tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84707148900023751252024-03-18T08:51:33.379-07:00Gone Seoul SearchingThe daily life of an expat teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo, Japan, Macau, China and traveling around the world.Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-39136364666871980712015-12-17T20:40:00.002-08:002015-12-17T20:45:27.950-08:00PSY Does it again with "I Got it From my Daddy?" <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Blake Patterson, Creative Commons</td></tr>
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Well all, its time to make a vote. Do you think that PSY has done it again and topped Gangnam Style with his new video? Leave it up to the K-pop icon Park Jae-sang to put on another crazy production, and for bringing Korea's K-pop takeover full force. His latest You Tube video "Daddy" was released about 2 weeks ago on November 30th. Enjoy!<br />
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PSY's new song "Daddy" </div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-77560871980732302292015-09-17T22:31:00.000-07:002015-09-17T22:31:03.683-07:00Seoul Food Girl: Kogi food truck in L.A. brings tacos with a Korean twist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ake a little break and discover one of the best food trucks in L.A. Kogí has an inexpensive menu of Korean BBQ to go. </div>
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Food trucks may sound very worrisome to newcomers, but the line of 30 people waiting for food makes it clear that the chefs know what their doing. As I stood in line for ten minutes waiting to order my food, a limo bus pulled up with 15 Kogí lovers. The crowd had people of all ages, and is a hit with the late night bar crews. </div>
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The Kogí truck offers tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and dessert all with a Korean twist. The signature taco on the menu is the Korean short ribs. If you are hungry make sure to order 3 or 4 to satisfy your appetite. The tacos are small, but are packed with more flavor than you might expect. At only $2 a taco you can afford to splurge on this delicious treat. </div>
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According to the Kogí website kogibbq.com “the fat melts away to create that soft and tender texture everyone loves and the sugars just caramelize to give the meat that deep and savory flavor.” The meat could surely stand alone on the taco, but the fresh toppings give an added kick. All of the Kogí tacos come loaded with sesame-chili salsa roja, and julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette. The vinaigrette gives a spicy flare that is mandatory in tacos. For added freshness, the chefs mix in cilantro-green onion-lime relish, sesame seeds, sea salt, and lime. That’s a lot of ingredients for one little taco! </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">There are four Kogí trucks that travel around the L.A. area. They each have a color to differentiate themselves and are titled Azul, Verde, Roja, and Naranja. The closest location to LMU is in Venice on Abbot Kinney, right outside The-Brig. To see the locations and times the Kogí truck will be nearest to you just check out their website kogibbq.com or follow them on Twitter. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-91462099581233396892015-06-28T11:06:00.000-07:002015-09-17T22:26:56.135-07:00Ngong Ping Cable Car to Tian Tan Buddha: An exciting journey to visit the Big Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Buddha peaking out to say hello to tourists on the Ngong Ping Cable Car.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">G</span><span style="font-size: large;">et </span>the <a href="http://www.np360.com.hk/en/cable-car/#crystal" target="_blank">crystal cabin</a> round trip! Floating high above the blue waters and greenery of Lantau Island, you will want to take in the full view with a glass bottom cable car. The 25 minute ride is worth every cent, as you take in the breathtaking views of waterfalls and hikers making their way up to see the Big Buddha. When you first spot him and Po Lin Monastery towards the end of the journey, you will be stunned. This is one of those tourist attractions that you MUST DO!<br />
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The actual cable car fits about 8 people comfortably--four on each side. When you are standing in line, make sure that you are not next to anyone that might ruin your trip. Keep in mind that you will be with them for 25 minutes in the car. You don't want to ride along with those that may have forgotten their deodorant or might look weary of heights. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q9CjD8o_33o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q9CjD8o_33o?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe>If you are there in the summer, it is going to be insanely hot. Make sure to bring tons of water while you are waiting in line. If you buy the crystal cabin then the line will be a bit shorter since you pay more. A round trip is $165 ($21 USD) for a standard cabin and $255 ( $32 USD) for a crystal cabin, not that big of a difference unless you are penny pinching. I'd say its worth the extra $11 to get it both ways. </div>
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I don't recommend buying any of the tour packages that include a trip to Tai O. The 360 Sky-Land-Sea Day Pass will load you on to a crowded bus back down the mountain on a windy road that will make you lose your lunch. Tao O is a little fishing village. Its cool if you want to go explore and have no expectations, but it is just another fishing town in Hong Kong with shops selling a bunch of fish products and little sea food restaurants. Plus, I've seen a few <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Hong_Kong/Tai_O-1082957/Tourist_Traps-Tai_O-TG-C-1.html" target="_blank">bad reviews of the Tai O excursion </a>online reporting that although they were able to see a few pink dolphins, the trip was rushed and the boat drivers were not very friendly (which doesn't surprise me). You will probably be exhausted from walking around at the Buddha and Monastery, so I'd say skip the package and just pay for a round trip cable ride. </div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-84276698185284635742014-12-25T21:02:00.001-08:002014-12-25T21:02:15.008-08:00The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing: Have you thought about your retirement TESOL friends?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB_C2D8P-zI6VorV_TXtLyTZDIUkpKZ_t9PGmcTvqZM5xUQZHlXWkjximqmR61zoL5q62hWeIoMnMgZgmFHP9BvvMObJFajXFcqn3xckG-w8_5UCOnNlsNHTUu1uVm8GEw3G5oXNVHZ0/s1600/1119020980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB_C2D8P-zI6VorV_TXtLyTZDIUkpKZ_t9PGmcTvqZM5xUQZHlXWkjximqmR61zoL5q62hWeIoMnMgZgmFHP9BvvMObJFajXFcqn3xckG-w8_5UCOnNlsNHTUu1uVm8GEw3G5oXNVHZ0/s1600/1119020980.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gone Seoul Searching reviews "The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing."</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he night I received “The Global
Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: from millionaire teacher to millionaire expat”
the plan was to read the first 10 pages and fall gently asleep. But instead I
was up until 2am, completely engrossed and 130 pages into the book. As I fell
asleep that night I was thrilled about my future. For anyone in the TESOL field
that is still saving up and blowing it all on expensive vacations or months of traveling during the summer, this book is
about to give you a huge wake-up-call. I followed along with Hallam’s basic
steps and planned out my retirement fund (Or an initial one at best). At 26
years old, I haven’t thought much about my retirement. I have paid into a few retirement plans in California and have always been a steady saver, though I do not
currently have a retirement portfolio. The most valuable lesson that I learned
from author Andy Hallam is to start young. </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hallam
gives concrete formulas and examples for expats to get their retirement kick
started. For those that have some knowledge of investment, the book guides you
through the basics of choosing a better financial advisor who won’t use up all
of your hard earned money with bogus fees and hidden charges. Going with your
school’s suggested investment company can often lead you down the black hole of
crazy lock in periods with fees that you wish you never agreed to. For those
that have little knowledge about where to start, Hallam gives tips for starting
a couch potato fund. If you are planning on retiring in the U.S. you can
basically walk into any large company like H&R Block and sign up for a
mixed portfolio of stocks, bonds, and index funds. He easily explains how any
average Joe can get steady returns with low risk—all without an expensive
agent. </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So here is
what I planned out during my exciting night of reading. And I am not over
exaggerating—I felt SUPER accomplished after finishing half of his book. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Live to 90
Years old (I have high hopes for myself!) (33 years of retirement) </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Retire at
age 57 (I’d rather aim young, emergencies happen) </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>27 years
old invest $10,000 @ 7%</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>annual
addition $18,000 with 30 years to grow</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>=$1,895,000
Retirement portfolio</div>
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<br /></div>
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That leaves me with $57,424 a year
to spend. Hallam states that the average retired American spends $31,365. This
is what my retirement would look like as an expat with no retirement from the
U.S. government or pension from my job. I realize that this is not a perfect
estimate, nor may it be achievable. However, now I really know how much money
it is going to take for me to plan for my future. I am still in debt paying off
my undergraduate and grad school student loans. So I’ve calculated that If I
pay off 10,000 in the next year that will be almost comparable to starting my
investment funds. So the plan is to get those college loans paid down ASAP and
then throw the rest of my money into an investment fund as Hallam suggests. And
this is just planning for me. Women always need to be careful; we can never
rely on our spouse to figure it out all for us. Who knows, maybe I will never
get married or have kids. In that case, I better be prepared. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope I can stick to my plan and
end up a millionaire teacher with millionaire expat Andrew Hallam’s advice. Good
luck! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-64749315677895377062014-12-05T00:30:00.001-08:002015-09-17T22:27:48.030-07:00Life as a Freeway Flier: University ESL teaching in California<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQJiO_hlJwCZC2YnR6eLMIQDP7-O6p40fE92uCwoyImhoEU2wBD0ZZYBe16Nwu4C-o1WFqOHyO2UX0mgyXBIAk4MdAG8ixFQfhtjaj6KN2RitUqqteycFyc9MqTt3MSRShLyVZyTgwkc/s1600/Freeway+Flying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQJiO_hlJwCZC2YnR6eLMIQDP7-O6p40fE92uCwoyImhoEU2wBD0ZZYBe16Nwu4C-o1WFqOHyO2UX0mgyXBIAk4MdAG8ixFQfhtjaj6KN2RitUqqteycFyc9MqTt3MSRShLyVZyTgwkc/s1600/Freeway+Flying.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>oday my
co-worker strolled into our wing of desks (there are numerous wings of desks in
a gigantic space of 50+ teachers) and said “Marie’s here today!” I sarcastically
rolled my eyes at him and said, “I’m here! At least I think I am.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
semester, I have almost forgotten that I am a freeway flier because I have
partly become very comfortable with my schedule and partly because I don’t even
know what planet I’m on most days anyway. During my first months shuffling
between 2 schools this year I actually got on the wrong freeway in the morning-- 4 times. But for the most part, I’ve been
pretty successful sticking to the 5 North and 8 East. A while back in 2012 I
was working at 3 schools in one semester. I taught in a tiny language school in
La Jolla from 9am-1pm. Then I drove 20 minutes east and worked for 3 hours
tutoring in an ESL/English lab from 1:30-4:30pm at a local community college.
After that I hopped right back on the freeway to go teach a 3 hour night class
at another community college up north. The drive up there was during rush hour
traffic and it took me 1 hour. I usually ate dinner and relaxed in my car from
5:30-5:45pm and then rushed inside the teacher’s room to make copies for my
class. Class went from 6:00pm-8:50pm and I drove home. 45 minutes later I wound
up home around 10:00pm and started planning my classes for the next day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
drove 90 miles a day. The total time ended up being 2.5 hours a day with the
5pm rush hour traffic thrown in. I was a true freeway flier. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You may be
asking me, why on earth did you sign up for that kind of schedule? It just kind
of fell in my lap and I couldn’t say no. As a part timer, I had classes
canceled on me earlier in the semester that were my main source of income. So I
kept tutoring for a little cash, got another gig at a language school, and a
few weeks later was asked to teach a night class. When you are trying to get
into community colleges and universities in adult education, you never say no.
You also never quit a job once you have begun a semester. Your students depend
on you to succeed and you have a duty to serve them. So even with my outstanding
history of being a no girl, (because I know my worth) I had to get over myself
and say yes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Luckily my
schedule as a freeway flier now is nothing like it was during that wild spring
in 2012. I teach at a community college up in northern San Diego 2 days a week.
The 45 minute drive up there does take a toll, however I skip all of the traffic
these days since I leave at 7 am. I lucked out with 2 back-to-back classes,
which never happens in the part-time world, and I’m back home by 1:30 – 2:30
everyday. I cut out right after my office hours to avoid the 3pm deadlock. When
I get home I immediately start planning lessons/grading for the next day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The next
morning I get to sleep in since I teach in the afternoon at the other
University 2-3 days a week. I usually feel pretty relaxed because I’ve had time
to unwind al little and I drive a quick 20 minutes to the campus. I teach from
1:00-6:00pm and go straight home to pig out. The quick turn around from Tuesday
night classes to Wednesday morning is sometimes tricky, however if I’ve planned
ahead and made all of my copies I’m usually fine the next morning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The key to my success this semester is that
I am not a “double dipper,” meaning I don’t do two colleges on the same day.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The freeway
flier life is definitely a tough one. I have no stability when it comes to
classes. If a class suddenly has low enrollment and gets cancelled then that’s
it. I’m simply out of a class to teach until the next semester rolls around.
Once you have been in the part-time game for a while, you start to learn which
classes and schools do and don’t have issues with enrollment. Luckily I’ve
gotten set up with classes now that seem to always be fed by eager students. We
actually had students’ waitlisted this semester for an introductory academic
writing class. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Some
days I feel like I’m a crazy person and don’t know where I am. I’ve not only
been a freeway flier, but a plane hopper over the past 4 years. Hopping from
Korea, to Japan, to Macau, and to the U.S. in between, working so many gigs in
a short time frame, has been intense to say the least.</i></b> However, I feel
so blessed to have learned about so many different programs, curriculums, and
projects along the way. Some mornings I wake up and still think I’m in China.
