It has been more than a month since my last post and what a month it has been. Jisan was one of the craziest weekends of my life (who knew that Suede were still so good?) and the bunch of us that went down did a lot of drinking, laughing, and shouting of random obscenities. What could be better? The week that followed was a lot of packing and tying up of loose ends. It was horrible leaving Korea. I loved it there and I have left a lot behind. I want to sit down and write about it properly someday, but I can say for sure that it'll be a long time before I'm 'over' Korea. Thankfully, I'm not too far away...
From Korea it was Barcelona for a major bout of reunions. Charlene and her boyfriend, Stephen, surprised me by showing up on the Friday night and we had a great few days with Rachel, who kindly put us up at her place! There was a bit of a Seoul reunion too, with Kevin, Jo, Jim, and Rhiannon all in town. Way too much to write now at the end of a long day, but it was epic. Barcelona is a must if you're looking for a quirky, laid-back and affordable European city to kill a bit of time in.
Home was great but there just wasn't enough time to fit everything in. Lisa was an angel helping me out with visa issues and the like in Dublin before I surprised Mum and Dad with an unannounced visit that I think my Ma might still be recovering from! Roisin's wedding in Sligo was absolutely brilliant. Definitely made me less cynical about the whole event and I got to catch up with a few old faces, most notably Kirsta who is headed back to Korea for a killer job this year herself. Roisin is one of those special people you meet once in a while and, on the evidence of that weekend, she likes to surround herself with more of the same. The only down side was that Annie didn't make it over. She was in Africa at some meeting. Come on Winterface, sort it out!
Other highlights from home were the long drives around Inishowen, beers with old friends, and an epic late-night jam with the one and only Sean Furey. You can't beat being home. Soon enough though, it was time to hit the road again and pack the bags for China. I haven't been here for two weeks yet but I simply don't know where to start in telling you all about the place, the job, the people, the quirks, the stories... Considering the fact that I've been up since 6am, it's 9:35pm now, and I have it all to do again tomorrow, perhaps it'd be better to leave it for another day. I just wanted to check in, say hi, and get the old blog back in action.
I've been on the receiving end of some gentle chiding recently on the old 'last gig ever' front. My first 'last ever gig' in Korea was in.... December 2007, or thereabouts. Yep - that's more than three-and-a-half years ago... Then there was our 'last-ever' with John and Kev, 'last-ever' with Jim, 'last-ever' UR Seoul, 'last-ever' Dead End Friends, 'last-ever' random gig, 'last-ever' at this/that venue... you get the picture. Of course, an element of it is trying to twist people's arm to come out. The whole 'pushing' part of being in bands is often pretty annoying (for you and me both!), but most of the time people seem to have fun, so I feel good about it more often than I feel bad. The real crux of the matter, though, is that I honestly never know that this or that gig won't actually end up being my last gig! I didn't really have any intention of returning to live in Korea when I left for South America in 2007 (I had been planning China as my next step, just as I am now). We had no idea how we could cope with the departures of Kev, John and Jim, before we were lucky enough to link up with other musicians who enabled us to keep the whole experience going that little bit longer...
I think the same can be said for any of us, in anything we do. I doubt FC Seoul's Ou Gyoung Jun had much of an idea that he was more than likely playing his last-ever game of professional football, as he started in our 1-0 League Cup defeat away to Gyeongnam on June 29th - although he may have had an inkling... I'm not going to go down morbid alley on a Friday night but we never know when we wake up in the morning whether or not this could be the last day in which we take a walk in our favourite park, listen to or favourite song, hold our favourite person's hand, or sing some of the best songs ever written with awesome musicians and wiggle around in front of an unsuspecting public!
This gig at Club FF tomorrow night will almost certainly be my last in Korea. Yes, of course it's not impossible that I might link up with someone in a future weekend trip to Seoul from Nanjing. Yes, I might end up hating my life in China and be back in a few months with my tail between my legs. Who knows? Still, the way I see it, I'm going to go into anything I love doing, with the thought that it just might be my last chance, and try to squeeze every last ounce of enjoyment out of the experience. If I don't see you at my latest 'last-gig', I'll see you a the next one...
I know that sweeping statements such as this always end up attracting the ire of at least someone but, I'll tell you what, if you're a football fan living in Korea and you don't go watch and support a local team, then you're not really a football fan. Following FC Seoul over the past few years has been one of the very best aspects of my life in this country and, judging by the members at www.rokfootball.com, and the dedication of the guys responsible for the ever-informative K-League podcast, I know for sure that I'm not alone in that. Over the years, our constantly-changing group of friends (including a few ever-presents), have had some good chats, rows, debates, beers, sessions, witnessed good goals, bad goals, crazy decisions, frustrating misjudgements, and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, most of them.
With my time in the country coming to an end, I've been determined to catch as many matches (home and away) as possible, and have been rewarded with some thrilling encounters and memorable experiences! Since the Gangwon match (I wrote about that previously) I've been to three matches (only missing our second string bow out 1-0 away to Gyeongnam in the League Cup), witnessing six goals for, five against, and a possible 5 league points (from a possible 9) to elevate us for the first time this season into the vital top six play-off spots. Mind you, considering the fact that only three points separate 6th from 13th, there's still a hell of a lot of football to be played this season.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of non-football-related talking points in the K-League these days too. The biggest by far is the current match-fixing scandal engulfing the country's top flight. At present, only two FC Seoul players have been indicted, and neither of them were with the club last season. One of them, Ou Kyoung Ju, was on-loan at Daejeon - one of the teams who have been hit hardest by the recent allegations. At only 23, and having spent his teens as a promising young man learning his trade with Metz in France, this looks a pretty idiotic way to end his career, if that's what it turns out to be. With each passing week the scandal seems to be growing in size and scope, further tarnishing the league's image at home and abroad. The spectacle of team captains reading a prepared speech promising not to cheat before each game is not something any of us want to see continuing indefinitely...
The other problem, although it is merely bubbling under the surface at present, is the growing tendency of some fans to get caught up in a bit of crowd trouble! Embarrassingly, this seems to be connected to FC Seoul more than most others - at least recently. I headed down to Jeonju with a friend the weekend before last for a thrilling and eventful 2-2 with high-flying Jeonbuk Motors. It was my first time to travel with one of the supporters' buses and it was a great experience. Everyone was so helpful and friendly; I got dragged down the back of the bus for soju with a bunch of ajoshis; everyone was keen to make sure we didn't get lost and always knew what was going on. It was Korean hospitality at it's finest. Incredibly, it all turned into a bit of a sour experience when we got trapped inside the stadium for an hour-and-a-half after the full-time whistle due to rioting Jeonbuk fans, baying for our blood outside! It had it all: pitch invasion; bottle-throwing (even a bit of shoe-throwing...); kids crying; attacking the bus; shouting abuse; they even tried to drive us off the road!! I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it; in Korea or anywhere else. Bizarrely, it has barely been spoken of since, and appears to have been brushed under the carpet. Let's hope it doesn't trip us up again any time soon.
