Tracking Time Standing Still

A week shy from 60 days since my return into my home country and I'm sat here reviewing days gone by.
I have been traveling to visit family and friends for the past several weeks. For some it's been almost a decade since I actually sat down to see how they are doing. It feels great to take the time and see how people have developed over time. Most of my family members all have children and most of my friends, if not all, have children.

I often found myself in high spirits when seeing patterns in their social disposition through learned behavior. Even the c physical appearance all seem too hard to overcome

So, to put it this way. There are events that took place at certain

times in my life that I could have wished to change, but I do not. A
while ago, I already thought to myself these few things; who am I to
want to change something I can never undo? Who am I to want to control
events in any place and at any time? Who am I? Again, I know for a
fact that I would not be the person I am today without these
unfortunate or favorable events that which occurred in my life. As of
today, yesterday, two months ago or two years ago for that matter. You

do the best you know how with what you have, right?

The Procrastinating Perfectionist

I somewhat worked hard and it wasn't perfect enough. Then I got distracted in doing so.

The Day Of: Taiwan

Just a quick note as I am sat here at the airport awaiting my Thai Airway flight for Taiwan. I am more excited than I am nervous, and I suppose that because the lack of sleep last night and finally being at the airport has balanced out my nerves quite a bit. I'm excited that I will meet new people and see new sights all on my own. Things have been looking rather good for this trip thus far, and my travels up to Seoul airport ran smoothly! I never had to wait, nor had to rush at any of my transportation points today. If I did endure a short wait it gave me enough time to grab a bite or a drink to replenish myself.

Admitingly, I was a tad bit doubtful that I could get myself anywhere in Asia by myself, and then I suddenly realized that I did manage well on my own to get myself here in the first place! Sometimes the world seems like a bigger place because we're so afraid to see the things we don't know or are not accustomed to. We blind ourselves by the axieties of all the possible 'worse case scenarios', and are unable to see what actually is there.

WEll, until the next time when I return to South Korea I will leave you with some good pictures and details about my adventures in Taiwan!

Taiwan Plans

Well, to put it short and sweet. Things have been off the handle for quite sometime, but I have realigned myself and have many things to look forward to!
I have a vacation at the end of September that I have been looking forward to for quite sometime. I have been planning to go camping and now at the last minute, as per usual, I have changed my mind. I was going to plan this camping trip that would bring me to know more about the country I have habitated for the last 8 months! Yeah, I can't believe it's been this long and it past by so fast!

So, for my vacation I am going to Taiwan on my own and do the couchsurfing.com If you don't know what it is, it's great for travelers who wish to keep it simple and also keep it super cheap! It's this thing where people allow you to stay with them while you travel for free. I am going to do the west coast of Taiwan, including Taipei and the its tallest skyscraper in the world, and down to the south in Kenting to see one of the world class National Park. It's going to be good, and super safe for solo travelers. I hit the jackpot because it's only a 200thou won flight and it's usually more than that!

I will save the whole entire trip's details for when I get back!

Korean Chopstick Update

It seems that this is working far better than I have ever anticipated. My students are asking for the Chopsticks on a daily basis, and I even have students that never spoke before answer questions with confidence. That I can't quite explain yet, but the fact that they are realizing they can work hard to find the words and still have fun is fantastic. Now, if only I can get this to work for my older students!

In the past eight months that I have been in SK I have taught almost all the levels in my hagwon. The levels are as such, Phonics, Hop1(pre-beginner), Map1(Beginner), Leap1(Intermediate) and Elite. There are also TEPS and Genius levels to which a)I have not taught, and b)it preps them for university entrance exams. The hagwon also has middle school classes which are strictly taught by Korean teachers. Now, Phonics, is no longer taught by Foreign teachers, as they are now taught by Korean teachers. My Elite classes, TEPS and Genius classes will also be given to the Korean teachers once end of August rolls around.

I have had the greatest time with each class, and I feel it a privileged to have conversed about diverse subjects with my Elite class. To hear what they have to say about such things as morals, science, new forms of technology, just to name a few, was a great experience. However, it brings to mind one of the most interesting articles we've read, and it came from a book titled Express Yourself, and the article is 'Studying English.'
To begin let me explain what the article entails. The article, in brief, discusses how important it is for countries around the world to learn English. Moreover, Koreans are one of the few that 'knows how to go about it effectively.' The article goes on to say that most of the linguistic structures of Korean and English are very different, evidently, and that an understanding of grammar is necessary in learning the language. On the other hand, although foreigners don't speak in a grammatical sense they certainly can still communicate their ideas and needs decently. The main point here is that foreigners speak and listen to the language and don't simply learn a plethora of vocabulary and grammatical structures when learning another language. I quote from the article; "It is even the sad truth that, despite a large vocabulary and deep grammatical knowledge, most Koreans do not write in English very well, either." It takes much practice. To listen to the intonation of sentences and the pronunciation of words, then to mimic what they hear is how they can truly understand what it is they want to communicate.
Furthermore, what is amiss is how the lack of proficiency can impede on the advancement of the Korean economy, since the world does its business in English. Their resolution to this issue is to make English a requirement in their university entrance exam.
Now here's what I am really concerned about. These higher levels are all going to Korean teachers. Let me first say that it has nothing to do with the fact that they are given to Korean teachers, I have nothing against them. It's more about the fact that the chances of Korean being spoken during the 45-50mins of class time are greater than if they were with Foreign English speaking teachers.

