Speaking Test Monday And Tuesday For The Kids

This Monday and Tuesday are the days of the monthly speaking tests for the children at my school, Avalon.

Each class uses two of the units that we have already studied in class. They are given the unit numbers to study a week before the speaking tests. Each student has a question book that has 10 questions from each unit studied from each chapter of the reading book.



For example most of the classes were given unit 1 and 2 as the speaking test units. They have all the answers to each unit written in their reading books, or should I say, they should have them written. It is not always the case. 70 percent of the questions used for the speaking tests are taken directly from the questions books, so if they studied the units well, they will have no problem with the speaking test.

The children come into the classroom and it is set up much like an interview. There are usually 4 students sitting beside each other and either one or two teachers sitting in desks in front of them. The students are then asked questions in order by one teacher and the other teacher evaluates them for accuracy,comprehension,pronunciation and interaction while responding to the questions. There are also times when one teacher asks the questions and evaluates them too.

The point system starts at 10 and then goes down from there. It is a little bit nerve-racking for the students, so we try to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Either before or after the speaking test, the students also have a monthly vocabulary test with the Korean teachers and then on top of that a small essay to explain one of the two units that they were given to study for the speaking test.

The English teachers also mark these mini-summarizations for the Korean teachers. Needless to say, it is a stressful time for the students, but the parents want them to be pushed this hard and it is a good way to see what level the kids are at and how they are progressing especially their speaking skills, which are always the hardest to evaluate.

Some of the kids are really nervous whent they are sitting there for their speaking test, but it is good practice for them even for the future for an interview for a job. Some of the faces on the kids are priceless and quite funny at times.

I like the speaking test days, but don't like marking those mini-essays as we are already marking essays on an ongoing basis anyway. I think Avalon asks a bit much of us at times and expect too much for the time that we are here compared to some of the other schools that are at an equivalent level.

Things don't look good for me re-signing my contract here. That said, I am not stressed out about the school at all. I just think I need to go to another place next year where I can be a little bit more of a free spirit when teaching the classes and have some fun with some of the kids. At least a little anyway, which is not possible here other than putting some humour into teaching the lesson. The kids never have free time as we are going gangbusters right from the time the starting bell goes until the end of the class, to cover the material that we need to.

One of the things that Avalon does that I don't like is just go at a hundred mile an hour. They give the kids hardly anytime to just relax and they have tests every bloody day. If they just gave the kids a little break sometimes, it would go a long way to improving both the students attitude and for sure the teacher's attitudes.

Avalon have lost a lot of teachers lately and are going to lose more in the future. Lyndsey is not re-signing and I would say that if one teacher here and there went, maybe it is the teachers, but if there are teachers leaving left right and centre, then the problem is with the school itself and how they are treating the teachers. Anyway, enough said, I will still enjoy my 6 months more and then find another place before I leave for my month off.

Here is a pic of my Dad in Newfoundland. Mum and he just got back from a nice 2 week tour of the place. They said it was fantastic and that the people were awesome. They said that the people have the same sense of humour as the Brits. More pics to come as and when I get them off my Mum and Dad.

The World Cup Is Over! Time To Get Back To Normal Living Now

The World Cup is over and I am actually quite relieved as now I can get some sleep!
I have stayed up many early mornings to watch the games here in Korea due to the time difference.



The usual start times were 12 midnight and then 2am or as later on in the tournament, 2am and 4am. That meant that most games at 4am got finished at around 6am. I watched almost all of the games in the knockout phases, so sleep deprivation was abundant in this body for the whole month!!!!



I am going to give a very brief synopsis of what my thoughts about the the quality and entertainment value of this 2006 World Cup tournament.

The refereeing was very inconsistent and they should have named this tournament the 'Christimas tournament' because there were so many cards handed out!!!!!

Some of the games were fantastic to watch, others had more action than Mother Theresa watching a porno movie.

The golden goal should be brought back just like the last World Cup. Penalties is no way to settle any game of high calibre football especially at this type of tournament.




My opinion of FIFA now has dropped to zero after having awarded Zidane the Golden Ball after his despicable actions in the biggest final of any sport in the world and in front of billions, yes that is right, billions of people. They have disgraced themselves as an organization and governing body. Their credability before was limited, but in my opinion, it is now a big fat zero.

The World Cup final was a snore bore at best and was not a showcase for the sport at all. The only exciting part of it was the penalties, which as I said before, should be the last resort after the golden goal. It was a bad ending to what I otherwise found a very entertaining although somewhat controversial World Cup.



I will be at the next World Cup for the whole month in South Africa. I am saving for that adventure now. Dave and I have both agreed that we will be there no matter what in 2010.

I will make no more comments about England's deploring performance and only wish that for Euro 2008, we will see a completely different chemisty from both manger and players.

During the World Cup there were many places that I went to, always with Dave of course and there were a few pictures taken along the way. Some of them are included in this blog and I will let the pics speak for themselves. I am not going to explain each one. Suffice to say that they are mostly at bars or pubs, where the big screen tvs were and one the way to the places too..... subway stations and bus stations etc.



Taken at my apartment before the 4am Korea vs France game. We watched it at a Korean bar and it was a great atmosphere. We ended up being very happy when Korea snatched a victory out of the arms of defeat..... way to go Young Pyo and Ji Song!!!!!



