Teacher’s Day

Teaching in Korea hasn’t turned out to be anything like what I was expecting. My first few weeks here I was very disappointed with my job. I always knew it wouldn’t be in-depth discussions about Marketing Strategy with highly motivated adults (like it was in Italy) but I certainly wasn’t expecting to babysit children all day. My supervisor actually told me to stop trying to get the students to do their workbooks and just to chat with them. How can I do that with 5 year olds whose English vocabulary consists only of cartoon superhero characters, I wondered.

There are good days too, like when the kids don’t eat 5 boxes of candy before class and do their homework. One day it’s definitely worth being a teacher is Teacher’s Day. Here are some of the spoils I came home with.

Not to mention too many cakes to eat in one day, boxes of Dunkin Donuts and numerous iced coffees.

I also enjoyed the notes that came with some of the gifts. It seems one of my favourite students is going to have to have a lesson on how to spell Einglish, woops I mean English. Maybe I’ll teach them that once they’ve got the “DON’T TOUCH TALI TEACHER’S FACE” lesson down pat.

Tags: Korea, Teaching

Getting Above It All in Yangsan

Settling in and getting to know Korea is going to take a while. Apart from the complete culture shock, the new job, indecipherable alphabet (yes, I am trying to learn it) and the blaring obviousness that I am not a local, the cities themselves can be overwhelming with their bright lights, complete lack of street signs and always open, go-go-go attitude. I decided to try and get to know Yangsan by getting my hiking shoes on and getting above it all.

Just a few moments out of Yangsan and off the highway, the first stop was a brand new Buddhist statue complemented by some well-worn prayer flags.

Everywhere you go here there seems to be outdoor training equipment. Beside the playgrounds, behind the subway station and even halfway up a deserted hill.

The spring flowers have been literally bursting open all over the city and high in the hills.

A local takes a hard-earned (or Soju induced) nap in what is no doubt a great place to relax.

Sitting a few steps removed from the city certainly makes it all seem much more manageable.

Tags: hiking, Korea, travel, Yangsan

First Impressions of Korea

Absolute first impression of Korea: Very smoggy.

Second impression of Korea: Very pretty

 Korean Barbeques are very good; Soju hurts the next day.

American style baseball is very popular here.

There’s an “Exciting Zone” at baseball games. Sitting up in the nosebleed seats was pretty exciting too.

People wear shopping bags on their head to rally the home team when they’re down. Committed.

Dried squid replaces hot chips as a snack of choice.

Cities can be pretty intense and colourful at night.

The word for milk looks like two cute people and the freshest water comes from where no man may venture, the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea).

And people walk on the road to avoid the cars parked all over the footpaths.

Tags: Busan, Korea, travel, Yangsan

The Lakes of Bavaria

Bavarians are always happy to tell you that they live in the best state of Germany. Not only do they have the best beer, they also have a beautiful and diverse natural landscape. From mountains for skiing, to forests for hiking and lakes made by glaciers thousands of years ago perfect for swimming, boating and relaxing.

I headed off to see what the fuss was all about.

First stop: Chiemsee. The weather wasn’t great which unfortunately left me a little disheartened by all this talk of ‘great Bavarian lakes.’ A boat trip and a bit of sun later and I was starting to see what all the fuss was about. A castle on “Man Island” (that’s what Herreninsel translates as), and a beer garden right on the water and lots of bikes on car-free “Lady Island” (Fraueninsel).

Next stop, as spring had sprung and the weather was getting better: Ammersee. Perfect to get our grillen (German style portable coal BBQ) on.

Then there was a walk from Tegernsee to Schilersee. Why not walk a good 11km straight up and hill and back down the other side one sunny Saturday afternoon.

There was also a trip to Starnberg with the flatties. The snowy peaks in the background are actually the Austrian Alps.

Of course I had to return to Tegernsee, as I missed out on trying my favourite beer right from its very own home. As so often happens in Bavaria, we turned up coincidentally on the day of the Tegernsee Beer festival.