Many schools in and around the city have set important standards for their English environment, and they take it quite seriously! Their number one rule is no speaking Korean upon entering school grounds. The more students par-take in speaking English with their teachers and find consistency the more they will find themselves improving. It's been proven through many forms of education systems that rote learning is not conducive to any proper form of educating children, no matter the subject.


Whether it's paying more money or somehow browbeating teachers pride and honor have some people taking leaps and bounds in doing whatever it takes to have their child leveled up, even if its before they're ready. Yet, their resolve is to (perhaps in jest) "marry an American and move to the States." In reality, further impeding the growth of their economy.

Monsoon Season

A week ago today the south-east coast of Korea was killed with rain...and so the raining seasons begins! Up until Friday did it cease to a few droplets here and there. Rainfall was measured up to 30mm per hour in Junnam by the seashore!! An incredible amount of rain has hit last Monday morning, and reports said from early morning downpour continued throughout the day- Busan, where I live currently- had a record high of 343mm on that very day! Other places like GuangJu had 300mm of rain, and MokPo at 128mm. By Thursday they guessed more rain was to come and they were absolutey right.
I've never seen it rain cats and dogs for such a long period of time. I was so refreshing!!

Meanwhile, back home in parts of Manitoba are suffering from drout and other ailing issues progressively destroying their crops!

I got some wellies and am ready to go splashing in the puddles.....until then.

Tata for now!

Perhaps not the best of my rants; more like jumbled thinking

To note once again thus far, I haven't been blogging all that much, but I sincerely miss it. I do have another form of outlet on StumbleUpon that I have also been neglectful of. I keep insisting to those friends that I've made close connections with that I will eventually catch up with them and yet I've been failing to keep contact....my thoughts meander along a path of guilt and sorrow as I begin to feel a little ashamed that I haven't done what I had once said I was going to do.


In light of this, I have I guess what you can call a wealth of jumbled thoughts or a heap of littered reflections about what I've been up and seen in past several months. To begin, I hate saying "I will get to that tomorrow" because when tomorrow comes you never know what's going to give. I've put off quite a bit since I've been in South Korea, and although I do feel somewhat settled I'm realizing how much time is not on my side these days. Perhaps it's even because traveling knows no boundaries and therefore time is nothing but a part of your state of mind and the space that surrounds you.

Back at home I felt as though time was lagging on and that the monotony of it all was never going to end...and this might even be the worst example because South Korea is the never sleeping country, but it seems that time is running out when you actually have the time to think about it. I don't feel like I have stopped since I've been here...and although I feel that I've done so much and yet nothing at all.

This week I am coming upon my sixth month of being in South Korea, and I almost can't believe that I have come this far. I feel like I need to know more about Asia as a whole, and think that I may not know this part of the world as much as I would like to. In fact, I might learn many things I wish not to have learned, too.

You see, at most times I feel fortunate to have grown up in a free country. I've read quite a bit of European history and it's connecting battles with other countries, and am knowledgeable about the unfairness of how certain areas have developed over centuries, but it's not until you live in these areas that you realize how much these events have had a deep impact on the upbringing of a country and culture as a whole.
South Korea is a very perplexing, mind-boggling and paradoxical place to live in, and there is far too much on my mind that I am not sure where to begin talking about SK at all. I do realize that it's one of many countries that is surrounded by its unfortunate historical events, and some may feel that others are worst.
Most days I find myself enjoying my surroundings and speaking a foreign language, but bottom line is culturally Koreans are confused and confusing in social stances and work ethics, and maybe I can also say religiously, too. It's all about perception, and my prerogative is not the same as the next person's. Perhaps it's a little naivety on how the world works exactly or ignorance in seeing how corrupt most places are, but it's been quite the eye opener and it makes me even more curious about other places that I've had only once read about.

To allude to my comment from earlier, the confusing and confused Korea, I would like to just note that I am referring to that only of the South for now. The North is far to revitalizing to induce such a small portion in my post, it would best be saved for a novel really. In other words, you can't just a say a few things about it and move on. I digress once again...
By confused and confusing I must further elaborate. To go back home and discuss what life is like here will be somewhat difficult for other to truly imagine how different it can be. Furthermore, how many times I have gasped and either in a furrowed eye-brow or raised eye-brows is more than I can count. Perhaps it is not overexaggerating to say that partically everyday there is something that makes me sign in the name of this country.

To me, it is certainly not a bad thing, but more a doorway of amazement and awe, and a sense of adventure to seek out more doors to worlds unknown to me. For now I will stop my ranting and will resume at a later time. I'm afraid to say that this will be published without reviewing first, and for that I thank you if you got this far in my rant.
Congratulations, you made it! I'm done~for now.