Danielle and Colm's Road Trip of the World

October, Movember and now!

2011-12-14T02:42:00.000Z

Ok, ok... I fully admit that I am pretty bad at keeping up with this blog... yes - I should take more time and actually dedicate myself in even a small way to keeping up with it but sometimes I just can't squeeze in a bathroom visit never mind attempting to create something of interest on here... but I will endeavor to try and make more of an effort!

So - what has been happening? Well... I'll start back in October then and work up to now...

October was a relatively quiet month - sort of...

First off - Danielle and I had the absolute pleasure of a visit from my Mum, Dad and brother Tomás! It is surprisingly difficult to encourage family and friends to come visit - we figure that it is almost like going on holiday to Australia, as in the distance travelled and the jetlag with it needs to be justified by the time spent away - so unless people can get away for 2 weeks or more then it is not fair to expect them to pop out to the other side of the world! It is different for us popping home... I have this silly self-belief that I won't suffer from jetlag - or at least I can put it off for a few days before it kicks me to the ground.

The only drawback to the visit was that Danielle and I had to work during the week - which meant that they had to entertain themselves Monday to Friday until 5pm - though admittedly they had disappeared off out each day for a walk/adventure around our little city - which is another nice thing about where we live... it isn't that big that you can get really lost and it is simple to wander off and visit random new places too.

It did give Danielle and I the chance to revisit some interesting places that we thought might entertain them for a while - Independence Hall in Cheonan, the giant gold Buddha 15mins from Chungju, Daejeon (admittedly only for the night), even visiting Gangnam again to go to the giant caves there... a bit of an adventure in itself! lol!

We also got to finally go to the DMZ - a trip on their final weekend to round off their visit to the lovely South Korea... which was made all the better by having a few friends there too (Hannah, Elysia and Jordan).

Unfortunately the family had to leave us just before Danielle's birthday - though we did get to celebrate it a little early with them. On the day itself we went out for a quiet dinner (as is the done thing at our age) and then the real celebration was the following weekend with a trip down to Daejeon to meet up with friends and to let everyone go as mad as they wished!

October also gave us a chance to reclaim a Gaelic traditional event that many Koreans just assume is from America... a little re-education was called for in relation to Hallow'een!

Although we had looked online for costumes, early in the month, we didn't order anything or plan anything really - one of the other EPIK teachers (Aiden 'Party Boy' McVey) had suggested having a shindig on the Saturday before with a visit to an abandoned office building near his apartment.... so despite plans to go on boat cruises in Seoul, partying in Daejeon or hiding at home and watching scary movies - we attacked the whole dressing-up thing early on the Saturday evening by getting a few little cheap bits down town (including face paints) and then threw some costumes together.

Danielle went for the 'Elphaba' in tribute to her cousin who plays the role on London's Westend show 'Wicked' - and I went for a Zombie style thing... Nadia (who was having her first Hallow'een experience) went for a vampire look - complete with self-made teeth! Good job!

November seen charity and education on Men's Health come to the fore - with surprising results!

In an effort to raise some funds for research into Prostate and Testicular Cancers - I signed up for Movember and began the growing of a mustache much to the dismay of Danielle... though she fully supported the reasoning behind it. I also taught my Grade 3 students about Movember, prostate cancer and even went so far as to teach them how to check their testicles for cancers too... which despite the giggles and embarrassment (from the female teachers) it all went rather well - though my official staff photo did see me taking the piss a bit with mo and glasses giving me a 1980s professor look!

All was going great until I developed a cough while trying to get a bit fitter. I'd taken to running up from the ground floor of our apartment block all the way up to the very top (17 floors in total - the top two are only for maintenance) - pretty knackering in itself! But when the cough didn't go away - and ultimately led to me spending a weekend in bed sick - I agreed that maybe it was a little more than just a cough, and a bit of a cold, and went to see a doctor. Turned out (five x-rays and a lot of coughing later) that I had a sinus infection and quite severe bronchitis and was given a concoction of drugs. I ended up laid up in bed for 3 days before being forcibly returned to school to sit there instead of wrapped up in bed... (yeah... I know!)

So Movember ended with this....

but with also a very nice total of £374 donated by friends and family which I can only thank them for with all my heart! THANK YOU ALL!!! This total also made me the second highest Movember fundraiser in Korea! Go me!!! lol!