Other mornings I remember waking up in China and asking myself “What on earth
and I doing here right now?” So when my co-worker made that comment to me this
morning, I had the same question. I didn’t know what I was doing or where I
was. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some days
aren’t so bad at all as I cruise down the freeway and slowly make a mental
transition. At some point while I’m driving home for 45 minutes, I begin to
leave the college classes I taught behind and start thinking about the
university classes at the other school for the next day. A gradual shift
happens where I debrief from the days’ lessons and start to focus on planning
the next day’s events. I don’t even think about my classes up north until the
next day comes to an end and vice versa. My mind shifts and I feel just fine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get to reflect on what went well in my
lessons and what didn’t and I usually come to some kind of realization that
what I accomplished was meaningful. Some days I’m even happy to be a freeway
flier because the sense of freedom that comes with not having a salary. I don’t
have to be at my job from 9-5pm everyday. I make my own hours and show up
whenever I want. When I decide its time to go home, I leave. That is something
that I see as a great benefit. If I want to go home and lesson plan and grade
in my pajamas I can. Though I’m not salaried, I make a pretty good combination
of paychecks that allow me to live decently in San Diego. My patchwork of jobs
has somehow worked out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
definitely won’t continue as a freeway flier forever; though job market for
full-time ESL teachers in California is virtually non-existent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m happy to serve my time in the departments
that have given me so much support and training as I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>patiently wait out my turn for a full-time
position. I’m young, and with only 4.5 years of teaching under my belt still
have much to learn. So for now, life goes on. I’ll keep flying around on freeways
and flying around on airplanes as much as I can to support myself in this
insane field. I have no plans to go back abroad right now, but who knows. The
last time I came home from Japan I told myself I was back in California for
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My days abroad were over. However,
after the 90 mile a day driving schedule and class cancelations, I hopped right
back on a plane headed to Macau. And my year in Macau was the most rewarding
year abroad yet in terms of my profession and personal life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Time will tell if I can make my
mark here in California and get hired on as a contract instructor. Until then,
I’ll be flying up and down the I-5 and I-8 and everything else in between all while
enjoying the coastal views and some techno music too. (Gotta get pumped up for
class right!)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302948px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>Life as a Freeway Flier: University ESL teaching in California</i></b></span></span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>"<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></b></i><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302948px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238); border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-75375783389423865862014-06-14T16:25:00.002-07:002014-06-14T21:05:02.514-07:00The language police will forever change the way you view text books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGLKYGAuJ39-Jy4b8aMgcEsWfTgGb_L8uhtngF40Uxz9Zb_V7PsM-o_Ig7EJ3u7xbH_ccTuwVZPHVESaFgsSyQEVyi3teAVRCCjN0f7JxT9p0UXwfVCyAj2vGM_rP2wcOV8k6HxgIH2Y/s1600/LanguagePolice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGLKYGAuJ39-Jy4b8aMgcEsWfTgGb_L8uhtngF40Uxz9Zb_V7PsM-o_Ig7EJ3u7xbH_ccTuwVZPHVESaFgsSyQEVyi3teAVRCCjN0f7JxT9p0UXwfVCyAj2vGM_rP2wcOV8k6HxgIH2Y/s1600/LanguagePolice.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A book review of <i>The Language Police.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>an you imagine reading a book that never uses the words "man," "founding fathers," "blind person," "bus boy," or "Adam and Eve?" Instead books would have to read: Eve and Adam because it's sexist to say a man's name first, and we should refrain from saying bus boy for the same reason thus the word dining room attendant should be used instead. Diane Ravitch, author of <i>The Language Police</i>, has exposed America's bowlderized text book industry beginning with her own experience growing up in the 1950's where text books were scrutinized for being socialist or offending conservatives. Then she delves into the panels of trained bias detectors in the 1970's where they conducted Differential Item Functioning (DIF) to delete test items that were biased based on how different demographics scored. If Caucasians or Latinos happened to perform poorly on a question it was blamed on their socio-economic or sociocultural characteristics and the question was deleted.<br />
<br />
For centuries America's textbooks in all disciplines have undergone extreme slandering of original material that in many cases has lead to inaccurate information, bland text, dumbed down materials,and angry authors (of those still living). Ravitch's book informs readers about the history of censorship regimes that have been employed by the government, major publishers, and test companies.<br />
<br />
How can the language police be stopped? Ravitch argues that "the only strategy to achieve this goal is through competition, sunshine, and educated teachers (pg. 165)." The state-wide adoption process needs to end. States and publishers must publish their bias guidelines and sensitivity review panels along with their curricula vitaes. Any questions or items that are removed or altered need to be released to the public with explanations. Finally, teachers need to be educated instead of relying on textbooks as a crutch. These teachers will reject textbooks that have errors, are bland, are misleading, or are politicized and will make educated decisions about what kinds of readings are acceptable for their students needs.<br />
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"In a perfect world, teachers would be so well educated that they wouldn't rely on textbooks" (pg. 169)." I can personally attest to the importance of this quote as I see textbooks as a supplement or as organizational help to my courses in ESL. Whatever information is in my ESL or writing textbooks I can easily adapt or create my own version to better suit my students interests and my own personal teaching style. Why not record your own voice for listening materials and tests? Make your materials interesting and fresh instead of another rote activity? We should be teaching topics that are controversial and let students explore discussion and communication skills that they will encounter on a daily basis outside of the classroom.<br />
<br />
Teachers should not avoid controversial topics like text book publishers do. Their idea of utopia inside the classroom should not become your own because you have enough common sense and teaching skills to reign students in and avoid problems when learning about or discussing such controversial topics. One of my co-workers gave an amazing presentation in support of using "controversial" topics in classrooms specifically to avoid the boring textbooks and sleeping students she commonly encountered. There is nothing wrong with doing it as long as a teacher has an exit plan and an organized, collaborative, and open environment where freedom of ideas are encouraged.<br />
<br />
I hope you enjoy reading Ravitch's book and if you are a teacher don't get disinterested with it because of the common struggles we face. You may be asking the question "Well what teacher has the time to worry about creating authentic materials or notice errors in textbooks?" Supplementing and changing textbooks won't happen over night, but over a slow process of informed and contemplative decision making starting from the bottom, us.<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The language police will forever change the way you view text books"</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span></span></b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-74061240260637095172014-06-13T16:40:00.001-07:002014-06-13T16:46:36.539-07:00Korean nursery rhymes for adult Korean language learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image 1" src="http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5100/q39b4/products/4449/images/184445/9780804842273__26174.1365173351.240.309.jpg?c=2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; opacity: 1;" title="Image 1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A book review of Tuttle’s Korean Nursery Rhymes: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wild Geese, Land of Goblins and Other
Favorite Songs and Rhymes</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>I</b>n an
effort to get my Korean language skills going again, I’ve been keeping my eye
out for easy reads which often includes children’s books. Children’s books are
not just for parents and their children; they are also great for language
learners. I’m a huge fan of using music in my ESL courses and I wrote my Master’s
thesis on student and teacher perceptions of using music in adult ESL. So
Tuttle’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Korean Nursery Rhymes: Wild
Geese, Land of Goblins and Other favorite Songs and</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhymes</i> by Danielle Wright was an easy pick for me when I wanted to
find a book with beginner Korean songs. The nursery song book does a fantastic job
presenting some of Korea’s traditional and modern nursery rhymes in a way that makes
language learning simple for any age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Each rhyme
has bright and beautifully designed images along with Korean Hangul, Hangul written
in English, as well as English words. Seeing the nursery rhyme presented in 3
different ways is great for slow learners like me, who are learning how to form
sentences, and can only pick out a few words in a sentence. I can practice
reading my Hangul first, to see if I know any of the words and then I can rely
on the English translation. I can also improve my pronunciation by listening to
the accompanying CD in both Korean and English. The Korean singer, Ah Young
Jeong, has a sweet voice that is characteristic of any young child happily
singing a nursery rhyme which helps these songs easily get stuck into your
head. </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of
my favorite songs in the book is called “Little Fox” or “yeo-uya.” The song is
about a little fox and someone asks him “Little fox, little fox, what do you
do?” He replies many different thinks such as “I’m Sleeping” (Jam-janda) or “I’m
eating rice” (Bab meoknunda) and the narrator replies “sleepy head!”
(jamkkureogi!) and “with what on the side?” (museun banchan?). This song in
particular is great for learning how to use Korean verbs and adjectives in a
short and simple sentence. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
song that is useful for learning facial features and directions is called “Here,
There.” A light pink backdrop with flowers surrounds a mother holding her baby
as the baby playfully inquires about facial features. “Where are my eyes?” (Nun
en edoi issna, yogi) “Where are Mommy’s eyes? There!” (Eomma nun eun eodi
essna, yeogi). A song like this will help you to remember vocabulary like eyes
and nose as well as the different pronunciation of “Yogi” and “Yeogi” which are
very similar. Getting down the slight differences in vowel sounds is difficult
and listening to a song like this one will definitely help you make the round
mouth you need for “Yo” sound and the parted lips you need for the “Yeo” sound.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sit
back and relax to the tranquil melodies as you easily master the Korean
language alone or with your little one. Singing along to the rhymes will make
you feel accomplished and will absolutely aid in your vocabulary retention. Tuttle
Publishing has many more bi-lingual Korean Children’s books like this one.
Another similar book is titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My First
Book of Korean Words: An ABC Rhyming Book</i> that is also useful for Korean
language learners of any age. Check out more of their books at <a href="http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/">www.tuttlepublishing.com</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Korean nursery rhymes for adult Korean language learning" </b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-61585685353923993952013-12-05T23:34:00.001-08:002015-09-17T22:29:21.031-07:00Sick in Macau: an adventure in Chinese hospitals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the casinos from my hospital room at Kiang Wu Hospital in Macau.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s many of you may have noticed, I have not been updating regularly in Macau. However, I have been responding to your comments. The lack of posts is not because of my difficult work schedule, or my lack of dedication. Rather, it's simply because I have been enjoying life and waiting until the urge to write came back to me again. In September 2013, I became really sick and after 2 weeks in Macau in and out of the hospital, I flew home to California for another 2 weeks to get a full work-up. After a colonoscopy, 2 cat scans, and 15 pounds lighter, luckily I found out everything is A-OK and all my health issues were due to a thyroid disorder which is easily manageable.<br />
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3 months later, I am finally feeling back to normal and strong and in-shape again! And my time in the hospital in Macau makes a great story right? So after finally deciding that I had to see a doctor I walked a measly 10 minutes from my apartment over to Kiang Wu Hospital. There are only 2 hospitals in Macau that accept my national health insurance plan provided by the University. I found the fact that there are only 2 hospitals fascinating and after doing some research I later realized there is only 1 public hospital. Reuters did a great piece titled "<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-macau-infrastructure-idUSBRE89K0G320121021">One public hospital, 36 casinos: Macau's skewed bet on prosperity</a>." It is a little funny when you think about how many casinos there are here and only 1 public hospital. But we also have to keep in mind that the population in Macau is relatively small and women here have the 1st highest life expectancy rate in the world in terms of longevity. <a href="http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/34715-macau-second-in-the-list-of-countries-that-live-the-longest.html">The Macau Daily Times article</a> reported that according to the Central Intelligence Agencies latest report, "Macau actually beats Japan in the longevity stakes, coming in second worldwide with an average life expectancy of 84.43 years topping the Japanese figures of 83.91.<br />
So, with such a healthy city, I guess in all reality the hospitals are doing pretty good to service the population here. As I noticed with my own hospital experience, they will try and hold you hostage to get as much pay off as they can get! The young girl sharing a room with me simply had a bad cold and stayed in the hospital with an IV for 5 days until she was well again. Her boyfriend came over regularly and hung out, and she was just hanging around reading Chinese gossip magazines all day until someone brought her food and entertained her a bit.<br />
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I wobbled over expecting to receive a follow-up appointment with a gastro-specialist, and instead, because of my extremely low blood pressure was thrown a hospital gown and admitted 15 minutes later. I did actually need medical care at the time, but there was no way that I needed to be there for one week as the doctors were insisting. They spoke good English, but they really didn't know what do to with me. They also stick to a very simple frame of mind focusing only on treating your symptoms and not trying to diagnose the real problem. I also realized (and I quote my co-worker) "People simply just do whatever the doctor tells them too here because they are like God and they know what is best for you." Which sounds completely ridiculous to any Westerner that takes full responsibility for their health decisions and goes to several doctors to seek out 2nd and 3rd opinions.<br />
Basically to get any tests ordered within a reasonable amount of time, you need to sit there as an in-patient, or else you have to brave the long ticket lines of the out-patient department and scheduling line which can often result in waiting 1-3 months before you get any tests run. This is simply due to the fact that there is not enough medical equipment or doctors to service all of the patients in the hospital. And the fact that there are only 2 hospitals in Macau that accept the national health insurance.<br />
Not wanting to pay up front at a private doctor, I flew home to use my American insurance and see doctors who really knew what they were doing. I'm not saying all doctors in Macau are bad, but the second I got home, they immediately started testing me for a million things that the doctors here would have never considered based on my symptoms. It could have been months or even longer before I was diagnosed if I had waited in Macau.<br />
So, lesson learned. When you are stuck in a really bad health situation, make sure you have a back up plan in case you are working outside of the country and get sick. You might just end up like me, taking all 10 of my sick days and hopping on a flight home to see a doctor.<br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-80422847528933049992013-11-25T22:18:00.002-08:002013-11-25T22:49:14.461-08:00My apartment in Macau: a mansion compared to my old shacks in Japan and Korea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>his is my third time video taping my apartments in Asia. This apartment is going to seem like a mansion in comparison to my first two apartments, which were tiny little studios. This obviously reflects my higher position and pay bump due to completing my Master's degree and getting a University job abroad in Macau. My first two apartments were filmed in <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2010/11/my-apartment-in-seoul-south-korea.html">Korea</a>, and <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2012/06/gone-seoul-searching-in-japan-video_24.html">Japan</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99mH1y0ki-96e7wnd2iLsTGz-r7HnyYJDBijtCo-YjL5pMGzZBkS7WR4P_w95Q5nj9B75A12I28TGxybaS5gLmyZFWMWtpdluVkPL_gNaOyolbbGR6xsYI6YESu0z80WY_MtYS88Bss/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99mH1y0ki-96e7wnd2iLsTGz-r7HnyYJDBijtCo-YjL5pMGzZBkS7WR4P_w95Q5nj9B75A12I28TGxybaS5gLmyZFWMWtpdluVkPL_gNaOyolbbGR6xsYI6YESu0z80WY_MtYS88Bss/s320/photo+3.JPG" width="320" /></a>Right now I am in what is called "temporary" off campus faculty housing for the university. My rent is subsidized by the university so I pay a measly $104 <span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">a month plus utilities for a 3 bedroom apartment. However, when you live off-campus there is no guarantee you will not have roommates. When I first moved in there was a Portuguese teacher here and then another teacher from the ELC moved in and there were three of us. After 2 months the Portuguese teacher's temporary time was up and so then it was just the two of us.</span><br />
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Come spring I will have this entire apartment to myself if no other teachers are in need of temporary housing. I was supposed to get moved to the on-campus faculty housing at the new university. However, the construction was never completed and I am hypothesizing that I will be here until the remainder of my 10 month contract. Those that are senior teachers only have 30 days in the temporary housing and are then required to find their own apartments and also receive a small housing subsidy.</div>
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I hope you enjoy the live tour! I live right now in the most historical area of Macau near the Red Market. Its great because almost no expats live over here and you get a more cultural side of <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2013/09/10-things-to-love-about-macau.html">living in Macau</a>. I am enjoying both the Chinese and the Portuguese life over here! The tourism in Macau is huge and we see a lot of people from all over the world each weekend. It's actually hard for me to find people my age that are living here! If you have any additional questions that I didn't answer for you don't hesitate to leave a comment.</div>
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-81669518557757680662013-11-10T09:20:00.000-08:002013-11-10T10:21:09.813-08:00Thoughts about teaching in the TESOL field in Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYohxp3rA3QkEUBUKUwpP_jCKOESNywzlsmSS64XWeAu0CQpJCfepbpvY3y3vFBYQ9IsJjs9ZQV3HheiS0k3wHsbPKvCczU2AnavSzTdkN4GFWTLOF7dz1OLOnvtzD_L-QlrFYefLPOEs/s1600/DSCN5097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYohxp3rA3QkEUBUKUwpP_jCKOESNywzlsmSS64XWeAu0CQpJCfepbpvY3y3vFBYQ9IsJjs9ZQV3HheiS0k3wHsbPKvCczU2AnavSzTdkN4GFWTLOF7dz1OLOnvtzD_L-QlrFYefLPOEs/s640/DSCN5097.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students at University of Macau during a Mexican cooking demonstration. <b style="text-align: left;"><i> </i></b></td></tr>
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<b><i></i></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left;">
<b><i>An old professor of mine </i></b><b><i>asked me to share some thoughts for new teachers in the field of TESOL abroad in Asia for her new book.</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">What are the biggest mistakes teachers make
when they first go to teach in these countries? </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Teachers are
always bound to make mistakes when going abroad to work. I have taught in
Korea, Japan, and China and probably one of my biggest mistakes is not asking
about the nitty gritty details before taking on a position. You don’t want to come off during the
interview as a pushover, so you remain quiet and try and seem comfortable and
cool right? But, this is one of the worst things that you can do, as you may be
kicking your-self months after taking a position for not thoroughly and
critically evaluating your new position beforehand. As I have applied to more positions overtime,
the process has gotten easier and I remember to make a giant checklist of items
that I have questions about and sit there crossing them off and making more
questions during my interviews.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span></b><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Not asking
enough questions</b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b></b></span></i><br /><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b></b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If
the interview is cut short, which it almost inevitably is, I make sure to
e-mail back over my final questions or call again to get my questions answered.
