The Rambling Rover

The Equatorial Guineans

2010-02-23T22:26:00.001-06:00

Folks,

We're at the end of the winter inter-session, the period of time between the 'Fall' and Spring semesters. We're back to the regular semester from Monday.

The pic of the week shows the group of Equatorial Guineans that I met on my last day in Malaysia.

The Equatorial Guineans

-----------------------------

On my last day, I checked out of my hotel at mid-day, and I didn't have my flight until after 7pm, so I booked myself on an 'island hopping tour' for the afternoon. The minbus came to collect me, and then continued to another hotel where we collected another group. They arrived onto the bus in great form, complete with cans of Carlsberg and a bottle of Martini. They were African, but when I listened I began to realise that they were speaking Spanish.

They are from the small country of Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa between Cameroon and Gabon. I had only heard of it before because they had a famously hopeless swimmer in the Olympics a number of years ago.

They were just on a weekend trip to Langkawi, and are studying in Kuala Lumpur. As such, they were students away for the weekend, and they were going to have a good time. Two of the girls had drunk half a bottle of Martini waiting for the bus, and the second half was finished on the short journey to the boat.

I got chatting to them on the bus (a rare opportunity to practice my Spanish), and they rewarded me with cans of Carlsberg.

When we got on the boat they sang and danced their way through the tour. The others on the boat, a Muslim Malaysian couple and an Australian couple, didn't know what to make of them. The Australian couple were bemused, and didn't like that they kept getting splashed as the EGs tried to splash each other, and I think the Malaysians were a bit shocked. I don't think either couple could understand my relationship with them. I'd arrived with them on the bus, was drinking with them, and was obviously entertained by them. I think they assumed I was some sort of 'Daddy'.

I laughed my way through the day because I was so entertained by their optimism and energy. They invited me to have dinner with them that night, but I was going directly to the airport. I'd love to have spent more time with them.

Malaysian language

-----------------------

The language in Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia. They use the Roman alphabet, so it's easy to read. And as a tourist, its very easy to find people who understand English. But what I really liked was that they have also taken many English words from their time as a British colony, and they've just spelt them phonetically in Bahasa Malaysia. So from the airport I went to Sentral Stesen, you can get a bas or an Eksekhutif Teksi, shop in the farmasi, talk to the polis, or go to a refleksologi klinik.

Work

------

I've had a great break this inter-session, because I haven't worked since 22nd January. I had 2 weeks holidays in Malaysia, and there was nothing scheduled the following week. I had a one to one class scheduled with the president of the college for the past two weeks. But he was on holidays for the first week, and is too busy this week.

But next week it's all changing. We are waiting with bated breath for our schedules, because that puts a shape on our semester. The new teachers are arriving and we're having farewell's for those that are departing.

-----

Well, that's it for now. So until next time,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in Kookmin Daily: President Lee calls for sweeping crackdown on corruption in education sector

The Year of the Tiger

2010-02-15T01:06:00.001-06:00

Well, I'm back in Korea after my holiday in Malaysia. I really loved Malaysia, and would recommend it to anyone. It's a bank holiday for weekend for Lunar (or Chinese) new year. This coming year is the year of the tiger.

The pic of the week shows the sunset on Pantai Cenang beach on the island of Langkawi. I took this just in front of my hotel.

Kuala Lumpur
----------------
I flew Air China from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur, via Beijing. I was upgraded to business class on the first leg of the journey, which didn't seem very communist to me.

When I arrived in Kuala Lumpur I met up with a work colleague.

I wasn't really clear on the geography of Malaysia before I travelled. There are really two completely separate parts of the country. There is 'peninsular' Malaysia, which is south of the border with Thailand, and extends down to Singapore, and is next to Indonesia. Then there are the two provinces Sabah and Sarawak which are on the island of Borneo. Borneo is shared with Indonesia and Brunei. There is about 600km of South China sea separating the two parts of Malaysia, and all my travels were on the peninsula.

Malaysia is the most Muslim country I've visited. A lot of the women wear the veil. There are all different styles, from just a head scarf worn with jeans and t-shirts, and sometimes motorcycle helmets and heavy make-up, to fully head to toe in black with just a slit for the eyes. It was unusual to see the situations where women wear the full head-to-toe garb. I saw two games mistresses in a school, with their dresses right down to the grass as they ran around the pitch, and women swimming in the sea in Langkawi, still dressed from head to toe.

I liked Kuala Lumpur more than I expected. Mainly for the multi-cultural atmosphere and food. There is a Chinese/Indian/Malay mix, and the feeling is relaxed and easy. The food is fantastic in Malaysia, and I put on about 5kg while I was there.

Penang
--------

I met a guy in Seoul shortly after I arrived in Korea who had travelled extensively in Asia. I asked him what place he would most recommend to visit, and he said Penang, Malaysia. So for the end of our first week we headed there. However, I couldn't really understand why he had recommended it. It was way more built-up and industrial than I'd imagined, and there was a lot of shipping around the port. However, the food was even better than Kuala Lumpur, and our arrival coincided with the Hindu festival of Thaipusam.

Hindu pilgrims travel to a temple near the Botanical Gardens, bringing gifts (mainly milk to bathe the statue of Lord Murugan, a God). We hired motorbikes, and headed there, and went on the pilgrimage up the hill to the temple. We saw the more extreme penitents, some of whom had pierced their cheeks with skewers, and had hooks through the skin of their backs, and were 'towing' someone else up the hill. Not for the squeamish (as in ME), but the whole experience was really interesting.

When we finished in Penang, my friend headed back to Kuala Lumpur for a flight to Sri Lanka, where he was to be best man at his friend's wedding, and I took the ferry to Langkawi.

Langkawi
------------
I really didn't know much about Langkawi before I got there. I just knew it's the name of a lovely Malaysian restaurant in Dublin. I had heard that the most beautiful Malaysian beaches were on the east coast. But as I was already in Penang on the west coast, it seemed more logical to go stay on that coast.

I absolutely loved Langkawi. It's a lush tropical and quite small island. I rented a scooter, and was able to travel from South East to North West (about the furthest points apart) in about 40 minutes. There are beautiful beaches, and tall mountains. I went on a cable car trip to the top of one mountain, and got a beautiful view of the entire island.

It's also a duty free island, so alcohol was cheap, and there were duty free shops everywhere. In general, because it's a muslim country, alcohol isn't freely available. However, as I was in mostly tourist areas it wasn't a problem, although they recommend that you don't take it into your room if you're staying at a family guesthouse, and it wasn't unusual for it not to be available in restaurants.

I was supposed to travel back to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, for my final night. But I decided to book a flight (€60), which effectively gave me two extra days on Langkawi, because I flew to KL airport on Saturday night, and linked directly with my flight back here.
-----
So I loved my two weeks away, and the injection of sun and hot temperatures into my Korean winter was most welcome. I left KL at midnight when it was still in the high 20s, and arrived in a snowy Beijing six hours later at -6 degrees!

Well, that's it for now. So until next time,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in Donga llbo: President Lee stresses 'no more feud' at his party

Winter Snow

2010-01-17T04:22:00.002-06:00

Folks,

Well, we've had a cold and snowy couple of weeks, as I know you've had at home.

The pic of the week shows the district of Yongun-dong as viewed from the apartment last week. But there's now a bit of a thaw on.

Weather

----------

The snow started in Seoul on St. Stephen's Day, but we had very little snow here until just after I sent the last email. Then we had a really heavy fall of snow that went on for a few days. It's amazing that it coincided with a similar drop in temperatures in Ireland, and Europe generally. Usually our weather systems are so separate, but we got exactly the same cold spell.

Here they're more used to it, though, and everyone got into the mode of clearing up as soon as the fall finished.

Classes

---------

When I wrote last I was delighted with my schedule. However, it didn't remain like that. Last week I was scheduled for just 3 hours work. But that left me in the firing line, and when a newly recruited teacher had problems with her visa I got a kid's camp for last week and next week.

I was given 3 days to prepare a play which was to be put on on Thursday night. And I spent the first night working on Tacky, the Penguin before realising that one of the other teachers had done it too. So we had to switch, which left me with 2 nights to cast, rehearse and prepare. So Goldilock & the Three Bears had it's premier on Thursday night.

The previous week I had a lovely class of university students. We were working on past and future tense of 'be' in the context of occupations. As in - Before I was a waiter. Now, I am a dentist. I told them that now I'm a teacher, but before I was a computer programmer. For comic effect, adding that it was in 1953. I saw a couple of them working it out in their heads, before deciding that it was probably true.

Champagne

--------------

My friends got married in South Africa on Christmas day. I decided that it'd be nice to leave a gift at their apartment as a congratulatory present on their return. I went to the supermarket, and checked the wine section. Wine is not really drunk over here, so there is rarely much of a selection. They didn't have champagne, just a few sparkling wines. I didn't recognise any brands, and thought they looked quite cheap (which they were). Then I spied a champagne cork in a fridge in the corner. I opened it and saw that it was a bottle of Moët & Chandon. I went to the cash register to check the unmarked price.

The assistant didn't know, and nothing came up when she scanned it. She checked with the other girls. They all tapped away, and read out numbers off the label, but still nothing came up. They then phoned the manager. He came and took the bottle away with him. About 5 minutes passed, and everyone was very embarrassed that I was still waiting. He arrived back and apologised because he couldn't find what the price was. So he said he'd give it to me for 'a cheap price'. I said fine, and he rang it up under some other champagne brand (It came up in Korean as Bu-ra-bo Shyam-pe-an). It wasn't until I checked the receipt that I saw the actual price, ₩2,850. Which means that I got a bottle of Moët & Chandon for €1.75!

As an addendum, I was able to leave the bottle of champagne outside their door on Friday night, a little over 24 hours before they arrived home. Secure in the knowledge that this is Korea, and it would still be there when they arrived. It proved a nice contrast for them when they arrived, as their luggage had been tampered with in Johannesburg and they'd had a mobile phone and some wedding presents stolen.

------

Well, that's it for this week. I've just got one more week (with Goldilocks getting another 3 day spin) of work before heading to Malaysia on Monday week.

Until next time,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Herald: Confidants of late liberal president form new party

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-03T01:29:00.003-06:00

Greetings from a chilly Daejeon. We've had some very cold days, as I know has also been the case in Ireland. But today we're hovering around zero, and with sunshine and blue skies it seems pretty nice.

The pic of the week is some 'garden sculpture' from Clara's garden, taken in the fall of snow on St. Stephen's day.

Christmas

------------

I went up to Seoul for Christmas. Taking the train on Christmas Eve. We checked around to see if there were people interested in meeting up for dinner, but most people had gone home or had made plans. So we booked dinner in the Irish bar, The Wolfhound. It's open on Christmas day, and they have a big Christmas dinner laid on. You need to buy tickets in advance. They have a full Christmas dinner buffet, with some asian options also available. The only problem was that there was a bit of a queue for the buffet. I had decided that I wasn't queuing for a second trip, so I ended up with a massively piled plate. But I enjoyed every bit of it.

It was just Clara and I that booked, and we were put sitting at a table with a two other people. They were a couple, from South Africa and the UK. We got on like a house on fire, and continued into the evening with board games that they had in the bar.

Highlight of the evening was when the snow started to fall and swirled around the first floor windows and the crowd broke into spontaneous applause because it was so Christmassy.

Work

------

I had quite a busy end to the semester, because I had a lot of exams to set and mark, and then update the files and system in a process we call archiving. At the same time I had my two weeks between the end of semester and Christmas scheduled for intensive classes, and with everything I was really busy.

But now I've a much lighter workload. I'm back tomorrow, Monday, to a week of just one class a day, a total of 7.5 hours for the week. The following week is something similar, and there's just 1 hour a day the following week. Of course, all of this is subject to change at any time.

Holidays

----------

I had requested my holidays for Christmas, because my friends Chris and Tash were getting married, and I was invited to their wedding in South Africa. However, with the intensive classes I couldn't get the time off.

So I have 2 weeks off, the last week in January, and the first in February, so I'm heading off to Malaysia, to meet up for a week with my friend Justin, who'll be travelling there at that time. I'll then have a week on my own after he heads to a wedding in Sri Lanka. So I'm really looking forward to that time away.

-----

Well, that's it for this week. I'm putting this mail also in Google Wave, so if you know what that is and are looking for an invite just let me know. If you don't know what it is, don't worry, because nothing is going to change with the emails.

Well, that's it for now. So until time,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in Donga Ilbo: N. Korea hints at easing stance toward S. Korea, emphasizes overcoming economic hardships in New Year message

Pepero Day

2009-11-17T05:15:00.000-06:00

We're flying through the semester. This is week 12 of 15. Beginning to think about the final exams, and Christmas.

The pic of the week shows three of my Chinese students in the International Business School. I arrived into class and they were all wearing animal hats, with bears, lions and pandas.

Pepero day

----------------

Some Korean celebrations are difficult to understand. Pepero day is a good example. Pepero is a type of wafer stick, sometimes covered with chocolate. Wednesday was pepero day, and every shop and supermarket was selling them. There were aisles set up in the supermarket for it, and stalls set up in the city centre. It was along the lines of the Easter Egg displays at home. However, as far as anyone can tell me, there is no basis for it, other than they want to sell more pepero. This is a link to a very colourful, noisy, busy, and very Korean style, website to promote the day.

Cold weather

-------------------

The past few days have been very cold. It was snowing lightly when I got up on Sunday. And my students tell me it was minus 5 the other night. It's certainly cold going to my morning classes on the scooter. I'm wrapped in scarves and gloves, but haven't yet found how to protect my eyes, which are always streaming in the cold.

I don't know how I haven't contracted H1N1, because I've had a lot of students off with it at this stages. Rates of infection were due to peak on 13th November, with infection rates of over 4,000 per day, and 52 deaths.

Scooter

-----------

Speaking of the scooter, it cost about €170 at current exchange rates. But I've now received €178 in taxi fares allowances since I got it. So it's totally paid for at this stage. It's a great purchase and I love it.

Online translater

------------------------

My students are very fond of writing in Korean or Chinese and putting it through Google Translate into English as a shortcut. It's normally very obvious. For example, this week one of my Chinese students sent me an email, and wanted to say that her homework was attached to the email.

Dear Teacher, my homework is in accessory clamp. Thanks!

-----

Well, that's it for this week. So until next time,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in Segye Times: Panel reviews Sejong City plan for economic, science hub

Hand Sanitiser Edition

2009-10-25T03:22:00.003-06:00

Well, the traditional Korean over-caution about foreign threats is well to the fore with the H1N1 threat. I was in Seoul for an English teachers' conference, and there is controversy in the neighbourhood in response to a university plan to build new dorms.

The pic of the week shows a guy painting the apartment opposite. He's on the 10th floor, working alone, suspended by a single rope and sitting on something similar to a child's swing. And not a bother on him. You see a lot of abseiling for cables or maintenance, and workers dangling over moving traffic for street works.

Seoul conference
------------------------
I joined the Korea Teacher's of English to Speakers of Other Languages organisation (KOTESOL), and we had our international conference at the weekend. It was an excuse to have a big night out in Seoul, and it was a very late one.

Visiting 'the others'
--------------------------
Most of the English teachers in Daejeon are in the new downtown area, called Dunsan-dong, which is where most of the private schools (hagwons) are. The town is quite divided between the old downtown, Eunhaeng-dong, nearer to me, and the new downtown. In 'Lost' parlance, I call the teacher's over there 'the others', and we rarely mix. Two English teachers that I worked with in Costa Rica are 'others'. They've been here since before I got here, and I'd only met up with them once. So I gave them a shout last week, and we decided to meet up. It was strange meeting them outside the tropical climes of Costa Rica. We all agreed that we're quite happy here money and workwise, but that we still miss Costa Rica a lot.

Ajuma protest
-------------------
The item that I've got most response from people since writing from Korea was about my summer ajuma class. The ajumas are housewives, but the term is synonymous with a small, older but strict woman. Anyway, there is a protest outside the university these days, because there is a proposal to build a new dorm. They're appalled by the idea of more dreaded 'foreigners' being housed there. On a Monday and Wednesday I have to go past them on my scooter, usually stopping right beside them at the lights. I hear the 'foreigner' word in the middle of their Korean. But if I smile at them, they're too polite to smile back. The other day they were all wearing surgical masks, with black X's on them. So I guess there's been some sort of a gagging order. Yet another example of the very healthy protest movements of Korea.

Swine Flu
--------------
I'm not sure how things are back in Ireland with the swine flu threat. But here it's being dealt with in a very Korean manner. There are hand sanitisers everywhere. Whoever is in the business of making them must be getting very wealthy. Every public building has one at the entrance. In addition, many people are wearing surgical masks (and not for a protest). You see it from time to time here in public places anyway, but it's at a different level now. Most of my Chinese students were totally housebound when they went home, because their parents thought that the risk was too great to go out of my house. It's getting closer though. A friend of mine (and I was out with her on Wednesday night) went down with it over the weekend. And she's on 7 days quarantine.
------
Well, that's it for this week. I'm off now to prepare for my classes tomorrow morning. I'm running a bit behind because I was away for the weekend, and have been marking the mid-term exams.

Well, that's it for this week. So until next week,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in Kyunghyang Shinmun: Influenza A shows signs of pandemic

Definitely Autumn

2009-10-17T01:57:00.003-06:00

Well, I'd almost forgotten about the weekly update it's been so long.

I had a great trip home in August, and I'm well back into the new semester here.

The pic of the week is the view from my apartment. This is from the front, looking North, I guess. In the foreground are a group of allotments where locals grow vegetables. The group of buildings towards the right, just before the mountains, is Daejeon University. My own university, Woosong, is just a turn left at the junction on the main street that's visible, Daehak-ro.

Trip home to Ireland
---------------------------
Well, since my last email I've been home to Ireland, even though that was a long time ago at this stage - August. I had a great trip. It was primarily family-focused, and mostly concentrated on catching up with my niece Robyn around her six-month birthday. I did get to Dublin for a long weekend, and caught up with some people. However, it was holiday season and a lot of people couldn't make it.

Work
-------
I'm back in the swing of things at work. I much prefer working in the semesters. In the summer and winter university breaks - called 'the intersessions' - we get very bitty classes. We have schedules that change from week to week, and we're always meeting new classes and new students, so there's no continuity.

Now that we're back in the semester I have a firm schedule until the second week in December. I now know all my students, and, for me, that's a much easier way to work.

Autumn is here
---------------------
One thing that Koreans are very proud of is that they have four distinct seasons. And it's true, although spring and autumn are brief compared to the long winter and summer seasons. We're now well into autumn. It's colder, although today is quite beautiful. Even on the 10th floor I have the windows wide open. It's currently (Sunday afternoon) 24 degrees. The mountains are changing to autumnal colours, and the Koreans are out hiking. En masse.

Mid-term exams
----------------------
We're actually at the mid-term now. And it's mid-term exam time. To give you an example of the level of some of my students, this is an actual example of the submission I got back from one guy. All they had to do was to match 8 supplied words with the gaps in sentences.

My sister has been making poetry since we were kids. She wants to be a director.
I can only run for a short time. I'll never be able to run a home movies.
Don't put those marathon on your letters! They are from my collection.
Jet Li signed coins for half an hour last night outside the movie theater.
I enjoy all types of literature. But wildlife is my favorite.
I saw an excellent program about the animals of South America. There were some fantastic images of autographs.
I don't think collecting kites sounds like fun. I like to spend my money!
People love to fly stamps in the park near my house on windy days.

------
Well, that's it for this week. So until next week,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in Chosun Ilbo - President, ruling party will push to cancel gov't office relocation plan

Partial solar eclipse

2009-07-28T06:15:00.007-06:00

This week and next week are my busiest two weeks since I've been at Woosong. Twenty hours, but as they're all new classes there is a fair bit of preparation too. Still, after that I'm off to Ireland for two weeks.

The pic of the week shows the partial solar eclipse we had last week. It was the longest eclipse there will be this century, but we weren't on the path of totality. That ran to the south, and went over Shanghai in China.

Solar Eclipse
----------------
The solar eclipse had a path of totality through India, Bhutan and China. It continued to Iwo Jima in Japan and on into the pacific. It was the longest eclipse of the 21st century, and the sun was blocked for about six minutes.

Here in Daejeon we only had 80% of the eclipse, which was less than Dublin in the 1999 eclipse (that was something like 94%). I was looking at it by reflecting it through my binoculars and looking at it on a white sheet, because I didn't have proper glasses. I took this picture without looking, and it didn't work at all. What you see there is some sort of reflection. The sun is extending its glow in the top right. I don't know how the reflection got there, and it's tiny in the original photo, but it's got the exact shape of the moon blocking out 80% of the sun. Although it looks dark this is because it was so bright I had to reduce the light right down, making it look like night. It was actually a beautiful sunny day with blue skies. Unlike in Shanghai where thousands tried to see it, but were blocked by clouds.

Scooter
--------
Just before I went to Taipei I bought myself a scooter. It's just a small basic scooter, second hand, and it cost just €160. I don't know myself with it now. Because I'm living a little further away, and my classes are geographically widely distributed, it's a great time-saver. With the scooter I'm 10 minutes from my furthest class.

Top five Dublin pubs
---------------------
A friend and his girlfriend are heading to Ireland on vacation, because her sister lives in Navan. He wanted to know the best pubs in Dublin to go to, and I had to think. I much prefer the old style pubs, and each time I go home I find there are fewer. But I settled on my top five, and have recommended them to him. They are

5. Bowe's, Fleet Street
4. The Long Hall, South Great George's Street
3. Kehoe's, South Anne Street
2. The Palace, Fleet Street
1. Mulligan's, Poolbeg Street

So now I'll have to try them out again myself when I go home.
-----
Anyway, that's it for this week. I'm in again in the morning.

In Ireland I'm going to be mostly down in Ennis, so I'll be up in Dublin for a few days around the weekend of 13th August, so I'll probably just park myself in a bar for the night and let you all know where to find me if you want to! Details to follow.

So until next week,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headling in Seoul Shinmun: President Lee names new chief prosecutor

Taiwan

2009-07-12T00:29:00.003-06:00

I'm back after my week in Taiwan. It was a great break. I really liked the country and the people, and would highly recommend it.

The pic of the week shows Sun Moon lake at dawn. This was taken from the balcony of my hotel room. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Taiwan
----------
I didn't know that much about Taiwan before I went. I had taken a flight with China Airlines one time, and had been surprised that the airline flew to a all main countries in the world, with the exception of China!

So I looked up a little on the history. It's an island in the Pacific, is less than half the size of Ireland, but with a population of 23m. Originally settled by Pacific islanders, it has been part of China for most of its history, but with some settlement by the Portuguese and Dutch. In the early part of the 20th century it was controlled by the Japanese, but reverted to being a Chinese province at the end of WWII.

After the war, back on mainland China there was a civil war between the Communists, let by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung), and the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai Shek. Following the Communists' victory, Chiang Kai Shek and the Nationalist leadership fled to Taiwan. They regarded themselves as the legitimate government of the Republic of China. Mao led the People's Republic of China on the mainland (a little like the Republic of Ireland, and the People's Republic of Cork). In the Cold War world of the time, Taiwan as the Republic of China was recognised as the real China. It wasn't until the thawing of relations with Communist China in the early 70s that the PRC was recognised as the real China, and China's permanent seat on the UN Security Council was given to Beijing.

Taipei
---------
Taipei is the capital city. It's a large Asian city, with some older districts in the west, where I stayed. And a modern, high-rise area in the east. I went to the viewing observatory of the largest building, Taipei 101, and it was only when I was in it that I realised that it was the tallest building in the world.

The people are exceptionally friendly, most speak very good English (with the notable exception of taxi drivers!), and they go out of their way to help you in shops and on the metro. There's a lovely gay area which was quite near my hotel, with a big open-air courtyard with a large selection of bars and restaurants. It was very cool and relaxed.

Sun Moon Lake
-----------------------
I had wanted to spend a little time in Taipei, but then to have a relaxing few days on the beach. When I looked at tourist brochures I changed my mind and went to Sun Moon Lake, the largest lake on the island (but not very big even by Irish standards). It's in the mountains in the centre of the country, and I arrived after a difficult trek around the Taipei working out how to get there.

Sun Moon Lake is beautiful, and my hotel was right on the water. It was peaceful and relaxed. There are a lot of hiking trails, and there's a lovely walkway (very like the boardwalk in Dublin) around a good portion of the lake, which was lit up in changing colours at night.

The main tourist activity is boat trips on the lake, but I was more interested in visiting the Buddhist temples and pagodas I could see on the other side of the lake, so for €1.70 I got a day ticket on the local bus and did a full tour. I loved it.

Sun Moon lake is where Chiang Kai Shek took his holidays, and there are memorials to him everywhere.

Back to Daejeon
------------------------
I arrived back to Korea on Saturday, and stayed for the night in Seoul, returning to Daejeon late on Sunday. I've had an easy week at work, just working 12 hours, with 8 of those being easy conversation classes. I have the same schedule this week.

It's been very rainy this week. July is traditionally rainy season, but it didn't really happen last year. I see what it's like this year, with the worst rain I've seen since I've been in Korea. Today there are torrential showers and thunderstorms.
------
Well, that's it for this week. I'm off to visit friends for dinner.

Until next week,

Annyeong-hi kaseyo

Éamon

Today's headline in Donga llbo: N. Korea suspected to have orchestrated cyber attacks against South

Korean website rant

2009-06-30T07:45:00.004-06:00

Well, I'm writing from the balcony of my hotel room at Sun Moon Lake, the largest lake in Taiwan. It's Tuesday, and I'm here until Thursday, then back to Taipei for two nights, then Seoul for Saturday night. I'll be back at work on Monday.

The Taiwan pics are on my camera, and I don't have a cable to transfer them to the computer. So the pic of the week this week are three of my TOEIC students from last week. Part of the TOEIC exam is to describe a picture for 45 seconds. So I put them into groups, and they had to decide on poses for 3 pictures, to be described later in class by another team. This is the green team's idea of an 'action picture'. It shows three of my students in what I call their boyband shot.

Korean Websites
-----------------
I mentioned before that I hate Korean websites. It might be a cultural thing, but they're extremely busy, with lots of flash components winking and blinking, and bouncing around as you scroll. Every site seems to depend on Internet Explorer. But they don't tell you that until you're well through the transaction. You can choose the English option, but as sure as eggs is eggs, when something goes wrong up pops a box written entirely in Korean and you can go no further.

Booking the ticket to Taiwan with Korean Air was a case in point. I went through the transaction on my browser of choice, Firefox, and eventually got the Korean pop up box with 'Internet Explorer 5.5' in the middle of the text. So I realised the problem. I use Ubuntu as my operating system, so I have to log out, and log back in to Windows to get at Internet Explorer. Then I have to repeat all of the same procedures. Only this time every screen comes up prompting me to install some ActiveX component. When I got to the same stage as I had got to earlier in Firefox, everything went dead. Nothing happened. So I went through the troubleshooting guide, and it asked if I had pop-ups blocked. I didn't think so, but as I never use Internet Explorer I wasn't sure. When I checked, they were blocked. So I turned off the block, and went through the entire transaction again,. Same problem. It turned out that Internet Explorer had toolbars installed from Yahoo, Google and Ask all with their own pop-up blockers.

So I turned all that off. Then it asked me if I wanted to pay with my Korean bank card. I said yes. It popped me up a Korean language window, which by trial and error I managed to navigate. But in the end it wouldn't validate my card. At this stage I decided to phone them. but the 'freefone' number ate up the remaining credit on my phone while going through the recorded introduction.

So it was back through the whole transaction again, this time selecting Visa. It popped up a different box (in English!) to authorise my MBNA Europe card for credit card transactions on the internet. Even though I've used it countless times before. In the end it refused, saying that it wasn't an MBNA Europe card. Even though it clearly says MBNA Europe on it. I repeated the entire transaction again, which was at least the fourth time, and was finally successful with my Mastercard credit card. Even though it was also an MBNA Europe card, and I'd never used it online before!

The whole transacton took 3 hours from start to finish.

Multiple-Entry Visa
--------------------
You'd think I would have learnt my lesson, but I went for a Korean website again. My teaching visa is called an E-2 visa. I'm allowed stay in Korea and work for the year. But if I want to leave in that time I need to get a re-entry visa, which is like an upgrade. For W30,000 (€17) you can get a single entry visa, and you can make one trip out and back. For W50,000 (€28) you can have a multiple-entry visa, and can leave as many times as you like. I need a multiple-entry.

I had planned for weeks to go to immigration, but then someone told me you could do it online. I logged out of Ubuntu, into Windows, into Internet Explorer, set up an account with Korean e-government for foreigners. So far so good. I applied for the visa, it found my alien registration, showed all my details on screen, and deducted the money without a problem from my Visa account. The transaction would take 3 days.

