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Here’s a little more info about the prospective Korean job this fall: My apartment is either on campus or near it because it’s only a few minutes’ walk to classes. It’s about a 5-hour bus ride to Seoul, 3 hours to Busan (or Pusan), (Korea’s 2nd largest city), and 2 hours to Gwangju. Thus, I’m well out of range of North Korean artillery.  (Since I still haven’t given the name of the university or the city, you could probably triangulate between the above 3 cities and bus ride times to get a fair approximation of where I hope to be. Sorry, I won’t tell until I get the contract and sign it–don’t wanna jinx things.)
Like I posted before, I’ll have free internet in the apartment, and Korea has a top-notch broadband system, meaning the connection will be very fast. Here, from about 1 p.m. to midnight, the internet is virtually unusable because all of the players and coaches (and me) have their computers fired up, sucking up the limited bandwidth that we have, so that everyone’s internet experience is quite a bit less than optimal–a LOT less. It’s a good thing I’m an early riser, up before most other people in camp. The early morning is about the only time I can accomplish any major Internet activities.
What else about the job? Free cable TV, a large-screen TV (whatever size that might be), university English classes, of course, but also some kids and adult classes on occasion, similar to what I taught in Andong. Hiking in the hills behind campus. The area is famous throughout Korea for its seafood, especially sushi. Vacation time is split up thusly: 7 weeks work, 1 week off, 7 on, 1 off, 7 on, 3 off, 7 on, 1 off, 7 on, 1 off, 7 on, 3 off. Not optimal, but not bad; I can at least go to Thailand and Laos twice a year, instead of once, though for shorter stays. The airfare will be less, even going 2 times, and the travel time will be shorter. If I recall, it’s about a 5-6 hour flight from Seoul to Bangkok.
All in all, it seems like it will be a good gig. If it’s a typical university, there will be plenty of restaurants, bars, karaoke clubs and such in the immediate area. I don’t know how close it is to the main part of the city, but I’m going to buy a bicycle as soon as I get settled in. Oh, I forgot to mention that the job begins on Sept. 1, so I’ll probably have to be there around the 24th or 25th of August. My plans right now are to fly out of Montana on the 22nd of July, bound for Bangkok and Laos. So, that gives me about a month in the Land of Smiles and in the Land of a Million Elephants.
Meanwhile, though, I’m going to enjoy my remaining time working with the Yanks. I’m looking forward to the arrival of more players on May 4th, some of whom I haven’t seen since last July. This life’s short–enjoy it. As my friend Nai (who’s doing very well, finally) tells me in his fractured English, “Don’t worry about everything. Don’t thinking. Don’t serious.” Well said. More later.
Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Let’s see . . . what’s been going on? The Yanks are not in first place, the Dominican Republic is still a very nice place to live and work in, and, oh, yes, there’s a bit more.
First, I’m going to whine and seek your sympathy (or admonishment), but only for this one post. I screwed up BIG TIME on past tax returns. I’m not going to go into details, but the resulting effect on my wallet and my mental state has been nightmarish. I’ve had to pay a ton of money so far, and I’m sure there will be more to cough up. It’s my own fault, something I omitted out of sheer ignorance and naivete. Be careful when assuming things when tax time rolls around! Ok, end of whine. I’m not going to cry about this burden again on this blog.
This past week was interesting, other than the IRS snafu. I went into Santo Domingo on Monday to send some documents to Mr. Taxman and was invited to a press conference by my boss, Rex Moser, at the Cultural Affairs office of the U.S. Embassy. The U.S. Army baseball team is touring the Dominican Republic over the course of the next few weeks, so, of course, the government has to call attention to all affairs of this kind. There were quite a few important D.R. military people at the conference–a general from the Army and others from various branches of the armed forces, and the Dominican press. It was interesting, but short. There was a very tasty assortment of snacks afterwards, which I took full advantage of.  The Army team is coming to the Yankee camp next Thursday, possibly to work out with our guys, but not to play against them. They will be playing against other Dominican teams while they’re here, though. I’ll definitely get some photos.
More important, however, was the visit of high-ranking Yankee officials this past week. Brian Cashman, the General Manager of the team, was here on Monday and Tuesday, along with V.P. Felix Lopez and Senior V.P. of Baseball Operations, Mark Newman. They were here to look at the players who are trying out for the team, players who haven’t yet signed a contract. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Cashman. As I wrote earlier, I was in Santo Domingo on Monday, and Tuesday I was busy with lesson planning. He was, of course, busy looking over the players. Mr. Cashman is, basically, the architect, so to speak, of the Yanks, an important but extremely difficult job. He probably ranks about #3 in the organization and he’s done a superb job so far. This year is going to be more difficult for the team, in my opinion, so I wish him good luck.