A lot of programs and schools are short on time during the interview process.
They are brief and leave a lot of vital information out of the picture. One
example happened to me recently while applying to The University of Macau.
Because their University is expanding and a new campus is being built, they
could not guarantee my housing stipend when I first signed my contract. I had
to wait several months until I found out about my housing options through the University
for off-campus faculty members. 3 months after I had signed my contract I heard
back from the University with my housing package. Still, I forgot to ask if
this housing was for the duration of my 10 month contract which I assumed it
was. Little did I know that the University had only secured my off-campus
apartment for 6 months with the hopes of moving me into the on-campus housing
as soon as construction was finished. Because I was not nagging the office and
administration about every tiny minute detail of my contract, I ultimately
ended up with more stress upon arrival to the country. Uncertain if I was to be
moved again, I could not truly settle in to my living space or purchase
furniture because of the lack of communication between the administration and
the University itself. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I
also had a similar experience in Korea where I was told by the school that I
would have assistance finding housing. They sold this as a plus side of taking
a contract with their school since other workplaces teachers are left to deal
with their own housing and hire a real estate agent. However, they did forget
to mention that there was an exuberant fee associated with their housing
assistance and I forgot to ask because I assumed that this was a perk of the
position. Assume that nothing is a perk, and assume that anything offered will
come with an extra fee until it is written in stone otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These
are things that you need to be upfront with during your interview. You need to
be detailed with your recent experience and expectations. If you do not share
with your future workplace what you expect from the position and contract
itself, you may find yourself wishing that you took more time to get acquainted
with their position and school policies and environment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not understanding
that other countries are still developing</span></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Many teachers
assume that because they got hired at the top notch college or school that they
will have high quality access to the internet and state of the art equipment.
This is often not the case and is hard to discover without visiting the new
workplace in-person before-hand. A company or school may tell you that you will
have access to projectors, computers, etc. but expect that there may be a lack
of technology that you are used to living in the United States or other
countries that have the latest technology. I taught at a University in Japan
that gave me access to ONE computer in another teacher’s classroom to do
attendance each day. That meant that I had NO computer to use in my classroom
at all and no projector either. Everything had to be done with a simple chalk
board and white board and I had to think creatively to plan my lessons without
any access to technology at all. Even today at one of the most prestigious
universities, the internet is often very slow because of so many classes going
on at the same time. Thus, I cannot just hop on You Tube to show a video in my
class or pull up an article. I need to download the clip before class and save
it to my computer which takes extra time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They may think
that their recent teaching experience or recent program will apply to their new
workplace.</span></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> This is NEVER
the case! Each time I have taken a new position I have had to completely
re-evaluate the way that I teach in order to apply my skills to their program.
No program is alike and each University has their own guidelines and
curriculum. For the first time I find myself in a program that is not focuses
on specific language skills such as reading, writing, grammar. Etc. but strives
to align itself with the core curriculum since the courses are a part of the
required core classes at the university. Instead, I have found myself learning
to adjust to the new curriculum which is focused on academic skills and aims to
help students succeed in all of their university courses which a majority are
conducted in English.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Do not assume
that the country you are applying to will understand or recognize your
certifications or degrees.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Many
schools abroad do not understand what a M.Ed. or an M.A. in TESOL entails.
Instead, they are still asking teachers to have certifications such as the
CELTA or DELTA. But, in other countries a CELTA or DELTA will not be recognized
as a high enough certification for teaching or it may be a required certificate
to work in their programs. Each country will have its own idea of the best
certification or degree required for its program. Your current educational
background may mean something very different in another country which is
something that is often confusing for new teachers in the field. The field of
TESOL is always changing and is relatively new in nature. Teachers that want to
be extremely marketable for a position should try and receive every certificate
and diploma possible to maximize their potential for securing a job. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Not
understanding the difference between language schools, universities, and
teaching programs.</b> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There is a huge
difference if you are contracted by a private company to teach at a school or
university versus being hired at the school or university directly. When
searching for jobs, I often find myself researching the top schools in that
country and looking directly for jobs on their websites. I also contact
previous and current employees of these schools and ask about their experiences
working for that particular school via linked-in and online teacher profiles. I have never gone through a staffing agency or
government teaching program, although if you do decide to do so, it is not a
problem. However, many teachers find that when they leave a job in Korea or
Japan they do not have high level positions that will allow them to move up
within their profession. If you are teaching at a “Hagwon” or “Private Language
Institution” in Korea, this will not allow you to secure a job at a University
or public school in the states or U.K. Many teachers forget that even though
they have been teaching for so long abroad and have learned how to become a
great teacher within their school, they still do not have high enough
certifications and work experience to get them into a job when they decide to
return home. They will still need to further their education after these
teaching experiences. So, if you are just going abroad for the experience a
TESOL course or certification is best for you. But if you are trying to become
a teacher as a life-long profession than I would strongly consider furthering
your education ASAP to maximize your job potential and expertise in the field. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">What Cultural Aspects should teachers think
about before going?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></b><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Your style
and experiences of teaching and learning may be completely different than that
of your new students.</b></i><br />
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After teaching in 3 different countries I see the difference between
expectations of the student and teacher the most devastatingly obvious in
China. Students are passive, and walk into the classroom expecting the teacher
to stand in front of the class and lecture while they take notes and sit in
quiet throughout the course. In Western culture, the students are required to
challenge the teacher and participate in class by asking questions and
contributing to discussion. This is something that most students coming out of
High School in China have NEVER done before in their lives. These students need
to be taught the concept of critical thinking. This takes time and will not
happen within a month or two of courses. Students are EXTREMELY nervous to
explain their opinions or even raise their hand and share an answer because of
fear that they will be ridiculed by their teacher and classmates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>Your
everyday work environment may be very different</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 20.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You may be used to chatting freely in the office with your co-workers or
sharing lesson plans and eating in the office.
But, in a different country these common work settings may change completely.
In Japan and Korea, teachers were often expected to eat each meal with their colleagues
or students on-campus. Where as many teachers in Western society may eat alone,
this is not seen as a natural or viable option during the lunch or dinner hours
in many Eastern countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Your office may be extremely quiet. My first thoughts on teaching in
Japan and China were that my work environment was extremely dull. Teachers did
not openly collaborate with one another during their office hours, and I often
found myself leaving the office completely to escape from my cave down in the
cold and dark dungeon. However,
sometimes the school required me to be on campus from 9am-5pm regardless of my
teaching hours which was the case in Japan. Many teachers in the states can
make up their own daily schedules around their teaching hours. However, while
teaching abroad, this may be a different scenario. Luckily, I am allowed to
work from any place at my current position in China. However, I understand that
the local Chinese people think that if you are not physically in your office,
you are not getting any work done and you may be seen as a lesser colleague for
doing so. My advice is to try and engage is as much cross cultural
communication as possible in your office as the locals may have completely
different expectations of the work environment. Often a sterile and cold
environment can be changed if your co-workers understand that you appreciate
their input and social interactions in your everyday work life. They may believe that they are distracting
you, while you may believe they are rude and cold. This is a common
misconception between those working in the Western world versus the Eastern
world. Do not be afraid to share your culture with others and do not be
expected to conform or mold your own culture to a schools professional environment.
Staying completely true to your own culture may not be possible, however you
can go through your every-day life as normal as possible while staying
respectful of the countries expectations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Your students
are stupid because they are quiet.</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I can’t tell you how many teachers fall into this trap. Upon my first
weeks of work in China a teacher said to me, “Oh yes, the level 0 students are
very stupid. They do not know how to write at all.” Don’t listen to blunt or
mistaken comments such as these. Often times there are teachers that are
INSTITUTIONALIZED and have NEVER TAUGHT IN ANOTHER COUNTRY so they are out of touch
with reality in their classrooms. Their teaching styles may be extremely dated
and their expectations of students may be extremely low. This is simply not the
case. The students coming into higher level university ESL programs simply have
never had the opportunity to engage in any kind of sharing or reflections. Many
of them are taught to take a test and remember the answers to questions. This
is the only kind of learning that they have ever encountered before. Teachers
need to be patient, and give these students many opportunities to produce ad
practice their reading, writing, and speaking skills on a regular basis.
Teaching down to these students will only hinder their learning. Often times I
will be surprised by a student that is extremely quiet and shy in the classroom
when I read their writing. This is because I find that they are even smarter
than the students who try and participate in the class. Teachers need to
remember that ESL students are processing information at all times and this
takes longer for some students than others. How much a student is actively
participating in class may not be an accurate measure of how smart this student
is. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Other suggestions for new teachers</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t be afraid to leave a position early</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If a school is simply not meeting your
expectations, than don’t feel obligated to finish your contract. Most schools
will respect your decision that their program simply isn’t meeting your needs
as a teacher and isn’t a good match. It is hard to find the perfect program
that satisfies your needs and desires as a teacher. Don’t be afraid to try out
many different schools and settings and even say no to positions or leave
positions because you just didn’t feel comfortable working there. I currently
know several teachers in the field that have changed programs and schools after
only 2-3 months of working because they did not see the job as a “good fit.”
This is ok! Many new teachers feel obligated to stay at their position out of
fear that their reputation may be damaged for leaving. However, if you politely
explain your situation to your current supervisor, they are sure to understand
that it is often times difficult to find a good match between a school and a
teacher. Don’t let fear or money stop you from finding a better position that
will suit your personality, creativity, and goals. If the job isn’t meeting
your expectations, then just leave. The good thing about this field is that you
are sure to encounter many other people that have done the same, and many other
supervisors who will appreciate your decision to leave a program early before
they start investing in you as a teacher. There is always another job out there
that is waiting for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t expect to be on vacation all the time!</span></i></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many new teachers in the field think that when
they go abroad they will have an abundance of vacation and leisure time. This
is often not the case as you are overwhelmed with adjusting to a new culture,
moving, creating adjustments to your teaching, fitting into a new program. All
of these things take time and you may find yourself busier than you previously
thought. Teaching abroad is not a good means for traveling. Yes, there are
perks that you are closer in distance to neighboring countries than you previously
were if you are from the U.S. But in general, you will be working just as much
as everyone back home if not more. Because I am so familiar with teaching in
the States it is much easier for me to create a lesson plan or conduct research
in that setting. However, living abroad often requires me twice the time
because I am trying to take into account differences in culture and learning
styles that I didn’t previously have to focus on as deeply. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></i><!--[endif]--></b><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Travel or visit the country you plan to work-in
beforehand. </b><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many times new teachers in the field of TESOL
are just excited to go to a new country
and experience teaching abroad for the first time. However, moving to a new
country is a HUGE decision that should not be taken lightly. Before each
contract I have taken, I had previously traveled to the country or conducted a
job interview in that country to make sure that I could see myself in that
environment. I knew that I could live in Korea easily after spending 2 weeks
there in the year before applying for a position. I also knew that Macau would
be an easy place to live in because I had been and lived in North Eastern Asia
multiple times, and knew that the European influence would remind me more of my
home culture. Upon traveling to Vietnam in 2011, I knew that there was no way
that I could ever apply for a teaching position there simply because I did not
feel comfortable in that environment. For me, I need to be in a location that
is extremely safe and provides a higher salary and middle to high cost of
living. This meant that most countries in South East Asia were immediately off
my list as their crime is much higher than countries like Japan and Korea. I
know this about myself, and thus I take is into consideration when I am
considering a country to live and work in. Knowing yourself and your living
expectations is extremely important when factoring in a new job in a new
country. </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></span><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-18797518490666614502013-09-09T10:52:00.002-07:002013-09-17T16:12:06.800-07:0010 things to love about Macau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portuguese flare is found all over the streets of Macau.</td></tr>
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<b>1. The Portuguese influence:</b> Throughout Macau you will see tiled floors, round-a-bouts with beautiful gardens, blue tiled Portuguese street signs, tiled streets, and much more. The Portuguese history of Macau can be seen almost everywhere on the streets and is a great break from the ordinary Asian scenery for those that have traveled or lived extensively in Asia.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardens in Macau are found throughout the city.</td></tr>
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<b>2. Gardens in Macau: </b>After walking a few streets down from my apartment I discovered about 3 different garden areas. One of them, <a href="http://www.metropolasia.com/Macau-attractions/Guia-Hill-and-Fortress">Jardim da Flora</a> offers playgrounds for kids in Macau, walking paths, and even a cable car that will take you up to the top of the mountain. On a clear day the views of the city are beautiful and you forget the chaos of the bustling city below.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macau is made up of two islands called Macau and Taipa.</td></tr>
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3. The Island Life: </b>Macau is no tropical getaway by any means. But, there is a sense of excitement from going across one of the 3 massive bridges that connects Macau and Taipa Islands. During one day in Macau, I found myself going back and forth between the islands over 5 times between work, restaurants, and different friends apartments. Going back and forth between Macau island and Taipa island becomes a standard occurrence for most locals and especially for tourists who want to see hotels which are located throughout both islands of Macau.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh papaya is always available in Macau.</td></tr>