The second day the status changed from submitted to received. And for the next 4 days it stayed received. That brought me to Friday, and I was travelling Saturday. It said that the application was with the Daejeon immigration office. And gave a number. I called, and got the message that 'this number is not in the directory'. I looked their numbers up online, and got about 12 phone numbers. Same message with each of those numbers.

I had to go to work to the personnel assistant, who handles these sort of issues. He phoned them, they said that they hadn't processed it, but to print off the certificate of application, and to show that to immigration at the airport. So I did, and they told me that that was just the application, and that it hadn't been processed. I told them I knew, but that they should have finished on Thursday, it says 3 days. At the airport they told me they had no authority to change it. The only solution was to pay the €17 for a single-entry visa, in addition to the €28 paid online!

Happy birthday
----------------
After all the hassle of the bureaucracy in Korea, going through immigration into Taiwan was a joy. Saturday, my day of travel, was my birthday. I hadn't remembered it at all (4am starts do that to you), but I remembered filling out the paperwork at the airport. But when the immigration official was processing my passport and immigration form her face suddenly lit up. "Oh," she said with the brightest smile, "today's your birthday! Oh, have a really happy birthday in Taiwan". And so I did.
------
Well, that's my rant for this week. I'll write about the trip next week.

So until then,

Goodbye in Chinese, which I don't know how to say.

Éamon

Yesterday's headline in Taiwan News: Jackson family orders new autopsy

Summer schedule

2009-06-23T00:14:00.004-06:00

I've had a week now on the new summer schedule. My schedule changes every few weeks, but it was fine last week, just 13 hours. And just 11 this week, because my kids class finishes tonight.

The pic of the week was taken at a fundraiser we had the week before last. It was for one of my colleagues who was hospitalised with a tumour, and is facing some heavy medical bills. As a photo I really have to say I think it sums me up. I partcularly like the serious face.

"Vacation"
-----------
I have to say vacation here, because if I talk about holidays, they think I'm talking about Christmas or Halloween. Anyway, I get 5 weeks vacation in my first year, and six after that. They can be requested for any time within the 'intersession'. So I requested 3 weeks in the summer, one at the end of this month, and two in August. I'm holding onto 2 for the winter break.

I am going home in August, primarily to see my neice Robyn, who I only briefly got to see when she was just a couple of days old. She'll be almost six months by the time I get home. I arrive into Shannon on 9th August, and will be in Dublin for a few days around the following weekend.

I hadn't really decided what to do with my other week, but vaguely thought I'd go to Japan, as it's close. But when i did a search on airfares, China and Taiwan are cheaper. And I know they're a lot cheaper to stay in. As the visa process for China is slow, I didn't want to cause complications by booking just a week ahead. I'll go there again, but for now I've decided on Taiwan. I know nothing about it, except a lot of things are made there. And there's an ad always on TV "Ilha Formosa, Taiwan will Touch your Heart", which makes it look good. Either way, I'm going to have a good break, and I'll report back.
------
Well, that's it for this week. I have a party with my kids tonight, and then just two TOEIC classes and a day off on Thursday. I head to Taiwan on Saturday,

So until next week,

Annyeong-hi haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in Segye Times: S. Korea, world's second developer of anti-submarine torpedo

Ch-ch-changes

2009-06-14T19:31:00.004-06:00

The pic of the week shows a big change, my new apartment in the block of apartments on the bottom right. Because I'm over the hill (which the Google Maps photo doesn't particularly show) people think I've moved miles away. But as you can see, I'm right beside the university, (top left where the blue markers are).

New apartment
----------------------
When you start in Woosong you're given the most basic accommodation, and then put on the 'housing seniority list'. When better accommodation becomes available as people leave, they're made available to the highest person on the seniority list that wants it. Being very new, I was number 42 on the single people's list. There was nothing wrong with the apartment I had except it was very small. I had no place to eat really, except on my bed. But it was clean and modern.

When an offsite apartment was put on the board I didn't even apply, because at number 42 I didn't think I had a hope. It was only when it was put on a 2nd time, and they said that if nobody wanted it they'd have to give it to another department that I thought I might have a chance. It was described as 'a corridor-style apartment. Old, but neat and tidy, and with a bit of space'. It had been married accommodation, but was now available to singles. I enquired, and was told to get the key and have a look.

I wasn't impressed when I saw it first. It's in an old shabby apartment building, and it was absolutely filthy. I felt dirty even sitting down when I visited. But it's quite a bit bigger than I had. Not so big that I can understand how it was married accommodation, but a lot bigger than my tiny room before. There is a kitchen that's big enough for a kitchen table and chairs, and a bedroom that's at least as big as my old apartment. There is a desk, TV and TV unit in the bedroom. There's a bathroom with a bath (almost unheard of in Korea), a little washroom, and an enclosed balcony, where you hang your washing to dry.

I really didn't know whether to apply or not, because the clean up was going to be intense. I the end I did apply, because I knew at least it could be cleaned, there was nothing I could do to make the old one bigger. I still didn't expect to get it, but to be honest, I don't think anyone else wanted it.

I've been here 3 weeks now, and I'm really happy with it. There's been a lot of cleaning and tidying, with a lot more to be done, but it's nice to have a bit of room, and I think I'll be happy to stay here for my duration at Woosong.

The university is built on a hill, and this apartment is over the brow of it, so when it gets into high summer it's going to a difficult walk up and down, so I'm going to buy myself a little scooter.

Summer schedule
--------------------------
Last week was the end of our 15-week semester. I can't believe how quickly it went, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Particularly my Korean university first year student class. We had our end of year exams, and now I'm marking and updating the system with their results. Every mark has to be explained so that the papers can be verified in the event of a recheck being required.

Last week we were given our summer schedule. A lot of universities finish totally in the summer, and teachers are paid through the breaks even though they're doing nothing. Unfortunately, that's not the case at Woosong, where there are many courses run during what they call the 'intersession'.

My schedule is a mixed bag. My children's class continues until next week, so I just have one extra class added this week and next, an intensive course in TOEIC speaking. TOEIC is an internationally recognised Test of English for International Communication. There are 32 classes starting with between 30 and 40 in each. That's over 1,100 students. We don't know where such an enormous amount of students are coming from.
-----
I'm sure there are another few things to catch up on, but I'll leave it there for this week. I haven't even had time to mention the former president's suicide or the nuclear threat from north of the border. I start at 1pm with the TOEIC class for 3 hours. Priorities!

So until next week.

Anneong haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in JoongAng Ilbo: Intelligence authorities identify 11 possible spots for 3rd nuclear test

Computer problems

2009-05-10T20:17:00.006-06:00

Apologies for the lack of mails recently. I've been having computer problems, and I'm close to the end of my tether with my Dell laptop.

I don't even want to talk about it, but I don't have access to my photos at the moment, so this weeks photo of the week is a photo I got from the internet. It shows a typical Korean barbecue meal. I've become very fond of these. You have to go with friends, because it's not a meal you can have on your own in a restaurant. They put burning coals into the barbecue in the centre of your table (or it's gas in some restaurants), and you cook the meat, onions, garlic, kimchi or whatever on the barbecue. As you can see there are loads of side dishes, and you wrap the meat with vegetables and side dishes in a lettuce leaf to eat. It's delicious.

Work life
----------
Things are going well in work. I'm well into it at this stage, and we're not so far off the end of the first semester. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. We're through the mid-term exams, and on week 11 of 15.

On a sad note, one of the new teachers died of a heart attack. We were having our work spring party in one of the accommodation sites which had a yard. In the middle of the party the police arrived. I was surprised, as it was the afternoon and we weren't that noisy. But it turned out that a new teacher, Randy from Canada, had died of a heart attack in the Homeplus supermarket. I had heard of Randy, but we hadn't met. He arrived a couple of weeks after me, and missed our orientation training. He was in his 50s, and had had heart problems before, apparently. They had a collection for his family to repatriate the body to Canada. It was all very sad.

Social Life in Daejeon
---------------------
And then life goes on. There is a good social life with the teachers from the school, and we've been exploring Daejeon. We have discovered some restaurants and bars downtown that we like. Closing times are very flexible, so late nights, and arriving home in the bright, are not unusual. We're getting into the good weather now, so we've had a few barbecues. Some on the roof of an accommodation apartment building, and this weekend in a river park on the other side of town.

901
----
I can't remember if I've written about 901 before. It's an Woosong institution. It's the bar we go to on a Thursday night after class. The bar is run by Betty and her sidekick, Wilma (a Flintstones theme). When I arrive I'm greeted by Betty with a hearty 'Sláinte, Éamon'! A couple of weeks back a friend, Justin from the US, went to the loo and didn't arrive back for ages. You don't like to draw attention to such things and nobody said anything. Until someone else went out, and realised that the door was locked. Justin had been inside knocking for ages. We tried everything, but there was no budging the lock. Betty had gone home early, so Wilma was trying to sort it out, and had the Golden Pages out ready to look for a locksmith. She rang Betty who arrived back in her pyjamas, and once she'd checked the lock she came back with a large hammer, and proceeded to break through the door. That was a few weeks ago, but the door is still smashed. I can't help feeling I've found the Blacks of Korea.
----
Well, that's it for this week. We've had some days hitting the 30s during the week, but slightly more overcast today, currently 24 degrees, but with a real feel of 29, or so accuweather.com tells me! I'm despairing of getting my laptop fixed at this stage. I'll never buy Dell again! I feel I'm going to have to buy another, despite this one being less than 18 months old.

Anyway, enough of my trouble. How are you?

Until next week,

Annyeong haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: Korea to Be Surplus Country Till 2014

Mid-term

2009-04-21T02:32:00.004-06:00

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
----------
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
-----------------
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
---------------
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!
-----
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

2009-04-13T23:46:00.003-06:00

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
-------
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
--------------------
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
-----
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!
-----
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

2009-04-06T23:18:00.006-06:00

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
--------------
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
-----------------
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
---------
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.
-----
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

It's Daejeon

2009-03-29T19:34:00.005-06:00

It's been a while. My excuse is that I've been busy setting up home here, getting classes up and running and just getting used to everything. That, plus going to Seoul for the past three weekends left me without much free time. I stayed home this weekend, and have done a big catch up.

The pic of the week shows a poster for the World Student Plan of the Woosong University Business school, where I have most of my classes. This billboard is outside the mainline train station. This programme aims to attract students to Woosong from around the world.

It's Daejeon
------------
The University is in the east of the city, in a relatively poor neighbourhood. There are many buildings spread around the 'dong', or neighbourhood. There is the University itself, the Language Institute, the Information and Technical College and the International Business School - Solbridge.

The city has two downtowns, Eunang-dong - old downtown, and Dunsan-dong - new downtown. We're much closer to old downtown here. There is a subway, but with just one line. The nearest station is called Woosong University, but it's about a kilometer away.

My apartment is tiny, but 3 minutes walk from the office and work. It's a small clean apartment on what we'd call the second floor. There is one main room, with a double bed, a couple of wardrobes, a TV with cable and a TV unit, a desk, and the fastest internet connection I've ever had.

Off the main room is the tiny kitchen, which is also the entrance. There is a big fridge, a sink and draining board, some cupboards and a two ring gas hob. There is no counter space at all. All food preparation has to be done on the draining board! As is usual in Korea, there is no oven. Just a hob.

There is also a small but comfortable bathroom. With a sink! (which I didn't have in Sinpung.) Again as is usual in Korea the shower head is just on the wall. The whole room is the shower cubicle effectively. When the floor is wet you wear plastic slippers to use the bathroom. The bathroom tap has a switch to redirect the water from the sink to the shower head. I realised the importance of remembering this on my first day when, having dressed in my shirt and tie ready for work I turned on the 'tap', only to be drenched from the shower overhead.

Everone in the building is a teacher from Woosong.

The University
----------------
My office is based at the language institute, which is where I have one of my classes. Another of my classes, my Woosong University class, is actually located in the Technical college, and the rest of my classes are in Solbridge. The Solbridge classes are all for Chinese students whose English isn't at a high enough level for college yet, they start with just English and Korean classes until their language skills improve. All the rest of my students are Korean.

I have 15 class hours a week, 8 in Solbridge, 4 in the Language Institute and 3 in the University. Monday is my busy day with classes from 1.30 to 5.30. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a split shift. The University in the morning from 10.30 to 12, and the Language Institute - a middle school kids class - from 7 to 9pm. Wednesdays and Fridays I'm back at Solbridge, a 10 minute taxi journey, from 3.30 to 5.30pm. There has been a good bit of preparation required also as we started up, but that's reducing now that I know what I'm doing!

The Social Side
----------------
There is a very large English department, about 90 people. There were about 20 of us on training together. The profile is very mixed in terms of age, but is predominantly male, and before our class was predominantly from the US and Canada. Now there are teachers from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. I'm the only one from Ireland.

Because of the variety of buildings, departments, teaching locations and teaching hours, there are a lot of people you never see when you're working. So there is a regular drinking night on a Thursday in a local bar. It's called 901, because the last classes finish at 9pm, so we meet from 9.01. There is a social core of teachers that I've met there. There are also events organised from time to time, like bowling, nights out to different parts of the city, and going to soccer and baseball games. Because I've been in Seoul for the past few weekends I've missed some of these activities.
-----
Well, that's it - in as much of a nutshell as I can make it. I'm happy. I like it. I have a good feeling about both work and Daejeon, and I'm looking forward to making the most of my time here.

Until next week,

Anneong-hi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: 'Queen Yu-na' Makes History

Out of order

2009-02-19T10:58:00.002-06:00

I know I've been AWOL. But my time in Ireland has been very successful. I got my visa sorted, and my little niece, and new heir apparent to the McDonagh fortune, arrived ahead of schedule. The beautiful Robyn Kate O'Connor is seen here with her equally beautiful mother.

I travel back to Dublin tomorrow to collect my visa. For Dubliners available on Saturday I'll be in The Long Hall on Saturday from about 8.30pm, so feel free to join me then.

Otherwise, I'm back to Korea on Sunday, and moving to Daejeon on Tuesday. Training will be on the Thursday and Friday, and I start teaching in my new place on Monday, 2 March.

So, it's all good.

Normal service will then be resumed. Honest.

Éamon

Finally, a Job

2009-01-19T00:29:00.007-06:00

Well, finally the job hunt has yielded a result. I've accepted a job in Woosong University in Daejeon.

The pic of the week shows next door's TV out in the snow. We had a lovely shower of snow this week. But then temperatures soared up to zero.

Woosong
---------
I've applied to a lot of universities, and up until this week had only got even a no thank you from one. As I said last week, I started applying outside of Seoul, and was immediately contacted by Woosong in Daejeon. They scheduled a telephone interview for Thursday. It was more of a chat than an interview. But he told me in the call that they'd make me an offer once my references checked out. I got the offer in an email the following day.

I'm delighted. Even though it's not in Seoul, I'll only be an hour away by the fast KTX train. The money is decent, it comes with a small studio apartment, they pay towards air fare, and will even pay pension contributions when I get back.

I don't get full university holidays, because they run camps in the break. I'll get 5 weeks. I'll be working just 16 hours a week plus administration, and this will drop to about 6 during the university breaks. I'll be mostly teaching first and second year university students. My friend Julie, who I worked with in Costa Rica, worked there before and she was very happy.

Daejeon
--------
Daejeon (pronounced Tay-John) has a population of 1.5m people, and is Korea's fifth city (after Seoul, Busan, Incheon and Daegu). As I said, it's just under an hour by KTX, or 2 hours by regular train or bus. It's known as the technology capital of the country.

I think I've written before about the little English slogans for cities. Like Seoul, Soul of Asia, Dynamic Busan and Colorful Daegu. I was amused at the simple slogan for Daejeon - It's Daejeon.

Trip home
-----------
So all this means that I can come home for a few weeks before I start work. Originally, this was required for visa purposes. But apparently that has changed, and I could do it from Japan. But I'm happy to take a trip home and do it from there. So I fly next Sunday, arriving in Dublin Sunday night. I'll be between Ennis and Dublin while home, and will be planning it over the week.
-----
So that's it. After a long time of nothing happening, it's all go. I'm hoping to get up to the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea) during the week, because It's easier from Seoul. So until next week,

Annyeonghi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: President Lee Replaces Finance, Unification Ministers

What's in a Name?

2009-01-12T04:11:00.006-06:00

Korea is such a country of extreme temperatures. It was just a few months ago we were sweltering, and now it's minus 7 degrees as I write. Clara leaves the bathroom window open for the cats, and this morning there was ice in the toilet.

The pic of the week shows the apartment building, behind the new trees recently put in by the local district. I've labelled my room and Clara's room. The landlady runs the clothes shop underneath.

What's in a Name?
-------------------
One of the things that is very difficult for us westerners to understand in Korea is the hierarchical structure of Korean society. When you meet Korean people they ask you questions we'd consider indiscreet. Typically, How old are you? and Are you married? Sometimes about your job and salary. And these are so they can work out where you 'slot in' to the hierarchy. I read recently about the names of various family relationships. We wouldn't address someone back home as 'brother-in-law', or 'maternal aunt', but in Korea it's usual to use the title. And there are a huge array of titles. For example, a woman would refer to her older brother's wife as 'hyeongsu' and her younger brother's wife as 'jesu'. Her husband's older sister would be addressed as 'hyeongnim'. His older brother would be her 'siajubeoni', and his younger brother would be 'seobangnim' to her. It's very detailed. You would have to know that 'sungmo' is your aunt, the wife of your father's younger brother. Other aunts would have different names. I don't know how they keep up.

Job Hunt Continued...
----------------------
Some more universities have advertised this week. I'm now lowering my sights, and applying to universities outside Seoul, and also to public schools within Seoul. I'm aiming to be sorted by the end of the month.

Costa Rican Earthquake
------------------------
Spare a thought for my friends and colleagues in Costa Rica. They were hit on Thursday by a 6.2 earthquake, which was the strongest in Costa Rica for 150 years, according to CNN. The epicentre was close to the Poás volcano, the edge of which I could see from my bedroom window when I lived in Heredia. I've talked online to a former student who described how terrifying it was, she thought the house was coming down. There are 34 confirmed dead, mostly in mudslides around little villages near the volcano, and a further 50 to 60 are missing.
-----
Well, that's it for now, so until next week,

Annyeonghi kaseyo.

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: WiBro Turns into White Elephant

Weekly email - Brrr

2009-01-05T03:48:00.005-06:00

A happy new year to everyone. We've had a great Christmas and New Year's here in Korea.

The pic of the week shows Namsam, meaning the south mountain. The N Seoul tower is on top, which is where we went to the revolving restaurant. If you turn right at the green roadsign you're almost at the apartment.

Christmas
-----------
We had 8 people for dinner, from Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Korea. Clara went the whole hog with a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Like most Korean apartments we don't have an oven, so we had to cook it on Christmas Eve in Joan and Stephanie's, and I had to carry it home in a rucksack on my back. We tried to get ham, but they don't have it here. A fact we didn't realise until we put it in the pot and we realised it was pork. It was a good day, and we finished up in the Irish bar down in Itaewon.

New Year
----------
Both Clara and Norah decided to stay in on New Year's Eve, but I decided to head in to meet friends in Itaewon. We had a great night, went to several bars, and ended up at a house party. Well, two of us ended up where there was to be a house party, but everybody else had sensibly gone home. I arrived home about 9am.

It's Cold
---------
The weather gets quite cold these days. It's minus one as I write, but it's been down to minus 13. It's a dry cold, and you're fine once you wrap up before heading out. It's difficult to get things to dry on the line because they freeze into boards as you're putting them up. The other day I washed my trainers and put them out to dry. When I was going out on Saturday night I went to put them on, and realised that they had frozen solid, encased in ice. I nearly broke the tongue trying to get them on. They're the only shoes I have (apart from flip flops, and I wasn't going to wear those!) so I went out effectively wearing two lumps of ice. At least they thawed fairly quickly.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. The application process has started again, and I'm ready to buy another job lot of envelopes!

Until next week,

Annyeonghi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: Seoul-Incheon Canal Construction to Start in March

Haengbok-han keuriseumaseu

2008-12-23T03:45:00.006-06:00

Christmas greetings to one and all from Korea. As you can see the title is Happy Christmas in Korean, with Christmas broken down into Korean consonent/vowel pairs as Keu-ri-seu-ma-seu, but it's just the English word.

The pic of the week shows me with Joan from Scotland and Stephanie from Kilkenny. We were attempting to do the 12 pubs of Christmas, but didn't make it beyond 7!

University applications
-----------------------
Well, I've been put back in my box regarding the university applications. I was so impressed with my own CV, but I haven't been called for so much as an interview. I was even wondering if the postal system is working, but I did get two calls for clarification! Talking to people, I realised that there is a lot of competition for university positions. People who are in Korea for a few years often want to transfer, or people from universities in the country want to come to Seoul, and obviously they will have Korean or university teaching experience, or both, which I lack. There are still ads being put up, and I'm still applying. I'm not giving up yet, but I think I'll have to resort to plan B after Christmas if I still haven't got anything.

The 12 pubs of Christmas
--------------------------
Two of Clara's friends, Joan and Stephanie (in the picture above), have returned to Korea, and now live close by. We decided that the four of us would do the 12 pubs of Christmas around Itaewon last Saturday night. I was surprised when the plan was to start at 8pm, because I thought we'd need to start earlier. By the time we eventually got going, after wine in Joan and Stephanie's, it was 9pm. We all managed to get to six pubs. At that stage people were phoning home to Ireland and Scotland, there were tears, and a lot of slurring and falling. Only two of us managed to get to the seventh pub, and then we abandoned it when we couldn't find the others. We were hopeless.

Adultery case
--------------
I was surprised to learn that adultery is a criminal offence in Korea, punishable by up to 2 years in prison. I discovered it this week, when there was a case reported of a well-known actress Ok So-ri (I know that name looks like it's made up, but it's true) who was sued for adultery by her husband. She challenged the law, saying that it's original intent was to protect the institution of marriage, but is now in effect just a method of revenge. She lost her case, and was sentenced to 8 months suspended, with her lover, a pop singer, sentenced to 6 months suspended. Apparently there are in the region of a thousand cases prosecuted a year, but jail sentences are very rare.

White Christmas
-----------------
We've had snow a few times over the past month, and when it started snowing last night we wondered if we might have a white Christmas. But it's unlikely. The weather forecasts here are very accurate. Coming from Ireland I usually avoid planning anything around a forecast, but I've learned that they have a high degree of accuracy here. Christmas day is forecast as 'breezy and colder with sunshine'. The forcast high is -4c (that's the high!), and the low is -14c. So it'll be a cold and sunny one.

Christmas plans
----------------
Clara is in full Christmas planning mode. She's planned a traditional dinner, and we have a turkey, ham and all the trimmings for Thursday. There are between 8 and 10 people coming over for Christmas day. The biggest difficulty will be not having an oven. Most houses here don't have one. Clara has a little one that looks like a microwave, and is way to small for the turkey. So we'll be off over the hill to Joan and Stephanie who have a full Irish-sized oven in their apartment.
-----
Well, that's it for now. I want to wish all of you a great Christmas. I know the weekly emails have of late been weekly only in name, but rest assured they will continue through 2009.

Nollaig shona daoibh.

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Times: Shipbuilding, Construction Firms Targeted for Restructuring

University Application Edition

2008-12-01T23:23:00.005-06:00

Greetings from a lovely sunny and mild winter's day here in Seoul.

The pic of the week is the last of my backlog photos. It shows Sellinne (left) with her friends, Anna, and I'm afraid I can't remember the other girls name, it's Korean. These are taken here in the apartment at the party for Sellinne's birthday.

University Application
-----------------------
There seems to be some confusion as to whether I'm applying to universities to study or to work. Relax, it's to work.

Most English speakers I've met here are over here as teachers, and the vast majority are working in public or private kids schools. I'm not mad on teaching kids, so I'm currently applying for a university job. There are different pay rates, depending on the university, but the hours are good, and you get paid holidays with 3 to 4 months off during the year.

They start their 2009 semester on March 1st, so that will hopefully when I start a full-time job.

Visa situation
--------------
You may remember that I realised when I got here that there may be problems with the application for a teaching visa, because they insist that you do an interview with the Korean embassy in your home country. Now when I thought this was going to happen within a month of my arrival this seemed a disaster. However, now that the months have passed, it's not so bad.

With the new semester starting in March, and my sister Sharon expecting a baby in February, a trip home in the New Year would be quite welcome.

Meeting the Ambassador
--------------------------
One item of documentation required for my job applications and visa is a police report from home stating that I didn't have any criminal record. I got this from the Gardaí when I was home earlier in the year. But it turns out I need to get it apostilled (some legal verification process), and that's not possible here in Korea. I contacted the embassy, and they said that they can certify it's authenticity, and that that's been accepted by Korean immigration so far.

So I went off to the embassy during the week. It's in Ireland House, which is in reality half of the 13th floor of an office building. The first secretary verified the form, and then came out for a chat. While we were chatting the ambassador arrived back from the dentist, and bumped into us. He's a really nice guy, very friendly. He's been here for 4 years, and loves it, but it's his last posting and he leaves in March.

He previously applied for a job in Irish Life, and was interviewed for a job as a trainee actuary, but decided to join the civil service, and he still isn't sure if he made the right decision!

Dynamic Korea
----------------
The tourist slogan for Korea is 'Dynamic Korea', and one area I can agree with it is in the speed that shops close down and reopen. You can go out in the morning walking past the hardware store, and come back in the evening and it's a boutique.

There are roadworks going on outside the apartment, and on a recent Sunday we went to the local bar at 11pm. The road was completely dug up and in a state of disrepair. There were no workers around. But when we left the bar (admittedly some hours had passed!), the entire road was repaved with tarmacadam. There were still no workers visible; the road laying, beginning, middle and end, had taken place while we were in the pub.

Tensions with North Korea
---------------------------
Tensions are slowly increasing between the two Koreas. The new government here in the south, who came into power in February, have a more hardline approach to the communist north than their predecessors. And the uncertainty over Kim Jong Il's health doesn't help. This week the north have begun restricting the already restricted traffic flow between the two countries in retaliation. Our Korean friend, Sellinne, helpfully told us that if anything kicks off between the two, we're not in the best location, given that we live beside the Korean Army finance administration headquaters, across from the US Army base, and a stone's throw from the Department of Defence. Ah well.
-----
That's it for this week. Hopefully I'll have some developments on the job front by next week.

Until then,

Annyeong haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: S. Koreans’ Real Income Makes Biggest Drop in a Decade

Korean Age

2008-11-27T23:10:00.005-06:00

The weather has improved this week. We're back to 10 degrees as I write. Although tomorrow is forecast as windy with a high of 4 and a low of zero degrees.

The pic of the week shows Vio from my school in Sinpung. It's a while since I was there, but I realise that I hadn't used any pics.

Party for Sellinne
------------------
Sellinne is Clara's friend. She had her birthday during the week. We had a party for her in the apartment last Saturday. She's been so helpful to us. For anything that requires Korean we get on to Sellinne. Booking a visa run, getting cable and internet, translating Korean websites or booking concert tickets - it's a phonecall straight away to Sellinne.

It was a great night. We started about 6pm, and over the night a lot of people came along. Clara made a Thai curry and a vegetable bake, and we had a good laugh. Afterwards, we headed down to Itaewon where we got the tail end of the Ireland Argentina match.

Korean age
-----------
Korean age is different to western age. When you're born you're 1. They count the time in the womb as your first year. You 'age' at the new year, not on your birthday. So on the next new year you're 2. It's possible for a baby 2 days old to be 2. Clara works with a girl whose baby was 2 within five days of birth, because she was born at the end of the year. So Korean age is 1-2 years older than western age.

It used to be based on the Chinese New Year, called Lunar New Year here, but now they're increasingly using the calendar new year. Also, some younger people are now using western age.

Piano Man
-----------
I forgot to mention last week that I went to see Billy Joel in concert the previous weekend. He was playing 2 nights in Seoul, in the Olympic Gymnasium in Olympic Park. It was a great gig. He played all the old favourites, and the crowd seemed word perfect. They have little shops inside the venue, so you can pop out to buy a few cans of beer during the gig. Very civilised.

University applications
-----------------------
The university applications continue. I've dropped some applications to the colleges by hand, so I can check out the campuses, and most seem quite nice places to work. Some others have been submitted by post, and there are more going this week. I should know if I'm called for interview by Hongik, my university of choice, from their website on Monday. So wish me luck.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. The final applications will be sent during the week, and hopefully I'll have some interviews scheduled. It's hard to believe it's almost December. Most people here are staying for Christmas. It's not a big holiday here, and a lot of people just have the 25th off work.

Until next week,

Annyeong haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: Prosecution Raids Home, Office of Key Roh Sponsor

Enda's holiday

2008-11-12T02:59:00.006-06:00

I'm going a little back in time with this mail, and recalling Enda's two week visit.

