Wow, it's been a while. i've written a few talks/diatribes/opinion spurts on facebook, so this page has been dying the slow death. but it's time for a revival, and an update from the past few months.
* highlights
meeting up with friends in Seoul (or Shihwa) and Busan. it seems the longer i stay, the more friends come and go, but it's great to have time with everyone when we manage it.
Aditi was in Korea for a little while, working in Seoul during the cold, cold winter. i popped up to see her there, then she visited the slightly more tropical south, a good 10 degrees warmer, in Busan. highlights include visiting a temple in the north, arguing with myself in the Busan city tower while Brian and Adi looked out the window, and having a meal at Hanganli beach, overlooking the lit bridge that connects the central city to the east.
the power plant - from the roof of my apartment, i can see the biggest power plant in South Korea. i'm not sure where it services, but a friend of a colleague of my neighbour is an engineer at the plant, and, through some dumb luck, i managed a guided tour of the plant! i wasn't allowed photos inside, but must say it was interesting. they've even splurged and invested in the technology that breaks down the sulfur after burning coal! (don't ask, i was learning as i was walking along). i had a great time, walking amongst all the thingamees i can't name, but they were big and loud and sounded important! sometimes i am reduced to a 12 year old boy... :D
* work
today marked the halfway point of my contract, an important marker for a few reasons:
#1. it's nice to think i've got less than 50% to go
#2. i still have lots of holidays and sick leave to use
#3. 6 months finished means, should i choose to quit, i don't need to re-pay my employers for the flight to Korea (i wanted to put this at #1, but thought it'd make me look better somewhere down the list)
#4. well, i can't think of another. to be honest, i was content with just getting 2 down before #3 above.
the good at work is the students. generally speaking, the students are great. i have a couple of tough classes, but mostly they're lots of fun and don't require vast amounts of effort to involve in classwork. that said, i don't know ANY kids names. i teach 900+ students each week, so each name goes in one ear and out the other.
my colleagues are a nice people, but i do struggle to make friends. i have a great time talking and enjoying their company at work, but when it comes time to leave for home, they're all off. they do invite me along to a few things, but don't really involve me. i can't work out if we're all suffering from nerves, shyness, confusion etc. of course (and many of you will know) i generally involve myself anyway, but i suppose life at this school hasn't been the same as teaching with last year's group of orsum people. maybe i was luckier last year than i realised (and i realised i was lucky!). on more than one occaision, teachers have told me there's issues between the administration, principals, heads of depts. maybe i'm just not aware of a political dispute.
work does have its dull days. coming up soon, i have 3 or 4 days set for exams, school sports, and something else (possibly more exams), for which i will be asked to do nothing (i volunteer, they say no thanks), yet i must be at school. i know i'm complaining about having nothing to do at work and that many people will wish to kill me right now, but its a little tough when a dull day at work and a dull evening walking around town or watching tv does add together.
upshot is that my job is great, but i'm pretty lonely here in this little fishing village. see reason #3 for what is going through my mind.
* home
my apartment is great. i really like it. although, in February, i got a US$350 gas bill! yes, you read that correctly. i couldn't believe it, at first. so i spent a night walking around tapping walls, and i think there's no insulation. in -5 celsius winter, no wonder i spent that amount of money on heating. argh. still, my apartment was nice to live in all winter.
Samcheon-po is a lovely city. i walk in the hills a lot, and have been to the beach a few times lately, although the water and wind are too cold to let the sunshine entice me in for a swim. but there isn't much excitement happening here. i know, create your own excitement, believe me, i've tried!
i drink occaisionally with some fishermen (students parents who frequent a bar i eat at once or twice a week) and they are not fans of the power plant as it heats the water and the fish they catch are all migrating away. interesting times though, as the power company is investing heavily in the area's education and resources.
* Korea
i find many Korean people very nice and the country has its charms (and opportunities, i will not forget). i think i could come back, but i couldn't do so alone. at present though, i'm leaning heavily towards leaving soon. there's more to it than the above onset of loneliness and boredom. others with the same contract haven't received bonus's and benefits due to them upon completion, and i can see a similar situation happening with me too. there's a lot of hearsay and double-talk going on, but the reality is the education boards involved aren't paying up for a number of people (i think that number being around a dozen).
i get around the place and visit Brian in Busan often. i'll soon be heading up to Seoul to buy some overpriced vegemite and watch some rugby, oh, and to visit friends, i suppose ;)
* the immediate future
it's easier to write as a list of options.
- start moving and stop when there's no cash left
- i'm hunting TEFL courses and found a cool group that has schools around the world - i'm thinking Egypt or Thailand for a month-long course that'll help out my CV.
- find a cheap beach to swim and party at until there's no cash left
- find a new job in, say, Japan (it's on my mind)
- stay where i am and buy a house back in nz once the bubble bursts (apparently this was going to happen a year ago)
- other
call 0123456789 and cast your vote now (calls cost $99 per hour; parents, ask your children first)
* but seriously
i'm most likely leaving Korea within the next couple of months, but i'm very interested in coming back. of course, i've never been to Europe, so if something comes up there, i'd be interested in checking the place(s) out. i don't see myself going back to NZ right now, unless there's an emergency.
anyways, thanks for reading. and please do keep in touch. i think i'll probably use this more once i'm traveling, and hopefully live less vicariously through FB!