Despite the tax situation, there has been some good news. First, I’ve finally broken through the 190-pounds level–I was at 188.5 after jogging yesterday! So, that’s about 12 pounds I’ve lost since the middle of January. Hopefully, I’ll be in the mid 170s by July 15th, when my contract is finished.
What? Contract finished? Yikes, where will I work then? Korea is my first choice, so I sent out a few applications to various universities in the country. One of the problems about working there is that many institutions are focused on age and looks. The younger and better looking you are, the better chance you have of getting a job, as long as minimum educational requirements are met. You need a 4-year degree (B.A.) in anything, including dance majors or history or whatever. You’ll get hired to teach if you’re young and photogenic, no experience required.
I feared the long spring and summer ahead of me, sending out dozens and dozens of applications and getting no responses. Surprise!!!! Virtually the first university I applied to asked for an interview. We did that on Wednesday at 12:30 a.m., my time, and the next morning I had an email offering me the job. Wow!
It’s a decent position in a very isolated part of the Korean peninsula in a “small” town (300,000) about the size of Andong, my former workplace in the Land of the Morning Calm. That remoteness is probably the biggest reason I’ve been hired (ok, my credentials aren’t too shabby, either). Youngsters, for the most part, seem to enjoy working in the larger, more accessible cities, where night life opportunities are more prevalent. Old-timer me doesn’t care about that, and I think the folks at my new university realize that. (Yes, I accepted the position).
The city is remote enough that the uni offers a 300,000 won ($300) per month “incentive” to work there. The job pays decently and offers $25/hour overtime pay, free internet in the free housing, 300 kilowatt hours free electricity every month, 8-10 months vacation every year, and numerous other benefits. I really consider myself fortunate to get this position right off the bat. Oh, yeah, it’s a 10-minute walk to a beach and it’s located in the extreme southern end of South Korea. It’s not Thailand or the D.R., but from what I’ve read, it has a moderate climate (except it’s also in the “Typhoon Belt”). I won’t say more about it until I’ve actually got the contract, but it sounds like a perfect fit for me. Hopefully, I can make enough money to pay off the credit card bills I’ve racked up to pay off the IRS. :crazy:
Ok, I’m off to Boca Chica to treat myself to a Triple-Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake!  No, not really.
More later.
After having ark loads of rain last week, making the fields too muddy to jog on, we’ve been experiencing marvelous, sunny, tropical weather this week, the kind that is featured in travel brochures. Because I hadn’t been jogging all that much the few weeks prior to last, I thought I must have put on a bit more weight. But I weighed myself just before resuming my daily running program, and, wow, I’d actually lost a few pounds. It must be the power of positive thinking. Sit back, think “lose weight, lose weight, fat off,” and eat all the Dominican food and Burger King junk you want and “POOF”–pounds away. The Montanaron Diet, one to rival Atkins and others. 
The expected April 1st arrival of the new players didn’t happen. Instead, most of them will be coming around the first part of May, I’ve been told. My classes, though not as large as before, are still of a decent size, and a few new/old players seem to trickle in every week. Some are returning from Tampa, others from their home countries, and there are a few new ones at the camp. It helps keep me on my teacher toes.
Here’s an interesting video from Reuters about an all-woman team clearing unexploded bombs in Laos, bombs left over from America’s secret assault on the country during the Vietnam War. I hope to journey into that part of the country when I go to Laos in July and August.
The Yanks knocked off the Red Sox last night in their first meeting of the year. Let’s hope they can keep it up. (Hey Tiger fans–what seems to be the problem?) More later.
No, not really, but we’ve had some very heavy downpours the last few days that have made the fields virtually unusable, at least out on the warning tracks. Jogging around them is out of the question, so I’ll have to make use of the access road into camp, thus going back and forth rather than in circles–breaks up the monotony, I suppose.
I had to go into Boca Chica for some supplies yesterday, so I phoned my usual motorbike driver to come pick me up and bring me back. I could see the clouds starting to move in, but thought I could get there and back before the rain started. I got there ok, but the sky opened as we were coming back to camp. Luckily, we were near a small shop that let us stand inside to wait for an opening in the clouds.
Right now, about 7 in the morning, we have overcast skies and it feels quite chilly. The forecast is calling for more rain today and tomorrow. This is the first significant rain in quite a long while, so I suppose we need it; some of the fields were looking a bit parched. Now, if I can only time my jogging to coincide with the expected rain, allowing me to skip another session . . . 
As expected, about 10 of the players have left for Tampa, but the new guys haven’t come to camp yet. A couple of my classes have been somewhat depleted, but that gives me more opportunity to work with them individually, if necessary.
The Yanks won their opener yesterday, topping Toronto 3-2. Sweeeeeet! We’re in 1st place! More later.
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