Back to the blog

For the last two, two and a half years I haven't updated this blog much. I went back home to England after a long time away and really did very little to merit writing about or even posting pictures of. I enjoyed my time back home greatly but my wife and I have moved out of the country again. For how long we can't say.

Anyway I hope to get back to posting even if it's only on a semi-regular basis. When I posted previously, I felt like I was posting too many negative things or voicing my frustration on-line so I aim to try and be more upbeat! I recently got a good smart phone, my first new phone this millennium so I am able to take pictures on the go. Back to the blog.

Life in the slow lane

Still without Internet access at home but it's coming any day now. I'm told. I've spent the past week or so being driven mad by red tape and mixed messages from the bank, my broadband supplier, Manchester City Council and by the company who I pay electric bills to. Life in Korea was much simpler than things are right now. Things are slowly improving I think.

Life is a not moving at a fast pace right now. With no Internet or TV as of yet I find myself listening to the radio a lot, watching films and reading books. It's a hard life eh? It is great to relax and have the freedom of no financial 'sword of Damocles' hanging over me. I have been a little lazy though. When I am online I will be able to do more research especially on travel as I look to explore both my country and continent with my wife. There are plenty of things to look forward to.

City life

Two weeks ago we moved into our Manchester city centre apartment. We're very happy with our new flat, the layout and the location. In fact the location probably couldn't be better. Still we are without the Internet and it will be another two weeks before it's up and running.

You never really notice how slow things can be until you have seen it done another way. I am finding a few things a little too different from Korea. I guess I'll just have to get used to it for now. Life is very expensive in the UK these days but despite this we're trying to explore our surroundings.

Email from the British Embassy in Seoul

When one of your neighbours has problems it is only natural to consider if these might one day affect you. Living in South Korea, the situation with North Korea is always in the background but you build an immune system to the 'threat'. Now with the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan causing massive nuclear problems your mind turns to the possible scenario of it affecting us here.

I feel safe. I do not worry. My co-workers consider if any radiation could drift over here but I feel unqualified to talk on the subject - a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. From all the literature I read it does not seem possible that we will be affected. But I am out of my depth on this one. I am not concerned but do check the news as often as I can.

I receieved an email from the British Embassy here in Korea, as did anyone who is registered with them as a British National living in Korea. Here is an extract:

"We are continuing to follow developments in Japan closely and reviewing our advice to British nationals in the Republic of Korea. We will monitor the situation closely over the weekend.

...Our travel advice (for Japan and Korea) is kept under constant review, and is directly informed by the best scientific advice. Current assessments suggest that the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan is extremely unlikely to pose an environmental risk to countries outside Japan, but the UK Government is continuing to monitor developments closely. As such, we have not changed our advice for British nationals living in the Republic of Korea. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (www.kins.re.kr) assesses that the risk of radiation movement from north east Japan to the Republic of Korea to be very low. Radiation levels on the Korean peninsula currently remain normal."

Being a teacher here means I am afforded the luxury of a decent salary and given the opportunity to save money. Should the situation become significantly worse and affect Korea I am lucky enough to be able to buy a plane ticket out of here for my wife and myself. One can only feel great sympathy for those in Japan and what they are going through and consider yourself fortunate enough not to be on the sharp end of this tragedy.

12 hopes for 2011

Back to five months left in South Korea after extending my contract by a month recently. I'm excited about this year which is the year I am set to return home. I've been back a few times since leaving over five years ago but this time I am returning permanently.

Even though I'm going home I am taking a bit of a step into the unknown. There are a lot of things that I'll be doing that I haven't before with responsibilities on my mind that have never troubled me before. I'm thankful to have an amazingly supportive wife and together I'm sure this year will be fantastic.

My 2011 targets

1. Be a better husband for my wife at a time when she needs my attention, love and support. Moving to a different country won't be all plain sailing for her.
   
2. Help my wife get the visa she needs for living in the UK. There are some things I need to do and they seem to be straightforward but are essential.
   
3. Save a decent sum of money over the next five months. Again, this comes under being a better husband and being more financially responsible for the both of us. We're on target to meet the figure I think we will need to support ourselves for a while in uncertain times.
   
4. Try and not let my teaching deteriorate. The end is nigh! I have seen so many teachers just not try as they come closer to leaving. I'd like to be fair to my students.
   
5. Push myself at taekwondo and finish on a high. I think I only have two or three months left there so I'd like to improve my kicking and push myself more.
   
6. Have a few holidays and spend some time on a beach relaxing, enjoying the sun and Summer because I haven't done that here in a long time. When my time is up there will be plenty of time (if not money) for holidays but we really need a few weeks relaxing.
   
7. Leave Korea and the ESL teaching world for now to settle back to life in England. No more extensions now and no more living in a bubble. I'm looking forward to finally having a nice family Christmas back in England.
   
8. Find a decent apartment in city centre Manchester. I've checked some prices and they're affordable so we'll see what comes up. A city centre pad is what we need because we'll have all the transport links and my wife can gently ease into life in a city I know.
   