Below is a pic of Chris, a friend of Dave's and I who is from Los Angeles. He had become a good friend of ours now and I refer to us now as the 'Three Muskuteers.' Dave met Chris first and then introduced him to me and we have hung out a lot together over the last month during the World Cup. The girl that he is with is gone now, she was his girlfriend for a short time. She actually went home that night while the game was still on!!! She didn't have to work the next day either. Very unusual as Korean spirit for their football team is unbelievable. So, Chris is single now. I am single again and so is Dave....... coooooooooool!

I love taking pictures of cultural things like phone booths and drinking machines and the sort. This one is of the biggest phone company for public telephones in Korea, KT Telecom.

This is a picture of one of the popular drinks in Korea. It is called 'Amino Up.' It is supposed to have amino acids in it to replenish your system after a good workout. Regardless, it tastes good and I have it quite often. I guess you could compare it to 'Powerade.' This is a machine that only sells Amino Up.

Another pic of a bag stand in one of the subway stations. They sell everything in the subway stations and sometimes some really good stuff. They have cd shops and jewellery shops and bakeries and any other type of stuff that is good to flog.

Shabu Shabu

shabu-shabu[SHAH-boo SHAH-boo] Absolutely one of my favourite dishes to eat nowdays. It is a little expensive, but for the health side of the meal, well worth it.

A Japanese dish consisting of raw meat (usually paper-thin slices of beef) and raw vegetables cooked by each diner at the table in a pot of hot broth.

The freshly cooked ingredients can be dipped into a variety of sauces provided for additional flavor. Once the meat and vegetables have been cooked and eaten, the broth, sometimes with noodles added, is then served.

The name is said to come from the sound that's made as the meat is gently swished through the broth.

Yesterday, Dave and I decided to have some shabu-shabu. It was buffet style and needless to say, we stuffed ourselves. It is such a healthy meal, which includes your choice of seafood as well as a hell of a lot of veggies and all cooked in a pot of broth whose flavour is second to none. We went to another area within Bundang called Yatap. There were lots of places to see and explore and we first went to a coffee shop and then off to the public bath for an hour and a half.

Once out of the public bath, we then ate some shabu shabu and then we decided to go to Samsung plaza and meet a friend of ours, Chris who is from LA. We went to a place called Posse (Western style bar as advertised.) It was an okay place and Dave ended up getting a pair of Heineken flip-flops for drinking 3 bottles. We were joking saying that his house is full of stuff attained at the 'bars!' Does he have a problem, do you think?

I don't know what is with my blog page, but I seem to be only able to post pics if I download them first and then do my writing. It is pissing me off to tell you the truth and I would love it if someone could give me advice on maybe what the problem is and how I can remedy it!

Now the World Cup is coming to an end, it will be back to regular blogging and hopefully I can post some interesting stories about Korea and its cultural nuances. We have speaking tests at the school on Monday and Tuesday, so we will be somewhat busy marking essays and doing all the other fun stuff that goes with the tests.

The weather here has been roasting hot and sweating is the norm lately. I am still hard at it going to the gym and the program is still a work in progress. I aim for about September or October to reach my goal of about 198 pounds. I am in no rush to lose the weight. I want to lose it healthily and keep it off using a good healthy diet of veggies and a little meat. It is working right now and I am not craving any sweets or the like lately.

Wish me luck and let's hope I can post pics of the new slim me in the months to come......yeahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most Of What I Have Been Saying All World Cup!

BBC SPORT Football World Cup 2006 Teams England Is the future bright for England?

England Are Out And Deservedly So!!!!!

A disappointing weekend as far as England's football team is concerned. It was great the way the played with 10 men, but Rooney was an arsewipe for what he did and Eriksson is a complete wad of shite! Tactically he didn't have a fucken clue and what the hell was he doing bringing on Carragher for 2 minutes and then have him take a penalty. Carragher has only ever taken 3 penalties in his career (his own words by the way), maybe he offered I don't know, but come on it should have been players that have done it before.

That said ,the penalties were shite as usual. Like we never knew if it came to pens we wouldn't lose? That is funny shit! It is the fifth time, that is right 5 times that we have lost at major tournaments on pens.

I would like to make a few of my viewpoints on the whole England World Cup experience:

1. Why would you let a coach that has already be fired, carry on and coach the team in the tournament. McClaren is the new manager and has been there all along, so wouldn't it have just made sense to make him the manager for the World Cup? Stupid stupid FA!!!!!

2. Beckham was absolute shite in every game. He didn't tackle hard, he fell over all the time and yes, he did save us with one of his magic free-kicks, but is that what we want for an England team. As an overall player, he just doesn't have it anymore. Maybe that is what Ferguson saw and didn't want a playboy around the other players.

3. Frank Lampard had lots of shots straight at the goalie and really didn't stamp himself in any of the games. I would have pulled him and tried another midfielder. At least Gerrard was improving as the tournament went on, but once again he was playing in the wrong role that he just sits behind the main attacker by a Texas mile!

4. What was Eriksson thinking taking Theo Walcott and on top of that never played him, to make it an even worse choice. Even if we reached the semis, all we would have had up front was Crouch. Don't you usually take more than 3 strikers to a major tournament?

5. The only real English style of football I saw from them was the first half against Sweden. Why didn't they play like that all the time?

6. What was Rooney thinking doing all the agressive over the top shite? He needs to realize that there is a time to take a yellow or a red, not just be an over agressive baby, who needs his bottom smacked. Like my sister said, 'Naughty naughty boy!"

Well, that is my spiel for the moment. I am not sad that we didn't win and am not going to make any excuses at all for the team. They were shite, plain and simple. I don't know if we will ever be able to play as a team and the style that we watch week in and week out at an international level!!! The World Cup is virtually over for me now, but I will make a prediction. It will be Germany vs France in the final and it will be 2-0 for Germany.

