e-mail problems

To people who may be trying to e-mail me right now: Hotmail is messed up. I'm not sure when it will be fixed, but right now I can't read my e-mails because the website is all white and strange. I'll reply when I get it working!

4 weeks

Well, as of today it's 4 weeks until my last day of teaching. That excites me more than it should. I know 4 weeks is a long time, but compared with 52, it doesn't seem so bad anymore! Yesterday was kind of a bad day, I have to teach Science which is part of the problem. I didn't do ESL training to come to Korea and teach Science. I didn't stop taking Science in grade 10 (10 years ago) to come to Korea and teach Science.

Actually, Science isn't really the problem. I like what I'm teaching because I think it's interesting, but the students DON'T CARE. I don't blame them... I could imagine spending 6 hours a week at a school learning Science in French... I wouldn't like it. They're paying to study English, not Science. Anyway, that wasn't the problem.

Yesterday this student was being really rude so I sent her out to the counter staff. I know it doesn't sound that bad, but it ruined the whole lesson because then I noticed that no one was really interested in what I was saying. It was frustrating. All I can say is that I'll be done with this soon. I like to think that I could do it again for 6 months somewhere else, but there has to be a point where the money doesn't make up for what you have to do... It was probably April when I started thinking to myself, "You're getting $100 a day for this... just keep going". Now, even that amount of money seems like it's not worth it.

I like a job I can perfect. One that when people see me do it, they say "wow, you're good at this"... TIM HORTONS.

My ideas in this post aren't really coherent... I suppose it's because I just woke up and I am only half way through my morning coffee.

I'll update soon, probably on Thursday when it's 4 weeks until I come home!

Good weekend

Well, I had a good weekend - I cleaned up a lot, caught up on some rest and finished my report cards. Yesterday, I went Myeongdong and Gangnam which was fun. I got a key chain at Myeongdong for Jill, and then I saw another key chain for Phaedra that I thought I'd get for her. That's that. Today me and Soohan went bowling for a change. It was pretty fun, but we had this kid next to us who was practicing and he was SO good, it made me feel a little inadequate! He had played 6 games by the time we got there, his highest score was 230something I think 234 I think. It was crazy. The first game I got just over 100 and the second I got just under it.

When I get home I will be joining Steph's bowling league which happens every Sunday night I think. It will be really fun to do something like that. I haven't been in a 'club' or anything like that for a really long time. It's good to have a weekly thing to look forward to like that. Plus, it will allow me to spend lots of time with Jen and Steph's Dad to catch up and things.

Well, I've been sleeping a lot this weekend which is just lovely... actually, I just woke up from about a 4 hour slumber, and I will be returning to that slumber soon. I will definately be well rested for tomorrow's teaching!

5 more weekends.

Everything seems to be a countdown!

Well, it's the weekend and I had a really long sleep which was nice. Today I only have a few things to do - write 17 report cards which shouldn't take more than an hour or an hour and a half... actually that might be all I have to do today. I might go into Seoul because I want to get back to Myeongdong once before I leave and I probably won't get there if I don't go this weekend. I have some weekends planned out so here they are:

• 5 - this weekend - Myeongdong (I think) and relaxing... perhaps a movie.
• 4 - next weekend - Halloween! There have been many invitations and parties... I'm sure I'll end up somewhere.
• 3 - first weekend in Nov. - Jenny's hometown. I'll be going to Jenny's hometown and staying with her brother. I'm really excited for this because it will be a nice way to catch up with Jenny again before I go. I'll miss Jenny a lot.
• 2 - Nov. 14 weekend - unplanned. This is Soohan's birthday weekend, but I'm not sure what will happen. He might go down south somewhere, and I can't really afford that right now, so I might hang around in Seoul or something.
• 1 - Nov. 21 - my last weekend! I will definately go to Hongdae and have a bash.

Again, when I break it down like that, it seems like I don't have much time left! I remember a few months ago I thought to myself that I wanted to break my record for as many posts I made in December. I want to do that for November. I had 16 posts in December, so I think I can beat that next month. I am not sure about this month though, because it's already the end of the month, and I don't have many posts.

