Month: June 2014

I’m not the first, and I know I won’t be the last foreigner who will leave home for a few years to occupy a small space in Korea as an English teacher. This method of travel has been around for sometime now, and I’m sure it’ll last for years to come. When I decided to make the move to Korea I never fooled myself into thinking that anyone’s lives – student or otherwise – would be forever changed after I moved on.

Wanting to make sure that I was fully prepared to immerse myself in a brand new culture, I scoured countless blogs, websites and forums looking for information pertaining to the big move. The number of articles I stumbled upon was overwhelming to say the least. Thousands of blogs and pages popped up, and all of them had at least one article carrying the self-proclaimed title “Everything You Need To Know About Moving To South Korea!”

Our lives follow the circular seasons of creation, sometimes in the spring of new beginnings, sometimes in the barren brokenness of a deep winter. As travelers, these seasons are enunciated by the constant decision-making of our daily survival. Where to sleep, what to eat, how to spend this day, when to go to the next country. These decisions are guided by priorities and held in check by tensions felt and unseen.

I had to do a bit of polling and stalking various expat groups on Facebook to compile a list of what boys should bring for their big move to Korea. I think I’ve got a pretty good rough outline, but I think asking perhaps other male expats and doing a bit more research would be wise – unless, of course, you trust me completely, dear friend. I’d never steer you wrong, anyhow! I did my best to compile as much information as I could about what guys should bring to Korea. Happy packing!

Making mistakes in teaching is all part of the learning curve. Teachers aren’t just pumped out of a TEFL course with all of the skills and knowledge base of a teacher that has been doing ESL for 20 years has. This is a skills based industry and we all know that skills aren’t just learnt from a textbook, they need to be planted in a classroom and watered with time. With enough nurturing you watch your teaching skills blossom and flourish. And even then, mistakes can still be made.

Several years back, I joined the gym with the purpose of putting on muscle mass. I was eating a lot of calories and going through a disciplined routine. And it was working. Until the summertime came. My job took me out of town for weeks at a time where I was at the mercy of other people’s cooking and other people’s schedules. I lost what I gained and learned an important truth: Staying fit isn’t something you do once and done. It’s a lifestyle and a daily choice.