi all,

As some of you may recall from an earlier post, Ashley, Sarah, and I had tried to get out to see Hwaseong back in September but couldn't because of rain. Ashley and Sarah had never been, the former due to her being a recent arrival like myself, while Sarah hasn't had time to come out to see the fortress and walls since she's a busy as all get out.

(The Front Gates to Hwaseong Palace)

Well, I'm pleased to say that we made it, at long last! We got up early, went out at 11AM to downtown Suwon, and to Hwaseong Haenggung (Hain-Gung). We took a tour around the palace grounds for a good hour and a bit. The Palace, built at the same time as the fortress back in the late 1700s, was a "temporary" palace, meaning that it was used by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, as he was travelling through the Suwon region.

One suspects, from the grandeur of the buildings and the size of the place, that it was, as the signs suggested, intended as a more permanent retirement palace for the King. We puttered about the main entrance and the gardens in the back, before catching sight of a massive golden Buddha statue, which we decided to head towards. However, we decided to wait until we could snap off some pictures with the guards, dressed in appropriate clothing for the time, as seen above and here, below.

(The Audience Chamber of the King, Left; Guards preparing for a martial arts demonstration at the main gates, Right)

We made our way around to the Buddhist statue and temple, and snapped off a few pictures. As the temple is currently active, for obvious reasons, no pictures were allowed inside. I ventured in to pause, meditate, and pray for a moment. Again, like in Bulguksa, I was struck by the peaceful nature of the temple, and how, despite differences in doctrine, the human condition has a common denominator in our pursuit of and attempts to comprehend the spiritual.

(Buddhist statue, about 5m tall)

At any rate, we then marched up the mountain to the Western end of the wall. As you might recall, we had already hit the East end previously. Well, that is, Jen, myself, Oliver, and Daniel had done so. This time however, I was determined to get to the top of the Paldal mountain, and, after one heck of a climb, we made it up.

(In the words of so many children: "Are we there yet?" Nope. Not yet)

The view from the top of the wall was well worth the climb. We were met at the top by a rather boisterous crowd of American tourists, several of whom were drinking as they walked. Aside from the obvious difficulty involved in trying to combine heavy hiking and exercise with beer, I was also struck by the fact that this was slightly obnoxious and disrespectful to the surroundings we were walking around upon.

Still. The view, and the company of Ashley and Sarah, made the trip quite worthwhile. We decided to rest up a bit at the top of the mountain. I admit I did a fair bit of trotting around to snap some more pictures, including this, below:

(Command Post, Western Wall, View of Suwon from above, at right)

We ventured further West and started climbing back down, before heading in to Paldalmun, the Southern Gate district, and shopping for a bit in the crowded urban market there.

Quite worthwhile, overall. As always, the architecture and surroundings here are quite something. Whereas in Europe, a castle might be built on a plain, or built into the side of a mountain, here, with all the mountains around the city, the Korean King just up and built the wall around the entire town, mountain and all. It's an impressive feat of engineering, and it was a rather good hike to take it all in.

More news as it comes!

Chris

Congratulations, Mr President

2008-11-04T20:27:00.001-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, it's finally over. Barack Obama has won well over the necessary 270 votes required in the electoral college to become the 44th President of the United States.

Congratulations, sir. To Senator McCain, equal congratulations are due for fighting so hard to win. I do not agree with some of the tactics of either side, and I continue to hold my breath in hope that Obama will live up to his rhetoric in practice, but the long war is over.

McCain, in his concession speech, said it very well: it's time to try and work together to fix the problems the US, and the world, face.

The election remains historic: one of my favourite moments was watching the Rev. Jesse Jackson break down into tears when he heard the news that an African American, at long last, was elected to the highest office in the land. While it is going to take more than just four years in office to turn things around, I hope, now, that this is a sign that the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., are at last coming true. He did not live to see the day when all people within the United States might hold hands together and declare they were one nation, and that all men and women had the same opportunities to live the life they chose for themselves, in truth as well as in the letter of the law... but he set us on the path that Obama now walks.

Congratulations, Mr President. Do us all proud.

Chris

Keeping up with the Vote

2008-11-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here's where you can keep up to date, if you're still watching the election:

the BBC has rather good coverage of the election, if a bit biased towards Obama (I recall one opinionist on the show so far calling Palin a 'ludicrous' choice);

CNN, while good, doesn't stream video to South Korea, or, at least, I can't get it to work, but their coverage is good, here;

There's also MSNBC;

And, for the other side's perspective, there's always Fox News. Interestingly, at the time of this post (about 5 to 10PM, or 11:55 AM here in Suwon), the map they show is neither Red nor Blue, unlike the rest. Instead, you have to mouse over each state to see the results.

One suspects, for Fox, this is an admission of defeat, but it is still not over.

I have essays to grade, but I'm sitting around and watching an election. Oh well, it only happens once every four years.

Kind of like the World Cup, except there's less drinking.

Chris

Here We Go...

2008-11-04T07:07:00.001-08:00

Well, the election has started, folks.

The first two cities to hold elections, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, went for Obama, but the voting only just started. I'm still in Korea, which means for us, it's 12:13 AM as I type this, Wednesday morning. It's just past 10 AM, Tuesday morning, in Toronto, or New York, or Florida.

Which means polls have opened, or are opening, and the first votes are being cast. I read one blog mentioning how this election feels for some like an exorcism. Particularly, an exorcism of a "regime," that of Bush-Cheney. The blogger, Gavin Hewett of the BBC, mentions that word as if it suggests illegitimacy.

Perhaps that's true, but I cannot recall so many elections in the past that have been or, at least, seemed, so important. Yes, I know, I myself once wrote with concern about Obama. I worried then, and I worry now, that he might turn out to be a Democrat in the manner of JFK, or Clinton, who, while popular, and given a kind of glowing review by liberals, often acted in ways that were similar to Republicans. Kennedy's examples include the Vietnam War, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, while Clinton can be thanked for the bombing of Kosovo and other issues. Let's not forget that it was Clinton who deregulated everything in the markets, leading to our current crisis after so much growth: Bush just wanted to do more deregulating.

So, I'm still worried. However, I cannot honestly recall a more exciting campaign, or one in which I felt genuinely hopeful of the outcome. It feels, unlike 2004, or 1996, like it did in 2000, but for the opposite reasons. Then, I think, a lot of us were just worried about a Bush Presidency. Now, eight years later, we know the cost of such poor decision-making. We have, as Hewett puts it, a chance to set things right.

Or, more accurately, the American people do.

We'll see.

Chris

A Week in a Love Motel and a Match

2008-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

(Suwon fans going nuts after a goal, or just in general. At right, the circular love motel bed)

Hi all,

Jen and I moved into a love motel for this past week, c/o of our employers. This was due to a bit of a scheduling issue, where we were supposed to move into fellow teachers Dave and Steph's apartment, and new teacher Sumi was to move into our old apartment, but... well, it got complicated. It highlighted, for me, something about the Korean mindset that, while not making me angry, certainly contrasts with the Canadian mindset.

Hence the trouble we had with our move. Steph and Dave both became deeply frustrated, as did Sumi and her friend Sarah (with whom she was staying until we moved out), because it seemed like everybody was sitting on their hands until someone forces the issue. Again, this is just me, a complete outsider, looking in on the situation. For all that I know, it may simply have been a busy week. But we ended up having to figure out the move largely as it happened, with Jen and I finally suggesting that we be put up in a hotel so we could give everyone the space they needed to move about, pack, and so forth.

A similar issue happened with vacation for Christmas. We were informed a few weeks ago that we'd not have December 23rd and 24th off. The problem with this is partly the date--it takes a full day of travel to get home to Canada or the US or wherever home is for people. Unfortunately, people were angry, and it took a lot of back and forth to sort it out.

Perhaps this is part of the culture. Indeed, I can entirely understand the request from management to respect the culture we are living in. We have nothing but the highest regard for Korean culture, both for its unique heights and the few queer foibles and flaws we come across. They're certainly tolerant of our occasional miscomprehension. A certain degree of accomodation both ways would go quite a long way, however. I agree entirely with the reasoning behind the move to limit vacation. I had hoped the whole issue would be resolved earlier. There is also the Western tendency towards negotiation between management and labour which is non-existent in Korea. However, that is a discussion for another time.

I have deep respect for my colleagues, and the Korean staff with whom I work. I enjoy getting together with them to talk and have fun, and I enjoy working with them, overall. One or two little issues are not going to ruin our time here in Korea. Still, it is odd to note the differences, especially since it sparks major conflict at times.

Indeed, our colleagues are easily able to put together parties, handle sudden changes in schedule, and can handle a lot of troubles that would leave a Westerner floundering. We don't handle sudden changes as well, and I guarantee that we couldn't put together a trip or a schedule as fast as our Korean coworkers could.

So there's benefits and drawbacks.

I also try to avoid chatting about work conflicts on this blog, but sometimes, the issues are large enough to frustrate me, and to make me want to record them for posterity and later consideration.

Anyway, we went from the motel to our new pad, which is well-appointed and spacious. On Saturday, we took in a Suwon Bluewings football match (sorry, SOCCER, for those who think of the NFL when I talk about footie). The 'Wings annihilated Chunnam 3-0. I also picked up a nice, new, Suwon scarf to wear about and to make my allegiance clear.

(The Bluewings line up for a last-minute pep talk before Kick-Off, the new scarf)

On Sunday, we said goodbye to Dave and Steph, who are off to Thailand and all points West. Lucky ducks. We're down to about 5 degress Celcius, here, while they're going to be sipping daiquiris in paradise for a few weeks.

They've earned it.

Best regards,

Chris

PS: Two days left in the American Election. Suffice it to say, I'll be hunched over a computer monitor watching the BBC's coverage of the vote in depth on Tuesday evening.

Disneyland... In Korea

2008-10-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

(Conan the Barbarian meets Pumpkin King meets Cute Racoon Hat. Priceless)

Hi all,

Disneyland in Korea, you ask? But isn't that in California?

Well, not exactly. This weekend, we decided to have a little fun instead of just grade papers or do too much serious touring like our DMZ trip, and went up to Everland on Saturday. Everland, a theme park/zoo/fun place is located just about 20 minutes away from us here in Yeongtong, Suwon. We took a 30$ cab ride out to the front gates and waited for the rest of our group--there were 7 or so of us-- to catch up.

(The Front Entrance to Everland)

Then, we entered the front gates.

If this doesn't look like Disney to you, I don't know what does. We strolled through the equivalent to Main Street USA, Korean style, browsing through some gift shops as we headed towards, of course, the chief attraction in any amusement park: the roller coasters.

(Jennifer, at right, on the Columbus Boat Ride. This was taken in mid-swing)

Jennifer, I should add, has not been on a coaster since she was very young, and has avoided them like the plague for a good couple of years. We provided the necessary peer pressure, and yes, that is Jen screaming in the picture above, while on the Columbus swinging-boat ride.

Suffice it to say, much fun was had by all, throughout.

The only down side was some rain that hit us mid-afternoon. We had gotten in line for the T-Express, a monster of a wooden roller coaster with a ridiculous 75-degree vertical incline on the first drop. Apparently, seatbelts are mandatory due to said wall of straight-down screaming insanity and fun. Unfortunately, after waiting for 2 hours, the line was told to vacate due to rain, and we had to rejoin the line at the beginning.

While we don't mind this so much, when it happened the *second* time, we were pissed. Two of our group, Oliver, and Daniel, being cold and frustrated, decided to head back to town. We understood where they were coming from, but decided to go and have a beer or two while waiting for the rain to slow down enough for us to go on some more rides.

(The Hallowe'en Central Plaza)

We did finally get on two more big rides, the Rolling X-Press, which is basically the Bat or the Dragon's Fyre from Canada's Wonderland, and then the mighty T-Express itself. It was, suffice it to say, well worth the wait. The first drop is quite the plunge, while the rest of the ride has some serious G-Forces behind it. It was rather fun, since I could tell exactly when Jen would scream, and because I was joining right in with her. My mother, I suspect, would be hoarse by the end of such an adventure.

