Kiwi Wonju Blogger

A Few Winter Pictures

2012-02-02T07:44:00.008+09:00

Tuesday night brought wild and windy weather along with the first decent snowfall of the season here in Wonju. On my way to work I took a few pictures before racing of to my office to escape the -13C frost.

The carpark at 6.30 am.

Minimal vision.

Slippery street.

Frozen rubbish.

I've always struggled to read Hangul.

Not much action on 'Kiss Road' this morning.

Cold Feet

The sun creeping down the hill.

Welcome to Yonsei.

David In Andong?

2012-02-01T07:16:00.007+09:00

Well done to the Aussie Cricket Team who thrashed and whitewashed the Indian's 4-0 during a recent Test Match series on home soil. Always nice to see the Indians get thrashed.

As a side note, a true Aussie legend of the game, David Boon, was spotted in Andong recently and I was lucky enough to snap a picture.

David Boon, during his playing days. (source)

David Boon in Andong. Glad to the see the mustache has finally gone. Looking Good!

Farewell Dinner

2012-01-30T06:16:00.005+09:00

A big thank you to Darryl and his wife, Kiri, for treating Gordan and myself to dinner and drinks last night.

Being our (Gord and I) last weekend in Korea, my fellow kiwi colleagues wanted to say goodbye in their own way by treating us.

Such a gesture would also be nice coming from our Korean employers, but that's never gonna happen (year of service and loyalty is just expected).

Anyway, we all had a great night.

Kiri, Darryl and Gordan tucking into some tasty Korean beef. For me, its been a very long time since I've eating at a Korean restaurant so I appreciated the experience all the more.

The 'terrible two'

After dinner snacks....yummy.

Winter 12' Camp Starts

2012-01-27T07:10:00.007+09:00

It's that time again of the year when 100's of middle school students invade the campus while they attend the 10th Murray Camp.

This camp is designed to give disadvantaged students in Gangwon-do Province (those who live in rural areas)a chance to receive some English lessons and to experience what it might be like to attend university here.

For me this camp represents my last teaching stint in Korea and a bit of extra cash.

Over the years I've spent so much time in the classroom with adults that I usually find it difficult adjusting to working with younger students. Yesterday we leveled students and when many can't answer questions like "what is your name?", then you know as a teacher you're gonna have your work cut out.

This is my fifth Murray Camp so nothing should surprise me but you never know.

I'm meant to be teaching the advanced students but I won't believe that until I check my class this morning.

This camp is also shorter than normal (8 days instead of 7) but to be honest, all I really wanna do is get to Manila and help Wheng with our wedding preparations.

Friendly Cat

2012-01-26T20:27:00.003+09:00

In the 5 years that I've been in Korea I've never come across a cat that wasn't petrified of humans. Admittedly many of these cats were either feral or abandoned by their owners, but the fact remains that all the cats I've seen in Korea have been shit scared of humans.

Why?

Well I've also seen my fair share of people throw stones at cats (mostly teenagers) and I've witnessed several people chasing and attempting to kick them (and other animals) simply because they were in their vicinity.

With these experiences in mind, I was totally surprised yesterday when a scruffy-looking cat ran towards me at pace while I was walking outside the Campus Sports Centre and demanded that I pat it.

It wasn't even remotely timid or worried about being being handled and seemed to love the attention. Further, once I left it followed me a good 200 m down the road before it finally turned away.

I'm fairly sure it lives somewhere under the campus bridge and based on the poor condition of its coat, I think its been living there for a quite some time.

Animals like these make me miss New Zealand all the more, where its relatively common for cats to approach random people on the street looking for affection.

New Immigration Adviser

2012-01-26T19:27:00.004+09:00

About 5 months ago I was looking for an accredited immigration adviser in Manila who could help Wheng and I with her New Zealand visa needs.

After a short search I located an adviser in metro Manila and we provided him with all the necessary details. Unfortunately, he's never been prompt with his replies to our email inquiries and this has been especially obvious over the past 6 weeks.

I sent emails requesting meetings with him (I'll be in Manila during February) and Wheng rang his office on many occasions.

Only recently did we discover that our adviser has been ill and in hospital. Further, his license will expire in mid-February and he has decided not to renew it. All of this means that our current immigration adviser cannot legally offer assistance on behalf of NZ Immigration, so now I'm stuck with the task of finding a new adviser.

So a few days ago I did a bit of searching and found 4 potential replacement advisers - ie, those with a current license and close to Manila - and I sent out an email asking for assistance and a quotation for their services.

Only two advisers/organizations bothered to reply which is disappointing, but they already seem one hundred times more organized than the first guy we dealt with.

They were super prompt with their replies and answered all the questions I had.

So Wheng and I already have a meeting arranged in the first week of February with one adviser who is going to assess our 'proof of relationship' documents, and we will aslo have a web conference with another NZ-based adviser while we are in their Manila branch.

The only problem is that good service comes hand-in-hand with higher fees. Their professional service fee is twice that of our first adviser.

Hmm....lots to ponder.

Quiet Lunar New Year

2012-01-24T13:12:00.009+09:00

Happy Lunar New Year!......

It's bloody cold outside and I've managed to do very little over the last few days, except for a short hike and lighting a few fireworks, at night, on a frozen university lake.

All rather boring really, but the fun will start on Thursday when Murray School Camp starts. At least its only 8 days long this semester. Right, where are my ear plugs?

Nothing like this happened where I live. (source)

Last Student Evals - Fall 2011

2012-01-24T12:32:00.009+09:00

Feedback about my teaching is limited to student evaluations and as such, I look forward to reading them at the end of each long semester (Spring and Fall).

Evaluations are a great reflective tool and a good way to gauge whether my feelings about specific classes (ie., levels of rapport) were accurate.

Last week my Fall 2011 evaluations went on-line so I had a little look despite the fact that I'm leaving my workplace, and Korea, in less than two weeks.

My average class evaluation was 4.365 out of 5.0, which is a fairly typical average for me. The Campus (Dept) average for the same semester was 4.16.

To be honest I was hoping for a better score than that, as I felt I was far more easy-going in class and students seemed to enjoy themselves.

However, evaluations from students in my best class (nursing student - listening and speaking classes) were not entered on the my web site, which I'm would have elevated my average score a bit.

Again, my Freshman were less happy with me compared to my seniors (4.20 c.f to 4.53) and one Freshman class in particular gave me a very low evaluation (3.89/5.0).

I remember this class well. It consisted of only 16 students, mostly boys, who just wanted to piss around in class and speak in Korean all the time. They missed two weeks of classes due to national holidays and I really didn't build up any rapport with them at all.

I also received a few comments from students that I'd like to read, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to translate them before I go.

Woori Bank - Where Everything Is 'Impossible'

2012-01-18T11:49:00.014+09:00

The Problem:

My salary goes into my Woori Bank account on Feb 15th along with a Winter School Camp payment,

but ....

I'm leaving Korea on February 4th and hopefully wont be coming back.

My employer won't send my salary and camp payments to my overseas New Zealand account because I'm still technically under contract with them until the end of February (welcome to friendly Korea folks!).

So I go and speak with Woori bank who say.....

it's 'impossible' to have my bank account closed on a specific date (say Feb 16th) unless I'm personally there to do it. When I asked about writing an authorization letter which gives someone permission to close my account for me..... again I'm told 'impossible'.

Yes, I could try using their English banking website, but I've never managed to do anything on that site without problems occurring (the Active X plugin's required are the least of your issues). Further, I'm fairly sure this website isn't even set up for international money transfers.

Alternatively, I could open a KEB account (my boss suggested this) which would allow me to withdraw my money using internet banking when I arrive in New Zealand.

However, I simply don't trust work send my money to this new account (they have a long history is screwing this up).

My Solution:

So I'm gonna leave my Woori account open and have a trusted friend manually withdrawal my cash from a ATM machine. They will then wire transfer my money to me in New Zealand.

Not the best solution I know.

What bugs me the most about all this is just how inflexible both organizations are (my work and the bank). Surely 100's of foreigners have been in the same situation before me?

There simply needs to be a better system put in place.

Oh, and when a Korean person says 'impossible' to you...it means .... 'we don't know the answer to your question/s and can't be bothered helping you. Please go away'.

Rant over :)

One Month Till Wedding Time

2012-01-18T11:16:00.008+09:00

Yep, time is speeding past quickly and today marks about 1 month until our wedding in Manila (Feb 18th).

I feel kinda bad for Wheng, who is stuck trying to organize most things herself. I wanna help, but its hard when I'm currently in a different country. Further, I don't wanna agitate her more by asking lots of questions that don't need to be answered until when I arrive in Manila on February 4th.

But things are progressing along nicely, and we should be ready on the day. If something goes wrong, well so be it. You can only plan so much in my opinion.

On a positive note, the process of obtaining a wedding license in going well and most of my friends have confirmed their attendance for the wedding, except my buddy Iain, who always does things at the last minute.

So today Wheng is trying to find a location for our pre-nuptial photo shoot. Personally, I'm not exactly excited about the prospect of spending a day in front of the camera, but photography is one of Wheng's favorite hobbies and if it keeps her happy, then I'll do my best to look photogenic.

Right, time to write a draft reception speech.

Chin up babe! (source)

Bungee In Zimbabwe Anyone?

2012-01-14T13:07:00.005+09:00

The short video below, taken in Zimbabwe recently, is a good example of why I'm not that keen to try bungee jumping anytime soon. The good news is that the young Aussie girl survived.

(source)

Now compare this to New Zealand's largest bungee, a 134m drop into Nevis Canyon.

(source)

Which one do you prefer?

Proposal Nightmare On TV

2012-01-14T12:46:00.002+09:00

A marriage proposal is a significant event for anyone and is of course a time filled with anxiety, stress, awkwardness, and then hopefully, joy.

So I feel bad for this guy (below), who was rejected after he decided to propose on live TV. Then again, maybe he should have done some homework before he asked for her hand.

Oh the shame! (source)

Workout Blitz

2012-01-14T11:46:00.002+09:00

With only 3 weeks left before I head to Manila, and my wedding, its time to spend some serious hours at the gym. Since I'm not at work again until Jan 26th, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

However, this time my buddy Gord and I are going to incorporate our training programs. We will liff weights 3 times a week (my routine) and on every other day, we will do muscular endurance exercises focusing on core muscle groups (abs) and legs.

On top of the this Gord wants to start running up stairs again at our apartment building (all 12 stories!) because his knee pain is preventing him from hiking outside.

Should be fun.

A Little OfficeTeamwork

2012-01-14T11:25:00.006+09:00

I was busy at work for 13 hours yesterday and I could have been there a lot longer if it wasn't for my office mates, who graded some of my final exams while waiting for their own class 'packets' to be checked.

So a big thank you to Greg, Eric and Larry. After a few years sharing the same office, it's nice to see people helping each other.

Drowning in paperwork - it's always the same at the end of each semester. It would be so easy to devise a better system to record and calculate student attendance, participation, test scores,earned and curved grades. Why they don't is just bewildering.

Chaotic Last Day Looming

2012-01-12T21:24:00.005+09:00

Tomorrow, my last day at work, is going to be very hectic.

I have 48 listening tests and 50 speaking tests to conduct, grade, tabulate, curve and enter, along with a bunch of make-up tests to complete.

On top of this I'll need to wait for employment certificates to be verified by the IEC staff who usually take weeks to do return them.

All my paper is due at 11 pm tomorrow. I'd rather not be in the office at that silly time, but I have a bad feeling I will be.