I'm also working on my university applications. There is a huge amount of supporting documentation required, so I'm waiting on receipt of university transcripts from Dublin.

The pic of the week shows Enda, Clara and myself having a wonderful meal outside the city of Wonju.

Tourist Seoul
--------------
It was Enda's second visit to Korea. He was over with Clara to visit my father four years ago. He hadn't seen much of Seoul on that trip, and so we started off by doing the tourist spots. Mostly the palaces.

Enda also wanted to see the headquarters of the World Taekwondo Association, which is here in Seoul. We went over one morning, and were lucky enough to catch a demonstration show. It was really impressive, I hadn't seen much Taekwondo before and I was amazed. At the end they asked if we wanted to come forward for photos. I assumed they meant to take them, so myself and Enda moved down to the floor of the gym. A guy there took the camera, and gestured for us to go into a group photo. As we took our places we realised that all the others were international delegates, wearing suits and delegate badges. I can imagine them all going through the photos wondering who the two imposters in shorts and t-shirts were.

Travelling
----------
My father has a 12-year old Jaguar car that he never uses, it has just 20,000km on the clock. We took it out of storage to travel around the country. Our first journey was to a restaurant owned by one of his students in Wonju. We were made good time. At 3.30 I remember Michael saying we'd be there by 4pm. Unfortunately, we were again dependent on Korean directions. We drove hither and yon in the vicinity of the restaurant, sometimes within metres. Every time we phoned we were told how close we were. We drove over roads, boreens, dirt tracks and through motorway building works, eventually arriving at the restaurant sometime around 8pm.

Over the next few days, we visited the largest cave in Asia, Hwanseongul, and the historical capital, Gyeongju.

The Seoul of the Party
-----------------------
What an old pun! When we got back to Seoul, we concentrated more on the night life. Seoul is a city where you can find a open bar at any time of the day and night. I was the one not working, so I was out with Enda to 5, 6 or 7am. Even 9am on one occasion. By the time he left I think we were all in need of a week of sleep. Preferably at The Priory.

University applications
-----------------------
I've spent this week getting my university applications together. The application process is very bureaucratic, and I had to write essays about my teaching philosophy. However, once the first one was done the rest have been pretty straight forward. Three had closing dates this week, and there are more next week, and more in early December. Hopefully I'll get something from one of them! I should know if I'm called for interview in early December.
-----
The temperature has really dropped in the last few days. The night before last it was minus 5, feeling like minus 11. And it only seems like last week I was sweltering in the heat and humidity! Today the temperature seems to have risen, but there was a little snow earlier on.

Well, that's it for this week,

So until next week,

Annyeong haseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: S. Korea's Subway, Railway Strikes Averted

Halloween

2008-11-03T00:37:00.005-06:00

Folks,

I'm getting back into my routines. I'm currently preparing my applications for a number of universities which are now recruiting.

The pic of the week shows the motley crew that prepared for the Halloween fancy dress in the Wolfhound on Saturday. Back: Clara, Sarah, Norah. Front: Sean, Sellinne, Brian and Elmer. I'm behind the camera in an amazing costume. Pity you missed it.

Finishing in California Language School
---------------------------------------
While we'd agreed on September 26 as my final day in Sinpung, it wasn't until the Thursday that my departure was confirmed. I was happy enough. I enjoyed my time there, although it was difficult being the only non-Korean on the staff, and I never warmed to teaching kindergarten.

On my final night they took me out for a Korean meal. It was in one of the traditional sit-on-the-floor restaurants which are everywhere. We then cook the food on hot coals in a bucket in the centre of the table, as I explained before. It was delicious. We also had beer and sojo (the local poteen). I was so full at the end, and then they decided that we'd go somewhere else for seafood!

Back to Kyeong Li Dan
-----------------------
The following day I moved back to Clara's. It's a much more lively area than Sinpung, and it's so close to the nightlife of Itaewon, a ten minute walk away. We have a large selection of restaurants and bars within easy reach.

Enda's holiday
--------------
My brother Enda arrived on October 5, and was here for two weeks. I'll write about it in more detail again, but it was great that I was off work and available to spend time with him. We had three parts to the holiday. The first was sightseeing around Seoul. Then we travelled around the country for a few days. Finally, there was the party phase back in Seoul. Enda took full advantage of the fact that you'll find bars open around the clock. By the time he left we were all wrecked, and we nearly had to pour him onto the plane. We had a really great time, but I took nearly a week to recover.

Halloween
----------
I always seem to celebrate Halloween more away than I ever do at home. Halloween isn't a Korean celebration, so Itaewon, as the main foreigner hub, was full of people in a variety of costumes. We went to The Wolfhound on Saturday, and it was a thronged. First prize went to a guy who dressed up as a mad cow being carried around on the president's back. A throwback to the protests about American beef earlier in the year. It was excellent.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. The weather has got a good bit cooler, and the trees have taken on beautiful autumnal shades. The days are mostly sunny and we've had hardly any rain. Top temperatures this week range from 13 to 18 degrees centigrade.

Until next week,

Annyeonghi Keosayo,

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Times: S. Korea to Hike Fiscal Spending by $10 Billion Next Year

Normal service will be resumed shortly

2008-10-28T23:57:00.002-06:00

I'm terrible when I break my routine! Since the last mail I finished up in the Elementary School, and so moved back to my sister's apartment. Then my brother arrived over on holiday, and we had an action-packed two weeks. Now my PC has given up the ghost (again! I've had nothing but trouble with that top of the range Dell). I get it back today, and hopefully normal service will be resumed this weekend.

Cheers!

Eamon

Autumn

2008-09-20T23:07:00.006-06:00

Folks,

The weather has taken a turn, as they say. I looked at the forecast for this week, and every day is in the 20s, with the highest being today at 27c. That's quite a change. And when I go for my run the track is beginning to get covered with leaves. I'm excited, because it will be my first autumn since Dublin in 2004, as we didn't have them in Costa Rica.

The pic of the week shows my lovely presentation pack for Chuseok of tuna and spam.

Language 1
------------
It can be difficult sometimes in the supermarket, when you're just greeted by a shelf full of hangeul writing and you can't read any of the labels. Sometimes, pictures are all you need. Other times you don't know if you're buying washing up liquid or fabric softener.

I was looking for little waste disposal bags, because in the heat my bin can smell. Putting everything in sealed little bags first seemed like a good idea. But when I got my pack of little bags home, it turned out they were all plastic gloves. Like you'd use in a supermarket for handling bread. So rather than let them go to waste, my rubbish now goes out in very strange hand shaped arrangements.

Language 2
------------
I haven't really frequented many restaurants around where I live. A lot of them seem to always have groups of people, not individuals. They sit on the floor at low tables, and cook on a hot coal 'bucket' that slots into the centre of the table. I've done this with friends, but it doesn't seem the type of thing you'd do on your own.

The second problem is the menu. Even when I can interpret the hangeul symbols, and pronounce them, it's not much help when you don't know what they actually mean. I passed a take away place the other day, which said, in hangeul, chee-kin (an attempt at the English word), so I went in and ordered chee-kin. She hadn't a clue what I was saying. So she phoned her cousin, and put her on the phone to me. I talked to her on the phone, but sometimes the phone can be difficult to interpret accents, so she didn't understand me.

Next thing, the cousin came around to the shop, she must live locally. She interpreted my order, and chatted away to me. Another customer arrived in and he offered me a beer. The two of them then translated the TV news for me, which was on in the background. Eventually, I left with my chicken, feeling I'd disrupted everyone's night.

Tell tale shoes
--------------
I've previously told you how we don't wear shoes indoors. So outside the apartment there is a little hallway area, just shared by my apartment and the Korean guy next door. And we leave our shoes there, just outside our doors. I smiled the other morning as I was leaving when I saw a little pair of shoes that were definitely belonged to a woman. I thought it was interesting that you can't get away with much when you leave your tell tale shoes outside.

Come in out of the warm
-------------------------
On Friday's, we take the kindergarten kids out to a playground close to the school. One of the kids' mother arrived, because she was worried that Dylan had a cold, and was out in the heat. She felt he should go back into the air-conditioned school. It was like the opposite of what we'd do in Ireland.

Hairdresser of the week
------------------------
The local hair dresser down the road is Missy Hair Feel.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm not sure if it's my last week in school. We had agreed on 26th September, but nothing has been said. I'll play it by ear. I do want to free myself up for my brother's visit though, so it will probably be an extra week at most.

So until next week,

Annyeonghi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: S. Korea, US Remove Last Hurdle to Visa Waiver

Chuseok

2008-09-17T20:55:00.003-06:00

After the Chinese New Year, Chuseok, or Thanksgiving, is the most important Korean Holiday.

It was a four-day weekend for me; the school was closed Friday and Monday.

The pic of the week shows John from Wales, Melanie and Lyndenne from South Africa, my father, Michael, and Mary from Clare in Clara's for Chuseok dinner on Sunday.

Chuseok
---------------
Chuseok is on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar month, which was, apparently, last weekend. There were traffic jams all over the place as the large exit of Seoul got under way. And there were large traffic jams in Seoul as those left behind made their way to their relatives. The tradition is that everyone goes to the home of their oldest surviving male relative.

It's funny to be in the middle of a holiday that's so important for everyone living here, and which means nothing to me. I was on the bus at the weekend, and everyone was getting on with presents, and laughing, and wishing each other a happy Chuseok. And it made me realise how strange such celebrations are.

We had a gathering in Clara's apartment. There were ten of us for dinner, coming from Ireland, Wales, South Africa, the US, and Korea. I guess you could call it Irish/Korean fusion cuisine. We had traditional Korean rice cakes, along with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. It was an excellent evening and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gifts
--------
Like Christmas, Chuseok is a time to give gifts. I was surprised to be given a gift in school. A big box in a presentation bag. I laughed when I got home and opened it to find twelve tins of tuna and four of spam. Serves me right for making a joke of it.

My fame
--------------
Living so close to the school I rarely go out without meeting kids or their parents. I'm in the supermarket, and I hear a blabbering in Korean with the words Éamon teacher in the middle. I walk through the grounds of the elementary school on my way to work and I'm like a local celebrity.

The other day I was walking past apartments, and I heard bellowed from somewhere in the building 'Hello, Éamon teacher'. I couldn't see anyone, or work out where it had come from. So I just waved at the building in general and shouted 'Hello' as if I recognised who it was.

Favourite headline of the week
-----------------------------------------------------
The fact that Kim Jong Il, the Dear Leader of North Korea, didn't appear for Chuseok, having already missed the country's 60th anniversary celebrations has caused much speculation about his health. My favourite headline was in The Economist - Kim Jong Ill or Kim Jong Well?

T-shirts
-------------
You hardly ever see t-shirts with Korean on them here. They're always in English. And sometimes very bad English. A student came in the other day and proudly showed me his new t-shirt. He wanted me to tell him what it meant. I had to say that I wasn't quite sure. It said Being attracted jazz a motorbike.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. We're still in the 30s here, which is hotter than I expected for September. My brother Enda arrives on holidays in just over two weeks.

So until next week,

Annyeonghi kaseyo,

Éamon

Today's headline in the Korea Herald: Stocks, won resume rally as AIG bailout eases market jitters

Getting fit edition

2008-09-07T18:28:00.007-06:00

It was a quiet week after my return from Japan. I feel I'm getting more used to teaching the kids, and I'm looking forward to a holiday weekend next weekend for thanksgiving.

The pic of the week shows the view of my street from the apartment. It's the main street of Singil Yak-Dong, or Singil Neighbourhood 6. The city is divided into districts, or Gu's, and each Gu is made up of a number of neighbourhoods, or Dongs.

School
-----------
Things are fine in the California Language School where I work. I'm getting more used to teaching the kids, and working out how to keep discipline in the class. It's good experience, and very different from working with adults. Even the kindergarten classes are going well.

Pretty princess soldiers
----------------------------------------
One of the things I notice here is that guys dress and behave in a different way from home. Pink t-shirts are all the rage, and it's not unusual to see guys carrying little bags from shops with hearts or flowers on them. This, coupled with the fact that they're much more inclined to hold hands or put their arms around their friends shoulders, can look a little unusual to westerners.

All Koren men must do two years military service. So there are a lot of military around. I was on the subway last week, and a soldier got on in his combat uniform, standing up looking macho, while carrying a pink shop bag with rope handles and pictures of a Barbie look-alike and a horse, which said Pretty Little Princess.

Weather
--------------
The weather has really been beautiful. For monsoon season, there was relatively little rain, certainly by Costa Rican standards. There have been some times that it was very hot and humid, but this week it's been beautiful, and I imagine it will be good for the rest of September. The forecast for this week is sunny every day, except Thursday, when it will be cloudy. Temperatures will range from 31c today to a chilly 25c on Friday.

Getting fit
------------------
I'm currently working on my fitness, having let it slide since moving away from the pool in Heredia well over a year ago. I've started running, of all things. Well, mostly walking, but introducing a little more running each week. The plan is eventually to have a decent run 4 times a week. It's both for fitness, and to strengthen my formerly broken leg, which has not responded well to my more sedentary lifestyle over the past year.

I go to the beautiful local park, Boramae park. There is a 600m track, and in the evenings it's got about 200 people walking around it. To run I have to weave my way in and out. But when I go on a weekend afternoon, it's almost deserted. The Koreans definitely prefer to keep out of the sun.

The park is really beautiful, and I'll miss it when I move.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I have two four day weeks back to back, as we have Friday and Monday off for 추석 (Chuseok), the Korean Thanksgiving festival. I'm on my Monday lunchbreak as I write, so I'm just off for some ramen before heading back to school.

안녕히 가세요

Annyeonghi kasayo

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Times: Education Spending Growth Hits 5-Year High

Japan

2008-09-03T18:22:00.005-06:00

Well, I'm back from my trip weekend trip to Japan. The fact that the Prime Minister resigned as soon as I left is unrelated to my visit.

Fukuoka, the city I went to, was a bit disappointing in terms of photo opportunities, so I've gone back to a photo from the Changdoekgung palace here in Seoul. It shows the Buyong-jeon pavilion in the secret garden.

Visa run
--------------
I am here 3 months now, so I had to go to Japan to get my passport stamped. There were no problems with immigration, and I'm now ok until the 30th November.

Japan
----------
The easiest place to go to do a visa run is Japan. I checked out the cost to fly, but the tickets were very expensive (come back, Ryanair, all is forgiven. I'll even bring my own oxygen mask). So I booked on the KTX high speed train to Busan, and the Kobee Jetfoil to Fukuoka, Japan. It was a very early start on Saturday, I got the 5.25am train.

I was alarmed on the Jetfoil to read the subtitles on the screen during the safety announcement, when it said "We are making an excuse in the event of an emergency".

Fukuoka
---------------
I should have read more about Fukuoka before I went. I thought it was a ferry port, so I was expecting something like Holyhead. In fact, at 2.5m people it's a much larger city than Dublin. However, there was nothing remarkable about the area I stayed in. I brought my camera, but I realised that everything just looked like Korea.

It was much cheaper than I expected Japan to be. I had a lovely Indian meal, a curry, rice, nan bread and a beer, and the cost was €14.

One of the main things I noticed on arrival, as I walked from the ferry terminal, was that I kept seeing people in 'made up' jobs. I passed a group of 15 youths sweeping the already clean pavements. And when I got to the pedestrian crossing there were two senior citizens with glowing orange batons to guide me across. This despite the fact that the crossing already had traffic lights. When the lights went green, the elderly guy on the far side stood out, shouting at me with a megaphone, instructing me to cross. I thought I was on some type of Japanese game show.

Gift boxes
-----------------
I was amused when I went to my supermarket yesterday. Next week is Thanksgiving, which is a major family celebration. Outside the supermarket they have a large display of gift boxes. There are pretty boxes with alcohol and glasses, chocolates and sweets, and bathroom toiletries. But what caught my attention was the beautifully presented boxes wrapped in bows and containing a bottle of canola oil, six cans of tuna and three of spam. I'd be so bowled over by such a gift.

Funny sign of the week
---------------------------------------
Soree Ear Clinic.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm just on my lunchbreak, and I'm heading back to work now.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Herald: Won (the currency) extends loss, stocks rebound

Still working

2008-08-25T07:25:00.004-06:00

Yet again I thought I was finished in the school only to have it all changed completely.

The pic of the week shows the view from my window, as the evening sunlight catches the apartments opposite. The brown area behind the trees is a soccer pitch which I overlook.

School
-----------
Everything is a bit disorganised at the school. I went in on Friday, for my 'last day', and then the asked me if I'd stay another month. They've guaranteed me work up to 26th September, and 'maybe longer', so I decided to stay.

I have had other offers, but I'm not that mad about working with kids, and I am going to look for a university job. Most university recruitment is in February, so I'm just looking to do temporary work until then.

So all of this means a quick trip to Japan this weekend, because my visa is up on 4th September.

Olympics
---------------
The kids asked me how Ireland was doing in the Olympics. This was before the boxing medals, so we had a grand haul of zero. They fell about the place laughing. "Are you not in it?" they asked. I said we were, we're just not great without the drugs. Well, no, I didn't say that.

It's been difficult to catch any athletics on the Korean TV coverage, as they concentrate on sports that feature Korean athletes. So it's lots of table tennis, badminton and taekwondo.

I was out walking the other night, and I could hear lots of cheers all around from the various apartment blocks around me. It was South Korea's surprise win against Cuba in the baseball final. They've done really well, and have ended up in 7th place on the medal table.

Hangeul
-------------
Hangeul, or 한글, is the script used to write Korean. It looks scary, but it's actually quite phonetic. It's made up of symbols for consonant sounds (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ) and vowels (ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ,ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ). They combine by stacking them in boxes for each syllable, so you get something like 소유진 비하발언.

As it's phonetic, I've learned off the symbols, and can now read what it says. I may have no idea what it means, but I can say it. You often discover that the words are English. Like ai-i-di kon-sul-ting is ID Consulting, and outside my apartment, the ta-i-uh sign is tyre.

I can read the train stations now, which is probably the handiest use of it.

Western names
--------------------------
When I lived in Dublin, I didn't like that all the Chinese had western names. I didn't understand why people should have to change, and take names so removed from their own culture. But, I have to say that in teaching, I'm really glad of it. Korean names are so difficult, so classes of Harry, Sam, Danny, Sue, Sara (1), Sara (2) and Sara (3) (Sara is popular) are so much easier. You also get to name the new students, so you feel like they're yours.

Koreans have problems with L and R, because it's more of a blend between the two in Korean, so whoever named one of my students Lara must have been having a laugh. They say Rara, Lala, Rala, and everything in between. When I call her name she never realises it's her.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I've been struggling to book the trip to Japan this weekend. But a Korean friend of Clara's in working on it now, so I plan to go by train and ferry to Fukuoka on Saturday.

Until next week,

안녕히 가세요

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: S. Korea, China to Expand Military Exchanges

Liberation day

2008-08-17T21:22:00.005-06:00

Friday was a bank holiday here. It was Liberation Day, which marks the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.

The pic of the week shows my apartment building. My apartment has the three windows just under the black mansard roof and to the right of the tree.

Endgame in the school
---------------------------------------
On Tuesday, they told me in the school that the new teachers were arriving at the weekend (I'm just a temporary replacement until they get here). This just gave me two days notice at the school, as Friday was a holiday, and meant leaving the apartment on Sunday. However, by Friday all had changed. They weren't coming this weekend, and so I've had a reprieve.

The Road to Nowhere
-------------------------------------
On Thursday, they invited me on a school trip on Friday, the bank holiday. I was told we were meeting at 7.20am, going for dinner and would be back by 9. I assumed they meant breakfast, and thought that it was us taking the kids away. It turned out that it was an away-day for the teachers, and 9 meant 9pm. We met at 7.20, left at 7.30 in a minibus, and headed into the most enormous traffic jam of my life.

We crawled out of the city, as all 12 million people seemed to have chosen to leave at once. Our destination was 1 and a half hours away. But with the traffic, it took us 10 hours. I'll repeat that, 10 hours. In a minibus. To do a journey that usually takes 90 minutes. We arrived just before 5.30pm having left at 7.30am. It was a nightmare. I honestly couldn't believe that no-one suggested turning back. It seems the Koreans are not for turning

When we got there, it turned out to be a picnic by a river. We had a good evening, but it wasn't remotely worth the 10 hour journey. We left for the return journey at 11.30, and I was back here at 1am.

The Wolfhound
-------------------------
The Irish bar in Itaewon is called The Wolfhound. They show all the GAA matches, which are on at 10pm or midnight. So we went down on Saturday to watch the annihilation of Dublin by Tyrone. The pain of the defeat was made worse in the bar by the sheer glee of the representatives of the other 31 counties. And the of the Koreans, it has to be said.

My favourite part of the night, though, was when An Nuacht came on afterwards, just before the link was cut. It started with a big picture of Ronnie Drew, and Clara said loudly 'Oh my God. Fidel Castro is dead'.
------
Well, that's it for this week. There's probably just one week of the school left, and I'll use the time to search for a permanent job. I feel a bit better about the school, because the other teachers told me on the away day that the kids really love me. Plus the kinder class this morning didn't go so badly. I even managed to keep most of them in the classroom.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: Korean Duo Wins Badminton Gold

Hi Seoul Festival

2008-08-11T20:56:00.003-06:00

The weather for the past week has been great. It's been very hot. Sunday was 35 degrees, but felt like 42, apparently. All last week, it was sunny with blue skies. It rained a little yesterday, and it's been a little cooler since.

The pic of the week shows Clara, Norah and Sarah at the Hi Seoul festival which we went to on Sunday.

Hi Seoul Festival
----------------------------
This is a free festival put on every year in a park by the Han river. Clara prepared a picnic and we had a fantastic day. There were traditional bands, people on tandems, people with homemade planes crashing into the Han, gymnasts spinning under hot air balloons, jazz, brass bands, and it ended with a couple of very spectacular shows on the main stage. One was a macnas-type display with huge fish puppets and musicians playing violin and guitars while spinning around the stage suspended on wires. Then there was a monster ballet, where the story was told with a mixture of dancers and JCBs, with the ballerina's and JCB drivers taking the applause together at the end. The opening ceremony of the Olympics wasn't in it.

The Korean War
---------------------------
Before I came here, M*A*S*H was the only thing I knew about the Korean war, and it turns out that that was really a parody of Vietnam but they had to change the location. I've discovered a little more about it now I'm here, mostly
from a trip to the war museum. At the end of World War II Korea had been liberated from Japan by the Allies. Russia controlled the North, above the 38th parallel (the 38 degrees north latitude line), and the US controlled the South. Both put governments in place. Then in June, 1950, the North invaded the South in a surprise attack. The superior forces of the North quickly gained control of most of the South, until a UN force drove them back. After a period of gains and losses for both sides the South then got the upper hand, and gained most of the territory in the North. Then Chinese troops poured across the border and fought on the side of the North.

Eventually both sides were in stalemate, and a de-militarised zone, the DMZ was set up, and that remains the border between the two states. Officially, the war is not over, and both sides are on ceasefire since 1953.

So older people here lived through the war. Seoul was evacuated twice, and people had to live in refugee camps in Busan. Now the living conditions between the wealthy South and impoverished North are incredibly different.

On the city tour, they refer to Korea as the world's last remaining divided country!

They've tried to get closer, particularly during the administration of the last South Korean president. Tourists can even go into certain parts of the North from the DMZ. A couple of weeks ago, though, a woman from Seoul was on a tour in the North, and was shot by a North Korean soldier in unexplained circumstances. So tensions right now are higher.

Bush was here during the week. There were demonstrations both pro- and anti-, but the heat seems to have gone out of the American beef issue.

Bakery bag of the week
----------------------------------------
I came home the other day from the bakery, and noticed this written on the bag: This fresh dessert with original goodness and flavor that something delicious for every one and sweets make a very special. So there.
-----
That's it for this week. Work is going fine, except that the kindergarten classes are doing my head in!

So until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline from The Korea Herald: Park Tae-hwan wins silver in 200-meter freestyle

2008-08-03T04:21:00.003-06:00

Folks,

I'm writing on a really beautiful Sunday evening. The sun has shone all day, and I was out in the local park earlier. It was very hot, but now I have my fan on and it's cooler. The weather has alternated between hot days and some really rainy days. Like everywhere I've been, people tell me the climate has changed.

The pic of the week shows some 'soldiers' (or actors) from the changing of the guard in Deoksu Palace. They're inside the palace on a break while the main ceremony goes on outside.

Job
-----
Things are going fine in school. This was a three day week, because the kids were having their 'summer vacation'. Although at only 2 days it's nothing to write home about. Our type of school is called a Hagwon, and is a private school that kids go to after their regular school. I'm enjoying it, but I don't know that the kindergarten level would be something I want to continue. I was doing The Hokie Cokie Song with them the other day, and while on 'you put your left arm in, your left arm out' I was thinking; remember, I've got an MBA!

Beef Protests
-----------------------
When I arrived there were protests against the decision to lift the ban on American beef. It's a nation very prone to protests. They had candle-lit vigils at the city hall. The reason is that they are sure they'll get CJD because of Mad Cow Disease (or Crazy Cow Sick, as one of Clara's students called it). The president has had to sack government ministers and reshuffle the cabinet, and they have put some restrictions on the imports. The protests have died down now, but Bush is here this week on his way to the Olympics, and I expect it's going to heat up again.

The Subway
---------------------
There's an amazing subway in Seoul. It's got eight lines that they criss cross the city with hundreds of stations, so you're never far from one. What amazes me is that it was only started in the 1970s, but you'd think it was as old as the London Underground. It's also very cheap. It's 45 minutes from Clara's to here, and that costs just 63c. You can get a virtual money card, called t-money, which you load with cash on a machine in the station. You just place it near the card reader as you go through, you don't even have to take it out of your wallet. The cards can also be used on the bus. If you transfer from subway to bus you're not charged on the bus, as it's a continuation of the journey you've paid for.
------
Well, that's it for this week. I'm back at school in the morning, so I'm going to take things easy tonight.

So until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline on The Korea Times: Koreas Engaged in War of Rhetoric

Working with Cinderella

2008-07-27T01:00:00.003-06:00

Well, apologies that I haven't updated you for a few weeks. I've had computer problems.

On the positive side, I've got a temporary job while I sort out the situation with my visa. It comes with an apartment, so I have my own place, for now at any rate.

The pic of the weeks shows the three of us who lived together until I moved. I'm with Clara and Norah at The Wolfhound Irish bar on the night of Norah's birthday.

Computer problems
----------------------------------
Our internet connection in Clara's flat was always dodgy, because we were just picking up a signal from outside. But then I had a problem with my computer as well, and I had to get it fixed. It's a new PC, and is under warranty, but I would have had to send it back to Ireland, and been without it for weeks. It cost nearly €160 to fix.

New Job
--------------
Norah sent me an email from a recruitment agency that were looking for someone as an emergency replacement in a school in another part of Seoul. I got onto the agency and they set up an interview. I met the head teacher, Scarlet, and the boss, who believe it or not is called Cinderella. I find it so difficult to take it seriously when people are telling me things like 'I have to get a medical for my visa, and Cinderella is going to pay half the cost'.

I'm teaching kids, 80 minutes Kindergarten in the morning, and 4.5 hours Elementary in the afternoon. I've never taught kids, and I thought this would be a good way to try it out. It's just for 2 months. If I don't like it, I'll look for something else as my permanent job.

Apartment
-------------------
The great thing about the job is that in addition to relatively good money, there is an apartment. I'm in the area of Sinpung, which is south of the Han river, and about 50 minutes from Clara by subway. The apartment is fine. It's 3 minutes walk from the school, and has two bedrooms, internet and cable TV. I moved in on Wednesday, so I'm still exploring the area to get to know my new surroundings.

Visa
-------
I'm still getting conflicting opinions on the visa situation, but my own feeling is that I'll still have to return to Dublin. My first step is to look for a permanent job, which I will start this week. Then I'll need to talk to my prospective employer about how we will handle the visa.

Strange English
----------------------------
One thing I've noticed is how funny some of the English is that you see on signs, menus and t-shirts. Near my new apartment there is a hair salon, with the sign on the window 'Gabriel Hair - for the glory of the lamb'!
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm heading off now to go over to Clara's, because my father is just back from a month in Ireland.

Talk soon,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Times: 2nd-Quarter GDP Growth Falls to 4.8%

A Spanner in the Works

2008-07-07T01:58:00.003-06:00

Well, it was all going so well, there had to be a spanner in the works somewhere. I knew that I've have to leave Korea to apply for my visa. The only problem is that now I've discovered where my application has to be made from. Dublin.

The pic of the week is the pagoda in the lotus pond at Gyeongbuk Palace here in Seoul.

