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Wow, I was watching the Yankee game this morning (Sunday, in the States) when the broadcasters announced the starting pitchers for the August 23rd game, Yanks at Toronto. One of my students at the Dominican Republic Yankee baseball academy is going for New York. Ivan Nova is a charismatic, 6-foot 4-inch, 23-year old from the D.R., and I’m really going to enjoy watching him pitch his first major league start, though he pitched a few games in relief earlier this year. It’s quite a huge deal for him. Here are his stats on Baseball Refrence.
I joked with Ivan about what his nickname might be in the Majors; I said it could be “Ivan the Terrible,” but he told me that “Super Nova” was going to be his moniker. I think I have his email address, so I’m going to send him congratulations after he wins tomorrow. Good luck, Ivan! Here’s a photo of him that I posted back on Nov. 16, 2007, when part of the team visited an orphanage in Santo Domingo. The kids loved him, (like I said–charismatic), and he was swamped by young autograph seekers.
The university conducts student surveys after every semester to ascertain how we teachers are viewed by our classes. Well, the results from last semester came out last week and I had the highest rating by far, at 93%, with the faculty average being 85% or so. The students “grade” us in categories such as “The teacher arrived in class on time,” “The teacher was well-prepared,” “The teacher used outside materials appropriately,” etc. However, I look on this stuff as mere popularity ratings, not proficiency, and your score is dependent on the kind of students you have for that particular semester (age, hometown, interests, major, etc.). I won this before, in my first semester here (Fall, 2008), and I received a 100,00 won prize and a nice certificate. I also finished near the bottom in the semester right after that, while not drastically changing my methods or presentation, though I’m always striving to learn from my mistakes and get better. Like I said–a popularity contest, though it’s not bad for an old guy, I guess.  More later.
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Korea has had a bit of a heat wave going on since at least last weekend, and temperatures today are reaching the mid-90s F. That doesn’t sound bad, but with the afternoon humidity in the 50, 60 and 70% range, it feels quite a bit hotter. Yeosu is a bit “cooler” than some areas, with a high of 88 today, but still uncomfortable. I went jogging this morning at 6:30, and the temperature was already at 79 F., according to the official Korean Meteorological website, with the humidity at 91%. Needless to say, I was soaking wet after one hour of punishment. 
Ipchu, the start of autumn, according to the traditional Korean solar calendar, is today, according to the Joong An Daily English-language newspaper. At this time, temperatures are supposed to become more moderate from the summer highs, but the newspaper also reports that meteorologists are predicting that the heat will linger into the middle of September. Here’s a report from August of 2006 about another heat wave that occurred near Ipchu.
I’ll take this hot, humid, sunny weather over hot, humid, rainy weather any day. The Yeosu forecast calls for more of the same throughout next week, which is great because I have the week off until classes begin on August 30th. Actually, university classes don’t start until September 1st, but evening adult classes begin on the 30th.
My plan for next week is to get out and take some night photos of the industrial complex and other well-lit areas of Yeosu. Hopefully, I’ll post some of them here soon. More later.
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- In Yeosu First, I’ve posted some photos at the bottom of the previous entry, showing some of the flood waters from the Mekong in Laos and Thailand. Scroll down to take a...
- Nearing the End Thought I’d better post something, just to let everyone know I’m still kickin’. This starts the last week of formal classes at the CPR, and I’m giving my students an...
Lest anyone think I’ve fallen off the face of the earth, I’m still kickin’. I returned from Thailand last weekend, and Language Center classes for the public-at-large began on Monday. I’m teaching 4 classes a day until children’s classes start in a few more weeks, when I’ll have one additional afternoon class. Right now I have classes from 9-12 and 7-8 in the evening. Thus, I’m off from noon until around 6, when I go to the office to prep for the next day’s classes. I also go in around 7:30 or 8 in the morning for more prep work.
I’ve been starting up my jogging program early in the morning–I mean EARLY; I go to the soccer field around 5:30 a.m. and jog for about an hour, then back to the apartment for breakfast and a shower, then up to the office. Around noon, I go to the gym weight room a few days a week for more punishment (well, at least I will be going–I just started yesterday and Thursday, and, geez, am I sore today). I finish the weights about 1 o’clock, then it’s time for lunch and . . . ummmm . . . time for . . . errrr . . . being lazy. Nap time, reading, watching TV, playing OOTP Baseball on the computer. Whatever. But, I haven’t been working on the blog. I’ve corrected that today. I’ve also been processing the photos today that I took on vacation, so I’ll be posting some of those soon. (Fingers crossed ) Anyway, stay tuned for more later.
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- Haze and Butt Head It was very hazy a few days ago, looking much like the smoke-enshrouded skies of Montana during fire season. I don’t know whether it was water vapor, an actual forest...