Back to matters on the pitch, FC Seoul travel to second-placed Pohang Steelers on Sunday for a 7pm kick-off. I hope to travel with the supporters again, hopefully avoiding the threat of actual bodily harm this time around... Burndog has bravely predicted a 1-0 win for the Seoulites. As much as I'd love for him to be right (and he often is!), I'd say that a draw is probably the best we can hope for against Asamoah and co. No matter what happens, I'm certain there'll be more nail-biting and random expletives out of me before the 90 minutes are up. Seoul saranghae!
Wow I really hadn't realised it had been so long since I last blogged. Since the trips to Busan and Gangneung, what have I been up to? Let's see... not doing enough work on my dissertation... teaching an intensive summer course for a couple of weeks... plenty of FC Seoul matches... band practice and a couple of gigs... my kids' classes... 'other' classes... went to see Super8... river city... COEX for Jonathan's birthday... my first football riot... listening to Matt's K-League podcast... finally saw The King's Speech... got round to seeing The Fighter... broke AND fixed my camera... got shouted at by my lovely boss over something ridiculous in front of my co-workers... watched the British Grand Prix... started trying to get rid of my stuff and ready for China... had a birthday... aaaaaaand... lots of being rained upon. Well that's pretty much all I can think of right now! Isn't it all fascinating? This post is just to get me back into the habit. I'll fill in the blanks tomorrow - especially on the gigging and FC Seoul fronts! Hope you're well, don't be a stranger!
Oh! Final gig in Korea is this Saturday night. You can find the details here. Peace out!
The summer is here! Light teaching schedule (aside from eight crazy days, but that's not now, so I'm not going to think about it), warm weather, events left, right and centre, and something like a puny seven weeks left of my life in Korea. I actually had my medical for my Chinese working visa yesterday and I wasn't nearly as much of a baby about giving blood (or having blood taken!) as I usually am. Perhaps I might even be considered a 'man' by my 29th birthday, although I wouldn't count on it. Anyway, the Chinese authorities are pretty nuts with the old health requirements. I had to be tested for AIDS, syphilis and something else I hadn't even heard of. Fair enough, I guess. However, there's also a questionnaire where I have to own up if I've had such extreme disorders as 'mental confusion' (who hasn't?), 'plague' or 'leprosy'. The doctor then has to sign off that I haven't shown any signs of 'yellow fever', 'cholera' or 'polio'. Ah no lads, you're safe enough on those fronts. I think I need to tell them that I'm going there to teach, not live out the final few weeks of my rapidly diminishing life! Results back on Friday. Fingers crossed I'm all clear and that I can get on with the rest of the laborious visa process.
I'm trying to make the most of my remaining time on the ROK. I wouldn't bet much money on getting another gig on the go. Jeff is out of the country for the rest of the month and that would only give us a few weeks to train up a new drummer and get the show back on the road, only for me to up sticks in early-August anyhow. More likely is that I'll front a couple of shows as a Muse cover with Cheon's Korean band. I'd love the buzz of a show at FF one more time, but with so many other things to fit in before I hit the road, I'm not going to push it or lose much sleep over the issue either way.
This weekend I'm going to go over to Gangneung to enjoy the weather (not TOO hot... yet...), get a bit of beach time in, and (you've guessed it), watch Gangwon FC entertain the not-so-mighty-these-days FC Seoul. We earned a valuable point at home last weekend against high-flying Pohang Steelers, but appear to have lost the head of steam that came with the arrival of caretaker boss, Choi Young Soo. It was a very entertaining match with a HUGE attendance (the sponsors put on some sort of feeble promotion and the families lapped it up), but we have lost the air of invincibility we once had at home. We're still just four-points off the play-off positions, but it's getting pretty congested in there and we need to get a bit of a run together soon. Thank the good-but-non-existent lord for Dejan and Adi, who really do look out of place at times, such is the performance gap between them on their good days, and some of their team-mates on their bad days.
Some have used the word 'obsessive' to describe my relationship with the 'Soul of Seoul - FC Seoul' of late, and I guess I'm not helping my cause by planning to travel the 330km to Busan tomorrow to watch a last-16 FA Cup encounter with Busan Kyotang of the Korean National League. The way I see it is that I only have kids' classes this week (Tuesday and Thursday), that the weather is lovely, that it's something completely different, and that Adi promised to give me his shirt!! I'm going to go down by KTX early in the morning, check out the fish markets, bring a book to the beach for a few hours, take in the match, celebrate a thumping victory (tempting fate there...), love motel it up like the classy gent I am, and catch an early train back for my Thursday kids' class. Hopefully it all goes smoothly and I'll have a nice blog to write up about it all on Friday.
Random snippet from the match last Saturday: my ex-girlfriend's best friend was there totally unexpectedly doing interviews for Reuters about the recent match-fixing scandal in Korean football. Obviously it was nice giving an interview, but it was a really weird feeling too. Personally, you never know what the friends of your ex now think of you, right? Way more importantly, it's an issue that at least one player has chosen to take his own life over, and who knows how big or far-reaching it'll turn out to be? As I said in the interview, it's sad that people around the world may now only associate the K-League with cheating, as opposed to the standard of football and the quality of players that it has exported. For example, Jung Jo Gook and Park Ju Young were both at Sangam last weekend, paying tribute to their former employers and admirers during the Ligue 1 closed-season. As a fan of Korea and Korean football, I hope the authorities deal with the issue thoroughly and professionally and put measures in place to prevent a repeat.
I hope you're getting on well, whoever you are, wherever you are, and in whatever it is that you're doing.
I'm writing this, as I should be finishing up the research methods section of the old dissertation. The power of procrastination has pushed me to clean my bathroom, download this and that on my computer (whoever heard of cloud files? What an idea...), upload photos, start getting stuff sorted for my Chinese 'foreign expert' visa, check flights for my epic Seoul > Barcelona > Ireland > Nanjing August foray, and write up set-lists for the couple of drummers who are interested in jumping into Jimbo's seat when he hits the road at the end of the month. In spite of the fact that I have only a week-and-a-half left until my final exam, there's no sign of the fear. I kind of need it at this stage.
Still, there's always time for a bit of 'lads on tour' action. Tomorrow, a half-dozen of us are heading down to Daejeon for a bit of craic before Jim's last weekend. The last time the six of us went out together... well... I can't really say what happened. It's not that I'm holding back, I just honestly can't really say. My personal rule for this trip is a self-imposed ban on soju (for me: the lads can do whatever they want!), so hopefully that'll keep things under control to some extent at least.