(Interior of the Global Village Ride)

While there, we also ventured into a little ride called "Global Village." If anyone has ever been to Ye Olde Disneyland, one might recall the "It's a Small World, After All" ride. This modern torture device of the Inquisition projects stereotypes of the rest of the world for all to see, while a gratuitously cheerful song (the eponymous "Small World") is warbled by puppets for an agonizing five minutes.

The Koreans get you for 10. And the song is actually catchy. The ethnic stereotypes remain intact.

It's funny. We wouldn't mind that, or the lack of service on the T-Express, but I definitely do notice the disorganization present in Korean culture as opposed to Canadian. Don't get me wrong, we're as guilty of doing things on the fly and out of control as any, but the general rule in Canada is to plan things out a couple of weeks in advance, or at least have some plan in place for emergencies. Take the T-Express, for example. In Canada, getting rained out when you were literally about to get on the ride results, usually, in getting a pass to jump the line at some later point.

In Korea, you get to do it all over again and pray the rain won't come back.

In Canada, moving is set up quite some time in advance. In Korea, we had to wait until the last minute until the Korean staff at our Hagwon realized that it might be good to figure out how we were supposed to move from our small, temporary apartment to the one large enough for couples.

Oh, and they hadn't been able to figure out what to do with the couple living there already. Jen and I both felt awful for Stephanie and Dave (the latter one of our companions to Everland), and for Sumi, who was taking our place. All three must have felt like they were getting short shrift as a result of said disorganization.

Anyway, complaining over. We thoroughly enjoyed Everland, and we're very much enjoying the hotel we've been temporarily assigned to by our academy. It even has a jacuzzi tub, which, I think, after a hard night of teaching and Tae Kwon Do, I am going to go make use of.

G'night!

Chris

To the Front Lines at the DMZ

2008-10-19T17:00:00.001-07:00

(Left: From left to right, Sumi, Oliver, Stephanie, Sarah, Ashley, Daniel, Jennifer and Chris, and David)
(Right: Sculpture symbolizing the splitting of the world, and Korea, between Democrat and Communist, and the effort to find unity again)

Hi all,

Jennifer and I, along with fellow teachers Oliver, Stephanie, Dave, Daniel, Sarah, Ashley, and Sumi, just got back from a trip out to the Demilitarized Zone (the DMZ) between the two Koreas. Located about an hour-and-a-half away from Seoul, due North, the DMZ is apparently the most heavily-mined section of the Earth's surface. Established in 1953 after the end of the Korean War, the DMZ exists to provide breathing room and space between the two former combatants.

Technically, and frighteningly, they're still technically current combatants, as the war has never officially ended, and the two countries continue to snipe at each other occasionally, both verbally and physically.

(The entrance to Paju city, the last place we were allowed to take pictures aboard the bus from)

(The wall at the South Korean end of Freedom Bridge, blocked up since it leads directly into North Korea)

We boarded a bus in Seoul at the Express Terminal, and travelled up to the edge of the DMZ at Paju City. There, we took a quick stretch with our tourmates while our guide processed our passports with the military authorities, and we puttered around the Freedom Bridge, and the Paju ginseng festival. The former was the site of the last POW transfer at the end of the Korean War, while the latter contained a whole bunch of Korean food, ginseng, and festivity.

(A photo of a photo of the 3rd Tunnel, since we're not actually allowed to take pictures inside the Tunnel itself)

Contrasting this, of course, is the DMZ itself. We arrived at the Third Tunnel tourist area, the site where the third of four known infiltration tunnels built by the North Koreans was discovered. These tunnels were designed to sneak a Northern army past the DMZ and thus past the South's observation forces, and to get the Northern army as close to Seoul as possible.

Thankfully, all four were discovered long before they could threaten Seoul itself, although the South suspects that as many as twenty more may have been built but abandoned. The North, of course, protested that these were in fact built by the South, but the direction of the tunnel, the blast marks, and everything else suggest otherwise. What's really weird, though, and indeed, almost surreal, about the DMZ, is the utter lack of people.

Jen and I have both gotten used to seeing hundreds of people everywhere we go. Such is a fact of life in a country of some 50-odd million people packed into, effectively, an area the size of Southern Ontario. Suwon is, in itself, 1 million people, while Seoul is positively cramped with 10 million people.

But the DMZ, due largely to the mines, the tension with the North, and the heavy military presence, is quiet save for the sounds of insects, birds, and animals. Ironically, the war and the human cost it created resulted in a pristine natural environment, where several endangered species are able to exist outside of human intervention. Given that they've got about 4 kilometres on average, it's not surprising that one of the questions any government seeking to re-unify the peninsula will have to face will not just be how to re-integrate the landscape and clear the mines, but how to ensure the native species don't get overrun by human development.
The area is almost dead quiet, a fact that is almost unsettling. Even in small towns like Timmins, where Jen is from, or smaller burgs such as those surrounding the Kitchener-Waterloo area where we lived before Korea, one is used to signs of human habitation: roads, cars, lights in the distance, all are present, even if in a modest form.

While there are roads in the DMZ, no one uses them. While there are buildings, the only people present are military and minesweepers, and a handful of tiny villages that provide food and farming space. I remember reading about life on an isolated kibbutz in Israel, or in the settlements in the West Bank--even these, I suspect, are not this *desolate*.

We sat down to watch an absolutely stunning piece of propaganda put together by the tourism department. A white-robed young Korean child sobbing while eating a tiny handful of rice, stock war footage from the conflict, and an oddball blurb about how the DMZ has become a symbol, not of war and devastation, but humanity's ability to live together with nature, all featured in this oddity of a film. I've seen some old 1930s and 1940s WWII and Cold War propaganda pieces, but this was bizarre. The English narrator even had trouble dealing with some of the weird word choices necessitated by the translation from Korean.

Speaking of which, a brief aside: the Korean government has, apparently, been worried about tourism lately, which is a fraction of what other Asian countries like Thailand, Japan, and Vietam receive. One of the reasons for this dearth is the DMZ and the ongoing conflict itself--while muted to Cold War levels, it's still a war, and the tension one feels at the DMZ is stunning compared to the rest of the country. The other reason, however, is some really awful signage in English. One might defend such poor translations on street signs: dialect, lack of funding, and the fact that most signs don't *need* to be in English mean that one might not expect a perfect translation on every road. But on a major tourist spot? This was true even in Gyeongju, and it's hard to get over the fact that Korea, which is capable of speaking English, hiring English writers or editors, or at the very least gettng a fluent English speaker to do the same, might avoid such problems. Simply put, it is hard to relax and be a tourist when you're mentally cringing at the grammar or the lack of articles like "the," "a," or "an." Or the overabundance of "the them."

I digress.

We then ventured down into the tunnel itself, about 300 metres down--the walk back up reminded me distinctly of Bulguksa, I might add--and took a look at the last of three consecutive blockades built by the Southern army to prevent the tunnel from being used. One hopes they might have collapsed the rest of the tunnel leading up to the Southern end of the DMZ, but it was definitely spooky to stare off into the darkness of the tunnel beyond the steel barricade and barbed wire.

(The Dora Observation Post, UN and South Korean Command)

From there, we set out to Dora Observatory, on top of one of the mountains overlooking the DMZ proper. Unfortunately, the view was marred by the fog on this particular day--we joke the fog was somehow deliberately set up by the North Koreans to keep the capitalists from seeing their "utopia"--but we managed to score a neat view of the fence guarding the Southern end of the Zone, and I caught a glimpse of a soldier on the Northern equivalent post on the other side.

We weren't allowed to take many photos, unfortunately, but we bundled back into the bus for a trip to Dorasan Train Station, the "First Stop to the North" on a recently-constructed railway line between the two countries. Again, what was surreal was that, aside from we meagre tourists, there wasn't anyone else there. A train pulled up while we were wandering about the station (getting our passport stamped, too, I might add), *but there was absolutely nobody on the bloody thing.*

(Dorasan Train Station, with about as many people there as it ever gets)

For those of us now used to the vast number of people in this country, this was downright unsettling. The only other living beings around were some soldiers, hundreds of bugs, and a few flights of geese.

This brings me to the political commentary: it's really weird to see the way the DMZ and the divorce between North and South Korea have affected both countries in turn. South Korea was for a couple of decades under the grip of a right-wing dictatorship, bordering on what some might call fascist or at the very least a highly-nationalist regime.

Since the overthrow of the old regime, however, South Korea has been unabashedly capitalist, developing a culture that reminds me at times of what I've read about Western capitalism before the labour movement forced managers and owners to actually put in labour regulations to protect their employees. 40 hours a week, which we "supposedly" are doing, turns into far more on occasion, while our Korean coworkers and Korean labourers in general work far more hours than what would be considered legal or even, sometimes, sane, by a Canadian standard.

The DMZ itself is a tourist zone, meanwhile, for the South. Granted, a heavily-patrolled, military-operated tourist zone, but still, the world's largest minefield is regularly visited by polaroid-armed visitors from around the world. It even has cute big-headed cartoonish images on t-shirts of North and South Korean guards smiling out at the viewer, and pins to the same effect. Witness the picture of me below (pardon the goofy gesture from yours truly).

(Chris and a stylized South Korean guard. Much more friendly-looking than the real ones)

The North, meanwhile, has gone the completely opposite direction towards Stalinism and isolation. In most of the rest of the world, the form of personality cult that Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-Sung, have created around themselves no longer exists. Stalin's Russia is, thankfully, gone, while China is cautiously embracing capitalism--even if the Party cadre of the Chinese Communists continues to hold on to power politically-- and Cuba was, frankly, a different entity altogether even from the beginning compared to other "really-existing Communist" countries. Communism has often been associated with the kind of political oppression seen now primarily in China and in North Korea, but the sheer isolationism and repression of the North is arguably different from anywhere else in the world.

Why did this kind of Stalinism survive here? Was it the support of Stalin himself for the Korean communists during the War? The presence of China, the similar persuasive and political imagery of Mao Zedong? Or the isolation North Korea found itself in when the South closed the border at the DMZ? I don't know, and unfortunately, I don't know if anyone else does either.

The divergence between the two Koreas presents a serious problem, however, for reunification. Nevermind the differing ideologies, which are impediment enough, or the conservatism of both sides militarily and politically: there's a significant gap that's formed in terms of culture and a negative view from both sides of the other. Fifty-plus years of propaganda political repression in the North, and strangely similar if democratic disdain from the South, make it hard to see how the two cultures could reunite. The economic issues of how to reintegrate either side into the other's framework present similar challenges. And the ability of the South to reintegrate the North after the aforementioned fifty-someodd years of isolation and propaganda, make one worry if a situation similar to if worse than the reunification of Germany might result.

How can any culture or country, no matter how advanced or determined, overcome such a gap? And further, do either really want it anymore? Both sides claim a desire to reintegrate, but the question of which side being integrating into which, and how to overcome the challenges above, make the prospect daunting at the very least. Unfortunately, such problems will likely only get worse the longer the two sides stay divided, but in the absence of a clear plan for integration, or political will to do so, the chances of it happening any time soon seem slim at best.

A fascinating trip, and one I'd repeat, if only to see other parts of the DMZ, but certainly an unsettling one.

Best regards,

Chris

PS: For fun, below:

(And off we go!)

No Turkey for Turkey Day

2008-10-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, Jen and I decided to stay in this weekend to work on some graduate school applications, and besides, we're both a little under the weather.

So we got through a bunch of paperwork, and realized, belatedly, that it's Thanksgiving back home. Unfortunately, Korean "Thanksgiving" or Chu-seok, is about a month behind us already.