The Job Hunt
----------------------
I was talking to the recruiter who made contact with me before the last post. In the middle of the conversation, he asked me if I knew I had to go back to Ireland to get my E2 visa, the one for foreign language teachers. I nearly fell off my chair. I'd never heard it. I talked to a few people over the weekend, and they all assured me it couldn't be true. But I've checked it out, and it seems to be. So once I get a school I'll have to try to negotiate with them over the air fare. Most schools will pay for people to travel from their country to Korea, and then either fly them home at the end of a contract, or give them a round trip if they're staying. So I might see if I can get the round trip up front or go halves on the fare or something. I just wish I knew it a month ago!

They also told me I needed the original copy of my degree (which I have) and a police report to show that I have no convictions (which I have - the report, not the convictions) and the transcripts from my university (I didn't even know what they were). He explained that the transcripts are the details of your coursework and results during your degree. I have been on to Trinity about getting them, and they'll take a couple of weeks. They have to be in a sealed envelope, with a university seal over the actual envelope seal, and if they're opened before they get to immigration they're invalid. They're certainly taking no chances.

So, this has put a delay on getting a job for now. Once I know that the transcripts are in the post I'll start applying. In the meantime I'm checking the websites to see what's available.

Getting used to Korea
-------------------------------------
There are a few things that I'm just getting used to. The first is that talking Spanish to Koreans doesn't achieve anything. Obviously my brain is wired with the assumption that if people don't speak English, the foreign language is Spanish. I've been saying si, no, and gracias since I got here.

Another cultural difference is that you take your shoes off everywhere. In anyone's house are apartment, old style restaurants, temples and palaces, off they come. I have a pair of laced trainers, and I'm going to have to get something that's easier to put on and take off, because I'm taking ages everywhere. I have to say I like that people take them off in a house or apartment, because when you think of it we're all bringing dirt in from the streets on our shoes.

Seoul Tower
---------------------
One of Clara's friends is a guy called Conor, from Belfast. His mother and sister were here on holidays, and just left on Sunday. On Saturday night we went with them to the revolving restaurant in Seoul Tower. It has a wonderful panoramic view of the city, and does a full 365 degrees over the three hours that the multiple course dinner is served. We arrived at 7pm, and left at 10, so we had seen the city change from daylight to the beautifully lit city at night. This is truly a night city, and the transformation is spectacular. I'd highly recommend it to everyone that visits the city. At 87,000 Won it's way more expensive than any meal I've had since I came here. But when I worked it back to euro it was less than €54, which given that we had lots of courses, a seabass main course and plenty of wine, is probably cheaper than you'd get in most restaurants in Dublin.
------
Well, that's it for this week. I've just bought a fan to cope with heat and humidity. My computer says it's 28 degrees, but feels like 32.8. I wonder how it knows.

Until next week,

Annyong,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korean Times: President Lee Replaces 3 Cabinet Ministers

Trip to Busan

2008-07-03T04:01:00.004-06:00

Folks,

Greetings from Seoul on a sunny evening. It's 27 degrees, with humidity at 69%. Yesterday, it was lashing rain, with humidity at 100%, so this is a lot better. We are heading into the monsoon season, so I can expect more rain and higher temperatures.

The pic of the week is taken from the Busan tower, and shows the view over the port area of Busan, where we were last week.

Apologies for the delay in this weeks email, but we don't have an internet connection in the house, so we have to rely on picking up a signal from outside, which isn't always available. I know I'm also behind in replying to emails and Facebook messages, so please bear with me!

Busan
-----------
Clara had a few days off, so we headed to Busan on the high-speed KTX train, which travels at 300kph. The journey is 3 hours, and we arrived on Saturday night. We met up with Paul, who I worked with in Costa Rica, and his Costa Rican girlfriend, Esperanza. We stayed in Haeundae, which is where Paul and Esperanza live, and the most popular beach in Korea. It wouldn't be the best beach in the world. It's fine, but it makes me think that beaches are not the strong point of the Korean experience.

It was also much colder there than in Seoul. I had to wear my jacket out every evening, which I don't do here.

We stayed at a love motel. They're popular here because most young people live at home, and it's difficult to have somewhere for your loving. I don't think they're designed for brothers and sisters travelling together, though. The guy on reception seemed most put out even at the request for a room with two beds. That said, the facilities were excellent. It cost just €18 for the room, and we had a PC with internet access, a TV and DVD player with a DVD library downstairs, coffee and water, and a large jacuzzi bath!

First impressions
------------------------------
My first impression of Korea is how safe it is. Having come from Costa Rica where everyone is so crime conscious, it's amazing to come to a city where people leave down their bags to go off to look at timetables in the train stations. I saw a guy unloading boxes of trainers to a shoe shop, and he just left the boxes piled outside on the footpath while he transferred them into the shop. People leave mobile phones on tables, I took a beer from a fridge at an outdoor food stall, and practically had to wake up the owner who was dozing in front of a TV. Girls travel alone through the streets late at night without a concern.

The other thing you notice is how technologically advanced it is. The city lights up at night in neon and huge TV-screen style advertising hoardings. On the subway almost everyone is glued to some sort of technological device, reading email, playing games, accessing internet or watching video. I'm in my element with my little iPod which I was normally too shy to use in public in case it looked like I was showing off.

Job hunt
---------------
Before I'd even started looking for a job this week I was offered one. It's teaching elementary school kids, and it's located a little out of the city. The pay is on the lower end of what I've been told to expect, but it includes accommodation. The recruiter said that the school is looking for an emergency replacement, and that I could take it for the moment while I got something else. I decided not to take it, because I've only just started the job hunt, and I feel that I should know more what's on offer before making a decision. It would be perfect if I needed to work straight away, but I'd rather put my energy into getting the right job. And I have enough money to tide me over for the moment.

Social life
----------------
The social life here is certainly hectic. The bars open all night, and there have been many weekend nights that we've been home well after sunrise, at about 7 o'clock. I'm realising that at my age it's difficult to sustain that for too many nights on the trot, but I'm enjoying it all the same. After the busy weekends, I like to have a quiet week, and some nights I've even managed to do it.
-----
That's it for this week. I'm planning a quiet weekend, with a rooftop barbecue at a friends house on Saturday, if the rain holds off.

So until next week,

Annyonghi kaseyo,

Éamon

Yesterday's headline in The Korean Herald: Consumer Prices Jump to 10-Year High

Seoul, South Korea

2008-06-21T03:37:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm finally on my travels again. Having spent nearly 6 months in Ireland catching up with friends and family. I'm now in Seoul, South Korea, my new home for the next year at least.

I'm in my second week here now, and only beginning to get into my routine. It's a very large Asian city, and seems very far, not just geographically, from either Ireland or Costa Rica.

The pic of the week shows the view of Seoul across the Han River. It's early evening, and you can see the evening sun on the river reflected off the buildings opposite. You can also see the Seoul tower on the green hill, Namsan, which is my landmark for getting my orientation around the city. I'm staying with my sister Clara and we live quite close to that tower.

Ireland
-------------
I really enjoyed my time in Ireland. I thought I was just going to be there for a couple of months, but ended up staying almost six. It was a relaxing time. I sorted out a lot of things to do with my personal belongings, my finances and just generally organised my affairs. I tried working as a freelance writer, but I didn't really enjoy it. So, for now, I've decided to forget about earning money from writing, and just giving myself the freedom to write and see what I enjoy writing about.

I spent most of my time in Ennis, staying in my mother's. It was a very relaxed time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually didn't get to spend as much time in Dublin as I would have liked. The disadvantages of not having a house there that I have access to. So I ended up seeing far less of my Dublin friends than I had intended. Six months in Ireland sounds like a long time, but my time in Dublin was a lot shorter. So apologies for those of you that I didn't get a chance to meet.

Several friends came down to see me in Ennis, and they were the most satisfactory times for really catching up with people.

So why Seoul?
------------------
I had planned to come to Asia next, and as my sister lives in Seoul (and my father), I thought that I'd stop off here on holidays en route.

However, not working for a year takes its toll on your finances, and I haven't worked since leaving Intercultura almost a year ago. Korea is well known as being the country where English teachers are best paid, and so in the end money talked.

It's also a huge world city, and I've never lived anywhere bigger than Dublin before. The population is, according to different sources I read, somwhere between 10 and 12 million. It's very modern and technological. The city at night is lit up with neon signs and large television screens showing advertising.

I'm currently staying in my sister Clara's flat. It's near the international district of Itaewon, and we've been having quite a social time since I arrived.

Plans
-------
I'm using my first few weeks to get to know the city, and to do the tourist trail. I'm also taking the opportunity to talk to Clara's friends, most of whom are English teachers, about the places they work and what type of schools and jobs are available. English teaching is in great demand, and I'm not worried about getting a job.

Next week I'm going to update my CV, and start to check out the websites listing what's available and the job hunt will begin.
-----
So that's it for this week. If you're one of those people who hasn't missed the weekly emails, and don't want to stay in the loop, I have to say I don't blame you! Just reply saying 'unsubscribe' and I'll take you off the list.

For the rest of you, apologies if I didn't see you or didn't see much of you when I was in Ireland, and I hope you'll find my description of life in Korea interesting as the weeks go by.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korean Times: Lee Replaces Key Secretaries

Water, water, everywhere

2008-03-21T08:57:00.002-06:00

This email is just going to my friends who don't live in Ireland. I don't feel that a description of life in Ireland is going to be too interesting to people living here, so I'll just include them again when I start my next travelling.

Last weekend was St. Patrick's, and the pic of the week is from The Irish Times on Tuesday. It shows kids in the parade in Gort, Co. Galway.

Water water everywhere
------------------------------------------
Well, there is no shortage of water since I arrived back to Ireland. It rains almost every day, and the train line has been flooded for the past couple of months. It's completely submerged, I saw pictures of it in the paper. So if you're travelling from Dublin you have to get off in Limerick and get a bus to Ennis.

It's strange with water in such plentiful supply that you can't drink it. People imagine that the water would have been dodgy in Costa Rica, but it was perfectly fine. Then I move back to one of the wealthiest countries in Europe to find that the water here in Ennis is undrinkable, because there is cryptosporidium in it.

They had this problem before, and put in a temporary filter. But with the heavy rain they've had to by-pass it.

Light in the evening
----------------------------------
When students in Costa Rica asked me what I missed about Ireland I always said the long bright evenings in the summer. In Costa Rica the length of day varies very little over the year. But boy did I choose the wrong time to come back from that point of view. When I arrived it didn't start to get bright until about 8.15am, and then got dark just after 4. Now there's what we call 'a stretch in the evening', and it will be even more after the hour goes forward at the end of the month.

St Patrick's
-------------------
I was in Dublin last weekend, and went to a St Patrick's weekend party on Saturday. It was a great night. There were several people I hadn't seen since I'd come home and it was great to catch up. It ended up being almost a 12-hour drinking session, having started just as Ireland was being anihilated by England in the rugby, and ended up around 5am. A typical St. Patrick's.
---
So that's it for this week. I'm writing on Good Friday, and my brother, Enda, is coming down on the train from Dublin to spend the weekend with us.

So, until next week,

Slán

Éamon

Today's headline in The Irish Times: Opposition says Ahern's fitness to lead now in doubt

Ennis, Ireland

2008-03-08T10:41:00.006-06:00

Folks,

For those of you that don't know where I am, I'm in the lovely town of Ennis, County Clare in the west of Ireland. The pic of the week (not that the mails are still weekly) shows the coastal town of Lahinch on a lovely sunny day. So what have I been doing. What am I planning to do?

Christmas
---------
It all seems very long ago, but I had a lovely Christmas here with my family. My mother had just returned from Africa shortly after I came back from Central America, and we had Christmas in my sister Sharon's, with her husband Niall. It was a lovely relaxed Christmas. It was almost a complete family, apart from my sister Clara who's in Korea.

Trips to Dublin
---------------
I've been on a few trips to Dublin. It's fantastic having the opportunity to meet up with people when I've been away so long. But it's strange going to Dublin when I don't have my own place there. My house in Rathmines is let, so I have to rely on the kindness of family and friends for accommodation. It's also very busy when I'm there. I'm out every night and it's really expensive when you're out every night in Dublin.

Ennis
------
As I said, Ennis is a lovely town, although apart from family I know nobody here. But it's nice and relaxed, and I'm getting plenty of time to work on writing, going through all my stuff I've got stored here (and throwing out half of it), and just catching up with family. The weather is incredibly wet. I know Costa Rica has a lot of rain, but never all day, and never for many days at a time. Still, it's the west of Ireland, and you expect it. I haven't found it too difficult adjusting to the climate. I had many years to get used to it before my Central American years, and you get back into the swing of it very fast. I miss being able to throw on a t-shirt and being set for the day. Now it's trying to get out between showers and donning sweater and jacket and hat to go out. I've had some friends come down to visit, and that's been great, and a much more satisfactory way of catching up than when I'm in Dublin.

Writing
-------
I've found it slow progress on the writing front. I've set up a blog www.startwritenow.com to track progress, but it's all very early days, and it's a difficult career to get started in. I've read a lot of information on the whole area of freelance writing, and most people talk about how it was slow to start, so I'm prepared to give it time.

Plans
-----
I'm going to stay here probably until the end of next month. Then I'll go to Korea, where my sister Clara is living. My plan is to stay for a few months, and then move to somewhere else in Asia. But I'm not going to tie that down, just in case I really like Korea and decide to stay.
-----
So that's a quick update for now. You can email me any time at the usual address. I may do updates on the website (irishduo.blogspot.com), but I won't be sending them by email. I'll give people to opt in to my emails again when I start my next travels.

In the meantime,

Slán,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Irish Times: EU report warns of conflict with Russia over energy issue

Journey Home

2008-02-15T11:22:00.003-06:00

Hi. Remember me? I used to clog up your inboxes on a weekly basis!

Well, I've missed writing to you, and I also feel that I didn't finish the Costa Rica story. So today read the journey home, and next week I'll give you a little update on what I've been doing since.

The pic of the week shows a couple of surfers on Lahinch Strand, where I went for a walk in my first week home. They're a little overdressed by Costa Rican standards.

Heredia
--------
I managed to muscle my way onto the bus to San José from Panama City. I had booked it online, and confirmed by phone, because I didn't get an email acknowledgement. But still when I arrived they had no record of my booking.

Back in Heredia I stayed once again with Joaquín, and met up with the teachers from the school. It felt a little strange knowing that I was going away from these places and people that were so much a part of my life for more than 2 and a half years. On the other hand, it was about the fifth time I'd said goodbye, and so it was high time I actually went.

Leaving Costa Rica
--------------------
I left Joaquín's house, and got a taxi directly outside. As soon as it pulled over the driver said "Hello, Éamon. How are you?" He was an ex-student! I flew from San José directly to Newark. It was a beautiful morning and we flew directly over Heredia, on a little loop I'd seen countless planes do from my balcony. I could see the apartment from the plane, getting my bearings from the swimming pool and football stadium down the road.

Newark
---------
Newark is in New Jersey, but it's practically part of New York. You can see Manhattan from the airport. We arrived in a snowstorm with temperatures of -2 degrees, which was such a contrast. I arrived at lunchtime and the airport closed in the afternoon so we were delayed by few hours leaving.

I was very early to the departure gate, and was there as the Irish accents (mostly Limerick) gathered around me. They were the famous New York Christmas shoppers, and if I was looking for a parody of what modern Celtic Tiger Ireland had become I couldn't have chosen better. Everyone was talking about the malls they'd been to (Woodbury Common and Jersey Gardens), the designer gear they'd got, and how much they'd had to pay for excess baggage. It was all money, money, money.

Shannon
----------
I've only flown into Shannon once before, and it's lovely because you land in such beautiful Irish countryside. We were supposed to land in the dark, but thanks to our late start we arrived at dawn. There were cloudless skies as we approached the coast. I could clearly see the Aran Islands and Mutton Island (I didn't know it, but I looked it up on a map when I got home). I could see the lights still lighting up Lahinch and Ennsitimon. It was beautiful.

Then once inland we were into dense dense clouds. Sharon met me at the airport. We were both true to our emotional McDonagh selves and couldn't speak for about 5 minutes.

Acclimatisation (or for the Americans - Acclimation)
----------------
It's amazing how quickly you adjust to the temperatures, putting on extra clothes, and bringing a jacket everywhere, and turning on the heat. I guess I lived here for over 40 years, and I was in Costa Rica for less than 3, so it wasn't so foreign. The weather in my first week was beautiful. Cold days, but with clear cloudless blue skies. I got about five days of that, before the heavens opened, and the rain (and it's such cold rain) set in, and we've fairly much had it ever since.

Still, for now, it's good to be home.
-----
Until next week,

Slán,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Irish Times: Employers and unions split ahead of new pay deal talks

Panama City, Panama

2007-12-09T12:12:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, here I am. Final week. It's hard to believe. I'm now in Panama City, and it's been so hot the last couple of days that I'm happy to be hiding away in my hotel room with the air conditioning on. The hotel is called Hotel California, and the mat outside the door actually says, Welcome to the Hotel Calfornia.

The pic of the week shows the financial district (El Cangrejo) from the old city (Casco Viejo). I'm not sure what I expected of Panama City, but it wasn't this. It's like Manhattan on the Pacific.

Leaving Ometepe
----------------
I had a really early start on Monday, taking the 5.30am ferry from Ometepe. They gave us life jackets when we got on, and I put mine by my side on the seat. Of course, the next minute I moved and off it went into the lake. A major rescue operation ensued as they scrambled about to recover the lost jacket. And they were ultimately successful.

The journey, while still a little bumpy toward the end, was a lot less rough than the way over, and I had time to enjoy watching dawn rise over the volcanoes.

Transit through Costa Rica
---------------------------
My bus took me to San José, where I had an evening in the city before getting the 11pm bus to Panama City. It was great to be back in San José and knowing where everything was. I was able to go to a good restaurant and then pop out to a cinema. Having started on Monday at 5.30am, I arrived into Panama City at 3pm on Tuesday.

Panama City
------------
As the bus comes in through the city it looks really beautiful, and unlike any other place I've been in Central America. There are big architected buildings with columns and lawns. And the financial district is full of high-rise banks and apartments. There are a lot of banks.

Just as I arrived news broke of the John and Anne Darwin case, the canoeist who faked his death. She had just moved here, and I was never so aware of the city in the news.

However, now I'm here a while and have had a chance to explore I have to say that there are extremes. In the wealthy areas I saw more Lexus cars than anywhere else I've ever been. But in the poorer districts you could be anywhere in Central America, and the wealth doesn't seem to have made any transfer.

The Canal
----------
Of course, the centre of the whole Panamanian economy is the canal. You cross it on the Puente del Las Américas when you come into the city, and although I saw ships out in the ocean there were none in the canal. I thought it would be choc-a-bloc all the time.

But they actually have the flow of traffic north (Pacific to Atlantic) in the morning, then let it clear out, then route the southern traffic in the afternoon. At night smaller vessels go in both directions.

I went to see the operation of the Miraflores locks on Thursday. To build the Canal they created a large artificial lake that stretches from the pacific side to the centre of the country, which is 84 feet above sea level. Then they they cut through the mountains (The Culeba Cut) between the lake and the Pacific. Three massive locks near each coast bring the massive ships up the 84 feet and back down again.

Because of the shape of Panama (like an S on it's side) the canal actually runs from the northwest (Atlantic) to the southeast (Pacific). So the Pacific entrance is actually east of the Atlantic!

The Canal was only handed over by the Americans to Panama on 31 Dec 1999. There was concern that Panama wouldn't be able to run it. But in the 7 years they've increased the transit rate, and have begun construction of new locks which will almost double the capacity and allow much larger ships use it. This extension was approved by referendum last year.

The size of the ships going through is amazing. The largest are called Panamax, and are built to exactly the maximum dimensions of the Canal locks. And they're massive. They pay around $250,000 to cross. And the extension will allow a whole new generation of even larger ships to use it.

Mother's Day
-------------
I dropped my clothes to the laundry on Friday, and they were to be ready Saturday. However, when I went to collect them the whole centre was closed. It turned out 8 December is Mother's Day, a Bank Holiday. Although what bright spark came up with the idea of celebrating Mother's Day on the feast of the immaculate conception I don't know!
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I take the 11pm bus overnight to San José. I'm in Heredia for a couple of days, and then fly to Shannon through Newark on Thursday, arriving Friday morning.

So, until next week,

Slán go fhoil,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: 'Obedience due' in Institutional Protection Service regulation (I haven't a clue what it's about either)

Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

2007-12-03T11:32:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I'm now on Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. I have come to realise that I do seem to be drawn to little islands. Maybe it's because I'm from one.

The pic of the week shows some kids in the town of Altagracia on the north of the island that insisted I take their photograph.

León
------
There was no direct bus from Tegucigalpa to León, so I had the driver drop me off at the crossroads, where I got a hugely overcrowded bus for the last few hours travel. Lots of the local buses in Central America, often called chicken buses, are old US school buses. This one even had a sign up telling us to protect our riding privileges by observing the same conduct as in the classroom.

I had been told that León was perhaps the most beautiful colonial city in Central America. But, for me, it didn't beat Granada which I love. However, it does have a magnificent cathedral, which is the largest in Central America.

Granada
----------
I had been in Granada before, back in March. You may remember that it's where I lost my wallet. As I walked down to the lake I remembered the last time I'd taken that walk, and I could recall so clearly the rising sense of panic as I realised it was gone. And when I got to the bench I had last sat on before I realised the wallet was gone I could remember that the book I had been reading was 'The Secret Life of Bees'.

It's a beautiful colonial city, and I was delighted to have the chance to get back there before leaving Central America. There were processions and bands every night while I was there, because it's the festival of La Purisma, the 10 days leading up to Immaculate Conception.

Ometepe
---------
Lake Nicaragua is huge. When you're on the shore it stretches beyond the horizon, and it feels like you're on the coast. In fact, before the Panama Canal was built many people preferred Nicaragua as a location. Because the Río San Juan is navigable and links the Caribbean with the lake, and then there is just a narrow stretch of land between the lake and the Pacific.

Ometepe island is created by two volcanoes that rise up in the middle of the lake and are connected by an isthmus between them. It takes an hour to sail over, and it was a really rough crossing. In a lake!

It's beautiful here, but most of the activities centre around hiking up volcanoes, or horse-riding. So way too energetic for me. I've been taking it easy, and exploring just by taking the local buses.

Mobile
--------
I still have my mobile phone from Ireland. It's my calendar, organiser and alarm. But in my two and half years plus in Costa Rica it never operated as a phone; it never connected to the cellular network because there was no roaming agreement. I was quite surprised when I turned it on in Guatemala at the beginning of my travels and it leapt into life and delivered me a text message. I was then able to use it throughout Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Belize and Honduras, but after crossing the border to Nicaragua it lost the Honduran signal and I've had no coverage.

So I was amazed on the boat to Ometepe for it to beep with a text message received with a special offer from O2. I wondered where it was getting the signal from, and saw that the network was none other than ICE, the Costa Rican phone company. So just as I'm about to leave they've obviously started allowing roaming!
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm going into my last full week in Central America, and I have my ticket to get a bus directly through Costa Rica and into Panama for 5 days, before returning to Heredia next week for my last few days before flying home.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Wednesday's Headline in La Tribuna: Ortega gives Assembly an ultimatum.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

2007-11-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I've enjoyed my time in Honduras. I am travelling to Nicaragua tomorrow, and I have just three weeks left before I'm home. I've shaken off my cold, and I'm all set for the final few weeks.

The pic of the week shows one of the two wrecks in the harbour of the wonderfully-named town of Coxenhole in Roatán. Which is quite a worrying sight as you arrive on the ferry.

Roatán to Copán Ruinas
---------------------------
It was an early morning start to get the ferry from Roatán, and then I got an up-market bus to Copán Ruinas. We were served with soft drinks and crisps, and we had two films to occupy us on the journey.

The security was much stronger than I've had on a bus before. They checked our tickets against our passports, took individual photographs with a digital camera as we got on the bus, searched our bags, and even cigarette lighters had to travel in the hold.

Copán Ruinas
-----------------
The town of Copán is a lovely little cobbled town, and you can walk out to the ruins, which are just a kilometer away. The weather was really beautiful.

The ruins themselves are less dramatic than either Tikal or Chichén Itzá, because they're on a smaller scale. But they have very rich carvings on the stones and that's impressive. There is a large hieroglyphic stairway, where the steps have hieroglyphs telling the entire history of Copán. However, it's covered with a canvas roof to protect it from the elements, which diminishes the impact.

There are a number of tunnels which run under the ruins. They cost the same amount again as entry to the ruins (€10), and my guidebook said that they weren't worth it. But when I was going around, I found an unguarded door, and nipped in and had a good wander around. I could hear the footsteps of the guard trying to find me, and I pleaded ignorance when he did.

Tegucigalpa
-----------
I stuck with the same bus company and again had two films for the
journey to Tegucigalpa. As we left Copán they showed 'Apocalypto', which was very appropriate having just visited my third and final Mayan site. It did make me wonder when I saw decapitated heads rolling down the steps I'd sat on.

Tegucigalpa isn't really on the tourist map. Even the taxi driver was amazed that I planned to stay a day. He'd assumed I was heading straight to Nicaragua in the morning.

My hotel strategy is the same in every location at this stage. I choose one from my book, and head there by foot or taxi. I pretend I have a booking, which stops taxi drivers or touts plaguing me about other hotels. If I like it, I check in. If I don't I wander around to find a better one. I was arriving later than usual in Tegucigalpa, it was after 7pm.

The hotel I'd chosen was booked out, and they redirected me to another. They showed me two rooms, both with bathrooms infested by cockroaches. I told her I didn't like them. 'But they're everywhere,' the girl replied. I could see that. So I was back out on the street trying to find somewhere else. It took a while.

My book is 'The Lonely Planet Guide to Central America on a Shoestring'. It's great for finding cheap places. The only problem is that it only has basic places, so if you decide to go a bit more upmarket, which I was prepared to do wandering around he dark streets of a strange city at night, they don't list them. It's strange to find yourself asking 'You don't have anything a little more expensive?'

I tried another place which was full. They directed me to another which only had room in a shared dorm. They told me that there was another hotel, but that they charged 300 lempira a night, as if this was extortion and I couldn't possibly afford it (€10.60).

It's ok, the bathroom is spotless, and remarkably cockroach-free. I had a wander around the city today, and there isn't much to see. But it was nice to take it easy, and organise my bus to Nicaragua for the morning.
-----
So that's it for this week. I've been travelling for eight weeks now, and I really miss having a base. I feel like I'm just wandering from hotel to hotel, and I'd love to have an apartment that I could just go back to for a week. It makes me look forward to getting back to Ireland all the more.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in El Triunfo: Premium petrol to rise by 6 lempira

Roatán, Honduras

2007-11-17T18:45:00.000-06:00

Folks,

And so now it's four Caribbean islands in four weeks, given that four weeks ago I was still on Isla Mujeres.

The pic of the week shows sunset on my last evening on Caye Caulker.

Journey from Belize
---------------------
It was an early start to get the 7.30 boat to Belize City, and then the bus to Punta Gorda in the very south of Belize. I arrived about 6pm, and stayed overnight.

The next morning, I was down to the ferry to get the small boat that would take us to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. The crossing was quite rough. It was a small fast boat, so it thumped over the heavy waves, and I could see my rucksack up front going into freefall every now and then. There was a group of six American Christians, clad in Missionaries of John Paul II and pro-life t-shirts. So I figured there would be enough prayers going on to keep us all safe.

Two borders
--------------
At the dock we were met by lots of taxi and minivan drivers, offering to take us across the border. A guy on the boat had told me that I could go with him and his cousin for 75 quetzales (I can't remember the rate, but about €6.50). He told me it would be relaxed and comfortable. But when I got to the clapped out car it looked like it didn't even have springs. So I headed over to the Christians who were negotiating a 50 quetzales fare on a minivan, so I joined with them.

We had to go through Guatemalan immigration, drive 20 minutes, Guatemalan emigration, drive 10 minutes, Honduran immigration. From there we picked up a bus going to San Pedro Sula, the next big city.

From San Pedro Sula, I got another bus to La Ceiba, the port where boats go for the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras. That completed two days of quite hectic travel.

Currency confusion
---------------------
I didn't know the rate of the Honduran Lempira, so I asked one of the Christian group, and she told me the rate to the dollar was 18.80. I knew that the dollar was €0.68, so I calculated a rate.

When I got to La Ceiba, my hotel was €15.60 a night. But it was a dive. I tried the hotel next door, which was €38.60, and out of my price range. So I stayed in the cheaper one.

I had dinner in a fairly ordinary restaurant, and again it wasn't cheap. I was surprised, because according to my guidebook, Honduras was to be one of the cheaper countries I'm visiting.

Later, I was in an internet café (which was also a bit pricey!) and I looked up the actual euro/lempira rate. It was more than double the lempiras per euro rate I'd calculated. I had multiplied by the 0.68 euro/dollar rate, instead of divided.