I'm not 100% happy about missing FC Seoul V Daejeon at Seoul World Cup Stadium tomorrow night, but I'll be watching it on the box. Wednesday past was another good night for the boys. Despite fielding an under-strength side, we hammered National League side, Yongin City, 4-0. Caretaker boss Choi Young Soo seems fairly adept at rotating the squad during a very busy May for the club. Dejan came off the bench to fire home a couple, Adi scored a bit of a jammy dodger, and the other was from a debutant, Choi something-or-other. A win against lowly Daegu could put us into the top-six (play-off positions). Surely they'll give Choi Young Soo the nod to carry on - at least until the end of the season... Since taking over from the shambolic Hwangbo Kwan, it has been six matches, five victories, and just the one draw (away from home in the Champion's League, falling victim to a last-minute equaliser). With Derry City defying the odds and pushing Shamrock Rovers at the top of the league, and Man Utd stuttering their way to a record 19th top flight league crown, my football supporter star is on the rise again.
There were a couple of other things I was going to mention but a few of the girls from the office at work just walked in to the coffee shop, so I should probably look busy and get back to my chapter. Have a good weekend!
It's been a bit busy recently with probably going out and doing too much, keeping up with work and my dissertation, but not really enough being sensible at all. We finished another DDE session on Tuesday night so I have a fairly quiet rest of the week - time to get plenty of that dissertation done before the research methods exam on June 1st. Confusingly, it's worth 60% of my final dissertation mark, so I'm sure 'the fear' will kick in soon.
Doing lots of reminiscing recently because Jim, another of my best friends in Korea (as well as our drummer), is leaving at the end of the month. We had our final FF gig together last Saturday, a venue that really means a lot to us (mainly as U R Seoul) over the years. I was there on my very first night out in Korea in December 2006 with Rob - yet another ROK hopper! I remember thinking how much I'd love to rock that stage, and we're really lucky in that we've been fortunate enough to have done so many times over the years. I hope I get another chance, but obviously it'll never be quite the same.
Other blasts from the past these days: great emails from Gallagher and Risky; a wedding invitation from Roisin (August 13th - Ill be there!); coming across loads of cards from Ji I had almost forgotten about; lunch with my old Korean teacher; and a Korean FA Cup match tonight against Yongin reminding me of being there this time last year (or longer?) scraping a win over 'a little town called Mokpo' with Rob. Will be in China before I know it. Better prepare myself!
Off to World Cup Stadium for Seoul V Yongin (FA Cup 3rd round), so this is short n' sweet today. Great win for the boys at the weekend over Gyeongnam (Dejan, Ko Yo Han(2)) putting us up to 7th in the K-League and continuing Choi Young Soo's undefeated reign as caretaker manager so far. Get in!
Figuratively speaking, I have had my head up my backside all week so I'm only getting around to ranting about all the shoddy football and other events from last weekend. Honestly, I think any team I even thought about liking lost. Derry City went down to an 88th minute sucker punch at home against Sligo Rovers, having missed a penalty (and easy rebound) through new-signing Eamon Zayed in the first half. FC Seoul looked a shadow of the side that looked so great at home last season as they lost their opener 2-0. Unforgivably, it was against arch-rivals Suwon Bluewings. They looked great. Please, no... There aren't many positives to take from that one: Molina was anonymous; the tactics were shot; team selection nonsensical... I can only hope and pray (but to whom?) that we come out with something more positive from our travels to Daejeon Citizen this Saturday. To rub salt in the wounds, Liverpool trounced Man Utd 3-1 at Anfield late on Sunday night. In the eternal words of Peter Cunnah, "things can only get better."
Lots of crap has been going on behind the scenes in life these days but nothing that I can really talk about on here. What I will say is that it may be time to rethink our faith in Seoul as a 'safe' city. A friend got into a taxi in Itaewon on Saturday night only to be robbed at knife-point by someone who had stolen a taxi and later withdrew a significant chunk of cash from her account. She'll get it back, but that's hardly the point. Of course people should be vigilant wherever we live, but I know that we Seoulites often take our personal safety for granted, and maybe lower our guard more than we should. Needless to say, take care...
In the ensuing days, I somehow lost my FC Seoul season ticket (after one use - although I can get it reissued though) and had a big scare when my hotmail account blocked my access. Where do you think all my MA research data is? You got it. Thankfully, I got it sorted and have learned my lesson. The result being is that I no longer think the universe is conspiring against me this week (month and year) so I'm going to quit whining and get on with living.
I'm going to wrap it up here but not before I add another chunk from my old Bebo blog. In a poignant example of the cyclical nature of life, this one is around the time of a break-up about a month after I moved to Seoul. It also really pissed off an ex, as I recall, but I'll post it again - what the hell!? This entry DEFINITELY sounds at least a little gay but, hey, I did write it.
Well the New Year hasn't really started as I'd hoped as things have come to a pretty sad conclusion with Becs. I never knew it was such a popular season for it! But I'll be trying to take positives from it like every other shit thing that ever happens. Part of me has been thinking about calling it a day here but having just talked to Rob (expected back here end Feb) I'll prob rough it out. I can see myself having great craic here given time.
The events of the last few days came as a massive shock but we're all still friends, etc. I'm also getting a taste of my own medicine and understand a lot of things about the past much better now. Why can't we still be friends Louise? Oh, this is why. Yeah I see it now. Better late than never. No one has died though and I get her reasons.
So the story now is that I'm 24, outgoing, hot (hehe) and single in Seoul. Although it isn't really what I want right this sec, it doesn't sound so bad on paper does it? New Years Eve was shit enough because of the timing but also fun in ways. It was random. I preferred last New Years much more (take note tootsythumbs, lol).
I'm not back in work til next Monday but rather than mope around I'm trying my very best to explore, socialise, feel good again. I hope all is well with you lot. Do stay in touch, it's always great to hear from you. Someone tell Furey I'll make him listen to SCLUB7 if he doesn't at least email. Tell Jay to join this thing too the postman Pat wannabe.
I'm in shitty form these days so there's no point blogging with nothing positive to say. However, I just remembered that I used to blog on Bebo (remember that?) absolutely years ago. So, what I'm going to do is post a few of my early entries here and let you compare the tone of 23-year-old Brian and 28-year-old Brian. How did that happen...? Make of it what you will. It starts off during my PGCE, and the last post is from my early days in Korea, many moons ago. Don't I sound happy?