Not to mention, we don't have an oven in which to bake a bird, anyway, so we're not exactly celebrating Thanksgiving, here. As it stands, we are at least acknowledging the holiday back home, with such expressions as "happy turkey day" and such in our office, but that's about it.

It's been interesting watching the train wreck that is the Canadian and American election from Korea.

I predicted, in a previous post, how I thought it unlikely for Obama to be able to lose, and yet, for a while, he was essentially even with McCain for about a month. All it took for Obama to win again, was, I suppose, the collapse of the economy. Funny how that works out.

I watched bits and pieces of both the Canadian and the American election. I have found, anecdotally, amongst my colleagues at work, that those who watched the former preferred it's unique style. Part of the problem with the traditional debates, and even that farce of a town hall debate between McCain and Obama, is that it turns into little more than trying to out-shout your opponent. The round-table, at least, seemed to force discussion to happen more than bellowing.

I say the town-hall thing is a farce largely because it seemed to be trying to catch some elusive, old-school sentiment of American government under the Pilgrims. In New England, when the Pilgrim population in the original colonies was rather more limited than the modern American state, one could imagine people getting together in a town hall or over a pint to discuss issues. Well, we still do the latter, but the tone, I think, has changed.

This brings me to my modest point: I am getting deeply concerned by the choice of words of the McCain camp. McCain does try to defend Obama, ironically, during one campaign stop, from his own party, when the members of the community he was visiting started calling Obama a traitor, an "Arab" and other names. My problem with this activity is that even as McCain is back-pedalling, Palin is still turning up the heat.

Having recently denounced Obama as "chumming around with terrorists," now Palin is essentially accusing Obama of being a baby-killer (see the link above). Part of the problem with this sort of mud-slinging--and yes, I know it's not unusual to see this in a US presidential debate, the problem is that it could result in some serious consequences post-election. I'm not the only one worried about whether some idiot with too big of a gun, and too small of a brain, will try to shoot Obama should he win. And part of his or her motivation might be, sadly, some of the nonsense being spouted right now by the McCain camp.

Again, I really hope I'm wrong. I really hope the McCain camp will tell Palin to back off, and that we might have a modestly-policy-focused debate this time around. Well, okay, I'll settle for the former if nothing else.

The Canadian election looks set to be another minority government. Given that Stephen Harper went into this election because he wanted to break out of the "log-jam" in Parliament... but, hey, if he's "always known" that it would be a minority government, then why call the election?

Oh. Right. Because he thinks he can win another short-term mandate and spin it into a big win. Joy.

Pardon the cynicism this week. This is what happens when I go turkey-free for Thanksgiving.

More next week.

Best regards,

Chris

2008-10-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

http://mikewatkins.ca/2008/10/08/harper-government-running-deficit-now

While I have tried to avoid getting too much into politics--I suspect most people would rather read about some of the stuff Jen and I have been seeing in Korea--this I simply had to post.

Canada has an election coming up in about another five days (and you Canadians reading this, you *have* registered, right?). Stephen Harper is the present incumbent for Prime Minister, and has been running on a campaign which claims that A) he is a good leader; B) his team is fiscally responsible, unlike the old, corrupt Liberals; and C) that they will *not* run up a deficit.

Well, sorry, folks, but that's a bunch of wash. The PCs have been running up a deficit, and it's rather massive, especially when one considers that the liberals, for all their flaws, at least managed to keep our country in the black each year. We were even starting to pay off our debts.

The article I've linked above has some good weblinks to various other information about the fiscal operations of the Conservatives, and a good video link from the CBC. I would suggest you check it out.

As ever, the facts that politicians "state" to be true, and the actual truth, is often hard to sort out. Politicians are especially skilled at equivocating, and Mr Harper is indeed one of the best at the game. I'm sure that the other parties have their own skeletons, however, one thing that drags politics down further, both in its reputation and in its sad inability to get many things done, is this kind of double-speak.

As the old X-Files show used to say, the truth is out there, if you know where to look.

Best regards,

Chris

PS: The election's on the 14th. Make sure you register, or have your passport/photo ID ready when you go. But for heaven's sake, VOTE!

And no, I don't want to tell you whom to vote for--that's not my job, nor is that a particularly decent thing to do. The purpose of my little post here is to remind you, the educated voter, to continue to watch out for the truths about our leaders behind the facade of the words they use in public.

Gyeongju

2008-10-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

(The bus sign for Gyeongju, and one of the central temple chambers of Bulguksa Temple)

Hi all,

Well, we finally visited someplace outside of the Seoul--Suwon corridor this past weekend. It was Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) in Korea, the holiday celebrating the foundation of the Korean country Gosojeon by the mythological King Dangun.

As it was a three-day weekend, Jen and I decided we'd rather not just sit around, but go outside the city and explore a bit of the rest of the Korean countryside. In this case, we decided to go and visit Gyeongju, a city in the South-Eastern end of the country, near Busan, on the Eastern Sea (Sea of Japan) coast.

Gyeongju is a rather old city, the former capital of the Ssila (pronounced Shila) Kingdom, which conquered Baekje and Goryeo in the 660 AD and 667 AD, respectively. Ssila then dominated all of the Korean peninsula from 667 until about the 9th century, when the Kingdom collapsed into separate Kingdoms again.

As such, Gyeongju (alternative Romanization: Kyongju), is an ancient city with many ruins and relics of its past. Also, the city was relatively untouched in the Korean War, although some areas have had to be reconstructed. As a result of this, the city *feels* older, and unlike Suwon and Seoul, both of which characterized by tall, concrete-box-style apartment buildings and high-rises, Gyeongju is largely a city of short, older-style Korean buildings. There are not all that many buildings taller than five or six stories, and those that are tend towards being motels or hotels. The rest are what one thinks of when one thinks of Korean architecture, such as in the picture below.

(Buddhist temple in downtown Gyeongju, typical of most of the buildings in the city)

Our trip got off to a bit of a rough start, admittedly. We had a little trouble at the bus stop, which could have been avoided if I had done a bit more asking around when our first bus pulled into the station. The bus to Gyeongju does not, much like most buses in Canada, just go to Gyeongju: indeed, Gyeongju is not even the final stop! The last port of call for the bus is actually Pohang, a major industrial city just north and east of the old capital. Of course, we didn't know this, and no-one at the ticket counter, the bus waiting area, or the bus driver themselves, decided to assist we stupid foreign tourist types by *telling* us that we needed the Pohang bus.

So we waited for four hours for the next bus to Gyeongju, getting there rather later than we would have preferred. Oh well.

We stayed at the Hanjin Hostel. The owner was polite, spoke English well, and knew how to get to all the interesting sites in the city. Of course, he did gouge us a little: we were promised 30$ a night over the phone, but ended up paying 40$. At the time we arrived, around 8PM, we were both too exhausted to bother arguing.

We went to bed early, and got up at 7AM to explore the city. First, we went to Cheongmangchae, a series of tombs built for the Ssila monarchs. One of which, the namesake Cheongmangchae, is open to the public, and is so named for the horse saddle found inside of it along with the coffin of the ancient king. The tomb is literally an earthen mound several stories tall. In the heart of the tomb lies a wooden enclosure, presumably to keep out rot and grave-robbers. Inside this was a simple stone grave and a series of grave goods for the king, including weapons, rings, jewels, several crowns, paintings, and a bronze saddle.

(The entrance to Cheongmangchae tomb, and a view of the central park in which it resides)

(Pardon my closed eyes!)

To get a sense for how big these things are, remember that the city itself has few tall buildings: these tombs tower over most of Gyeong Ju, and there are literally *dozens* of them throughout the city. We wandered around several of them, snapping off pictures right and left, and enjoyed the fantastic park in the heart of the city that contained an even dozen clustered together in one spot.

(Tombs in downtown Gyeongju)

After we explored there, we wandered down to Anapji park, walking past Cheomsongdae, one of the oldest, if not the oldest astronomy observation buildings in Asia. Anapji park is what remains of the old palace and park built by King Munmu, the conqueror of Goryeo and Baekje. Much of the old palace has been destroyed, but the Korean government has been slowly and painstakingly rebuilding it to its original dimensions and design over the past thirty years. The grounds are massive, containing a pond and park for exotic animals and for the pleasure of the King and his court. The palace itself must have been something to see: even the buildings currently restored are wonderful.

(Cheomsongdae and Anapji, respectively)

At this point, Jen and I grabbed lunch, and split up for the afternoon. Jen had been experiencing a cold and the onset of her asthma, and was not interested in taking on Bulguksa temple and Seokguram Grotto with me. Instead, she went to the Gyeongju History Museum, and wandered about the grounds there for the remainder of the afternoon until I returned from Bulgoksa.

Bulguksa is about 18 Kilometres out from Gyeongju, in the mountains surrounding what are the city's suburbs--of course, the city is only about 225,000 people, so the 'burgs aren't on the scale of Suwon, Toronto, or Seoul. After getting off the bus, I walked about five minutes up the hill to the Temple, which is a Buddhist temple built sometime around 528 AD. It has been damaged, rebuilt, burned down, and restored many times since then, due to the Japanese invasions, the Korean and Second World War, and a host of other conflicts. But the Temple remains a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses a few gold-bronze Buddha statues, and is utterly gorgeous.

(The front gates to Bulguksa, and a view of the temple grounds from above)

It is also still a functional temple: many monks were wandering the grounds along with the tourists, and praying, chanting, and meditating along with the visitors. I cannot express in words alone how wonderfully peaceful this temple was. I snapped dozens of pictures, but spent most of my time quietly listening to the chanting of the monks, and simply standing around, looking at the marvelous statues and finding for myself a bit of internal peace. Like Stonehenge, Bulguksa is a place of contemplation and tranquility, and I felt the same sense of positive energy there as I have at the Henge, as well as in other places of worship around the world.

It doesn't hurt that the view is nice, too, from the mountain.

The Grotto, or more accurately, the hike to the Grotto, was the chief reason for Jen's decision to split up the tour: it is three kilometres uphill, nestled about another kilometre from the peak of Tohamsan Mountain. The climb was, to be blunt, painful. My right leg is still stiff from the descent!

(Part of the 3 KM hike up from Bulguksa to Seokguram Grotto)

(The helpful reminder on the right is not just that you're not there yet, but that no enlightenment comes without toil)

But the view upon arrival was worth it, as seen in some of the pictures below.

(Mount Tohamsan, from the path leading up to Seokguram Grotto)

Furthermore, the Grotto itself is amazing: it contains a statue of the Buddha, made of stone, about 15-20 feet tall. Surrounding the Buddha are dozens of guardian spirits, gods, and warriors. All of this is packed into a small grotto that feels full to the bursting point with all the statuary. Again, even with the tourist density, the place felt peaceful and calm, and I can imaging why monks dedicate their lives to studying and meditating there and at Bulguksa.

(The exterior of Seokguram--while I was not allowed to take pictures of the interior, a link to an official image of the statue is included here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG)

Returning the way I came, I snapped off a few more pictures of the mountain, before returning to the city for dinner and bed.

We woke up late the next day, and dropped in to the tomb of General Kim Yu-Sin, pictured below. A warrior-general who helped King Munmu unite the Korean peninsula, General Kim was rewarded with this mountainside tomb, in the style of the Kings below. Twelve zodiac figures surround and guard his tomb, and a huge cenotaph marks his final resting place.

(Me standing in front of General Kim Yu-Sin's grave mound)

A fascinating trip, overall. We returned home on Sunday, tired but happy.

It's amazing to me to see this part of Korean culture and history: while the West was still recovering from the fall of Rome, Korea was booming, experiencing a Golden Age of sorts under a united Ssila.

I won't romanticize the warfare that preceded that Golden Age, of course, anymore than I would the Roman method of creating their own era of prosperity. But still, one cannot help but admire this and any sort of architecture that has so stood the tests of time.