So now, my hotel was only €7.15 and matched it's dive status. I moved to the more expensive one, which was now only €17.60 and was perfect.

Roatán
--------
The Bay Islands are a group of 3 islands off the north coast of Honduras. They're former pirate islands, and, like Belize, have more of a Caribbean than a latino feel to them. In fact, from Belize down to Costa Rica, the places I've been on the Caribbean seem to have much more in common with each other than with their own countries. The experience feels more like, I imagine, Jamaica than anything Spanish.

Roatán has quite an international feel. There are people of all nationalities, some of them living here. There is a huge range of restaurants, Indian, Thai, Swiss, Vietnamese and Mexican. With real Mexican food. Not like the type you get in Mexico.

It's beautiful here, and I have a really nice room in a lovely hotel right on the beach. I had come here to dive, but I've picked up a fairly nasty headcold, and you're not supposed to dive with one. I've taken the chance on it before, but I'm pretty bunged up, and if it's still the same tomorrow I'll skip the diving.

The weather this week hasn't been great. From Sunday, when I left Belize, to today, Friday, it's been overcast and rainy, with just a little bit of sun. It doesn't bother me, but some people who are on short holidays are not too happy.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I think I'm heading back to the mainland on Sunday, then heading to the Mayan ruins at Copán, before heading on down through the capital, Tegucigalpa, to Nicaragua.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: Strong warning from Chavez to the United States at OPEC summit

Caye Caulker, Belize

2007-11-13T18:48:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, I've made it back from Cuba, and I'm now in Belize. I've had a very quiet week, because I'm trying to get back under budget after the Cuban expense.

The pic of the week shows the sea at Caye Caulker, which I think looks like a swimming pool, but it's the actual sea. This is just at the 'split' which I talk about below.

Leaving Cuba
-------------
As we got our taxi out to the airport I took a note of the various revolutionary slogans along the road. They are everywhere as you travel around the country, daubed on walls and lampposts, as well as on billboards (there are no advertising slogans, they're all government messages). These were just on the way to the airport.

Against the threat of aggression Cuba answers: more revolution
The challenge for this generation is to believe
Our ideas are our greatest weapons
Until victory forever
Another victory, countries in favour of the blockade 184, countries against the blockade 4, abstentions 1
Revolution forever
Long live Fidel and Raul
Long live the revolution
When victory comes it is ours
Defend socialism

Cuban motorways
----------------
Driving on the motorways in Cuba is hilarious. Not only are there about 30 people swarming over the road at every junction looking for lifts, but there are potholes, and you rarely see painted lines. People sell garlic, cheese, onions and other produce on the central median strip. So if you want to buy something, you have to stop in the fast lane, and they do.

On the motorways we also saw horses and carts, bicycles and motorbikes going the wrong way, people jogging on the carriageway and cars making U-turns.

Back in Mexico
---------------
I felt immediately at ease when I got back to Mexico. I stayed in downtown Cancún for a day, while I got my laundry done and got ready for travel to Belize. I must be a rare tourist in Cancún that stays downtown and doesn't go to the beach.

Belize
-------
I travelled down to Belize, and it's so strange to be in Central America where the main language is English. A lot of people do speak Spanish, but English is definitely the main one. But I still can't get out of the habit of talking to people in Spanish.

Caye Caulker
------------
I had met a Canadian couple on the bus from Guatemala to Mexico a few weeks ago and they'd fallen in love with Caye Caulker (pronounced Key Cawker). So I decided to try it too. It's a little island out in the Caribbean (my 3rd Caribbean island in as many weeks after Mujeres and Cuba), and it takes about 45 minutes to get here from Belize City.

It's tiny, but beautiful. I love the Caribbean vibe, which is stronger here than anywhere I've been so far, and the accents are fantastic. The sea is so clear, but there isn't any real beach.

The island is now split in two. Hurricane Hattie (I don't even remember it or know when it was) split the island in two, and now there is a channel, known as 'the split' between the two halves. I'm staying in the grandly named 'Tropical Paradise Hotel', but in reality it's a fairly modest affair, and costs less than €14 a night. Who knew that paradise could come so cheaply?

My favourite sign so far: Happy Hour. From 3pm till everybody happy.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm leaving here on Sunday, and travelling to Honduras, which I think will take a couple of days involving buses and boats. I can't believe that I'll be home in less than five weeks.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in Amandla: PUP and UDP go eyeball to eyeball at St. Thomas and Freetown over a sign

Havana, Cuba

2007-11-09T11:34:00.000-06:00

Folks,

We're back in Havana, and flying out tomorrow. I'm flying back to Cancún in a flooded Mexico, and Jack flies back to a wintery Dublin via Gatwick.

The pic of the week shows the Che memorial in Plaza de la Revolución in Havana.

Trinidad
--------
We got lost, of course, heading from Cienfuegos to Trinidad. You just have to build time for getting lost into your plans.

After getting lost we picked up a hitch hiker to help navigate. He asked where we were staying, and when we told him he screwed up his nose, telling us that where we were going the beach was polluted, and that it was much nicer to stay in the city, and that we could stay in his house.

He was really put out when we said that we'd stick to our original plan. We got to Playa la Boca, where we were met with crystal clear water with kids splashing around in it.

We went snorkeling just up the coast, and it was beautiful. Really clear shallow water that went for miles over coral and rock and teeming with fish.

I liked the historical centre of Trinidad, although it was touristy.

Journey to Viñales
------------------
We braced ourselves for the long journey to Viñales, knowing how difficult journeys are. We picked up a very demanding hitch hiker. She told us to turn on the music, asked me to 'go easy' when I went over a pot hole, and told us that our air conditioning wasn't strong enough. When she left I was down to a quarter tank of petrol, and was on the look out for a petrol station.

We drove the whole way to Havana without seeing one. It was now well below empty and had visions of us running out and hitching like everyone else.

We went to a garage in Havana, and the guy directed us to the pump and spoke to us while another guy filled up the tank. I asked him about finding the motorway in the direction of Viñales. He started to give very complicated directions, and then went back inside for more information. A woman who was with him continued with the directions, but said that she knew they were complicated.

He arrived back out, and said his boss said that he could drive out with us to the road, and that maybe we could do the same for him someday if he was ever in Ireland. So he got into the car, and told us the woman was his wife and asked if she could come too.

I was suspicious, but thought that maybe it wasn't far, or that it was in the direction of where they lived. I hoped that this was maybe an example of the friendliness of Cubans that I'd been told about.

They brought us on a complicated journey, and then we emerged on a big road, and they said it was the motorway we were looking for, and they would get out.

Then he asked for 20 pesos for a taxi back for them. That's about €16, and way over what any local would pay for a taxi I'm convinced. It was a pure scam, and ended up in a shouting match. He then said he had 10 pesos, so just needed 10 from us. We ended up giving him 3.

At this stage we just felt that people were attempting to scam us every way we looked. I realised in hindsight that he didn't even work in the petrol station, he just talked to the petrol pump attendant and told him what we wanted. We weren't even on the motorway we wanted. On the return journey we realised that the motorway was just a straight run from the garage.

Later as we got nearer Viñales, we stopped at a junction without a sign and didn't know whether to go left or right, and we had to pick up another hitch-hiker. This guy again tried to get us to stay at his house, and tried to get us to agree to go with him to a cigar plantation the next day. At this stage we said that even if we got completely and utterly lost we wouldn't take another person into the car.

Viñales
-------
The valley around Viñales is absolutely breathtaking. It's formed by limestone hills with steep sides that emerge from the flat red earth. The hills are riddled with caves and we really enjoyed visiting a couple of them.

We went for a drink on the first night, and met an Irish couple, Eoghan and Yvonne, who were just out of Havana and had had the same experience of scams and hitch-hikers. We also talked about how none of us had managed to find the 'party' Cuba we'd heard so much about. Everywhere we'd been was so quiet. We arranged to meet them the next night.

The next night, we met for a meal and a few drinks and had a good laugh. Afterwards, with nothing happening in the town and our restaurant closing, we decided to head to a bar in a cave we'd visited earlier in the day, and which a friend of Yvonne's recommended. Her friend called it the salsa bar, and said it was great fun. We got a taxi, a 1953 Chevrolet, and the driver agreed to drive us out, wait and drive us back.

We arrived, and there was nobody there. Not a soul apart from bar staff. We ordered mojito cocktails, and they arrived with salt in them. They'd mixed it with the sugar by mistake.

They put on music, but there wasn't much we could do with nobody and no atmosphere. We wondered if all the party people were hiding in the caves to come out after the all clear when we'd gone.

A car arrived, looked in, thought better of it and headed off.

We decided to head back too, as there was no point in staying.

Veradero
--------
Our plan had been to go to Maria la Gorda, mainly on the strength of the photographs in the guidebook. But we discovered that there was only one hotel and it was expensive. People aren't allowed to have casas particulares in resorts. So we decided to go to Varadero instead.

We hadn't planned to go there, and it was a crazy route to have to go back through Havana and out the other side again. We drove through the torrential showers of Tropical Storm Noel, before it became a hurricane. It didn't really bother us much, although the streets we drove through in Havana were flooded, and we heard that the east of the country was badly affected.

We got through the city without much problem, but then got spectacularly lost when leaving the city through taking one wrong exit off an unsignposted roundabout.

Eoghan and Yvonne had told us that they calculated their journey from Havana to Viñales would take 2 hours, and 2 hours later they were still trying to get out of Havana.

Varadero is a tourist place. It's on a narrow sandbar that sticks out into the Straits of Florida. You're so close to the US, you can get Key West radio stations. It's currently off season, and most of the people there were Cuban.

We couldn't swim, because the seas were still rough from the storm, but we stayed in a reasonable hotel with mainly Cuban guests, and had a really good few days. The restaurants were actually cheap!

Back in Havana
--------------
We're now back in Havana, and flying out tomorrow. Havana has always been bad news, and we're just keeping our fingers crossed it will be ok this time.

Thinking back over the two weeks, I have to say I'm disappointed. I've looked forward to visiting Cuba for years, and the stories I've heard from anyone that I know who have been were very positive. I thought I was coming to a place that was full of music and party and a people who'd found a way between the extremes of poverty and the materialism of the west.

But I've ended up disappointed. In all my travels I've never had such a strong feeling of being ripped off. Everywhere I go I feel like I have dollar signs over my head, and people are just wondering how they can scam me, or overcharge me, or force me to tip them.

Once that feeling gets in on you it saps your enjoyment of a place, and you end up suspicious of everyone. We were happy to give lifts to people when so many obviously need them. But the Havana scam and the constant hard sell made us stop. In the end I wouldn't even ask someone directions or to take a photo for us, because I'd feel they wanted something in return.

Our saviour has been the casas particulares. Once we got into people's houses we found them open and friendly and generous. And the meals there were excellent. But in any official interactions in hotels, restaurants, car hire office and shops, I found that in general you feel that people don't care and that they're just doing a job.

It's been an interesting experience, and I won't forget it. But we leave tomorrow and, frankly, we feel relieved.

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in Granma: Countries refuse to support Bush's blockade

Cienfuegos, Cuba

2007-11-05T20:52:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Internet café's aren't that plentiful in Cuba, and they're expensive, so I didn't get the emails posted. This is the first week, and I'll follow with the second at the weekend.

I arrived to Havana on Sunday, and met Jack at the airport. He'd travelled over from Dublin earlier the same day, and this is the only part of my trip where I'm not travelling on my own.

The pic of the week shows one of the dancers from the famous Tropicana nightclub which we went to on Tuesday night.

Flight
------
I flew from Cancún by the Cuban airline, Cubana. It was the chicken bus of planes. It was so full, and the seats were so close together they make Ryanair look spacious. Before we took off a fog almost filled the cabin, and I could hardly even see the steward giving the safety demonstration. It was like an 80s pop video.

Havana hotel
-------------
I'd booked our hotel on the internet. At €58 a night, it was more expensive than I've been paying on the rest of the trip. When we got their they said that they were having problems with air conditioning, and were transferring us to a better hotel.

The new hotel was nice, and we had a view of some sort of an oil refinery across the harbour complete with a flame burning off the gas. We were told that if we wanted to stay more nights, it would be €102. So the next day we went around the other hotels in old Havana, but all the prices were the same. They're all government run. Our original hotel was a little cheaper, at €87. We couldn't now get the €58 rate because that's just on internet and you have to book a week in advance. We stayed in the expensive hotel, and because we booked for 3 nights we got a 10% reduction, and so paid €92.

On the second day 2 bars of chocolate that Jack had brought from Ireland were stolen from the minibar in our hotel room. We reported it, and were told that we must have eaten them.

Money
------
My guidebook, the Lonely Planet, advised that the best way to fund your trip is to bring US dollar cash, because credit cards may not work and usually have surcharges.

There are two currencies. The moneda nacional which locals use, and peso convertible, or CUC, which is hard currency, used by tourists, and very sought after by locals.

When I went to change my US dollar cash in the airport I was told there was a 10% penalty on dollars, so the guide book advice was out of date.

Later I went to a bank in Havana, and they told me they deduct 20% as the penalty. She told me the for every $100 they would take $20, then change and charge commission on the remaining $80!

So we trekked around until we found an ATM. My card didn't work, maybe because it's MBNA, an American company. Jack's Irish credit card was fine. He had to make two withdrawals, because of a transaction limit, one for him, and one for me. On Wednesday, authorisation for his card was refused at a restaurant. It didn't work at the ATM either.

We went back to the hotel so he could phone his credit card company to see why it was being refused. For some reason we couldn't dial out on our mobiles, so had to use the phone in the hotel. His 8 minute 47 second call to Ireland cost over €50.

It turned out that the double withdrawal had led them to suspect that the card was stolen, and so they had put a block on it.

Havana
-------
I loved Havana when we arrived first and went through the old town. There are beautiful colonial buildings, and music is playing everywhere. However, when you go past this centre the city is really in decay.

And for tourists it's very expensive. I've been keeping well within my budget for my travels so far. But with the hotel, restaurants and taxis in Havana charging almost Dublin rates I'm going through it fairly fast. Although I'd budgeted more money for Cuba than for any other country, not only am I over budget, but I've also gone through all of my savings from Guatemala and Mexico.

Tropicana Nightclub
-------------------
The feeling of being ripped off was coming at us from every transaction, and so going to the biggest tourist venue, the Tropicana Nightclub, was perhaps not the brightest idea.

It was a whopping €63 each for a ticket, but I said to Jack that if it gave us a night we'd always remember that it would be worth it. And to be honest it was the highlight of our time in Havana. Because we paid our money up front, we knew what it had cost us. There were no hidden expenses or extra charges. Then inside we were given a cigar each, and half a bottle of Havana Club rum, and 4 cokes, all included. We were sitting out in the open air with a beautiful starry sky with the moon over us, and the show was really excellent, with a huge cast of dancers and an impressive set. They even dragged myself and Jack up for the finale.

After the show was over, the coach parties left, but we stayed on, and after a little while the stage descended and became a dancefloor, and a new band came on.

What looked like it could be an expensive mistake actually ended up being the one time in Havana we felt we got value.

Cienfuegos
-----------
We were kind of relieved to be heading out of Havana. But with no road signs escaping is easier said than done. We had a map, but without road signs it's impossible to follow if you don't know where you are. We asked a couple of people for directions but they didn't know.

Eventually we got on what we thought was the right motorway, when two soldiers stood out in front of the car with their hands up to stop us. Assuming it was a checkpoint I stopped. But it turned out they were hitching, so they said they'd help us find where we were going and got in.

At every junction there were loads of people hitching. They would actually swarm out onto the motorway.

We dropped our soldiers off when we took the road off the motorway to Cienfuegos. When we got to the town I pulled in to check my guidebook. In an effort to save money we'd decided to try casas particulares, which are like bed and breakfasts in people's houses. I was looking for directions in the book to where we wanted to stay. As soon as we stopped about 5 people came around the car knocking on the windows and asking us for pesos.

We eventually found our casa, and I have to say it's beautiful. We're on the tip of a narrow peninsula in the Bahía de Cienfuegos, and from the balcony of the house (where I'm writing) you can see the water on all three sides. We had a five course dinner served to us by the woman of the house last night, for just €7.90. And it was beautiful. One of the nicest settings for a meal I've ever had. I feel that we might be saved by the casas particulares, and by getting further away from state control.
-----
Tomorrow we're going to the colonial town of Trinidad, after which we will drive back, past Havana again, to Viñales. We're going to spend our last few days at the beach in Maria la Gorda.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in Granma (the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba): CUBA'S ANSWER. The Elections: a new demonstration of the maturity and political culture of our people

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

2007-10-20T23:50:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I've had a really relaxing week, mostly here in Isla Mujeres, an island off Mexico.

The pic of the week shows El Castillo (the castle) Pyramid in Chichén Itzá. It's so quiet because I got there early.

Chichén Itzá
------------
This is the most famous Mayan site. It was voted one of the new seven wonders of the world in the recent poll, and they're over the moon. There are Maravilla del Mundo t-shirts everywhere.

It's very impressive. I have to say, though, that I was a little spoilt by having gone to Tikal first. Tikal seemed a little more extensive, and also because it's in the jungle you feel like you're discovering it. Chichén Itzá is much more open than Tikal. It's like a big park rather than jungle.

For all these sites I now try to get the earliest bus in the morning, and get there before the crowds, and it was the best way to see Chichén Itzá. It's enormously impressive. There are many pyramids, a large pitch where ball games were played, and many other structures still standing.

When I finished my tour, I came back into the main area, and relaxed and read my book. When I got up to leave, it was like a different place. The tour buses had arrived, and tourists were milling about everywhere. In addition, there were at least a hundred souvenir sellers who had set up stalls all around. I never saw anyone selling anything in Tikal.

Getting around
---------------
One thing that surprises me is how easy it is to travel everywhere. There are local buses going everywhere. Whenever I travel from one place to another, it's really easy to pick up the next leg of the journey. And I'm getting to places quicker than in my plan. I often plan to go from X to Y, stay overnight before going on to Z. But, in practice, when I get to Y there's bus there already going to Z, and I can save the extra overnight.

Isla Mujeres
-------------
I fly to Cuba tomorrow from Cancún, which is why I'm in this region of Mexico at all. There are lots of flights from Cancún, as many people from the States use it to avoid the travel restriction.

I decided to stay in Isla Mujeres, because I read it was less of a tourist resort than Cancún itself. It's a tiny island, 8km long and 1km wide. In fact, at the end of the town just up the street it only takes 30 seconds to walk from the east to the west coast!

It's called Isla Mujeres, or Women's Island, because when the Spanish arrived there they found a painting of the god Ixchel, surrounded by a court of women. It's also an old pirate island.

The water is an incredible turquoise, and it's crystal clear. If you saw it on a postcard you'd think it had been photoshopped. I'm in the middle of the town, but the beach is just at the end of the street. I hired a bike yesterday and cycled around the full circumference in just 2 hours, and that was stopping for a drink halfway.
-----
It's late now. It poured with rain tonight, and the street is flooded. I had to wade out out my hotel with the water up to my ankles earlier. Actually, there is lightning now, so it's some sort of a storm. I am heading to Cuba tomorrow. I get the 9 o'clock boat to Cancún, then a taxi to the airport and a flight to Havana. So I better go and pack.

Until next week.

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Journada: Governors protest at US anti-immigration measures

Tikal

2007-10-14T17:21:00.000-06:00

I'm now in Valladolid, Mexico. I travelled from Guatemala, through Belize, into Mexico on Wednesday.

The pic of the week shows the very impressive Temple I in Tikal. It's 44m high, and the pic is taken from the top of Temple II, on the opposite side of the Grand Plaza, from a height of about 38m.

Tikal, Guatemala
------------------
Tikal was absolutely wonderful. It's the ruins of an old Mayan city. I was staying on the pretty island of Flores, in Lago Petén Itzá in the north of Guatemala. I got an early bus to Tikal, leaving at 6am, and arriving shortly after 7. It was great to go so early, because it was virtually deserted for much of my visit.

You enter via a pathway through the jungle. It was so impressive to see, directly in front of me, the first temple rising out of the jungle. It was like something out of Indiana Jones.
It turned out to be the back of Temple I, or The Temple of the Grand Jaguar, built around 700AD for King Moon Double Comb. I spent hours going around the many temples, pyramids and acropoli (if that's the plural of acropolis). It was a wonderful place to visit, and amazing to see something so impressive with so few visitors.

Throughout there were monkeys, toucans and pisotes, which are animals that travel in packs and are quite like racoons.

A group of three people got onto the bus on the way back. I heard the first girl greet someone 'Howarya, José' in a strong Kerry accent. It turned out they were from Dingle. Also on the bus I got talking to a Canadian couple. They had sold up literally everything they owned in Canada, bought a motor home, and have been driving since 2004, most of that time in Mexico. They have no plans to stop.

Journey to Tulum
-------------------
I got a minibus from Flores to Chetumal in Mexico. This was a 5am start, and we travelled through Belize. I'll be back in Belize later on my journey back south, but it was so strange travelling through Central America with all the signs in English.

I smiled as we passed the Marion Jones Sports Complex in Belize City. I wonder if it's due for renaming.

When we crossed the border into Mexico, a group of us got together to hire a minbus. Some of us were going to Tulum and some to Playa del Carmen, a beach resort further north. I was going to Tulum, because I wanted to see the Mayan ruins there, and also to change direction and head inland in preparation for my visit to the most famous Mayan site, Chichén Itzá.

Tulum
-------
I was a little disappointed in Tulum. It's very much a backpacker town. I checked into a hostel that was recommended in my guide. But I didn't like it. It was basic and dirty, and the it cost €20 a night, which is way more than it was worth. I was shown to my room by Martin from Urlingford.

After just one night, I left to go to a cheaper and better hotel. It still wasn't great, but it was an improvement. That afternoon I went to see the ruins of the old Mayan port city. It is in the most beautiful location. In my guide it said that this was surely where Mayans would have requested a transfer to work, because it's right on the Caribbean. In the middle of the ruins, there is a tiny white sand beach with incredibly turquoise-blue water. It was so idyllic it looked like it was a film set rather than something real.

Valladolid
-----------
I decided to relocate to Valladolid. It's hardly mentioned in my guide, but it's a good location for Chichén Itzá, where I'm going tomorrow. The bus broke down on the way up, so we were an hour and a quarter sitting in the bus waiting for help. I heard the driver on the phone saying 'I have 5 passengers. What will I do with them?'

I kind of dozed off, so I'm not sure if someone arrived, or the driver got it running again by itself, but we were on our way.

I'm much happier here than I was in Tulum. It's an old colonial town, but it's not particularly touristy. It's got a couple of touristy restaurants. But I'm in a lovely hotel for just €16 a night. And when I went out for a walk earlier (on possibly the hottest day of my whole time in Central America) I enjoyed seeing places like the barbers, with a tailor working away on a sewing maching in the corner. Now, this feels like Mexico.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm off to Chichén Itzá in the morning. It's one of the sites that was voted as one of the new seven wonders of the world in that recent poll. But for me, it will have to be truly excellent to be more impressive than Tikal.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in El Universal: Panistas unveil statue of Fox in Veracruz

Panajachel, Guatemala

2007-10-06T19:46:00.001-06:00

Folks,

It's been a busy week. I left Santa Teresa, returned to Heredia, and flew to Guatemala.

The pic of the week shows 13-year-old Pedro, who was my guide in the town of Santiago Atitlán this morning.

Leaving the casita
------------------
On the last day when I told Ariel (the gardener) I was going, he asked if I was leaving anything behind. I showed him some kitchen stuff and he was delighted. Then I told him that if there was anything out with the rubbish he could have it as well.

He eagerly went through the rubbish, and found t-shirts, jeans, and CDs that he was delighted to take. He went off with two packed sacks.

I laughed when I saw him after lunch, and he was walking up the road in a t-shirt with a message emblazoned across his chest 'Is fearr liom buachaillí'.

Heredia
-------
It was wonderful being back in Heredia. It felt a little like going home. I was delighted to meet back with people in the school. A few of us went out for a few beers in my regular bar, El Cholo. It was just like old times when Abraham. the barman, saw me arrive and asked, 'Pilsen Red with a glass of ice?'

Arrival in Guatemala
---------------------
I had conflicting advice on whether to stay in Guatemala City itself, or Antigua - both are close to the airport. Guatemala City is fighting a bad reputation on security, and Antigua is considered 'prettified' and manufactured for the tourist. I hadn't decided where to go, and read up on both in my guide on the flight. I discovered that Antigua was a UNESCO World Heritage site, and that made up my mind.

It's a very pretty colonial city in the shadow of three volcanoes, full of art galleries and not very typical of Guatemala. But I didn't mind spending my two nights there, and seeing all the kids going to school in the morning made me feel that at least it wasn't totally manufactured.

First impressions
------------------
My first impressions of the country are that people are a lot poorer than Costa Rica, but the roads are better. There are also a huge proportion of indigenous people, most of whom still wear their colourful traditional clothes.

They also know how to pack a bus. On the way up here we were like sardines. But everyone was laughing, smiling, and in good form. It was like they were having a day out, although I imagine it was their daily commute.

Lago de Atitlán
---------------
For my first overland journey I've already abandoned my plan and come west to Lago de Atitlán, on the recommendation of a couple of friends.

I'm staying in Panajachel which is the biggest town on the lake. The lake is a beautiful body of water with several towns nestled under two enormous volcanoes.

The country is in the middle of the run-off in the Presidential election, and political posters and billboards are everywhere. It's apparently very close, between the Centre Left candidate Colom, and the traditionalist Pérez, who many fear is too close to the military. I'll be interested in following how it goes after I leave.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I leave early tomorrow to travel north-east to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. After that, I move on to Mexico.

So, for this week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's headline in Prensa Libre: Rotation of senior police chiefs

Adios, Costa Rica

2007-09-29T14:12:00.000-06:00

Folks,

And so to the end of my last week living in Costa Rica. I leave on Wednesday for Guatemala, and although I'll be back once or twice over the next couple of months (I fly home from here in December), I will just be staying for a night or two.

The pic of the week shows the writer at work. Probably my most typical pose (although I usually face the ocean, I just did it this way for the camera). You can see that I'm putting quite a strain on the poor hammock, and lets just say it now bears the scars.

The 'real' Costa Rica
----------------------
One of the reasons that I wanted to move to the coast was because I thought of it as the real Costa Rica. In choosing to come to Costa Rica, the two coasts were a major deciding factor. However, having lived in the central valley and now on the coast, I realise that the central valley is actually the more authentic.

Heredia
--------
Living in Heredia gave me a sense of how real ticos live. I learnt about tico life from my students and I lived a similar life. I used the same markets, shops and sodas. I lived on a nondescript street off the Avenida Central. I woke in the morning to the loud bustle (too loud for some of my guests) of the city getting its early start. I walked to work every day. I went to local bars.

In Heredia, everything is tico run.

Santa Teresa
-------------
I have loved my three months here on the coast. I think I've been happier living in my one room casita than anywhere else I've ever lived (ok, so not having to go out to work helps). But it's not the real Costa Rica.

It has all the beauty in the mountains, the ocean, the lush vegetation and the animals. But in terms of people everything is built around the tourist dollar, or the dollars of people from the States that have moved here. There are big houses on hills overlooking the ocean everywhere, but I don't know any that are owned and lived in by ticos. The supplies in the shops and the menu in the restaurants are all geared towards holiday-makers. You hear lots of English spoken and a large number of businesses are run by foreigners.

That's not to say that it's touristy or pushy. Everything is laid-back and relaxed, and it's a wonderful place to take a break away from it all. It's just that for me, on reflection, life in the central valley is how ticos live.

Looking back
------------
I have loved all of my time in Costa Rica. I think back to getting off the plane in April 05 without place to stay, and looking for a job in which I'd virtually no experience. I sometimes wonder how I had the courage to do it!

I feel I have been incredibly lucky. People tell me they don't believe in luck, and that life is what you make it. But in getting the job in Intercultura, the apartment in Heredia, the casita here, it's just incredible how everything always fell into place.

I have met wonderful people, particularly in Intercultura, some of whom I will always keep in contact with and hopefully meet again.

In particular, I've met some wonderful Americans. The Americans who have chosen to live in a country like Costa Rica working for buttons are very different from the loud, whooping Americans you so often encounter on travels. And they'd make you wonder how George Bush could ever scrape a few votes together.

I will also never forget the beauty and variety in this tiny country. Remember that it's about two thirds the size of Ireland, and has the diversity of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, volcanoes and mountains 4 times the height of any in Ireland.

There are monkeys, egg-laying turtles, sloths, iguanas, geckos, whales and many animals and creatures that I don't even know the names of. Including the green thing that's just landed on my desk. It has six percent of the earth's biodiversity in just 0.03% of its landmass.

Of course there are also earthquakes, scorpions, tsunami alerts and tornadoes.