Drink free zone4/29/06Well, not had a drink for THREE WEEKS. That may not sound like much to you but, for those of you who know me best, it's a long time!! Must say it's bloody good too, believe it or not. I still go out, I still do the whole socialising thing BUT when I wake up in the morning there is the lack of that strange throbbing sensation (keep the thoughts clean...) in the head that used to mysteriously affect me following a night on the piss. There tends also to be a bit more cash in the pockets as, surprisingly, we non-drinkers (ah the irony) tend to not drink Coca-Cola at the same frequency as beer (or vodka, sambuca, whiskey, tequila, all of the above...). Seriously speaking I feel amazing. I recommend it. The only major flaw is that people constantly seem to feel that I would like to be reminded that I'm not drinking (alcohol) on nights out. It also seems to put people on edge. BUT interestingly no-one notices I'm not drinking until I tell them so. I'm not famed for being shy and retiring. I think I'm going to keep it up a while longer. It would be nice to just maybe have the odd beer or two on a night out, but I know myself too well. One becomes ten - simple as. Anyways, just thought I'd share my little social experiment with you all. We have Ofsted in school this week and I have my last (hopefully) Uni observation on Thursday so its going to be a busy one. Picked up a good quote from school; "Worry is like riding on a rocking horse. You can do it all day, but it won't get you anywhere!" Thought it was cool. Anyways, do be in touch,
Well I've been here four days now and it feels like I've done a million things already. First off I better say that I love it! My flat is ok, rough n' ready like but does the trick. It's a good size too. The school is really nice and the teaching is far from rocket science, although some of the younger kids are annoying I must say. The other teachers are dead on but as I'm the only foreign teacher I guess the conversation is limited, lol. We all headed out for dinner last Friday night and it was awesome - karaoke bar afterwards too was sweet!! My bosses couldn't really be more helpful if they tried. Met up with Rob that night too and spent a good chunk of the weekend laughing as a result. If he comes to Seoul in March as he is planning then it will be an amazing year.
Found the biggest market area I've ever seen in my life today and bought two pairs of shoes for about 11 stg, lol. Have already earned more than I've spent and that's impressive considering I've been buying one-off essentials like CD players, etc. Could save a fortune here this year and feeling rich for the first time in my life!
Anyway, just to let you all know I'm alive and feeling good. Keep in touch!
Things have settled down nicely here. The teaching is mainly easy to be honest. There aren't many jobs I've done that involve an hour in the morning, a four hour break and then three hours in the eve. But that's my story Mon, Wed and Fri so it's pretty sweet. Plenty of time to read, catch up with people at home, eat, etc. So yeah, the job is sweet.
I get on really well with a girl at work and we hang out quite a bit. Other than that I occasionally frequent the least Irish 'Irish' bar I've ever been to in my life in Itaewon (the English speaking area). Have met some sound people, some right eejits. So much the same as home really on that score.
Last weekend I met some people who live quite close to me and they are a very sound bunch. Few English, Canadian, etc. Get on well with them so head out with them quite a bit and will be spending Xmas, New Years, etc with them. Social side of things is pretty good here. Watching the cash a bit as my first pay doesn't arrive until Jan 5th but after that I'll be laughing hopefully.
Of course some days everyone suffers from the 'Seoul blues' where everything just gets on top of you a little bit but I've only had two days like that so far so I can't complain. Plus it was mainly drink-induced, lol. Being so far from Becca is far from ideal too but we keep in touch as much as we can and I think most of the time we're dealing with it quite well.
Tonight I'm heading out with Eunice (korean work-mate) to Suyu then meeting Alex (London lad), etc. in Itaewon to head out. Nights out here last until 6am at least, as that's when the subways re-open. It's a whole new lesson on 'pacing yourself' for me, lol. Being here for Christmas will be very strange. Of course I'd love to be in Cooley but so many people here are in the same boat so I'm sure we'll make the best of it.
Be sure to keep in touch. Most people I expected to are but some (Furey!!) aren't doing as well. My number is 010 6870 2470 if anyone feels so inclined over the Christmas I'm sure that'd be nice.
Hope you're all well and have a great festive period,
If you're in Korea, and you stayed up to watch the Japan match last night, I'm sure you're feeling much the same as me today - tired and dissatisfied! Having pulled themselves back into the contest with a last-gasp equaliser at the end of extra time, they fluffed their chance of progressing to the final of the Asian Cup by missing THREE penalty kicks in the shoot-out. Much has been made of the inexperience of the three penalty takers, but I guess they are always a bit of a lottery. It pains me to say it, but Japan would have been fairly hard done by had they failed to make it through this one. Overall, encouraging tournament because of the number of young players making their mark for the national team such as Ji Dong Won, Son Heung Min, Ku Ja Cheol (their player of the tournament next to the mercurial Park Ji sung in my humble opinion), Lee Yong Rae, Yoon Bit Garam and even Jung Sung Ryeong. Still a bit worrying that they are so intent on walking the ball over the line so often and lack an out-and-out goal-scorer at the very top level.
Cross your fingers for me tomorrow as I conduct my first international school interview. It's for a primary ESL post in Cairo so, although it's not EXACTLY, what I had in mind, it represents a significant opportunity for my to get closer to doing what I really want to do. Such is the nature of a 'career', it appears. The school seems great (an IB World School, well-resourced, in a good location) and Cairo is that bit closer to home than Seoul. I don't quite know how I feel about leaving Korea and everyone and everything I know here behind. A new adventure...
Five minutes til rehearsal for our 'Muse' gig on Saturday. We met up last night and it was already sounding good. The old falsetto came through for me and the guys know their stuff, as I had predicted they would. The old ears took a battering though. I really need to invest in some earplugs... Waffle over! I'll let you know how the interview goes. And if you have any recommendations for what I should do in Shanghai (leaving next Wednesday morning), don't be shy in sharing.
It's all go this week since our Duksung Dynamic English (DDE) intensive classes started. My teaching schedule is usually pretty light but, a few times a year, we have these intensive sessions during which time we are pretty much under pressure all day everyday with class, prep, marking, conferences and lesson planning. On top of that I'm still trying to apply to as many schools as I can for August (Cameroon, Honduras and Sri Lanka today), keep finding research subjects for my MA dissertation, sort out my tax return documents for Friday, learn songs for an upcoming Muse cover gig with Cheon, keep on top of my other classes, and trying to grab a few moments for myself here and there too.
The classes themselves are going very well. We are preparing our homeroom for the TOEIC Speaking test, which is fine because I have taught it before. The students don't have a textbook for that class, which is a challenge, but they are an eager bunch. This is actually their first experience out of High School (they are freshmen due to start Uni in March), so it must be a daunting experience for them all. They're doing well. It's interesting to note how much more submissive they are than the older students I taught last term. They have clearly had all their creativity drummed out of them at school and it'll take a while for some of them to claim it back, it seems. The other classes are using a new textbook created by Tom, one of the teachers here. We have only been using it since Monday, but I can already say that it's a brilliantly useful book, rich in resources, varied, cleverly linked together, and perfectly suited to it's purpose. Tom leaves in late-February, but he will certainly have left his mark here.