Like Stonehenge, or other similar places, I find that I am most drawn to that sense of peace and tranquility I found in Bulguksa. I am not an overtly religious man: I have faith, yes, and beliefs, but I try to avoid forcing them on other people. While I enjoy learning about theology and philosophy, science and faith and all other fields in between, I have been reminded by this trip how much I enjoy simply finding a place of rest and calm and positive energy in such places. Some may call this chi or the Spirit of God, or feng shui, or dao or good vibes, or any host of other interpretations from any number of different perspectives. Regardless of its name, I find it interesting to find and explore places that contain that kind of positive energy, and to see others doing the same.

In this, I think, we are more similar than we might otherwise admit.

My apologies for the slight tangent into the realms spiritual. Returning to the main subject at hand: I can thoroughly recommend Gyeongju. The city is, at times, a bit dirty around the edges, but despite this, it is an amazing piece of Korea's history, one which is just as long and as rewarding, when explored, as any place in the rest of the world.

More next week. Until then, best regards,

Chris

Taking it Easy

2008-09-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

It was Oliver and Jasen's birthday this week, so we celebrated by going out for Chicken and Beer. Suffice to say, much fun was had by all.

We tried to get out to Seoul to do some puttering about town before going out Swing dancing. Unfortunately, the meet-up group we had hoped to join decided to change the day of the event from Saturday to Friday. The day before the event. Which, as you might guess, was annoying.

So we went to Seoul anyway, and puttered about Namdaemun market, which is what one might think of as a 'stereotypical' bazaar or market. That is, you walk through the main gate into the market place, and you have dozens of shops and vendors all over the place, all hawking their wares at top volume and offering discounts for those willing to haggle over prices. Since most of them speak a bit of English, and most of us now speak a little Korean, this can turn into an extended affair. I've learned to ask for a couple of thousand Won (a few dollars) off on each purchase, but I don't push my luck. Daniel, meanwhile, is the master of holding out to get exactly what he wants -- he bargained a bag down from 35 to 30$ by simply sticking to his preferred price. Jen, on the other hand, is what I like to call a skilled body language negotiator--that is, she doesn't ask for huge discounts, she just makes it very clear that the merchant can offer a better price, or we'll leave--all with nothing more than a mild frown and a flick of her eyes to me.

I play the straight man, pursing my lips slightly and nodding, before turning to go. At which point the merchant makes a final offer which we like more.

It's fun, and crazy, and you can get just about anything you want in the market. I recently purchased a Korea Red Devils (the national football--sorry, SOCCER, for the Americans--team) jersey, and a nice hat. I'd been looking for a fedora that works for me for some time.

It still amazes me how much of a contradiction Korea can be. Well, I suppose most countries that are industrialized are the same, but Korea, due to its size and population density, strikes me even more: you can go, literally, from major city to forested mountains to major city, all in the span of 5 minutes on the Highway. Because of the number of people, everything is built straight up. Where, in Canada, due to the amount of space we possess, we can afford to put a parking lot, or to spread our city out, Koreans have to maximize the use of any given space. Hence the tendency of Koreans to have an office building which houses anything and everything from restaurants, hair shops, gift stores, English schools and martial arts dojangs (like our own building), to PC Bangs (Computer/LAN rooms), to DVD and Noraebangs, all in one bloc and often in the same floor.

It's a degree of efficiency that we lack, in Canada, and I wonder if when I return I'll feel agoraphobic from the change. While I don't know if I really liked the number of people surrounding me at first--I've always been sensitive about having enough room to move around and to being able to stand apart from crowds--I'm learning to be more comfortable with it. This is even to the point of being able and willing to dash madly down the street, dodging crowds and free-running where needed to get to a bus before it leaves, shoving my way through overcrowded subway cars, and squeezing into tightly packed elevators. Usually, I'm more than willing to find my own personal space. Here, you make do, and it probably is one of the major reasons for the sense of communalism ever-present in Korean culture: with this many people, it's impossible NOT to be involved in the affairs of everyone around you!

Speaking of people, it's definitely interesting being what is essentially a visible minority. In Canada, and the United States, white people, including myself, tend to take for granted the fact that we're a majority, perhaps especially because of the socio-economic power that whites have traditionally held in North America. For better or worse (and often the latter), white people don't have to worry about and often don't consider the fact that we have privileges in the West. It is part of this obliviousness that, I suspect, has caused the amount of anger that minorities feel at times in Western society. It's easy to support ideas of freedom and equality for all when you're on top--but when you are struggling to make ends meet, when you are discriminated against because of your ethnicity or origins or religion or anything else, no matter how subtle that discrimination may be or how blatant it is, the claims of "anyone can make it with a little hard work" tend to sound like so much bull. It becomes a song full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

I've known many people who have doctorates, master's degrees, heavy-duty certification in trades, and whatever else you can think of, and they still are stuck in dead-end jobs with pay worth absolutely zero and no chance of getting into a better job. Why this is the case is uncertain: racism, certainly, is a possibility, among many others. Perhaps the certification of a Chinese doctor or an Ethiopian dentist is not to the same standard of Canadian universities, but still, if one is simply excluded from entering into work in your field in Canada because of this, it often precludes catching up. University education is far too expensive to allow for most immigrants to simply 'play catch-up' and spend another bundle of money that is already precious on re-certifying. Jennifer, my spouse, is already doing research on just this issue, and if you're interested in the subject, I'd suggest you follow her career blog: careerandjobsearchinghelp.blogspot.com.

My point in raising what must seem like a rather large tangent, is this: it's refreshing to see things from the other side. In Korea, while most people are rather polite about it, I know for a fact that I am seen as an outsider. I am fair-skinned, red-headed, and tall. I speak with a Canadian accent, don't know much Korean, and tend to be loud. Often, I do get stared at, by people of all age groups. It's interesting to see how it feels to be on the other side, albeit, thankfully, in a country where courtesy is primary.

I remarked to Jen that I don't mind being a non-person in Korea, because here it just means I am ignored until I make myself visible or audible. Korean society is heavily-based in Confucian values, meaning that social hierarchy is exceptionally important: how old you are, your position, your age relevant to others in the group, and where you are from, all factor in to how you are treated. The Korean language has several layers of formality, depending on what rank in society you are a part of. Thus a foreigner is decidedly 'outcaste,' in that we have no social ranking whatsoever. Normally, in the West, this kind of Other status means one is treated like garbage. Here, you are simply ignored. Politely, of course: Koreans are happy to do business with me and Jen once we make it known what we want, and once you establish your identity within the hierarchy, you are treated accordingly.

As one of our fellow teachers has said, however, no matter what one does, one will never be Korean if one is born outside of the hierarchy and ethnic group of Korea itself. No matter how well we integrate, Jen and I will always be the Other, and this position is instructive. While it may be a mixed blessing, I hope that it will teach those of us who come to this country to be more aware of our blessings at home, in the West.

Now, as a by-the-way, I am in no way trying to make this blog about ethnic or racial considerations. I comment on this particular issue because it came up often this week in conversation, and because I have been noticing my "Otherness" a bit lately, especially in bustling Seoul. On a really cute note, when kids stare at me, I get presented with a brilliant chance to break through the cultural barrier: no matter who you are, or where you're from, Peek-a-boo will make any little kid laugh. I've managed to have a little baby Korean kid smile and laugh for a good minute when standing in line next to his or her mom in the grocery store. Guess that's why I'm a semi-decent teacher: humor is a core part of our humanity.

Maybe that's a bit of a moral truism I can take from all this: Korean, Canadian, American, Japanese, European, African... all our differences exist, and we have to overcome them if we want to live together. However, we all can and do laugh and smile, and once we can do that with each other, we often realize how similar we all are.

Anyway, political rant over.

For fun, here's a rather disturbing image: Dunkin' Donuts is, indeed, everywhere.

And in Korea, it's frickin' three stories tall!

Best regards, all,

Chris

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2008-09-21T00:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, we had planned on heading up to Hwaseong Fortress to see the other half of the wall surrounding central Suwon, and to check out the palace itself. However, as soon as we got outside, I realized I had made a none-too-modest mistake.

It was raining. Now, at first, it was nothing more than you might expect from a cloudy spring day in Kitchener, Canada, or the same in Timmins or upstate New York. Unfortunately, when it comes to rain, like everything else, Korea doesn't do anything by half-measures. We walked out to Kyung-hee-dae to catch a taxi, and, upon arriving on the main street, decided that discretion was the better part of valour and that we really, really, ought to just go to the Subway station, instead. Because it's indoors.

We arrived at the Station, wandered around a bit more, checking out some neat shops and stores. In addition to the ubiquitous collection of stores like the Gap, which even Korea has not managed to escape from, there's also dozens of smaller stores here and there in every city and on every street that sell cheaper alternatives to Western mainline clothing and other brands.

What would have cost me about six dollars back home for the glue stick, eraser, and thumbtacks I bought for class was a whopping 1,000 Won, or 1 dollar.

I think this country is spoiling me. Let's review: the food here is cheap, and if you're willing to avoid going to too many snazzy restaurants, you can eat out for most meals and pay less than five dollars a person--indeed, one of our favourite soup shops below our school does a great beef and noodle soup for about 3.50. You have to be willing to just go with it, in order to do this. What I mean by that is that you have to be willing to eat what Koreans eat, and be okay with being stared at or laughed at occasionally when you get something you don't know what to do with.

Example: Oliver White, a colleague and friend of Jen and I went out with me to the soup shop. Previously, Jen and I had had a chicken soup kind of thing--it had the texture of chicken put into a blender, but tasted really good. This time, I thought I'd be smart and try the red-coloured one (Jen and I are still having to rely on the "point and pray" method for some forms of communication--we're still learning Korean). It turned out to be extremely hot. One suspects this soup was formerly used for other purposes: stripping wallpaper, preserving the dead, and killing small vermin comes to mind. Now, this does not mean that the food is not good! Despite burning our mouths and leaving both of us sure that our innards would be very displeased with us over the next few days, the food tasted great.

So too a lot of Korean cuisine: the national dish is Kimchi, a side-dish served with literally every meal. It's fermented cabbage, spiced. They do a lot of different vegetables and fruits in the same fashion, mind you, but cabbage is the big one. It's an acquired taste, but we're coming to like it.
My point, here, then, is that if you're willing to dive right in, Korea's food and culture are like an onion. You'll find layers upon layers the further you go. And everything is a thousand-times less expensive, whether it's the five dollar meal, the 1 dollar bus trips, the dollar-and-a-half giant bottle of soju (a form of light vodka), everything can be done on less money, and with more people to do it with.

The only thing that costs a lot is Western-style food, or some of the conveniences one might get at large chains like Home Plus. This may be because of the cost to import: since South Korea is cut off, on land, from China, and because everything has to be shipped in either literally or by air, I suspect the price goes up due to numerous levels of administration and handling fees. An example in a moment.

Koreans are communal, social people. Dinner is done out together, with friends, around the BBQ in your table in a restaurant or over a hot stone bowl of bibimbap, and a bottle of soju. It rubs off on the foreigners at our school, too: we do a lot of things together, and it breeds a strong sense of camaraderie. It's one of the reasons I'm grateful that I'm at a bigger school, because it helps dull the inevitable pangs of homesickness. Jen and I are blessed by the fact that we're married, as this helps even more, and I hope our communalism at the school will help other new teachers, like Oliver, Daniel, and Ashley (Ashley and Sarah pictured above), to adapt.

One thing, however, that I've yet to come to grips with is the sheer amount of smoking going on in Korea. Jennifer and I both are non-smokers. I used to have the occasional cigar and did smoke a pack or two when I was young and full of more angst than brains, but we both can't stand it now. Jen has asthma, as well, so her presence in my life helped me decide not to smoke anymore. Also, there's all the new laws in Canada, especially about not smoking in bars!

After our excursion to the Seoul Subway Station, we went back home. Jen and I went out for Pad Thai, which was pricey: again, if you eat "non-Korean," you pay more for it--now before our friend and host, Sarah, gets mad at me for complaining, yes, the food was awesome, and tasted like home.