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<b>4. The Fresh Fruit</b>: Something that I couldn't often find in Korea and Japan was amazing and cheap fresh fruit. Here in Macau because of our close proximity to Philippines we get a ton of imported papaya and mango. I found my fruit bowl loaded with beautiful pink dragon fruit originating from central america and grown throughout Asia and purple mangosteen from Indonesia.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try ordering some live frog for dinner!<br />
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5. <b>Exotic Chinese Food: </b>When my friend told me we were going out for Chinese frog hot pot I immediately said yes! I couldn't wait to eat some fresh frog meat as the first time I tried frog legs in France I fell in love with the soft and fishy-like qualities. Little did I know that our frog meat would be served raw and alive, just like my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00oEOtvj_bM">live octopus experience in Korea</a>. I will post a live video of the twitching frog legs being dumped into the hot pot for dinner later on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Courtesy of Club Cubic.</td></tr>
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<b>6. <u>The all night hotel club scene:</u></b> If you are coming to Macau to party there will be no shortage of party goers inside the hotels most elite clubs such as Cubic, D2, and D3. You will find great DJ's playing the newest music from around the world and some amusing dancers and singers trying to take their best stab at Western music. You will not often see party goers mixed with gambling as the gamblers are quite serious. And you definitely don't compare Macau to Vegas as drinking is not seen as openly on the streets here as it is in Vegas. But, enter any hotel bar or club and you will see the night life come alive.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get touristy at the Ruins of St. Paul's church.<br />
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<b>7. The Historical Churches:</b> Every step you take you will bump into a Western Church of some kind. They will be practicing or not and in beautiful condition as they are one of the main tourist attractions of Macau. The picture to the left is of course at the famous Ruins of St. Paul's which is just a remaining facade of the old church. Everyone who comes to Macau must have their picture taken at the historical monument which rests at the top of Macau's most famous shopping area Senado Square. The tiled streets are lined with hundreds of shops and restaurants that give an addictive old fashioned Europe flavor. You may even forget that you are in Asia at all, until you look around and take in all of the glowing neon signs and Asian lanterns.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Offerings on the sidewalks of Macau during ghost month.</td></tr>
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<b>8. The Hungry Ghost Festival:</b> Are they having a bonfire in the middle of the sidewalk? Every year in China around August or September you will see people burning fires in little red metal boxes on the street and throwing in fake paper money. They will also leave candles and food as offerings to their ancestors. During this one month period it is believed that the ghosts of everyone's ancestors return to the earth and without giving offerings, people may be haunted by the ghosts. Don't be alarmed if you walk outside and see blazing fires in the middle of the sidewalk. Families will gather together throughout the month to offer up gratitude and thanks to their lost ones.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peek inside the MGM Grand Hotels ocean themed room.</td></tr>
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<b>9. Luxurious Hotel Life:</b> Get dressed up and wander around one of Macau's top hotels such as the The Venetian, MGM, Hard Rock, or Wynn. There is always a show or event going on somewhere and you can have a great night out shopping, fine dining, or just walking around witnessing the beautiful hotel displays. The MGM is known for its dazzling underwater glass display with its pink coral pictured to the left. There is always something new to see or discover as you get lost inside some of the biggest hotels in the world. Did you know that The Venetian in Macau remains the largest casino in the world?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bet on a dog at Macau's greyhound racing track.</td></tr>
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<b>10. Macau's Greyhound Racing:</b> Though you might not be a fan of greyhound racing due to the unfair treatment of dogs in some countries, Macau has an old race track with cheap admission of only about $1 USD where you can take part in betting on the fastest dogs. Truly a unique experience, the track is full of older generations who spend their evenings dining in the restaurant as they look for the fastest and most fit dogs to bet on. This is a unique part of Macau that is often overlooked by tourists and is more of a local scene.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-60983668969489767342013-08-30T02:50:00.000-07:002013-08-30T02:50:02.716-07:00The Annual Faculty Retreat at MGM Grand Hotel in Macau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo of all new and returning faculty at the ELC.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ast week after helping all the new teachers arrive over the weekend, we had our first faculty meetings and annual retreat. Below is an article about Day 1 of the retreat that was held at the MGM Grade Hotel in Macau. We were lucky to have a delicious 3 course meal and plenty of coffee, tea, and snacks throughout the day. They even had the sweet, sugar and cinnamon dusted churros which I used to sell on the local beach amusement park when I was in high school. After a little research, I interestingly discovered that churros have a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/It%20begins%20not%20in%20Spain%20but%20in%20China,%20where%20Portuguese%20merchants%20first%20tasted%20youtiao,%20strips%20of%20golden%20fried%20salty%20pastry%20traditionally%20eaten%20for%20breakfast.%20-%20See%20more%20at:%20http://www.theprisma.co.uk/2011/07/17/churros-a-secret-history/#sthash.nXaUMFjZ.dpuf">Chinese history</a>. <br />
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To sum up the faculty retreat see a reflective article that my co-worker and I wrote up for the campus wide e-news bulletin about some of the events from the day. The semester does not start until September 16th, but we have been very busy with professional development workshops, course meetings, research planning, and event planning. Teaching and preparing our lessons is definitely not the only thing on our schedules!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">Dear Colleagues and students, </span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">The English Language Center (ELC) kicked off the 2013-2014 semester with its Annual Faculty Retreat at the MGM Grand hotel on August 20, 2013. As the new semester approaches the ELC faculty may all agree on one thing; the nerves never go away before a new semester begins and we often find ourselves feeling exactly like our students with butterflies in our stomachs or like a child on Christmas morning not knowing what to expect from Santa Clause. With 8 new Faculty members joining the ELC concurrent with the expansion of the University, the retreat was a great way to get new and old teachers bonding as a team and familiarizing everyone with new ELC and University wide policies and expectations. New teachers Marie Webb and Azita Kuok reflect on the day spent getting to know one another under the sea at the MGM. </span><br /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">A Handshake Game was used to reduce the tension and to get the group into a collaborative mood. Teams had to generate creative handshakes which incorporated both movement and sound, at each round increasing the number of movements as teams got bigger throughout the activity.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><img height="369" src="http://um2.umac.mo/apps/com/bulletin.nsf/0/61f45daa8eba0eaa48257bd40031ea79/Body/7.4DDA?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif" style="background-color: white;" width="554" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">One of the more serious activities during the retreat was a group discussion on the ELC policy. Each group was formed with new and old staff members to discuss 3 questions related to the ELC policy. The questions covered all aspects, such as professional development opportunities, rights and duties, personnel rights and obligations, and support and funding for doing research. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">“We’ll take Important Dates and Numbers for 400 please,” a team shouted out during the American quiz show game Jeopardy. The Jeopardy game was used to revisit the policy discussion later in the day and served as a good review activity. “September 16?”, Subject Convenor at the ELC Barbara Weissmann asked, and team number 1 eagerly replied, ”When is the first day of class?” A team Jeopardy game served as an activity for teachers to review questions about policy and important days of the academic year. Of course the most important day, the first day of classes was highly deserving of 400 points. Personally, as new fellows in the program we both felt that the Jeopardy game was a great way to get all of the faculty thinking about exciting activities to integrate into their class lessons. But, we won’t deny the fact that the chocolate bar rewards also helped with our extrinsic motivation.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><img height="369" src="http://um2.umac.mo/apps/com/bulletin.nsf/0/61f45daa8eba0eaa48257bd40031ea79/Body/19.2C46?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif" style="background-color: white;" width="554" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">In addition to exciting activities such as the Jeopardy game, all level head teachers and new teachers participated in a poster session in which we shared teaching ideas for our classrooms with one another. This activity reminds us that as educators collaboration is what helps us to stay open minded and up to date in our classrooms. Sharing our insights into successful lessons or activities is not simply just a retreat team building activity, but a lifelong process in which teachers are involved in a community of sharing knowledge. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white;" /><img height="369" src="http://um2.umac.mo/apps/com/bulletin.nsf/0/61f45daa8eba0eaa48257bd40031ea79/Body/31.4622?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif" style="background-color: white;" width="554" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">On the note of community building, teachers were expected to build a unique structure out of materials such as spaghetti and marshmallows in another activity. ELC courses are creative and innovative and this tower building activity demonstrated the characteristics of ELC staff members. Each group had to build a tower with 20 pieces of spaghetti, a yard of string, a yard of tape and one marshmallow. The group which could build the tallest tower in 15 minutes would be the winner. We were so engaged in this activity that no one wanted to stop when time was up. We learned the personalities and talents of each group member and it was challenging to collaborate in such a short period of time. As a result many of the marshmallow towers collapsed to their death after the timer rang. It was inspiring for us to reflect about ways to work with each other and having opportunities to show our strengths. The best part of this game was that Barbara, Joan, Kevin and Azita won this challenge! </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white;" /><img height="369" src="http://um2.umac.mo/apps/com/bulletin.nsf/0/61f45daa8eba0eaa48257bd40031ea79/Body/44.3BD6?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif" style="background-color: white;" width="554" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">Overall we are excited about working in the ELC and truly feel that the Faculty Retreat day one set the tone for a wonderful and bright semester filled with new relationships and friendships. We are looking forward to getting to know the ELC teachers and staff more and would like to see if round two of the spaghetti marshmallow building competition improves in quality after we have known each other for more time. Let’s all take time to reflect on the things we learned and thank one another for a successful day.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white;" /><img height="369" src="http://um2.umac.mo/apps/com/bulletin.nsf/0/61f45daa8eba0eaa48257bd40031ea79/Body/56.354E?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif" style="background-color: white;" width="554" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">Also, check out the ELC's webpage (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.umac.mo/elc/">http://www.umac.mo/elc/</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;">) for more information and photos. Thank you very much for your participation in ELC activities and for your support of our University's English Language Centre. </span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times New Roman;"><br />English Language Centre (ELC)<br />University of Macau (UM)</span><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-87723388994084618502013-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:002013-08-25T08:41:58.136-07:00The move in process in Macau for off-campus faculty housing in 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivy98LwlVEg6M19nHWcGbo1Sa8OTUufqqqR-gJK4XrXWjyfzRPfP7ZuU49WCdK0fSHbJba9gD4bApbTbA9gcKyVxn5A3YEIdrSjxCVgG8Tsip2MrH9LEiNFTTn6AK5PyuWf30JamfPgvA/s1600/IMG_0538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivy98LwlVEg6M19nHWcGbo1Sa8OTUufqqqR-gJK4XrXWjyfzRPfP7ZuU49WCdK0fSHbJba9gD4bApbTbA9gcKyVxn5A3YEIdrSjxCVgG8Tsip2MrH9LEiNFTTn6AK5PyuWf30JamfPgvA/s400/IMG_0538.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some purchased items to fill up my white, empty apartment in Macau.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s I am working for the University of Macau, I was placed into housing as a language fellow (visiting instructor position). The cost of rent is extremely cheap for us because we are not hired directly by the University and are working for the English Language Center itself. For the 4 fellows our rent is only $104 per month to stay in off-campus housing through the university. During my 5th week here, 8 new senior instructors arrived to teach in the ELC and all were placed in temporary housing as well. Because of the move to the New University Campus in January, we are in a state of housing limbo.<br />
After providing much help to my new co-workers on the move in process such as setting up gas, applying for internet, obtaining water, fixing wrong keys, broken air conditioners, securing couch covers for peeling couches, etc., the management of the ELC sent out an e-mail requesting that all teachers reply to the housing office with requests for improvement and suggestions on the moving process. Each new teacher replied to my first e-mail that was sent and added more information. Some of the information added included the teachers that were placed in the Best Western Hotel in Taipa with no Wi-fi access or kitchens. For a week or two this is ok, but the University is not paying for their Wi-fi access which comes at an unreasonable cost as well as the fact that those teachers must eat out every meal at additional costs for a period of 1-4 months since the move to new apartments on campus is uncertain.<br />
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Here are some of the items of complaint:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">Hi Carol!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">Here are a few:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">1. White mold present in each rooms furniture. Mainly the desk, inside the desk drawers, under, all sides of the drawers insides, behind desk. Suggestion: Proper cleaning of all furniture prior to arrival.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">2. Paint peeling from couches, you cannot even sit on the couches without being covered in black specks of paint. This is especially dangerous for the families with children whom often ingest the paint. Suggestion: new furniture or proper couch covers.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">3. No gas upon arrival to cook or take hot showers. Suggestion: the school buys the first tank and removes the charge from our paycheck.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">4. Basics upon arrival such as a roll of toilet paper, at least one cup, dish, bowl,one cooking pan, fork, spoon, and knife. Suggestion: In the past when I have moved abroad for teaching jobs there was a basic care package either sent the same day as arrival by delivery or provided in the apartment. All materials in this package were cheap and meant for basic needs upon arrival. We could leave only the initial items provided in the care box upon leaving so they could be used again, or dispose of them.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">5. Proper pillows because mine was literally falling apart. The entire pillow was shredded into small pieces and then stuffed into a pillow case. Suggestion: new pillow upon arrival.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">6. Check to make sure all keys work. My roommates key was the entirely wrong key and she was locked out. Suggestion: The school checks each key to make sure it functions correctly.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">7. A second set of keys for guests. Many times we arrive with someone to help us with our adjustment and it is hard to get in and out of the apartment with only one set of keys. Suggestion: Each teacher be provided with 2 sets of keys.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">8. Proper cleaning of apartment. I think all of us can agree that in the Western World we have different ideas about what is "move in clean." For example, I spent 2 days scrubbing and bleaching the black mold and grime between the bathroom and kitchen tiles. This is something that no one wants to do when they arrive to a new country. A brief cleaning is not acceptable. Suggestion: A thorough clean of the floors, walls, and furniture.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">Best,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Courier, 'Courier New'; font-size: 12px;">Marie</span><br />
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Although it seems as there are alot of complaints about the housing, this is due to the fact that the University is in a state of flux right now during the moving process. However, one teacher did reply to the e-mail noting that the University considers itself as one of the leading schools in Macau and in China and if they claim to do so they would probably have considered the moving process for it's international teachers with more care. There were obvious signs to all of the new teachers that the University took no care regarding their move to Macau. Especially when basic items such as air conditioners were not functioning or keys did not match the doors.<br />