Last weekend was, quite simply, the best of the year so far. Eleven of us made the trip to Gwangju, in total, and it ended up being two days filled with laughter, music and card games! The gig at Speakeasy was packed and the crowd, as usual, were amazing. Cheon had a bit of a blow when his bass took a tumble and picked up a scratch. The result was that he ended up getting more hammered than I have ever seen him, and it's a credit to him that he made it through the gig, let alone pulled off some stunning solos. I'd say Jeff also had his best 'Dead End Friends' gig so far. There was a period towards the end when he just closed his eyes, tilted back his head, and was very clearly right in the zone. We don't have anything as a band until late February, but this gig was just what we needed to give us the confidence to add a bit of swagger to our step.
That's that for me tonight. Looking forward to relaxing a bit on Saturday night with a few beers and Korea V Iran in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals. Korea were as frustrating as ever in their 4-1 win over India last night, although Son Heung Min, Ku Ja Cheol and Ji Dong Won all impressed aside from their goalscoring contributions. Not taking more of their chances resulted in ceding top spot in the group to Australia and facing a tougher quarter-final opponent than they might have otherwise expected. I hope it isn't something they live to regret...
Poor old South Korea. Having displayed superior skill and tactics tonight against Australia in the Asian Cup in Qatar, they only came away with a 1-1 draw, and were probably lightly lucky to do so. The result will probably result in both teams qualifying for the knock-out stages, but it's these types of performances that really frustrate Korean soccer fans - not that many will be watching until (and if) the Red Devils make it to the latter stages. They are definitely unlucky in that Park Ju Young picked up an injury prior to the tournament, but their tendency to overplay the ball in midfield means that it's unlikely his presence would have altered the outcome of this one. It's not as though he's the greatest finisher anyhow...
It was great to see a good number of K-League players involved, and showing their quality. Ku Ja Cheol is now the tournament's top scorer having nabbed his third. However, it was provider Ji Dong Won (or Don Juan as the commentator kept calling him) who really caught my eye. At only 19, the Chunnam Dragons (Cheongnyang Dragons to the expert on the mic) striker looks assured and confident on the ball, although his finishing could do with some fine-tuning. I was delighted to see Yoo Byeong Soo come on as a sub, as I think we need him at FC Seoul. As it turned out, he was a largely anonymous figure before being replaced by Yoon Bit Garam after ten minutes. That must have hurt...
It would be great for Korean football if they could go on and win this tournament having not done so since 1960! On the evidence of the first two matches, they have a lot of ability and potential, but need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Lee Young Pyo and Cha Du Ri have impressed me so far along with Park Ji Sung, which almost goes without saying. I'd love to see a bit more from Lee Chung Young and we need one of the young strikers to start banging them in. Will it be Ji Dong Won or Son Heung Min who steps up to make his name in mainstream Korea. It doesn't look as though it'll be Yoo Byeong Soo; I'd be surprised if we see him again at all in Qatar.
Not much FC Seoul representation on show, unless you include the MANY players in the team who used to ply their trade with us (most notably Lee Chung Young and Ki Seung Young, the double dragons). I did notice that our goalkeeper, Kim Yong Dae, was sat on the bench. I'm an admirer of Jung Seung Ryeong, but he is definitely prone to the odd howler, as we saw tonight. He's still young and his judgement must be in question (it looks as though he's moving to Suwon, for instance!). If he continues to err, I'm sure Kim can step in and do us proud. It's hard to believe that the best team in the K-League aren't represented among their national team.
Enough football already, I hear you say! Especially K-League/Korean football... Well, a few more applications went out to International Schools in China, Spain, Bahrain and the Lebanon. Bite please, or even nibble. I also got in touch with a number of potential research subjects for my dissertation and am delighted to say that I already have three kind educators on board. Got back into my Korean class today too - really need to take that next step. This website continues to aid, but it's going to take more work on a more consistent basis if I'm ever going to move beyond Level 2. Later in the day we had band practice in Hongdae, and it was sounding good even if I do say so myself. Judging by the facebook page, it looks as though it's going to be a busy night tomorrow at Speakeasy and a real test of our set. I actually really can't wait. I think it's going to be the most fun Dead End Friends gig yet. My intensive classes start on Monday and I'm sure that's going to be a long, tough day. Not going to think of that right now though. Have a great weekend everyone.
I guess you have to be careful about what you write online but let me just say, I'm glad I'm going home for a couple of weeks tomorrow. My blood was absolutely boiling earlier after a meeting with my boss when the injustice and, for want of a better word, bullshit I have to deal with here from time to time reared it's ugly head once again. Being called disorganised because I ask my boss to do something which will help us all be better organised and being disliked simply because I don't lay back and take it like some other people I could mention. The beauty of it all was that she didn't want to give me my evaluations. Why? Because they were, as usual, well above average and that doesn't fit in with her theory of liking the teachers who simply lick up to her most successfully. Nonsense. The amount of extra work I put in FOR MY STUDENTS that goes totally unnoticed is fine by me. I think it's part of the job. But actually being treated less well because I have the balls to point out when she's wrong and I'm right, that does make you wonder what the point of it all is. Ok maybe I'm being naive, that's the way it is, bosses just like people who nod and smile and don't rock the boat, but I'm going to stick to my guns. Worst case scenario I work somewhere else from March. The beauty of it is that, as I'm a good teacher, there's actually nothing she can do to hurt me. So much for me being careful about what I say on here. One last thing, it was suggested that my top priority should be my job and that I should always be sat in the teacher's office on the off-chance that she wants to tell me that we have a pointless meeting tomorrow morning. Ok, I'm done...
Just finished packing and I have that nagging feeling that I have probably left something really important in my flat. I got some soju, makkeoli, kim, pretty landscape pictures, home made soap (the things students give you...) and Korean sweets to bring back. I was toying with bringing over some Hite D for Rob because I can't remember if it was out when he left, but I'm not sure how much he'd appreciate a can of fizz when I could just buy him a nice.... Smithwicks, or something. I'm not looking forward to the journey but I AM looking forward to meeting Charlene, Lisa and Kev (ok Caomhain...) for a few beers in Dublin and getting back up to Moville on Sunday night. I've brought back a few bits and bobs to study but I'm promising myself that I'm going to take it easy and spend loads of 'quality time' with the family. The chores can hold off until January, and I'm sure they'll be fine.
In a weird way, I'm sad to be leaving Korea for a couple of weeks and missing Christmas dinner at Gerry's with Catherine, Thomas and their gangs. Mind you, I am chuffed at the thought of having a beer with Gerry in Derry and hopefully seeing Rob, Hee Young and Jamie on Christmas Day. Ok, you might be reading this not knowing who any of these people are, but I'm sure the sentiments of getting to see people you haven't seen for what seems like an eternity aren't lost on you (ok I saw Gerry last Sunday, but I've never met him in Derry). I haven't seen my sister Rachel in two years!!!