We went to the pub, after having some drinks at home (bar costs also high), including an interesting cocktail of energy drink, cider, and soju mixed with ice in a tea kettle. The dancing was awesome, with a ton of happy, semi or fully-inebriated Koreans and foreigners, with good hip-hop, trance, and pop music flowing. The band, a pair of Korean rappers, was also good--I can see why they're famous.

The only bad side of the night was that I nearly passed out from the smoke: everyone in the bar was lighting up, and with little to no ventilation to speak of, and a couple of drinks in me to begin with, I was about five minutes away from turning green.

Still, despite the smoking, it was a fun night, and I will happily go again--I may, however, try to see if I can't wear a shirt saying something along the lines of "designated breather" or something. I'm willing to go local on everything else: the smoking, however, is one area I may have to get used to.

--------------

Kim Jong-il remains a mystery, down here: no-one's sure about whether or not he's still alive, or what the outcome will be should he be dead. Last week, I hesitantly put forward some thoughts as to what might happen, should he die. The Chinese have suggested that many of those ideas are bunk: that the regime's main players are not so stupid as to allow the country to collapse into chaos.

Let's hope they're right.

Oh, and on the political front, the election for Canada for October 14th. That's right, the week of Thanksgiving.

And we have to make sure our ballots get in early, because we're abroad.

Thanks, Stephen Harper. Nevermind that your politics, which I completely disagree with. That voting date has officially lost you my vote.

Well, fine, so he didn't have it to begin with. Anyway.

Best regards,

Chris

Beef and Leaf

2008-09-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Been an interesting week. We're into week two of teaching, remember, so we're getting used to it. Where once it took me all of 3 or 4 hours to prep, I'm down to being able to prep a class in about 20 minutes or less, so it's coming along (we normally have about 2 hours before class to do our prep work, so this is definitely an improvement).

One of our co-workers, Sarah, decided to set up a "Beef and Leaf" night, meaning a night out for Galbi at a Korean BBQ. Normally, you would eat food with chopsticks or a spoon, here, but at a BBQ restaurant, you cook your own, raw, meat over coals set into the table, then place the meat and assorted vegetables into a piece of lettuce, wrap it all up, and eat the resulting tasty treat. It's really a neat way to eat, healthier by far than the deep-fried/potato-or-bread combo you normally get in Canada or the US. And it's a lot of fun, since it's communal--everybody's cooking, eating from, and sitting around, the same fire, as it were.

Later that night, and after a couple of bottles of soju were purchased and consumed, we went to a noraebang (singing-room), which is the Korean equivalent to Karaoke. Except better. Whereas the standard image one might have of Karaoke is the Western bar where one goes and has to sing, embarrasingly, in front of dozens if not hundreds of complete strangers, a noraebang is rented out for however long you want by you and your group of friends. You sing, drink, dance, and enjoy yourselves in a rather-well-appointed little room (ours had comfy couches, a good table, solid dance floor, and a rather gigantic TV screen). Of course, finding English songs is a challenge, but that's half the fun, especially when half the English songs are rather obscure--I still don't know how or why that many Slipknot songs wound up on the list.

-------

People

It's interesting, I think, to note that there's a distinct similarity in the people who come to Korea to teach. Now, granted, this is just first impressions, here, and I may be stereotyping a bit, for which I will apologize beforehand. I must ask, in effect, for the reader's indulgence in my venturing into a little bit of political theory here:

In short, while the people who come to Korea to teach are all of different backgrounds and identities, have different interests and goals, the one thing that is similar is that we appear to have hit a certain "sticking point" or rut in our professional lives back home. Now, there may be one or two individuals for whom this is not the case, and indeed, this is meant as a general observation, and not a blanket statement about "everybody."

Still, though, most of the ESL teachers here are young, 20-35 (and in some cases, 20-40) years of age, well-educated, often with a penchance for or a willingness to do something different, and I would readily comment that almost all of them are dedicated individuals with a good head on their shoulders. After all, one doesn't commit to something as nerve-wracking as moving halfway around the world, with all the potential problems and pitfalls that entails, without being able to not only think quite clearly but also to be daring enough to try something as different as this.

But notice the similarity: we are young, 20 and 30 somethings, well-educated... and we are stuck in low-end jobs with no upward mobility, decent jobs that bore us, or some combination of the two. There's a wonderful book out there called Boom, Bust, and Echo (http://www.footwork.com/book.asp), which, while its statistics are out of date, indicates the primary reason for this. From a demographic standpoint, the generation of those who become ESL teachers here in Korea are a smaller (relatively) generation of people who are entering into a job market that is already glutted with previous generations--the boom generation is still occupying the top of the ladder, no matter what the field it is you look at, while their children (the bust/echo generations) are struggling to find good jobs that their elders are still occupying and which their own children (us) are already beginning to fight for.

In short, we're not a "Lost Generation," or anything like that, but we certainly are a generation stuck in limbo, waiting for our turn to run the world--which will probably not happen until we're in our 50s or even our 60s. And I suspect that while most people of my generation find this, at the least, an irritant, and at most, distasteful, there's nothing we can do about it for now. The current set-up of most corporations and similar organizations remains strictly hierarchical, where better jobs and better pay requires you to "move up the ladder." I can think of only a few companies which have adopted what foot calls a spiral system or a more freelance-oriented corporate structure--meaning one in which one may, if not move up the ladder, can at least switch into a new role horizontally within the company for equal or better pay. Many people of my generation are already catching on to the fact that we are not going to be able, as so many of our parents and grandparents have done, work for one company all our lives. Not only is this difficult with the demographic issues I mentioned above, but it's becoming increasingly clear that our generation has many members who want nothing to do with that kind of shell game.

Whether it's because we're a post-modern generation or an integral generation (as Ken Wilber calls it) or whatever, many of the teachers I've met here were stuck in these kinds of ruts, or were looking for some way to explore other options while "waiting" for things to open up a bit in the West.

Again, this is not meant to paint everybody with the same colour, but an observation. The interesting part for me, as a political scientist, is this: the ESL boom notwithstanding, there is an increasing mechanization (meaning more machines doing more of the work that humans used to do) in most jobs in the West as well as a diminishing number of good positions available for the younger generations to occupy--and most companies haven't recognized it yet. The danger here is that you can quite easily wind up with a rather large group of under-employed and angry young people in a society, who might otherwise have been rather supportive and active members of the economy. While I would rather not become a yuppie, myself, that option now appears closed to me anyway, and I suspect, to many others in Canada, the US, and Europe. While I can escape to Korea for a year to give the demographics time to shift a bit in my favour, this is not a permanent solution: the job numbers are going to decrease further as jobs move to countries where wages are lower, and as technology continues to advance.

While I dislike some of what he said, in this, Karl Marx was right: there comes a point in any economic system wherein the means by which we produce our goods and which provide the population of jobs cannot be sustained in its current state. He believed that this was inevitable, although history thus far has not been kind to his hypothesis. But corporate capitalism, as it is presently configured, is entering into this kind of crisis period because of the combination of demographics and the level of technology which we have achieved--a level, by the way, that is going to keep increasing and further decreasing the number of people needed to do the old jobs, regardless of demographics. So while the boomer generation all retiring en masse may relieve some of the stress we're seeing in Western (and indeed, also, in Korean and Asian) society, there's still the issue of how we've got our economic system set up (hierarchy and vertical power structures) and the fact that it's not going to jive with the economic realities we're entering into (horizontal movement among workers in order to and in addition to decreasing numbers of available, decent jobs).

Something to think on, and one for which I've no easy solutions. Again, just an observation.

------

Small world

Speaking of people, Jen and I bumped into an old friend of mine: Chris Joseph, who was one of my fellow graduate students at the University of Waterloo in Political Science. A great guy, he started teaching here about 6-7 months ahead of us, and was one of my inspirations for coming here in addition to our mutual friend Cesia Green, who had, like Chris, also taught in Seoul and really enjoyed it.

He's just been accepted into a University in New Zealand to do his PhD, so he'll be leaving soon, but it's still nice to see how small the world is sometimes. We literally dropped into Itaewon for an hour or two to shop in the "American district," and to go visit Yangan Electronic mart, where we picked up some cheap DVDs, and then ran into him crossing the street. Nifty how that happens sometimes.

------

Politics

Last, we're watching this bit of furor over Kim Jong-il's health with a mixture of concern, modest apprehension, and something that might be considered hope even this cold, cynical little heart of mine. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/09/116_30984.html

While specualtion abounds as to the "Dear Leader's" health, as he is called in our neighbours to the North, I'm just as interested in what appears to be a rather royal power struggle in this so-called House of Marx. His children, apparently, are not quite ready to take the reigns of power, although it's possible, while various factions are supposedly vying for power behind the scenes and behind the throne. While which way the North will dodge is always anyone's guess, the possibility that some of the technocratic, reasonably-moderate members of the leadership will take over power (who are apparently somewhat more kindly disposed towards liberalization and the South), instead of the hardliners among the military (who are pro-Beijing and pro-status quo) or one of Kim's sons, gives me a small sense of hope that maybe something might change.

As always, though, the cynic warns me that where power is up for grabs, it's usually the ruthless and the dangerous who seize it, not the just, the righteous, or the wise.

More on that as it comes, I suppose.

For now, I simply conclude with wishing everyone my best regards, as usual,

Chris

-----Postscript: While it is only a very small gesture, and not nearly sufficient to alleviate the grief of those close to and who knew him, I'd like to use this space to wish Dan Lungo rest and peace, and healing to his friends and his family. Dan was a friend and colleague of mine from Graduate School at the University of Waterloo, and while I can only wish, in hindsight, that I knew him better, I can say that he was a good man, and one of the strongest I've ever met. Dan Lungo recently passed away from cancer, and I regret not being able to attend his funeral.

Chris Joseph, whom I mentioned earlier, commented that Dan never gave up, even though he knew what was going wrong and what was happening to him--he still pursued his education, up to and including into his PhD program. He was a smart and dedicated young man, and his death is a loss to all who knew him. I always enjoyed talking with him, and I will miss his intelligence, dry sense of humour, and his friendship.

May peace be with you, my friend.

Seoul's Soul

2008-09-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Hello again all,

Well, a week into teaching, and we're already exploring the country. The first week of school went well--I have a few problem kids/classes, but nothing that won't work itself out with time, discipline, and a little bit of ingenuity in creating fun activities. My Grade 5 Senior 4 class is a bit rowdy, but they're getting better. My Grade 8s, meanwhile, refuse to talk overmuch in class, so I've got to keep finding ways to keep them interested.

So. The week ends, we go out for a pint and a pizza at a Western-themed Korean bar. I kid you not on that one... it's got British fare and pub signs everywhere, and it is a microbrewery, so the pilsner was quite good! The company was great as well, since I got a chance to meet and greet most of the teachers in a non-working environment... definitely less stress involved after-hours.

We then went out to a nightclub/martini bar (best way to describe it) for darts, a couple of flaming shots called Cherry Bombs, and a behind-the-bar dance routine by the Korean staff. There was juggling, flames, and a choreographed routine set to the latest K-Pop song.

I admit, I got my ass handed to me in darts, but that's no surprise.

Then, Saturday, Jen, myself, Daniel and Oliver (two other teachers) went off to Seoul, the capital, accompanied by David, one of the veteran teachers. We got on the bus in Suwon, near Kyung-Hee University, and rode it for about 20-25 minutes into the outskirts of downtown Seoul.

Now, I say the "outskirts" of downtown Seoul rather tentatively. Seoul, proper, is 10-odd million people. The city stretches for several dozen kilometres in every direction from the downtown area near Insadong, and we only arrived Gangnam subway station, which is a good, say, 30 minutes on the tube to Insadong and Seoul's bustling heart near Namdaemoon. Of course, there's dozens of burroughs, much like New York City or London, dozens of mini-communities that have their own flavour and feeling and personality.