With all of the complaints noted, The off-campus apartments are of wonderful size and in a great location of Macau. It is extremely hard to find this much space anywhere in Macau and for such a great price from the University subsidizing most of the cost. However, most teachers do not want to share rooms and need more than just a peeling old couch when arriving with a family that has children. I am sure this is the last time that most teachers for the University will experience this kind of setting as the new campus will have plenty of housing for faculty. However, for faculty that does not receive on-campus housing from the beginning of their move, the University definitely needs to raise their quality of service for new arrivals. Much of the faculty from the ELC has taught in the Middle East which dominates in the relocation department. Some faculty report being handed thousands of dollars to buy new furniture and being provided with a private car upon arrival until they were more fully settled. Moving to a new country is a huge adjustment and providing professionals with a professional moving experience should not be understated. As of now, there are 3 of us living in this apartment. I am under the understanding that I would not be receiving on-campus housing and that I will be staying here for the year. My roommates are under the impression that this is temporary housing and that they will be moving in to the new apartments on campus once the construction is finished. Check back for a later post on a live video tour of my apartment in Macau.<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>The move in process in Macau for off-campus faculty housing 2013</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" </b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-15699637605206770612013-08-01T08:01:00.000-07:002013-08-14T08:02:13.750-07:00Can I raise my hand?:Teaching at The Summer Bridge Program at University of Macau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpZiD1ueqivWLTJN3ZnHtvPuqU6nD-okxWrDaUETK_POE1KP_GQw6er1nt-GuMucPX6nnhEAFEzZ2hZGBhESq-aIi1bWmyoPw9kPg8ft0ySpCvIEMEwkskylN3e3YE99i1pbQflofdiE/s1600/970281_642819747511_1698650247_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpZiD1ueqivWLTJN3ZnHtvPuqU6nD-okxWrDaUETK_POE1KP_GQw6er1nt-GuMucPX6nnhEAFEzZ2hZGBhESq-aIi1bWmyoPw9kPg8ft0ySpCvIEMEwkskylN3e3YE99i1pbQflofdiE/s1600/970281_642819747511_1698650247_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students enjoying the end of the summer bridge program during our class party.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>hree weeks have flown by since I started teaching at the Summer Bridge program and my students will be happy to part with me for their summer vacation before Fall classes tomorrow, while I will be wishing we had more time to really get down to work! I have been in Macau for almost 1 month now and this 3 week summer program at the University has been a great introduction to the English Language Center that I am working at this year. The students in the Summer Bridge Program are all recent High School graduates and it is their first time taking any University affiliated course. Most of them were accepted into the program with the understanding that they pass this summer course in order to enroll into classes in the Fall. With a lower English level, these students need a brush up on their basic English skills as they have been taught English in Chinese for the past 6 years. And even more exciting, they need a crash course in Western teaching philosophy that requires class discussion and group work where their ideas are appreciated and heard.<br />
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"I can raise my hand?" a student asked me during the first week of class. I was shocked as I watched my students struggle with the adjustment of being told what to do instead of deciding what to do. I realized quickly that my students have never had to think for themselves and were used to an environment where they simply filled in the blanks and did extremely rote activities to reinforce concepts, rather than using the language in a more natural way. This is when a team game was introduced to the class in which the students had to match sentence strips under the category of Western Teaching Philosophy or Eastern Teaching Philosophy. Then after a discussion, the students were able to write on the topic and state the pros and cons of each philosophy and/or which one they preferred. </div>
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To my surprise, all of the students chose Western teaching philosophy even though I explained to them that I would mix both styles of teaching in my classroom. They stated that they liked not focusing on a book and actually being creative because they felt they could contribute more to their society. Their words were very powerful to those that understand the lack of creativity that they were previously allowed in their learning experiences. </div>
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There is alot to say about this 3 week program, but overall my opinion is that it is too short to accomplish any deep learning. I tried my best to thoroughly cover all of the most important information while teaching them basic skills to survive in a University setting. A majority of my class didn't even know how to organize a notebook and I quickly realized that I needed to make that a part of the class grade to get them to pay full attention to staying organized. They actually showed up to class with mini mouse notepads and some of them without lined paper or pens and pencils. This seems almost non-nonsensical to most American teachers as these skills are reinforced at a young age, but my Chinese co-worker reminded me that the students are known for being "spoon-fed" and catered to their entire lives even during their schooling. This is a much bigger problem than I thought it would be. I have taught in Asia before in Korea and Japan, but never have I experienced the "spoon-feeding" non creative mindset with such full force. Here in China, even in a more free environment in the Special Administrative Region of Macau, students are not taught to think for themselves at a young age. This is something that I truly think hinders them as they begin their college careers, where most of them will be thrown into all English classes with Western teachers who will be shocked at their lack of discussion skills. </div>
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As the 3 week period wraps up tomorrow, my class will enjoy a relaxing day of playing English games and watching Ice Age 3 over lunch together. This is something that I look forward to at the end of my classes where the students can get to know me on a more personal level and reflect on the time that we had together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ITLp5VcV_QCYk5yFcNzwWqTaU9p9zCcr6WHxHQBCMn_c0wet14mjzvwkkXXT1cIdpn14q3cpz94fFvJVsL-pnbsVUIDWN5ByD7VYemBLGThoTwjttXQDzHRRfE08-758iaennx9iSfc/s1600/DSCN4562+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ITLp5VcV_QCYk5yFcNzwWqTaU9p9zCcr6WHxHQBCMn_c0wet14mjzvwkkXXT1cIdpn14q3cpz94fFvJVsL-pnbsVUIDWN5ByD7VYemBLGThoTwjttXQDzHRRfE08-758iaennx9iSfc/s640/DSCN4562+(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Macau from the University of Macau on Taipa Island.</td></tr>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-27333797103006500522013-07-10T01:05:00.003-07:002013-07-12T00:18:26.352-07:00My New Portuguese Lifestyle in Macau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calsada streets around old Macau in my neighborhood.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>ell I
have officially been adopted by my Portuguese roommate and I am living a
European lifestyle here in Macau eating dinner at 9 and 10 at night and getting
fresh vegetables from the markets only steps from my home. Walking around the
old Portuguese cobble stone streets or as Ana my flat-mate would say “calcada”
I have learned more about Macau’s old Portuguese history than many might learn
in a lifetime in just 3 days in Macau. Ana is born and raised in Lisbon,
Portugal and teaches Chinese to Portuguese translation at The University of
Macau. Since she found out she is exactly twice my age, Ana has taken me under
her wing and has shown me all the best places around our neighborhood. I was
very sick with a terrible head cold when I first arrived and so my first two
nights she cooked us a lovely dinner and we chatted all night long with Frank
Sinatra and Beethoven playing in the background. The first dinner was a mix of
broccoli and red vinegar as a side dish and green tea pasta with mussels,
shallots, tomatoes, Chinese peppers,some other spicy Chinese oil, and other
veggies that gave great flavor to the dish. We chatted about our families and
our lives and I found out that she is the daughter of 2 university teachers and
grew up learning English, French, and of course Portuguese and took on learning
Chinese when she was 29. “Oh good! There is still hope for my Chinese!” I
remarked to such a talented peer.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfgkPftILIql-8k4m8DJfaZHLETTS10g6lWoP0lGfq_tGMDEpDeen7BqSnE-PN75DfhBBng_Yes_aqy3PMBS3BIqpax0-kIemPP6EaRgbAO0pkMTF8AS2hcSJPIaK0Lu9Y9xajwXsniA/s1600/IMG_0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfgkPftILIql-8k4m8DJfaZHLETTS10g6lWoP0lGfq_tGMDEpDeen7BqSnE-PN75DfhBBng_Yes_aqy3PMBS3BIqpax0-kIemPP6EaRgbAO0pkMTF8AS2hcSJPIaK0Lu9Y9xajwXsniA/s320/IMG_0247.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the churches I stumbled upon walking around my first day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ana
calls herself a philosopher and I think she is just that. She has a Ph.D in East
Asian Studies from Lisbon University in Portugal and loves chatting with me
about the secret of life and the relationships between men and women. Though
she has one daughter and granddaughter she is unmarried and explains that she
leads a lonely life, but that it is one of joy and happiness with her research
and family. She often brings up the topic of love, and says that she encourages
me to get married and to make sure that if I date any men in Macau they must be
tested first because people in Macau have too much money and they can’t be
trusted as good men. Because people have so much money in Macau she believes
that with money comes problems. <br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN0US5A3Dqt6A2PmV1EdDhz2wP2sVGjkuFdzRnD2EY-e9NmUxLvJAg5x_Nt1DEfJPBC1tz6JHt3FGKABan0M0rdgBIo3vhhb71Ogc13PbGd_IDjUzns9SbUerm23AKtEnB90tb3DDzQM/s1600/IMG_0275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN0US5A3Dqt6A2PmV1EdDhz2wP2sVGjkuFdzRnD2EY-e9NmUxLvJAg5x_Nt1DEfJPBC1tz6JHt3FGKABan0M0rdgBIo3vhhb71Ogc13PbGd_IDjUzns9SbUerm23AKtEnB90tb3DDzQM/s320/IMG_0275.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dinner Ana cooked on my first night in Macau.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“Aaaaaah”
I think to myself. “I have noticed a lot of BMW’s, Lamborghinis, and
Maseratis, being driven around the town.” Actually, all I have seen is
beautiful luxury cars all over this city! I think that Ana and I are going to
get along very well. Who knows how long she will be living here with me since
tenured University Faculty are very high on the list for housing at the new
University Campus. She will be going on vacation for about a month in a few
weeks and then I will have the apartment all to myself. We both admitted to
each other that we prefer to live alone and have our own space. But, off-campus
faculty housing from the University always has apartments with 2 rooms for the
time being. If she moves out, I will have the place to myself unless another
faculty member is hired from out of the country and chooses to live through the
University housing system. I do have my fingers crossed though that I end up
having a 2 bedroom apartment to myself! Mainly because this is great when friends
come and visit from out of states and Hong Kong. But until then, I am really
enjoying Ana’s company and friendly advice and attitude about life.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbd0qAAxkGP8nJgjJesf-3r7G30Zo2-m168TBczW8mZMwk-4x4Zritggc_NLLqIN-5BbNvr2i8aAyLYgiL4cBng35TnV9Kas75n9nOfXXcCWsvoQL_MpUw4SeQ9eGZphIeLJfsCtVeZUE/s1600/IMG_0243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbd0qAAxkGP8nJgjJesf-3r7G30Zo2-m168TBczW8mZMwk-4x4Zritggc_NLLqIN-5BbNvr2i8aAyLYgiL4cBng35TnV9Kas75n9nOfXXcCWsvoQL_MpUw4SeQ9eGZphIeLJfsCtVeZUE/s320/IMG_0243.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The street names in Portuguese and Chinese around the city.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ana
really reminds me of my old Canadian co-worker in Korea, Joan who was also
twice my age, became a very good friend and mentor to me during my time
there in 2010-2011. Joan and I were more alike as she was a shopper and an
eater and of course much more of a people person than Ana seems to be. But, I
can see what the life of a true researcher and professor is like that is so
dedicated to contributing learning in this world. <br />
<br />
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On the
topic of teaching, I have my first meeting tomorrow for the summer session here
and I’ll be writing more about the University and the city as my Wi-Fi
capabilities allow. Next Wednesday I am getting Wi-Fi installed in my apartment
and then I’ll be updating more regularly about life and work in Macau. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>My New Portuguese Lifestyle in Macau</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" </b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-75308686282636875222013-07-08T01:34:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:35:08.036-07:00An update from row 45 of Singapore Airlines on my flight to Hong Kong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI56JfQrrirAIETZC0NdJTMil54cN26fuWif5e_MNYEfctDBipTUAxIPQkd4jiz_O0LGdjm-UkFwgC-e_-T1jmIFbtxWNBR3mTeH0rczim5TsmMELIv82eG9lS2W57nLCbPG0xKbaaX74/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI56JfQrrirAIETZC0NdJTMil54cN26fuWif5e_MNYEfctDBipTUAxIPQkd4jiz_O0LGdjm-UkFwgC-e_-T1jmIFbtxWNBR3mTeH0rczim5TsmMELIv82eG9lS2W57nLCbPG0xKbaaX74/s400/IMG_0219.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lucked out with my own row of seats!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Dear friends and family!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
After a wonderful send off in
California I have started my long journey to Macau. I had a 4<sup>th</sup> of
July party and dinner on the 5<sup>th</sup> and feel so supported and loved by
everyone as I begin my next 11 month journey abroad. I flew out of San Diego at
7:35 with a lovely free upgrade to first class seating on United Airlines, and
enjoyed a beautiful, golden sunset over the coast of California as I touched
down in San Francisco Airport. My Hong-Konger shopping instincts might have
already kicked in again as I picked up some dark chocolate raspberry Ghiradelli
chocolate for my friends and co-workers that are helping me upon my arrival. I
also picked up a tiny charger that gives an extra 17-20 hours of battery life
on your I-phone and talked to some helpful clerks about the pre-paid airport
chips found in the vending machines in Hong Kong Airport. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytDPpaNgEckQpQA0nbirOAevKdND_csisPXntYtOmKdLW4HZ2AbtafurrfAMH5T5skeTFWtaKJF6az84So2bS61J65906P1DVJgYlVyZbefxRYWLyP96v25BjITVUSfxCKX6xlZfBHQk/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytDPpaNgEckQpQA0nbirOAevKdND_csisPXntYtOmKdLW4HZ2AbtafurrfAMH5T5skeTFWtaKJF6az84So2bS61J65906P1DVJgYlVyZbefxRYWLyP96v25BjITVUSfxCKX6xlZfBHQk/s320/IMG_0198.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful sunset over San Francisco.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I waited to board my flight on Singapore Airlines
leaving at 1 a.m., I Skyped and Facetimed two of my best friends for 2 hours
and then my mother for another hour. They gave me a lot of pep talks and we
gabbed about how exciting and lucky my life as a teacher can be. This is my
third time going abroad to teach and I am so lucky to have been accepted for a
position at the University of Macau. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Right now it is 11:48 a.m. in San
Diego and 2:49 a.m. in Macau and there is about 3 hours left on my flight. I
don’t know why I end up being so lucky on flights with my legs stretched out
over an entire row of chairs and three pillows behind my back, neck, and feet!
This has actually happened to me on 3 flights in the past year, one home from
Chicago back in November, one from Thailand to Vietnam, and another from China
back to Japan where I was teaching last summer of 2012. So with an upgrade to
first class on my commuter flight and an entire row to myself on Singapore
Airlines for the 13 hour flight, I’d say my trip has started off nicely</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIxHDhJFkq2NLTcMoEfsBlqswVDA18O85OJFI_glxjVLF30CN-ZN6_RB4zUpfXq8xWFAvO-75TVE3lC2nVr0dlxWiRAA8Bw8m8vkE1SwormhdV_5g6FyZqDUSvVkvINnbD_38TMO2OaA/s1600/IMG_0214.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIxHDhJFkq2NLTcMoEfsBlqswVDA18O85OJFI_glxjVLF30CN-ZN6_RB4zUpfXq8xWFAvO-75TVE3lC2nVr0dlxWiRAA8Bw8m8vkE1SwormhdV_5g6FyZqDUSvVkvINnbD_38TMO2OaA/s320/IMG_0214.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying into Hong Kong Airport.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
Melanie and Laurent, two of my
best friends from Korea in 2010-2011 have relocated his company and her
teaching skills to Hong Kong and will be graciously picking me up at 6:30 am at
the Hong Kong Airport after I go through customs. I am beyond excited as I get
to see their sparkling faces on my first day back in Asia! They will help me
with my bags and we will then hop in a cab over to the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal
so I can get on an earlier Turbojet boat over to the island of Macau. The
ferries leave every 15 minutes from the terminal but less regularly out of the
airport terminal so this is why I have decided to just go through Hong Kong
customs and leave the airport. Then we will part ways and Carol, one of the
administrators at the University will be picking me up at the Macau ferry
terminal after I go through Macau customs and we will head straight over to my
apartment which is only about a 15 minute journey from there. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakQznWoc696K10wYGMrZMLm8UsnUVVEwiC0ma8l46kTzDlMnSq9nAebGKYsGrMgQ9xDldhgGNft0jKSgfL5YzQZU0A-oRdudxwOn8d2gbuhL1YIRgw57G6Cjp_E8ACBGW5VWPnGk0bOU/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakQznWoc696K10wYGMrZMLm8UsnUVVEwiC0ma8l46kTzDlMnSq9nAebGKYsGrMgQ9xDldhgGNft0jKSgfL5YzQZU0A-oRdudxwOn8d2gbuhL1YIRgw57G6Cjp_E8ACBGW5VWPnGk0bOU/s320/IMG_0212.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching Gangster Squad as Lauren requested!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
I have quite a sneezing fit going
on right now on the airplane ever since I sat down. But after sleeping the past
7 hours sprawled across three seats with my funny green eyed eye mask and giant
earplugs, I am now feeling much better and sipping on a nice hot cup of tea. I
also gargled down some dissolved Advil in a cup of warm water, a trick of the
trade that my old British co-worker Kate taught me in Japan to cure a sore
throat instantly. I am thinking about how wonderful my day was yesterday and as
I looked back to my waving friends and family into their teary eyes I knew that
I would feel down for about an hour or two and then I would be back in the
international section of the airport which is a place I have come to feel very
familiar and comfortable in. My sadness about leaving the people I love most is
already almost completely gone. If I had to put it on a meter I’d say I feel
about 10% sad about leaving and 90% excited and ready for another teaching
contract abroad. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
In a couple of hours I’ll be
putting on my Rainbows and heading off to meet my friends in Hong Kong! I am
always surprised by how small the world seems to be and my studies about
globalization at USD have really come full circle since I completed my Masters.