I'm probably going to be busy for a few days and I'm leaving my laptop here (aaaah!), so next time I blog I'll be in my sitting room at home in Cooley, looking out at a field full of cattle, snow-covered Moville, and Lough Foyle. Weird. Have a great weekend everyone.
Oh - one final thought. The locations of visitors are usually fairly easy to figure out (think Mongolia, Barcelona, Leeds, Australia, Slovenia, Incheon, etc.) but WHO THE HELL do I know in Iceland? Identify yourself, you're doing my head in.
There isn't much to say about yesterday's event on Yeonpyeong that hasn't already been said. The loss of two young lives completing obligatory military service in the middle of nowhere is obviously a tragedy (one had recently blogged about how much he was looking forward to end-of-service party in three weeks). The fact that a lot of us thought about how our bank balance was going to be hit is as well. The fact that some guy decided to write possibly the world's worst song about it all within minutes of the story breaking is a definite third.
To those at home and possibly worrying; it's more than likely nothing to get overly concerned about and something that will blow over. Of course, we're all keeping ourselves informed and being suitably sensible.
The really interesting thing I've noted about this (and Ireland's IMF bail-out earlier in the week) is the epidemic of 'expertise' sweeping my world these days. There's a bit of a myth that more accessible methods of communication and media are allowing us to become these well-informed, active citizens playing a part in the workings of everyday life. In reality what tends to happen is this: someone with too much time on their hands scans the headlines; reads a couple of message boards; aligns all this to what he/she had thought prior to accessing this new information; regurgitates it all over any willing listener. No matter how long the news broadcasters manage to drag out their coverage, they all end the same way: no-one really knows why this has happened or what might happen next. However, it seems that if you have access to bbc.co.uk, facebook, twitter, or an office full of trapped audience, you think you know better.
I spent a good chunk of last night looking into the topic I'm going to try to write about on here in a bit of depth at the end of the week; fan-death. More on that later, but let me just say that it is way more of a can of worms than I had suspected. I did come across a pretty interesting (but polarising) article by George Hogan in the Korea Times. Apparently, George has been/was teaching "Korean social issues and current events" in southern Seoul. He blogs at www.asktheexpat.blogspot.com. It's polarising because he basically chastises all English teachers in Korea and accuses everyone of being narrow-minded and ignoring facts in favour of broadly criticising Korean culture and looking at things only from the point of view of their home culture. A subsequent article by Sandy Fortune correctly points out his over-simplified generalisations and some flaws in his research, but he raises some interesting points.
All too often in my time here I'm jolted by conversations starting, "All Koreans {insert wild exaggeration or vague, unsupported generalisation}...." It bugs me. A lot. Of course we can make generalisations about Korea (or any country, state, locality) that are backed up by facts and figures (as Burndog did on his blog regarding dangerous driving in Korea just the other day). However, what I often hear is unjustified dismissal of beliefs, cultures and attitudes based often on little more than "something I read". It doesn't seem to matter that this "something I read" was a forum post or one single article by a journalist living on the other side of the planet (or maybe even a blog!). It can be frustrating when we, as foreigners, are pigeon-holed according to stereotypes of our nationalities. That doesn't make it ok to do exactly the same thing ourselves.
Too often these differences are framed according to nationalities, instead of individuals. Just yesterday, I heard colleagues giving out about a Korean mother who threatened one of my co-workers after her daughter had been bitten by that person's dog. There seemed to have been general agreement that the Korean mother was wrong and had over-reacted. I'm not sure that would have been the general opinion had this event happened between two foreigners. If your kid was bitten by a dog off it's leash, wouldn't you maybe be a bit pissed off?
Anyway, I'm feeling a bit flat today so I'm going to wrap it up. Wednesday is my easy day so one more class and an hour of 'volunteer' writing lab sessions and I'm free to study for a couple of hours and then hang out with Ji tonight. Have a good one everyone. Oh and apparently today is 'Forget Me Not Day' (I have no idea what that is but they mentioned it on tbsefm this morning), so - call your Mum. Or something.
Hello all. Today's blog is thanks to one of my students, Chae Young, and her writing homework for my class this week. Ajuma, technically (I think), is Korean for a married woman who has already had kids. In reality, I think most of us think of the visor-wearing, no-shit-taking, subway-stomping, fear-inducing ladies (as pictured above). Anyway, Chae Young explains this life-blood of Korea much better than I could ever hope to, as a foreigner. Over to you...
Last month (during my mid-term exams) I was going home with my books and some clothes. It was really heavy. I was wearing a back pack, shoulder bag, and a shopping bag. There weren't many people in the subway, but there were no seats. I stood in front of an ajoshi (middle-aged Korean man). He offered to give me his seat. He said, "I'm getting out in two stations so please sit here - you have a lot of things". I was really thankful. However, at that time an ajuma sat in my seat. I don't know where she was. She stole my seat! She didn't have any health problems or anything. I was just frustrated but couldn't say or do anything.
There are lots of ajuma stories. In a restaurant or cafe there are two kinds of problem people - ajumas and children. Ajuma's high pitch loud voices fill up the restaurant. Sometimes they don't look after their children. It's really terrible.
Not all ajumas are rude but most of them do annoying things under the name of ajuma. Even my mom and aunts (she was a really nice woman). She takes lots of tissues in cafes. During discount sales in department stores she runs to the counter surrounded by many ajumas and asks for more free dessert. After she does it she just says, "That's okay. I'm an ajuma". I really worry about becoming an ajuma.
In Korea, ajumas power is important. I know that they helped Korea's economy and society, but I want them to stop being annoying. I hope that our generation changes our behavior and thoughts to make a better Korea.
Amen to that! I remember being on the subway with the U R Seoul boys maybe a year ago and Kev nodding at a few purple-haired ajumas and saying, "see every time you see a really hot Korean girl, just remember that's what she's going to turn into". I think he may well have scarred me for life. Here's a video (sped up for some reason) of an ajuma v teenage girl brawl on the subway that was a big talking point here recently. Please don't turn into this, Ji...