Insadong has dozens of shops, at least two palaces, and a host of other amazing features, including the arts & crafts "villa," for lack of a better term, where we stopped and shopped for taffy and grabbed a lunch of stone-bowl bibimbap with bulgogi. Daniel was brave and had octopus bibimbap (cooked), and David had what was essentially the same thing, but with Kimchi and Cheese. I guess it's like a Mac-And-Cheese but Korean. Kind of.

I even got a chance to try my hand at helping hammer the toffee into softness. Anything's better than having to do telemarketing back home, right?

From Insadong, we walked downtown towards the centre of Seoul itself:

There are dozens of major streets throughout the city, including one leading up towards the old palaces that have since been restored following the Korean and Second World Wars (not much survived the rather bloody fighting in this part of the peninsula).

There's also the recently restored canal running, literally, through the heart of downtown Seoul. What used to be an apparently filthy segment of town was recently gentrified and restored to its older form. There must have been well over a thousand Koreans wandering the canal, although not so many that we could not find a little tranquility to rest, as well.

We wandered around some more downtown, into several shops and into what has to have been the largest bloody bookstore I've ever seen in my life. It was probably the size of a Montreal mall's entire first floor, for example, like the Eaton Centre, except one store.

Back topside, we also got a cool picture of Admiral Yi's statue--the man who saved Korea from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion following his victory in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai (Age of the Country at War) in the 1500s. Considering he had about 6 turtleboats (the first ironclad vessels in the world) against hundreds of Japanese ships, that's something to be able to brag about. I'm therefore not at all surprised to see him get a statue figuratively guarding the approach to the palace.

From Insadong and the northern end of downtown, we walked south towards Namdaemoon market. If Insadong is the cultural and political soul of Seoul, then Namdaemoon market is its beating, bustling heart. En route, though, we stopped to watch the changing of the guard at one of the many palaces and gates within the downtown district. Notice, of course, that the palace is right across the street from a Dunkin' Donuts. After all, the King must have his snacks, no?

From there, we soldiered on towards Namdaemoon. I include the the following picture so that others may know the harrowing size and speed of the streets in downtown Seoul. And, by the way, this is actually a small street for the city.

We arrived in Namdaemoon and Myungdong district to do some shopping--Daniel needed a shoulder bag to hold all the stuff he was carrying in his pockets, and managed to bargain down the shopkeeper from 22,000 Won (22$) to 20,000. I picked up a Korean Red Devils football jersey--something I'd promised myself I'd do. Now I just have to find the right time to wear it in class.

Finally, in Myungdong, below, we looked around the bustling streets for more shopping and to find our way south to the subway station back to Gangnam and from there, back to Suwon.

After returning home at about 7:45, Daniel split off to head back to his place, while Oliver, Jen, and I went out for Pizza Hut. After all that, we felt the need for some North American cuisine, and, deciding against the Squid, Potato, Shrimp, or Mayonaisse and BBQ Chicken pizza, we settled on an old standard: Peperoni (deliberately mispelled as per the translation in the restaurant).

A fun day, although we're all quite exhausted. I've just finished marking my papers as of 11 AM Sunday morning, or 10 PM Saturday Toronto/Montreal-time (recall that this entire adventure took place from 12PM - 8 PM Saturday morning Korean time, 11PM - 7 AM EST).

Just cleaning the apartment for tonight, when we'll have some friends over for some Settlers of Catan, Risk, Soju, and relaxation.

Cheers, all,

Chris

--Still looking for a good PC Bang to check out and post about, as well as a Dojang. I'll find one yet, or just head over to the University... they're famous for giving degrees (like BAH, MA, PhD) in Tae Kwon Do, so I'm sure they'll let me train with them.--

Remember to check out Jen's website at http://careerandjobsearchinghelp.blogspot.com for more interesting pictures and stories, as well.

A Week In

2008-08-31T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, it's been a crazy week. Between four days of orientation, and prepping our first lesson plans, between having to learn enough of the Korean language and written system (Han-geul) to survive and be able to order food or find such basic necessities as water, a power adaptor (the Koreans use 220 Volts, not 110 like North America--you can easily fry your computer if you're not careful), and getting over jet-lag, it's been a hectic week.

Jen and I are starting to settle in to our little part of Asia. Suwon's a neat, bustling city, and the people are just as go-go-go as Seoul, or Tokyo, or New York, or Montreal, if not more so. One can still find people milling about the streets at 2 or 3 in the morning, looking for another place to hang out with friends and coworkers.

You may have seen, on Jen's website, some of the photos of our apartment. Just this Friday, we went out with Jin (our supervisor); her partner Aki; Heya, my academic counsellor and direct co-worker; Naomi, our finance expert; and Daniel and Oliver, our co-teachers, to a Korean BBQ restaurant, and enjoyed a night of chatting, cooked meat and kimchi, and soju. Koreans, I have to say, love to party, and hard. We left the restaurant to go home, whilst our co-workers went out to the spa to relax.

The next night, we did a bit more of the same, although this time, we went to a tuna restaurant: the meal was frozen, raw slices of fish with kimchi, veggies, and spices. Everything's spicy at most restaurants here, but you can get the less spicy stuff if you look hard enough.

And today, we decided to try our hand at the public transit system, and make our way to downtown Suwon. We were rewarded for our 1,000 Won/1$ bus ticket with a trip to the wall of Hwaseong Fortress, an old castle and fortification system that surrounds the downtown segment of Suwon.

After two hours of trekking along the Eastern wall, we still hadn't even gotten more than a third of the way around the massive fortifications, and were enjoying some rather spectacular views of downtown. Then, we hit the edge of the southern wall, and walked down to street level--smack-dab in the heart of Jedong and Padalmun markets. Suffice it to say, we immediatly began bargain-shopping. Daniel, one of our co-workers bought, and to his credit, ate, a cup full of silkworm larvae. Probably something I won't repeat again, but interesting. As for me, I just got a green onion and egg pancake to fuel up.

We moved on to Padalmun Gate, below, and hurried across several lanes of traffic, to reach the Hwaseong Haeggung, the Hwaseong Palace of King Jeongjo. We snapped a few pics, and turned back only slightly dejected by the fact that the gates were closing. More to see later--have I mentioned we only saw a quarter to one-third of the wall?

So, we're getting there. Still nervous about teaching, but we're definitely enjoying tooling around the countryside. Our Korean is basic, but we know enough to get what we need and get out politely. Koreans are, I'm learning, a bit more insular than most Canadians, but many of the younger crowds are very friendly, and will help out if you look entirely lost.

Then there's the party culture. There's a lot of drinking. I think every table next to us, and our own as well, went through at least two bottles of soju over dinner. And why not, when it costs less than 3$ for each bottle, which is more than enough for a shot or two for all? There's probably no better way to get to know and become friends with folks here than to go out for dinner and a drink, and then a trip to a bar for another, and then a trip to a noraebang or DVD-bang for some fun afterwards.

Anyway, more from abroad soon. I'm off to bed, since I start teaching tomorrow afternoon. Here goes!

Best regards,

Chris

Jen's blog and pictures

2008-08-28T15:51:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Jen, my partner, has her own blog herehttp://careerandjobsearchinghelp.blogspot.com/, and has some neat photos of our time in Korea up there under the blog article "...and the washing machine sings..."

And it does. Believe me, it does.

Landing Abroad

2008-08-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

Started off the day in Timmins, Ontario, waking up at 4 AM to catch the red-eye flight at 6 AM to Toronto's Pearson International Airport. We didn't have any hitches, here--we'd been worried our bags would get lost in the shuffle or something would get confiscated, somehow. We'd been careful not to pack anything like razor blades or gels, but you never know. Especially since Jen decided we should paint our bags with what we belatedly realized was some sort of rust paint to ensure that our bags were identifiable. A long story, but in short, a friend of Jen's mom had actually hand painted (with fabric paints, not the other stuff) some really cute designs to help distinguish two of our bags and ensure we didn't lose them in the airport, so we wanted to make sure the other ones that didn't have the designs to be semi-recognizeable.

Let's get something out of the way: the flight is 13 hours long. That's right, 13 hours from Toronto to Seoul-Incheon International Airport. That's not including the wait between flights, since we arrived at Pearson at 8 AM, and our flight left Pearson at 10AM. There's also customs, but believe it or not, Korean customs is rather pleasantly painless and quick compared to some places we've been to (Gatwick is by far the worst organized airport customs I've ever seen, by comparison). So we were in transit for almost 18 hours, give or take a bit.

We were rewarded with some gorgeous views of Alaska and the Bering Strait, since the flight took us over that route. Nothing but mountains and cool green land below, and then the dizzying blue-on-blue of the Pacific when we started angling south towards Mongolia, Japan, and Korea.

We approached Korea from the eastern coast, from what we call the Sea of Japan but what is referred to here as the East Sea. From above, Korea is... different. It's mostly green, with one or two areas that look like sand or mining from above, but is probably homes and small-ish cities in reality. It looks almost uninhabited in places--something we've learned is not exactly accurate once we landed!--and it's hard to understand why until you get to ground level and realize that Korea is almost entirely mountainous. What little land is flat and closer to sea level is heavily urbanized and developed to within an inch of its life. Such as, for example, Seoul and Incheon. Seoul looks like a combination of what thinks of in a regular city from above, combined with an urban sprawl that goes on for several dozen if not a hundred kilometres, and massive, box-like buildings that are visible from the air above it like cigarette cartons sticking up from the ground.

Seoul is composed of 10 million souls plus, and it looks it. Incheon, Suwon, and several other cities, once undoubtedly more isolated, are now connected to the capital of South Korea by a very well-designed series of highways, bus routes, subways, and railroads. The roads cut through the mountains, literally, via a series of tunnels that connect districts of Seoul and Incheon to other burroughs and to the other cities surrounding the megapolis. Incheon is out near the coast, a gorgeous series of beaches, atolls, and small islands stretching into the South China Sea. After collecting our bags and breezing through customs (I kid you not, it took all of 20 minutes), we were greeted by a young Korean man who directed us to a cab, told it where to go (evidently it was pre-arranged by the company since we didn't have to pay for it) and sent us off with a wave before turning back to the terminal to await the next flight of ESL teachers inbound, from New York City, I gather from the folks we met at orientation today.

Driving in Korea is much like driving in any other country, except that there are many more people here then there are in anyplace in Canada, proportionally. Even Toronto is not so densely populated--you could, apparently, fit all of Greater Seoul into the GTA area a couple of times over, but have almost four or five times more people. The mountains (baby mountains, our colleague Jin calls them) jut up around the highway. It's unlike anything else I've ever seen, save for, maybe, the Appalachians. These mountains are much smaller than the Appalachians or the Rockies, but the density of the hills is astonishing. Especially given that the Koreans appear to have built around and below the hills in the valleys of the country, rather than trying to build up onto them like San Francisco or Rome. It's a neat change, and gives one the impression of a society trying to live in some form of harmony with its surroundings as much as imposing the human presence on the environment it inhabits.

We arrived in Suwon after about 2 hours of travel by taxi (have I mentioned I'm glad we didn't have to pay for the trip yet?) due to the traffic. Suwon is, by comparison to Seoul, not overly huge. It's connected to the megapolis by highway and is on the tail end of the 1 Subway line, so it feels like they're almost one city. Suwon is, still, smaller, and less dense as a result. We were dropped off outside our school's building, and dragged our bags up inside and into an elevator to the 6th Floor. We met Jin, our supervisor, along with BJ, the manager of the Youngdong campus where we work, and a few other coworkers: Naomi; Jin's boyfriend Aki; and two women named Sarah, one Korean, and one a Westerner.

BJ, Jin, Sarah (Sarah "2," as she calls herself, the Westerner), and Aki helped us load up BJ's SUV, and Jin drove us, along with Aki and Sarah to our apartment, about a five-minute walk from the school building itself.

