Mid-term

Well, we're at the middle of term, and it seems like no time at all. Some of my classes have exams, and the kids' class has a week off.

The pic of the week is taken from my classroom in the Technical and Information college where I have my university students. You can see the old and new university buildings on the hill, which is where most university classes are. The campus of the Technical College is in the foreground, and the district of Jayang-dong, where I live, is in between. We're constantly weaving through these streets on our way between classes.

Mid-term
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The semesters here are 15 weeks, so at week 8 we're in the middle. I've had a spike of work in getting the exams ready, but then the classes themselves will be fairly easy. The kids have 2 seven week terms within the semester, so they're off this week. The semester will finish in June, and we'll be into the 'intersession', when the Institute runs summer camps. During the summer break I've requested a week off in June, when I hope to travel in Asia, and 2 weeks in August, when I'll probably head home. I haven't been told if I'm getting these weeks yet though.

Barbecue season
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It was a fairly busy weekend. One of the teachers who started with me had his birthday on Friday, so we headed for pizza first, and then went to a few of the bars around the old downtown, and I think it was after 7 when I got home. The next night wasn't much better. There was a barbecue on the roof of one of the apartment buildings, and we went into town afterwards. It's at that time of the year when you can be out in the open late at night. And as it's going to get too hot, we're trying to make the most of it. So much so, that despite promising myself to stay in and recover on Sunday, when the call came that there was another barbecue on the roof, off I went.

Korean classes
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There are free Korean classes provided by the college, and there is another class at reasonable prices given by Dan, my mentor, and Mina, his Korean wife. However, both classes clash with teaching times for me, so I can't go to either. One of the other teachers is a girl from England, Debbie. She is getting married to a Korean guy over the summer, so she's pretty good at the language. She's offered to give classes to a Canadian teacher and me. We've just had a couple so far, but I'm beginning to pick up a few survival phrases!
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Well, that's it for this week. For all my talk of the weather it's been chilly yesterday and today, and we've had rain for the first time in ages. Eleven degrees as I write. Next weekend is our spring party, so looking forward to that. Dashing off now, becuase I've got to get my exams photocopied for tomorrow.

So, until next week,

Annyong-hi Kaseyo

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Times: S. Korean Delegation Departs for Meeting in NK

Non Easter

Well, there was no sign of Easter here. I mentioned it to a few people, even Westerners, and most didn't even know it was Easter. It's not marked at all, and classes continued as normal.

Meanwhile, the weather has continued to improve. We seem to have leapfrogged through Spring and to be in Summer already. Maybe wishful thinking, but it's 24 degrees as I write, and I have the windows open.

The pic of the week shows some of my students from the International Business School, Solbridge. They are standing, Jamshid from Uzbekistan, and the rest are Chinese, Furun, Dirk, Brad, Jerry, and seated, Coral, Doris and Jason. We had a class excursion on Friday so the photos were taken on the Campus of the Woosong Information and Technical College, just across from where I live.

Easter
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Clara invited me up to Seoul for an Easter dinner. My niece Robyn was being christened in Clare on the same day, so that was the theme of our celebration. We had friends from Belfast, Mayo, Kilkenny, Scotland, England, South Africa and Korea.

Woosong Social Life
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The social life in Woosong is still increasing, as I'm getting to know more people and places. A few of us went to a Korean restaurant for barbecued ribs on Friday. When we went to pay a waitress came over and, without saying a word, doused us up and down with Fabreze, to get rid of the barbecue smell. But how it went with my Ralph Lauren Polo I'm not sure.

Afterwards we met some of the other teachers who had been to a baseball game. We went to a really trendy bar in the heart of the neon of old downtown, although it was expensive by Korean standards.

KTX
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With all my trips to Seoul I've become very fond of the high-speed Korea Train Express, KTX. Daejeon is a bit of a transport hub, and there are high speed rail lines in all directions. You can get to Seoul in 50 minutes. There are trains about every 10 minutes, and with 18 carriages they carry about 1,000 people, so it's a pretty efficient transport system. The cost is expensive for here, but works out at something like €11-€12 each way. I really think it's worth it for the convenience. I'm told we can get a university discount, but I haven't checked that out yet.

Sometimes I've used the time on the train to make phonecalls, but one weekend I was ordered out by a very surly attendant and had to finish my call in the little area beside the doors. That was when I realised that the carriages are quiet zones.

The trains travel at 300kph, and there is a TV displaying the speed. Although it was on the blink on Sunday, and told us we were travelling at 1,789kph!
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm definitely staying here this weekend. I've hardly spent a weekend in Daejeon since I got here.

Until next week,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Herald: N. K. vows to quit six-party talks

It's Spring

It looks like spring is finally arriving. We had a lovely week a few weeks back, but were back in the cold for the past few weeks. Today, it's a sunny 21 degrees. I have opened the windows, and closed the mosquito screens, because I know it won't be long before we see them. The temperature is supposed to go to 24 degrees later in the week.

The pic of the week shows my apartment building, called 'Bestuh Bil' (I think it's supposed to be Best Villa), and referred to in work as Site F. My apartment is on the 3rd floor (in Ireland it would be the second), but this is the front of the building, and I'm at the back.

Trips to Seoul
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I've been back in Seoul so many weekends since I moved down here, I'm like a culchie who's just moved to Dublin. The first was to collect stuff from my sister's, then it was St. Patrick's weekend, then it was the gay wedding of my friends Cam and Saejin (with the Grand Slam match later that night), and this weekend I was up because my friend Joanna is moving back to UK. She's travelling overland, which I'm very interested in hearing more about. She gets a boat to China today, and after 4 weeks there will go home on the Trans-Siberian Express through China, Mongolia, Russia and Poland.

The Grand Slam
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There was nowhere better to go for the Grand Slam game against Wales except The Wolfhound in Itaewon. The match was at 2.30am, and I arrived having been at a wedding since 4.30 that afternnon. I was meeting my friend Jonathan there, and everyone was in very high spirits before the match even started. Being down 6-0 at half time did dampen our spirits a bit. But the two tries in the second half, and the tension of the closing minutes really put us through our paces until the explosion of celebration when the whistle went. What an unforgettable night.

For non-Irish readers, this is the 6-nations rugby championship, and the winning Grand Slam means that you have beaten the other 5 countries. Ireland beat Wales 17-15, winning only their second Grand Slam. The previous win was back in 1948.

Students
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I've got to know my students quite well at this stage (we're just a couple of weeks from mid-term!). Most of my classes are with Chinese students in the International Business school, Solbridge that I mentioned last week. I then have a University Freshman (first year) class of Korean Students, and I really have fun in that class. I'm never that mad about teaching kids, and so my middle school class is just ok. There are five Korean students in it, aged between 12 and 14.
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Well, that's it for this week. I just realised that Sunday is Easter, so guess what, I'm off to Seoul again. Clara is preparing an Easter Sunday dinner. No time off for Easter though, I'm afraid.

So Happy Easter, and until next week,

Anyeong-hi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Herald: U.S. seeks strong response to N.K. launch