Not much else going on here except I am now finally finished with the girlfriend. It just was not working out and I decided to tell her that I didn't want to play with her feelings and drag her along anymore. She will be going back to Ulsan in about 2 weeks. We had a good heart to heart talk and I think she understands that she has no future with a lunatic like me!

I am a little sad, but relieved at the same time. She had no friends up here and will be much happier back in her own town, Ulsan. Time for her and I to move on and go our different ways. I am happy for the times that we shared, but it is a new beginning for both of us now and we will both be better for the experience. I helped her with her life a little and she helped me a little too, enough said.

Played some basketball yesterday with two of the fellas that I work at Avalon with and a bunch of Korean fellas. I can't play very well, never really played the game to tell you the truth. I was happy that my elbow held up to it and I could actually slap the ball and throw a little,but still not one hundred percent. No pain today though, which is awesome. I think about another month or two and I will be back to nearly 100 percent. Went to the gym over the weekend also. I am still keeping at it and eating healthy.

I went to Itaewon as expected. Dave and I, a friend from Ulsan, Katherine and Dan Reid and his girl Lisa, as well as a girl called Laura who I met at the Canadian pub in Itaewon and is from Rochdale, all watched the game at a pub called Scrooge. Her dad is a mad Liverpool supporter, as is she. We all watched it at a pub with a good crowd of England supporters.

The week has started and I will be back at the gym flogging my guts out again. I think I will go at it pretty hard this week too. Oh another thing, on Saturday, I realized that I had the shutters shut on the a/c unit. Once they were opened to vent outside, the place was so nice and cold. The apt was reading 29 degrees on Friday afternoon.

Once the a/c was going good, it went down to like 23 degrees. It was so nice to sleep in. The guy came to the apt early Saturday morning and it took like 2 minutes to find the problem. I had taped the door up for the Winter, so I hadn't even checked the shutters. Rebecca, the girl in the same building as me and the same school, had hers looked at too, the same day. Same problem, so we are both happy campers now.

I think from now on I am going to think of beautiful girls like this one on the left! Isn't she just awesome.

I Hope To Be Cheering For England In The Semis After Tonight

The time is looming closer to the quarter-final game between England and Portugal. I hope that Eriksson puts a bit more thought into winning the game and not worry about 'not losing!'

I for one can't wait for the game to start. A bunch of us should be going into Itaewon to watch it. The game starts at midnight, our time, here in Korea.

Rooney sounds like he is raring to go and also I just read that Ronaldo will not be playing for Portugal. That means that both Deco and Ronaldo are not in the line-up, which is great news for England.

I am hoping to see England play a stormer of a game and win with pride. We all know that England have the ability and today's weather should suit them fine. I am going to say that Gerrard will be the man of the match and that Cole and Rooney will score.

The other quarter-finals last night were crap as far as the results went. Argentina gave Germany a huge game and scared the shite out of them. Winning on penalties is always crap for the fans and the game itself. The Italy game was crap and Ukraine looked like a bag of shit. How did they ever progress?

I have been going to the gym religiously and am delighted to say that I have lost 2 inches off my waist. That will keep me going for the next few weeks that is for sure. I have been eating a lot healthier and have only missed 3 days in the last 4 weeks at the gym. I feel much better and have way more energy now.

Colored my hair again, more blond, have to go and wash it out now and can't be arsed blogging anymore to tell you the truth.

Well, I just washed the shit out of my hair and its godamn bright GOLD!!!! Oh well, it isn't the first time that I have had a colour that looks retarded. I will get Dave to take a pic and send it to me so I can put it on here....... haha.

We are just getting ready to leave for Itaewon. Katherine from Ulsan is meeting up with us as well as Dan who used to play on the Wonshots with us; I think him and his lady are anyway!

It will be nice to watch the game with a few fellow countrymen too. Dan's is from just outside Manchester and his girl is English too.

Should be a great game and hopefully I will be singing the praises of England tomorrow on the blog.

What You Gonna Do With All That Junk In Your Trunk.......Lahlahlah

Well, once again Beckham saved England's blushes and scored one of his amazing free-kicks. He hasn't scored for over 3 years for England, so it was well due. Thought you might all like this picture that I found on the Internet.




I think overall England's performance wasn't too bad considering the kick-off temperature was 31 degrees celcius or so. England don't play well in the heat, but they created enough chances to see that the ability is there..... I think so anyway!!!!!


I am just sitting down to watch the Italy vs Australia game and I hope the Italians don't do what this fella here is doing during the game. They are well known for their high calibre acting, but in a bad way. Let's hope that Australia can pull out the upset of the World Cup and knock the Italians off with the help of Harry Kewell; one of Liverpool's best players for sure!

As a former coach myself, I know how difficult it is to pick a starting eleven. This is my team and I had no problem starting any of them. They would do well also as the other team would not be looking at the ball that is for sure!!!!!

Maybe Van Basten of Holland should have chosen better especially by playing Van Nistleroy, who would have finished a couple of those chances that Holland had during the game.

I think he made a few mistakes and it was due to his lack of experience as a coach, never mind him not picking a few veteran players to help the young players through the whole emotional grind of the tournament.

He seems to be a bit of a stubborn coach from what I have heard. Why would he not even have started Van Nistleroy. That is a mystery!!!!

The game has started now, so off to watch an upset hopefully. Today was a hot, sticky, damp day, if you can picture that.

Monday is over and I made it to the gym again. Slowly the fat is coming off. Should be in shape by about 2010.