We unpacked, and Sarah and Jin showed us how to make use of the amenities--the heat in Korean apartments comes up from pipes inserted just below the floorboards, which makes for an interesting experience, apparently. One can, in winter, freeze glass next to an open window if one's not careful, while the occupant of the apartment sleeps warm and snug in bed on a mattress on the floor.

The bathroom's one area where the difference sinks in: one showers in the same "section" of the bathroom as the toilet and the sink. Water drains down through a grille in the floor, and one squeegees the remaining water into the drain after one finishes.

Overall, our room is quite nice. It's not huge, but it's hardly as tiny as one might think it would be. Apparently, the room we're in is a bachelor, but it's comfortable enough for two, and we haven't even moved into the bigger flat where we'll be staying in October once the other couple currently working here leaves.

A neat experience. The jetlag is rough, but we managed to trick our bodies enough by not sleeping until 10 PM Korean time (we landed at 12 noon, or 11 PM the previous day EST), and by not eating food on the plane until it was appropriate to do so for Korean time (i.e., no dinner EST, but breakfast at 6 AM on the plane KST).

Speaking of jetlag--it's definitely setting in, now, so I think I'm going to crawl into bed. We start at 1PM tomorrow for more training, so I'm going to try and get some rest.

Best regards,

Chris

Beijing

2008-08-08T07:24:00.001-07:00

Huh, weird. That last one didn't post for a week. Oh well...

So. Beijing. As most of you probably know, the Olympics just got under way: http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/2008/08/07/olympics-ceremonies.html

While I admit, during the Olympics, even a jaded, cynical (young) miser like will occasionally come out of his shell, raise the Red & White Maple Leaf, and become an ardent nationalist... this year, I find it difficult to do so. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad China got the Games. A lot of people have raised a lot of questions about it, but I'm glad for two reasons: Reason the First--it's an acknowledgment that, regardless of it's political choices, the PRC is a global power. While some (http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/08/06/f-china-risebg.html) might argue that it might result in a more aggressive China, by the same token, the Olympics may cause China to have to confront some new tensions internally as some Chinese begin to embrace the ideas of other cultures. At the very least, it appeases the sense that China is somehow a "sick man" of Asia like the old Ottoman Empire. Giving them the games hopefully will appease the Chinese, and ease tensions somewhat. Reason the Second--even though it will not change anything, it does force the world to look at what they're supporting when they work with China, such as the oppression of Tibet (the BBC's resources on that troubled region are quite good: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4152353.stm), the issues in Xinjiang, and, of course, their long-standing issue with the Kuomintang in Taiwan.

Suffice it to say, China has a lot of things they, from a Western perspective, need to address in order to overcome what has been a shockingly bad human rights record. I could point to the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and other remnants of the old Maoist days, but even Hong Kong and the other "Special Economic Zones" represent issues. Hong Kong has to continually fight for their long-standing democratic traditions (granted, these *were* imposed on them by the British, but they appear to want to keep them--http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/01/13/hong-kong.html), whereas the Special Economic zones are Capitalism-Redux--these areas are capitalism without any of the controls, and often are hotbeds of human rights abuses.

If the Olympics do nothing else, they should at least focus attention around the world on these issues. If the IOC and the other major powers had any brains, they'd at least try to politely suggest that the PRC consider making at least some minor concessions on some of these issues, or begin opening dialogue on the matter. Sadly, I don't think that's going to happen--the Olympics and the rest of the world have this rather annoying tendency to ignore the human rights abuses of countries hosting the Olympics (forgive me for invoking Godwin's Law, here, but Dan Simmons says it better than I about the 1936 Nazi Olympics: http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message.htm, though they're not alone).

If anyone expects serious change out of this, they're probably sadly mistaken... I admit to some modest hope that maybe they can result in some modest diplomatic gestures to improve the worst of the conditions in China, but I know they're doubtful. Sadly, the Olympics continue to serve a propaganda purpose when they're given to regimes like China. I can enjoy the pageantry, butI continue to hope that the belief of people like Nelson Mandela will someday come true about the Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAjKoYIwsfA. It's not true, yet, but someday, maybe...

Best regards,

Chris

PS: Okay, here's where my nationalist streak comes out--> http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/olympians/story/2008/05/27/f-olympics-taekwondo-sergerieprofile.html

I practice Tae Kwon Do, as well, and I'm really rooting for Sergerie on this one. Best chance we've had in a while to win...

And as for Soccer--Go Girls Go! :) http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/soccer/story/2008/07/10/canada-brazil.html

War and Peace

2008-07-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Read an interesting article or two over the past week about Obama, McCain, and their views on the Middle East. Given that the Democratic candidate was recently on a rather whirlwind-like tour of Israel, the Middle East, and Europe, it's inevitable that the major media organizations would begin speculating on the subject of what either he or McCain would do with regards to handling the Middle East's tricky political situation (read: the major conflicts brewing there).

A couple of examples of good articles on the subject from the BBC can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7519411.stm In this article, the BBC discusses the impact of Obama's trip to Europe, and, not to be outdone, there's a companion piece on McCain's criticism, however polite, of Obama's Germany speech of late: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7524300.stm

Most of the speculation is on the political impact on the US election race, which is unsurprising. Most of the concern is not so much the policies of the candidates, but how their policies, ideas, and imagery will affect their target audience--the American electorate. There's a lot of good speculation out there about this, and I agree with the former article above that, at the very least, Obama has managed to win the battle for headline space. Of the two, being in Germany and getting that kind of audience is, in the words of my generation, much more awesome than giving a standard stump speech in Middle America. Maybe these sorts of things might be why he's leading in the polls again? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7518581.stm

Well, either that or the fact that McCain keeps sticking his foot in his mouth, and now we're not distracted by Clinton vs. Obama... http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/18/a_mccain_gaffe_in_jordan.html, http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16270.html#more-16270... and let's not forget his constant issues trying to find a decent priest: http://www.whatsdrivingyoucrazy.com/blog/2008/03/01/rich-bigoted-preacher-endorses-mccaincatholic-church-whore-of-babylon/

All this is interesting... but I'm more worried about what happens after either Obama or McCain get elected. I wasn't a fan of, say, Hillary Clinton becoming the next President of the United States, largely because of my dislike for her platform. I've never been happy with her ever since the Health Care debacle she oversaw while Bill Clinton was President--she's never tried Universal Health Care since--http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/03/26/clinton-health-070326.html. The article calls her plan bureaucratic and restrictive... what it fails to mention is the sheer amount of corporate backwash she got buried under when she tried to push a public health system through. I guess the HMOs didn't like the idea of losing their monopoly on the ability to abuse their patients. Similar issues arise with her foreign policy agenda--her comment on Iran showed that while she might claim to be "experienced" when it came to foreign policy, her image of a strong-willed diplomat covered a more hawkish attitude (just like her husband during his tenure, I might add)--> http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/champblog/2008/04/the_bloodying_of_barack_obama.html

McCain and Obama, meanwhile, represent slightly more unknown factors, but one might be able to hazard a guess on how they would proceed. McCain's made no secret of his desire to continue to keep US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. While he might be willing to continue to increase their numbers, even he has to pay at least lip-service to the growing distaste with the war back home. Now, any change in foreign policy compared to the current regime in Washington is probably going to be at least slightly helpful--McCain, at least, will probably try to hold a peace conference or two for the Israelis and Palestinians, but he still has to support the hawks because that's one of the core constituencies of the Republicans. His comment in this article (mostly about Obama) is telling: "When you win wars, troops come home." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7519411.stm Anybody else think he's going to be withdrawing troops anytime soon if he should win the election?

Obama talks big, and that's both what makes me hopeful and somewhat worried about him as President. Clinton talked big, but still was willing to bomb Yugoslavia, an issue which Chomsky has slammed him for on multiple occasions, and which I lack the space to cover in much depth, here. For a better summary, I suggest his book Hegemony or Survival--he basically rips up the idea that the 'ethnic cleansing' (nice word for "forced evacuation at the end of a gun) was "stopped" by the bombing. So, can Obama's big promises work?

He recently dropped in on both sides of the conflict in Israel/Palestine, paying his respects at the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, dropping in on the Palestinian leadership in Ramalla, and so forth, before heading for his appointments in Europe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7518581.stm

He's urged Iran to come back to the debating table, and has commented on several points about holding negotiations with them, with the Cubans, with Syria, and so forth. In short, Obama's position strikes as being a more moderate one than we've seen for two decades from the US, and probably the most sane one I've heard in years. If you want to put an end to the conflicts in the Middle East, you actually do have to talk to the other side, something President Bush was less than skilled at.

At the same time, though, Obama has to appease his own supporters: the so-called "Jewish vote" back home. Some of that Jewish segment of the United States is all for dialogue and for negotiation with the other inhabitants of the Middle East. Most, I suspect, would be happy with such a course of action because they too recognize that force only begets more of itself, and to promote peace one has to show that one is willing to negotiate and to make compromises.

The other side of the "Jewish vote" back home, however, are both those Jews and Christians who unfailingly support the state of Israel, and some of its more hawkish politics. Most of the articles I've listed above about Obama in the Middle-East tend to deal with this in some detail, so I will let you read it for yourself there, but the gist is that there are a lot of hawks in America, and if Obama wants to be the next President of the United States, he has to appease them.

So, this leads to my point in all of this: while McCain and Obama may talk the talk on the campaign trail, I don't know, and neither does anyone, what they'll do when they're actually in office. It seems that many people in Germany and elsewhere like Obama (cautiously so in Israel/Palestine, but elsewhere, he's seen as something of a fresh breeze from these shores), and hope that he'll be a force for change (like the campaign slogan says). McCain comes across as more of the same from the Bush camp. Maybe he'll run the war more intelligently, but he still plans to run the war. At least he's being honest with us. I want to be able to trust Obama--indeed, he makes that desire to trust so easy!-- and believe that he'll do the right thing when he wins the election--I say when, not if, because frankly, the only way McCain can win after the disaster that has been the Bush Presidency is if Obama decides to do something really stupid like wander naked down the streets of Washington or kill a litter of puppies.

However, Obama has already received comparisons to that previous Presidential candidate and President, also seen as a "force for change," one John F Kennedy. The problem with that, of course, was that Kennedy talked the talk... but was quite okay with ordering invasions of Cuba and authorizing Nuclear Missile strikes during the Cuban Missile Crisis--see Chomsky, again, or the recent movie Fog of War by McNamara for more details on that.

Like Kennedy, Obama may just be playing to the crowd. I hope that this is not the case, but then, this is politics. And at this point, what really frightens me is not so much that Obama or McCain will flip-flop in office... it's that most of the rest of the world is really, really, really hoping that the US is not going to foul things up again. If one of the candidates makes promises, and then does the same thing as Bush, the US will have probably lost what little credibility it has left. And despite all their mistakes and all the wrong-doing in Iraq (Abu Ghraib, for example), the US is still one of the most democratic countries in the world, and has the potential to do a vast amount of good.

But if even somebody who promises "change" so much as does Obama becomes the next Emperor of the new Imperium Americana... well, say farewell to the Republic, and to any lingering feelings of trust and friendship for the US from most of the rest of the world--and goodbye to much of that potential for good I lauded earlier.

I'm hoping that won't be the case, but, like any good Cynic, I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, just in case.

Best regards,

Chris

Knights and Jokers

2008-07-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Well, it's finally out. I admit, this is not a political comment, and therefore slightly off-topic, but I didn't think I could let the movie Dark Knight pass without at least speaking on it, however briefly.

