Seoul Flea Market.....and a nice breakfast!

Took a little trip up to Seoul post payday....it's a pain in the ass but if I need to buy clothes or shoes I need to mission up from Daejeon. Dan came up with me cause he was gonna order his bike. 

While he was faffing around I stumbled across a huge flea market. I was nice to potter around there for about an hour. All kinds of things there from giant garden ornaments to third or fourth hand phone battery chargers. Booze shops, hiking shops, tool shops and tucked in the corner was a little sex toy booth. For such a conservative country as Korea I was completely taken aback by it. People generally scooted through a little quicker when they were near the booth. Oh Korea. 

On Sunday I went to an amazing little place that is a British inspired brunch/coffee shop. Millionaire shortbread, scones, lemon curd, red onion chutney to name but a few of the delicacies they have there. And the Korean lady that works there, who i presume is the owner, has the most interesting English accent. Always a little surprising hearing an English accent from a Korean person.  This is the closest thing to a full English as you're gonna get here in Korea....think they're going to get to know me very well.

Get outta this damned cold!

That time of year again....school is ending (kind of),....people are either heading home or scooting off around Asia. Where to go, where to go? Vietnam was on the cards....head out there with Max, Tim and Kim....BUT WAIT what's this $200 return flights to Manila!!! See ya guys.....I'm heading to the Philippines!!!

Where to go, what to do??? Let's see....what do I want. Sun...Beach...loads of other people around because I'm on my tod....something to do during the day and something to do during the night! There was only one place to head to........Boracay!!!

Small bag packed with the essentials and it's a 3am bus from Daejeon to the airport, a 4 hour flight to Manila, 3 hours in Manila airport, 1 hour flight to Caticlan about an hour to get from the airport via trike, ferry and trike to Frendz Hostel in Boracay!

I decided that I'd just hit up one spot for my holiday. Travelling around the Philippines can be a pain in the butt with days on boats, planes, trikes and all sorts. Time to perch my bum on a beach with some fine frosty cold San Miguel beers.

The hostel is pretty basic but well renowned to be a cool place to hang out, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. On arrival I'm hooked up with a frosty Red Horse beer and plonk myself down in the bar/communal area and hang out with the peeps there. As usual I meet a plethora of Korean EPIK teachers and fortunately for me there are none from Daejeon. Don't want any stories getting back to Korea other than the ones I want to tell! ;) 

My first night I woke up with a little shock.....a mouse/rat decided that my face would be a perfect place to take a little rest!!! I didn't really know what it was at the time. I said to the chaps in my hostel dorm that I had something on my face in the middle of the night. An Austrian guy mentioned that there had been some rodents in the room lately...no sooner had he said that than 2 little scavengers scuttled straight passed us. I couldn't help but laugh. 

 The guys at the hostel ran it well though....happy hours, live music and everyone working there always  had  smile on their faces. Except one girl actually...could never get a smile out of her! If you're looking for a hostel, stay there. Good times. 

 A highlight of the trip was Ariel's Point. For a measly 1600 pesos you take a boat trip out to a nice spot for the day. They provide you with all the booze you want and a cracking bbq lunch. They main selling point to me (apart from the unlimited San Miguel) was the cliff jumping. They set up 4 boards to jump off of... 3m, 5m, 8m and a whopping 15m jump. There is also kayaking and snorkelling and a private beach too.

I was lucky to have an awesome group and the drinking started early 11am as the boat leaves for Point. Music playing, sun shining and beautiful scenery made the 40 min boat trip a joy.
As we get to the point you can see the jumps and I realise that 15m is actually a lot higher than I thought it was. But slightly lubricated with some confidence boosting San Migs we are all pretty excited to take the plunge.
I had been advised the day before that to avoid a rectal exam from Poseidon upon entry off the 15m jump one must clench your bumcheeks together as hard as you can. Turns out this really was essential as there were many a victim of this invasive procedure during the day.

My favourite moment was when a drunk Finnish guy attempted a back flip off the 15m board and landed flat on his back. The instant bruise that popped up as he came out of the water was a bad sign, but his fall had actually drawn blood from the poor chap. Needless to say that was the end of his jumping day. Unfortunately for the rest of us it meant he had nothing else to do but drink and was a pretty sloppy mess.

Anyway...my first jump was excellent. I was third up...check the horizon, salute my comrades and take the plunge...after a brief "yahooo" I remember saying "I'm still falling....." splash! Bumcheeks firmly clenched I was safe from the aquatic rectum examiner and was good to go again......A few hours (and beers) later I was not so fortunate.

I'd highly recommend doing this if you fancy a good giggle with a big group of people. But remember...clench those cheeks!!!

Nothing like a good hookah before the night out to get things going....picture the scene...the sun is going down on the beach...you have beers, buddies and a fun little shisha for everyone to share. Lovely.

Puka Beach!