Bring It On Ecuador, We Have Fire In Our Bellies!!!!!

Normally I am not so sad to see any particular team lose in any sport, but Korea not making it into the last 16 at the World Cup, was a bit of a bummer for all of us here.

It is so hard to describe the passion that the people have in this country for their national team. Just one example is the fact that close to 500,000 people gathered in the downtown Seoul for a 4am kick off to watch their team.

There was a resolute big sigh of disappointment when Korea lost to Switzerland. To be honest, the Korean team was just not good enough. They tried their collective best, but the end result was indicative of the ability of the team versus some of the other top teams in the world; rather ordinary and not able to compete with the competition.

That said, I can't say that England were any better performance -wise, but you can see there is some room for improvement and they are capable of doing it. Let's hope that Rooney has the eye of the tiger in his view and vision for the next game.

Below is a pic that Lyndsey had on her blog and shows the immense numbers of people that were around the Seoul area. There was no trouble at all and everyone picked their own garbage up and generally policed themeselves. That is one of the things that I love about Korea. Gracious losers to say the least!!!!!!!!



Dave, Danny from my school and myself are going to kick a ball around close to Samsung Plaza at a park directly opposite it. It has grass, which is also a bonus, as we all hate playing on the dirt or should I say gravel fields at all the schools. After that I am going to the public bath to soak my tired bones again and to get ready to watch the England vs Ecuador game.

Kyoung Hee, Dave and I are going to a local pub/restaurant that we found last week. It is really nice inside and has two big screen tvs and the decor is really modern and very clean. The food is quite reasonable and they had the best tacos I have ever had in Korea. There was actually a base of falafel bread under the tacos. The hot peppers were great and overall it was a fantastic taco dish. Dave and I agreed vehemently...... haha.

Dave is getting excited too, as his team Holland are playing Portugal ,right after the England game . The England game starts at 12 midnight here and the Holland game at 4am!!!!

I watched the first half of the Argentina vs Mexico game last night and woke up during the extra time to see the amazing goal that won the game for Argentina.

That has got to be the best goal yet in this World Cup. The control to chest it then hit it on the volley and with the power and precision, was absolutely sublime!

Gotta run and catch the subway now. Can't be arsed blogging lately, to tell you the truth. So, sorry if I am not gabby-kelly like normal. Go England go!!!!!

Grinding Out The Week!

Well this week is really busy, but I am happy to say that I am all caught up doing my essays (about 80 of the bastards). So the week has some semblance of order amongst the madness!

I have been watching as many games as humanly possible, but have to be honest and tell you that I have nodded off during a few of the 1am and after games.
I watched England yesterday at 4am and was delighted with the first half. They looked like world champions and then they went into the dressing room and talked to the knobhead who told them to settle down and just protect the lead.... what else could you figure out from the second half performance? I kept asking myself, "What happened to the team from the first half. Did they disappear or did their clones suddenly decide to take their place?"





The most unfortunate part of the game was Owen getting injured again. There was nobody around him and I just think he rehab was too soon and too quick. There must still be a weakness in the ankle that caused his knee to take the excess weight and it looked horrible the way his leg just caved in. I think the same is true of Rooney. He couldn't get going during the game and has come back too soon. They should not play him in the next game and you could see how frustrated he was after coming off; throwing his boots off and just looking frustrated. Don't worry Wayne, there are lots more world cups to come for you. You are only 20 remember.





Well, the gym thing is going great. I have been going every night still and am slowly starting to see some results. I ran again for one hour straight the other night and have been interval training in between. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is walk one minute, job one minute and sprint one minute. Do that for about 25 minutes and you get 8 walks, jogs and sprints. You can also change it to 2 minute jogs and 2 minute sprints, which I did last night. I thought I was going to die!!!!
Anyway, I am getting thinner all over and starting to feel like I have way more energy and feel less stress that is for sure.

I will be happy when Friday comes and I can finally have a break at school. Rebecca is back next week, so Mon, Wed I have a break and then on Friday I have 2 breaks. When I say breaks, it means no class, but I am still busy marking quizzes and essays from the one class that I have every Friday.

Going To Watch The Korea Game At 4am.

Korea is abuzz once again as the Red Devils are playing in the early hours of Monday morning at 4am. Dave, Kyoung Hee and I are going to a park where they are showing the game on a big screen in the park. We didn't go the last time, but I guess the place was packed and the atmosphere was incredible. Let's hope that Korea can do a repeat of what Ghana did to the Czechs last night!


Here is a pic of my "World Cup" hat. Dave gave me this one to wear for the tournament. He also has another hat, but a different one. All the Koreans tonight will be in red t-shirts and bandanas and those red little horns. I call it a 'sea of red!'

I am hoping that Eriksson, the England coach comes to his senses and puts Lennon to start and let's Gerrard have a wandering role and not so much defensive work. I don't like Eriksson due to his lack of passion, as I see it. His tactics suck big time also. He reminds me of Houllier when he was at Liverpool; defensive, boring shite and playing to roles.

Let's hope that the rest of the tournament is as exciting as the first week. I have enjoyed it extremely and there have been some great games. I want to see England play a whole game the way they played the last 20 mins of the game against Trinidad. Let's hope!!!!!!!!!!!

A Work In Progress!

I am finding that I have to download the pictures first or I can't download any of them. That is why this blog is plain!!!

The battle of the bulge is still continuing and I am happy to say that I think I am winning it. It seems fruitless at the best of times, sweating and watching your diet, but suffice to say that I am doing it for my health in the future. I am just carrying too much weight around and it was time to lighten the load, as they say!