You know when something just sounds too good to be true.... it probably isn't, right? Well, I find myself in one of those situations right now (as does CATHERINE MC GUINNESS, CATHERINE MC GUINNESS, CATHERINE MC GUINNESS!!!) with the F1 Korean Grand Prix coming up on Sunday. Some time last week I noticed a group on facebook (actually thanks to Ritchie and Stephen for pointing it out) offering FREE Grand Prix tickets to foreigners. I was, obviously, skeptical. Nonetheless I clicked 'attending'. What's the harm? What could I possibly risk by just clicking a button on facebook? As the days passed, the issue of whether or not this 'free' tickets scheme was for real became less and less clear to the point where it started becoming more of a hassle than a help. The guy who was organising it seemed totally unwilling to give any information beyond "meet at car park 5 (now 7) between 11.45am and 12pm on Sunday". For people who would be traveling at least four hours from Seoul to Yeongam, this wasn't much to go on. In the end up, it seemed as though we had left it too late to book tickets and transport and I had given up on the idea of going last night, which was extremely frustrating, and led in some part to a stupid row with Ji about us never doing anything, getting things organised, etc., etc.
However, it seems that today has changed things round. A guy called William Cho from Discover Korea seems to have taken the bull b the horns and got things moving. Not only is he organising a bus from Seoul (here), but he has made a few calls and, without getting too optimistic, appears to have confirmed the 'free tickets' story (here). The situation for us right now is that we have three seats on a bus to the circuit, the possibility of two free tickets (unlucky on being Korean, Ji) and I'll go 50-50 on a ticket with Ji on the day (if we can't wangle her in some other way first). Worst case scenario we get there, there are no free tickets, we buy tickets to the race, we have a potentially once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The upshot for you, if you're in Korea, is that it might just be worth taking a punt on getting a free ticket for yourself and getting yourself to the track on Sunday. Apparently the organiser got 65 tickets (approximately) but it now seems that the uncertainty of the situation has put a lot of people off going. There's a new event page (here) trying to get a better idea of the number of actual attendees. At the moment, it's at 225. Quite a discrepancy... It'll be interesting to see what happens on the day. Offering free tickets to foreigners only for the first ever Korean Grand Prix? Well, that's another blog all by itself...
Wow the days are just flying by these days, it's crazy. I honestly feel as though I just posted something on here yesterday or the day before but I guess it has been a week or so. Not that anyone will have been too distraught, I'm sure! My most time-consuming class finished on Monday night past and I completed all the marking and so on for it today, so things will be much more relaxed for me for the next week-and-a-half or so. Ji is always reminding me how I hate being idle (when I whine about being too busy), but I looooooove having a bit of free time after a busy period. Cycling about in the nice autumn weather, catching up with friends and emails, actually cleaning my room and sorting out my desk at work so I might actually be able to find things when I'm looking for them! The small pleasures...
The reason it has been so busy is that when I'm not busy working, I'm busy playing! Last Friday night we took our homeroom students out for a couple of drinks to mark the end of our session teaching them. I have to say, I was VERY uncomfortable with the idea of taking them out to a bar. The image of one foreign guy in his late-twenties (eugh...) walking in with fourteen female students in their early twenties (or even one of them in her late teens!) just didn't sit well with me. In the end, I decided it would be counter-productive for me to be the only teacher not to take my class out. And, in fairness, it was a pretty civilized night with my lovely homeroom that ended at a sensible time and never got out of hand or uncomfortable in any way. Unlike one or two of the other teachers that stayed out until the wee hours.... Playing with fire... I'll miss that class. I got them all little thank-you cards with notes about their progress and they wrote me a nice little letter full of compliments. A damn sight different to teaching back in England...
We had an epic, monster, triumph of a band practice for four hours on Saturday. In fact, it was a big day all round for us on the band front. Songs are coming together, sounding great, gig dates are being discussed, new members are starting to understand us and each other, and we got a lot out of Cheon and how he sees things over drinks later that night. The fact that Jeff is in about a million other bands is still going to be a problem (we had to go back on plans for a gig penciled in for Friday night because he's already playing twice), but at least Jim and I can see the end (or beginning) in sight. We even have a couple of possible band names in mind. We had 75% agreement on 'For Our Souls' last Saturday, but Jeff was not impressed, to say the least. A blessing in disguise I'm beginning to think.
Football has also been taking up a fair bit of my time. I got up in the wee hours last Friday and again on Tuesday to watch Ireland's European Championship qualifiers at home to Russia (3-2 defeat) and away at Slovakia (1-1). We aren't looking great and will probably now have to set our sights on making the play-off (second place in our group) but at least we're still in it. I still always love the buzz of watching the games live, sometimes even on RTE (Irish TV), even though I'm living so far away. Someday I might even be able to do the same with Derry City FC, who got their title charge back on track last Saturday with a 3-0 home win against old rivals Shelbourne.
We were also at Sangam World Cup Stadium twice in the past week. First for FC Seoul's brilliant, battling 3-2 victory over Gyeongnam FC (highlights here) and again on Tuesday night for the international friendly match between South Korea and Japan, if such a fixture can ever be considered 'friendly'. It was a fairly scrappy 0-0 draw but an amazing atmosphere and the biggest crowd I've seen in my many visits there; I'd guess maybe 65,000. Incredibly, a lot of the seats in our zone appeared to have been sold twice, causing a lot of confusion and aggro, as you'd expect. I also had some dude in front of me telling me to "sssshhhh!" a couple of times, which is fairly incredible when you consider the amount of noise throughout the game. I believe my crime was reading through the squad list with Jimbo, trying to put names to the players on show who we didn't know. We did get a bit of pleasure from shushing him anytime he made a noise, which was usually just booing a Japanese corner-kick or something equally constructive. As Jim noted at the time, I guess he was just a grumpy old git. Being singled out for being foreign (let's face it) does get a bit annoying. Seeing some drunk guy have his head stomped on three times by another old drunk guy last night, and the ignoring/avoiding by passers-by which then ensued (aside from Ji, who called an ambulance, as the guy was flat out and not moving) are all adding to my excitement at getting home for a couple of weeks at Christmas and away from it all. Just for a bit.
Yet again, another day of life has slipped away (not to sound glum or anything...) and it's time to go meet Ji in Suyu for dinner. I don't have a terribly busy day tomorrow so I'll try to catch up on the rest of the week and some other things. Hope everyone's week has been going well. Get your weekly K-League update from "The Outside View" here and I'll chat to you all tomorrow, in the form of a blog...
Still pretty wrecked today and, in my determination to avoid this turning into a whinge-frenzy, I'll keep it short and sweet. I've had a busy day of teaching so far this beautiful, sunny Wednesday and just got back from my latest physio session about a hour ago. It's so funny the conversations you find yourself involved in with the most random people here. I may have mentioned before that my physiotherapist is learning English and so, when I arrive, her eyes light up at the opportunity to get a bit of extra practice in. It does me no harm, as I certainly seem to get more time and attention than the average patient there.