(source)

Nice View - Shame About The Trees

2012-01-10T22:35:00.008+09:00

I'm lucky enough to live in an area which has an abundance of scenery. Walk literally ten meters outside my door you'll be surrounded by trees and blissful solitude. Proximity is a wonderful thing.

I've spent a lot of time hiking in the hills near where I live and I'll miss this part pf my life when I leave. I feel like I know every inch of the trails after walking on them countless time. So when a random patch of tress are felled rights beside my favorite trail, it bothers me a little.

A random group a trees felled right beside my favorite hiking trail.

A frozen Maeji Lake with the campus in the background. Love the new view, but I'd rather have my tress back.

Garage Sale

2012-01-10T22:21:00.005+09:00

In a last ditch attempt to try and sell all the crap I've accumulated while living here for the past three years, I had a garage sale last weekend.

Unfortunately, the demand for items I was trying to sell wasn't great (see below) and only five people came to make a purchase. I probably sold less than 50% of what I hoped for. Bugger.

Glass storage containers and imported spices were snapped up quickly.

Most of these items will eventually be thrown out :(

New Motorcycle Laws

2012-01-08T21:53:00.013+09:00

I saw (via ROK Drop) a few days that new rules related to motorcycle usage in Korea are being introduced this year. They are;

motorcycles with an engine capacity of less than 50 cc are now required to display a license plate, and
have insurance.

Apparently, if riders violate this law, they will be fined 500,000 won.

Wow, that's a load of cash when compared to how much motorcycles actually cost to buy here.

Now I'm sure placing a license plate on all bikes will enable better identification and generate revenue for various government agencies, but I seriously doubt that these new laws will affect the mind-set of most motorcycle riders.

Most people in Korea will recognize that it's not the legislation (or lack of) which causes so many deaths on Korean roads. No, they are many reasons why so many people die on the roads in Korea, and one of the major causes is non enforcement of traffic laws.

I've ridden in Korea for nearly 4 years and I've probably chalked-up close to 20,000 km during that time. I couldn't possibly begin to recall the number of times of seen riders blatantly break traffic laws right in front of police officers, without any far of the consequences. I myself rode a bike for 3 years without a license plate attached and I only had my bike insured for the first 12 months.

Once I was actually stopped by a policeman who saw that I didn't have a plate. He simply told me to go to City Hall and away I went. No fines, no dramas. On another occasion, I was caught running a red light. Again, I simply apologized and I was free to go. Did I learn anything? Yes, I learned that if I break the law and apologize, then the odds are I won't get into any trouble.

For countless other example, where I live, rural Wonju, I see farmers and students riding unregistered bikes everyday and the local police officers always turn a blind eye.

So sure, make better laws. But until they are actually enforced, they are useless.

Last Week Of Teaching?

2012-01-08T19:49:00.003+09:00

Yes, this week could very well be my last week teaching, ever!

Lol....dreams a free.

Well, it's hard to know what kind of job I'll get once I move back to New Zealand, but the fact remains, I only have 1 week left of regular university winter semester classes.

It's gonna be a busy week (30 hours of teaching) but once its over, its over. No more admin, class prep, writing exams, compiling packets, grading etc. Bring this week on baby!

2012 - Here We Come

2012-01-01T09:50:00.002+09:00

Happy New Year everyone!

2012 - the year of the Black Dragon. For me, 2012 will be a year of change. New country, new job, new house, a wife etc etc.

I'm looking forward to it, but first-things-first. Class prep for next week :(

Married To My Job

2011-12-29T21:26:00.005+09:00

This week has been a shocker in terms of the amount of time I've spent at work, and the week isn't even finished yet.

Apart from teaching 6 hours a day, I've been bogged down with admin tasks (setting-up and entering grades, emailing students etc), preparing for classes and even giving make-up tests to a student (via Yahoo Messenger) who really didn't deserve the second-chance.

I've been arriving at work before 9 am and not leaving until after 7 pm. During that time I get one hour of peace to eat my lunch.

Thankfully the gym reopens next week and hopefully I can force myself to exercise after work.

On the plus side, I've been able to sell a lot of household items that I can't bring back to New Zealand and Gord and I will do another 'night-hike' tomorrow, will should be a lot of fun.

Right, I need sleep.

Back To Work

2011-12-26T08:50:00.002+09:00

Back at work again today :(

Working the day after Christmas sucks but nothing I can do about it.

My last semester at Yonsei will be a busy one. Six hours of teaching per day for three weeks solid. No more three day weekends and huge class sizes (25 per class) means of bit of overtime will be required.

On the plus side, my classes are all full with senior students who are desperate for the course credit to graduate. As such, in-class participation shouldn't be an issue and the extra level of maturity will be appreciated.

Right, I better go and prepare for today.

Happy Birthday Wheng

2011-12-26T07:09:00.000+09:00

Today is a special day for my fiancee, as it's her birthday.

So happy birthday girl. You don't look a day over 18 to me :)

Happy birthday Monkey!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:04:00.004+09:00

Merry Christmas to my family and loved ones in New Zealand, The Philippines and Korea.

Thinking of you all. Take care.

(Source)

(source)

Outdoor Christmas Dinner

2011-12-24T14:52:00.012+09:00

To celebrate our last Christmas in Wonju, Gord and I wanted to do something a little different this year. We decided a hike up to a helipad, located on the hills behind our apartment (a 40 min hike up a steep ridge) at night. I idea was that we would carry lots of food and drink, start a fire and cook our dinner.

To make things interesting, it was dam cold (about - 10C) and it snowed later in the evening.

Here are a few snaps of a very fun night...

Trying to keep warm. I was in charge of the fire, while Gord cooked dinner and poured drinks.

Finding suitable firewood was a constant task.

Enjoying a beer.

Gord mixing his drink of choice... 40% brandy with coke.

Dinner. Veges and chicken. Yummy!

Happy with my grub.

After a few drinks Gord got a little creative with the fire.

Not wanting to start a forest fire, I tried to stop Gord's efforts with my crappy water bottle.

Things got a little more serious, and here I'm stamping out the fire with my shoes.

Later in the evening (10.30) it started to snow.

The snow became heavy and our fire was struggling.....

so we headed back down the hill.

Once back home we were greeted with this..... here a young girl has completely passed-out on the car park, while her caring boyfriend is checking his phone messages.

What a great night!

There's just something magical and primitive about being in the outdoors, hiking at night, starting your own fire and cooking on it, collecting firewood, admiring the stars and city lights, and trying to keep warm when everything around you is freezing (including my drinks).

A Christmas dinner I wont forget.

Head X-Ray

2011-12-22T21:16:00.011+09:00

Have you every seen an x-ray of your own head?

I hadn't, until today.

A took a tip to the hospital as I've been experiencing some discomfort (dull pain) near my ear and felt that I might have a mild infection. While talking to my doctor I mentioned that I occasionally get sinus pain also, especially when the seasons change. So my doctor suggested I get a head x-ray to check for inflammation of my sinus canals.

That sounded pretty dam cool to me and away I went to the another room for a dose of radiation.

Twenty minutes later I was back in the doctor's office inspecting a digital image of my x-ray. I can't tell you how fascinating I found this image to be. The detail and resolution of the image was brilliant and you could clearly see my sinus canals, which all looked fine according to my doctor.

Soon after I returned home with a packet antibiotics and a regret that I didn't ask for a electronic copy of my x-ray. Bugger, I missed out on a cool souvenir.

Not my head obviously. (source)

Perfect Exam Score

2011-12-22T20:17:00.006+09:00

As mentioned previously, I've been trying to motivate myself to study for an on-line Teaching Business English Course that I'd enrolled in a few months ago.

Well finally I sat down and started reading 5 units of course material last Thursday. Apart from reading and understanding the material, students are asked to complete units tasks which test your ability to apply what you had learned in a Business English setting. Additionally, some unit tasks required the learner to research material not covered in the unit from internet sources.

So after nearly four, full-days of study and reversion of my TESOL 4-week on-site course material (which is completed in Cebu last August), I felt ready to take the final exam.

Once I downloaded the exam I had 24 hours to write and submit essay-style answers to 12 questions.

I immediately noted instructions at the top of the first page warming test takers not to plagiarize answers (from the internet), which I guess is a major problem these days.

Anyway, it took me about 10 hours to complete all of my answers and by the time I'd finished, my exam document was 8 pages in length. I felt this was a little excessive so I tired to 'trim the fat' on some of my answers before submitting the final document.

So today I was really surprised to receive an email which said that I'd been awarded a perfect score (65/65, 100%) by my evaluator. Wow!

Honestly, I didn't think I'd 'nailed' the test at all, and I know a few of my answers were a little weak in detail. Nevertheless, I'm not gonna ask for a retest and now I have another lione to put on my CV.

Goodbye Kim Jong-iI

2011-12-19T19:49:00.009+09:00

Huge news today as it was officially announced by the North Korean Government that their 'Dear leader, Kim Jong-ll, had died.

He was 69 years old (we think?) and the exact cause of death, like many things about this secretive and reclusive nation, will probably remain unknown.

I say good riddance to this monster.

We should never forget that he was the leader of "one of world's most repressive governments, where virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life is strictly controlled by the government."(source)

Let's not forget about the estimated 200,000 political prisoners, countless abductions, famines which have killed millions, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, public/private executions and blatant human rights violations, expelling aid workers etc etc that he has directly or indirectly been responsible for.

So what next?

Well Roboseyo addresses this issue well in his blog so take the time to read it.

So, Kim Jong-un is the hereditary successor to his father, but whether his rise to power will be smooth remains uncertain. He's only in his late teen's after all and is a inexperienced leader, which is a scary thought when you realize he is the General of the fourth-largest standing army in the world.

Financially, markets have already reacted negatively to the news and the South Korean currency has dropped in value today. Whatever loses occur thou, I'm sure will be recovered in the coming months.

Personally, I very much doubt that the North Korean Government (dictatorship) is going to collapse any time soon. But I do think some kind of military skirmishes across the DMZ are very likely, as the North Korea's will probably want to send a message to the world that they still have things firmly in control.

Oh, and in my opinion, the concept of a unified Korea is just a pipe dream. Don't think it will happen in my life-time - but I'm happy to be proved wrong. It will be good thing, eventually, if it does happen one day, but I just don't want to be in Korea when it finally does.

Says it all really. (source)

A Bit Chilly

2011-12-18T23:16:00.007+09:00

There has been a marked decrease in temperatures over the past week with mid-day highs now barely creep above freezing.

The coldest its been was a few days ago when the nighttime minimum reached - 10 C. No too bad, but if it gets any colder I might have to put the floor heating on.

So far the only one snow fall of note, although the little that fell is still ankle deep on the hills meaning Gord and I needed to kick steps last weekend in some a steeper sections.

All my students have been telling me this winter has been very mild which I must agreee with. Let's hope its stays that way.

Maeji Lake on campus had a thin layer of ice covering it this morning. I'm sure that wasn't there yesterday.

The lake wasn't completely cover over thou and the ducks seem to prefer these areas (smart ducks!)

Gordan with a bottle of French Brandy .....a nice way to stay warm. My student gave this to me a few weeks ago. Still didn't give him a A grade thou.

Semester Done

2011-12-14T22:28:00.004+09:00

My last full (15-week long) semester of teaching at Yonsei is almost over. In fact it's 99.9% over except for a make-up test I'm giving one student tomorrow morning.

Esshhh.....I'm too nice for my own good sometimes. :)

What can I say, I'm just glad this semester is done.

My students attending and participated in my classes like never before (even my Freshman seemed to enjoy talking to one another) and for once I can honestly say I didn't have one 'bad class' this semester. Fantastic.