And finally (for me anyway) there was a walk from Starnberg to Ammersee along what is a part the famous König-Ludwig-Weg as well as being a section of the Munich to Santiago part of the Camino de Santiago (I walked the France to Santiago section in 2010). Just an easy 20 or so kilometers compared to the people who might keep walking to Santiago. Apart from the beautiful lakes we started and finished at, along the way we got to see frogs, small lakes, naked bathers and Andechs, a village known for its monastery which brews beer. How wonderfully Bavarian.

Click here to see more on the walk from Tegernsee to Schilersee.

Click here and here to see more on the Camino de Santiago.

Tags: Ammersee, Andechs, Bavaria, Camino de Santiago, Chiemsee, Fraueninsel, Germany, Herreninsel, König-Ludwig-Weg, Lakes, Schilersee, Tegernsee

An Ode to Barcelona

Barcelona was the first place I visited in Spain that made me never ever want to leave Spain. No, it wasn’t the first city I ever visited in Spain. Yes ok, it was the second. So when I had the opportunity to spend another weekend there, I started counting the sleeps to go before I had even bought my tickets.

Every time I go back there I still get the same feeling I did the first time I visited. Just landing at the Barcelona Airport makes me smile. In all of Europe it is my favourite city. It has it all, especially a vibrancy that comes from people who embrace life.

And so begins my Ode to Barcelona:

I love Barcelona. I love the art and architecture of this city. I love the big open boulevards in the centre of town. I love the food and especially the markets. I love talking to the locals and wishing I too could be a local of Barcelona. I love the personality of the Catalans, I love their fashion and their confidence.

I love Park Güell and its amazing views over the city. I love the buskers, and the musicians who embrace the good weather that Barcelona has to offer and entertain us. I love getting lost in the skinny, winding backstreets. I love the random parades of people wandering through Barcelonetta on a Sunday afternoon. I love the waterfront that goes on forever, lining the beautiful beach. I even love the way the sun sets here.

  

I love the melting pot of cultures. I love the mix of history and modernity. And last but not least, I love the way people live their lives. Getting up late, staying up late, going out late, eating lunch late and the eating dinner late, the knowing smiles on the locals’ faces – they know they live in the most beautiful city in Europe.

  

Tags: Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

A Piece of Pisa

Arriving on a misty grey day can really give you a bad impression of a city, especially if you’re only visiting for a short time. So after arriving to this:

It was nice to be bid farewell by this.

Our first stop in Pisa (like most other visitors) was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Now it’s leaning, now it’s not.

 

And of course there was the obligatory “I’m a cheesy tourist” photo to be taken.

While the Leaning Tower of Pisa is so famous, there is a lot more to Pisa than just this tower made by engineers that didn’t take its own weight into account. First of all there is the Church beside the tower, that is so rarely seen in Pisa photos.

Not to mention the Università di Pisa and the fact that this is a bicycle friendly city (some of the first words I learnt in Italian were swearwords, I wonder why?).

There’s the old town which is beautiful as well as fun to wander around and get lost in.

And of course there is the river to stroll along or hang out beside.

Tags: Italy, Pisa, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tuscany

Pompeii – A Blast From the Past

While living in Rome, Pompeii periodically came up in the news, due to a wall collapsing or there not being enough funds to maintain it, despite its UNESCO World Heritage site status. On a suitably grey and dreary day we went to visit this city both destroyed and preserved by the mighty Mount Vesuvius.

The monster who destroyed this city still keeps a watch over it.

We did find evidence that money does get spent on trying to maintain this village.

It was quite incredible to wander around with the realisation that this was a lively city almost 2000 years ago. The inhabitants would have been going about their day-to-day lives with no knowledge of what was about to happen to them.

Looking inside what were once people’s homes, you can even see the first known “Beware of the dog” sign.

Tags: Campagna, Italy, Pompeii