The visa issue
Why do we need a visa to live in a country? Why is it so hard to get one? Why can’t we just live where we choose to live? These are questions I have been asking over the past few weeks. Of course, I know the answers to all of them, and I know visa [...]
Island Time
Travelling goes hand in hand with making discoveries and learning something new but this time I may have hit the jackpot – I have learnt how to become totally relaxed. The location for the source of this new found skill is Gili Trawangan, a tiny paradise island in Indonesia and a short hop skip and jump from [...]
Thailand – The Climber’s Shangri-La
Southeast Asia has, for years, and for many reasons, been a top travel destination for the young and adventurous. For starters, apart from the plane ticket required to actually get to the region, it is one of the least expensive places to go. Full meals start around 2 USD, hostel rooms for 5, and [...]
The Travel of Love
There are many reasons that people love to travel. The freedom it brings, sights you see, things you learn and experience, but especially the people you meet. I have found that the older I have been when I’ve gone travelling the better the friends I made are. The friendships created are more realistic and less [...]
Korea vs. Japan
Ever the naive Westerner, I had assumed that South Korea and Japan would have some sort of ”Northeastern Asia Friendship” going on after spending the last 200 million years chilling out next to each other in the Sea of Japan. Just as Canada and America share some similar cultural attributes and mentalities, I expected the [...]
Thoughts from a Nation Builder
In light of President Obama’s recent State of the Union Address (which can be found here, and is well worth a viewing), I thought I would toss in my two cents about the Korean education system, which was highlighted in his speech. For those just tuning in, I am currently teaching in Seoul, South Korea [...]
, I thought I would toss in my two cents about the Korean education system, which was highlighted in his speech. For those just tuning in, I am currently teaching in Seoul, South Korea [...] "Pin It")
The Foreigner’s Guide to K-Pop
For those of you who have not had the joy of being exposed to K-Pop (Korean pop music), this upbeat genre features both male and female groups which generally have around five fiendishly attractive performers, and a group leader. While Korean music hasn’t cracked into mainstream Western society yet, it is a cultural phenomenon that [...]
, this upbeat genre features both male and female groups which generally have around five fiendishly attractive performers, and a group leader. While Korean music hasn’t cracked into mainstream Western society yet, it is a cultural phenomenon that [...] "Pin It")
Discovering the Beauty of Dependence
I had a revelation yesterday. Well, actually it began last Friday. Well, actually I’ve been piecing things together for the past several months, but didn’t begin to articulate it until yesterday. I was taking the subway home after a department dinner with my school when I began reflecting on my life in Korea, and how [...]
The Media and Our View of the World
The media is a really beautiful thing. TV news reports, magazines and papers allow us to understand events transpiring in every country, despite our current location. One glance at BBC’s website can tell me more than I ever cared to know about giant panda breeding, cricket scores, and discovered works by a renowned poet I [...]
Working Overseas – The Unexpected Complications
It probably goes without saying that I love to travel. I love being able to slip in and out of cultures, explore new countries, and meet people with life experiences entirely different from my own. I want to hear new languages swirling around me, see how boyfriends and girlfriends interact in public, and find the [...]