It has now been just about 15 days since I got seriously back to the gym and eating somewhat healthy. I have only missed 2 days in that whole time and that was due to the England games and another couple of games that I had to watch.

The last two weeks have been awesome, but somewhat of a blur due to the amount of time spent either watching the World Cup or going to the gym or working.

Next week is going to be even harder as my school for the third time now, have no teacher to cover another teacher while on a week's vacation. It is starting to get on my nerves to tell you the truth.

This week is essay week also. That means that every class has to hand in an essay and it has to be marked by the end of next week. That translates into about 80 or so essays for me to mark as well as every Monday I have one class that gives me a 300 word essay to mark as they are a 'special' class. Tie that together with already having no breaks on Tues or Thur, sorry 5mins between classes and 5 hours of non stop teaching, what you got? You got work overload.

So what if I only teach 2 classes on a Friday. The time that I have off on the Friday is spent either marking the essays or getting the other stuff ready for my other classes and marking the daily quizzes for around 60 kids!

Now that Rebecca is on holiday this week, I lose my two breaks, one on Monday and one on Thursday. That means that I have 4 classes with no breaks everyday now until Friday. When am I going to get time to mark essays? I guess at home, is where. I don't mind being busy, but this is overkill and it is seriously making me think twice about staying here at the end of my contract, but we shall see.

The classes are so serious and at the start, I kind of liked that, but now it is getting to the point that it feels like we are running a high academic academy with no fun for the kids. I have barely time to finish the material in all my daily classes, even going at 100 mile an hour. I feel bad for the kids and just wish we could have some role playing or other 'down time' exercises to do.

I am just a little jaded at the moment cos they did this with 3 months notice when Scott went on holiday and almost a year's notice when James finished his contract. Then add that to the fact that Tony and I are stuck with most of the classes to cover anyone that goes on holiday at our schook, it sucks...... haha.

I am enjoying teaching still, but find Avalon is a little too serious and are very reactive, not proactive. I also just found out that the maximum they will give you at the end of your contract if you want to re-sign is 2 weeks!!

Well, I won't be re-signing that is for sure. By the time I end this contract, it will have been over 26 months since I saw my Mum and Dad and Sister. I want time to be able to just relax and spend some time with them. That is not gonna happen with 2 weeks vacation, plus I want to go to England for a week or so and maybe visit Amsterdam too!

Oh well, there are tons of jobs around here and I will start looking about 2 months before my contract is up. No worries there!

Ran for one hour straight today! I was so proud of myself and I felt much better running. I felt more energetic and definitely lighter. I have lost about a good 5 pounds in two weeks and I am aiming for 2 pounds a week for the first two months or so. Let's see if I can do it.

Bought a new USB high speed plug-in port today for my mouse and cd external burner. The mouse is faster now. The USB ports on the laptop were only low speed, so these two new connections are now high speed. I can notice the difference, so it was worth the 30 dollars.

In the next few weeks, I am going to buy an external 250G hard-drive for around 120 dollars. I can hold all my songs and videos and other big stuff on that and lighten up the hard-drive on the laptop.

Everything is almost back to normal now with the laptop. I have downloaded all the stuff that I lost and I feel 'dressed' again. Just have to download some songs now. I just figured out today that any cds that are mp3s, I can play them on my dvd player, through the tv. Pretty cool eh?

Sleepless Nights In Korea!

First of all, the good news is that my laptop is up and running again! I am so happy about it! I really felt 'naked' without it. It is so strange how the computer has become part of our lives nowadays. It is one of those things that just creep up on you without you realizing it. I always liked the computer and was in awe of the amount of information available, but I never realized just how much I used it and just how much easier it made communicating with friends and family.

Even more so in Korea, as the Windows OS in the pc room is in Korean and it is quite challenging to try and remember what keys are what in English and where to click. I had saved 3 school reports and sent them by email in the pc room. I got an email the next day saying that they were lost. There went an hours work for nothing. I guess I clicked the wrong button or did something, as they never made it through cyber space.... hehehe.




The nights are a lot longer than normal now due to the World Cup! Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining as I have waited like everyone else for 4 years for this tournament. The only minor glitch is that I am not sleeping much. The first game in our time zone here in Korea, starts at 10pm then the next one is at 1am and the third one is at 4am. That means that I am getting to sleep most night or should I say mornings at 6am!!!!

Last night was the England vs Trinidad and Tobago game. England once again frustrated the shite out of me. They played shite for the first half and just could not get anything going. In the second half, they were doing the same thing until Eriksson decided to bring on Rooney and Lennon, which for me changed the chemistry of the game and they actually started playing the English style of football. Lennon was awesome down the right wing and the whole team literally switched into another gear once he went on his runs. I am proud of the fact that two Liverpool players got the goals, but the cross from Beckham was sublime! Let's hope that Erikssson starts Lennon the next game on the right wing. Rooney won't start, but it was good to at least see him pyschologically unsettle the opposition.

I am not into blogging that much while the World Cup is on and will relate some good stories and other events once it is over. Suffice to say, right now I am just trying to catch up on some sleep, work and go to the gym and get ready for the next game tonight. Holland vs Ivory Coast, which should be a barn-burner. I am watching it with Dave of course!

World Cup Fever Is In The Air Everywhere..... I Think

It has finally arrived. After a 4 year wait, the world was treated to a great opening game between Germany and Costa Rica. It ended up being a barn burner of a game and I for one, thoroughly enjoyed it. 2 fabulous goals and a very entertaining end to end football match. I am so happy that it is World Cup 2006!!!!!