In the few weeks since I met her we have talked about travel, religion, education, career, her love-life (or lack thereof).... it just amazes me how open people are in a situation where the only real thing we have in common is the fact that we can communicate (barely) in English. She told me today how she's getting cosmetic surgery on her eye-lids on Friday at the behest of her family! I've been here long enough not to be too shocked at someone getting unnecessary surgery (it's not uncommon here), but I can't say that people are usually so open about having it done themselves. The topic comes up quite a bit in class, but it always seems to be some 'friend' that the stories are about. For the record, I can't get my head around cosmetic surgery at all. I know that appearances are so important to 'success' in Korea, but a hell of a lot of the time, I think people looked better before. Also, where do you draw the line? First the eyes, then the nose, then a disgusting-sounding reshaping of the jaws for a more 'V-shaped' face? No, no, no. Take what you've got, make the best of it, be comfortable with what you've got rather than thinking about what you could have. Wow, that sounds easy... Mind you, I mightn't think this way if I wasn't so really, really, ridiculously good-looking myself....
Regarding the 'issues' I was having about working next week (either side of Chuseok), I've decided to just teach the classes on Monday and Friday and avoid the necessity of 'make-up' classes at a later date. I won't get to go away but, considering my bank balance this month, I probably wouldn't have been doing much anyway. Now that I've had a chance to clear my head and get over my initial frustration at being mucked about in terms of my expected schedule, I know that I'm not going to just let it all drop. At the appropriate time, I'm going to request that we have more information and notice about our teaching schedule, and I'll be finding out about the ninth vacation week my contract clearly states that I'm entitled to. It's about finding the balance between being too serious and doing my bit to fit in, but I'll be requesting that the school upholds it's terms as I do mine.
Ok, I'm starting to moan again so I'm going to stop for the day. I'll leave you with a reminder that even if you think you've messed up pretty badly, that karma is coming to bite you, that you've finally got in way over your head, it probably won't really be that bad. Nothing all that drastic really ever happens. Even if you were to get so messed up on drugs that you crash into a store and barely have any recollection of having done it, you'll probably only wind up in prison for four weeks. It must be great being famous...
LBH is something I heard pretty early in my time in Korea from a Canadian friend who has long since moved on to bigger and better things. We were talking about the kind of foreigners you sometimes come across working here. Oh, I had no idea how accurate it was then as I do now. LBH? LBH = 'Losers Back Home'. In general, I've been pretty fortunate with the people I have worked with here, particularly in my first year when I was the only foreign teacher at my academy! But, there's no doubt, you see them around. Regularly on their own at Seoul Pub in the wee hours on a Saturday night. Constantly the first to pipe up and share their 'knowledge' of the sun, moon, stars or everything at any given opportunity. The only people who ever say anything negative (to our faces) at gigs, in the mistaken belief that criticizing makes it sound as though they know what they're talking about. All over the message boards on Dave's. Facebook's most vociferous, even though they seem as timid as a mouse when you occasionally meet them in person. Commonly to be seen on the arm of some beautiful Korean girl who, for some reason, can't see how much of an asshole her boyfriend is. Oh, if you live/have lived in Korea, you know who I'm talking about.
The reason I bring it up now is that the only real complaint I ever have about life in Korea is complaining foreigners. I know, the irony isn't lost on me, don't worry. At times, it actually infuriates me. The absolute worst thing is foreigners complaining about the Koreans offering their services but not speaking English well enough for their liking. WE LIVE IN KOREA! THEY SPEAK KOREAN HERE!! Often, the person who says this has lived here for a fair few years, but (like myself) hasn't bothered to learn the local language to the point where they can do all their dealings through it. Another is people complaining about the amount of work they have to do or unfair expectations from their employers. No doubt, some people are royally screwed over here. I can't argue with that. But I have some strong opinions about the qualifications necessary to teach here. If I had a child and found out that his/her teacher had, for example, a 2:2 degree in a subject unrelated to what they teach, well, I wouldn't be happy. Would you? Nor do I buy the TEFL/CELTA argument. Having done my PGCE, TEFL and CELTA, I can tell you that the latter two only really need to be completed, they're not exactly taxing. They don't necessarily improve you as a teacher. A year-long PGCE doesn't even slightly prepare you for the range of scenarios you might have to deal with in the classroom. There's no way a 100-hour (or similar) certificate can claim to do more than serve as a very small first step. For those reasons, I think teachers here should count ourselves very lucky to have been able to get jobs that are, in general, straight-forward, relatively well-paid and fairly secure. That's not me saying that teachers with fewer qualifications can't be good, or that those with more qualifications necessarily are.
Some people here have legitimate gripes, I don't mind them. It's the majority who are basically complaining rather than facing up to their own inadequacies that do, sometimes, really bother me. Please let me NEVER turn into that. Living in Korea has paid for my MA, my trips over the past 4/5 years, given me teaching experiences beyond those I could have had in England, given me the opportunity to sing with great musicians and introduced me to a lot of people I know I'll know for years to come. I could complain, I sometimes do (and will), but we shouldn't. I think it's totally disrespectful to the place we live and the people who live here. Rant over.
Haven't been blogging due to a heavy workload and what I think I can accurately refer to as sleep-deprivation over the past few days. I, perhaps unwisely, got up at 3.30am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to watch Ireland labour to a 3-1 win at home to Andorra. Brownie points if you even know where Andorra is. McGeady was better than I have ever seen him for Ireland (which isn't saying much) but the cautious Trapattoni approach can be SO frustrating to watch. Nevertheless, we are top of the group after two games (20% of the campaign already). After we have welcomed Russia and visited Slovakia (their conquerors last week in Moscow) next month, we'll have a much better idea where we stand. I loved my time in Poland last December. How sweet it would be to go back to watch Ireland there in 2012.
Like I said, work is tough these days but I'm enjoying it. I'm probably putting more time into preparing the lessons than I need to but the classes are going really well and, to be honest, I love the satisfaction of creating a lesson from scratch with an end goal in mind and watching it all fall into place the way I wanted. That doesn't always happen, but when it does, it feels good. Some of my students are so earnest and hard-working that they make me want to prepare even more so that I can squeeze everything I can out of them. Sometimes that has resulted in me pushing them too hard, but I guess you have to learn from that. I have the added pressure (in my own mind, at least) of sharing my DDE2 classes with probably the best teacher here. I know I need to be at the races to avoid looking anything other than rubbish in the eyes of the students in comparison to him. Reading back, I see I need to get a bit of balance back into my life too. What would Tom Hodgkinson say!?
On that note, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Friday, hopefully meeting my friend's girlfriend, dinner with friends at Hollywoods on Saturday, free tickets (I hope) to FC Seoul V Daegu at 7, and whatever happens after that... No band practice this weekend due to unforeseen circumstances but here's one of the songs we're planning on covering at our earliest convenience. Classic...
I'm a 28-year-old teacher from Ireland living in Seoul, South Korea.
I'm planning to blog about my interests in education, politics, football, music as well as life in general...
