MontanaRon

An English teacher's blog about his travels and his digital art.

Month: February 2010

Wanderlust

February 28, 2010 /

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 :smile:). 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.

Hyangiram Fire

February 26, 2010 /

In addition to the collapse of the mosque in Meknes, Morocco, there was a disaster at another house of worship with which I’m familiar. Luckily, there were no injuries in this particular misfortune, an unfortunate fire at Hyangiram in Yeosu. I’ve posted before about Hyangiram Temple. It’s one of the locations where I went on a university-associated field trip last November. Though the fire occurred back in December, I didn’t find out about it until recently, when one of my students made mention of the fact. I was skeptical, but I asked around, and sure enough, several of the structures, including the main temple, burned to the ground. Here’s a photo of the inside of the main temple I took last March.
Hyangiram_Buddha1
This shot is of the golden-roofed temple. I can’t say for sure if these areas were destroyed, but I suspect they were.
Hyangiram_Golden_Temple
And a few more shots.
Hyangiram_Lanterns2jpg
Hyangiram_Temple3
I was told that the reconstruction of the buildings will take about two years. Hopefully, the effort will be finished in time for the 2012 Expo. The temple itself is not all that spectacular; here, it’s the view, and it is magnificent.

Hyangiram_Harbor
Hyangiram_View1

Moroccan Mosque

February 22, 2010 /

I forgot to offer my condolences to all of my Moroccan friends for the devastating loss of life in the collapse of the Bab Berdieyinne Mosque. I pray that those of you I know are all well, Insha’Allah.

For those who haven’t heard, the mosque disaster occurred in Meknes, where I worked for a year. At last count, 41 people have died and many more have been injured. My heart goes out to all of those who have been affected. Here’s a link to a photo I took of the old city of Meknes from a position across the wadi, where I lived in the new section of town. Although I don’t know where the Bab Berdieyinne Mosque might be in that photo, I’m sure it’s one of those pictured. If anyone views the shot, let me know if you see it. Again, my condolences to anyone affected by this disaster.

Signs of Spring

February 22, 2010 /

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.

Blog Updates and 2010 Baseball

February 12, 2010 /

I’m still going through all of the older posts from the original MontanaRon blog software, updating links and photos to make them compatible with Word Press. I was updating a link to last year’s Yankee outfielder Melky Cabrera from when he visited the Domincan Republic Yankee baseball academy back in 2006. To be sure that I have the links entered correctly, I visit the relevant websites. Jeez, I clicked on that particular link and, sure enough, there’s Melky, but he’s wearing an Atlanta Braves cap. Yikes, I’d just about forgotten that he’s no longer a member of the Yanks. Johnny Damon and others are gone, too, but the team has added a few guys that should ensure that the World Series Trophy remains at Yankee Stadium at the end of the 2010 season.

Spring training begins soon, and loyal reader OGM, Red Sox fan extraordinaire, should be able to inform us how many days until then. Also, I’m curious if the Infamous Red Sox Equipment Truck was able to depart Boston for sunnier climes or did the recent heavy snowfall interfere with this auspicious (for Red Sox fans) occasion? Inquiring minds want to know.

In my previous post, I mentioned our 3-day Lunar New Year holiday, but I just noticed that the U.S. also has a long weekend due to the observance of Presidents’ Day on Monday. Missoula and Great Falls, Montana residents look like they’ll have the same type of weather that we expect here in Yeosu, but Glendive, Montana, my home for 20 years, is supposed to experience low temperatures below zero Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy.

As far as updating the old blog posts, I’m better than halfway, so I guess progress is being made. Maybe I’ll really push to get it done during my 10 days off later this month. Mr. Excitement, that’s me. 🙁 More later.

Year of the Tiger

February 11, 2010 /

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.

tiger_clipart_61

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.

Back in the Saddle

February 2, 2010 /

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 (Note: the new picture on the site is a different color from this one. My bike looks exactly like the one below.)

Cannondale F7

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.

© 2024 MontanaRon

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