Right, anyway, I am going to pour myself a cup of coffee and decide what to do with my day.

11 months

Well, as of yesterday I have been here for 11 months. I am a day late with my monthly post, but that's ok. Since Melissa left, and after the temple stay, it has been pretty quiet. Actually, I haven't been going out at all this week after work because me and Soohan have started an "eat at home week" regime. It is going well! Since Monday, I haven't gone out for dinner at all! It's been quite nice! Well, to be honest, it's more work, but it's cheaper. I spent $30 on Monday and I haven't spent any since then! So I had $100 for the week and I still have $70 of that left! I'm quite impressed with myself actually!

I have been having many dreams lately about my french horn. I need to whip myself back into shape as fast as I can when I get home because I'm afraid I've lost a lot of the talent/practice. I'm sure it will come back to me, but it's a little worrisome to think that even after 4 months of not practicing back in University, it took me about 6 months to get back on track and back to the level I was at. I think I've mentioned this here before, but I think if I start to practice when I get home, I will be ready for May if the people in Woodstock ask me to be in the musical again. I should also contact Tim from my practice teaching and see if they're doing a musical theatre bit this year.

Yes, I had a dream that I was opening my french horn for the first time, but for some reason I was at my high school in the music room. It was really weird. I hope he's alright when I get home. I imagine he'll be a bit stiff, but I might take him in to the store to get cleaned professionally, considering I've never had that done... and I think you're supposed to do it like every 6 months or something :|

As of today, it is 19 days until we get paid, and I have 24 teaching days left. I have 35 days left in Korea. That doesn't seem that long at all! I don't know where the time went, but I've said it before and I'll say it again. Every weekend I wonder where the week went, and I wonder how another week has gone by. But, it's a different story on a daily basis at work. At work when I have to discipline students and get stressed out because someone isn't following the rules, I wonder if the day will ever end. It's really weird. I think the happiest I ever was at a job was when I was at Tim Hortons! Strange...

Speaking of Tim Hortons, I called my old Tim Hortons and asked if they would want me back when I got home. I will work there just until I find a good full time position somewhere, because I need the income. Actually word for word, the conversation was this:

Me - Hello, this is Ian Kivell calling. I am in Korea now, and I will be going back to Canada in December. I was wondering if you would have any openings at that time?

Manager - Of course, Ian. We have all your information on file. Just call us when you get back and we'll put you on the schedule.

I think that's the easiest job I've ever gotten!! Anyway, I was really happy after that - I'll have a job when I get home, and I know I'll like it because I worked there for 8 years of my life (well, over some time. I suppose if you added up all the days, it would be about 7 years)...

I remember getting frustrated, but at least that customer is out of your life within 30 seconds, they're not a child and you're not responsible for disciplining them! (Although admittedly I did feel like teaching some customers about manners).

Alright, that's my rant for the day. I have to go to work now. I mentioned this a long time ago - I teach Monday Wednesday Friday classes, and different classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So. I have 10 TTH classes left now, and 14 MWF classes left. When I break it down like that, it seems like even less!

Alright folks, wish me luck. I'm off to work.

Temple videos

I took 3 videos while I was at the temple - 2 scenic ones, then one video of the monks doing there ceremony in the main temple. Here it is!

Temple Stay

Well, I finally did it! One of my to-do things in Korea was to go to a "Temple Stay". That's when you go to a Buddhist temple to stay over night and just learn about Buddhism and Korean culture at the same time. It was probably the most interesting and cultural thing I've done in Korea. We went to a really big temple in Haenam. It's a place in Southwest Korea. Very far from where I live.

Anyway, there are some amazing pictures, which I'll put at the end, but here's the story.