However, this positively was soured a lot by a few students with jobs, who tried every excuse they could to avoid or delay doing their exams on the specified date. I feel like I've spent more time replying to emails than actually teaching. for the past month.

Anyway, I'm happy to be on break now and recharge before the hectic winter semester starts up on Dec 26th.

Black Caps Beat The Aussies!!

2011-12-14T21:40:00.005+09:00

Ok, time to eat some humble pie here.

I've trash-talked the Nz Blacks Caps on numerous occasions over the years for their dismal performances in Test matches, but last weekend the team finally did something previous Nz teams haven't been able to do in 26 years. They won a Test against Australia on Australian soil.

Yes, the Black Caps won a very exciting game, on a green pitch, but only 7 runs. Whatsmore, the team won without the services of a certain Dan V, a feat that many including myself, considered to be near impossible.

A quick look a scorecard and the reader will noticed that young Dougie Bracewell was the main reason for the Black Caps win. He had a fine game, with match figures of 9-60. This should have been enough to earn him the Match of Match award but wasn't (and the Aussies wonder why we hate them).

Gee it's fantastic to finally shove-it-up an Aussie team who I've always considered to be extremely arrogant (M. Clarke didn't even acknowledge the Nz performance in his post match speech) and who have been noted as some of the worst sledges in the game.

So well done lads. Top effort!

I predicted the team would be hard pressed to even drawn one Test match, so how wrong was I!

I liked the mak- up this Nz team, with 4 young medium-fast bowlers operating, and I think we can get ride of Ryder to make space for super Dan. Of course, the Nz top order still need to score some runs (only Brownlie came out of the Test series with a decent average) and removing Ryder from the team would put more pressure on them to do so.

So now I have to wait until the end of the January to see the Nz team play again. Let's hope they can learn from this historical win and compete well against a tough South African team when they tour Nz in February.

Time To Study

2011-12-14T21:27:00.002+09:00

Right, be gone with all my procrastination!

Tomorrow afternoon I'm finally gonna start studying my 'Teaching Business English" on-line course material. I have 5 units to read through and 5 tests to ensure I've learned the main points.

After 5 days of full study (1 day/unit) I'll take a on-line test and I'm allowed 24 hours to complete it.

Hopefully this test won't be too traumatic and I'll have another small qualification to add to my CV by the start of winter semester.

Strange Student Requests

2011-12-10T17:02:00.011+09:00

It's a been a tough semester when I think about the amount of student correspondence (emails) I've had to reply to. Most emails relate to people who can't attend scheduled exams days and want to organize make-up tests.

I always try to reply to student emails, but it takes time, and I'm not always sure what exactly they want from me.

In past semesters I've been a bit uncooperative with said students but this Fall I've been more flexible and allowed students to do make-up tests on days when I'm not normally in the office.

However I'm this new approach hasn't done me any favors as student requests have become more and more ridiculous.

Example 1:
A Freshman emailed me explaining why he had missed his final exam (he was sleeping). He subsequently failed my course. I politely wrote back that sleeping-in was not an excusable absence according to ICE policy. I tried to be nice about it.

The next day I got three separate emails from him all pleading and begging with me. He told me that all he wanted was C+ grade and that I should just allocated that grade to him. Lol.

He obviously thought he could plead his way out of a F grade. So annoying.

Example 2:
A student with a job was meant to complete 4 exams with me this Tuesday. Last last night he wrote that he can't attend class on exam day.

He proceeds to tell me that his Mid-Term score should be counted as his final exam and assignment grade also. This is of course is not standard procedure and students in full-time employment must attend their mid-term and final exams. I wasn't impressed.

Amusingly, he then goes on to request that I test him at 10 pm at night this Monday. WFT? I'm nearly in bed by 9 pm most week nights. What happened to conducting business during normal working hours?

He then asks me to test him two full-weeks after all student grades for the semester are meant to be submitted by teachers. So not gonna happen.

Example 3: A few weeks ago I sent all the final exam requirements to employed students so that they could prepare. Ten days later a student replies accusing me of not sending her the information she needs.

I reply, stating that I did and resend her the information. A few days later she accuses me again, so I re-checked her email address and re-send everything, again. By this time I'm annoyed. Finally, she replies saying that my emails had been going to into her spam box. No apology offered.

Example 4, 5 & 6
Freshman have asked me to credit them participation points lost in class despite. These students have very distorted views of what they do (or don't do) in my classes. When some see they have lost marks for doing nothing they try and argue with me about it.

One girl was so rude to me about losing 1% from her grade that I felt obligated to take more points of her for being so bitchy and disrespectful.

Now I know I'm not the only teacher at work who has these problems, but a few students this semester have really tested my patience. Bring on the winter vacation.

(source)

Thinking Of You Nana

2011-12-06T21:40:00.007+09:00

Some bad news today.

I've heard that my grandmother, whose 88 years young, has been diagnosed with liver and bowel cancer. Unfortunately the cancer is so well developed that surgery is not a viable option, meaning that chemotherapy could be her only course of treatment.

This I'm sure you can imagine is really upsetting news to the whole family.

My grandmother has always been mentally very sharp, active and energetic. I really hope she uses all her fighting spirit to cope at this very difficult time.

I've read that survival rates for primary liver cancer are low but I'm confident she will beat the odds. I'm really looking forward to her interrogating Wheng when they meet for the first time next year.

I'm sure she will just be happy that I've meet someone special, and I'll be happy that she won't need to ask me if I'm gay in front of the whole family again.

Anyway, being so far away from home means there really isn't much I can do from here. But rest assured, my thoughts are with you Nana.

Black Caps Crushed Again

2011-12-04T20:49:00.004+09:00

Same old story which was described well in the NZ Herald,....

"It was all depressingly familiar viewing for long-suffering New Zealand fans and extended their grim record now to two wins in 27 tests in Australia, going back to 1973."

Four dropped catches followed by the all-to-common second innings top-order batting collapse. The result, another Test lost, this time by 9 wickets inside 4 days. Check out the scorecard here.

This represented New Zealand's ninth defeat from their past 10 tests against Australia. What a horrible record.

To me the turning point of the game came when Dan Vettori stupidly ran himself out while on 96. After his wicket the rest of the team weakly folded and a first innings total of 295 was never going to be enough.

Just my opinion.

After a lot of pre-match talking the Black Caps should be eating humble pie right now. Lets just hope the second test in Hobart starting this Friday isn't so one sided.

Crazy Tow Truck Driver

2011-12-03T18:28:00.005+09:00

When I use to work in Andong I would see lots of car accidents right outside my apartment as it was situated right beside a major 4-lane city street and intersection.

I was amazed at how quickly tow trucks would make it to these accidents. They were so fast in fact that they would often arrive at an accident well before the police and/or ambulances did.

The following video was taken from inside a Korean tow truck as the driver races to reach an accident before his competitors do.

The video is here and I saw it first via ROK Drop. Crazy stuff.

So how does placing a few loud sirens on a vehicle allow one to think they are above the law?

Really, this kind of driving is just absolutely ridiculous. Sure people need to make living but the need to make a buck should NEVER result kind of blatant disregarded for peoples' safety.

I rode a motorcycle for nearly 4 years in Korea and I've seen my fair share of crazy driving but this idiot driver wins all awards. I hope he gets charged for such dangerous driving but my guess is that he won't.

Why?

Well road rules are rarely followed to the letter of the law in Korea largely because they are not enforced by police and when offenders are actually caught, the fines are typically minimal.

Further, in my experience many Korean drivers are simply oblivious about all other road users until it's too late, and an accident has occurs. At that point, the wallets come out.

Sad but true.

What Korean Women Want?

2011-12-03T17:16:00.003+09:00

According to a survey of almost 1,000 singles, which had its results published in the news today (here), the Korean women's ideal husband is...

177.51 cm tall,
earns W43.48 million (US$1=W1,126) a year,
holds a four-year university degree, and
works as a civil servant or for a public corporation

Lol. This explains everything! No wonder I never had much luck with the Korean ladies.

Let me see. I'm too short (172 cm), I definitely don't earn W43 million won a year and I'm not working as a civil servant or for a public corporation. Oh one more thing, I'm a foreigner.

Really, surveys like these, with such a small sample size, aren't even worth publishing. I guess this Korean newspaper couldn't find any decent stories to report. Ridiculous really.

2 Kg In 2 Months

2011-12-03T15:54:00.004+09:00

With my wedding little more than two months away I've decided now might be a good time to start getting into shape. By that I mean I've worked out what my ideal weight is and that I'm approximately 2 kg above it.

Two kg's is not a lot of weight to lose in two months but it will still be challenging enough and after some reflective thinking it's obvious to me what lifestyle changes are needed to lose the weight permanently.

More aerobic exercise (my weekly hiking is great but I need to incorporate running into my training regime at the gym).
Stop late night snacking.
Stop consumption of many sugar drinks

Sounds fairly easy right?

Not when you consider the weather is getting colder (which makes it harder to motivate oneself to head to the gym) and my work load will increase this winter semester (it hard to exercise when you are tired from work).

Anyway, so there's my goal. Time to implement it.

Black Caps In Australia

2011-11-30T22:03:00.004+09:00

Tomorrow the Nz Cricket Team start a two match Test series against our trans Tasman rivals.

The Nz team have been talking up their chances in the media but historically our performances have been god dam awful in Australia.

New Zealand haven't won a Test in Australia in 26 years and I'm fairly certain we have never won a Test Series on Australian soil (please correct me if I'm wrong).

So what are our chances in this Test series?

Well, Australia are no longer the dominant force in World Cricket that they once were. A few world class players have retired (or been forced out) and after a horrible Ashes series last year, the team is rebuilding.

Recently they fought hard in South Africa to tie a Test series there, which was a great effort.

What is giving the New Zealander's more hope this time around is that 5 players in the Australian squad that toured South Africa are out with injuries meaning the team to play the Nz tomorrow is very inexperienced. Further, some of the senior players in the Australia team (Ponting and Hussey) are struggling for form.

However, I think the Nz media are being way too optimistic about our chances.

The Nz team is hardly full of world beaters and has it's own inexperience issues (eg., Doug Bracewell and Brownlie if he plays). The team struggled to beat lowly rated Zimbabwe recently and I can't see the likes of Chris Martin and Tim Southee blasting out any international team. They simply aren't in the same class as Steyn or Morkel.

I think the Nz team are proverbial underachievers when it comes to performing against genuinely world-class opposition, especially on foreign soil . So realistically, despite Australia playing a few new players, I can't seem them folding to Nz. At best I'm predicting two non-result Tests, at worst, another Australian Test series win.

A lot has been written about NZ's Jessie Ryder's off-field issues and prominent love handles. Let's hope his batting will do the talking in Australia. (picture)

National For Another Term

2011-11-30T21:16:00.003+09:00

This post is a few days late but last Saturday night The National Party stormed to a comprehensive victory in the NZ General Election, meaning my earlier prediction was correct.

National scored 48% of the party vote which equates to 60 seats in parliament (an increase of 2 seats from the last election), almost an outright majority. Wow. That's a huge number!

They will probably form a coalition with ACT and United Future to get legislation pushed through parliament.

The Labour Party lost 9 seats from the last election and now has only 34 representatives in parliament. Phil Goff has already resigned after a very poor performance.

Big winners on the night were the Green Party (10.4% of the vote, 13 seats, an increase of 4) and the New Zealand First (6.8% of the vote, 8 seats, an increase of 8), who stormed out of the political wilderness to surprise a lot of people. Unfortunately, this party is lead my Winston Peters who I personally can't stand.

For a full run down of the 2011 election results, click here.