Here is one of the happy England fans that just 'stood out' in the crowd. On that note, let's analyze the England team's overall perfomance.


The team played very poorly overall and I think Sven had better give his head a shake with his positioning and choice of roles that he has given some of the players. Joe Cole had a smashing game, Lampard was good, Beckham was alright, Gerrard was not even in the game and Owen did very little to squash fears about his overall fitness.

The team overall played like chalk and cheese. There didn't seem to be much chemistry at times. I hope they get things sorted out for the next game because they were doing my head in when I watched them. Gareth, a mate of mine who had come from Ulsan to see us, was watching the match with us and both he and I were swearing and cursing at the screen for most of the match. There were 2 other Brits sitting at another table and they had the same attitude as us; England played crap. You could see the ability and the creativity was there, but it just never seemed to open up and start. Cole played a wonderful game and the rest of the players should take a note from him and his style.


The rest of the games that we watched over the course of the weekend, weren't that entertaining, but I am not complaining as it still is the World Cup! I thought Argentina were very vunerable at the back and Ivory Coast missed some sitters!!!!! Sweden and T and Tobago was a snore draw. Again, Sweden could have had 5. Mexico were just mediocre against the ' no women allowed to watch football' team, Iran. I haven't seen any of the Portugal match, so I don't know if they were any good.

Sunday night, Dave and I, Kyoung Hee and Gareth, went to watch the Holland game. It was a good game and Robben had a really good game, but he still gets on my wick the way he falls over when he is touched. He really turns on the acting when he is fouled. Other than that, Holland pushed the ball around well, but were guilty a little like England of dying down during the game at different times. Dave was chuffed for them to win and it was better game to watch than the England one. We have found a place that we want to watch the Korea game tomorrow night that has a big screen tv and loads of atmosphere. There is a real buzz right now about Korea playing tomorrow night. It kicks off at 10pm our time, so not too bad.


I went to the gym everyday on the weekend and actually ran for 52 minutes straight on Sunday. I ran around 5.3kms or so, just running at a good pace and not trying to kill myself. I am a little tired today, due to all the late hours watching the football.

The eating healthy plan is going well, I ate very little meat on the weekend and ate lots of veggies and am eating fruit and having juice drinks. We had a meal called Shabu Shabu, which is really thin sliced beef, boiled in a pot. Each table has 2 pots, which are full of special broth, then you put in the sliced beef and an absolute shitload of vegetables, ranging from 2 or 3 different types of mushrooms, cabbage and bean sprouts and other stuff that I don't know what it's called in English. Either way, a very healthy meal all around.

Gareth headed back just before the start of the Holland game, as he had to be back early Monday morning for work. He was here from around 4pm Saturday until 9pm Sunday. He flew down here and then took the bus back. He had a good time and it was nice to just hang out with him and catch up on all his latest goings-on and what his plans are for the near future. He is here until next January. He extended his contract an extra 6 months, but he has said that when he leaves, it will be the last time that he comes back to Korea. He spent some time in China teaching before this, so Asia has become a little stale in some ways for him.

Shout Shout Shout It All Out!

This is a great pic that I have seen before, but got it today in an email from my Dad. How could you justify doing this anywhere? Maybe on the way out okay, but come on!!! Today as we all know is the start of the World Cup. I loved the line on www.soccernet.com that said, " The World Awaits!:" That kind of sums it up in a nutshell. I am so excited today and can't wait to watch the opening game tonight with my friends in Sohyon. We are going for food after school finishes and then off to a place that has a nice big tv, so we can watch Germany vs Costa Rica. I forecast 4-1 to Germany. Let's see how correct I am.
.

Here is a pic of Kyoung Hee and I, taken at Dan's wedding that we went to in Ulsan. A mate of mine Gareth, is coming on his todd from Ulsan tomorrow afternoon, to watch the England game tomorrow night with Dave and I. Gareth hails from Manchester and is a great bloke. He was the manager of The Wonshots, our football team and although it is still going, it is not near as good as it used to be, as all of the players have left or relocated to other cities or towns. He is a Man. City supporter, so even better.

Here is another pic of my girlfriend (on the left) and a friend of ours Hae Sook. Hae Sook just went to Ottawa, Canada to study at Ottawa University. Clement, who was here and is now back in Canada, is her boyfriend of over 2 years now. They are very serious about each other and I think once she is finished her 6 month stint studying, she wants to try and stay a little longer. Clement is starting his degree at Ottawa U in September. He is doing a BA with a minor in German. Good luck to him and see you in February, when I come on a visit of Canada. Clement and Hae Sook are a super couple and I really miss them both. They were fun to hang out with and Hae Sook is super sweet. It is quite a funny story how they met.... kind of makes you think what a small world it is.

Dave was teaching Hae Sook at his school. Yes, that is right, she was one of his English students!She was introduced to Clement and the rest is history,as they say. She did really well learning English. She went on to teach English at a G 'n' B chain, the same type of school that I worked for when I was in Ulsan. Great story and still ongoing! That reminds me, I haven't heard from Clement in a while. I have to send him an email. Hae Sook landed around the middle of May, so he has been busy since then, I am sure, nudge nudge wink wink, say no more, say no more.

On the keeping in shape subject, everything is going great. I haven't missed a day of exercise in the last week. I went to the gym everyday since last Friday, except on Tuesday as we had a football game against some middle-school kids. I feel great and my pants are feeling looser all the time. I have dropped a good 5 pounds and feel lighter when I am running now. I usually go to the gym after work, at about 10.30pm. I finish about 11.30pm. The gym is open until 12 midnight during the week.