We took the KTX from Yongsan at 7 in the morning (that's the train that goes 300km/h). That trip was about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We got off the train and took a bus for 2 hours, then we took another bus for 20 minutes then we took a cab for about another 15. After all that transport, we found ourselves in the most beautiful place I've seen in Korea. We were in a valley between tons of tree covered mountains with nothing but silence around us. It was a most welcome break from the really crowded, busy streets of where I live.

We got our outfits (they supplied us with temple stayer clothes) and we started our journey. There were about 100 people staying at the temple, maybe a bit less. We were the only foreign ones though, so we stuck out like crazy. The monks were really hospitable and they gave us really special treatment because we were foreign! Among that special treatment was our own private house in the mountains to stay in, and tea with one of the monks IN HIS HOUSE (again, a pagoda style thing nestled away in the mountains).

Well, we walked around and took some pictures, then we had the 6:30 ceremony where they gather and pray to Buddha and things. I didn't really know what was going on, but Jenny explained a lot while it was happening and now I understand way more than when I went there.

They started the ceremony by beating a massive drum and ringing a bell - sounds that echoed throughout the ancient temple and surrounding mountains.  All the while the Buddhists chanted, waking and beckoning the spirits of the land and sea - they believe that when you die you're recreated into a different living thing.

It was complete immersion in a totally different world, thick with history and tradition. So cool. Anyway, Jenny taught us how to bow and what to do properly so that was ok. Picture this: you bow, then you get on your knees, and put your forehead to the floor and get back up. Sounds easy right? Try to do it 108 TIMES. I am SO sore.

It was sooo interesting though, so it's worth it. After that is when we had dinner (vegetarian), and we washed the dishes for them because of all of the special treatment we were getting. We had tea with the monk (who didn't speak English, but it was still an interesting experience), and went to bed.

The one girl I was with was looking at the stars and the monk came and stood next to her. She asked, "what do you think of when you look at the stars?" and he said, "what's your name". She said, "Amanda". He said, "what was your name before you were born?" (*confused look from Amanda*). He said, "who will you be after you die?" It was then that I realized I was standing next to a DEEP thinker. I don't compute such deep thoughts. Anyway, that's what he thinks of when he looks at the stars! (Jenny translated all of this by the way).

In the morning, we woke up at 5. (We were supposed to get up at 3:30, but being foreign, we got our special treatment once again!). We went and had breakfast, then we hiked up one of the surrounding mountains. It took a REALLY long time, and my legs were KILLING me (and still are) because of the 108 bows (or 'prostrations') the night before, but once we got to the top we found the most beautiful temple and a magnificent view! The temple was built around a rock that has been there since the 7th century. In the face of the giant rock, there is a huge sculpture of Buddha. It was hard to show how big the sculpture was with the camera, so I'm there in that picture with the big stone Buddha, just to the right of the bottom of it. All of that fruit is real by the way. It was a really beautiful place. Jenny did 108 more prostrations there, but I continued to climb up the mountain to see the nice view.

After that we just came home and now I'm sitting in my apartment reflecting on what a really awesome weekend it was. In case you're wondering - no, I'm not Buddhist now. I liked some aspects of the religion - the meditation, the silence and the beauty of the architecture, but I definately have other views about certain elements.

It's probably not necessary to repeat myself, but once again - it was the coolest, most amazing thing I did in Korea - challenging and rewarding, educational and eye-opening! Here are some pictures from the journey!

Oh ya, before we went, we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, and I saw that they had a garlic glazed donut, and something about olives. I tried the garlic glazed. It was confusing. After the temple stay, we found a dollar store (a 1,000 won store). It had a blow up clothes hanger, and I think that's important for everyone to see.

Pictures from Meliss'a visit!!

These are some pictures from Melissa's visit!! There are about 700 in total, so I could only put a few up here. If you have questions, just ask in the comments and I'll reply! I think one picture needs an explanation... Yes, it is a fan of dead, dried fish.

Goodbye Mel!

Well, I just dropped off Melissa at the airport. It was such a fun trip! We did lots of stuff, but I'm way too tired to type it all here now, I'll probably do that tomorrow or the next day. Also, I think we have something like 800 pictures, so that is good too! lol

For now, I'm going to sleep. I think in about 6 minutes, Melissa's plane will take off for Canada - I wonder if she's asleep yet!