Early Christmas Present

2011-11-30T20:56:00.004+09:00

A nice surprise yesterday when a parcel arrived for me at work. I wasn't expecting anything but a quick look at the label told me it was a Christmas gift from Wheng.

I managed to wait until I was home before I opened it and this is what I found...

Three little boxes with hand-made packaging.

A hand-made flower sourced from thin slices of wood.

Inside were three very nice silk ties. Perfect for all those job interviews I"ll be having next March.

As you can see, my fiancee is rather good at arts and craft which is in stark contrast to my own creative abilities. Thanks babe.

Slushy Snow

2011-11-30T20:42:00.006+09:00

Who says that the Korean seasons aren't somewhat predictable?

Today it snowed, well it was kinda slush, for the first time this winter season. Last year the first snow was on November 27th. Only three days difference.

It started snowing around 11 am and didn't stop until mid afternoon. However it rain before and after is snowed, meaning most of the it will be gone in the morning.

Still thou, it was lovely to watch it falling today.

A Busy Winter Ahead

2011-11-28T22:19:00.005+09:00

With all the non-work things going on in my life at the moment (marriage, immigration, study I should be doing) it's fair to say I'm rather busy.

Add to the mix now is that I've just accepted a request to work overtime in the short, three-week long, winter semester.

I'll be teaching 10 extra hours a week. That brings my total weekly teaching hours up to 30 hours. Wow! That's a lot by university standards and I'm gonna have to be very organized.

Why am I do this overtime?

Money of course. I need it and I'll be unemployed come Feb 3rd.

I'm also teaching at the Murray School Camp again this year, assuming it doesn't get cancelled again. The camps runs for 8 days this time (not the usual 10 days) and finishes the day before I leave to Manila.

So its will be a hectic last few months here in Korea.

Work Lunch

2011-11-28T19:56:00.008+09:00

For once I have something nice to write about my workplace.

Today Yonsei treated the staff in our center to a team lunch. The food was really nice and there was lots of it which is even better.

It's fair to say this free food has been a long time coming, with the last function being held way back in March last year. Unfortunately, the director never graced us with his presence, which is disappointing as he has been in charge for over a year now and nobody on staff has ever seen him.

Anyway, check out how many separate plates were on the table.

Darryl and Jason (with Boris, Greg and Bruce in the background) waiting for the others to arrive.

The other table....with all the lesser beings ;)

More food came out.....

and even more food came out until there was no space left on the table.

So much food and where to start?

One Year Together - Wheng & I

2011-11-28T07:07:00.005+09:00

Happy anniversary to me and my lady, Rowena.

Hard to believe 12 months have come and gone so quickly. While its suxs to be apart today I know next year things will be very different.

Have a great day babe, call you after work.

Students With Jobs

2011-11-26T16:58:00.012+09:00

Today I've done absolutely nothing except watch three movies on my computer. That's it! Nothing more, nothing less. The reason for my laziness?

Well, I had a rather tough week so I felt like relaxing today. The fact that it's barely above freezing outside always makes it easier to stay inside also.

This week has been full of dramas that I didn't expect or need.

I've written at least a dozen personalized emails to students in full time employment who are nevertheless, able to enroll in my classes. My emails have been about their final exam dates and instructions.

In one class alone, almost 50% of my students didn't complete their in-class 20% assignments because they have jobs. They should fail in my opinion, but I don't make the rules.

Why are students in full time employment allowed to enroll in a course that has an internally assessed grading component? The answer of course is, money.

So now I'm required conduct tests in my own free time and make alternative assignments for these students so that they have a realistic chance of passing.

Can't say I'm happy about the situation but I realize I should just go with the flow.

I don't blame the students personally. They are just taking advantage of a ridiculous policy that allows them to enroll in courses which don't give them a fair chance of passing if the grade breakdown is adhered to.

Again, it's all about money.

I'd expect this approach in a Hogwon or some crappier universities, but Yonsei proudly advertises itself as one of the top three universities in Korea!

I honesty feel that the tertiary education system here in Korea is a complete joke. Students graduate without completing half the work they are meant to do. Degrees are handed out like candy in a shop. Further, with all the grade inflation that goes on, anything less than B+ average could be considered a failure.

In the end, this system will ultimately come back to bite Korea in the ass. The job market is already saturated with millions of supposedly "highly qualified" graduates who can't find work (or who are too fussy to take just 'any' job). Sooner or later Korea's obsession with education will wain as the rewards of higher education are questioned.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-25T22:18:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and an American colleague of mine decided to invite everyone to his apartment for an informal 'pot-luck' dinner.

The only condition was that people needed to bring their own home-made cooking.

It's been a while since I've had any variety in my diet so I was definitely keen to attend.

I made a big batch of Spaghetti Bol for the night. Others came with home-brewed beer (which tasted better than Korean beers), scotched eggs, steak, breads, beef stew, baked sweet potato and desserts.

A fantastic night for my taste buds.

Workplace Support .... Yeah Right!

2011-11-21T21:22:00.023+09:00

Oh dear, another rant. Here we go again.

Yesterday I realized an important parcel was being held for me by Korean Post. I had no idea how or where to collect my parcel. The only lead I had was a phone number printed on the sticker left on my apartment door.

Not knowing what to do, I asked one of the student helpers at work to call this number. I asked very politely, wasn't pushy and even gave them most of the day to complete the task as i didn't want to interfere with her own work tasks.

She seemed happy to help and she told me later that it didn't take long to locate my missing parcel. I was pleased and very appreciative, and I made a point of telling her so.

Then, later in the day all staff received a group email from management telling us that the Korean staff are complaining about having to help foreign teachers with their personal stuff.

Esssh!!!

This young student didn't complain about me. I'm sure it was another young Korean lady in the main office who has a HUGE chip on her shoulder (probably because a long time ago a foreigner spoke badly to her).

Anyway, I don't care about who complained.

What I do have an issue with is that staff here seem to be at pains to help teachers who need assistance. It's not like people are asking for help to order goods on G-Market. No, people ask for help about real issues that all foreigners have to deal with while living here in Korea.

So what happened to being a good host Yonsei, a good employer that cares and provides support for its staff?

You just can't invite nearly 20 foreigners into your work place and only provide them with support when it suits you (which appears to be hardly ever based on the attitude of the reception staff).

This is a really sore point for me and I take issue with it.

Of course, this kind of attitude is not just limited to Yonsei University in Wonju. No, it's widespread in Korea and maybe indicative of how Korean staff view foreign teachers here in general. As a nuisance to be tolerated because we are after all, 'cash cows'.

Anyway, maybe I should just blame myself for not being more fluent in Korean? Or, maybe I should just avoid asking for help any time soon.

Gordon's Triathlon Bike

2011-11-21T20:35:00.003+09:00

Gord asked me to advertise this for him so here it is.

1000 Days In Wonju

2011-11-19T16:12:00.000+09:00

A rather arbitrary number but yes, the counter on my cell phone tells me that today is my 1,000th day here in Wonju.

February 22nd, 2009, was in fact my first day in Wonju.

Ah, seems like such a long time go and it was.

Embarrassingly though, I don't know the names of half the major suburbs in the city as I haven't explored much and I rarely look at maps of the city. However, I have spent considerable time exploring the areas surrounding Wonju, either on foot or by motorcycle.

So while Wonju City isn't the most exciting place in the world (the entertainment and shopping options are just horrible) I do like living near it. Many teachers at Yonsei leave after only a year as the find the place boring. Personally, I love having hiking tracks literally meters from my apartment and being surrounded by hills and trees.

Grumpy Old Buggers

2011-11-19T14:33:00.007+09:00

Today I arrived home to find a ticket attached to my door. It was from Korean Post saying a parcel had arrived for me while I was away (via EMS). I immediately took this ticket to the security office where such parcels are stored.

I politely knocked, entered, said hello in Korean to two elderly security guards and handed over my ticket. Unfortunately, my parcel was not there. What the heck?

A year ago these same security guards refused to accept any parcels intended for tenants. Thankfully, the power of all those angry Korean mothers wanting to send stuff to their beloved homesick kids/students resulted in that rule being overturned.

But these guys are still obviously resentful and bitter about this part of their job.

They seemed very annoyed when I disturb them from their afternoon TV show and refused to offer much assistance at all. One guy got annoyed when I misunderstood his instructions despite my immediate and sincere apology. Straight afterwards he just told me to piss-off basically, and seem irritated with my mere presence.

Despite their grumpiness I refused to leave until I'd checked all the parcels on the racks to see if my parcel was there.

I hate rudeness at the best of times, but I hate it more when I was genuinely respectful throughout our interactions.

F@%# those guys......

I'm gonna throw my trash all over the complex grounds this winter and take great pleasure watching them pick it up when it's -20C outside.

Ok...my rant is over.

2011 NZ General Election - A One-Horse Race

2011-11-15T20:57:00.008+09:00

In a few weeks (on November 26th to be exact) New Zealander's will be voting in a general election to determine membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.

An overview of parties, major polices, candidates and current news can be found here and here.

While I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that its been many years since I last voted, I still have a genuine interest in NZ politics.

For a long time I've been a Labour Party supporter mainly because I liked Helen Clark, the party's longest serving leader, and their social based policies. However she has long gone and her replacement, Phil Geoff, just doesn't cut it.

According to the latest TV polls it looks like The National Party will again surge to a comprehensive victory (50% of the party vote predicted) and maybe even gain a greater share of seats in parliament (maybe a majority share?).

You might say that giving one party the power to make and pass policies as legislation without much opposition in parliament is risky, but personally I think there's been way too much bureaucracy and under-hand deals going on with minor parties over the years.

So I guess John Key presenting the Rugby World Cup to the All Blacks did pay off for him after all.

Just my 10 cents worth.

Bike Sold

2011-11-12T18:56:00.005+09:00

I sold my motor bike yesterday which is great news as I was worried it might take a while to sell.

The new owner will take delivery of the bike next Friday...sniff, sniff.

So I'll be back on the bus soon and walking to and from work each morning. Essh. At least once I return to Nz in March I can use my old car, assuming it's still in working order.

Oh, if you are looking to sell anything in Korea I would definitely recommend using Craigslist. I had 4 people interested in my bike after posting an advert for only a week. Hence, I think it gets plenty of traffic.

Sending Stuff Home To Nz

2011-11-12T08:33:00.000+09:00

Dan, sending my crap from Korea to Nz is not gonna be cheap.

At the Korean Post Shop yesterday the lady told me it costs W13,000 per kg via a 'slow boat' (ship) and takes about 2 months.

Surely that can't be right?

Anyone know of any cheaper options?

A Crazy Day Of Cricket - Awful Aussie Batting

2011-11-11T09:57:00.009+09:00

With the rugby world Cup now finished I've had to resort to watching cricket on TV for my weekend sports fix.

Last weekend I watched The NZ Black Caps play Zimbabwe in one-off Test between two of the lowest ranked cricket nations there is. But the game turned out to be quite excited, with Nz scrapping home to win by just 34 runs (scorecard).

Dan Vettori bowled well in patches and debutant Doug Bracwell took 6 wickets in the second innings to impress. With regards to bating, Guptill scored a nice century and Ross Taylor was consistent. I was also impressed with young Kane Williamson, who seems to have benefited greatly from a season of English county cricket.

However let's be realistic here. Playing Zimbabwe isn't going to help Nz prepare one little bit for what comes next in the season - a test series against Australia in Australia and games against South Africa at home.

Playing these teams represents a huge challenge to a young and lets face-it, very average Black Caps team. If they don't lose either test series then I'll be surprised.