So... now we are into December - I've turned another year over, we've got a Christmas tree up ready for Santa to visit, school is drawing to an end - we've a nice holiday planned to Malaysia and Thailand for January as well as 10 days home in Belfast in February before the whole year starts again... though this coming year we plan to spend significantly less, be consciously on the lookout for potential jobs back home (hope Skype interviews are becoming more common), also think about where we want to live when we get home (job dependent of course too)... and if we are blessed we will possibly have a bundle of joy to bring home too. Though with all that being said, if the jobs are not there and costs are too high then we may consider staying here longer than just 2 years... hmmmm... no final decision on that until we are there!

Ok folks - that's all I have for now... possibly be back here at Christmas though I have set myself a target of recording 12 songs by the end of February (that was planned before the holidays were booked so I might fail!!!) so that may take up most of my free time unfortunately... BE GOOD - BE GRATEFUL - KEEP SMILING - and in case I don't make it back on here:

Happy Christmas to you all!

I've given up on the summer... lets just move on...

2011-10-12T04:19:00.000+01:00

As you can see... my coverage and update of how we spent our summer months died a sad death - to be honest there was just so much to cover in the East Coast trip that I couldn't find the time to get back to it.

So, instead, I am just going to post a couple of pics below for you to have a gander at and then I'll move on:

This is a short bundle of photos from our trip but with over 1,600 shots it might be better for you to check them out at your own leisure at our Flickr pages here and here (two folders - 1 for each camera)!

It looks like water... ssshhh!

So, besides summer camps, driving all over the country and a couple of birthdays it was a reasonably quick and painless summer - in that we didn't have to spend unnecessary amounts of time in school doing absolutely nothing which was a massive relief.

September seen the 2011 Chungju World Martial Arts Festival happening out the road from us and as it was within walking distance we got to enjoy most of the festivities. The weather was good, there was enough entertainment to keep us busy, and it even fired up some desires to learn some forms of martial arts for ourselves.

It all started on a Friday night - so most of the Guest English Teachers (GETs) in Chungju went down to see what was going on which led to some drinking and shinanigans!

The following few days had displays of various martial arts from around the world (as the title of the festival would have suggested) and it also provided great opportunities for us to try our hands at activities too!

Again - all photos are available to view at our Flickr Photostream!

Too long... so very long!

2011-09-15T04:46:00.002+01:00

Let me start by saying... Sorry...

It's been too long since I last posted on here and so much has gone on that I will probably forget to include many of them.

At the time of the last blog, I was in school for the last official week of term - but that did not mean I was finished! After school finished I had a tough schedule to keep me from resting and relaxing - the infamous desk-warming was not given the opportunity to raise itself.
For the following fortnight I was teaching 2 hours of guitar (starting at 8am), then 2 hours of English Essay, then a short break for lunch before 4 hours of English Summer Camp... I was knackered after 2 days never mind 2 weeks of this!
I had also been asked to take a summer camp in a country school which led to much negotiating and arguments / discussions. Initially they had asked that both Danielle and I teach it together but Danielle's school went out of their way to make it impossible for her - even going so far as to tell her that although she did not have to come into school, she could not leave the city... nice! So I was left to do it on my own. My school proposed that I take my final 4 days of summer leave but teach in this other school for 5 days... but the other school would pay me too so it would be OK - for doing this my own school would then give me 2 weeks desk-warming from home (to do whatever I wanted... including going on holiday). My school are nice to me!

Summer Camp wasn't as bad as I thought - though I was disappointed with the level of English at my school compared to the country school. The students there (Angseong Middle School) asked me lots of questions about me, western boys, western girls, their education options, their aspirations - even what they could do to fulfill their dreams! I had a very funny and enjoyable week with them and we even made a short music video for Justin Bieber's song Baby (click to see the youtube video we made)!

I did mention Danielle not leaving Chungju for the summer... so if you are working at Daerim Elementary School and you are reading this - SHE DIDN'T... she stayed at home watching old Grey's Anatomy re-runs and crying again at the last series of Brothers & Sisters....

...if you don't work at Danielle's school then we hired a car and went AWOL for 2 weeks to travel down the East Coast of South Korea!

There were two main biggies for me on this holiday - 1) getting away with Danielle and being able to do whatever we wanted, when we wanted to, and 2) being able to drive again - I miss the freedom of having a car and being able to live out of it!