I'll update soon...

Melissa's visit!

Well, it's Tuesday which means many things. Firstly, it means that I have to go back to work after a long weekend of holiday. That's depressing.

On a lighter note, Melissa and I have been doing many things! On Friday when she got here, we went to the first night in Korea tradition - Galbi. After that we had desert at Canmore - the shaved ice place with fruit all over it and chocolate deliciousness.

Saturday we went to Deoksugung palace, Changdeokgung palace, Insadong, Itaewon and Hongdae! What a full day!

Sunday we went to Aiin's World and met Jenny for dinner in Seoul. After that we went to a Buddhist temple in Gangnam (the temple I went to in August - the pictures had the giant Buddha). This time we had Jenny with us which was really nice, because she's Buddhist and she knew a ton of information that was really interesting. The first time I went there I thought, "well this is nice", but this time I can understand what everything is and what it all means!

Yesterday (Monday) we went to Everland the amusement park. It was really fun, and there are some great pictures!

Today we are going to go to Incheon to go to Chinatown. We'll have a nice lunch at a restaurant that I found in an alley way (much more delicious than it sounds), and then I have to work. After work, we're going to a Chinese restaurant by the LG department store which I think she will find to be scrumptious.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) to Friday, I'm not sure what we're going to do. If Melissa is comfortable going on the subway, she can see some things in Seoul. If not, there are plenty of things around here to busy the eyes for the time I'm at work.

This coming Saturday will be good - we will go to the DMZ. When we get back home from the DMZ, we can see the changing of the guard at Deoksugung palace (we didn't see it on Saturday because it was a holiday weekend), and find some things to do in Seoul.

Thursday is my birthday and I'm not sure what we'll do after work, but it will be fun.

Right then. I'll update again after we've done more things!

Here is a picture of us in the fun house at Everland - we're both on opposite sides of a turning platform taking pictures of each other!

October 1

Well, welcome to October everyone!

Happy Birthday Jay B. (Brother in law)! And thanks a bunch for giving Melissa a ride to the airport! Right now, Melissa is in the air and she is flying from Toronto to Vancouver. After a layover of about 3 hours (I think), she will continue on her way and I'll be meeting her in 17 hours ish at the airport here in Korea!

I can't believe how hot it is here. I heard at home that people are wearing t-shirts, sweaters and jackets outside already! Today I wore shorts and a t-shirt and I was SO hot.

I just woke up from a nap so this post is quite jumpy. Tonight I will go to the foreigner bar Rhythm & Booze because my friend is there, and he has a bunch of people with him. It will be fun I think, and it's better than sitting in my apartment, where the clock seems to go backwards waiting for Melissa to get here!

Oh, I don't think I said up here - I have my plane ticket booked to come home!!!!!!!!! It's November 26th, just about a year and a week after I got here. I called the Japan Airlines people (who I'm flying with from Seoul to Tokyo, Tokyo to Chicago and Chicago to Toronto), and asked for exit rows (leg room), but they didn't have any open anymore, so I got aisle seats (I can stretch my legs and not disrupt people if I want to get up), so that's good.

I'm also really happy that I'm flying with Japan Airlines all the way because Asian airline staff are SO nice, and they will literally be happy to do anything you ask them to! North American airline staff are definately not like that. haha.

What other news do I have... ? ... Oh, I cleaned my apartment a lot today. It was really nice to get that done finally. It wasn't dirty, but the floor really needed to be cleaned, and I washed all of the sheets and towels and things, so Melissa will have a clean bed and clean things to use.

I also had pasta today.

I watched Anchorman at Soohan's house, which was really funny. I've seen it before, but I forgot lots of the jokes and things.

Anyway, I'm going to go now - I'll just finish this wonderful hot cup of coffee and head out to that foreigner bar!

Hope everyone will have a good October!