Anyway, moving on to the topic of this post.

Yesterday I watched a truly bizarre day of cricket and one of the best I've ever watched. It's not very often you get to see parts of all fours innings in just one day....but that's exactly what happened.

At the start of the day (the second day of the First Test Match in Capetown between Australia and South Africa) the Aussie's resumed on 218/8.

They stumbled to a respectable 284 all out, thanks largely to Clarke's 151.

Then South Africa had a bat and were humbled in 24 overs (5 wickets for Watson) to be bowled out for only 96. This gave the Australia a very healthy lead of nearly 200 runs on a inconsistent pitch that offered plenty to the bowlers. At this point I thought Australia had the game won.

What happened next I've NEVER seen before and brought me great joy.

In their second innings Australia crumbed for only 47 runs in 18 over. WTF? At one point they were 21/9 and seriously in danger of producing the lowest ever total in test cricket history (which is 25, unfortunately held by NZ). Captain America (I mean Australia) said it was "disgraceful batting". No kidding.

In all, twenty-three wickets fell in the day which represents the most number in over a century. Wow! For a list of amazing stats related to this day of cricket, click here.

By lunch on Day three the game was over, with South Africa winning by 8 wickets after centuries to both Smith and Amla in the 4th innings. What a great turn-around.

For so many years I've watched a dominant Australian team smash other cricketing nations. How nice it is to see them humbled once in a while.

11.11.11

2011-11-11T09:15:00.009+09:00

Yeah yeah...

So today is a special day if you're interested in strange number patterns. Personally I'm not gonna get too excited but I guess if you turn 11 today then it's kinda cool.

But for some people, today is very significant. Here's an article I read a few days ago.

Number priority for some Korean mums is "111111"

Expecting mothers in South Korea have inundated hospitals with requests for a Caesarean section delivery on November 11 to secure the unique life-long identity number of "111111" for their children.

The Korean Resident Registration Number, an identification number for all residents in Korea, is composed of 13 numbers with the first six numbers corresponding to the date of birth.

The number of appointments for c-section births on November 11 was 20 per cent higher this year than previous years. Expecting mothers who are due even a week after the date have scheduled to give birth on November 11, Seoul Newspaper said.

"There's always people with due dates in January who want to deliver on the first of the month, but this seems more unusual - trying to set delivery so they can have the ID number 111111," a staffer at a maternity clinic was quoted as saying.

(source)

Now obviously this kind of behavior is not limited to just South Korea, but it does make me question why a expected mother would potentially risk her life, and the life of her child, just to give birth prematurely, for the sake of special id number.

Anyway, happy Pepero Day.

Exam Pressure - Poor Buggers

2011-11-11T08:58:00.001+09:00

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of High School students in Korea competed the state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). This is the one test that matters.

The result of this test basically decides who is eligible for admission into the prestigious universities here in Korea, and this is extremely important as most good companies prefer to recruit graduate from these 'better' universities.

As you can imagine, the level of competition is fierce. To fully appreciate how important this test is read these articles (see here and here). isTeacher also has a nice post about this topic.

Personally, I never bring up the topic of Wonju Vs Sincheon Campus in class as I know its a sore point with students. I'd say 99% of them would die to be attending Seoul campus, but the hard facts are they didn't score highly enough on their CSAT.

Gee, I remember way back in 1992 when I did my University Entrance examinations in NZ. I was nervous as hell yet I had no pressure from my parents, extended family or friends. I only needed 60% in each subject to pass. Looking back, I had it so easy really. God, I'd hate to be a teenager in South Korea.

Jokgu Tournament In Wonju

2011-11-07T21:07:00.005+09:00

On Saturday a huge Jokgu tournament (a game like volleyball but using feet instead of hands) was held on Campus.

There had to be at least 16 games on the go at the same time. Competitors seemed to range in age and ability but one constant remained... people took these games very seriously.

I've played a lot of soccer myself over the years and I can tell you this kind of game requires a great amount of ball control, 'feel', agility and teamwork. If I tried to bicycle kick a ball over the net today like these guys do, I'd probably break my neck.

For a seriously cool video showing a game in action, including some cool spiking acrobatics, check out this link.

And for a few pictures on what was a lovely afternoon....

Lots of games.....so many in fact that they set up courts on the track itself.

My apartment in the background....the area is beautiful at this time of year.

One of the many officials at the tournament. Lovely white uniform.
A game in action.

Scorekeepers.

Draft Reception Slideshow Link

2011-11-07T07:28:00.008+09:00

Those people who are friends with me on Facebook will know that I recently made a video/slideshow for Wheng. We are thinking about playing it during our wedding reception,

Well, I've finally got around to uploading it onto Youtube and the link is here. For a first time effort I'm happy with the result and Windows Move maker is my new favorite application.

So yes, the video is a bit soppy but it just goes to show that beneath this hard exterior, there is a sensitive guy just screaming to get out.

Marriage Documents

2011-11-06T21:52:00.010+09:00

Getting married of course requires that both partners complete and sign a few documents.

However if you and your wife are citizens of different countries then the paper work becomes a bit tougher.

With Wheng and I the paper work for our wedding is divided into two parts - documents required to keep the church happy and documents required by the Philippines government to make the marriage legal (thankfully NZ Govt Depts will recognize this as well).

For my part, I had to request for a Certificate of Non Impediment (CONI) from the Nz Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). Once they receive my request they send a document to my parents who sign it and forward it back to the DIA. They then issue the CONI and fax a copy to the New Zealand Embassy in Manila.

The Embassy then issues me with a Letter of Legal Capacity (LOLC) to marry.

Of course with me living in Korea that means Wheng has to collect the LOLC from the Embassy on my behalf, which in turns requires a authorization letter from me.

The CONI and LOLC are only valid for three months (from the date of issue) which is important to remember.

(source)

Once Wheng has these two documents she will file for a marriage license with City Hall (?) in Manila.

With our marriage set for February 18th and our CONI and LOLC issue date being Nov 1st, I just pray that these two documents need to be valid at the time of applying for a marriage license, and not the actual date of the wedding. Otherwise, I'll need to request for both documents again which I really want to avoid.

There are also a number of church documents that I needed to complete and I have mentioned this process in a previous post.

So as you can see, just making our marriage legal has required a lot of work already for both of us. Luckily, we are fairly organized.

A Spell Of Warm Weather

2011-11-06T21:16:00.001+09:00

About three weeks ago it felt like winter had come to Korea early.

The morning temperatures were barely above freezing, my fan heater was on for hours and I was feeling a little down about the fact that I needed to wear thermals to work already.

However, for the past 14 days or so the weather has picked up considerably. It's dam mild outside. My heater is off, there's no need to wear motorcycle gloves and I'm wearing short sleeve shirts to work.

Don't ask me the reason why the weather has changed for the better. All I care about it that lasts a few more weeks/months so that I can get some more hiking done before the ground freezes.

I'll tell you, scrambling and crawling up steep mountains is no fun when the ground is frozen and there's a thick layer of slippery leaf litter lying over it. It's the ultimate workout.

Selling My Bike

2011-11-06T17:18:00.006+09:00

With only about 3 months left until I leave Korea I've decided to sell my bike now before it gets too cold.

I've placed an advert on Facebook (Wonju English Teachers) and on Craigslist (here).

Here's a copy of the advert.

125cc HyoSung Cruiser For Sale - KRW240000 (Wonju)

I'm looking to sell my 125cc HyoSung motorbike. It's a cruiser model which means its very comfortable to ride and low to the ground - so great for beginners or intermediate riders. I've had the bike for nearly three years now and its done a decent amount of kms which is testament to how much I've enjoyed riding it. It will run over winter months if you start it everyday and have the appropriate clothing. W240,000 and I'll thrown in my helmet for free.

Max speed is about 100-110 km/hr... 4 gears only. Repairs...usual motorcycle maintenance needed, but just got a new gas tank fitted as the old one developed a leak. Most perishable parts have been replaced (break lines etc) at some point over the past three years but that's to be expected. Never had any issues with the engine and I change the battery once a year. I'm only selling it because I'm leaving early next year. Registration cert included. Please email if you are interested and want a test ride.

The 'ol girl' - I'll miss her.

I've already had a could of people express interest which is great.

I'll be sad when I finally have to depart from my beloved bike.

Workshop PresentationTomorrow

2011-10-31T19:44:00.004+09:00

Tomorrow I'll be presenting to my colleagues (and maybe the director) at a team workshop.

The presentation is only 40 mins long and I'm presenting with another colleague, so the workload isn't exactly great.

Nevertheless, its been a while since I've presented anything to native English speakers, so it might be a challenge not to over articulate my words.

The topic will be..... Error Correctional Strategies.

Should be fun.

Unemployed Come February

2011-10-25T21:51:00.005+09:00

So it was confirmed earlier this week.

I was asked if my decision not to seek another contract with Yonsei for next year was final.

At this time of year management are in the process of offering new contracts to some English Instructors and interviewing potential NTP's. Hence, the question I was asked was not unexpected.

However, saying it out loud did make me feel a little depressed and really hammered home a fact that I've been ignoring for a while. Come February, Korea and I will be finished (at least for now) and I'll be an unemployed bum again.

There was never any guarantee that I would be offered another contract next year anyway, but the chances were good. In the current economic environment its not easy to say no to a decent job, but these days my priorities have changed.

All my attention is gravitating towards Wheng, our wedding, moving back to Nz, finding a job, a new place to live, getting Wheng into Nz permanently and starting our lives together.

Change can be scary at times, but I think the best thing one can do is accept that its coming and prepare the best you can.

(source)

All Blacks Are World Champions

2011-10-23T21:30:00.008+09:00

Twenty-four long years of pain is over. The New Zealand All Blacks are again the best rugby team in the world after a very hard-fought win, 8-7, over the French.

It wasn't a pretty game and very stressful to watch as the Nz team grimly defended their 1 point lead for the final 25 minutes of the game. But the managed to hang on for a historical victory.

ALL BLACKS! WORLD CHAMPIONS

New Zealand Captain Richie McCaw holds high the

$30 For Honey!

2011-10-23T14:21:00.004+09:00

On Friday I was delighted to see E-mart employers stocking a shelf with 500g containers of New Zealand Honey. Brilliant !!!!

Imagine my shock as quickly spotted the price, W29,800! (about $NZ32). WTF? Holly shit, that's daylight robbery!

Dam you E-mart. You sux!

(source)

Letter To My Fiancée

2011-10-23T11:41:00.008+09:00

What follows is a short letter I wrote for Wheng recently. Many people might think I'm soft for writing it. However, we live apart from one another (until next year) so it's even more important that we let make each other feel special.

So here's my little romantic effort...

Like the changing autumn leaves
My life is changing
Like the last autumn leaves, I cling to my old life like they cling to their branches
You are the winter breeze that has caused such changes in my life
You are the catalyst
You are my change of season
For so long I've been a single leaf, lonely and attached to a single a branch
By next spring I'll be brand new
A better version of myself
A new leaf more colorful than I've ever before, a hybrid
A combination of our best colours
No matter how strong the winds blow
Together we can withstand any gale

Love you babe.

Falsified Document

2011-10-23T10:24:00.014+09:00

One of the administrative tasks I do while teaching each day is recording student attendance. I'm required to do this because student attendance and participation marks actually equate to 30% of their grade.

In some ways its a good system as it motivates (forces) students to attend class (in true Korean style) and as a teacher I can deduct points from students who are lazy once seated in class.

Of course students will miss the odd class over the 15-week semester and at Yonsei these absences are placed into two categories; excused and non-excused.