I've loved my rich experiences here, but I'm sure that there are more to come.

Possessions
-----------
I arrived with one rucksack. It's been supplemented by other rucksack-loads after visits home, things visitor brought from home, and by purchases over 2 years until my stuff fairly filled a 2 bedroom apartment.

Then I had to downsize to what would fit in a car to move here.

Now I have to downsize to what I can carry back on the bus to Heredia.
-----
And so the end of another phase. I'll continue with my mails one a week, but depending on where I am and when I'm travelling the days I send them may become a little erratic.

So until next week,

Pura vida, y adios,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Poll: Better for Yes, but it is a virtual draw

Scorpions

2007-09-22T12:58:00.000-06:00

Hi folks,

Well, I'm heading into my final week, and I'm going to be so sad leaving my lovely casita. I've been so happy here over the months, and it's better, rather than worse, for all the drama.

The pic of the week is a scary view of my latest scorpion, who gave me another nasty sting.

Hidden Scorpion
---------------
The other day I was getting ready to go out for my walk. I finish working about 5 or 5.15, and with sunset now at around 5.40 I'm always in a bit of a dash. I grabbed my bag, lifted it up and put it on the bed. I put in stuff like my book, my camera (just in case the sunset is particularly spectacular), my little iPod thing. When I was ready I grabbed up the bag to put it over my shoulder.

As soon as I touched it, I immediately felt the sting. This time I was awake and alert, so I knew what was happening. It takes about 10 seconds for the full force of the sting to hit you. I was over at the sink to run cold water on it. Unfortunately, at that time of the day there is no cold water, it's warm. It was on the index finger of my right hand, and more painful in a concentrated area like a finger, rather than my leg.

I still hadn't seen the scorpion, but I knew the sting by now. I got the spray, went back, and moved the bag a bit, and sure enough there he was. Lurking right at the back.

I tossed the bag so it went on the floor. He still clung on. I sprayed the bag. Then I saw him move out onto the floor. He didn't seem to be reacting to the spray. I sprayed again. He went into convulsions, writhing around lashing around with his tail. After just a few seconds he stopped. I sprayed again to be sure.

I left him there, but when I came back, put him onto a sheet of paper, and took the pic you see above.

Quad bike
---------
I collected the quad on Wednesday. I want to be able to explore the area a bit more than I've been able to do on foot. Given the state of the roads, I've only been able to explore the beach really.

It was really nerve wracking when I started driving it first. If anything, the state of the roads seems worse on it. Going into the huge potholes full of muddy waters unsure if there are any rocks or stones out of sight is difficult. And when I tried to skirt the edges I was leaning at an angle that made me feel it would overturn.

I'm getting used to it now, and I was able to drive all the way to the end of Mal País yesterday. It gave a wonderful feeling of freedom. But the concentration on these roads, particularly driving back in the dark, is immense.

Thunderstorm
------------
Thunderstorms are not unusual here, and we normally get a few a week. The one on Tuesday night was the closest yet. The noise was deafening and I would literally jump as it hit. At one stage I went to the door with my camera to take a video clip. One of those instantaneous strikes happened when it was so close that the light and sound are together - the only time I've heard something louder than the tree falling - that I jumped in shock, and then afterwards my hand was shaking. You can see the jump and shaking hands in the video.

The Travelling McDonaghs
------------------------
My family are truly on the move at this stage. My sister is teaching in Seoul, South Korea since March, and on Wednesday my mother (who's a Brady!) moved to Nigera, to volunteer for three months. As I travel around between now and Christmas we'll have fun trying to keep in touch. Sharon and Enda are still maintaining a token family presence on the auld sod.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Next week is my last. I'll be throwing out everything I possess during the week in an attempt to travel light!

Until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Waste makes absurd journey to arrive at landfill

Día de la Independencia

2007-09-15T13:07:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I think I've used this title for the Independence day emails all the time I've been here, so this is the third. It's easy to see whether shops, bars and restaurants are tico or foreign owned as I walk up the streets, because all tico businesses, homes, cars and trucks are festooned with national flags.

The pic of the week shows a girl in national costume at the 15 September celebrations for Santa Teresa/Mal País last night. She was part of a group from the local school that gave a display of traditional dance.

Quad bikes
----------
The state of the roads has gradually deteriorated while I've been here. I went into Cóbano on Monday and not only were whole stretches completely in mud, but several parts of the road had completely swept away as well.

I have come to dread walking out after a night of rain, because even in my new plastic clogs (€9 in the supermarket) with grips on the soles there are areas where I'm sliding all over the place. Walking anywhere but the beach requires such concentration.

Because of this, the most popular form of transport is quad bike. They're also called ATVs or All Terrain Vehicles. Most of you will know them, they're like a cross between a big motorbike and a tractor. They're perfect for this terrain. Everywhere you go people are zooming around on them. So I've decided to hire one for a week before I go, and I'll pick it up next Tuesday or Wednesday. It's a bit of an extravagance, but I've lived quite a frugal life since I've been here, and it will allow me explore a bit more before I leave.

The internet cascade
--------------------
As I've said before, by far the most difficult thing for me here is a) not having internet access in the casita and b) the really slow speed of access even in the cafés. On Wednesdays and Saturdays I'm always there for between 3 and 5 hours!

I haven't missed TV at all, but I miss the internet so much. The positive side has been that it's less of a distraction from the writing. But on the other hand I so often have things that I need to look up that it slows the process down a lot too.

My two biggest saviours in all this are two free programs that are fantastic. One is Google Reader, which everyone who uses the internet should try out. You 'subscribe' to any sites you want, and it will bring you any updates from them. So you don't need to constantly visit the sites. For example, I have a feed from the Irish Times. Every story that is in the Irish Times comes into my Google Reader list. I get the headline and first paragraph. Other sites make the full article available. But the real power for me is that you can access it offline. So I plug into the internet on a Wednesday and a Saturday, and it downloads all pages that are updated (to a maximum of 2,000). I carry them home on my laptop, and can read them at my leisure in the evening.

However, there are situations where I realise I want the full story and not just the first paragraph. For this I mail myself the link, and when I go to the internet cafe I bring up the page, select what I want to read, and hit a button that copies the whole pages, pictures and all, into the 2nd fantastic program, EverNote. This allows me to get the full detail that isn't in Google Reader.

The only problem is that all this flow of information (I call it the internet cascade) takes time. For example, Pat Rabbitte resigned on a Friday. I got the headlines in Google Reader on Saturday, and marked many articles for reading in full. On Wednesday, I downloaded these to EverNote. So on Thursday, almost a full week after his resignation, I'm finally able to read the full articles.

Overstaying my visa
-------------------
My visa ran out on 8th, and I should have done a visa run to Nicaragua. But apart from the expense, this would have taken up about 5 days, 2 days traveling there and back, and 72 hours out of the country. So I decided to skip it. I'm flying to Guatemala on the first leg of my travels on October 3rd, and I don't think they'll even check. If they do, I'm leaving anyway so I don't think there should be a problem.

Supermarket notice
------------------
This notice is in my supermarket, Super Costa, this week. Pure Spanglish!

Super Coast communicates all its respectable clients to him who the day 26 of September the supermarket will remain closed by inventory returning to its normal schedule the day 27 of September. Thanks, Atte: The Management.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Just two to go!

Until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Dengue fever reaches epidemic

I'm a writer

2007-09-08T11:31:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I was amazed how quickly everything was cleared up after the tornado. This week has been thankfully less eventful. And I need to update you a little on how things have been going with the writing.

This week, the papers were full of warnings about hurricane Felix. It said there was an alert for the whole country. But I really don't think that on the Pacific we'd get anything but bad weather. Being away from news I don't know what happened with Felix, but the weather's been perfect all week.

The pic of the week shows Ronald and the guy from the restaurant whose name I don't know cutting the tree that fell on the red casita as part of the clean-up.

Tornado clean-up
----------------
On the morning after the tornado I went out for a walk. As I went down the road I realised that the chainsaws I'd heard were actually clearing fallen trees on the trail between the casita and the restaurant. It had been impassable in two places.

Along the main road, everyone was out clearing up. Pulling trees off the road and clearing up their property. The town had no electricity.

I got back at 9.30 and there was a hive of activity around the casitas. Ariel the gardener, Adrubal the chef, Ryan, two friends of Ryan's visiting from the US, Ronald (Charlie's partner), and the guy from the restaurant whose name I don't know, were clearing up. They hacked off all the branches of the fallen trees with machetes, and Ronald then sliced the bigger parts of the trees with the chainsaw. Everything had been removed by 12.30, and the electricity came back at 1pm. It had been gone for 17 hours.

The weather was so beautiful for the clean-up it was hard to believe that it had happened.

The red casita survived really well despite the size and weight of the tree that fell on it. There are just three small holes in the roof and no structural damage. There is a hole in my roof too, but it's giving me no problems, no rain is getting in, so they're going to fix it after I've gone.

I'm a writer
------------
I've made a lot of progress over the past few weeks in terms of my attitude to writing, if not yet the writing itself. I'm getting to like it more and more, and I think in some little ways it's improving. Although, some of the things I've been writing have been terrible!

A couple of weeks back, I read one part of The Right to Write book that says that if you're writing you're a writer. And I'm writing. So folks, I'm a writer. Once I said that in my head it's all fallen into place, and I really feel it's going to work out for me. How it will I'm not sure yet, but it will.

Knock knock
-----------
On the day I had this epiphany, the exact same day, there was a knock on my door. There's NEVER a knock on my door. I thought I was hearing things. It was the girls from the blue casita (this was a few weeks ago). They'd had a few drinks and were looking for matches or a lighter. 'We don't know anything about you,' they said, 'But we know you're a writer and you're writing a book.' I must have put the vibes out.

First article accepted
-----------------------
Then last week I got a mail telling me that the first article I'd sent off had been accepted. It's a gay guide to Costa Rica, and was part of an assignment for the writer's bureau. The assignment required that I send it off too. So, I sent it off to GCN and they've accepted it and will publish it in the next few months. They've asked me to send them 'an invoice as agreed'. I have no idea what that means, because I have no idea of price and nothing was agreed. But I'll work something out.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I only have 3 weeks left in the casita, and I've been making progress on my plans for my travels around Central America, Mexico and Cuba for the remainder of the year.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Health service without medication for colds or pain

Tornado

2007-09-01T12:15:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, the drama just continues here in Santa Teresa. I had planned to write something entirely different this week, but we were hit by a tornado last night and that's got all my attention today.

There are two pics of the week. Both taken this morning (I'm writing on Friday). The first shows the large tree that landed on the red casita, and the second shows the smaller trees that landed on mine.

The start of the storm
----------------------
After a lovely day yesterday, the wind whipped up around 4.30 or 5. Wind is unusual here. There was a windy day before. Well, windy for here, it would be classed as a strong breeze in Ireland. The next day there were branches strewn everywhere, and I remember thinking that they'd know all about it if they got a real wind. How right I was.

At about 5.45 I decided to go in, because things were blowing off the desk. It got worse, and I had to close the windows about 7. There was thunder and lightning, but very light compared to normal. The lights kept flickering on and off as the power supply was interrupted a few times. There is an emergency light powered by battery that is in the casita, so I took it out in case we lost power altogether. That happened just before 8.30.

At this stage the wind was very strong. Even in Ireland this would be really strong. I was imagining the damage it would be causing, but feeling comfortable and safe, lying on top of my bed, reading my emails on the laptop using it's battery.

The first tree
--------------
At around twenty to nine, I heard this incredibly loud cracking sound, followed by an almighty bang. The whole casita shook, and I jumped off the bed and cowered by the bathroom door. Knowing that you should head for a door frame in an earthquake I decided that's where I'd head for almighty bangs also.

It was without doubt the loudest noise I've ever heard while I was inside a house. I was quite sure the casita had been hit by lightning. Then I realised that there had been no lightning. It was just like really loud, up close thunder.

I just stood there in shock, my heart going nineteen to the dozen. After about 5 minutes, the wind died down a little, and I opened the door to see if I could see anything outside. I just got this overwhelming smell of sap and leaves. I came out with my torch, and shone it at the end of the porch, and over the surf board box there was lots of bushy trees and branches blowing about, which had never been there before. I turned the torch to the side, to the roof of the red house, and saw this huge tree lying across the roof. It had cracked along its trunk on impact. You can see the tree in the first picture. But when I saw it first it was still dark and in the wind and rain.

The second tree
---------------
I went back inside. I was frightened, but not petrified. Although the tree had been huge, the casita looked to be still standing. I wasn't sure if branches had gone through the roof. I decided to stay on the couch, which was on the opposite side to where the trees are. All the trees are behind the casitas.

So I'm trying to remain calm, realising that anything else isn't going to help. I did, however, pack my bag. I thought that it was possible that Ronald, Charlie's business partner, might arrive to evacuate me to the big house. Or I thought that the casita might also be clobbered by a tree and I'd have to leave. Either way, I thought be prepared.

The battery had gone on the laptop, so I brought the emergency light over, grabbed a beer, and read my book. My heart went every time the wind got stronger. I was waiting for a tree to come through the roof at any minute. The wind was changing in intensity every few minutes, and you'd hear distant cracking.

At 9.15 a louder cracking sound came, and I knew another tree was falling. There was a clatter on the roof, and I was fairly sure it had hit, but it was nothing like as loud as when the tree hit the red casita. A few minutes later there was another crash on the roof. Whether this was another tree, a branch, or the original tree settling I couldn't be sure.

Aftermath
---------
The wind eased off about 15 minutes later, and I went out with the emergency light, and I could see that there were branches and leaves on top of the casita. I went back in feeling a little easier, because I thought if anything else fell the branches on the roof would have a cushioning effect.

At about 10, the wind died away completely. It was almost eerily silent. I went out again, it was difficult to see the full damage, but I could see that several of the trees had simply snapped completely, the trunk was there, but snapped about three quarters way up, and there was no sign of the top of tree. I had noticed before when I watched the gardener trimming some branches before that the trees are very brittle. There is none of the suppleness most trees have in Ireland where they will bend a lot before they break.

One tree was just a snapped off trunk, and there was a big green iguana clutching the broken top looking up at the rain wondering where the rest of it had gone.

Today
-----
I woke at 6, and headed out straight away, to see in the daylight what had happened. The whole place looked like a disaster. There were branches and leaves everywhere. The plants had been blown over. The full size of the enormous tree on the red casita was clear. The front of the casita and its porch was completely hidden in foliage of the top of tree.

I walked up the steps, and saw that some smaller trees had fallen onto my casita, and also that there was a tree on the blue casita too. They'd all been hit. Mine was the only one occupied, and probably also the lightest hit. Above the car park there was a tree that had been hit by lightning. It looked like it had been blown apart.

Ronald arrived to survey the damage. He told me that it had been a tornado, although how close to us it was I don't know. He said it had hit Jacó too, and that's quite a distance away. I haven't seen a paper yet. I went out to the village this morning and there were no papers in the shops. The road was impassable in several places apparently, but it was cleared later on.

They had to unblock the little road down from here which was blocked in two places by fallen trees. The sound of chainsaws is everywhere.
-----
So, that's it for this week. Today, Friday as I write, is a beautiful day, the clean up has been thorough and swift. They're putting the electricity poles back up behind me as I write.

Things are progressing on the writing front, but I'll hold that over until next week.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Public prosecutor investigates named Education Ministry politicians

Hotel Fiesta

2007-08-25T11:04:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I had a great weekend in the Fiesta Hotel in Puntarenas meeting up with everyone from Intercultura.

The pic of the week shows Intercultura teachers Nathan, Patrick and Luke in Fiesta on the very beautiful Sunday morning where we met around the pool to defeat our hangovers with the tried and trusted hair of the dog.

Tsunami Alert Aftermath
-----------------------
Puntarenas, where I went for the weekend, is a really flat city built on a sand bank. The name means Sandy Point, and it's like a city built on Bull Island. Locals are concerned about global warming, as it couldn't cope with any rise in sea level. The lack of high ground also meant that there was huge panic during the tsunami alert, as everyone tried to leave the city on the narrow strip that joins it to the mainland. I think there's only one road. People had to abandon cars and try to escape by foot. If there had actually been a tsunami I dread to think what would have happened in Puntarenas.

Scorpion Aftermath
------------------
I was so relieved that my scorpion stings didn't have any lasting effects. I really thought that a scorpion sting would require hospitalisation. But it turns out that the black scorpions we have here are not that potent. And also, the larger ones are less potent than the smaller ones. I thought my guy was huge, so presumably that was in my favour too. I bought a spray that I found in the supermarket, and I'm dousing it liberally around the bed each night.

Hotel Fiesta
------------
The trip to Hotel Fiesta is the annual 'thank you' celebration for all staff of the school, including the English and Spanish departments, and also the administrative staff. It's a resort hotel. When you arrive you get an armband, and after that all food and drink is free.

It was really great to meet up with everyone again, and to socialise when it's been so long. My last night out with people was the pub crawl at the end of June. I'm hoping some of them will come down and visit me before I leave. Given that next week is September I really feel that my time here is approaching its end.

Ferry Journey
-------------
Puntarenas is a very easy place to get to from here, because it's the ferry port. From here I just got two buses across the peninsula, and then the ferry. The full trip took about three and a half hours. The cost to Puntarenas for both buses and the ferry was €3.06, although the taxi out to the hotel was a whopping €5.50!

I love that ferry journey. I've made it about 7 times now, and apart from one time when it rained I've enjoyed the view so much. You sail for an hour right across the Gulf of Nicoya with Puntarenas behind you, mountains to the north and west, and the open Pacific to the south. However, the journey back at the weekend was the best ever. It left at 5.30pm, so the hour included the sunset and the transition from full daylight as we left, to full darkness when we arrived. And all for 76c. The should market it as a sunset cruise and charge accordingly.

Charlie and Denise
------------------
Charlie and Denise have gone to the States on holidays and I don't think I'll see them again. I don't think the other casitas are being let while they're away. They've been empty this week anyway. I love when they're empty and I have the place to myself. I absolutely love an evening out in the hammock sipping a Cuba Libre reading my book, with the lightning all around, and knowing there is no-one around to disturb me. Maybe I'm becoming a hermit.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. My tasks this week include sending reminders to editors for the articles I've sent off, and for which I haven't received even one acknowledgment!

So until next week,

Chao (and up the Dubs again),

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Fall in birthrate empties schools and preschools

Tsunami Evacuation

2007-08-18T12:01:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I'm writing from Puntarenas. The whole email today is about the dramatic events of Wednesday night.

The pic of the week shows some people waiting on a hilltop for the tsunami to strike.

The Alarm
----------
Wednesday had been a perfectly regular day. In the evening I was making my plans for the following day, as usual . I was in the casita sitting on the bed with the laptop. I had music on fairly loudly, so I didn't hear Charlie shouting for me until he was right outside. Charlie is a very jovial guy, always with a twinkle in his eye. So I was surprised when I opened the door and he burst in looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. "There's a tsunami on the way. We've got to get out. Quickly, grab your stuff and let's go. You're coming with me to Cóbano. This is not a joke." The last part was added when he saw the incredulous look on my face. For a start, in the shock of the news I confused tsunami and hurricane, and I was thinking, but there's not a breath of wind. Charlie said he'd get the van and to get up to the car park as soon as possible.

So I had to grab my stuff. But what do you grab when a tsunami is on its way? Is it life or death? Will everything be washed away? I grabbed the laptop, because that's got almost everything I need on it. I threw it in the bag. Then I ran for the door. I realised that I had money and my passport in the safe, so I ran back and got those out. Then I ran to the door again. Now I remembered my wallet with my credit card. I decided then to grab the back-up unit for the laptop, and for some reason decided to grab the laptop speakers as well. I went around turning off all the lights, until I realised how non-essential that was. When I got out I couldn't find the keys. They're always on the inside of the door, but they weren't there now. Either I'd brought them back when I went for the safe, or I'd thrown them in the bag. I tried the bag and couldn't find them. I went back inside, having to turn on all the lights again. Charlie, his wife, the people in the next house and his business partner were shouting at me from the car park. I checked around the porch. No keys. I went to go back in, and I realised I'd locked myself out. So, I just ran up to the car park. Charlie's partner, an American guy called Ryan was driving the truck, and myself, Charlie's wife, Denise, and two American girls Gillian and Andrea, who were visiting Ryan, were passengers. One of them was sobbing.

Outside in the back of the truck were the night watchman and an American guy that lives locally and his dog. Charlie was on his quad bike, and Ryan's other visitors, the boyfriends I think of Gillian and Andrea, were on another quad. Ryan was hyper and shouting 'Go, go, go'.

Evacuation
-----------
When we started driving I asked Denise what exactly they had heard. The word was that there was a tsunami on the way following a big earthquake in Peru. It was scheduled to hit at 9pm. What time was it now, I asked, because it was too dark to see my watch. 8:30.

Charlie and Denise had received a phonecall earlier from friends in Mal País telling them that there was a tsunami warning. They assumed that given our height on the hill we were safe. A little while later the gardener, Ariel, arrived in a state of panic, and told them that the village of Santa Teresa was being evacuated, and all the hotels had been emptied. Charlie and Denise decided that we'd better go.

Since the Asian tsunami, every time I'm on the coast I look for the nearest high ground, and figure that that's where to go if one hits. It's just a habit I have. I'd always assumed that the location of the casita is totally safe, because it's high. It seemed a bit counter-intuitive to be driving down a hill with 30 minutes to go, to drive along the road at sea level a couple of kilometers through the town, possibly getting stuck in traffic while all vehicles from Mal País and Santa Teresa converged on the one mud road to Cóbano. I also regretted having both the computer and the back-up unit in the bag.

It was strange driving through Santa Teresa. Everyone was fleeing, but there was no panic. There was a truck in front with about 30 people standing in the back like cattle. But the traffic was moving. There were a lot of cars, trucks and quad bikes streaming up the hill. There were hundreds of pedestrians making the journey on foot also.

The whole journey, there was just one thing on my mind. Where were my keys? After all this, how do I tell everyone I've locked myself out?

When we got to the gas station, which is about 2km out of Santa Teresa, and on one of the highest points, there was a huge crowd of people who had decided to stay there as it was clearly safe. We decided to keep moving on to Cóbano where we could maybe get news of what was happening.

Refuge
------
About another two kilometers, outside a bar called The Doghouse, we decided to stop. People had mobile phones and wanted to call home to see what was going on. There was another large crowd here. The Doghouse had started to charge 1,000 colones for entry!

There were lots of family groups together. August 15th is Mother's Day, a bank holiday here. I remember from my students that nearly everyone joins their family for this celebration.

I went off to the side, and took everything out of my bag. And sure enough I found the keys.

Denise rang her mother in the States. Her mother, at 82, is of an age where she always worries about the cost of long distance calls and tries to keep them short. Denise told her that we were evacuated and about the threat of a tsunami. Her mother replied that hadn't heard anything, but would keep her ears open, and then she attempted to hang up. 'Mom,' said Denise, 'I'm standing on a mountain here. I need to know!' She then asked to talk to her sister-in-law, who said she'd look up the internet and phone straight back.

They called back a few minutes later to say that a 8 point something earthquake had hit Peru, and there was a tsunami warning all up the Pacific coast as far as Mexico, and also in Hawaii. But there had been no word of any problems in any of the countries yet.

This made me feel that we were safe. I had felt all along that nothing was going to happen. I knew there had been a number of tsunami alerts in Asia triggered by earthquakes where nothing happened. But of course, it's better to be safe than sorry. I also felt that if it was to hit Costa Rica at 9pm, that it would have to hit Ecuador, Colombia and Panama earlier. So if nothing had happened there we were safe.

About 9.30 all the mobiles starting ringing. The all clear had been received. It was interesting that all the information we had on what was happening came from people on mobile calls to the States. Word of what was happening was related to the Tico families by American's with phones.

Back home
----------
And so we headed back home. Again, traffic flowed quite smoothly. Everyone was in good form. People felt better that precautions had been taken, but that everyone was safe and the danger had passed. We drove back through Santa Teresa, and it was strange to see all the shops and bars with the shutters down. It was fairly comprehensively evacuated. I was home just on 10pm, the whole thing had just taken little over an hour and a half.

And so to bed
--------------
Little did I know as I went to bed that, for me, the worst was yet to come.

I had no problem getting to sleep, but I woke suddenly at 2.30. I didn't know why, but I was suddenly alert. Then I felt something running across my head, just over my ear. I brushed it away with my hand, and it fell onto the bed. And then in the half light I saw something dark run across the white sheet, and disappear over the side of the bed.

I had thought that I heard a fluttering when it was near my ear. So I figured it was some type of insect that had got in. I did think that it was strange that it had scuttled away over the sheets rather than flown away. I thought about turning on the light and trying to find it. But previous experience led me to believe that I would just end up waking myself completely and I wouldn't find it anyway. As I drifted off to sleep I kept thinking, I'd be much happier if I knew what that was.

At 3.40 I woke again, just as suddenly. I felt something moving. I turned in the bed, and suddenly felt this incredible sting hit my leg. It was like a combination of a bee sting and an electric shock. I shot up out of the bed, and got a second sting as I went. I ran to the bathroom, turned on the light, and looked at my leg. At first it was just all a shooting pain, but after a few minutes I could feel that there was a sting on my thigh and one just above my ankle. I didn't even know which I'd got first or second.

I went back in and looked at the bed. There was a little more light spilling from the bathroom, and I could see again a black shape against the white sheet. It looked like some type of beetle. I grabbed what is THE most important item living here, the fly swatter (come to think of it I'm amazed that wasn't what I grabbed to flee the tsunami). I took a big swipe and hit it. It lay there momentarily stunned, and I saw the full shape. Unmistakably a large black scorpion. I hit it again, this time it shot into the air and landed on the floor, still stunned, its tail curling and uncurling. But now an unmissable target on the tiled floor. I lashed at it three or four times until there was little left but the tail.

I was so shocked. I had adrenalin pumping and my leg was still throbbing. I know nothing about scorpion stings. But two on the one leg didn't seem good. I thought I might become sick from the poison. I really hadn't a clue. If I went asleep would I wake up? I took Solpadeine to be on the safe side!

After a time I calmed down. I felt ok. I shook out the sheets to check there was nothing else in the bed. I lay down. It was about an hour before I got back to sleep.

The next day I was fine. There was no lingering pain. I would have had more discomfort if it had been a mosquito bite.

And now I really have to laugh as I consider this life I've chosen to live. Where a quiet night in becomes an hour and a half fleeing a death wave on its way from Peru and followed by coming home and getting into bed with a scorpion. It's incredible that I found a little creature so much more scary than something that threatened the entire coast and caused a mass evacuation. But I'll be honest. I'd flee 100 tsunamis rather than get into bed with scorpion again.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I got the ferry over today and I meet up with the Intercultura crowd for our freebie (well freebie for them) weekend. So I'm really excited to finally have an opportunity to socialise.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Thursday's Headline in La Nación: Country on 'tsunami' alert following strong earthquakes in Peru

So Many Critters

2007-08-11T11:08:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I'm writing on Friday evening. Outside it's probably the worst thunderstorm since I arrived. It's the first time I've had to come in from the porch because of the rain. It was being blown across and I was afraid for the laptop. The weather was beautiful earlier. I was out and had to come back to put the suncream on my head. When I was back here and writing on the porch when I saw the storm approach across the ocean. It was like a white curtain coming across. I could see the clear horizon left and right of it. But as it moved closer it took more and more of the view. About 5 minutes before it arrived all the trees around me started rustling. Then the torrential rain. Then the thunder and lightning.

I'm reading again this week. And although I found the reading deprivation week very interesting, I can't explain the joy and relief of getting back to reading this week. I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

The pic of the week is of a stick insect. Not the same one as was on my headboard the other night. But he's the spitting image of him. I suspect they're related.

First fall
----------
The other day I had my first fall. I'm amazed I've gone so long without one. The mud is so slippery everywhere. And the hill down from the casita is so steep with very loose stone and I've lost my footing so many times. On Sunday I was walking down a new route to the beach. At one part the mud was completely slippery. It was not unlike walking on an icy footpath. In your flip-flops. As you do.

Anyway, I thought I was through the worst, and I guess let my guard down. The next thing my legs went completely from under me. I fell to the side, mostly on my bum, but I also put out my right hand to break the fall. My bum was well able for it. But I sprained my right wrist badly. It's much better now, but I couldn't use a door handle, write longhand, or brush my teeth with my dominant hand for most of the week. Thankfully typing was no problem. But it's really interrupted my prospective juggling career.

