What a Wild Wall - Beijing, China

I came across something I wrote several years ago. I've been to China a few times, but this was a story about my first trip there. I had been teaching in Ilsan, Korea and this was my first second trip, using Korea as my "base of operations." I stumbled across it this eveing on Bootsnall.com; a great travel website.

What a Wild Wall - Beijing, China
The first thing that struck me as I deplaned in Beijing was the cold. It was not the mild form of cold I had been dealing with all winter in South Korea, but a bitter, bone-chilling frigidness. I arrived in the central Beijing area and planned to spend my Christmas morning looking for accommodations and something to eat.

I would be in Beijing for four days before my friends from South Korea were to meet me. I would travel with them or another four days. During my time alone, I saw many of the "must see" major tourist destinations. I toured the "disappointing" National Museum of History, Tianamen Square, The Great Hall of the People, The Forbidden City; equipped with its very own Starbucks, and the breathtaking White Cloud Temple. The White Cloud Temple was once the center for Taoism in Northern China. Founded in AD739, it is an elaborate series of passages and corridors. The light dusting of snow on everything gave it a surreal fantasy-like feeling.

My three friends arrived on the morning of the 29th. I met them at the International Hotel and brought them back to our guesthouse off Wangfujing Dajie. As a group we toured several more sites of the next few days including; the Temple of Heaven, the Silk Market, Panjiayuan Market, the Summer Palace and the circus-like Lama Temple with its hordes of tourists. We were all most excited about seeing the Great Wall.

One of the most famous landmarks in the world, the Great Wall was originally constructed during the Quin Dynasty. It's purpose was to keep out bands of plundering nomads and bandits. The Wall stretches from Jaiyuguan in Eastern China to the Gobi Desert. Today many parts of the wall frequented by tourists have a Disney-like feel, with restaurants, souvenir shops and more kitsch than you can shake a stick at. This was everything we wanted to avoid when seeing the Wall.

Aaron and I began planning the "ideal" area to see. After pouring over guidebooks and a little debating, we came to an agreement on the area we would visit. Simatai is more than 100km outside of Beijing. It is a rural area and truly off the beaten path. The decision to see this area was only a small portion of the battle. Getting there would be a strange adventure in itself.

After a quick breakfast, Aaron, Laz, Hoa and I piled into a small taxi. We made our way to the central bus terminal in northern Beijing. Dongzhimen Bus Station is a sprawling and confusing area, spread over several blocks. We slowly made our way through the maze of narrow streets, buildings, buses and a sea of people. We were attempting to find a minibus to Miyun. What followed was confusion, panic and a lot of running. Eventually we found our bus. It was more than an hour to Miyun, but the bus was warm and that was more than enough to make us happy.

Once we arrived in the town of Miyun we had to hire either a taxi or a minibus to Simitai. A group of taxi drivers was milling about on a sidewalk, waiting for travelers to employ their services. We bargained and argued and eventually a driver agreed to the 100 Yuan that we were willing to pay. We also collected two more travelers, a couple teaching English in Japan. The six of us wedged ourselves into the microscopic white van and prepared for the 75-minute drive to the wall. The taxi had no heater so being crammed together was actually beneficial. We all suffered from icy cold feet though.

The countryside we drove through was beautiful. Small farming villages popped up along the way. These villages were a stark contrast to the flashy streets of Central Beijing or the Hutongs that surround them. It looked as if life in these villages had not changed in hundreds of years. Read More...

Summits, Chinese Speaking Children and Cult-like English Schools

President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea’s titular leader Kim Yong-nam pass through the Arch of Triumph in an open car during a motorcade in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, the first day of the inter-Korean summit. Korea Times


So, what's the news?? Well, on the Korean Penninsula there's only one true story at the moment and rightfully so. The North/South Summit is on everyone's minds. It's such an exciting event that the Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy has released some cute caricature wallpaper for all of us to enjoy!!!

Korea Times


Should English teachers become worried about English study becoming a thing of the past in Korea? I doubt it, but this is an interesting story nontheless. We all know how "English-crazy" so many are in South Korea. The English education industry is a massive one, employing thousands of native English speakers from many countries, not to mention home-grown teachesr. As China emerges as a major player in the world economy (soon to be the next superpower), many Koreans are scrambling to give their kids yet another advantage. Chinese language fluency will hopefully be another chance for Korean children to seek their fame and fortune...and of course look after Mom and Pops when they get old...we hope! In "Wanted: Chinese Graduates to Babysit Children" in the Chosun Ilbo, it looks like young Korean students will now have another academy to stand between them and "childhood"!

Oh yeah...
An interesting tale in Japan Probe questioning wheter Nova Language School is truely a cult or not! Read for yourself....funny stuff!

It's that time of year again...time for PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival). I was living in Haeundae last year and was able to enjoy many of the festivities along the beach. It was cool. I was able to see loads of celebrities whom I have never heard of or seen before. I suppose that took a lot away from the moment, but...hmmm....there ya go! I may not have known the "famous" people I saw, but I do know one thing...Busan can be a groovy little city (4 million pop.)to live in. Chec out what the Joogang Daily says about Busan's cuisine.

Teaching Math, ESL and having fun!

As some of you may already know (and if you don't, you will as of now), I am in the midst of geting my teaching qualifications. Classes at university have started and the assignments and homework have begun to flood in. These were of course things that I expected. BUT...something has happened that I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams. I LIKE MATH! A self-confessed "mathphobe" I has spent the greater part of my life ducking behind trees and hiding under shrubs in order to avoid anything mathematical! This makes sense, I was the product of a not-so-well-oiled system of education that was a(when it came to math)one-way, black and white, right and wrong sort of a show. Simply put, it made math scary for a lot of people; myself included.

Well, things have changed and if I could do primary school all over agin, I'd wanna be here in Ontario...now. The way things are done these days are sooooo cool. Kids get to be creative, explore, work together and solve problems as a team. They don't have to live in the "black and white" world of math their parents did. I could have never imagined myself saying this in the past, but "Math is Cool!"

So, on to other things. On a more serious (though the coolness of primary math is not to be taken lightly)note. As I've been thinking a lot about my future in the education profession, I have as well been reflecting on the past 5 years of my life as an ESL instructor in South Korea. I learned a lot by living in Korea for so long. Not only did I learn methodologies and tactics of teaching and managing a classroom, but I learned a lot about the private education industry in Korea...good and bad. There are many wonderful aspects to moving abroad and teaching ESL, but there are some pitfalls as well. I decided to take some of my knowledge and put it online in the form of videos. I'm starting with some general information and advice, but if the demand arises, I'll continue to make more videos on more specific topics of teaching in Korea.

Here's my first one.


If you're interested in seeing more of my videos (they tend to be about the sillier side of life), you can take a peek at my youtube site.

www.youtube.com/busankevin