9. Lose a bit of weight and exercise more often. Perhaps a pipe dream but I would like to lose between 5-10 kilograms before I arrive back home.
10. Leave Korea on a positive note with no regrets and no bitterness. Many of my former co-workers have left on a sour note and have negative images and thoughts in their mind. I would like to go feeling appreciative for what this place has given me and feel positive about the times I'll be returning with my wife in the future.
    
11. Explore my country in more depth than I have previously and show my wife around the UK. Money may be tight at certain points and exploring my homeland may be a better alternative to expensive trips abroad.
    
12. Get a new job if possible. I have no idea what job I want. It's a clean slate but I wouldn't rule out some kind of teaching.

Time flies

Today marks five years since I arrived in Korea. Hard to contemplate at times but here I am. Five years does seem an awful long time doesn't it? A quick look at my calender at work on Friday and I saw that I've twenty six weeks left here. Seems somehow shorter than six months. Hope time flies in the best possible way.

Alas it's not plain sailing. Work is dragging along. I can't say that I am enjoying most of my classes. There are ups and downs as always. This time last week my laptop screen broke. It's not worth fixing so I will trundle on till I get home and splash out then. Luckily my wife has one and is even planning to buy a new one soon. My laptop is almost indispensable. My music, my photo's, my movies and of course the all important internet access. Beholden to technology it would seem.

Reflections on home and abroad

I've been back in Daegu a week now. Back at work and back doing the same things I was before my brief holiday. The first thing my co-workers asked me was how was my holiday? OK I said. And it was. It wasn't great but it was necessity for me at the time. Nice to be back home, great to see family and friends, good to eat and drink whatever I wanted and fantastic to be away from Daegu's Summer intensity. Important too to be away from work, to be able to do what I felt like and importantly, not to have to deal with any children.

Still it is good to be back at work - I am that rarest of beasts, someone who enjoys being at work - and back at my apartment. I've been in Korea for about four and a half years. It's been my home and my workplace for a long time and there are plenty of things I like about being here. Even if I do write some negative things it doesn't mean I don't like it here.

Being home helped blow away some of the cobwebs from my eyes. From time to time I convince myself that home is great, home is the best place to be and to be living anywhere else is a poor substitute. This is not the case. There are some things that I need that are back in England but life is good here. I don't regret being here now, however gruesome this weather is.

There are certain aspects of life in Britain and the people there that I don't like so much now. Travelling and meeting different people with different stories and perspectives on life has influenced me a bit and helped to open my eyes a little wider. I can see clearly things that I don't like, the aggressive nature of a section of the population and the negativity of others. I appreciate different things these days perhaps and think I want different things out of life, though it is hard to both quantify and illustrate these.

I am going home though next year. All things being equal I will finish my next contract at the end of April. Back to living in my home country. Hoping to find a job at some stage. Going back to set up some roots for life with my wife. We are committed to going and greatly looking forward to it, no question about that. It is both exciting and mildly terrifying. Terrifying because I will be leaving behind a job with a contract and nice wage where I am able to save quite well for a period of uncertainty. Should be interesting though to stay the least. As much as I do like it here and the lifestyle is good, I have to get out of the comfort zone that I am in. And finally go home.

Election thoughts

Watching CNN's inadequate coverage of the General Election I turn to my lunch and wonder if the future of British politics will be as disappointing as my 'Britain Style' sandwich.

Live from a Tokyo PC

Day three of four. Tomorrow I leave Tokyo and head back to Korea. It's going to be a struggle because I have enjoyed my time here so much. There is nothing like travel to clarify and crystallise the mind. If anyone reading this is thinking of going to Tokyo then they should just go. It's amazing. Back to Korea and Daegu for me. A sobering thought.

11 in 11: Simple 2010 personal goals

I've been reading a few blogs recently and seen some people have been coming up with lists of future plans (plans are what go through my mind all day long and keep me going!). I've seen a lot of lists where people have come up with 101 tasks to complete in 1001 days. I think this is a good idea for many people but not applicable to me because my future after Korea is very unsure. I'm not certain on what I'm going to be doing in one years time never mind three years. The uncertainty is exciting though.

February is almost here so I've given it a quick thought and tried to make a list for the remaining eleven months of 2010, trying to lay down some goals for the rest of the year that I want to achieve. The list is not particularly ambitious but everything there is something that needs to be done and can be done, barring procrastination or laziness. I wonder if I'll manage all of them.

In no particular order

1. Leave Korea and go home to England. This has been an ambition for a long time but I have set a deadline of December 2010 for when I want to be home. The only thing that can prevent this is lack of money, leading me onto the next one.
2. Save more money. I have a target in mind but I think I will have to readjust this and be more realistic. I plan to take a decent amount of time off after finishing work here in Korea so I will need some cash to have some kind of lifestyle back home.
3. Lose some weight. I've put on a few kilograms since Christmas and they need to come off. To do this I need to make some changes in my diet and drink more water to start with. Ideally I would like to lose 10+ kilograms. Perhaps that much is a pipe dream but at least it's a target.
   