The former being for situations like illness, family death, military service, job interviews etc. For these situations a student will lose participation points but not attendance points.

Non-excused absences are, conversely, where a student had no good legitimate reason for missing class.

University policy states that 6 non-excused absences will result in automatic failure (F grade) and you would be surprised how many students I've failed for this reason over the years.

So most weeks I receive a few excuse certificates/notes from students and I forward these on to the IEC Administration Office who verify them. If the excuse document is genuine, then I amend my paperwork accordingly. A very simple system.

For the first time since I've been here, an official excuse document was returned to me with the remarks "FAKE" written on it, along with "STUDENT FAILS THE COURSE".

Wow, that's a tough policy.

So one of my students, a senior trying to graduate this semester, has tried to pull the wool over my eyes. I'm not sure why he would do this as he has only missed one class and is more than capable of meeting course requirements and passing. Maybe he was scared of losing a few participation points.

Whatever his reason, I think it's a bit tough to automatically fail a student for because of one silly note.

I'll need to check with a few other people, but I remember being told that students just lose 10% of their final grade.

So some mixed-messages here.

Whatever his fate, I'll make a point of speaking to him alone this week and we shall see if he admits it. I love a little confrontation from time to time. It keeps life interesting.

(Source)

UPDATE:
I've learned that any student trying to use a falsified document has 10 participation points (10% of their grade basically) deducted from their score. Interestingly, the offending student missed his mid-term exam today so I didn't have the chance to confront him about it. So now he's lost 30% of his grade so I sure he will be repeating the courses come winter semester time.

Australian-Style Pies In Wonju

2011-10-21T19:21:00.004+09:00

Good news everyone....

If you have cravings for home-made/Western pies then head to Musildong, Wonju, as a Jesters Pies shop has just opened.

A friend provided me with their menu pamphlet and check out these pie ingredients....

Classic mince
Steak
Chicken
Prawn
Bacon and egg
Mince and cheese
Steak and cheese
Butter chicken
Mashed potato(potato-top)
Pasta
Apple, blueberry with vanilla custard
Apple, cinnamon with vanilla custard
Various sausage rolls

I'm drooling already and tomorrow I'll go and find their shop. Hopefully the large expat community in Wonju won't have already cleaned them out, as word gets around these parts fairly quickly.

Third & Fourth Playoff Should Go

2011-10-21T18:55:00.010+09:00

I've just finished watching Australia beat Wales 21-18 at Eden Park for the 3rd and 4th playoff game. This game is the second last game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Tournament.

What a horrible, error-filled game to watch. I'm glad I wasn't one of the 1000's of people who paid big money to be at the stadium.

Neither team really played to their potential, and few nasty injuries were sustained in a game that was largely pointless after both teams lost their respective semi-finals last weekend.

I heard a alternative idea for a game from Australia's Nick-Farr Jones which sounds like a much better idea.

Why not have a barbarian/festival-style game where the best 30 players from the teams which didn't make the final are selected and placed into Northern and Southern hemisphere teams?

Well-performing players from the minnow teams could get a chance to shine on the big stage and players can wear the socks of their home nation.

Now I'd been keen to watch that game.

Fall 11' Mid-Terms Start

2011-10-21T17:43:00.006+09:00

I'm not sure if its because this is my last full semester at work, but the time seems to be flying past and mid-term exams have already started.

This semester I've tired to be more relaxed in class and the result is that I'm actually enjoying my teaching more. I have 4 separate freshman classes and for once, I'm actually enjoying teaching all of them. When I ask them to complete peer speaking activities they all do it, or at least try to do it, which is very unusual in my experience.

My sophomore classes are fairly good also, with great student participation, mainly because I have a lot of senior students in my class who really need the credit/s to graduate.

My nurses class is tiny the semester, just 10 students, of which 4 had me as their teacher in Spring as well (poor buggers). So in this class the challenge is to come up with new material and I've had to design new assignments so that these students don't have a unfair advantage.

Apart from that things are all good. Student paper work is gonna be more of a challenge this time round as I have 4 seniors students with full time jobs enrolled in my classes class, all trying to pass and graduate.

Unfortunately for them, if they don't turn up to the assignment day (week 12) then they lose 20% of their grade. Combine that with the participation points they lose for not going to class and well, it becomes very tough to pass the course.

Some people might say I'm being a little tough on them, but really, why enrolled for a course you can't attend. Further, isn't the last year of your university studies the most important? These student's are just lucky that not more of their grade is internally assessed. If it was, none of them would have a hope of passing.

The only other work news is the Murray Camp should be making a return this winter, which is fantastic news as I really need the money to pay for all the pending bills (wedding, honeymoon, immigration, etc).

Right, time to watch the rugby.

Autumn Colours

2011-10-21T15:27:00.008+09:00

Autumn is such a great season here in Korea. Check out the colours I captured by just walking through the campus this afternoon.

Outside my apartment...reddish-yellow.

Yellow everywhere - Gingko Trees I'm guessing.

Dark red.

Apricot orange.

A close up.

Colour contrast.

Yellow-brick road (minus the road and bricks)

I only wish this season would last longer. Soon it'll be bloody cold here and I'll start looking as pale as a ghost. :(

Personal Trainer Gord

2011-10-21T11:03:00.002+09:00

For those seeking a personal fitness trainer, check out this sensational promotional video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyULU1D14A

Despite his obvious arrogance and strange accent, I'm happy to recommend his services and translate if necessary. I can arrange appointments on request, for a minimal fee.

Regards - Aaron Miller (Film Director - Universal Studios)

See earlier related post here.

Rena - New Zealand's Worst Ever Environmental Disaster

2011-10-18T21:13:00.010+09:00

About two weeks ago the MV Rena, a container ship, ran aground off the coast Tauranga, New Zealand. Estimates say that between 150-350 tonnes of oil has leaked from the hull and the environmental results has been horrific. Beaches have been fouled, livelihoods lost, pristine ecosystems polluted and hundreds of seabirds and other animals killed.

For a full run down on events click here and for some pictures click here.

The ship's captain and second office face criminal charges and so should the ship's owner if they are found to be negligent in any way. How they could run the ship into a well know and charted reef is beyond my comprehension.

Another big question is why no government action was started for five days, when the weather was calm, after the ship hit the reef initially. Such a critical period of initial inaction has led to public outraged and my guess is that the relevant Nz authorities were just not ready to deal with an event like this.

Anyway, lets hope all the remaining oil in the ship is pumped out before the ship breaks in two. If not, the marine life in the Bay of Plenty area may never be the same.

This bird didn't stand a chance (source)

Horrible and not very consistent with the 'clean-and-green' image that NZ Tourism so desperately likes to sell to the rest of the world. (source)

1987....Will History Repeat Itself?

2011-10-18T20:24:00.005+09:00

Let's bloody hope so!

The New Zealand All Blacks are into the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup after destroying the hapless Aussies last Sunday night (20-6). The Aussies had no answer to the intensity of the New Zealand team who now play France in a repeat of the 1987 final, coincidentally, also the only other time the World Cup has been hosted by New Zealand.

Quade Cooper, public enemy number 1 in Nz, played like shit for most of the game which was good to see.

Chokers no more I say if we can beat the French and win the cup for the first time in 24 long, and painful years.

The challenge this week for the Nz team will be not to become complacent after their dominating performance against arguably the second best team in the world. As history suggest, the All Blacks should be very weary of the French.

But the French team have been anything but brilliant in this tournament and they were lucky to scrap pass a 14-man Welsh team last last weekend in their semi.

So this Sunday night, 5 pm Korean time, stop what you are doing and watch live streaming of the game (here and here)....

and check-out this link of a classic 80's kiwi song....Give em a taste of Kiwi!

A Visit To Andong

2011-10-16T20:10:00.012+09:00

My what a busy weekend I've had.

My friend Phil, who works at Andong's National University, invited me down for a bit of a birthday bash. I decided to ride my motorcycle from Wonju which is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I also haven't been to Andong for over 3 years now and this will probably be the last time I see my old stomping ground before I head back to NZ next year.

I left Wonju very early yesterday morning and was on the road by six. It was of course cold, damp and dark but I had about 10 layers of clothes on so I was actually quite toasty on the bike. It took about 2 hours and 45 mins of constant riding to reach Andong. The ride was great. Riding south down Road 19, east along 38 and then down 5 to Andong which crosses a mountain pass within Sebaeksan National Park. At this time of year of the autumn leafs are amazingly vivid, so weaving my way through the park was fantastic.

Once in Andong I stopped outside my old workplace, E.C.C., which I was surprised to see is no more (see below). I then had coffee downtown with Phil and his wife. Nothing much has changed in Andong except that there is a new bus terminal which is inconveniently located about 7km out of town.

During our walk I bumped into Sarah teacher, whom I use to work with at E.C.C. Apart from her having a third child, she told me E.C.C is no more and the new business has a different owner.

Before we all headed of to Daegu for the night I also had a chat with Gavin, a mate of mine who I use to hang out with all those years ago.

We arrived in Daegu late afternoon and rushed to Travelers to watch the Wales Vs French rugby semi-final game. This sports bar is very cool. Numerous big TV's, good food, good service and a western-style set-up which made this place a new favorite of mine. They even have electronic dart boards and a Foosball Table which I'm now addicted to playing.

Around midnight we left Travelers and checked out several nightclubs, which I have to say were all a little disappointing. The Frog was so full it was impossible to move and everywhere I went my eyes, nose and throat ended up hurting from the huge amount of cigarette smoke in the air. It was horrible and my clothes smelt awful afterwards.

Nevertheless, we did have a decent night and we all made it back to Andong this morning in one piece.

Riding back to Wonju after a sleepless night was a little tricky and I'm sure I was riding-half asleep for the last 30km of the trip. I'm please I went to Andong but I don't miss the city at all.

Time for some sleep.

My old home and workplace. No more YMB si-sa and the bed shop on the bottom floor has been replaced with shop that sells golf clothing.

Fancy new sign and course material ... ...but the same crappy old building.

Of course you see kids like this everywhere in Andong.

I was a week late for the Andong Mask Festivals but I had a look at the festival event center and meet these friendly locals.

David and Em are still celebrities in Andong ;)

All bundled up after a long ride.

Phil and his wife, Ceny, in downtown Andong.

Our best K-pop poses.

Our best rugby poses. Pity I'm such a short-ass compared to Phil.

Ready for the long trip home.

2011 Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals

2011-10-11T22:07:00.004+09:00

Ok, so the Quarter-Final predictions I made last week were awful (25% success rate), with only the New Zealand All Blacks actually doing what I said they would do.

Wales upset Ireland 22-10, and looked dam going while doing it. The French thumped the hapless English 19-12 despite playing like shit in their previous pool matches. South Africa were unlucky to lose to the Australian's, 11-9, despite looking the better team for most of the game.

New Zealand were given a dam good workout by Argentina who scored the first try of the game and tackled like demons before running out of steam in the last 20 minutes of the game. A scoreline of 33-10 flattered the All Blacks who lost Collin Slade during the game to a tournament-ending groin injury.

For a full round-up of results and some interesting stats click here, and here.

So this weekend in Auckland both semi final games are being played.

The Welsh take on the French on Saturday and on Sunday, New Zealand play our trans-Tasman cousins, the dirty Aussies.

With so much on the line neither game is going to be free-flowing in my opinion. So predicting a winner is going to be a nightmare. Nevertheless, I can hardly do any worse than my picks from last weekend.

So, Wales will beat the French who can't possibility play two great games on consecutive weekends

New Zealand will beat the Aussies...... I hope :(

If we lose, well I might just hibernate for the winter in a state of self depression while reminiscing of what could have been.