This morning I went to the gym at 11am, due to the plans tonight concerning the World Cup. I ran for 4kms and then in the afternoon, I walked to work. Today is very hot, but right now it is thunder and lightning. So keep going is my motto, keep up a steady regimen of exercise and good eating. The rest will fall into place.

I have a connection to a foreigner that looks after computers, through Dave and I's friend, Andrew. Thanks Andrew! Andrew said he is really good and fast. I hope to have my pc sorted out in the next week or so. I sent him an email today, so things have been put into action. Let's just see what his verdict is. I am also going to ask him if I can put a cd/dvd burner on the laptop as well as maybe a high speed USB. We shall see, anyway.

The title of my blog today is due to how loud the Koreans are! They shout at each other all the time and I heard one such episode today, outside my building. It was a man and a woman arguing about parking and she was holding a tiny Welsh terrier, which was yapping away as they both proceeded to yell and scream at the top of their lungs. It was quite funny this time, but sometimes it can really bug the crap out of you. Plus the woman who was running on the treadmill in the gym that was banging the cover to the motor with her feet while she was running. You are supposed to be further back from the bar on the top, honey!!!!!!!

The Computer Continues To Drive Me Mad!

Well, the laptop has not gotten any better. It keeps shutting down on me anytime that I try to download anything. I downloaded a registry repair program, but it only repairs about 5 of your minor problems. If you want more, you have to purchase the whole program.


The registry is showing about 100 problems. I think that is the problem, but don't know what to do to fix it all up. I think I will have to take it to a shop and get a new hard-drive installed on it and a new Windows XP OS as well as maybe Microsoft Word and Excel. I will price around and see how much it is. Until then, I will be posting from the pc room. It is not that expensive; 1.50 and hour!


Yesterday was a holiday. Dave and I met up with a bunch of other Canadian fellas from Windsor, Ontario and had a soccer match against a bunch of middle-school kids. They held their own and I have to give them their due, they lost to us 8-4, but it was boys playing men, so, great experience for them. It was great to run around, but it was roasting hot and I got a bit of a sunburn. It was nice to sweat and lose a few pounds in the process.

After the game was over, Dave and I walked back home, which took about 20 mins. Then we had lunch and went to the public bath. It was awesome sitting in the sauna and then the cold bath over and over.

Dave wiped out really bad in the game. His feet went on top of the ball and he fell legs sideways down on the pitch, which was all dirt. He has a nice big scab on his right hip to prove he played yesterday's game! The dirt pitches are all at the schools and they are like fine sand with stones and everything mixed in. It doesn't give at all, that is for sure.

The night before I ran for 45 mins without stopping at the gym, so I had a couple of good days of pushing myself. I don't feel that bad today. I am a little stiff, but I am going to walk to work today and then go to the gym again tonight. I am fully focused on getting thinner now and nothing is going to stop me from getting to my final goal of being lighter and much healthier.

I feel a little lighter overall to tell you the truth. I weighed myself after we came out of the public bath and I was 102.5kgs! That is a drop already from 105kgs last Friday. That translates to a change from 231lbs to 224. About 7lbs in 4 days. I know it sounds a bit drastic, but the first 10 pounds usually come of really quick; fluid and excess water retention. The key is to keep it off and eat healthy. Let's just see eh!!!!!

Some Things Can Really Try You!

What started out as a great weekend, slowly descended into what I would call 'a niggler!'
First my laptop crashed completely, didn't have a clue how to fix it and eventually ended up reformatting the hard-drive with 2 of my recovery cds. I still haven't recovered myself, never mind the computer. I lost every file including pics and my univesity essays and other useless shite. I guess this will teach me to back things up onto cds and disks and the like. Oh well, we live and learn as they say.

When computers work well, they are awesome and a lot of fun and make life a lot easier to do things with, but when they go on the blink, they can send you to the nut-house- if you aren't there already!

I guess really, that was the only bad thing that happened on the weekend. I guess I was so stressed out, I thought lots happened. See what a pc can do to yer! Anyway, I got it going again, but keep getting some message about shell.... export and the pc will now shut down. I can still access the internet, but once I try downloading anything, I am pooched, plus it freezes all the time on me now. It is twice as fast as it was before now, when it works. I keep having to shut it off and restarting it and then it will work, for god knows how long.

I think I need a new hard-drive. I was going to buy an external hard-drive in the near future, so I think I will just get a new one put on the laptop and maybe also a cd/dvd burner to go with it. It shouldn't be that expensive, but the only problem will be getting Windows XP in English from one of these stores here..... wish me luck.

I stuck to my shortlist of health foods all weekend. Didn't drink on Friday night or Saturday night, but had a couple of drinks while watching Korea vs Ghana on Sunday night. I am getting excited now about the World Cup and was chuffed to see England thumping Jamaica 6-O.
A good friend of mine, Gareth from England, is coming down this weekend with a couple of other mates of mine too, to watch the England vs Paraguay game on Saturday night and then watch the Holland game on Sunday. He lives in Ulsan ,where as you all know, I used to live. He is from Manchester, but he is a Blues supporter, so he is okay..... haha.



