Blogs from Boeun, Cheongju, South Korea, Asia - page 2

Dear Blog Readers, I write this blog fresh from another hair cut from my ‘stylist’ Hye Ri (remember her from my last haircut? It's pronounced 'Hai-ry'.) on a beautifully warm spring, or should I say, worryingly summer-like, day in Cheongju. Laura and her Mum have gone shopping. I’d rather run into a brick wall so a blog writing session will suffice. I pretty much had a week off from teaching because the students had exams last Thursday and Friday and the first and second graders went off camping for the first three days of this week. For most of the time I was helping the English teachers try and decipher how to mark the student’s answers from the exams. Some of them were truly exceptional in their imagination and creativity. Furthermore, some of them used pretty ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, After showing a slide of a man jumping over a bull during a bull fight in Spain, Mr Oh stops me in my tracks, “Simon, I have a question.” The students, as well as I, wait in anticipation. Mr Oh, “In England, do you use the term ‘bullshit’?” “Erm…(stunned silence from everybody)…you can’t really say that word…anywhere.” I hoped that he noted the emphasis on ‘anywhere’ encompassed a place such as in front of 35 students in a middle school. He turned to the students and spoke in Korean for a minute, but it felt like an hour, with every other word being “shit” or “bull”, or sometimes, “bullshit.” He turned to me at the end waiting for my reaction (as though I completely understood what he had just said). I assumed it ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, We begin this week with news that has reached us from England that the Radio 1 Big Weekend will be held in Carlisle this year! Laura is gobsmacked that her hometown should be represented on such a colossal scale with acts such as the Black Eyed Peas, Foo Fighters, and Boeun Girl’s High School favourite, Lady Gaga will be performing. Laura’s co-teacher was visibly stunned at the news. As one person said, it’s probably the most exciting thing that has happened to Carlisle since the Roman’s invaded. Laura’s new hair cut has also been a talking point this week. Apparently some of the teachers at her school have been enquiring where she got it cut. However, my favourite comment has been made by a little girl at one of her elementary schools, who ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, Last week’s blog sparked some interesting discussions. In particular was the stalkerish nature of the high school girls, and specifically, the “What is your blood type?” question. Chef Chris told me that people have matched blood type with personality traits. I decided to investigate further and found this description for my blood type: “They are very studious type of person, and will try not to hurt anyone with their words or speak unnecessarily. They are decisive, but not thoughtless with their decisions. They like to follow the latest trends and dress up, but not in a flashy or gaudy way. Their career ends up commonly as an accountant, librarian, economist, novelist, computer programmer, gossip columnist.” Is it me or does this seem worryingly accurate? They could have replaced the blurb with, “Very boring ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, The beginning of a new week and the dawning of my first actual full week of teaching (last week’s three days doesn't really count). I arrived at my school raring to go and scare the quivering new first grade student’s fresh from a pummelling from the third graders who have brought them back down to Earth. They are no longer the boss of the Elementary School and their position in the middle school hierarchy needs to be established early doors. My eagerness to teach was suddenly and swiftly thwarted upon opening my ‘usual’ slipper box in the main entrance. Where the bloody hell have my slippers gone!? I say my ‘usual’ in the loosest sense of the word. I actually just choose box 4 for two reasons. Firstly, it is in the corner ... read more