I will be constantly re-designing some of the pages on my website to make the
sections more clear and will add all new posts about Macau to the Macau, China
page as I continue to update regularly. I invite you to follow along throughout
the year and hope I can stay in touch with many and inspire others!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>An update from row 45 of Singapore Airlines on my flight to Hong Kong" </b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>please leave them in the comment box below</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>or email them to </b></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b><a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-24956919262884945472013-07-02T00:22:00.001-07:002013-07-02T01:13:19.300-07:00Gone Seoul Searching in Macau: Takes on the Las Vegas of Asia in Macau, China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwUZrYxAl6W-HNmtmdUv-UpJTXkrU7RiAOS8QzgkKuXVbX45W4KLjiA_L0sO68nrHA2xlM7UtuEXHtB6FujRIg6MnbzN2uEBCfOS5F0xNgi0w1YDgiyFmPS40aU8d9nF5TI6_OQmOxJw/s362/Macau_montage.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwUZrYxAl6W-HNmtmdUv-UpJTXkrU7RiAOS8QzgkKuXVbX45W4KLjiA_L0sO68nrHA2xlM7UtuEXHtB6FujRIg6MnbzN2uEBCfOS5F0xNgi0w1YDgiyFmPS40aU8d9nF5TI6_OQmOxJw/s320/Macau_montage.png" width="247" /></a>Hello Readers!<br />
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After a few months of relaxing from the blogging world, finishing my Master's degree in TESOL, and a crazy teaching schedule in San Diego I have returned to the blogger world! I am excited to take on yet another contract teaching abroad on the tiny tropical island of Macau, China. Here I come Las Vegas of Asia!<br />
I was recently hired as a visiting instructor at The University of Macau where I will be teaching ESL full time and conducting research within the English Language Centre. For those of you who are not familiar with Macau, it is a small island of about 12 square miles in the South of China. Many people may know the nearby island of Hong Kong which is an ex British colony and Special Administrative Region of China with its own rules and governing system. Macau is the same scenario as Hong Kong with its own rules as it was returned to China from the Portuguese in 1999.<br />
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I have had some readers contact me asking why I haven't returned to teach in Korea or Japan and my reasoning is because I like to have as many experiences as possible. I am one of those people who can make a home very easily in almost any place, thus I like to keep forcing myself outside of my comfort zone and learning how to better serve my diverse populations of students. There is no better way to do so than by living in their countries and learning their cultural nuances and language tendencies first hand. Through my masters program I discovered a passion for research in ESL and The University of Macau seemed like a great fit for my future goals. I will be updating about Macau regularly and invite you to follow along!<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/p/about-me.html">About Page:</a></b><br />
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Gone Seoul Searching began in Seoul, South Korea in 2010 where I began teaching adult ESL at <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2011/10/truth-about-teaching-english-at-ybm-in.html">YBM in Jongno</a> and continued with updates from Tokyo, Japan in 2011 where I wrote about my time in the <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2013/01/gone-seoul-searching-in-japan-teaching.html">Westgate University Program</a>. Since 2010, I have worked at 5 ESL schools and have traveled to 10 countries including Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, and Mexico. I have also completed a <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2012/09/getting-masters-of-education-in-tesol.html">Masters Degree in TESOL</a> at the <a href="http://www.sandiego.edu/soles/academics/med-tesol-literacy-culture/">University of San Diego</a>. My posts are focused on my travels and experiences teaching ESL abroad and within the U.S. with hopes that my readers can learn and connect in our globalized society.<br />
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Gone Seoul Searching is currently living and working in Macau, China.<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-34481315786772027062013-02-24T17:10:00.001-08:002013-02-24T17:21:04.021-08:00Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Staying in the Fuji-Hakone Guest House<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaNCT143UTwh6y0Y_EFCHv7mdWQzY1Vg2xpB_cH5dtRQd5uKDfE5NzaPWVG75UgORgyRX8XegcovQyg_aDx9LJ0GaR4Kc6DZE72OyaYThp4qxTdA6MBE7fuTWyvXpe2OV2vXFgDbOVfI/s1600/DSCN2043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaNCT143UTwh6y0Y_EFCHv7mdWQzY1Vg2xpB_cH5dtRQd5uKDfE5NzaPWVG75UgORgyRX8XegcovQyg_aDx9LJ0GaR4Kc6DZE72OyaYThp4qxTdA6MBE7fuTWyvXpe2OV2vXFgDbOVfI/s640/DSCN2043.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">The Fuji-Hakone Guest House is a wonderful place to stay while visiting Hakone or Mt. Fuji and trying onsen.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our private room slept 4 people.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">S</span>taying at the <a href="http://fujihakone.com/">Fuji-Hakone Guest House</a> was an amazing breath of fresh air from the crowded streets of Tokyo. After taking an hour and 30 minute train to Hakone and walking around a bit, my friends and I hopped on the bus to the guest house. The ride was windy and could easily make someone with a light stomache sick, but was a beautiful experience as we cut our way through the mountainsides. <br />
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The guest house is right off the main road in a nice location close to a few shops and restaurants. Everything closes pretty early on the mountain as it is mostly a day time place for tourists and those vacationing. There is no bumping night life or club nearby, so if you're looking for a party this is not the place. The area around the guest house is lush with trees and beautiful views of the mountains. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The indoor onsen, we opened the window at night to cool down!</td></tr>
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When we arrived we were greeted by the owner who explained the guest house rules and gave us a ton of information about the area. One of the nice things about this guest house is that there are two onsen. The indoor onsen is free of charge and you can simply put your name up on the sign in sheet outside of the door for your private 30 minute slot. My friends and I signed up for 1 hour together and when we came home after a long day of sightseeing and travel we hopped in and were bad foreigners eating ice cream and having some drinks. This is a truly private onsen experience, which is great if you are one of those people who are afraid to be in a room with other naked people. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The guest house breakfast is nice but you can also cook in the kitchen.</td></tr>
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The curfew at this guest house is 10pm. It seems strange to have a curfew, but in all reality because everything closes so early in the area its no problem. Just visit the Lawson's convenience store down the street and stock up on some food and drinks if you want to hang out in your room with your friends all night. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the common area at Fuji-Hakone Guest house.</td></tr>
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The guest house serves an optional breakfast in the morning. The food looked delicious, but we decided to save a little money and cook ourselves. There is a full kitchen with all of the supplies that you need to do any cooking. I got up first and made my friends banana pancakes and eggs and we all ate breakfast on the floor in our traditional Japanese room listening to Jack Johnson's famous song Banana Pancakes and sung along to the main chorus line "make you banana pancakes pretend like its the weekend now we could pretend it all the time."<br />
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I highly recommend buying the Hakone Fuji Day pass and staying at this guest house. The price is very reasonable for what you get and it is comfortable and easy. Sharing the room with 3 or 4 other people can help you cut down on your costs and will give you a traditional Japanese experience. For a lower price they have dormitory rooms, however these were fully booked when we called. Make sure to call ahead of time and make a reservation. They will take your credit card information to hold the room, but there is no room charge for canceling or changing. They are quite flexible and have wonderful service!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our breakfast that we cooked in the kitchen. All ingredients came from the Lawson's convenience store!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEe0XMMdaW0HwlZRdARCHQ0Me1Yll3sTAHArt7_VGU2Faxo2tgTxfZjfanDl5YoMOGE-Hk2ipyUeLTX4vthOdoGUwx5QU3QeUspjNq8CgI2uTvTx_xxRtyUFrRCDJWa-AfBuYlcGRwpE/s1600/DSCN2364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEe0XMMdaW0HwlZRdARCHQ0Me1Yll3sTAHArt7_VGU2Faxo2tgTxfZjfanDl5YoMOGE-Hk2ipyUeLTX4vthOdoGUwx5QU3QeUspjNq8CgI2uTvTx_xxRtyUFrRCDJWa-AfBuYlcGRwpE/s640/DSCN2364.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front entrance sign to the Fuji-Hakone Guest House.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvmPEBQNV4xEgY1lY0RNFAg4TcwIBy_R-P5hbJZZctgrpjmZGhRJ5oV2mS1aaElvYii0RLyfOymT8pNtoTlnRE1w5IkjmDV1YIWwHhvrSpwN3AG2jeQ70COHfF9Nn7YmXor8Es5cCCK4/s1600/DSCN2321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvmPEBQNV4xEgY1lY0RNFAg4TcwIBy_R-P5hbJZZctgrpjmZGhRJ5oV2mS1aaElvYii0RLyfOymT8pNtoTlnRE1w5IkjmDV1YIWwHhvrSpwN3AG2jeQ70COHfF9Nn7YmXor8Es5cCCK4/s640/DSCN2321.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friends and I messing around after the 10 pm curfew. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful main rod which will take you to nearby restaurants and museums.<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-66213952007418769452013-02-14T16:45:00.000-08:002013-02-24T17:12:01.018-08:00A Valentine's Day ESL Lesson: adjective clauses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span>ntegrating holidays into your ESL lessons is a wonderful way to teach culture, reading, writing, and grammar at the same time. This is an example of an advanced ESL lesson integrating grammar with adjective clauses and the topic of Valentine's Day. Students will always come up with unique stories and funny ideas with this activity. This is great to get your students working on creative writing and sparks spontaneity within your classroom. Many students are surprised to find out that with a little help from their classmates, they can come up with great stories in no time! Obviously more discussion can take place, I had only 20 minutes to teach this demo lesson, so on slide 2 you can extend the time to 5-10 minutes.<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><b><i>A Valentine's Day ESL Lesson: adjective clauses</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-30439096542161955092013-01-23T13:30:00.004-08:002013-01-23T13:31:10.463-08:00Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Show and Tell Presentations with my ESL students<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my funniest students goofing around with role playing costumes during the break.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>here were many giggles, mistakes, and smiles today in my classroom as my students did a wonderful job giving a Show and Tell presentation. For many of them, this was their first presentation ever and they were extremely nervous in the days leading up to the presentations. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to give your first presentation at the age of 18 or 19 and to give it in a foreign language! <br />
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To be honest, I was quite surprised that many of them had never given a presentation before. In America, most students take a speech class in high school that is devoted to learning the art of giving a good presentation. Not all of the students were first timers, some of them had given presentations in their other English class a week prior and many of them had given presentations in Japanese in their classes in University or High School. But for the students that had never given a presentation ever, I was extremely overjoyed and impressed by their work.<br />
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They all chose an item that had some kind of meaning for them or significance in their lives. For example, a baby ring, a lion statue, a picture frame, a special letter, and even a famous soccer players jersey. They were given 3 class periods leading up to the presentation day to learn about what a Show and Tell Presentation is about, and to work on their speaking skills.<br />
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Two weeks before the presentations I devoted one class towards getting the girls comfortable speaking in front of others. This specific class required the girls to time each other talking about a specific topic for 1 minute. There was a lot of group work and we talked about what things were good for a presentation such as eye contact, posture, smiling, speaking slowly and clearly. I gave a sample show and tell presentation that day with a magic towel my friend bought me in Hakone. The presentation seemed to catch their attention and they loved seeing the video of the old man with a blow dryer as the hot and cold air magically removed a geisha's clothing and putting them back on again. <br />
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The two days before the presentation day were devoted to the show and tell writing and practice. I had them choose an item the week of and on the Wednesday before they had to talk about their item with a partner and then I gave time in class to write out their presentations. I also threatened them a little saying if you don't come to my class on Friday for the presentation day then you will present on the next class on Tuesday! This seemed to work as all of my students that have been coming to class regularly showed up for the presentations. On the Thursday before, I let the students finish their writing and practice their presentation skills with a partner. I strongly encouraged gestures and movement as I made funny faces and walked around the room coaching them. <br />
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I am so proud of my students. They have come so far with their speaking skills in such a short amount of time. I really do believe that the Westgate program provides a good short term English program. 40 minutes everyday is great as the girls get to speak English throughout the week which is key for developing fluency in any language. The chosen class goals are great and serve as a review for the students. They have all had English in high school and middle school for 6 years before entering university,but most of them have not had the opportunity to actually use it within a speaking context. On the first day of class, all of my students were shy, awkward and nervous to say the least. They could barely utter a word of English and many of them freaked out when I simply asked them "how are you?" Now, they can give a 3-4 minute presentation entirely in English and have the ability to talk in English for up to 10-20 minutes straight without there being a giant lull in the conversation. They are asking each other questions, asking me questions,explaining answers, and teaching each other useful vocabulary and grammar. <br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><b><i>Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Show and Tell Presentations with my ESL students</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-82859839525342942352013-01-22T22:24:00.000-08:002013-01-22T22:24:49.533-08:00Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Teaching for Westgate Corporation at the University Program<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orientation day for the Westgate University Program takes place in central Tokyo with all employees present.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robyn and I on our first day of orientation.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> M</span>y experience working for the Westgate University Program was to put it bluntly and keep it short, nothing short of amazing. Westgate is a private corporation in Japan that contracts to Universities and schools and provides Native English Speaking ESL teachers to work at those schools. If you have been teaching in South American Countries or Europe, you will be shocked to learn that Westgate employees earn quadruple what you are used to making within a very high standard of living. You can save upwards of $1500 per month while traveling and seeing some great places. (Yes I know Japan is expensive, but its not as bad as everyone says it is if you are eating in the school cafeteria every day for lunch which is delicious and buying Japanese groceries for breakfast and dinner, if you eat out every meal like a dummy then yes, you will blow your paychecks).There are two terms, Spring and Fall and each term is a short term 3-4 month contract. The company will sponsor your work visa, reimburse you for a $1200 plane ticket, provide you with housing (deducted from you monthly paycheck), a rail pass to get to and from work everyday, and give you a work cell phone to be used for Westgate purposes only.<br />
During my Spring term I arrived the end of April and finished mid July. Such a short term contract is great for those that are not looking to commit to living in Japan long term, or can use this as a summer job between semesters at home. If you haven't seen the tour of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8470714890002375125#editor/target=post;postID=8156045276727405153">my apartment in Japan</a>, click the link for a live tour.<br />
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<b>There are so many great things I could say about Westgate. Here are some of them:</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGhYNaHiQhXlYzX3WA0vmnwTMJjJx-0mJ1A1BIbK8Syq6zxJVrWua-r2J8kQneAPidygi3Pg1gc8t4z9uISJ1dP9ZeF6FrpUijYC80oDVWj3nN-X5T8jCRFRCI3LinvRaEGCJ-_2eyes/s1600/DSCN4033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGhYNaHiQhXlYzX3WA0vmnwTMJjJx-0mJ1A1BIbK8Syq6zxJVrWua-r2J8kQneAPidygi3Pg1gc8t4z9uISJ1dP9ZeF6FrpUijYC80oDVWj3nN-X5T8jCRFRCI3LinvRaEGCJ-_2eyes/s320/DSCN4033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my students with their daily planners.</td></tr>