Boracay is famous for it's White Beach...so we decided to try out a few others. Not in the same league but the numbers are a fraction and there is no one trying to sell you tat on the beach. A great little spot to get away from the hustle and bustle. 

 You can't go to an island and not take a trip around the island or go island hopper. We had a great day scooting around snorkelling and sampling the delights the surrounding islands had to offer.

But the White Beach is stunning;y beautiful. The weather was a little cloudy for most of my trip, but we had a few good days too. This was my favourite sunset pic. There is a great little place, with an unfortunate name, called Spider's Inn that has a perfect spot to grab a cocktail, some sushi and watch the sun go down.

10 days in Boracay and I had a ball. It's a hub for Korean and Chinese travellers, but also the usual EPIK lot and also pretty popular on the backpacker route. So I got to meet a lot of really fun people from all over the World. Couldn't have asked for a better little break.....but back to the Korean Winter!

Another New Year in Korea....2013 in pictures (censored)

Fell in love with snowboarding

Hermes Camps! Meeting hundreds of new kids

Still my arch nemesis!!!

If you can't laugh at yourself.......

Well bugger me!!!!!!!!!

Rehab

School Sports Day

Shenanigans 

Sunday Funday 

Sunday Funday continued..........

British and proud

Another year and another tattoo

The Best weekend BY FAR!!!!

Yummy

More shenanigans 

Too many shenanigans 

Sometimes I'm just too exciting in my classroom

This was more exciting

Taiwan was amazing....making new friends here

Panda-monian

Saying goodbye to the closest of friends is always the hardest part of Korean life as a teacher.....but I have had the best times with them

Always meeting new friends!!!

Co-Teachers

 Co-Teachers....I don't think anyone would argue the importance of co-teachers and how they influence your experience in Korea. I've met guys with amazing co-teachers that don't have much of an age gap. They hang out, and even go out in the evenings and partake in drinking some of Korea's finest. Then you hear about the the guys who have old-school battle axes that are about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. There really are a variety of co-teachers, as you would expect. I do believe though that a good co-teacher would influence you staying in Korea for maybe another year, whereas a bad co-teacher would certainly make you want to bail and head for the hills.

I would say I've had a little mix of co-teachers over the last 2 years, and I really started thinking about it when my 4th and 5th grade co-teacher (ct) went on maternity leave.

When I arrived at my last school I had 2 ct's. 4th and 5th. My 4th grade ct is a nice lady about my age that is really helpful and on the ball. She gives me enough freedom to do pretty much what I want to do, but at the same time keeping me in check if she thinks that my ideas are dogshit and I need to change my lesson plan. It works well for me....If I had to criticise her I'd just say she lacks the funny/goofy side of entertaining students that I like to use.

My 5th grade ct was well into her 50's/60's....hard to tell. She had a slight disability that didn't really slow her down too much. She was fierce most of the time, which I liked a lot, but she was old-school. Working with her was like talking to a brick to a brick wall. She was not interested in my input at all. Her style and mine was just not gonna mix at all. There was no way I could continue working with her when the semester ended. Fortunately, she was leaving for another school. I can say with 100% confidence say that I would not have stayed at that school if she had stayed there.


The new school year shakes things up a bit....my 4th grade ct turned into my 5th grade teacher, I picked up teaching 6th grade so had a brand new ct, and I also picked up 3rd grade and had a new ct for 3rd and 4th. What I enjoyed was the fact I got to sit on the interview process to help pick the new teacher. Although I question how much my weight my opinion carried. I was lucky because it was a fairly easy decision and we picked Young Eun. A lovely lady a little older than me, but I think I'd enjoy teaching with her because our styles are similar.

My 6th grade teacher Mia is also brilliant. 6th graders are a bit of a nightmare and it seems no matter how much effort you put into a lesson, it's hard to predict what will be the end result. I've slaved on lessons that I thought would be awesome. Activities tat get them moving around and a really good mix of fun and learning.....aaaannnnnddddd it tanks. I've also had lessons planned at the last minute with a crappy PowerPoint game thrown in at the end and they go batshit crazy for it. Once again I'm baffled by Korea. Mia rocks it out though and she likes to get involved and really does most of the prep work for me. Lovely.


So I start this new school year a complete winner....But now Young Eun has gone on maternity leave and I get a new replacement ct. And everything shifts again. The new ct is nice but the rapport isn't there and teaching styles are different.

I just can't stress the importance of a good co-teacher. I have been fairly lucky and I do appreciate everything they help me with. I'd say I landed bam smack in the middle of the good/bad ct scale. I've heard way worse stories from friends. Most of them leave or have switched schools.

Anyway, I love working where I am because the kids are really cool and 9/10 times I finish the day with a few of them coming up to me, smiles on their faces and seeing what I'm up to. Trying to get some sweets or Andrew Money or just a high five. A good way to end the day.