The Art of Desk Warming

If you ever wonder what I do at school, I can sum up February in two words: Desk Warming. It is a time-honored tradition that most NETs must endure. The school doesn't set any expectations for us, only that we show up and report to a near-empty school for a could weeks. I'm happy to say the time passed quite amicably. I had some highs and lows. But overall, I'm happy to say that I would never label it "unproductive".

The majority of my 9-5 was spent doing the following:

• Reading - I finished about 6 or 7 books in the past month or so (a mix of vacation and desk warming). They ranged from classics to new releases; some were great while others were lack luster.


• Watching TV - There was one day where I slipped into a coma and watched 5 hours of TV (The West Wing) only to come-to in utter disgust. I had no internet and was sick of reading. I hated it. I've weened quickly off TV shows!


• Writing Letters/Korean Origami - While pseudo-watching TV I made Korean origami figures with my idle hands and wrote letters to friends back home. It seemed like a good thing to do and helped me reconnect a little.


• Social Media/Web News - I'll admit it. Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter made their way into each day (except the one's without internet). I couldn't help it. It was nice to chat with other folks who were doing the same thing I was...considering the only other people at school were scared to talk to me.


• Blogging/Web Design - Yes, it's true. I was concerned for the well-being of this website. It took ages, but I'm glad it's done! Woohoo!


• Online Shopping - I'm shocked at how much shopping I did this month, but I was also surprised to see how many birthdays I celebrated in February/March...


• Planning Workouts - I'm now addicted to this site called 'Fitocracy.' You log your exercise and then get points based on difficulty, time, etc. It's a lot of fun and there are 'quests' you can do... a prescribed workout worth more points (I'm not going to go rescue a princess or anything). Well, in order to maintain my lead I planned my workouts to rack points and sweat. I think it's a worthy goal!


• Job Searching/Researching - Eventually, my time in Korea will come to an end and I've been looking at the next step. I checked out information on foreign service, flight attending, public radio, grad school...just chipping away


• Lesson Planning - I did a little of that too...


• Drawing/Listening to Music - Thanks to my friend, I am now drawing everyday. It's challenging and sometimes a bit embarrassing, but I can see slight improvement each day.

TV will rot your brain,
-Bets

A Skilled Worker

My friends and I have been on the topic of citizenship, visas, and working abroad quite a lot lately. With our contracts coming to a close in only six months there are plenty of possibilities to consider when one can look at the whole world as a job market and not just your country, state, or city. On top of that, my friend was recently granted Canadian residence and was chatting about the different means one has to take to get residency without a spouse/sponsor. She explained that in order to get a visa and work in Canada you must prove that no other Canadian can do your job/skill...sounds difficult right?

Well, I think we stumbled across someone in the Philippines...

After a great morning adventure to Timubo Cave, a fresh water cave at the North side of Camotes Island, we returned to our private oasis, Mangodlong Beach Resort, for a swim in the ocean and an afternoon of sun bathing. It was very peaceful and we all got a lot of reading/relaxing done. But then, from the far side of the cove came something I was not expecting: a backhoe rowing a barge out to sea. It was quite the spectacle.

The backhoe dipped the bucket into the water and with large swings left and right it splashed it's way to it's destination. It then proceeded to use the small teeth of the bucket to pull crab cages up from the sea bed and into a large steal bucket on the opposite side of the barge. When all the cages where aboard, the back hoe continued it's journey back to land swinging this way and that. And with a final effort to dock, it wrapped it's great arm around the rocky pier and pulled itself to shore. Amazing.

That driver has a bright future awaiting him in Canada if he so chooses.

Here's an example of the backhoe rowing. Unfortunately, I only got stills of the action.


Island Innovations,
-Bets

Learning, Losing, and Relearning 'Korea'

I was only on vacation for two weeks, but it feels like I'm starting at square one all over again. Before I left I had grasped enough Korean to get through restaurants, taxis, shops, and general commerce activity with minimal problems. "Please bring me... How much is it? Where are you going?" But, I still had not learned anything of communicative value to relationship building with local Koreans. I was just that silly foreigner.

I decided to make a new goal for myself. I will have a meaningful conversation with each of the teachers in my school before my contract is up. I don't care if it's in broken Korean, English, via Google Translate, or interpretive dance - I just want them to know that I respect them and have more awareness of Korea than they may perceive. Also, I would like to disprove their view of me. I'm not shy or lonely; just frustrated with banal conversation.

I was doing quite well with this goal having already had decent conversations with the Social Studies, Phys. Ed., Science, and English teachers. But, then I went on vacation...

While abroad, I was able to speak English with the majority of people in the Philippines. It was great - I felt spoiled! I could meet locals and have an engaging conversation beyond...

"Hello! I'm from the USA. I am 25 years old (Korean). I teach English at [. . .]. Yes, I like kimchi." 

It was wonderful! Not only that, but leaving Korea made me look at the country as a (literal) outsider for the first time in awhile. What a breath of fresh air?! I could see how other cultures operate and compare them across the board. How do people from small-town Philippines react to foreigners? How do all the prominent religions of Malaysia interact with tourists? Needless to say, I was impressed.

And then I came back to Korea. I still feel at home here, but I feel like all the progress I made before I left is gone. My Korean language skills have come back very slowly. My fellow teachers are even quieter towards me than before. It reminds me of an ad that ran this past fall by the Visit Korea Year Campaign, urging Koreans to "shake off their shyness" around foreigners. It's amazing how true it feels at times.



Valentine's Chocolate Snack,
-Bets

Vacation: A Brief Overview

Hello and apologies for my prolonged absence. I thought my redesign was only going to take a few days, but then I started to hate the design, and then I had vacation, and then I came back with limited motivation... But! Here we are on a newly designed site complete with new videos, photos, archives, and more. Take a look around and let me know what you think via the contact page or this post!

So, as I said before, I went on vacation in mid-January. My friends and I stumbled through 10 islands,  5 hostels, 4 countries, 4 beaches, 2 lakes, and 1 cave. Not to mention countless airports, train stations, taxi stands, bus stops, and the occasional motor bike. Malaysia and the Philippines were great destinations and I'm looking forward to sharing more stories with you from my trip in the month ahead.

My school is currently on academic break and we, Guest English Teachers, are taking part in the time-honored tradition of 'desk warming.' It's not so bad. The hallways are quiet and I'm left to my own devices for two+ weeks. I have hopes of reading, studying, blogging, and the like during this time, but we'll see how the internet and social media affect that...

Afternoon Coffee,
-Bets