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1. The company is extremely organized. You will receive all of the contracts by express air mail. The visa process is a piece of cake. And you will receive detailed directions about your arrival, a detailed online training, a detailed plane ticket process, etc. EVERYTHING IS VERY DETAILED. You are moving to Japan. They are the home of organization, so get used to it.<br />
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2. The pay is great. All of the details are of course right on their website. Beware that your first 2 weeks of teaching and training are prorated as you have a few days to adjust to the country. Though your contract says $275,000 yen per month, you will not get that until after your first full month of teaching. The first 2 weeks are prorated for training and actual days spent teaching.<br />
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3. They provide you with a small welcome package. A pot, fork, spoon, etc is all in the box. Its a nice treat to get for moving into a new apartment and living there short term. The company really does make you feel like you are important and likes you to at least have basic living necessities upon arrival.<br />
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4. Your Japanese students will be among your favorite in your life time. They are the most hardworking students I have ever known, yes even more than my Korean students. They are always upbeat, positive, outgoing, and smiling. The first class expect them to be very shy and quiet, but they will open up quickly if you bring it out in them and show them who you really are. Since there is no homework in the program, nor grades, the classes are easy going and fun. There is little stress except for the end of the semester presentations that each student is required to give. If you would like to see what the students are like take a look at some of the videos from my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRVsdTxe2ug">students final show and tell presentations</a> to gauge an idea of their level and personalities. I taught the basic-high level, or B class at my university.<br />
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5. You will most likely have a high tech toilet and fill up that tiny bathtub! Its amazing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dLqAL9ZgtKaJ2N7xU-Rh4SZgILZDL18Mhc6TRO79fvaPUVVszTz1r7pTlr6SbSol1u4xRXNgf0SGJu0dblcAus59y_YWbGpWqTAPpXreUZOxHq70U2KrZG6w-trM0f1vMXkkmIHVt80/s1600/DSCN3480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dLqAL9ZgtKaJ2N7xU-Rh4SZgILZDL18Mhc6TRO79fvaPUVVszTz1r7pTlr6SbSol1u4xRXNgf0SGJu0dblcAus59y_YWbGpWqTAPpXreUZOxHq70U2KrZG6w-trM0f1vMXkkmIHVt80/s320/DSCN3480.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious lunches everyday in the cafeteria!</td></tr>
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<b>There are some things that weary ESL professionals should be aware of before committing: </b><br />
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<br />
1. You can find a cheaper apartment, a much cheaper apartment, than the ones Westgate recommends that you live in. Rumors are that the Leo Palace chains that all Westgate employees live in are owned by the company or that Westgate gets a kickback for housing so many employees. Yes, they are making money off of you through the housing 81,000 JPY a month is quite a bit to pay, but your apartment will be nice and you can rest assured it will be in a good neighborhood. But, it is super easy to go along with it because everything is arranged. You will also be living with other Westgate employees in the same building. In my building there were 9 of us which was nice because I never felt lonely and made great friends with many of them. While other Westgate employees told me there were only 1 or 2 other employees in their apartment complex.<br />
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2. You may feel that your PC or the company in general doesn't trust you. He or she will come once or more times per week and just hang around for hours to see how you are doing. This doesn't seem so bad, but my PC actually just sat in the lobby outside our classrooms and was either just hanging out or peeking in to see what we were doing. She was usually doing this for about 3-4 hours at a time. This made the other two teachers and myself feel like we were being watched for no reason. However, cultural norms in Japan are different. The point of the PC is to check up on you and to keep everyone connected as work partners are seen as a community rather than as individuals. Get used to your PC just hanging around, and don't let it bother you too much. They are mostly just there to be friendly. You will only actually be observed one time to make sure you are doing ok with the programs teaching methods and daily lesson plans.<br />
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3. If you are used to using technology in your classroom say goodbye. There are no computers, projectors, and in some cases no computers in your classrooms. The computers are very old and are only to be used for recording attendance. This was very difficult for me as I learned about a ton of ways to integrate technology into my classes, but the Westgate program does not utilize any technology as part of their lessons. If you bring in your own laptop you may be able to show video clips or pictures, but you will most likely not have wireless internet to connect too. Don't ask the staff about this, it will cause problems. If you don't have it, don't bother. Westgate is strict about their agreements with the Universities and they don't even want their employees bringing in zip drives or flash drives to print out materials.<br />
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4. You have a very, extremely, tiny, sized copy budget and in most cases no access to a printer hooked up to a computer. Yes, that means you must use mostly all of the Westgate materials provided to you. If you want to use your own materials, you must print them out from a manga cafe somewhere which means you need to pay by time to use the computer and to print things. Printing in Japan is a weird thing. They don't like it and don't do it. At least that's how it was at my University. They want to be very green and support the environment, I get that, but its a little inconvenient sometimes as a teacher. The program encourages your students to copy down the white board into their own notebooks so that they have notes from each class. This can be a huge waste of time, so I just allowed my students to take pictures with their smart phones. They seemed to like that strategy better than copying down things. I also used clear plastic folders and pens so that the students could write on activities and then erase them when they were finished and I could use them for the next class. That way, I would only have to make 6 copies of the handout for the entire day. The copy budget was $20 for the entire 3 months and it was 10 Cents a copy. You must use your own money for copies and then get reimbursed at the end of the program.<br />
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5. You will be assigned a book to use for your class and will have a daily lesson planner with each days lesson to teach. There are so many ways that you can adapt the lessons that you will have total creativity in your lessons. All of the classes are 50 minutes in length and most teachers will teach the same class all day. Yes, that means you might teach the same lessons 6 times in a day. You will also have English Challenge lessons in which you may do whatever you want with the students at that time. You have free reign in those lessons to focus on anything you or the students think they need to work on. Those classes are optional, so if students don't show up, you have an extra break.<br />
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6. You will most likely be commuting 1 hour on the train to work every day. Follow some of my tips about the daily commute on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8470714890002375125#editor/target=post;postID=5690757943347312807">my article about surviving the daily commute in Japan</a>. They will help you greatly. Also be ready to feel exhausted 5 days a week. The schedule is long and often times employees leave at 7am and return home by 8 or 9 completely wiped out. By the end of the program most teachers are talking about how tired they are to each other and how much work the program really is. So don't expect a walk in the park if this is your first time working at Westgate!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyH3KNM1Fgd77md955DuxC8djEKB-w4XrRQ18SH7D1GvfczEvlOHn0kYXKBkbF95diBl9BIbXj5czT56mlNZb3PoirTV9JzqFZOLjc3cCrmAaiIqVTcyK4LOk1DtXNKc5106v9D1vGLU/s1600/DSCN0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyH3KNM1Fgd77md955DuxC8djEKB-w4XrRQ18SH7D1GvfczEvlOHn0kYXKBkbF95diBl9BIbXj5czT56mlNZb3PoirTV9JzqFZOLjc3cCrmAaiIqVTcyK4LOk1DtXNKc5106v9D1vGLU/s640/DSCN0935.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My daily schedule at Westgate. </td></tr>
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I hope you enjoyed my review of Westgate. If you have any questions don't hesitate to leave a comment below!<br />
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Teaching for Westgate Corporation at the University Program</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com122tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-74412996814914551122012-12-06T00:52:00.003-08:002012-12-06T01:02:49.362-08:00Vote for me as a Columbia Ski Bum!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSSNwz86v1CRW1ypRVuG7NJizsbFYmmPqZ84zJ5901jIH91M6cUAoJiMln01B7sKY_14djhpo0X0w_PEsJ7M1yQxI4E6XoMLZSrkBjo5H_3bFgiSXpRiPm86FDl-mOsCGFWFw-03QwC8/s1600/P2031285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSSNwz86v1CRW1ypRVuG7NJizsbFYmmPqZ84zJ5901jIH91M6cUAoJiMln01B7sKY_14djhpo0X0w_PEsJ7M1yQxI4E6XoMLZSrkBjo5H_3bFgiSXpRiPm86FDl-mOsCGFWFw-03QwC8/s320/P2031285.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>ell, it's that time of the year where finals, presentations, and my Master's thesis is taking over my life. So I took a break to enter myself into a fun competition. There are literally only 2 days left in the voting rounds, so you can vote 3 times all at once or throughout the day for my video! The link is below to vote for me! Marie W is the name above the movie. If I win, I will go to Colorado for 90 days for free to become a ski bum, or if I am a finalist I will receive $200 to Columbia Sports Wear! I deserve a break after this crazy semester of work and school, so send me on the graduation trip of a lifetime! : )<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaSportswear/app_177739202361339?rf=f&app_data=entry:484">To Vote click this link!!! You need to be logged in Facebook</a><br />
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You can view the video below : ) But make sure you vote!!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oXzQ4ybK2WQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-38378867381139512552012-11-09T01:50:00.003-08:002012-11-09T01:56:19.448-08:00Crossing the border from Aranyapathet to Poipet: a sketchy bus journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Crossing the border from Thailand into Cambodia can seem like a harrowing experience for first timers.</td></tr>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">If you read nothing else, here are the top 5 things to remember when taking a bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap over the border of Aranyapathet to Poipet. </span></i></b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>1. Don't freak out. You're relatively safe. </b><br />
<b>2. Give yourself one full day to travel over the border.</b><br />
<b>3. Expect long waits and many delays. (AKA you are being held hostage at restaurants, gas stations, and fake immigration offices and embassies)</b><br />
<b>4. Every stop is planned by the Thai bus company so they make more money.</b><br />
<b>5. Enjoy the ride, because you know everything that will happen in advance if you read this article and did your homework. Make some friends too!</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgY205MU91_CoFhZKP4Vmy3Q8C_9Z7KTKDI6SNhD-wMVL7y4BCsJJ68eDFnpFe8Vjc3-6jcuWIpR46EY9_0snOLnxnYSOac5ORPQXfjluqjW5MD52gVVS5fYO1XY0T6exqJVGUI_DbA_w/s1600/DSCN0768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgY205MU91_CoFhZKP4Vmy3Q8C_9Z7KTKDI6SNhD-wMVL7y4BCsJJ68eDFnpFe8Vjc3-6jcuWIpR46EY9_0snOLnxnYSOac5ORPQXfjluqjW5MD52gVVS5fYO1XY0T6exqJVGUI_DbA_w/s400/DSCN0768.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Our packed mini bus.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ets face it, walking across the boarder in any 2nd or 3rd world country can seem a little sketchy but if you do it enough times it will seem like any other day. I grew up crossing the border between San Diego and Mexico several times a year over many different locations. As a young girl going on volunteer trips to Tijuana the crossing didn't particularly phase me as we drove over in a car with a big group that knew the drill well. As a teenager, we were so hammered we had liquid courage of fear that had us literally dancing over the border past U.S. customs. And as an adult, I don't mind walking over and hopping in a cab to save a few hundred dollars on a plane ticket out of the Tijuana Airport.<br />
Now, as a person that has walked over the border several different times and some of them on my own, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about my journey from Bangkok, Thailand into Siem Reap, Cambodia. You can get to Siem Reap from Bangkok by bus, plane, or train. A plane ride will cost you upwards of $400-$500 one way; a pricey ticket for most of us backpackers. So we end up taking the train, or going the Khao San Road mini bus scam route because of its low cost. A measly $10 or 350 Thai Baht at the nearest travel stand seems like a good idea for a one way ticket when your wallet is looking empty. Others head over to Mo Chit bus station to pay a little more money for a government run bus that leaves every morning. The government bus is just as sketchy as the mini bus scams as you will still have to hire your own tuk tuk from Aranyapathet to the border crossing. Although I have heard the government bus will not harrass foreigners too much about their visas trying to make a quick buck. See <a href="http://www.wanderingforward.com/experiences/getting-to-siem-reap-from-bangkok-and-back-again/">Jason Stearns article</a> about taking the government bus. But I'm going to share with you my journey of taking the scam artist mini bus straight from Khoa San Road to Siem Reap.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The process</span></b></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKgrT1DqRZ-XwhynKBU5tEATDFwdxJspYxcWnzavaQ_bU7paiRubuGsJycl7_OZ35ehA9dnmq89hdzXlQtpZIyPF7Qb0qZt4olbZhkfK4YnTQgn_EPKquCD3ou0QxeP_o5jH_CMW3j8U/s1600/DSCN0782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKgrT1DqRZ-XwhynKBU5tEATDFwdxJspYxcWnzavaQ_bU7paiRubuGsJycl7_OZ35ehA9dnmq89hdzXlQtpZIyPF7Qb0qZt4olbZhkfK4YnTQgn_EPKquCD3ou0QxeP_o5jH_CMW3j8U/s400/DSCN0782.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">The Thai countryside on the journey to the Cambodian border.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyIYnnBet4TEq3IMQsaxXMQIYmxeHICqd_L86crj1t3-FdUmhHF1WhIElEPecuWL1dm8_RM2-hnhO65UPFXZ0VGXtBmpiSgBOvza43eLKTsYOwGwLn-XX5BefY-ilyKvRBsttyW5fCKA/s1600/DSCN0773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyIYnnBet4TEq3IMQsaxXMQIYmxeHICqd_L86crj1t3-FdUmhHF1WhIElEPecuWL1dm8_RM2-hnhO65UPFXZ0VGXtBmpiSgBOvza43eLKTsYOwGwLn-XX5BefY-ilyKvRBsttyW5fCKA/s400/DSCN0773.JPG" width="400" /></a>1. Head to any travel company located in or around Khoa San Road for the cheapest mini bus ticket. Don't give into their crappy hotel deal and stay strong about a hotel or hostel that you have already pre-booked. They will take you to their hotel anyway off of one of the main streets in Siem Reap, and from there you can get a short tuk tuk ride to your destination.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInSEwU34bmKY27X6wuF5EJUhkqbzmqFUpj3RvgKB_w1uJqKeemEu005_xr1NkwhFw-NIGNVUkRpnfF2uGPoTJthacSZ1l1BncEPptawACIaWKiZYC9w82eDi0TJ-BHQ7tk7B3s3_h7Zw/s1600/DSCN0771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInSEwU34bmKY27X6wuF5EJUhkqbzmqFUpj3RvgKB_w1uJqKeemEu005_xr1NkwhFw-NIGNVUkRpnfF2uGPoTJthacSZ1l1BncEPptawACIaWKiZYC9w82eDi0TJ-BHQ7tk7B3s3_h7Zw/s400/DSCN0771.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Our bumpy journey to the Poipet border.</td></tr>
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2. Hop on the mini bus and get ready for the journey! Its going to take you ALL DAY. No matter what the tour company has told you, you will be leaving around 7:30am and arriving by 5-6pm at night or even later. I arrived at around 8pm. The bus driver will most likely be a terrible driver as he drives on the opposite side of the road to pass people just in the nick of time before you get hit by a semi truck. But he's done this every day for the past week, so don't worry too much! : ) Expect a bumpy ride on the bus and a full passenger load. I tried to sleep most of the ride to save up energy, and alot of people read books or talked about places to see in Siem Reap. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0nBIFyckYZFPZTSYmopOzVwYDHeidD2yf2srsew6c55DxDvM9Tn15mCoAUNZlvEQ7tlu1JGzmBJmtHm8XCpo4VS4eI82V1a4JKBzATEoz_Mw1ckUCz2gq8GtMLeh3LHmCb_rCOSNC8I/s1600/DSCN0775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0nBIFyckYZFPZTSYmopOzVwYDHeidD2yf2srsew6c55DxDvM9Tn15mCoAUNZlvEQ7tlu1JGzmBJmtHm8XCpo4VS4eI82V1a4JKBzATEoz_Mw1ckUCz2gq8GtMLeh3LHmCb_rCOSNC8I/s400/DSCN0775.JPG" width="400" /></a>3. You are going to stop at a gas station before the border. If you want anything to eat or drink there is a giant convenient store comparable to 7 eleven on both legs of the trip. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">The fake Cambodia Consulate General on the Thailand side.</td></tr>