I'm gonna be a nervous wreck watching the game on Sunday......GO YOU ALL BLACKS!!!

Grumpy Lady At The Gym

2011-10-09T13:25:00.007+09:00

I've been going to the same gym (in the Yonsei University Sports Centre) for nearly three years and I've never had an issue with anyone, nor has anyone had an issue with me, until now.

On Friday morning Gord and I were making a short video in the gym with two assistants who had agreed to help us. We had asked management if it was ok and they had no problems with it. The gym was basically empty and so went ahead and started filming. In all, it took about 10 minutes to complete.

After we had finished filming we thanked our assistants during which time a middle-aged Korean lady came storming up to us, all agitated and angry, demanding that we stop talking immediately. All of us looked completely confused as she yelled to us that she liked "silence while working-out at the gym".

Now I've seen this lady get angry at other students before and even the old Korean guy beside me was shaking his head as she was yelling at us. I can tell you right now weren't being excessively loud or inconsiderate.

Not wanting to let this go, I responded firmly to her like I was scolding one of my students. Basically, I stood up for myself and my friends. I told her she should go to the library if she wanted to work-out in silence. I told her most gyms are somewhat noisy and that usually only the stretching/yoga rooms are peaceful.

Then I told her to relax and that we would be finished in a couple of minutes. But, she wouldn't let it go, so I just continued to cut her off mid-sentence telling her to relax and that we were leaving soon. She slowly trudged away from us with her tail between her legs.

Now maybe I shouldn't have spoken to her like a baby she completely overreacted. If she had only just approached us in a polite manner then all of us would have respected her wishes.

Gyms are not usually quiet places. I don't like excessive noise either, but in large student gym the noise is just part of the environment. That's why so many people bring MP3 players with them.

I'm sure I'll see this lady again in the near future. I wonder if she will want to continue our lovely conversation. I hope so. It's not often I win an argument these days :)

Up Mt Chiaksan Again

2011-10-09T12:02:00.008+09:00

Yesterday I went hiking up Mt Chiaksan (1,288m) with Gord. The weather was near perfect and the park/track was very crowded with a variety of people covering all the major demographics. The autumn leaves are slowly starting to change color which made the climb up even more worth while.

We decided to take a less-traveled route to the top which meant a relatively peaceful ascend. However once we reach Birobong huge crowds of people had gathered. We fair raced to top in 2 hours and I managed the hike up without stopping. A good achievement for me and beautiful day at the top.

People taking a rest at the top.

A beautiful day, and I even managed to get sun burn.

Lovely scenery...pity about the ugly sod in front of them.

I was actually on the way down.....the steep stairs were hell on my knees.

At the base of the peak many families were having picnics along a small river ... but forget solitude.

Making A Promotional Video

2011-10-09T08:55:00.009+09:00

My friend Gord is now a qualified personal trainer and after he leaves Korea at the end of his contract he plans to migrate to a suitable country (maybe Nz) and start his own business.

Of course advertising is a big part of attracting potential customers and he asked me recently to help him make a promotional video.

So on Saturday I spent most of the day directing Gord as I took video of him cycling, swimming, running, hiking (up Mt Chiaksan) and working out at the gym.

We borrowed a camcorder (Handycam) from a friend and after using it I was very tempted to buy one myself. They are so easy to use.

Once the video has been edited I will provide a link for it. This was the first time I'd used a video recorder and I'm quite proud of my first effort. Maybe I should consider a new career as a videographer?

Three Weeks Without A Bike

2011-10-09T07:24:00.006+09:00

Again I'm having trouble with my motorcycle.

I noticed that petrol was leaking from the bike way back in mid September. On closer inspection I found that the petrol tank had a major leak.

So I called my usual mechanic and asked him to come and collect my bike and repair it. We made a time and he didn't show. When I called him to ask why he he didn't come he told me "I've been drinking with my friends". So I made a new appointment but again he didn't come.

Ok, so time to move on.

I rode my bike to another mechanic who lives about 4 km from me. He's a nice old guy but his workshop is very simple and not great if major repairs are needed. Anyway, he offered to replace my leaking tank with a used one for W60,000. No worries.

Unfortunately, he is having trouble finding the right replacement part and its been two weeks now and my bike is still not fixed.

This is my last fall here in Korea and this time of year is perfect for riding. Dam, I hope this good weather lasts longer than it takes to get my bike repaired.

Planning A Wedding Reception

2011-10-02T23:20:00.001+09:00

If there is one I'm certain of in this world, it is that I know nothing about weddings. So now that I'm getting married in February I've had to learn many new things and fast.

What I've learned is that planning a wedding is a big task. Thankfully my lovely fiancee has shouldered a lot of the planning responsibility herself, but that means I feel bad that I can't help her much because I'm in Korea until a few weeks before the wedding.

Consequently, when she's stressed about the wedding that means I'm stressed also.

But I am trying to do my bit to help.

A few weeks ago I was asked to produce a wedding reception program for us. The problem was, not only am I unfamiliar with general wedding receptions and the order of events, but I needed to take into account Filipino and Catholic traditions and customs.

However after consulting with a few married friends and reading some material on-line, I did produce a half-decent wedding reception programme. The whole document is about 8 pages long and somewhat proud of my achievement.

Next assignment....sort out the honeymoon.

Wheng and I can relate to this. (source)

Litter, Litter & More Litter

2011-10-02T22:16:00.009+09:00

Every day on my way to University I walk past the student area which is full of restaurants, drinking hoffs, private residents and various other establishments.

Every day I dodge the vomit on the side walk and shake my head as I look at the amount of rubbish, especially cigarette butts, just thrown everywhere on the streets and in gutters.

Everyday I see people littering without any sense of remorse or care that someone might see them doing it.

Everyday I see the same old guys walking around the campus picking up cigarette butts and rubbish.

Every weekend I try to go hiking and every weekend I find new plastic bottles and rubbish thrown in the bushes beside the track, simply because someone couldn't be bothered carrying their own rubbish out of what should be a lovely scenic mountainous area.

So I wonder to myself, why is littering so prevalent here in Korea?

Is there a genuine lack of respect for the environment? Is littering a perfectly acceptable public behavior? Maybe littering is more common in small cities because public rubbish bins are hard to find? Why do feel that younger Korean male smokers are the worst offenders?

I wonder why people don't get angry when they see other people littering in this country?

Anyone got any answers?

A common sight in the student area close to where I live. (source)

2011 Rugby World Cup Update

2011-10-02T21:06:00.011+09:00

Today was the last day of pool-play at the 2011 Rugby World Cup currently in progress in New Zealand.

In terms of results, upsets came when Ireland beat Australia to top their pool instead of Australia and Scotland were squeezed out of a quarter final position after narrow losses to both Argentina and England.

Tonga caused a huge upset by beating a disjointed French team but the French still progress to the knock-out stages of the tournament, along with New Zealand, who topped the same Pool.

A quick look at the stats shows that New Zealand scored the most number of tries and points in Pool Play. Nice, but that means little when it come to the business end of the tournament.

So onto the quarter-final games scheduled for next weekend;

QF1: Ireland Vs Wales in Wellington , Oct 8th, 6pm (NZ time)

QF2: England Vs France in Auckland, Oct 8th, 8.30pm (NZ time).

QF3: South Africa Vs Australia in Wellington, Oct 9th, 6pm (NZ time).

QF4: New Zealand Vs Argentina in Auckland, Oct 9th, 8.30pm. (NZ time)

Here are my predictions.....

QF1: Ireland have looked mighty impressive in their games to date and beating Australia was a sign of their quality. However the Welsh lost by only a single point against the Spring Boks and notched up big wins against Namibia and Fiji. This Northern Hemisphere clash will be decided in the forwards and my gut feeling is that Ireland will be too strong on the night.

QF2: It's impossible to predict which French team will show for this game after their horror showings against both Tonga and New Zealand. We all know the French team can destroy any team on their day. England on the other hand have look clinical, without being spectacular. Very hard to predict the winner of this game. I'd love to see the English get beaten, but it isn't gonna happy in this game. So the English to win.

QF3: Many will argue that this game should have been a final but after Australia loss to Ireland they sealed their fate. Both teams have suffered badly from tournament-ending injuries to key players (eg., Morné Steyn and Mitchell). For Australia, Quade Cooper could be the winning or losing of this game depending on how he plays, while the loss of Steyn is a huge loss for the Boks. My pick, the South Africa will be too strong in the forward and too ruthless. Boks to win.

QF4: The All Blacks have been in top form during pool play despite a few "flat" spells (eg., the second half against Tonga). Even with the lost of Dan Carter they should cruise pass Argentina who have looked far from impressive so far. I'm predicting a comfortable All Blacks win in front of a big fanatical home crowd in Auckland. But the big question remains, without Dan Carter, can the All Blacks beat South Africa or Australia in a semi.......hmmm....now that's a hard one to call. Collin Slade has had mixed performances so far and his goal kicking is terrible. Lets hope he continues to improve.

All Black First-Five Dan Carter after he tore his groin at training before the Canadian game. The injury has ruled him out of the tournament and represents a huge blow to New Zealand's chances. (pic source)

Living In Wonju & Need Help?

2011-09-24T13:41:00.009+09:00

If you live in Wonju and you want to share some information or ask other English teachers for some, then I recommend logging onto Facebook and searching under......

Wonju English Teachers

The group has over 250 members now which is fantastic. People seem happy to contribute and help and I used the site last weekend to sell my sofa (albeit for free), which took less than day. A great resource.

Seasons Changing..... Time For A Head Cold

2011-09-23T09:42:00.006+09:00

Like many people have already noticed, its decidedly cooler these days here on the Korean peninsular. In fact, it's dam right chilly at nights and the days of walking around in a singlet and shorts are disappearing. So out come the jackets and motorcycle gloves.

Gee, I hope this isn't that start of an extended winter season for this year.

My body hasn't reacted well to the changes . Every morning this week I've had sneezing fits and I'm taking some serious medication to help get me through my classes. My sinuses were going crazy for a few days but seem better today. I wanna head back to the gym but I simply don't have the energy yet.

Let's hope things warm up over the next few days.

Back On-Line

2011-09-23T08:12:00.005+09:00

I've been without my personal laptop computer for the past 5 days. I never knew how bored I could get at night without a computer in my life (God I'm sad).

Luckily a friend from work helped me get my computer up and running. Basically he reinstall Windows 7 and supplied me with activation codes I needed.

So last night I was working into a wee hours reinstalling software and getting the layout sorted. Sometimes hate technology.

I can totally relate to this. (source)

Time For Church

2011-09-18T08:29:00.010+09:00

No, it's not that I have a lot to confess.

Conversely, because we're having a Catholic wedding next year in Manila, Wheng's church has asked me to complete some forms (affidavits) in front of a Catholic priest here in Wonju.

The forms ask some questions that basically confirm that there is no impediment to our marriage (i.e. that I'm not currently married). The procedure is that a priest is to interview me in front of my two witnesses (Gord and Charles), and sign the documents.

Anyway, last Thursday, with a little help I managed to locate big a Catholic Church a few blocks away from the Lotte Cinema Area in Wonju. I spoke with a receptionist who told me to come back on Saturday at 5pm as the priest would be free then.

So me and my witnesses arrive yesterday and of course the receptionist I spoke with previously on Thursday is not there, and none of the other staff know anything about any meeting she was meant to have arranged.

Thankfully a nice lady who spoke some English offered to help us and she informed me that church has a new priest.