First, a bit of a quotation that I think might help folks understand where I'm coming from as I review this movie. Apologies for the length:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! You've read about it in the papers! Now witness, before your very eyes, that most rare and tragic of natures mistakes! I give you: the average man. Physically unremarkable, it instead possesses a deformed set of values. Notice the hideously bloated sense of humanity's importance. Also note the club-footed social conscience and the withered optimism. It's certainly not for the squeamish, is it? Most repulsive of all, are its frail and useless notions of order and sanity. If too much weight is placed upon them... they snap. How does it live, I hear you ask? How does this poor pathetic specimen survive in todays harsh and irrational environment? I'm afraid the sad answer is, "Not very well". Faced with the inescapable fact that human existence is mad, random, and pointless, one in eight of them crack up and go stark slavering buggo! Who can blame them? In a world as psychotic as this... any other response would be crazy!" - Batman: The Killing Joke

That is from Alan Moore's take on the character of the Joker, written back in the late 1980s. While I can't confirm the veracity of the rumours, apparently, this particular Batman story was given by Christopher Nolan to Heath Ledger, to help him understand the character he'd be playing. As most people know, Ledger died shortly after wrapping up the work on the film The Dark Knight, so there's a bit of a bitter note to reviewing his work in this film: as brilliant as he is, it's even more tragic to see him playing such a morbid character because of his own death, and because it may have been a small part of what caused his death. Part of that makes what he does all the more terrifying.

The Joker is, like Batman, and indeed, like this movie, both a comic book character and an iconic image that reflects as much of the people watching him/them and the way he/they are portrayed as anything else. The character of the Joker started, in Bob Kane's original comics, as a sociopath who just happened to look like a clown. Part of this was the imagery--clowns can be a frightening image, something that looks like its smiling, even if doing something that, out of the context of the circus or the joke, can be quite horrifying. Part of it may not have been intended by Kane, but it certainly comes out in the current era of comics (like Moore's Killing Joke) and in the current Batman film world envisioned by Christopher Nolan.

The 1960s version of the Joker and the Batman kind of put a dent in what is an otherwise fascinating character, turning him into the "Clown Prince of Crime," a joking, wisecracking buffoon who was more witty than dangerous. So too, Jack Nicholson's take on the character. As memorable as it was in Tim Burton's Batman, the character had become, for better or for worse (he was certainly more amusing than Ledger's Joker, who is not, in any way, funny), a clown or a jester who just happened to commit crimes.

Ledger's Joker, and the new Dark Knight, put the Joker back in his original territory. Just like Batman Begins, the previous film in this new, darker, take on the Batman mythos, did for the Batman himself, the Dark Knight returns its primary characters to what, I think, they were meant to be. The Batman and his world is not just comic book territory. Don't get me wrong, the mythos couldn't have existed outside the comic book genre, but it's one of those extremely rare comic books that manages to tap into something more, and can as a result exist as more than its creator may have wanted. The Batman, the Joker, Harvey Dent, and the movie itself all become more than just cartoon characters on a big screen--they become archetypes, fundamental points of view that ask very troubling questions about the human condition.

One of my favourite writers is Albert Camus, a French Algerian Noble Laureate. Among his many interesting works are two books in particular that seem to have been borrowed from by Moore, and perhaps unconsciously, the whole mythos. They are the Myth of Sisyphus, and The Rebel. In both books, Camus explores the implications of the nihilist and existentialist position that the universe is meaningless (no higher authority or meaning) and random. Unlike the nihilist, who decides to make meaning from power to escape the void of the meaningless world around him, or the existentialist, who simply lives amid that void, Sisyphus and the Rebel both see themselves as happy in the absurd predicament they are in. Sisyphus is condemned to roll a rock up a hill for all time for his crimes, only to see it crash down each time he reaches the top. When he walks back down to start again, Camus paradoxically calls the Greek happy. The Rebel rejects human attempts to create order in the universe because they can become tyrannical, choosing instead to rebel out of solidarity for his fellow human being--after all, if she cannot know what is true, how can anyone else, and how therefore can she deny anyone the ability to face the absurdist position and make their own choice how to deal with it.

The Joker has always fascinated me because he takes an alternative path out of Camus' dilemma--in a meaningless world, one can either kill oneself (a cop-out, Camus thinks, because that effectively dodges the dilemma instead of struggling to accept/resolve it), live with it as best one can, or become a tyrant and try to impose meaning on the world. The third choice, by the way, is the one that it seems Harvey Dent tries to take at the end of the movie, and one wonders if perhaps that is exactly what Batman is trying to avoid. But the Joker--he slips out the side door! He goes bonkers: "Madness is the emergency exit. You can just step outside, and close the door on all those dreadful things that happened. You can lock them away... forever." - Batman: The Killing Joke

The most worrisome part of that choice is, of course, that he might be right. In the face of horror, and depravity, and confronted with the utter meaninglessness of existence--mightn't it be saner to go mad?

Now, I doubt that Nolan seriously intended to throw in Camus, or such existentialist oddities as I've mentioned here. My point in bringing them in is to show just how much depth and meaning one can find in both the Batman comics and in this new movie (and it's predecessor Batman Begins). The brilliance of The Dark Knight is that Nolan has crafted a movie that manages to ask these fundamental questions about our own sanity, and forces the audience to come up with an answer. At the end of the movie, everything Batman has gained has been taken back--he's an illegal vigilante again, the man he hoped would replace him has become a monster, and the only people who will know the truth of his struggle are the man who has to chase him (Gordon, for appearances sake), the woman he loves (Rachel, murdered by his enemy), his two confidantes (Alfred and Fox, who will never be able to tell anyone), and his arch-enemy (the Joker, who I suspect would figure out the ruse, and try to tear it all down again). The audience is left without any easy answers--something that's risky in a "Summer Blockbuster" (TM), but that is the right way to end the film. It leaves the audience with all the tough questions, and then trusts us enough to find our own answers. How very much like Camus.

I could nitpick at one or two plot points--Lau, a villain from Hong Kong, is somewhat superfluous to the main plot, and his on-screen death is only barely hinted at; the Joker claims not to plan anything in advance, but his fiendish trick with the two boats is, frankly, something that would require intricate levels of planning. But then again, these are minor, and the latter drives home something about the character Ledger has managed to create--he absolutely believes everything he says to be true, to the point that the audience is left scratching its head, wondering if just maybe he might be right.

Ledger managed to make the Joker both represent an interesting philosophical point, that madness is the only logical response to an insane world, and a terrifyingly frightening villain (everytime that guitar riff hit, when my wife Jen and I knew that he was about to appear, we actually flinched and tried to find each other's hand in the dark of the theatre for comfort!). Bale's Batman is as conflicted as ever, and all the more interesting because despite all his rage, all his terrifying darkness, he is, as Gordon (the ever-brilliant Gary Oldman, who earned more cheers from the crowd when he made his apparent return from the grave on-screen than the truck-flipping action sequence!) points out, the hero that Gotham, and humanity, needs. He makes the right choice, no matter the cost--and at what cost! Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face becomes a bit murkier towards the end, though this may be because of the CGI involved in bringing him to life, and because next to the Joker, Two-Face's more subtle character has to shine very hard to overcome the sheer power of the Ledger/Bale interplay. That said, it's on Two-Face that the whole dilemma of the film revolves, as much as Batman--he is the Joker's point, made manifest, while Gordon and Batman, and the people on the boats, are the only real hope we have that human beings can be decent even in the face of horror.

One last thing. One of the reasons why I think I'm putting this near the very top of my list of All-Time Best Movies is that it manages to get my wife and I to agree on its brilliance. Now, that's a good reason for anyone to like a film (i.e., you and your partner can enjoy it together), but the differences between us, again, illustrate the brilliance of Nolan's movie. I'm a political scientist, and Jen is a psychologist. She read a few comics now and again as a kid, but never really got into them as much as I did, and only read more of them after we saw V for Vendetta and I introduced her to the graphic novel version of the film, and some of Moore and Frank Miller's other work. I am a comic book fan and a gamer, meanwhile, in addition to my other pursuits. This film manages to drive home to both of us how the Dark Knight and The Batman itself are both comic book-fare, and something entirely different. It manages to give the audience something to reflect on that will be different for everyone watching it--from the nightmarish version of the Joker's take on the Prisoner's Dilemma, to the political implications of Batman's willingness to use a hyper-advanced wire-tapping system, to the philosophical elements I've already mentioned, above. It is a film that just about anyone could watch, and come away with something different. Regardless of their take on the film, of course, the chilling moral questions will probably remain for a long time, and I haven't seen a supposedly "action" film be willing to gamble and ask these kinds of questions since The Matrix.

I cannot praise the performances of the actors, of the director Nolan and his writing partner (his brother, Jonathan), or the technical wizards who brought the world to life, enough. That this is Ledger's last performance is utterly tragic--the man demonstrates here that he had reached the very top of his game, and he will be all the more missed. One reviewer (http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=17085&reviewer=416) rhetorically asks "Is (...) Ledger in this? I sure didn't recognize him." An odd comment, until one realizes that it is the highest compliment one can give to an actor: that he put aside himself, the actor, entirely, and became his character on screen. A frightening thought, given the nature of this particular character, but I echo the reviewer's praise--while giving him an Oscar for the role might seem like grasping for sympathy, the man deserves it. Everyone involved in the film does a tremendous job--there are so many layers of meaning that one probably should watch it more than once (take that for the free plug that it is!), and can find enough in it to talk about it for weeks afterwards.

I know I will.

Best regards,

Chris

A Little Late, Boys

2008-07-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

The Liberal Party has always by turns amused, frustrated, enamoured, and repelled me. They can be at turns brilliant and utterly bankrupt when it comes to working to help the proverbial "common man" (whatever that is). More often than not, they are a standard political party, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much: they exist to serve the powerful, and to ensure that the political hierarchy of Canada remains relatively unruffled. The differences between the Conservatives and their "Liberal" opponents remain, sadly, rather small.

Witness this: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/15/tech-texting.html.

Not a bad thing to do on the surface, right? Blasting the encumbent government for failing to keep text-message costs low sounds like a decent thing to do. But the problem is, what are they going to actually do about it? Are they going to actually call an election over it? Put in a private members bill?

This raises the spectre of a related issue, net neutrality, which is one of my personal pet projects. Here, the NDP put forward a private member's bill to try and ensure that people's browsing speed would not be throttled by the big Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/05/28/tech-netbill.html

The key part of this second article, for our purposes here, is the bit at the end: Scott Brison, the Liberal MP mentioned with such thunder and fury in the first article above, has yet to say anything more about the subject, even though he had *already met with Bell and Rogers,* the two biggest ISPs in Canada. So, while I'm pleased to see that Brison is taking on these two corporations with regards to fees for cell phones, that's only half the issue with them.

Welcome to the debate, Liberals. Nice to see show up. After all, Google and the NDP can't do everything themselves (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/07/tech-crtc.html).

This is, again, related to my first point: the Liberals and Conservatives alike are mainstream political parties. Their mandate is to get elected, to represent a certain viewpoint of the majority of people and, simultaneously, of the elite, in parliament. The problem is, these two goals are conflicting: what the many desire, the elite do not always agree with. Net neutrality is critical for those of us end-users who rely on the Internet for our news, and for the access to information it provides that those of us outside the elite usually lack access to via regular channels. But, throttling makes sense to the ISPs, to those making money off of the internet, because it keeps their costs low--they charge us the same amount for less service. Easy money.

Again, where do the Liberals come down on this? It seems that Brison is finally weighing in slightly on one of these issues. Even Prentice, the technology minister, has pointed his finger at the ISPs in criticism. But that's not the same as introducing bills to change things for the better. The problem, I fear, is that both major players, the Liberals and Conservatives, want to promise better service and protection for the average user--that's you, me, Jane and Joe Everybody, that amorphous blob that is the "average voter" and their target constituency--but in doing so, they have to take on their other major constituency, the elites that give them their power, from whom they draw the greatest resources and the primary source of their internal membership.

Watching which way the two big players dodge will be interesting. I worry, however, that they will likely be dodging towards the side of safety and the elite, leaving the rest of us to deal with the consequences. As usual.