Our trip brought us up to the very north of the East Coast - and our first night was bloody awful as we paid too much for a dire campsite too close to the beach in Sokcho. We had planned to stay in the Soraksan National Park but it was already dark so we went for one a little easier to find (as directed by their Tourist Information services). The noise didn't stop - and as a bad omen for the following 13 nights it rained most of the night keeping us even more awake than the pumping house music and bad Korean entertainment floated through the camp. The next morning we woke (well, stopped lying down in a tent) with two missions - to go to the DMZ on this side of Korea, and to find a nicer place to stay that night!

And we did both!

The DMZ on the east is not really designed for international tourists... it seems that it is predominantly Koreans who go here (probably because they have to make special applications to visit the more touristy DMZ closer to Seoul in the west). English was in very little supply other than to tell us that we didn't need to sit and watch a 30min video that was compulsory for the Koreans to watch. Everything up here was a little creepy, a little dated, almost as if they were just waiting for the war to restart and therefore it was probably better not to tidy or clean as it would all be a mess again in no time once Kim Jong-Il and his son decided to visit Busan!
Abandoned building works, masses of barbed-wire, fenced off beaches with razor-wire, concrete bollards to narrow roads, even the modern attempts that the two halves of Korea had initiated together (before the North decided to shoot a civilian, blow up a SK ship and bomb an SK island) sit awaiting reanimation - highways which have stopped, bridges built but just not finished enough to use in a road-worthy car; left as they were... eerily held in limbo.

The problems in North Korea have been well documented (or at least as well as can be) over the past decade. We know there are problems with food supplies, people dying of starvation, mass numbers still living in concentration camps - but standing looking at the North you could be forgiven for thinking you were looking at a 1st World country... the clean highway with surprisingly good lighting (though it was day time so we don't know if they work) linking North and South, the railway system doing the same, clean beaches (which as part of the DMZ have almost been left for nature to manage); and clean, well maintained buildings from which their soldiers stare enviably at the liberated South (or so I imagine - as I guess they live in fear for their families and friends, thoughts encouraged by watching the documentary film Kimjongilia).

Colm's nifty parking - it was a space... and we would fit!

More to come!

Friends to stay and a quick trip home!

2011-07-15T03:03:00.001+01:00

Well, we've been busy over the last few weeks!

Between friends coming to visit from the US, and us flying home for my brother Michael's wedding, we also have had to plan our Summer Camp activities, sort out holidays, re-negotiate our holidays, debate about our holidays and then agree to lie about our holidays... more on this later!

June ended with a lovely visit from Meg and Isabel. Meg travels the world over all the time - well, it seems she mainly heads to Europe a lot... a lot a lot! But between interviews for new jobs she and Isabel bounced onto a First Class flight with Delta and slummed it with us for 5 days!
They got to see some of Korea... though since the monsoon weather had come early and it was raining heavily since the moment they landed until the moment we left them to fly home - we're not convinced they seen the best sides of Korea! lol!
Nights out at a Booking Club (where women are brought to men's tables and introduced - or PIMPED!!!), paint-balling in a forest, eating out every night and partying... maybe even getting a kiss or two - I think they liked it.

It was also Elysia's birthday weekend too - hence the Paint-Balling and trip to Seoul - so there was a good size of group (not too big to cause major headaches).

At least we think they enjoyed it... and of course there were tears before they flew home - from Danielle and Isabel!

The following week Danielle and I said our goodbyes to Korea too as we set off back to Belfast to celebrate Michael and Aoife's wedding on the 4th July.

The journey there and back was eventful - but not in a good way.

We started off by successfully getting a bus directly from Chungju to Incheon Airport - saving us the need to use the Seoul Subway system and the hassle of shifting our bags around the city. Checking in was speedy and simple - our luggage was checked through to London Heathrow where we would pick it up and then jump on a plane to Belfast... if only it was so simple!
Our flight was announced as leaving 10mins earlier than planned which meant we would have a bit of extra time to wander around Abu Dhabi Airport, which is quite a nice place but 30 mins later we still had not moved. When we finally did taxi out onto the runway and the thrusters we kicked into gear (Make it so No. 1) the plane rumbled, then rattled, then bucked, then shook itself to pieces... before the brakes were thrown on full and that fatal announcement rang out "Cabin Crew to man doors" which left the staff white faced - which considering they were mostly of tanned skin was quite disturbing. Of course all the dials on the plane read 'normal' but something was definitely wrong!

After 3 hours of being watered, fed and watered again (all the time sat on the plane) we went for a second attempt following a suspension part being completely replaced by the engineers... and lift off was successful.

