Where are we now and what are we doing?

Once again it has been a long, long time since I posted on this blog.  The last post outlined that we would finally be leaving Korea and heading westward - and so we did.

We left Korea at the end of February, a move that was both heart breaking and exciting... there were lots of friends and aquaintances that we might not see again, hobbies that would be difficult (or near impossible) to continue with, and places in Asia that we had still hoped to visit that would, for now, have to take a back seat.

Personally, I am already looking into a return trip... mainly for some archery practice. The bruising on my thumb has disappeared which is a definite sign that I am not doing even the basic practice of drawing the bow.

So, the story goes that during our search for jobs we toyed with both Italy and Spain as countries which we would want to continue teaching ESL.  Spain was always the clear favourite and was the main focus of our search.  We would check out numerous websites on a daily basis, emailing cover letters and CVs, scan our email and junk mailboxes for responses and possible interviews. 

At some point Danielle came across a job post that was advertising for two ESL teachers in Spain and she sent me an email asking me to send our details through. 

I replied to her to ask where the job was, what sort of work they do - was it adults or children or both? She had no idea as she could not find the information again so I resorted to a Google search and found out what I needed.  The language academy had a focus on younger learners which we both liked.  I emailed them, got a positive response and at the end of March we were packed and off to the south of Spain.

Easter Sunday saw us flying from Belfast at a very early hour out to Malaga where we then drove the couple of hours up the coast to Almería - right on the corner of Spain.  It is a quiet coastal city that hasn't embraced the tourist money that is benefiting the the rest of Andalusia.  The main industry all around this area seems to be agriculture - hence a massive sea of white/gray plastic when viewed from above.  The city itself sweeps down from the surrounding hills and focuses at the port.  The hills mean that half the city is nicely protected from the wind from the Atlantic that whips in during the cooler days... when it comes from the west we have a warm wind (not a breeze... WIND!).

It took us about 5 days to find somewhere to live - which was made harder by the fact that we were also having to work... well, to be fair it was more to do with the Spanish way of life which means that by 1pm people are taking their siesta time and things just stop.  Yes, we were working each evening from 4 until 8.30pm but the Letting Agents, like most of the shops here, don't reopen until 5pm... and close at 8.30! Doh!

The apartment we went for is in the east of the city, it is an area that is still undergoing development but it is close enough to Danielle's work and is a 20 minute cycle to the school I work at.  The view from our balcony makes it worth it... especially the year round sunsets!

There is also another girl from Belfast who works for the same language school as us.  Funnily enough, she actually lived around the corner from Danielle for about 5 years - though they didn't know each other.
We've been out with her and her boyfriend, met up with them at night to wander into the city and even gone for a bit of a drive down towards Malaga and over to Granada.  We now can't wait to get a car so that we can get out to see more of the area.  It has a lot to offer tourists who can travel by car... and we want to see more so the saving has started so we can get something sorted out sooner rather than later!

Well, what about the job? What are we doing?

Danielle works with kids from 3 to 9 years old, mainly the focus is learning English through play with a little bit of textbook work to guide their learning.  She has been working full-time since we arrived here which initially left me with the housework as I was told that I'd not start work until the end of June (Summer Camp) but as the months have passed I have taken on extra work and ended up working more hours than Danielle.

I have been teaching a range of levels, KET, PET, FCE, Business English and Advanced Certificate with students ranging from  10 year olds to adults.  The 10 year old girls are my favourite class - their English is really good for their age, they are bubbly, loud and happy and a joy to teach!

We both also work one Saturday morning a month at a Cultural Saturday which entails lots of different activities all presented in English for the kids to enjoy and use English outside the normal classroom setting.  During summer we both have English Camp - so Danielle will concentrate on Dance and I will use whatever music skills I have (hopefully).

We have also noted that Spain, although not as Christian as people really believe it to be, still takes great pleasure when celebrating religious holidays.  Granted it isn't the religious element that is most visual - rather the way everyone else piggy backs it by partying and enjoying the late nights!
The most recent was San Juan, a fire based celebration of Saint John or possibly Saint James who has more importance in Spain, especially in the north of the country.  We duly attended our local celebration which sees bonfires being lit all along the beaches on the coast here.  This is then backed up with a BBQ, alcohol and allnight party!

We were good... and back home by 2am and in bed by 3am! Hey... it was a holiday the next day - why not!

Preparing for the big move!