We’re elbow deep in final exams and paperwork. Today and Thursday I have 3-and-a-half hour morning-to-afternoon sessions (11-2:30) sitting at a desk and giving final 5-minute, individual oral interviews to all of my students, asking the same questions over and over, ad infinitum, a boring and ineffective way of measuring student progress, in my opinion. Korean administrators seem to love this particular version of hell, since I had to do the same thing when I was in Andong. At least we have tomorrow, Election Day, off, more or less (we still have to make up the hours–sheesh). Then, there is more classroom assessment at the end of the week and into next week and more paperwork to submit and entries to make into the online grading system and . . . well, you get the picture. Eventually, it’ll all be finished near the end of next week, and then we have three weeks off. I’ll be off, of course, to Laos and Thailand.
I did manage to go bicycle riding this past Sunday under clear, sunny skies with another teacher. We sped down the back way into the huge petro-chemical complex (we didn’t go in), made our way up and over a large hill that separates it from the rest of Yeosu, and out to the Soho Yacht Marina area, where we stopped and ate a quick snack at one of the many seafood restaurants that dot the area. Unfortunately, on the way back he got a flat tire (no spare) and we had to walk our bikes a mile or so to find a bike shop that was open. They got him up and running in no time flat and we were able to continue our ride without further difficulty.
It’s about time that I get going to my early morning special intensive TOEIC classes (8 to 10 a.m.), where I can tell the students about their final exam (oral interviews, again) next week. More later.
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- Pepero Day Yesterday, the 11th, was Pepero Day in Korea. It’s akin to Valentine’s Day, which is also celebrated here, with young people and couples exchanging candy, mainly the Lotte Corporation’s Pepero...
- Checking In Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while, but I’ve been quite busy getting ready for the move back to Korea. Yes, I signed the contract for Woosong University, and...
Once again, I find myself apologizing for the length of time between posts. I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting bored with keeping up with this blog, or perhaps I’m too lazy, or maybe there’s just nothing to post about right now. However, I’ve pinned down one good reason–I’m spending too much time watching the Yankee games on MLB TV. I find myself using my spare time to watch the games to the exclusion of other personal responsibilities, like posting to the blog, cleaning my apartment, eating, sleeping . . .
Ok, it’s not that bad, but I do find myself using valuable time off to watch the games. My weekday schedule gives me several free hours in the middle of the day. My easiest days are Tuesday and Thursday, when I’m free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Monday, Wednesday and Friday slack time is from 2 to 6. Also, I have two early morning classes, from 8 to 10, every day but Friday. Evening classes are from 6 to 8 every day, and I go to bed about 10 every night, since I get up at 4:30 every morning (yeah, I’m quite the early bird) and go into the office around 6:30 or 7 to prepare my lessons for the day. I also spend a bit of time on Saturday mornings preparing for the upcoming week.
So, a lot of my valuable free time is spent watching the Yanks roll over the rest of the league. They’re off to a great start this season and it’s a thrill to watch them. But, since it’s the early part of the season and because I’m using too much time engrossed in the games AND because I can’t really afford the $24.95 a month for accessing the games on MLB TV (yes, I have money issues–but don’t we all?), I’ve canceled my subscription. When the dog days of summer start in August, I’ll probably renew it to catch the pennant race at the end of the season and to watch the team defend their World Series Championship. Until then, I’ll have to be content with posting here about how great this current Yankee dynasty is.
Therefore, I hope to be posting more content here in the days, weeks and months ahead. More later.
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My schedule changed, so I haven’t really had the time to post in awhile (either that, or I’m sometimes lazy or not much has been going on–take yer pick). I had yet another class given to me. I knew about this class, sort of. My boss talked about it a while back, when she asked me if I was going anywhere for the one-week break in the middle of this semester. I said no, I would be staying in Yeosu. She said there would be a one-hour class at 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday that week and would I like to take it for some extra overtime. Sure, I told her.
Well, come to find out, it’s a 7-week course, which I didn’t know about originally, and it started this week. So now I have 31 contact hours a week, which is keeping me quite busy. No problem, though, because I can always use the extra income.
It looks like we might finally get some spring-like weather today and this weekend. We’ve been having a lot of rainy, cloudy, gloomy, windy days lately. Hopefully, I can get out and snap some photos this weekend. It’s supposed to be sunny, with temperatures near 60F. Stay tuned.
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I’m feeling a bit maudlin this evening, continuing to update the old posts. Right now, I’ve made my way back to Morocco, 2006. As I go through all of these previous posts, converting the old links and photos to the Wordpress paradigm, I’m really feeling the urge to travel, to pick my feet up and go. But not only to travel, but to also move along to another country to work and to settle down in for a while. Korea’s ok–the pay is good, the people are mostly friendly, and Yeosu is quite beautiful. However, I really miss the Dominican Republic and Morocco. I have an urge to go somewhere else, not necessarily those two countries, but to somewhere. I’ve never been to the Near East, like Turkey, or to South America. Indonesia beckons sometimes. India is out there somewhere.