Now, considering we initially only had an hour and 15mins to spend in Abu Dhabi, Danielle's fears began to surface as she stressed about whether we would even make our connecting flight... and she was justified to - but since there was nothing we could do to make the plane fly any faster we calmed down and hoped for the best. The best was landing 15mins before the flight was due to leave (thankfully our pilot had made up 2 hours due to a good tailwind and keeping the pedal to the metal... or the leaver to the geaver (if there is such a thing)... and we ran through the airport to our departure gate with minutes to spare.

Only London and Belfast left!

London was fine... except that when leaving the plane a gentleman was standing there waiting to greet us and kindly let us know that although we were in London, our baggage was not... and wouldn't get there until 6pm. This posed a small problem in that our clothes and presents for folks at home were in those cases and we had to get another flight to Belfast at 4pm!

To cut a long blog short - Danielle's bag was sent on the 8.30am flight and then delivered out to my parent's house on Saturday afternoon, and after numerous phonecalls and hassling the staff in Belfast, my bag came in on the 9pm flight that night.

It was great to be home - and made a nice change from Korea. Seeing family and having some craic with them was medicine in itself. It was also wonderful to see how the little ones had grown since we left in February - one of the hardest parts of being on the other side of the world is missing them grown up.

Of course - the whole reason for going home was Michael and Aoife's Wedding... another great event!
Although Michael barely looks old enough to buy alcohol - they both looked wonderful on the day and even the weather held out for them. In a way it was very traditional with the Quinns pulling out all the stops for their daughter's wedding - and they did her proud.

I'll not even start on about the flight back - suffice to say Danielle and I will most likely never fly with Flybe ever again... 1.5 inches was enough to cost us almost £100 extra and the loss of a case merely. You pay for the bag - and then they also charge you because the bag has it's own weight! Twats! And even the staff at Manchester wanted to kill the incompetent member of Flybe staff as they provided 6 luggage codes for 2 bags going to South Korea... they were not happy and told Flybe it directly! (Loved listening to that phonecall).

So, now we are both back in Chungju - and looking towards the summer... which has me teaching at 8am each morning for 4 hours, then taking English Summer Camp in the afternoons for two weeks... then being told to take 4 days holidays but that I will be working for 5 days at another school (1 day unpaid) taking their summer camp... and Danielle being told that she cannot leave Chungju between now and September... her life is owned by the school! lol! The chance of us not leaving the city is somewhere between the sun rising in the morning and an orange koala taking up residency in my desk! We are getting away from here for 2 weeks and exploring the East coast of Korea...GOSPEL!

Oh, and for those who read our last post and wanted to see Danielle's dress for the wedding:

'Til the next time!

...decided to do something different...

2011-06-22T05:12:00.000+01:00

Its only 7 days until Danielle and I return home for a flying visit. We are both really excited to see everyone and can't wait to jump on the bus to head up to Seoul ready to fly.

The reason for the trip is that my youngest brother, Michael, is getting married to his Secondary School Sweetheart, Aoife, after all these years together... and we are so pleased for the both of them.

So, as with all weddings, a girl needs a dress to wear - hence a trip up to Seoul, for the first time in a few months, to search for a dress for Danielle. But rather than merely posting pics, I decided I'd do something a little different this time and upload a video instead... so here goes.

Championships, Frolics and Anniversaries...

2011-06-08T04:31:00.000+01:00

I am quite conscious that this blog is supposed to partly function as diary of our time here in Korea... but since I don't have the time to sit and write it every week, it is proving difficult to always recall what happened when, with whom and where...

I guess I will go back to the middle of May and go from there - and casually try and piece together what has transpired from there on... (if I can remember!).

The last day I wrote was during my school's Physical Testing for all grades, partly in preparation for the school's Sports Day the next day. This meant there were no classes at all for 2 days and so I was left preparing for the coming weeks and popping outside every so often to provide support and encouragement to the students, though the hot weather limited my input there to merely taking photos.

The day started with the strangest all-grade warm up exercise - which I think was an absolute waste of the students' time as none of them did it with any shred of intent - where stretching down to touch your toes was met with arms falling down by their sides and a general look of 'yeah, like I'm going to embarrass myself by bending over'.

I think the only people that actually did try to do the whole exercise with some conviction were the staff who were resigned to the back of the classes where they could follow along without the cat calls from any of the students who might catch them in action.