To be honest, the idea of moving to Korea seemed a massive leap of faith back in February 2011.

We would be trusting our lives to a nation of people we did not know, trusting a culture with traditions that were more than a little alien to us.  A place where those with more senior age were deemed all knowing and infallible. A country where technology would one day soon be replacing human teachers.

Were our fears/hesitations justified... well, in some ways yes but in others no.

I know that when I think back on Korea it will be the lovely people here that will come to mind. Those that I will consider friends, even if we do not speak again, those that have helped us, those that seen as being some of the nicest people I have met without expecting anything in return.  Their smiles, quirks, silly mistakes and simplistic answers, their beauty, their paternal/maternal care, their enthusiasm for Korean heritage and history, their acceptance that Danielle and I don't like fish/shellfish/sea/river/lake procured foods.

So, there are 27 days until we head to Seoul for our flight home... and we are almost ready to move our lives into suitcases.

We have spent the last 2 months boxing up our belongings that we need to keep (mainly Danielle's clothes collection) and sending them on the slow journey home.  It is estimated that it will take roughly 2-3 months for the boxes and boxes of seemingly essentials to make their way back to N. Ireland and land on my parents' doorstep - which neither they nor we are looking forward to!

Packing up is so hard to do... Do we need it? Can we sell it?  Is it worth keeping? Why bring it home?

What seems like 20 boxes later, we still have lots of things in the apartment which we made our home.

We are currently trying to sell off some of those bits and pieces that we know we cannot bring home - ovens, blenders, scooter, car, ironing board, etc. etc. etc.

Even deciding what to sell and what to keep was a problem... I've decided to bring my Korean X-Box home even though I'm not sure whether or not games at home will even play in it.  I could eternally be buying future games from Asia in order to enjoy it! lol!

The last two weeks have been a bit of respite from the whole stress of leaving... well, almost.
We have spent a lot of time checking what jobs are available, trying to find something that doesn't want us until later in March rather than getting home for one week and leaving again... and our options have extended beyond our current fields of work.  Really we want something closer to home and that we can grow with - develop our skills in education, develop our language skills, maybe even develop a family.
Spain is still the country of choice for us... though I am still keeping in the back of my mind the undergrowth of what seems to be the return of Franco there - that could make for a volatile future but then again we're from N.I. so how bad can it be? (laughing inwardly!)

This week we also took the opportunity to get in some skiing/boarding before we had to get back to school.
We headed to a ski resort called High 1 which is generally considered the best in the country - and it was definitely the best we have ever been to (in our long history of skiing/snowboarding and of all the numerous countries we have indulged this winter sport in - which is very very little!).
We chose it because of reputation and that it has a nice 4.1 kilometre beginners' slope - which would mean we could get lots of practice in!  IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

  

Danielle (who has all her own gear!) wanted to use this as an opportunity to practice and develop her toeing but it didn't quite work out that way... I just wanted to grow some balls! (? What Colm?) Well, I have this niggling fear that if I have a nasty fall that: a) the bones won't heal correctly or will leave permanent damage due to my age, and b) that if I did have a nasty accident then Danielle is stranded without someone to support her/calm her down or any transport home (since I'm the only one who drives here).

But... those fears were set aside somewhat and I was able to nicely build up more speed and slalom more; rather than doing pizza the whole way down and stressing myself out when I couldn't slow down! haha!

I quite fancy doing more skiing back in Europe - though I really need to get much better before I try an intermediate run.  We'll go again in a couple of weeks and I'll try and push myself a bit more... might have to actually get a lesson at some stage too rather than depending on Ski Assistant's Youtube lessons (which so far have really helped and I've even passed them on to others too!!!).  Ski Assistant (no idea what his real name is) also has a website which includes places in Scotland for skiing - something we may well be trying out next winter as an alternative to going to France, Italy etc.

A few resort regulars kitted out in Onesies!

View from our hotel room at High 1 Hotel & Country Club

Korea is great for skiing during the winter - there are resorts all over the country and for the most part the snowfall is good to great.  There are a few places where it can be very icey - here in Chungju it has not snowed for almost 4 weeks yet there is still 'snow' on the ground but is just dangerous.

After our next, and final, ski trip we will box up our gear and ship it home... all except Danielle's snowboard which we will be trying to sell as she wants to get a smaller one back home.

I'll be trying to get one last post on here before we leave Korea... but leaving here is not the end of our journey!