4. Walk more. I've noticed that I don't walk anywhere near as much as I used to back home. This has caused me to put on a little more weight so walking more will help me lose it more easily. I really enjoy walking around, listening to my mp3 player and taking in life. I should get out more.
5. Get my taekwondo black belt. I'm on belt four of nine so the ball is rolling there. I'm confident I can pick this up if I practice harder and of course that will be easier if I lose weight. I think it will be pretty cool to have three black belts.
6. Travel to at least two countries that I have never been to. I love to travel so this should be easy providing I have enough money. I am thinking Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia would be good to go to.
   
7. Finish reading all the novels I have on my bookshelf right now. I have around twenty sitting there just waiting to read so before I buy more I need to finish them off, even the ones that I didn't buy or get as presents. One of the books is War and Peace though.
8. Become more familiar with my camera and be comfortable with the settings with the intention of taking more pleasing photographs
   
9. Be more positive about things in general and be more optimistic for the future. My wife is helping me with this.
10. Spend Christmas with my family at home in England. My last Christmas at home was in 2004. Such a long time ago.
11. Be a better husband for my wife.
    

ESL teacher life. Constant vs variable

On Friday the assistant manager at work said her goodbyes. She's received a promotion to be the manager at another branch in Daegu. She has been one of the friendliest, kindest and most helpful co-workers (Korean or Western) that I've had the pleasure of working with.

After some four years of working as an ESL teacher here in Korea I've seen many people come and go. From teachers to managers, receptionists and of course students. These days there is little or no affect on me. This time it was perhaps slightly different.

Now, at my academy, everyone I work with joined after I started. In effect, I am the senior teacher (by the way that means NOTHING, other than the fact that the longer you work the more pay rises you get). Right now I have some nine, ten or eleven months left on my contract, depending on a few things, before I hit the road for pastures new. I know that in that time maybe half of my co-workers could also have moved on.

I remain a constant rather than a variable. Have I wasted my time here? Should I go now or should I have even left earlier? Am I making a mistake by being 'stuck' in this job? The answer to all of those is no. Though I still feel I need to ask myself those questions. Emphatically, being where I am now is the right place to be and the right thing to be doing. No matter how I feel at the inevitable low points this is the best option.

My days as a constant end this calender year (I hope!). I look ahead, passively at times, yet in anticipation of the unpredictable variables that lie in store. The safety net has to come down eventually.

End of year post. 2009 highlights

Like most people, the past decade has been full of surprises. I could never have predicted what has happened to me. Overall it's been a very good time with more ups and downs. Living in Korea for four years has been a true experience. I have also been lucky enough to have travelled to many wonderful countries too. I also managed to get my degree at the start of the decade which is one of the best moments of my life.

This last year in particular has been a very significant for one thing specifically. Before writing this post I felt that apart from one huge that, perhaps not too much had been going on in my life but on reflection that's not been the case. It has been a very good year. Here are some of the great things about my 2009.

1. I got married. I love my wife and feel I am an extremely lucky man.
   
2. Got my 2nd Dan hapkido black belt. I feel very proud of this achievement especially as most of my training has been spent on my own. I worked hard and made many sacrifices but it's all been worth it.
3. Travelled to Hong Kong and Macau. Had a good time there and would love to go back and see what we didn't have time to get around to.
4. Managed to go back home to England and see my family. Hadn't seen them for some eighteen months and felt much better afterwards.
5. Started taekwondo. I hope this will last because I have had a great time so far. There's a real family atmosphere and it's going well right now. Getting a third martial arts black belt would be fantastic.
   
6. I've managed to save a decent amount of money. Never a bad thing to be able to put the pennies away. I am lucky to have a job that leads to my outgoings being so low.
7. Continued to stay debt free. For over a year now there has been no debt above my name. It's a great relief and release that so many people don't have the luxury of enjoying.
8. I've been happy for most of the year. I also haven't been homesick very often. Most of the credit for that belongs to my wife.
   
9. Bought a DSLR camera and seen the benefit of much better photographs. I really enjoy this technology and love my camera.
10. Signed a new contract at work which gives security for both myself and my wife. In a time of Worldwide problems it's good to be in employment and allows me the chance to save a bit more for my future.
11. Worked with and met some good people. People come and go but memories remain.
12. Against expectations, most work days have been full of fun, laughter and good times. I enjoy my job and wish more people felt the same way about theirs.
    
13. Went to the DMZ. A day I will hopefully never forget.
14. Moved into a significantly better and larger apart and live here happily with my life. It's nice to have more than one room and some actual natural light for the first time in a long time.
15. Downloaded, watched and listened to some great films and music that I wouldn't have been able to in the UK. God bless Korea's Internet.
16. I remain healthy and optimistic for my future.
17. Enjoyed the thrill of Liverpool's challenge for title. Despite coming second, at times it was very close.
    
18. Closer to leaving Korea, closer to travelling and coming 'home'.

I wish anyone reading this a very Happy New Year.