Critters
--------
It's absolutely incredible the number of different types of insects there are here. There is, of course, an amazing diversity generally, with monkeys, squirrels, lizards, geckos, crabs, iguanas all visible just around the porch area. But the sheer variety of insects, millipedes, spiders, caterpillars and just general creepy-crawlies is amazing. There are so many different types and shapes and sizes. I would love to throw open the double doors of the casita during the day, but it would be impossible with all the insects that would get inside. I have to try to get in and out as quickly as I can, particularly at night. All the windows have a mosquito netting so none of them can get in that way. We have come to an agreement. Outside is their space. Inside is mine. They can kill me outside. I can kill them in here.

The other day when I was putting out the rubbish - I keep it in the surf board storage thing - and a big black scorpion scuttled out.

Out on the porch at night there are huge numbers of critters, mostly flying erratically around the lights, with the geckos waiting to pounce at all times. I have discovered that I'm much less likely to have them bashing into me if I don't sit near the lights. At the beginning I was getting bashed into on a regular basis. And big moths were constantly landing in my beer. Even now I get the odd little thing flying into it. I've had to introduce a 5 second rule. I have a spoon, and if I can fling him back out within five seconds I keep the beer. Otherwise I'd be throwing it away by the bucketful!

The other night I must have left the door ajar as I came in and out during the evening. I noticed a fairly big green creature up in the rafters. It's one I see regularly, I think it's some sort of a cricket, but I'm not sure. (Even as I'm writing I've just noticed a big moth up there now!) He was too high to reach, so I pushed him with the fly swatter, and he flew to the mosquito screen on the window. I could catch him from there in a pint glass, and was able to release him outside safely and unharmed.

Later on the same night, I had got into bed and read my book, and was ready to turn off the light. I turned and immediately saw a stick insect, exactly like the one in the pic of the week, just sitting right beside me on the headboard. He was looking straight at me. Mind you if you look at those eyes - the whole face just seems to be eyes - I guess you'll always think they're looking at you.

Now, I couldn't even turn off the light with that big of a critter in the room, let alone go to sleep. The length of his body, I guess, would stretch between my outstretched thumb and index finger. So I got out the pint glass. I really did try to catch him, but he went down behind the bed. I had to pull the whole bed out, but he was very evasive. It ended up that it was either him or me. And I'm afraid he was the victim of a vicious fly swatting attack.

A howler
--------
The other day I was doing the dishes and I looked out the window over the sink, and there was a howler monkey out in the tree straight across from the window. He seemed to be looking straight at me. I must be getting paranoid. I think they're all looking at me. There was a group of them off to the left. It was the first time I've seen them so close to the casita since my first day here.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. My wrist is almost back to normal, so the juggling can recommence shortly. I'm down in the internet café tomorrow. Wednesdays and Saturdays are internet days. I go down to a local café that no-one else seems to know about. There's rarely anyone else there. It's cheap, about 85c an hour. But all connections here are so incredibly slow. I'm usually there for about 3 or 3 and a half hours. I could easily do it in 1 hour if I had broadband. When I get back I'm like a child as I sit down to read my emails. Because I only get them twice a week I look forward to reading them so much. I used find emails and replying to them a chore, but now they're a highlight of the week.

Outside the rain has eased off slightly, but the lights are still flickering as the electricity reacts to the lightning.

So until next week,

Chao (and up the Dubs),

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Weak Control of Public Funds in Red Cross

Reading deprivation

2007-08-04T10:44:00.000-06:00

Folks,

So that's the end of my first of three months in the casita. I've really enjoyed it. It's very quiet, and it's been a challenge for me to live with very little happening on the social side. But I've really got used to it. I don't know if I could live so quietly for longer than three months, but I think three will be fine.

The pic of the week is the main road through Santa Teresa after rain.

Reading Deprivation
--------------------
The Artist's Way, which is a book-based course in creativity, is divided into twelve weeks. The challenge this week is reading deprivation. I can't read a thing. I thought it was particularly harsh at a time when I have no access to radio, TV or Internet (for audio or visual). And at a time when I'm doing more reading than ever. I was afraid I'd have a full week of solitaire on the PC.

But I've started to use my resources to fill the time. I have enjoyed going to the beach without a book and just enjoying watching what is going on. The people, the surfers, the crabs, the sky. And I went to the soda (local restaurant) the other day with paper and a pen. And instead of reading I wrote. I described the place in detail. I wrote about what the woman was doing in the kitchen, and about her son watching TV in the corner. About the four American guys who came in and took ages looking at the menu deciding whether to stay or not. I enjoyed it.

And last night I started to teach myself to juggle! It's something I've always wanted to do, since a juggler once told me that it's not a special talent that only some people have. Everyone can juggle with practice. So I'm trying to perfect juggling, still with one ball (rolled up tinfoil), but I can feel the improvement.

The roads
---------
The roads here are in a terrible condition, as you can see from the pic of the week. After rain, whole sections become mudbaths. They can fill the full width of the road, usually leaving a slightly less muddy section at the sides where you can walk.

A 'cutter' came along on Friday and Saturday to fix the road up a bit. This is like something you'd see to clear away snow in a colder climate. It's like a bulldozer with a diagonal blade at the front and slices through the uneven mud and leaves a clean cut. It works well on the dry sections, but just scoops lots of extra mud into the wet ones.

On Saturday I was walking from the internet café to the beach and hit a particularly bad section. Even the sides were completely wet. I chose a route through it which proved to be a wrong choice. It was like walking through wet cement. There were stones throughout the wet wet mud right up to my ankles. And once you're in it, there's no going back, you just have to keep going. The suction was so strong I almost lost my flip-flops several times. And it's hard to balance when your flip-flops are gripped tight. It would be very easy to topple, and that would be an appalling vista. People could see the trouble I was in, and were calling to me, telling me where I should have gone. I knew at this stage where I should have gone, and felt like telling them where they should go. As I'd lift a foot, the mud and stones would fill the vacuum created between my foot and the flip-flop. I was getting taller with every step.

I eventually emerged with two muddy clumps at then end of my legs. A guy from a shop wentn inside and brought me out a basin of water to clean my feet and my flip-flops. In future, I'm going to try to do most of my walking on the beach.

Rancho Sancho closed
--------------------
The restaurant, which is owned by Charlie and just down the hill, is closed now until the season picks up again in November. It's still my postal address, and post will still be delivered. (I hope! Nothing has arrived yet, and I know several things have been sent.) The staff have for the moment been given other work around the property. Right now they're building 'gaviones' just across from where I'm writing. I don't know the name in English, but it's like a big thick wall of rocks contained in wire cages that stack against the bank of earth that supports the road that leads to the casitas, and further on to Charlie's house. With the rain a little section gave way, and Charlie reckons the gaviones are needed to keep the road in place - 'I can't lose my road. I lose my road I lose my business'.

Día de la Virgen de los Ángeles
-------------------------------
Thursday was the feast of the Virgin of the Angels, a day when thousands of people walk from wherever they live on a pilgrimage to the basilica at Cartago, in the Central Valley. This is the home of the statue of La Negrita, the black virgin. When they arrive in Cartago, they walk down the aisle of the basilica on their knees. It's probably the major religious festival here after Christmas and Easter.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Again, I've got a clear diary, so nothing scheduled for the week.

Chao,

Éamon

Thursday's Headline in La Nación: YES 51.5% and NO 42.1%, among decided voters

The whale

2007-07-28T10:38:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, it's been another interesting and enlightening week. I have completed a Writer's Bureau assignment, and am waiting for feedback from my tutor. I have also brainstormed a list of potential articles I could do for some different websites.

The pic of the week shows the inside of the casita.

The Whale
---------
Have you ever been in a situation when you're sitting on your porch, reading away, when a whale goes by? Well, that's exactly what happened to me on Tuesday. I was reading (it's amazing how much reading there is in writing!) and I glanced out at the ocean. I saw what I thought was a white boat. But then I realised it was a lot of splashing. I could see something white or silvery out of the water, and got my binoculars for a closer look. I realised that it was in fact the fin of a whale. He was just splashing around playing as far as I could make out. I watched for five or ten minutes until he arched his body and slid over the surf and back into the ocean. Really amazing, and all from where I'm writing to you now.

Journey to Cóbano
-----------------
Charlie told me that he was going into Cóbano, which is the closest 'big' town. It's 12km away. I needed to go to the ATM (there's none in Santa Teresa or Mal País) and to post some letters. So he called for me in his truck, and we set off. About half way there he realised that we had a puncture. So we had to stop to fix it in the baking sun. Once done, we were back on the road and into the town. While we were in the queue in the bank, Charlie looked out and realised that another tyre was now flat. And if you saw the road between here and Cóbano you wouldn't be surprised. So his business partner, Ronald, who was with us, said he'd go down to the garage to have it fixed.

When we finished Charlie brought me down to the post office, and then we went for lunch, because there was still no sign of Ronald. After lunch, Charlie decided that we'd walk out towards the garage and meet him on his way back. I resisted the urge to offer to wait in Cóbano, and joined him on the 2km trek out to the garage, wishing I'd remembered to put on sun cream. When we got there there was no sign of Ronald, and they said that nobody had been in with a white van. They told us that there was another garage on the other side of Cóbano however, and he must have gone there. So we trekked back into the town. Another 2km. Still no sign of Ronald. At this stage, as Charlie started walking out the road to the second garage, I kindly offered to stay at the crossroads to see if he arrived from anywhere else. Anyway, on the way Charlie met Ronald, and all was sorted.

Cóbano is quite small. It's basically a crossroads with a supermarket, a bank, a post office, a few shops and a few sodas (basic restaurants). Not exactly somewhere you'd be heading into for a night out.

Cosy rain
---------
I know Irish readers aren't having much of a summer, but as it's rainy season there is a fair bit of rain here too. I have to say I really enjoy it. I can still be out on the porch, because it's covered by a broad roof. There is something beautifully relaxing about working outdoors while the rain flows from the roof overhead. The problem with the weather in Ireland is not so much the rain, as the absence of 27 degree weather with a cooling breeze at the same time.

Dengue fever
------------
I was visited by a guy from the department of health during the week. There was a case of dengue fever nearby, and he was checking for any stagnant water which is a draw for the mosquitoes carrying the disease. He wrote the number 57 on my door with marker for some reason, and told me that everything was fine. I really hope so, because right now dengue would really cramp my idyllic lifestyle.
-----
That's all for this week. I've just checked my diary, and I've got nothing at all in it for this week!

So until next week!

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Premium petrol to cost over c600 (€0.85) a litre

The new routine

2007-07-21T12:59:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I'm really getting used to the new life, and it's so different from life in Heredia. One of the most important things for writing, and I've read this again and again, is to have a routine. SO I've really been working on that. Otherwise three months could fly by very quickly and it could be little more than a holiday.

The pic of the week shows one of the sunsets during the week. It was quite cloudy, so I didn't see the actual sun set. But when it did there was a magnificent change of colour in the sky.

Media withdrawal
----------------
Now that I've moved, without a doubt the most difficult thing for me is not to have access to internet. Without internet or a TV I feel completely cut off from the world. I feel like a 9/11 could happen and I won't find out about it until the following Wednesday or Saturday. Well, that's not strictly true, because I'm in the supermarket most days and I do get to glance at the headlines. But I do miss the internet access so much.

My projects
-----------
First let me tell you what I'm actually doing. I'm not writing a book, as many people think (well, not yet!). I have four projects that I'm mainly working on.

The first is a correspondence course in writing with The Writers Bureau in the UK. I have ten books to study, and ten assignments to do over the course. I email these assignments to my tutor, and she gives me feedback. The emphasis in the first part is in writing non-fiction articles for newspapers and magazines. For writers, this is where the bankable money is. Later it will get into fiction.

The second project is related to this, and this is where I am myself looking at publications, analysing them, and identifying what I could write that they may be willing to buy and publish. Initially, I'm looking at a lot of stuff on the web, because I don't have access to too many English language publications here. I'm mostly looking for places that would be interested in articles on Costa Rica or on teaching English abroad.

The third is a book called The Artist's Way. This is a 12 week course (which exactly coincides with my time in the casita) which aims to reawaken your creative side. I have started this course twice before, but only ever got to week 4 because of pressure of time and letting other things get in the way. Now I have no excuse.

And the fourth is a book called The Right to Write. It's by the same woman as The Artist's Way, but is specifically focused on creativity in writing and unblocking.

So between these four projects, I have quite a full day of tasks and activities.

Daily routine
-------------
Everything I read about writing has emphasised the importance of routine. Of 'showing up at the page'. So I have got a very disciplined daily routine at this stage.

I get up early. People who know how much I'm not a morning person will be surprised at that. But I'd got into the habit of having earlier days towards the end of my time in Heredia. It's mainly because in the rainy season the best part of the day is in morning. And anyway, it's dark after six, so it's better to get up early and have more of the day.

So I get up, get this, between 6.30 and 7. I get up and go out on the porch, into the hammock, and write my morning pages. The morning pages are a type of journal that I keep, and is a requirement of The Artist's Way. I write about anything and everything that is on my mind. Then I have breakfast, a cup of good Irish tea, and have my shower.

I'm back out on the porch for about 7.45, and I start working through my tasks. I prepare the list the night before. I work at the table out on the porch with my computer, but if I have to read things I either sit in the wooden armchair, which has the best view, or the hammock, which is the most comfortable.

I work through until about 1, and then I have lunch, and a little 20 minute 'power' nap. This nap is my secret to being able to keep up with the early starts. Then I'm back into working from about 2 and I finish at 5. After that, I go down to the beach most days with my book, and get ready to watch the sunset.

I do this six days a week, my day off being Sunday. On Sundays, I have a lie-in (until about 9!) and spend most of my day on the beach. On Wednesdays and Saturdays I go down with my laptop to the internet place, and upload and download stuff to read and write offline when I get back to the casita.

Sunsets
-------
I can't tell you how much I love the sunsets. They are quite fast here. It's a 10 minute walk to the beach, and everything happens between 5.45, when it's still bright, but the sky is beginning to get orangey, and 6.15 when it's dark. Often there is cloud because it's rainy season, so you don't see the actual sun itself setting. But the changes in the light as the last rays of the sun catch the various levels of cloud is truly breathtaking. I used to watch it from the porch, but when you're on the beach you have it around you in every direction. In the sky and also reflected in the water. If the tide is in it's reflected in the full ocean. If the tide is out it's reflected in the wet sand. I keep taking photos of it, but they always look the same. But when you're there, every evening is different. Sometimes I look at the clouds and try to imagine what way the light will go tonight, and I'm constantly surprised.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Wednesday is a bank holiday, not that that will mean much to me. It's to celebrate the annexation of Guanacaste and Nicoya. I'm now living on the Nicoya peninsula, and it was part of Nicaragua in the past. The día del anexión celebrates when it became part of Costa Rica.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Power costs increase to businesses to avoid power cuts

Settling in

2007-07-14T14:26:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, I'm nearly 2 weeks in the casita now, and I love it more as time goes on. I have absolutely no regrets about deciding to stay. I will always remember my time living here on the coast.

The pic of the week shows the view from the porch. This is fairly much the same view as you get from the windows of the casita too. The ocean looks closer and bigger in real life than it does in the photos. We often have lightning at night, and it's amazing to see the whole ocean lit up. To the left you can see the top of the house with the red roof (very Jack Black).

Day one
-------
On the first day, I couldn't believe that having been totally stranded at 5pm on a Sunday on the coast of Costa Rica, where I knew no-one, with all my stuff in a car and no place to stay, that by 6pm I could be sorted out with a beautiful place to live for three months. It's funny how things have a way of working out.

I took the first day fairly easily, because I was wrecked. I unpacked some essentials in the morning. In the afternoon I took a nap in the hammock. There is a bush in front of it with flowers, and it was visited all afternoon by hummingbirds. I woke to hear sound of heavily rustling leaves and breaking branches. I know that sound now, and it means monkeys. And sure enough there was a family of howler monkeys in the trees just beside me. I didn't even take a picture, because I expected if it happened day one, it was likely to be a regular occurrence. However, I haven't seen them again. I hear them alright. Anyone who has been here will be very familiar with the very distinctive howl of the howlers.

The casita
----------
I have unpacked now and made the casita into a home. As I described before, it's a large hexagonal room. I have a couch, a king size double bed and a kitchen area. I've taken the table and chairs outside, and I use the table as my desk. I also eat outside. The bathroom is off the main room, and has a sink, shelves, storage cabinets and a large walk-in shower. Which in this temperature I'm using at least twice a day.

The windows are quite complex. They have wooden frames. There are wooden slats, which you close at night almost like venetian blinds. You can open the area with the slats, and let more light in with just the glass. Or you can open the larger frame, when you open the glass part and the slats part together, and you just have the mosquito screen and can let air in. The only problem is that when you open them all the frames are hinged into the house. You have to clear everything from the counter and sink to make room. And they swing about in the breeze. So I usually just open one over the couch for airing the room during the day.

I'm outside almost all the time anyway on the porch. Except later at night when the amount of insects is incredible, and they're clattering into you a lot. I have air conditioning inside, which I also use only at night. There is no TV, which I don't miss. And no internet, for which I'm still suffering withdrawal symptoms.

Outside the porch follows the hexagonal shape. There is plenty of room. There are two wooden armchairs, where I relax with a beer in the evening. I have moved the kitchen table and chairs out. They comprise my office. I have an electricity extension lead, so I have the laptop out here and speakers for my music.

Then there is the hammock, which I love. The only problem is that the hummingbird bush partly obscures the ocean view. But as a place to go to read my book, and also sometimes with the laptop to write, it's wonderful.

Behind the hammock is a large wooden storage box for my surfboards. Charlie is very anxious for me to try surfing. But after a disastrous attempt one time in Mayo I know I'll never be a surfer dude. Man.

The location
-------------
I'm halfway up a hill overlooking the sea. Charlie's house is further up. Half way between me and the road, and before the real climb, is Charlie's Mexican restaurant, Rancho Sancho, which is my postal address. It's a lovely Mexican restaurant. I've eaten in it twice. However, typically for Costa Rica, there are never any customers.

Further down from the Rancho you come to the main road. It's unpaved. When we've had a few dry days (like now) it's baked so hard that it could almost be very uneven concrete. But when it rains it's like a mudbath. I frequently have mud all up the back of my legs. Walking sometimes is like being on a bike without mudguards.

Walking south you come to the main part of Santa Teresa town, passing two supermarkets, in about 15 minutes. To the right there is my nearest supermarket, Super Costa. Near that there is a really lovely Thai restaurant. Thai is my favourite food, so I'm delighted with it. I had a delicious red curry there last Saturday, and the bill including beer and dessert was around €10. I'm going back there tonight.

About 10 minutes walk north is the place I'm using now for internet. I connect my laptop and download emails and Google Reader so I can catch up on most things. However, the connection is really slow and I can't really download podcasts and even uploading my photos is very slow, so I'm going to check out some other places.

Just down from the Thai restaurant is the beach. It's really beautiful, and it's huge. It's a series of beaches really. Stretching for miles. Some are rocky, and some sandy. It's a big place for surfers. I can often see them from the porch, and when I walked up the beach the other day there are loads.

The sun sets to the north of my view. But I'm hoping this will change over the three months. In Ireland, I always thought that the sun set in one place, but in Costa Rica there is a huge variation between the summer and winder solstices. I remember in Manuel Antonio at Christmas setting myself up to watch the sun set behind the mountain where it had in April, only to watch it set behind an island in a completely different place. As it's July, the sun is heading south, so I'm hopeful I'll get the full sunset before I leave at the end of September. Right now though, I often go down to the beach in the evening to watch it set just on 6pm.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm sitting on the porch (my office!) as I write. It's just after midday, and it's 31 degrees. And there's this comical huge insect flying around. He's like a big yellow and black beetle. He lifts his shell up, wings come out, and he flies with a noise like he's got a motor. Then he crash lands. Gets up. And tries the whole thing over.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Referendum will decide TLC if more than 1,061,000 vote

The move, part II

2007-07-09T15:44:00.000-06:00

So, I'm on the side of the road, it's after 5pm, I have everything I own in the car, no place to stay, and monkey turd on the roof.

Rancho Sancho
-----------------------
I started to drive down the road to look for somewhere with cabinas where I could stay for a couple of nights. I saw a sign for a Mexican restaurant and a hotel called Hotel Buenissima, which had 'casitas' or little houses. I turned and drove up the very uneven road. The bottom of the car scraped off the road a couple of times. I went into the restaurant, and the guy said that they had casitas for $75 a night. I said that was too much, and he directed me to a cheaper place across the road. It was very basic, and there was no answer at the door. So I came back and asked him to show me the casita. He phoned the owner, and told me to wait.

Charlie, the owner, is an older American guy. He came down on a quad bike, and told me he had me covered. He had beautiful casitas and he'd give me one for $55 a night. I explained my situation, and he said that he'd help me unload my stuff. He told me to follow him up the hill. Now, the car I rented was a 4x4, because you need that to travel the roads to Santa Teresa in the rainy season. But it was entry level 4x4 and it wasn't very powerful. Halfway up the hill it got stuck. It wouldn't budge. I kept revving to try to get it to continue, but although the engine roared, nothing was happening with the wheels. Then thick black smoke started coming out the engine. After a little while Charlie arrived to know why I wasn't following. He saw the smoke, and from the smell told me immediately that it was the clutch on its last legs. So I wasn't going to be able to get up to the casita. I had to reverse back down to the restaurant.

I thought that was it. Then Charlie followed and told me that he had a pickup truck. And that if I wanted we could load my stuff into it, and bring it up to the casita that way. So that's what we did. I was mortified to have so much stuff, but he was really helpful.

Casita Amarilla
----------------------
When we got up the very steep hill, I saw the three casitas. They are three beautiful wooden, octagonal, cabinas. Each has a different colour roof. Blue, yellow and red. Mine was the yellow. Casita Amarilla means the little yellow house. As opposed to the big Yellow House in Rathfarnham where I've spent many a long night.

When we walked down the steps I saw that it had an ocean view. It was just coming to sunset, and the sky was a mixture of red and orange cloud. It was so beautiful. The porch had two wooden armchairs and a hammock. Inside, it was one big room, with a couch, a double bed, and along the opposite wall, a kitchen area. Off was a bathroom with a large walk in tiled shower. I immediately saw how perfect it was. It's like how I imagined living on the coast would be.

I asked him how much it would be to rent. He said that he couldn't get anything close to Laura's price. But then I had to admit that the place wasn't anything close to Laura's place. He said he could give me a good price, because it was off season. However, it was still out of my price range. He told me to stay the night and see how I felt in the morning.

Decision time
--------------------
I really agonised about whether to stay or not. And in the end it just came down to gut feeling versus money. My strong feeling was that this was the place for me. And although it's more expensive I am getting more money for Rathmines too, and it's only three months. So I decided to go for it.

Plus, I'd have had to drive around in the dodgy car looking for another place. Then I'd have had to load all my stuff back into Charlie's pickup, driven down to the car, loaded into that, then drive to the new place, and unload it all again!

Back to San José
--------------------------
I had hired the car until Tuesday, so I could have a little time to explore the area before dropping it back. But given the clutch situation I didn't use it on Monday at all, and then took the journey back to San José very easily. I had come here before by bus, and I didn't realise how bad the road was. From the previous town, Cóbano, the road is unpaved. So there are many areas where it's just crumbled away, and many parts where it's just a complete mudbath. But the car made the journey back to San José. I left at 6.30 in the morning, and got back at midnight. From the centre of Santa Teresa to the road at the bottom of the hill is 15 minutes walk. Then it's currently taking me, in my unfit state, about 10 minutes to walk up the hill. It's not a very long distance, but it's really steep. And I'm wrecked by the time I get up here. But I'll be fit after three months.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm writing this on Monday morning out on the porch. The mornings are beautiful. I can see the ocean from my bed, from the kitchen, and from the porch. The pic of the week shows the casita as I first saw it coming down the steps with my bags of stuff.

So until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Just one password protects fund transfers

The move, part I

2007-07-06T16:59:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Well, as expected it's been a very eventful week.

The pic of the week shows myself and my pal Julia, from Birmingham,UK, on our pub crawl night out to mark the end of the semester. Julia is also a teacher at Intercultura.

Finishing in Intercultura
-------------------------
Well, after two years and two months I finished in Intercultura last week. The final Wednesday weekly meeting fell on my birthday, so there was a bit of a celebration for that. It was surprising when saying goodbye to the students that some seemed genuinely upset. And often students I didn't expect.

Celebrations
------------
I could really have done with a week between finishing the end of the semester and moving out of the apartment. But that's not the way the calendar fell. So I ended up going out on Wednesday for my birthday, and then the pub crawl for the end of the semester was Thursday. On Wednesday night my class and Leah's went together to a karaoke bar. We must have been drunk, because myself and Leah sang 'California Dreamin'. Myself and three Colombian students continued to a late bar. I thought I'd learnt that lesson already: Never keep up the pace with Colombians.

Thursday was the pub crawl. We hired a bus, and went into the university area of San José. we ended the night in El Pueblo, the 'bar compound' which some of you may remember from before.

Packing the apartment
---------------------
With Wednesday and Thursday nights I didn't get a lot done on Thursday or Friday for the move. It meant I had a very busy Saturday. I couldn't believe how much stuff I had. I threw out bags of stuff. I donated a load of clothes to the Red Cross for the flood relief. I posted stuff back to Ireland that cost €60 in postage. I sold stuff to other teachers. I gave stuff away. And still when it came to loading the car I thought there wasn't enough room for what was left. It would have been different if I wasn't moving to another apartment, but I guess I held onto anything I thought might be useful in Mal País.

Journey
-------
I had rented a car online from Budget. Budget have a place in Mal País, so it would have saved me having to drive back to San José. However, when I called them on Saturday morning they had no record of my booking, despite the fact that I had a confirmation number and an email from them. But they had no cars for the weekend. So I had to go for another hire company, which meant driving back on Tuesday to drop the car back.

The journey was fine, I arrived just in time for a ferry crossing, and I enjoyed the drive.

Mal País
--------
I arrived in Mal País shortly after 3pm, and drove straight out to the cabina. As soon as I got in I was nearly attacked by Laura's very vocal dog. She had told me before he was harmless, but I'm not much good when he comes running at me barking and growling. So I was paralysed with fear for about 5 minutes. I started talking to him then, and was able to move around a bit. Laura wasn't there, but another girl, cleaning a cabina, told me she was due back shortly. That's tico for I have absolutely no idea when she'll be back.

I decided to start moving my stuff into the house. When I got up there I was completely taken aback. It was a disaster. Nothing had been done. The living room as bare apart from a high table which looked like something homemade you would use to mix paint when you're redecorating. But there was definitely no sign of redecoration. In the bedroom there was a bed with a dodgy mattress on it, and an even dodgier one leaning against it. There was no more furniture. Her mail said a futon, several tables. But there was nothing. I tried turning on the light, there was no electricity. At least when the artist guy had all his stuff there I could excuse the place as looking terrible because of his clutter. But this time there was no excues. It was terrible.

I went back to the car to continue to wait for Laura. I stood on a nest of stinging ants who were soon swarming over my foot. It just wasn't my day.

I decided to go off to find an internet place to get the number of my plan B, the guy whose family had a cabina. After I got the number, I bought a phone card and found a phone. But there was no reply. I waited about half an hour, and phoned again. Then I drove back to Laura's. There was nobody there.

I was beginning to panic. Here I was with all my possessions in a car. It was getting dark. I had no place to stay. I realised that I'd have to get a cabina for a couple of nights while I found someplace else. I needed someplace I could unload all my stuff into the car. When I arrived back to the car there was a big turd sliding down the drivers door window. I looked up, and there was a monkey up in the tree looking directly at me. He had a look as if to say, yes, I know what kind of day you're having, and I'm not going to make it any better.

To be continued...

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: MEP auditor criticises 'illogical' payments to seniors

Guinness on the rocks

2007-06-24T20:09:00.000-06:00

Folks,

I can't believe that it's my final week in the school. We had the summer solstice during the week. How I love that long stretch in the evenings, it's now bright until about 6.10.

The pic of the week is very disappointing. We had a couple of very severe tropical storms which caused lots of flooding. The rain didn't really come out in this photo, but it was coming in diagonal lines. You can see a bit, and also how it's coming across the balcony. It was the first time I had water flowing under the door because of the angle of the rain.

Flooding
---------
Although I haven't been too affected here in downtown Heredia, the tropical rains have caused some devastation. In addition to two torrential storms, there were two tornados nearby, but I only saw them on the news. Adriana is one of the administrators in the school, and her family have lost everything in the floods. They live in a place called Belén, which was one of the worst affected places. Her grandmother's house had to be torn down because it was uninhabitable afterwards. And her parents house had a full river running through it to shoulder height. It took everything with it. Not just computers, TVs and electrical things, but they don't have even so much as a fork left. We had a collection in the school to try and help them get on their feet. I'll be dropping a lot of things from the apartment to the Red Cross as I get ready to move.