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4. At Aranyapathet they will take you to a small restaurant. Here is where they will start hounding you about your tourist visa.<b> DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR PASSPORT OR ANY MONEY. THIS IS A SCAM SO THAT THE THAI BUS DRIVERS MAKE AN EXTRA $20 OFF EACH PASSENGER THEY BRING TO THE BORDER.</b> Also, would you ever give your passport to a stranger anyway? I wouldn't. So as they make up every single lie in the world about how long its going to take for you to get your visa if you do it on your own, or how the border ran out of visas, or how you had to get it before you came to the border, just say no thank you I already have it and do not give them your passport or even take it out of your bag. If you really don't want to face the attacks, hand it over and pay the money like the other 80% of the passengers on your bus that didn't do their homework, but you really don't have too. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Strange posters inside the immigration buildings.</td></tr>
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5. If you don't hand over your passport they are going to load you into another mini bus and tell you that they are taking you to the visa office at the embassy. They will take you to a fake building with a fake sign at the gate and ask you to come inside to pay. We didn't get out of the bus because we already knew the scam, so I don't have any pictures of the fake officers with their fake outfits on : )</div>
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Just hang out in the bus for a while and watch as the bus drivers smoke their cigarettes and hang out too. They are just dragging out the time as long as they possibly can to piss you off and make you pay the fee. But regardless of how long it takes, you will still get to the border at the same time as your other bus group members. They are just sitting in the restaurant waiting to get to the border as well, pretty much being held hostage. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Inside the Thai immigration office.</td></tr>
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6. When you get to the real border you will know. Duh! There is a line people, you walk down a street and eventually reach a line where you can visibly see the Thai border crossing. After you clear Thai customs you will walk over to the Poipet side. The bus drivers will take your official ticket and give you a little blue sticker while telling you that they will meet you on the other side. It took my group about 1 hour to get through the Thai clearance.</div>
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7. Once in Poipet, this was the weirdest part. You would normally expect another line of some sort to cross directly over the Cambodia side. However, it is just open land and roads filled with people selling things. There are several hotels and a casino is there for all of the Thai to go gambling. You can literally hang out in-between the Thai and Cambodia borders without actually crossing into Cambodia through their customs office. But yes, you are in Cambodia. Poipet is a dirty little gambling town where alot of Thai people venture to win some money and where Cambodia makes some extra cash. I'd compare Poipet to Sin City without the luxurious part.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdzmDYNEeysJQar5WmXMryWToS8R25kNh48QrpbG5BmKoOr6xF9OBqTlPhePDivmnunhs8-HIThIT3c1SxLsX5207NCqlS0cAm5ST1YWuRJ7AAKq7YG1Ge_F2MciVK_IpSp51UBdlwfU/s1600/IMG_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>8. Your bus drivers will direct those of you that need a tourist visa to the visa office on the right hand side of the road. It seems very sketchy, but it is indeed where you buy your tourist visa. The visa will cost $25. Bringing American currency is easiest because the immigration officers won't scam you for Thai baht. I literally had an immigration officer that refused to put my passport through the window to get my visa until I paid him a 100 Baht charge. This is also a stupid scam. Alot of people give in, but I refuse to give my money to dirty government officials that are making a buck. How much money do they make a day ripping off people at the border? I refused to directly give money over to such a corrupt government and after 3 minutes the pissed off immigration officer threw my passport under the window for my visa. Then after ten minutes he gave my passport back without my $25 change as I had given them a $50. I demanded the change with a strong voice and he hesitantly returned the money. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Hwe7uaA7NDzUr37V55G5NXzC6emAuRmFB_d2xQLhSs-ddxlQK0904o8ZSG0FmieOTKZFwO_UYet23PrmhvQB1V6J-kwY6ztiqEcr81dqVZ51-D4XctydF8osXSSsaku3Iy56QEfVmm4/s1600/IMG_0870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Hwe7uaA7NDzUr37V55G5NXzC6emAuRmFB_d2xQLhSs-ddxlQK0904o8ZSG0FmieOTKZFwO_UYet23PrmhvQB1V6J-kwY6ztiqEcr81dqVZ51-D4XctydF8osXSSsaku3Iy56QEfVmm4/s400/IMG_0870.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">The Cambodian customs office.</td></tr>
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9. Now you will walk from the visa office to the extremely sketchy and almost non apparent line through Cambodian customs. This took my group another 2 hours as we made our way toward a measly little customs office with 3 windows and plenty of confused Japanese tourists that didn't know they were supposed to stop in the visa office and get their tourist visa.</div>
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10. You will now take a giant free government bus from the Poipet border to the bus station. Hop on and relax for a 15-20 minute ride and debrief before the final harassment and waiting period takes place.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Boarding the bus at Poipet bus station.</td></tr>
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11. Yay! You made it to the bus station! This is the last leg of the journey. If there is not a large group of mini bus passengers to board the luxury bus, you will be waiting anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2-3 hours until the full VIP bus is loaded for the final leg of the journey into Siem Reap. So, the bus drivers will try and convince you to get a taxi, which at this point I was ok with spending the extra money. But if you feel more comfortable sticking with a group of people, hang out until the luxury bus gets loaded. At least you know that this is a normal situation. They will look for your colored sticker at this point, and if you lost it they will try and charge you a fee because that sticker became your ticket. They take your ticket away so that you can't report the bus company scam online or to the Thai government. A man will board the bus telling you all about the scams and how his company is a good one in Siem Reap. He will make alot of recommendations about staying at his hotel and using his safe and reliable tuk tuk drivers and give a full history on how corrupt the Cambodian and Thai border is. This guy is nice and alot of people are attracted to his spiel, but its just another way for them to make money. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Our last bus of the journey to Siem Reap.</td></tr>
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12. After you board the VIP bus you will have another 2 hours to relax on board. You will also stop at another restaurant for 30 minutes to an hour for a break. All of these stops are pre-arranged by the tour companies. Don't be surprised. Once in Siem Reap, take a tuk tuk or taxi from the bus company's hotel directly to your hotel.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">O</span>verall, this experience is one that I will remember for the rest of my life. The Mexican border now seems like a joke to me. I remember being afraid at some times while dealing with the pretty aggressive Thai bus drivers about the visa, but my friend and I as well as 5 other people refused to give into the scam. Lets face it, if the bus companies just charged a little more for the ticket over there then we would all probably pay. Its just the fact that they are ripping you off and treating you so poorly that I refuse to let happen to me. Also, my rule about never handing over my passport to anyone unless I cross over a "real" border and can see the line and officers in windows with a crowd of people. I believe if enough foreigners begin standing up to them, then the corrupt companies will eventually give up with the visa scam. Or, they will just realize they can charge more for a ticket by providing a reliable and enjoyable service with no hassling involved. Good luck on your trip and enjoy lovely Cambodia! The people are extremely nice at all of the hotels and restaurants. Make sure to stop buy the restaurants and massage studios that give their money to a good cause. There are several blind massage schools as well as a delicious restaurant called <a href="http://butterfliesofangkor.com/our-social-mission/">Butterflies Garden Restaurant</a> that provides advanced restaurant training to disadvantaged youth. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Butterflies Garden Restaurant celebrating our first night in Cambodia all for a good cause.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>Crossing the border from Aranyapathet to Poipet: a sketchy bus journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-66052931848307021212012-10-24T23:43:00.000-07:002012-10-24T23:47:17.479-07:00Gangnam Style Halloween Costumes to take over this 2012 Halloween<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rent or buy a yellow suit for the car scene!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">E</span>very year I do a post about <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2011/10/homemade-halloween-costumes-bethany.html">home-made Halloween costumes</a> as I was inspired by all of the creative costumes during my first <a href="http://www.goneseoulsearching.com/2010/10/halloween-in-seoul.html">Halloween in Seoul</a>. This year nothing seems more fitting than a group Gangnam style Halloween costume. Many men will be dressed up as PSY himself, but a group costume is even more fitting for the crazy Korean song lyrics about old rich men in Gangnam hitting on young girls and one shoting their coffees to rack up the bill and seem cool. There are so many stores that quickly capitalized on the gangnam style offering different versions of the main characters many costume changes. Of the most popular is his blue suit and round sun glasses.<br />
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For my group Halloween costume 4 people are needed including 2 girls and 2 guys. One man will be the yellow suit guy while the other is Gangnam himself. And the two girls will of course be the two sexy Korean girls.<br />
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Korean girls: short sequined silver shorts, a long white backless top, white sandals, aviators, and silver cuffs or bracelets.<br />
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Yellow suit guy: yellow suit, black wig, a toy red car.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73Msbh6hF1mQHOhM1s2WEWJ8_RkQs1kz4jMU2swX3vXTQh3EgwbUffzgkF0-MDm-NZ3XF4NOS9P0ptgD6Yu147TNnUN-3_51pcxhjd6i9x7TF9oaWbgj96bVl_n3NtCT5y8wqCvcZQJI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73Msbh6hF1mQHOhM1s2WEWJ8_RkQs1kz4jMU2swX3vXTQh3EgwbUffzgkF0-MDm-NZ3XF4NOS9P0ptgD6Yu147TNnUN-3_51pcxhjd6i9x7TF9oaWbgj96bVl_n3NtCT5y8wqCvcZQJI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See through blouse and silver sequined shorts.</td></tr>
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Gangnam: a bowtie, any kind of suit jacket and pants, dark round sunglasses, swag.<br />
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To make this group costume even better, carry around a portable music player so that you can bust our your gangnam style dance wherever you may be partying this Halloween. To learn the dance, there are several good tutorials on Youtube. Check out the latest article in the L.A. times about <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/25/business/la-fi-mo-gangnam-style-products-20120925">"Cashing in Gangnam Style: Halloween costumes, fashion...fries?</a> Since this is a pre-halloween post, check back after the 31st to see our full group costume!<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b>If you have any questions or comments about "</b></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><b><i>Gangnam Style Halloween Costumes</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i></div>
Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470714890002375125.post-28373887049579112792012-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:002012-10-16T14:42:01.645-07:00Teacher rapper: my research on music in ESL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vXkPvBTABhyphenhyphenMtvcGzfp3beJSSLl7ALYKSyTSUxZcLldmlDji1Nur_7izkbpYDwzt8Ci8jS8SNR-IGh4oorEm79CHSGNPDbgjpYkiUZbs745tN4U3bjFGCI1W-mOwsDdUVL8dRDDDLp0/s1600/rapper+teacher.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vXkPvBTABhyphenhyphenMtvcGzfp3beJSSLl7ALYKSyTSUxZcLldmlDji1Nur_7izkbpYDwzt8Ci8jS8SNR-IGh4oorEm79CHSGNPDbgjpYkiUZbs745tN4U3bjFGCI1W-mOwsDdUVL8dRDDDLp0/s640/rapper+teacher.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of students during my research study inspired me to rap. If they can learn English by rapping I can rap too!</td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b849I5cfJY4" width="420"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">O</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">ver 10 months ago the
idea of music in ESL began stirring up a whirlwind of ideas, questions, and confusion
in my head. As my graduate thesis proposal approached last spring, I finally
settled on the idea of researching student and teacher perceptions on the use
of music to enhance second language acquisition in adult ESL classrooms. My
research question is directly related to my omoi and I have been a musician all
of my life. My major was in ethomusicology, specifically piano performance and
world music cultures. I played in a gamelan for 2 years during undergrad, and
traveled to Ubud in central Bali to experience Balinese gamelan at the heart.
As an educator, I have always wondered about the power of music in ESL, and
what music's place is in the field of education and more specifically ESL.
Never having the flexibility in my previous work places to use music freely in
my lessons made me wonder how other teachers are currently using music in ESL.
I want to learn from them and see how they are using music, why, the effects,
and what the students think. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The exact whereabouts about the first
implementations of music within academic subjects is unknown. However,
integration of music with academic subjects is by no means a new notion in the
field of education (Sporborg 1998). Teachers have been using music to teach
academic subjects in science, mathematics, geography, history, and language
arts throughout the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Of the most famous examples
and one that remains famous today, is introducing the alphabet to young
children by singing the letters to the tune “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
(Sporborg 1998).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> There is an abundance of theory and research that
supports the use of music in educational contexts. Gardner's theory of
multiple intelligence's shows how musical intelligence could explain
the ease that some learners have in perceiving and producing the intonation
patterns of a language (Brown, 2007). A current empirical study shows the
effectiveness of using music to teach math concepts in San Bruno, California.
(Esch, 2012) Music has been shown to improve communicative skills among middle
school ESL students (Kennedy & Scott 2005). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> However the overall phenomenon of music in ESL has not been
deeply studied. The teacher perceptions have not been recorded in detail and
most research focuses on the students. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> As I’m in the final
stages of collecting my data, I was inspired by a group of students that I was
researching. While observing one particular class that was using music as a
means of discussion and a writing activity, a group of students openly talked
about their enjoyment of listening to music to improve their English skills.
Several students began rapping to their partners and their groups egged them on
as they busted out the lyrics. The student really sounded American while he was
rapping, and I’m sure that he influenced his fellow students to start singing
in English to improve their pronunciation, vocabulary skills, and overall
fluency. I’m sure this particular student </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">didn't</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> know, but he inspired me, and
as I drove home that day I turned on my I pod to some of the only rap that I
had and started learning the lyrics. So my “teacher rapper” video is dedicated
to all of the students out there learning English through music. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b>If you have any questions or comments about "Teacher rapper</b></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana;"><b><i>: my research on music in ESL</i></b></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>" please leave them in the comment box below or email them to <a href="mailto:goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a> </b></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><b> </b></i> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" style="background-color: #eeeeee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0pt solid rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px 4px 4px 0px; padding: 6px;" /></a><span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" rel="dct:type"> Gone Seoul Searching</span> by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goneseoulsearching.com" rel="cc:attributionURL" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Marie Webb</a> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/" rel="license" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goneseoulsearching@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions" style="color: #d6481c; outline: none;">goneseoulsearching@gmail.com</a>.</i><br />
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Marie Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099301049820807503noreply@blogger.com2