She runs outside to find him, a young guy, drags him inside and explains to him what we need and why. Unfortunately he can barely write his name in English so the whole process took longer than it should have as details were translated to him.

Anyway, he was happy to help and the documents have been completed. Could have been a lot worse.

Our priest didn't kill vampires (source)

Chuseok Rolls Around Again

2011-09-10T20:02:00.005+09:00

It's hard to believe another year has flashed past me and Chuseok vacation is here again.

I distinctly remember last year's Chuseok vacation, as it basically rained for five days straight while Gord and I tried to hike in three different national parks. True to form, its meant to rain this Chuseok also.

In terms of days off, everyone in the country should get Monday and Tuesday off. That means eight less teaching hours for me this week. Fantastic!

In terms of plans for my days off, well I'll probably go for a hike in the hills near the apartment and that's about it. Not very exciting for me this year.

Rugby World Cup Starts

2011-09-09T07:40:00.002+09:00

Tonight the 2011 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Auckland, New Zealand. The first game is between the All Blacks and Tonga. Bound to be a hugely physical contest.

The tournament runs until Oct 23rd and includes 48 games to be played in various cities around New Zealand. A great link for the tournament can be found here along with this cool video.

Whenever you mention the Rugby World Cup to a New Zealander they usually wince in pain and change the topic. Why? It's been 24 long years since New Zealand last won the cup. Back then, 1987, the first Rugby World Cup, the tournament was also held in New Zealand.

Since then, the All Blacks have become the "chokers" of international rugby simply because of their inability to perform when it counts.

New Zealand are widely regarded as the best rugby team in the world but they play their best rugby in between World Cups and then choke to lesser nations (usually France) when it really matters.

Lets change the topic.

The New Zealand games for this tournament are (Pool A)...

Tonga (tonight), Japan on the 16th, France on the 24th (dam dirty french!) and Canada on Oct 2nd.

Apart from the French game, the All Blacks should cruise to the top of their group and play Scotland (or maybe Argentina) in their QF game. After that game the draw gets harder to predict.

So at about 3.30 pm this afternoon I'll be doing my best to find live internet streaming of the game.

Graham Henry, All Black Coach. If he can't produce a World Cup victory at home then he might need to emigrate to another country after the tournament.

Kick Butt Gord!

2011-09-08T19:58:00.008+09:00

My good friend Gordan, whom I've worked with for nearly the past 3 years, headed to Beijing this morning to complete in the ITU World Championship Triathlon Grand Final. His race is on Sunday morning and he will represent Canada in the 50-60 age bracket.

He's been training and preparing for this one race for over 12 months now so best of luck mate.

Realistically Gord is looking at top 10 finish in his age group, being one of the better swimmers in the world.

Personally I have to say, despite being 59 years young my friend is the fittest person I've ever known . Hiking and running with this guy makes me feel so hopelessly inadequate but at the same time, he provides me inspiration as I can see first hand what the benefits are of leading an active and healthy lifestyle.

I stole this picture from Gord's Facebook Account.

UPDATE: Gord came second in his age group. Great, now I don't feel so bad when he leaves me for dead during hill climbs.

I'm a Veteran!

2011-09-05T18:00:00.006+09:00

Ye, that's right, after two and half years at Yonsei I'm now (along with two other teachers) one of the longest serving members on staff. Wow! That's a lot of people leaving (see below).

When I started there were 25 teachers in total, 4 of which were supervisors. Now we have 15 teachers, 3 of which which are supervisors. Names like these bring back their own set of memories for me:

Will, Liz, Alex, Kim, Ralph, Anna, Louise, Maria, Benjamin, Terra, Kyle, Trevor, Richard, Lisa, Kristy, Kristina, Adam, Matt (X2), Negin, Dean, Ann-Marie and Howard (plus some others I've probably forgotten).

When I think of long service I think of my time in three CRI's in New Zealand, where I meet people who stayed in the same job for over 30 years! With the economy the way it is those days are long gone I suspect.

But back to my situation at Yonsei, I guess its hardly surprising so many staff have come and gone considering the kind of industry (ESL) will all work in. Still thou, I never knew anything about high staff turnover until I started working in Korea.

'That' Video: My 10 Cents Worth

2011-09-03T13:18:00.017+09:00

Relatively big news in Korea at the moment has been in reaction to a video taken on a bus involving an African-American guy losing it with an elderly Korean couple over a misunderstanding regarding the words ""Niga Yuh gi anja", which means "You can sit here".

I first saw the video on Scribblings of the Metropolitician (here) and I really enjoyed reading his take on events.

While watching the video myself I couldn't help but cringe at what transpired and the total lack of self control shown by the guy in the video. It would have been so easy to walk away before things escalated but I guess these things get forgotten in the heat of the moment and when people become angry.

A lot of people have condemn this guy for his behavior and I don't disagree with them. You should never get so angry with people (especially at an elderly couple) that you actually try to intimidate or physically assault them.

However, as we all know, we don't live in a perfect world where people make the right decisions all the time. Personally, I can totally see how a foreigner in Korea, especially a black foreigner, might be hypersensitive to racial comments and/or misunderstand perfectly harmless remarks like in this case.

Korea, just like any other country, has its fair share of racist people. To me thou, in the 5 years I've been here, the racial stereotypes just seem more deeply entrench within the wider Korean community than in other countries I've stayed in. Some people will disagree with me and fair enough, but these are just my feelings.

I'm not saying that because he's colored he has the right to behave like an idiot. Actually, I'm saying that I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often.

If you're a foreigner in Korea ask yourself, how many times have people avoided sitting beside you on a subway seat simply because you are not Korean? How many times have you meet a Korean person who immediately asks you how many bottles of Soju you can drink or the number of women you have slept with? How many times have my own students told me that black skin is 'dirty" and that AIDS, drugs and homosexuality never existed in Korea until foreigners came here.

Many times is the answer for me.

So can you blame this all on Korean culture, racism, shyness, xenophobia or on individual stereotypes? All of the above is my guess.

Finally, people have said this guy has given foreigners a bad name in Korea, but really, its far too late for that. Foreigners already have a bad name here. Smart people will judge a person as an individual and not generalize based on ethnicity etc. The actions of one silly guy will soon be forgotten and replaced by another video or news article describing another person doing something stupid.

At the end of day, Korea is a country that is undergoing some radical societal changes as immigration level rise and the country becomes more 'multicultural' (albeit slowly). More events like the one will undoubtedly make national news headlines again in the future. Better get use to it people.

Lovely South Korean Scenery

2011-09-03T13:03:00.006+09:00

If ya wanna see a lovely video of South Korea, check this out (here). I first saw the link at Asian Correspondent.

What a lovely creative piece of filmography. I wish I had these kinda skills with a camera.

Freshman Take Their Revenge

2011-08-30T23:06:00.010+09:00

Last semester I failed a good number of Freshman students (well most failed themselves by being absent too many times and missing assignments), in fact, the failed more than I have ever done before in a single semester.

Consequently, I checked my student evaluations scores today knowing full well that my usual average (of around 4.5 out of 5.0) would be hard to reach. My worries were soon confirmed.

My sophomore students (6 classes) evaluated me much higher (4.5) than my Freshman students (4 classes, 4.03). Two classes even gave me a score lower than 4.0, which is the first time I'd ever gone below a 4.0 score at Yonsei.

So my overall student evaluation grade for the Spring 11 semester was 4.31, my lowest yet.

However, it's not all bad. A colleague of mine, who is a super friendly guy that rarely fails anyone, also got lashed by his Freshman and his final evaluation score was much lower than mine.

Last semester was the first time the university made it compulsory for teachers to include a 20% assignment in their syllabus. Maybe most Freshman didn't appreciate the extra work? Lazy buggers!

Motorcycle Blues.... Again!

2011-08-30T22:50:00.005+09:00

My poor old bike.

After 4 weeks of non action it just wouldn't perform like I needed her to do this week. Unfortunately she decided to crap-out a few kms from my apartment which meant a decent walk home in the blistering mid-afternoon sun.

Today the mechanic picked up the bike in his truck and quickly told me I needed a new battery. This is the third battery I've needed which makes no sense to me.

Anyway, while I was with the mechanic I told him to repair the electrics, fix the rear indicator light, change the oil, replace the gear shifter and place a new storage box on the back as the current one sometimes comes off which is seriously dangerous for any cars following me.

He returned the bike later tonight having done all that I asked except that he didn't have a replacement storage boxes. Total coast, W90,000. Not bad at all.

I wonder how long it will be before my next repair bill comes around? Dam bike.

Why does this never happen to me? (source)

Back In K-Land

2011-08-29T11:33:00.005+09:00

Yep, back for my last long semester in Korea.

I arrived at Incheon on Saturday night after a VERY rough flight from Manila. The plane was full of Korean school kids but the turbulence kept everyone quite. I have to say I was a little scared as the plane shook for almost an hour after taking off.

So now I'm back in Wonju and the weather has been brilliant so far. Problem is that my motorcycle broke down on the way to the supermarket which is a real pain in the butt.

This semester is going to be busy one.

Along with my teaching, I'm gonna be busy helping Wheng organize our wedding, planning the honeymoon, booking flights, looking for a job in New Zealand and starting the long process for Wheng to become a New Zealand citizen. On top of this, I've enrolled to complete a 50-hour, on-line business English course as well.

Let the good times roll.

TESOL Certification Course Done

2011-08-26T12:12:00.019+09:00

Yep, after 4 weeks of walking back and forth from my shitty prison-like dorm to the training center, I'm finally done.

Today is my graduation day....lol., it has been over 10 years since I last graduated from anywhere, and tomorrow I'm flying back to Korea (via Manila for a few hours) to start preparation for the Fall semester.

So what did I think about my 4-week course in Cebu?

Well, the workload during the course was fairly steady and I treated the course like a 9-5 job. The result was I didn't need to do much work outside those hours.

In short the course required participants to write a 500 word foreign language journal, complete two open-book tests (grammar and phonology), do two student-profile lessons with a student provided by the training college (2 hours in total) and six assessed teaching practices (6 hours in total) with students ranging in age from 6 to 23.

With each lesson we were asked to submit detailed lesson plans, self and peer evaluations. We were required to teach both text-based and freestyle type lessons which involved modelling a dialogue, listening/reading activities, role playing and communicative lesson training activities.

Warmer (icebreaker) and picture annotation exercises were used at the beginning of each class to lead students into the main topic of each lesson.

So I learned a lot from this course and I'll try to apply some of what I've learned into my university classes. I'm happy with what I've achieved and passing with a A+ grade was a nice reward for all my hard work.

Crossing the road to reach the training centre (class building in the far ground) was always an adventure.

Michael, Arnold and school employee with Kinder kids some of us were required to teach.

Arnold, Robin, Rex, Michael, Phil, Andrew, me and Amy - during theory training time.

With our college students - a little out of focus unfortunately.

Me plus two trainers, Nancy and Ace.

All of us with our TESOL certificates and our two main trainers, Nancy & Jacky.

Wedding Date - Feb 18th or 19th

2011-08-22T21:25:00.004+09:00

While I'm busy completing the last week of my TESOL course my girlfriend has also been busy organizing our wedding. I can now tell you that our wedding date be on either February 18th or 19th, next year in Manila (followed by a small reception in Nz later in the year).

That's all for now... I need to study for tomorrow's class and write a two-page self evaluation of my class today. Only three more hours of assessed classes to go.

We Are Engaged

2011-08-14T14:07:00.003+09:00

Yes ladies and gents, it's official.

Wheng and I are now engaged as of yesterday morning. I won't go into the details of how I proposed on such a public forum, but needless to say, I'm a very happy man.