Mal País
---------
Well, despite all my searching, I still only came up with one place on the coast, which is the house beside the restaurant that I wrote about before. I got the price down, and I'm moving there on Sunday. I hope it's in better condition than when I saw it before. If not, I have one back-up option of a cabina which belongs to the family of a friend of one of the teachers. I only got confirmation on it after I'd confirmed the other one. I'm going to hire a 4wd to transport my stuff. But as I'll be leaving Mal País in three months with just a rucksack, a lot of it is going to be left behind me. It's amazing the clutter I've built up over just two years.

Guinness on the rocks
----------------------
We had an international night in the school last Thursday. 4 classes got together and each chose a country. My class, surprise sur-bleedin'-prise, chose Ireland. The other countries were Italy, Brazil and Mexico. It was funny listening to my students talking about information they'd got from the internet about Ireland, about monks setting up monasteries, and asking me how to pronounce Clonmacnoise. And also talking about Galway, Limerick and Cork (which is a natural seaport!).

We had two videos from Youtube. One was an excellent 9 minute promo from Bord Fáilte. What an eternally sunny country! It looked so fantastic I was completely homesick watching it. It had rugby, hurling, fishing, sailing, sailboarding, hiking, music in pubs, shopping in Dublin, everyone eating outdoors and the St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, which looks amazing in the clips. We also had a short clip of Riverdance which went down very well.

Normally, you bring some food relating to the country. It was nachos from Mexico, chocolate from Brazil and pizza from Italy. When they asked about Ireland, I said that drink was more typical than food, so they bought bottles of Guinness, and little shot glasses. I had to laugh when I saw all the Guinness prepared in the little shot glasses, each with a little cube of ice.

Placement interview
--------------------
On Mondays and Wednesdays I do placement interviews. I talk to new students and give them an exam, and then decide what class to place them into. Last night I was interviewing one woman, Norma. I asked her why she wanted to learn English. It's almost always the same answers, for my job. This was the case for her too, she works in a very posh hotel. Do you like your job, I asked. Oh yes, came the reply, I love you.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm probably going to be late next week also, as I'm moving on Sunday. It's so strange to be in my last week in school. It's really been the centre of everything in my whole time here in Costa Rica. They've asked me to organise one more pub crawl before I finish!

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: People of Belén drink water contaminated with chromium

Packing up

2007-06-17T14:51:00.001-06:00

Hi there,

It's been a difficult week, because it's only today that I'm feeling any respite from my bronchitis. I've been working throughout and I felt wrecked for most of the weekend.

The pic of the week is Gordon, the gecko, who moved into my flat temporarily. He's seen here on the living room wall.

Bronchitis
----------
Bronchitis is much worse than you'd think. I've had zero energy. I was on anti-biotics all week. They cost a fortune by local standards, €31.40. Anyway, it still took the full week. I'm feeling much better today. The first time that I've felt I had any energy, even though I still have the cough.

Coast move
------------
The selection of a house on the coast was delayed because of an ad for a condo in Manual Antonio at no cost, in exchange for handling the letting of a second condo. I thought I was perfect for it. But after chasing it for 2 weeks, I eventually got a reply from the guy that he'd already let it to someone. He'd got over 500 replies! It was too good to be true.

So I now am down to two, both in Santa Teresa/Mal País. The one I wrote about before, and an apartment belonging to the friend of a friend of a teacher. I have the wrong number for the second one, so if I can't get a number tomorrow it's back to plan A.

I'm a little behind in packing up the apartment, because I've been sick, so I'm only really getting started on it today.

Dentist
--------
I had been putting off going to the dentist since I got here. I'd gone to my own dentist before the trip, and planning to make another trip when I was home in July last year. But before I went home, people thought I was mad, because dentists are cheaper here. So I decided to wait until I came back. I then put it off repeatedly, until recently I had a lot of sensitivity to temperature in one of my teeth, and took the bull by the horns. I went to Joaquín's cousin. She was really excellent. I got an appointment within 24 hours. There was no waiting there, I was straight in. It turned out half a filling had fallen out, so I got a new filling and a clean. The cost: €46. Given that at home a clean alone cost me €70 even with PRSI I felt that wasn't too bad.

Actually, because of the cost of dental treatment, and the good quality of care, many people from the States come down here to have dental work done. That and plastic surgery. I have no plans for the latter just yet.

Home in December
-------------------
I decided to book my flights home for December, to avoid having problems with Christmas flights. I was glad I did. I picked up my cheapest flight ever. I arrive in Shannon on the morning of 14 December, for a cost of just €387. That's just one way, because I won't be coming back. But my cheapest one way trip before was €565 coming out hear last April two years ago. And my return fare last July was €1,100.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Just 2 more weeks in work. I can't believe it after all this time. They have asked me to organise one more pub crawl before I finish up. Probably on the night we finish up!

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: 170 arrested for selling drugs to students

Bullets and bronchitis in Bocas

2007-06-12T14:35:00.001-06:00

Folks,

Well, I've done a visa run and now I'm legit until 8th September.

The pic of the week shows a house built out on the mangroves on the way between the Panamanian mainland and the islands of Bocas del Toro. The only access is by boat, and we stopped at this house on the way up to drop off a new DVD player and on the way back to pick the guy up and bring him to work.

Journey to Bocas
-----------------
Given the way the weekend went, the journey was probably the highlight! It was an early start, as I got the 6 o'clock bus from San José. I ended up knowing 3 people on the bus. One was a teacher who I interviewed when Barbara was away. She was going to Gandoca to do volunteer work with turtles. The other two were my former neighbours Olive and April from Canada. Olive now works with me in Intercultura and they were also going to Bocas on a visa run.

We got to the border town of Sixaola around 11.30. We got our passports stamped on exit from Costa Rica and then went across this rickety bridge like refugees to the Panamanian immigration on the other side. If you're from the US or Canada you have to pay for your visa, but if you're from the EU it's free.

After immigration it was a minibus journey to the boat. Bocas del Toro is an archipelago of Islands on the Panamanian Caribbean coast. The journey is beautiful, through mangrove swamps and with water perfectly reflecting the trees and the blue blue sky.

I was staying in the main town, Bocas, on the main island Isla Colón, or Colombus Island.

Bocas
------
The weather was beautiful the evening I arrived. April and Olive had travelled with me, and went to their hotel. I found a very nice and reasonable hostel nearby. We said we'd meet for a beer, but we never saw each other again!

I arrived on the Thursday, and on Friday I was out for a walk and it started to rain. I ducked into a nearby bar, and the rain was so torrential I had to stay the afternoon having a beer and reading my book. Something I've already said is one of my favourite things to do while I'm away. I was out on the decking of the bar, which was out over the sea, sheltered by a roof, but open at the sides.

So, because of the weather, it wasn't really possible to do much Friday. On Saturday, I woke up feeling really dreadful. I woke up coughing, and had no energy after I got up. I went back to bed and slept till 11.30. I went out to try to be productive for the afternoon, but only made it as far as the central square. I had no energy to go further. So I sat there for the afternoon, and finished my book.

Gunshots at the Hansi Hostal
------------------------------
I went back to the hostel, and rested for a while, so exhausting had my afternoon been sitting on a bench. Although the weather was beautiful for the day, it had broken in early evening, and there was a fairly dramatic thunderstorm. I had decided to get ready to go out to a nearby Thai restaurant and was sitting on my bed beside the window, starting my new book, when I heard this almighty crack. I thought that lightning had struck nearby. I heard shouts outside, and I looked out the open window. An American guy in a white t-shirt was lying completely prostrate across the street in the rain. I thought he'd been hit by lightning, but then remembered there hadn't been a flash. Then two police officers arrived, and shortly afterwards two police jeeps. So now a swarm of police activity.

The guy was shouting that he'd been shot at. He hadn't actually been hit. And the shooter had run around in the corner, in the direction of my Thai restaurant. So the police all ran off, and the guy was once again left on his own.

From my window, which I was sitting at, there was a garden of about six foot, then the street, and all this happened on the opposite footpath.

I spent about half an hour trying to decide whether to go to the restaurant or not. I didn't really have an appetite, but I so rarely get the chance of spicy food. In the end I decided to risk it, and had a delicious Green Chicken Curry and Mashed Potato Pie. Together with 2 beers it only cost €7.75.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I was diagnosed as having bronchitis on my return by my landlord, who's an ex-pharmacist, and I'm on anti-biotics. So I hope I'm in better health next week, and I hope to sort out where I'm moving to by this weekend, because the end of the month is approaching pretty quickly!

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Managers of appointed schools called the PLN (Political Party)

Flying furniture

2007-06-03T21:53:00.001-06:00

Folks,

We're into June already. How did that happen?

The pic of the week shows me with fellow teachers, Ron, Julia and Paul, and Paul's girlfriend Esperanza. Paul has been at Intercultura nearly as long as me and he's leaving for Korea, following a trip home to the US.

Coast move update
-------------------
I'm still following up a few leads on the coast, just to keep my options open. But as time is moving on I think it's probably going to be Mal País. I'm now starting to concentrate on clearing out all the 'stuff' I've accumulated over 2 years.

I'm not the only one moving to the coast. Mel Gibson has just bought a ranch on the Guanacaste coast at the cost of some $25m.

Petrol Leak
------------
Intercultura hit the national news for a second time in as many weeks. I arrived to school on Monday, and there were fire engines everywhere. It turned out that during a delivery to the local petrol station 50 gallons were leaked. They just poured out and ran down the street. When I arrived the TV news crews were there, and shortly afterwards the whole block was evacuated, and we had to close the school. This was lunchtime and we didn't get the all clear until 4.15, so there was no 4pm class. When we were in the bar afterwards we saw the school coming up on the news as it was being evacuated.

Calipso
-------
This story is definitely a 'you had to be there' ones. We went for a few drinks after work on Wednesday to Calipso, a local bar just down the road from here. We were all sitting down chatting and relaxing. At one stage I was leaning forward telling a story. I began to feel my chair very slowly give from under me, and I ended up gradually sinking to my knees. It turned out that the front legs of the chair had done the splits, and when I sank fully to my knees, the chair shot, with great force, right across the bar behind me. I have never seen so many people virtually collapse with laughing. It was like I'd leant forward and shot this large piece of plastic furniture from my behind.

Seanad vote
------------
I got some election material from Senator David Norris during the week. I'm taking this as a good sign that my Seanad vote might actually find me here. I may take some part in the democratic process yet.
-----
That's it for this week. I'm going to Panama on Thursday on another visa run. I'm going to a couple of islands called Bocas del Toro which is just down the coast from Puerto Viejo. It will be my first time in Panama, and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Homeless and thieves 'owners' of San José streets

Do it like they do on the Discovery Channel

2007-05-27T12:27:00.000-06:00

Folks,

This week were were visited by a camera crew from the discovery channel.

The pic of the week shows the presenter (in the pink top), having a cooking lesson in the school with one of the Spanish teachers, Silvia.

Discovery Channel
-------------------
The discovery channel are making a programme called Passport to ... Costa Rica, and filmed in the school. The idea is that the presenter comes to Costa Rica, decides to learn Spanish in Intercultura. She does Spanish classes, dancing classes and cooking classes. They filmed in the evening, so the Spanish classes were over, and some teachers and admin staff had to pretend to be entry level students.

In the middle of the mayhem, another camera crew arrived, from the Costa Rican station news, to film them filming. I was doing placement exams with students, and it was crazy negotiating around the two sets of crews filming, together with pretend dance classes and pretend cooking classes.

Afterwards, the story continues as she goes off with her friends to try out her new salsa dancing skills in a club in San José. To which we were all brought in two buses, and had a free bar until filming stopped. After the crew left, we stayed, and I eventually got home sometime after 4. Sometimes it's great to have a job that starts at 4pm.

All my students the next day had seen it on the news the previous evening, it was shown quite prominently.

Boy killed by crocodile
-----------------------
This happened a couple of weeks ago, but I don't think I wrote about it at the time. A 13-year old boy was playing in a lagoon with his brother in Tortuguero (near where I saw the turtles), when a crocodile jumped out of the water, bit his leg. Then it struck a second time and dragged him off. The boy surfaced once, shouted goodbye to his brother, and wasn't seen again.

Moving to the coast
--------------------
I've decided to do some more research on what's available on the coast for the price I was quoted. I just have a feeling there are better options. However, I do at least have something to fall back on, and I think I can probably negotiate on price.

Irish General Election
----------------------
Thursday was the first General Election that I didn't vote in since it got the vote. I have to say full marks to RTÉ though. They broadcast their entire election programme on the internet, along with two 'raw' feeds, where I could see Mark Little rehearsing and returning officers nervously waiting for the signal that they were 'live'.

It was great, for a political junkie like me, to be able to follow the whole thing unfold throughout the day over a few beers. And full marks to Bertie for having it on a Thursday, so the results were shown on my day off!
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I can't believe that next week it's June, and my last month in the Apartment.

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: The ex-director of Migration authorised the return of a Nazi

Mal País

2007-05-22T13:47:00.000-06:00

Folks,

Sorry my entries have been so erratic. Last weekend I went to Mal País, which is a place I may potentially move to.

The pic of the week is a butterfly on flowers in Mal País, which provided a blast of colour on an otherwise gray and wet weekend.

Craig's List
-----------
I don't know if you know Craig's List. It's a classified listings site very popular in the US. I discovered that there was a Costa Rican section, and I've been looking on it for places to move to on the coast in July. I also put up an ad saying I was a writer(!) looking to move to the coast for 3 months. A girl called Laura in Mal País replied, and said that she had a restaurant with cabins, and she would consider letting me one of the cabins if I looked after the place while she's away in September.

Journey
--------
Mal País is a small town on the Pacific coast. Just a little further north than Montezuma, where we went for a weekend last year . You need to take a bus and a ferry to cross over to the Nicoya peninsula. I love that ferry journey. It only costs 76 euro cent for the hours journey. You cross this gulf past islands to the other side which is completely lush with rain forest. It was so peaceful and quiet as we arrived on the other side. I had to laugh though, as I was watching the port drift into view I was listening to a Morning Ireland podcast. And my idyllic scene was interrupted by the news that 'a car crash is causing traffic northbound to back up to the M50 roundabout in Blanchardstown'. If ever there was news out of context!

Restaurant Verde
------------------
Laura is from Chicago, and runs a vegetarian restaurant called Verde. It's about 100m from the beach. The location is ideal and exactly what I'm looking for. The restaurant is at the front, with a lovely chill out area that I could use as a living space when the restaurant isn't open (i.e. not between 7 and 10pm). There are kind of jungle type gardens, with a shared house, cabins, a larger cabin and a 'studio apartment'. It's all got a real new agey, hippy vibe. However, I don't want to share, the cabins are very basic, and the studio apartment is too expensive. So that leaves the larger cabin. It's got a living space, with a kitchette, a small bedroom and a bathroom. But there's an artist living in it at the moment, and it's a bit of a dump. Untidy, dirty and with paint everywhere. He's moving out on Tuesday, and she'll have it cleaned up then. It's also a little on the pricey side. So I just need to check out other options before committing.

Russian Embassy Siege
------------------------
Costa Rica unusually hit world headlines last week when an Uzbek gunman held the Russian ambassador and his family hostage last week, over a failed property investment. There was a standoff for several hours at the embassy in San José, but luckily it ended without loss of life or injury.

Giving the cellular back!
-------------------------
I've been using a 'cell phone', or mobile as we'd say, from my landlord. But he wants it back, and given that I'm leaving next month, it's not a problem. But when I was telling people that I wouldn't be on it anymore everyone connected it to my leaving and I got all these sad messages back about how people will miss me. I was quite touched.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I promise to be back on a regular schedule from the weekend. We're back in full rainy season here, it's hopping of the roof as I write.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: One in every three homes use private healthcare

Power Crisis

2007-05-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

Folks,

The power crisis continues, and I think this will be the case until the rains replenish the reservoirs for generating hydro-electricity.

That said, it's lashing as I'm writing, so here's hoping.

The pic of the week is of the fruit truck trailer that came unstuck on the already very precarious Parrita bridge when I was going to Manuel Antonio, which delayed us, and all traffic south, for about an hour while they got a JCB to tow it back off.

Manuel Antonio
----------------

I went to Manuel Antonio for the weekend. I hadn't intended to. I was going to go to the more North Westerly beaches in Nicoya or Guanacaste just to check out possible places for moving to the coast. But we went for a few drinks on Thursday after work. I was home at 12.30, but as there hadn't been any water earlier on in the day I had to wash up the breakfast and lunch dishes. And then I had to pack. So by the time I was going to bed it was 2.30. I was to be up at 5.30. Unfortunately that didn't work. I woke at 5.30, but then blinked and it was suddenly 9.30. So I had missed the early morning buses. So it was a nice and relaxed weekend in Manuel Antonio.

The place I usually stay is very basic and costs around €6 for the night. But they only had a double, and believe me, it's not really worth €12. So I went to the hotel down the road. It was much more luxurious, and I decided to splash out. The price was €55 per night, but I bargained him down to €37 (these amounts were in dollars, so the figures made more sense!). Then when I was going he only charged me one night in error. So I had €110 worth of hotel for €37.

Facebook
----------

I never really heard about Facebook until the Virginia Tech shootings. Then I read about lots of students updating their Facebook accounts about their experiences on the day. Well, since then, membership has rocketed, including in our very own English department. So one of the teachers sent me an invitation, and I've joined. I must say I love it. It's a way of people keeping in touch and sharing photographs. I have made contact again with former teachers now in Canada, Czech Republic and Spain, and a former colleague on my Celta course. It will be a great way of keeping in touch with the people I'm working with now. If anyone has it, you can search for me using this email address.

Heredia/Saprissa
------------------
Last night was the match between local team Heredia and the league leaders, Saprissa. I only had two students for the final class. The police have to escort the Saprissa supporters through the city, and all the shops close their shutters as they go by. It was in the stadium just down the road and there were huge celebrations as Heredia, very much the underdogs, won 2-0. The singing and honking of car horns went well into the early hours of the morning.

American English
------------------
I feel I've been working here too long when I find myself, as I did the other day, automatically spelling color. And when colour starts to look like it's pronounced col-OOR. Scary.
-----
So until next week.

Chao,

Éamon

Sunday's Headline in La Nación: Energy crisis causes water rationing

National blackout

2007-04-22T22:28:00.000-06:00

Folks,

It's been a week of power blackouts and water shortages.

The interruption to power supplies was worse than anything I've experienced in my time here.

The pic of the week is Friday's front page following Thursdays blackout. The headline is National Blackout.

Electricity outages
-------------------
We had a few power cuts over the past few days. On Wednesday we were without power throughout two of the schools three buildings. We relocated earlier classes to the gardens and patio, because it was still bright. Later classes had to be moved into the dance room, or near emergency lights.

National Blackout
------------------
Then on Thursday night came the big one. I was doing an exam with my final class of the evening. The power dipped for a few seconds and came back. Then it slowly dipped and was gone. It was unusual, because it usually goes like you've turned a switch. We moved to the table in the kitchen, where there were emergency lights, and they continued the exam. Then word came around that it was national, and unlikely to be back soon, so we had to close the school.

There was nothing we could do but to make an early trip to Mulo, the bar across the street. Looking better than ever in candlelight. Crossing the street, it was strange watching how dark the whole region was. The mountains were dark, there was lots of traffic, but no traffic lights. I felt it was quite dangerous.

Mulo closed at 10 o'clock because they were almost out of candles, and we went to my local bar, El Cholo. They were even serving food from the kitchen there, although it was funny seeing the chef trying to cook while wandering around with a candle in one hand. The power had gone at 8.10, and came back for us in Heredia at 11.30.

Most power in Costa Rica comes from hydro-electric or thermal plants. This is a vulnerable time of the year after the dry season. So on Thursday a failure in the line between Arenal and San José meant that the system couldn't supply demand and just collapsed.

Party
------
After the power came back, I suggested a few people come back to my apartment for a few drinks. It became a full impromptu party, with everyone salsa dancing. It spilled out onto the balcony. When I arrived home on Friday the neighbours were laughing. "Well, there's a man who had a party last night!"

TLC referendum
-----------------
The biggest political issue throughout my time in Costa Rica has been the ratification of the Tratado del Libre Comercio, or in English Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). It's hugely controversial, and the President's election campaign was built on its ratification. Last week, in a surprise decision, the Electoral Commission indicated that it would approve a referendum if enough signatures were submitted, and the government then decided to submit it to referendum itself. So the decision is now in the hand of the people. It's the first such nationwide referendum, and is likely to take place in about three months. The outcome is far from clear.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Hopefully we'll have power throughout the week, and I'm hoping to travel to the coast next weekend.
Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Unpredictable schedule for next power cuts

"It's raining and it's warm"

2007-04-13T19:05:00.000-06:00

Folks,

It was back to school after Semana Santa off, and it was my last week in charge at school, and I'll be delighted to see Barbara back tomorrow. We're now into rainy season.

The pic of the week is from the Good Friday procession. It's Christ's, I don't know, coffin?, and is the climax of the procession. Because it's dare you can't see the people carrying it. The coffin itself is lit by neon!

"It's raining and it's warm"
---------------------------
We've made the transition to rainy season. I have the umbrellas back out. But although we have rain, the temperatures are also rising. It's actually warmer here in winter than summer. I was doing the weather appropriately enough with my intro classes. To the question, What's the weather like today?, they answered, It's raining and it's warm. I was amused at how un-Irish a phrase that is.

Maurice and Colette
--------------------
Many of you will know Maurice Devitt and Colette Healy, from Irish Life. They were out here on holidays recently. They were on a tour travelling around the country, but we managed to meet up just before Semana Santa in San José. It's great to meet up with people from home. They'd loved their holidays and were very impressed with Costa Rica. I feel some sense of pride in Costa Rica, and I'm always delighted when people like it.

Semana Santa
---------------
Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is one of the busiest times in Costa Rica. The only other comparable time is Christmas week. For Semana Santa, the cities empty and everyone heads for the coast or the mountains. The roads are dangerous at the best of times, but more dangerous when they're so busy. This year 40 people were killed on the roads.

The Good Friday procession in Heredia is very impressive. There is a cast of hundreds, and thousands more watch it in the street. The participants are dressed up as the apostles and people from biblical times. There are kids dressed as angels, and woman in dresses with long flowing trains (soggy from the rain) carrying various things representing Christ's life. There are drums and things like those noisy corncrakes they have at football matches. It's a long slow march, every reverential, very funereal, and very Latin.

An Irish family
---------------
One of my friends in school is Erin. She's from an Irish family in California. Her family are visiting en masse this week. It was funny because her parents are so Irish. You'd swear that her dad had just come directly from Roscommon his accent is so thick. They visited the school during the week, and he popped into my office to tell me that they were going across the road (to Mulo's) for a few beers if I wanted to join them. It was 3pm. And if I wasn't teaching at 4, I'd have been tempted!
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Next week Barbara returns to work, so hopefully I'll be able to spend a lot less of my time at the school.

So until next week.

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Regular gasoline to rise tomorrow by ¢16 a litre

Second Anniversary Edition!

2007-04-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

Well, Thursday was the second year anniversary. I can't believe it. It's flown by. For this weeks email I've decided to have a retrospective of some of my early mails and impressions back in April 2005.

The pic of the week shows the 'card window' in the apartment. There is an unsightly washing balcony behind it, so we started putting up cards that people sent. So every card I've received here is on the window. Birthdays, Valentines, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, you name it!

Incidentally, I know there were problems last week with the Irish Life profanity filter. Many apologies for my appalling language when describing the bodies of the masks in Barva!

You can see the entry here (if you're not going to be too offended). If this every happens again, the entry is always available on blogger.

April 9, 2005 A few days after we arrived.

The journey
-----------
Hi, well we’re finally here. I’m writing from our hotel room in San José. We were exhausted after our flights. We had a 6 hour 40 minute flight to New York, followed by a one hour 40 minute flight to Atlanta, and then a final 3 and a half hour flight to San José. All with breaks in between. All in all we were travelling for around 24 hours.

April 9, 2005

San José
--------
After all the planning, packing, stress and travelling we’re finally here in San José, and I have to say that, to be honest, it’s a bit of a disappointment. I had read beforehand that it’s a pretty uninspiring city. On first impressions that’s a bit of an understatement. As Jack put it, it’s a hole! It looks very old fashioned. Everything seems to have been built in the sixties. There is a lot of poverty. Loads of homeless living in cardboard boxes, literally. It’s quite dirty and polluted. There’s some quite obvious prostitution. All in all, it looks to qualify for ‘hole’ status. We did venture out to some of the suburbs, which are a definite improvement on downtown. Still, given that it’s where we’re likely to be living because of the language schools (and there are lots of them), it seems a shame given that the rest of the country is so beautiful.

April 17, 2005 - Our first visit to Manuel Antonio

Getting there
-------------
As ever, the journey to Manuel Antonio was not without event! Our taxi to the airport should have taken 20 minutes, but took 45 as a truck had crashed into a bus on the motorway. We got there with minutes to spare. The domestic terminal is a tiny hot overcrowded building right next to the tarmac. When we went onto the tarmac to board, we were confronted with a tiny 6-seater Cessna! It was so small that Jack had to travel in the co-pilot’s seat, with the steering thing moving around in front of him. It was so small that the plane was buffeted about with every little gust of wind. I was so nervous. But the views were incredible. Especially when we came out of the cloud and saw the pacific coast for the first time.

April 24, 2005 - We took the first apartment we saw (and I'm still there!)

Our apartment
----------------
We’re so tired of hotel living that we decided to look for an apartment in Heredia even though we haven’t work yet. Even if it’s just for the first few months. We spent a thoroughly disheartening day wandering around and looking in papers and on supermarket noticeboards. On the way home I bought the English language Tico Times, and found an ad for a furnished apartment in Heredia, with phone (like gold-dust here, a long story for another time), internet connection, washing machine, TV and cable. We went there today and it’s fine. It beats the hotel hands down and it will do for now. So we’re really delighted and moving in on Sunday 1 May.

May 1, 2005 - I got a job! In a school that I've built my tico life around. I love it, and I love the people I've worked with over the two years. I wish I was back on those early hours though!

Eamon, el Profesor
------------------
Thanks for all your good wishes for my interview. I've been taken on in the Intercultura school in Heredia. Turns out it's just three minutes walk from our new apartment. Only a few hours at first. Six hours training last week, and 4.5 hours teaching this week. I could get used to this! There's a teacher leaving at the end of the month, so I'll pick up extra hours as I go along. When I get to 15 hours per week I get free Spanish lessons. I also have an email message from another school, so I may pick up some more hours there.

-----
That's it for this week. Happy Easter everyone. Normal service will be resumed next week.

Chao,

Éamon

Mascarada

2007-04-03T20:19:00.000-06:00

It was a busy weekend with the Mascarada in Barva, and the Mundoloco festival in Fraijanes. But it's Semana Santa, and so I'm off for a full week.

The pic of the week shows my friend and colleague Jennifer with one of the 'masks' at the Barva Mascarada.

Mascarada
-----------
The Mascarada in Barva is an annual event. The people in Barva love their festivals, and there are several during the year. For the Mascarada, there are lots of people dressed in heavy masks. They are typically a full over-sized head and you put it on resting on your shoulders. There are clothes, usually with big boobs or a big bum included, which come down over your body, and you look out through the chest.

The festival was really enjoyable. A real family occasion with all ages and generations represented. There were food stalls, live bands playing typical music (I can't remember the name), and everyone dances with everyone and hits each other over the head with balloons.

Mundoloco
-----------
One of my ex-students invited me to the Mundoloco festival in Alajuela. I thought it was in the city, and didn't prepare myself for the chill of being up a mountain in drizzle, arriving in my t-shirt with no jacket. It was a last minute decision to wear jeans instead of shorts. It was in Fraijanes, in half-way up the Póas volcano in Alajuela province, not the city.

When I arrived, not only was the weather quite Irish, but the band playing were Costa Rica's most famous Celtic Music band, Peregrino Gris (the Grey Pilgrims). It was like being in a time warp back to Ireland. They were playing dai-dely ai music on fiddles, tin whistles, bagpipes and bodhrans. Celtic symbols were everywhere. You'll see what I mean on their website.

Later we were treated to different forms of world music, all from local tico bands. I really enjoyed it for both the music and the quirkiness.

Rainy season looms
--------------------
Although some days have been quite hot recently, we've had the first downpours of the year. Although short, they're very, very heavy. The heavens open, and the drains can't cope after the drought of the summer. Although the forecast is good this week for Semana Santa, I feel the rainy season proper isn't far away.

Notice
-------
I gave my three months notice to my landlord over the weekend. I'll be leaving at the end of June for the coast, and telling him I was leaving really made it all seem quite imminent and real.
-----
That's it for this week. I'm off work for Semana Santa, or Holy Week, but I don't think I'm going away. I hadn't got anything booked, and with being busy at work the apartment has been neglected a bit.

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Train from Heredia to San José will take 19 minutes