I went to the gym on Friday for the first time. Then I went on Saturday and last night too. I am keeping to my scheduled plan and also I went to the public bath on Sunday afternoon. I sweated my arse off and it felt so good. I did a little bit of weight-training too, very little, to see how the elbow will hold up. It seems good today and I am glad that I didn't overdo it in the gym on the weekend. I just did some tricep pulldowns and some dumbell curls as well as some pec-deck. Only did about sets of 20-30 for each one, which is not overdoing it by a long shot. Tonight I am going to run at a slower speed and try to run for one hour, non-stop. I used to run 10km in about 63 mins before I got the elbow injury, regularly, so it shouldn't take me long to get back into the shape again.

Not much else to speak of. Did a lot of walking on the weekend to various places. Kicked a ball around for about 15 mins in a small park yesterday with Dave and a bunch of lads he met a few days ago. It was a great run around and I sweated my arse of again.

The weather is getting really humid here again and I love it! It can be so hot sometimes when you are outside, but I love the heat as apposed to the cold. One of the main reasons that I left Canada for greener pastures!!!!! Working in the snow and dealing with it for 4 to 5 months of the year, used to do my head in.

I have been having trouble at home, before my pc crashed and at work, uploading pics on my blog. I don't know what the problem is and I am feeling naked, posting blogs without any pics. Seems strange and looks a little monotonous if you as me.

Today Was "D" Day For Me Again

Today it was time to start living healthy again and shed some of these extra pounds that are just sitting on me! I started off the day by deciding to make a list of the things that I needed to do to get healthier and keep my weight off.

Here they are in no particular order:
No more 'Twix' chocolate bars. ( I was having one every day for the last 6 months or so.)
No more coffee. (Averaging about 5 or 6 a day in work), drink water instead.
No more snacks like chips or cookies.
No more fried curry croquets from Paris Baguette. ( Usually 2 or 3 a day.)
No more beer. (Only vodka when I am out drinking.)
Smaller portions of food especially boiled rice.
No more pop. ( Don't usually drink it, but anyway.)
Eat less 'samjapsal' which really is bacon. (Very big part of the diet here.)
Eat less meat in general.
Eat more vegetables, which is easy to do here if you eat traditional non-fat Korean foods.
Take fruit to work everyday. A banana and an apple.
No more food by mouth after 10pm. ( The time I finish work.)
Exercise everyday at the gym.
Sleep more normal hours. ( Stop waking up and going on the internet.)
No waking up and having a quick bite of anything.

The list could go on and on, but I think the most important parts are in there. I went to the gym for the first time in about 6 weeks, after I finished work. I managed to run 4kms, non-stop and not at too bad of a pace. I ran the 4km including the first minute walk, in 29 minutes. Then I did a few sets of tricep exercises and one set of bicep exercises. I don't want to push my elbow too much still as it is a little weak still. I hope to push it more over the coming weeks.

I weighed myself when I finished my shower and I topped the scales at 105 kilos, which is 231 lbs. That is way too heavy for me and I feel too heavy. Oh well, I have started and that is the most important. I am now in my 10th month of not smoking, something I am very proud of, not even a puff! If I can quit smoking cold turkey like that, then losing the weight will take longer, but I am determined to get back below 200 again. I am not going to get too carried away, but want to live a healthier lifestyle and even if it means saying no to my friends sometimes.

Tomorrow I am going to the gym in the morning and then in the afternoon, Kyoung Hee and I are going to Yongin, which is a small city about 20 mins from Bundang. There are supposed to be lots of lovely places to visit with trees and parks everywhere. We will be going about 3 pm or so. Not sure if I will have any pics, but if I do, I will post them on the blog, of course.

Tuesday is a national holiday in Korea, so we all get the day off at Avalon. The new Summer session starts on Monday. I have all new classes with all new levels. I am also going to be teaching two Wisdom level classes, which are a little more intense than the other two levels. I am looking forward to the challenge, but once again will have about a hundred kids names to remember, as none of them I will know!!!!!!!

A Great Start To A Day!

On Wednesday morning, I was at Samsung Plaza really early, actually at the opening time, 10.30am. I watched all the employees in most of the stores doing their 'warm ups.' It was so cool to see. They were doing what looked like a martial arts routine. It was awesome to just watch them turning and lifting their arms in the air. Definitely a cultural phenomenon.

It got even better than that as I entered one area upstairs that actually has a Marks and Spencer's mini-boutique in it. As I was walking along the many stores, all the employees were lined up in front of each of their sections facing the area where people walk. As people walked by them, including myself of course, they bowed as they passed. It was awesome and I really felt like a customer. Again, another cultural phenomenon. That is why I love this place so much!!!!!! It was an awesome way to start a day and gave me a little hop in my step for the rest of the day.

At the top of Samsung Plaza, there is a food court complete with a McDonalds too. The nice thing about the place is that you can sit outside and they have tables and chairs with umbrellas and really nice benches. You can see that there has been a lot of thought put into making the customers happy and I think that is awesome.

I guess the only drawback that I can mention is that when you are shopping or just looking, the employees are trained to stick to you like glue. It can be a little irritating as they follow you like sheep! I have gotten used to it the best that I can, but sometimes it is quite annoying. It isn't because they are bugging you to buy something like in other countries, it is because they are meant to be giving you the best service possible. Again, another cultural phenomenon.

Today is Lyndsey's birthday, an American girl that I work with at Avalon. All of the foreign t eachers are going for food and drinks to celebrate her special day, tonight in Migeum, where I live by the way.

There is a restaurant at the bottom of my building that has 'Cajun' style bbq'd pork. It is awesome and very cheap too, by Korean standards. Rebecca, the Canadian girl that I work with, just moved into my building last week also. It will be cool to be able to just take the elevator up to my apartment when the night is over. Nothing like convenience to make your day!!!!!!