I’d like to satisfy this itch by finding a job in another region of the world, but good positions are getting harder to find at my age (which I won’t mention here ). My one big regret about this life that I’m leading now, compared to where I was 30 years or so ago, is that I didn’t pursue this type of job and this lifestyle when I was younger. Nothing I can do to change that, though. Perhaps I’ll look to go somewhere outside of Korea after this contract expires in August, perhaps not. At any rate, I still consider myself lucky to have experienced all that I have in the last 10 years. More later.
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Finally, we’re getting some nice weather, with the temperature today in the mid-50s (12-13C) and expected to stay around there and/or close to 60 most of this week. Unfortunately, the forecast calls for rain Thursday and Friday. Still, the balmy days are arriving just when I have a week vacation. Very nice. I did a nice, long jog today in my running shorts and a t-shirt, the first time I’ve been able to do that since who knows when. It was great to soak up some sun, recharging my batteries, so to speak. I hope to get out and take a few rides on my new bicycle and take some photos. I also noticed some flower buds ready to open on some of the shrubbery, so signs of spring are fueling my impatience for the real deal to get here.
I was busy most of the weekend grading 143 essay papers. The university is offering a special class, which I taught last semester, for the incoming freshmen. It’s a 2-semester course with instruction for the all-important TOEIC exam (important in Korea, anyway), conversational English and tourism English that might be useful during the 2012 Expo here. To qualify for one of the 80 spots in the class, however, students had to write two picture description essays and two general essays (write about your best friend and write about your favorite school subject); I graded the latter portion. It took several hours, but I was paid nicely for the time spent. Now, no more school work until the start of the semester on March 2nd. More later.
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This Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Korea celebrates the Lunar New Year, which will be celebrated in China as the Year of the Tiger. As well as in China and Korea, the Lunar New Year is observed in Viet Nam, where it’s known as Tet. Many Americans will remember the (in)famousTet Offensive of 1968 during the Viet Nam War. Here in Korea the holiday is known as Seollal, and it’s one of the two big annual events, the other being Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok.
I won’t be doing anything special, probably just hanging around the apartment. It’s been raining since about the beginning of the week, but the forecast calls for clear to partly cloudy skies throughout the holiday. If it’s not too chilly, I might take my new bike out for a spin. I think because of the weather and the approaching long weekend, many of my students cut class today. As a matter of fact, no one showed up for my 6:30 p.m. Beginner class, usually a dependable group. So, I got out half an hour earlier than usual (I always wait a while before calling it quits, in case of late arrivals).
Earlier this afternoon, I went shopping for groceries at the local E-Mart, hoping to beat the rush. Fuhgeddaboudit! The place was packed. Luckily, I had a meager list of items to get and knew where to find everything. I grabbed what I needed, found a short line at one of the check-out counters and fought my way to the exit. A couple of other teachers were headed for E-Mart after their classes tonight–I wished them good luck.
In addition to having Monday off, we start a 10-day vacation beginning Saturday the 20th. Usually, it’s only 9 days, but Monday, March 1st, is Independence Movement Day, another national holiday; thus, the extra day off. Looking forward to a bit of down time. More later.
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No, I’m not riding a horse; I’m back in the saddle of a bicycle. One of the teachers’ contract is finished, and he’s chosen not to renew. Instead, he’s entering the Peace Corps in late spring or early summer. Less than a year ago he bought a Cannondale F7 mountain bike up in Seoul. It’s made by one of world’s great bicycle companies and it’s really a sweeeet ride. Here’s a picture of the model from the Cannondale website.
It gets mostly great reviews, including a bunch from this website. The guy paid around $700 for it, but he’s letting it go for around $300, a price a bit beyond what I wanted to pay, but too good of a deal to pass up. I can probably sell my motorbike, which I rarely use, to offset some or all of the price.
Walking around or taking the bus last summer and fall to various locations around Yeosu, I thought that it would be great to have a mountain bike, and I promised myself that I’d look into getting one this spring. I love bicycles, but I haven’t had one since I worked in Morocco. The Dominican Republic was just too unsafe to be out riding alone and after a year without one here, I realized how much I miss riding. Now, I can hardly wait for the weather to warm up. Yeah, it’s still chilly winter here, despite a few decent days a couple of weeks ago. Soon, though, (well, a few months) it’ll be spring and I’ll be out riding regularly.
The two extra classes I’m teaching finish this week. That means I’ll have more time to get into the gym beginning next Monday and start working out and running on the treadmill (too cold and windy to run outside). I’ve probably put on a few pounds since my last regular workouts at the beginning of December, so I’m anxious to get going again. I’m looking forward to being svelte.  It also means I’ll be posting more often. Stay tuned for more later.
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