One of the most comical elements of the day was the array of slogans, names and titles that the students had printed on their shirts. With the usual football stars from across the globe, titles such as 'champion', 'the best', and 'winner'; there was also a few that don't quite have the same meaning in English as they do in Korean.
The best, and cleanest example of this, comes from one of the Grade 3 students below:

The Korean meaning is 'as strong as a horse' but the more direct translation is 'muscle of a horse' which in the Western world has a slightly more phallic innuendo to it.

It was a great day and lots of fun - though I did nearly kill myself by playing in the Student vs Staff football match during lunch... too warm and fully clothed was a sweaty experience - I've yet to learn if I can wear shorts to school yet.

The week was topped off by our male staff making it through to the finals of the Chungju Volleyball Championships - which meant school finished after the 4th class on the Friday... but that did not mean I got to go home. Danielle's female staff team had also made it to the main event but were put out early on the Friday much to their dismay but it did mean they had added time to enjoy their BBQ and allowed her principal to get torn into the soju and beer quite early too. My team didn't have such luck...

After making it through to the final after a tight win earlier in the week we were faced with some very close matches that ran on and on as the points remained close together. I had figured that since I'd shown my face I had therefore displayed some commitment to the school and could then leave but my wife had other plans as she got more and more into the game and screamed support for my school from the sidelines with my staff - though the look of despair wouldn't make you think she was enjoying herself!

The day ended at about 6pm with our team narrowly missing out on the no.1 spot to a very strong team with an ex-National Champion playing for them. But we all enjoyed ourselves and it was a real school bonding experience despite my wanting to leave early!

Weekends have settled down for us here... we are successfully not gallivanting around the country or up and down from Seoul each weekend. Instead we have been going to the park or a Saturday or Sunday and relaxing with friends, playing sports and generally letting the world revolve and time pass.

This does allow us to get some colour (or burnt) but we can't complain... and yes, we have now bought some sunscreen, lotion and aftersun as Danielle was so sore from sunburn after our last weekend doing nothing in the park!

Last weekend was a long weekend off, Korea was celebrating Memorial Day on the Monday, so we decided that we should head off for a long weekend somewhere. The plans had been to go to Busan and enjoy the beach there but despite our best efforts and hours of translating websites into English we were unable to secure any accommodation. In the end we opted for going to Daejeon, a place we have been before, for a quiet weekend of doing not too much other than go to a couple of sites and have a look for a Hanbok dress for Danielle.

The hanbok didn't really happen - and the one site that we really thought we'd enjoy turned out to be a bit of a horror. We had planned on spending most of Saturday in O World, a zoo, theme park and garden park in one... but after going around the zoo we had completely lost all heart. We were annoyed and sickened by the conditions that some (most) of the animals were kept, from dirty enclosures to those without any water at all. This also extended to their attempts at the humane enclosures that they had for their safari sections which were just too small for the number of animals enclosed there. Maybe its too much of watching Longleat on tv but we felt dirty having been there! This place was only opened in 2002 so it should have been uptodate, cutting edge, the pinnicle of modern zoology but it was far from it.

Overall we had a lovely time with just the two of us... and also got to see X-Men: First Class at a very nice cinema after a small tour around the city. We headed home on Sunday and settled down for a nice quiet night of relaxing and enjoying each others company - what we do best!

Yesterday was our 1st Wedding Anniversary... it really doesn't feel like it has been a year at all - especially since we haven't really stopped anywhere long enough to get bored or for time to drag along so everything has kept moving. I guess we had imagined that we would be in Korea but we didn't have any idea what it would really be like... or indeed that we would even definitely make it here. We had a nice quiet evening with a couple of friends, food and ice cream which was just what we wanted... not sure whether we will be here in Korea for the next one or not yet but I'm sure we'll be happy all the same.

If married life goes by as quickly as this year did then it is definitely going to be an easy life for us...

Finally, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has wished well or sent us their love for our anniversary - it is greatly appreciated and even if we don't respond to each of you individually then know that we mean it nonetheless.

Too tired to blog...

2011-05-18T02:22:00.001+01:00

It has been a month since I last posted - which I put down to two things:

Not much had really happened beyond teaching and resting then everything happened at once; and
I was too tired to post most of the time.

Shortly after Danielle was beginning to recover from her sickness, my body decided it was it's turn to stop defending me from all the coughs and sneezes that float around here in Korea. I ended up with a cold, wasn't that bad - or at least at home it wouldn't have warranted taking time off school for - but here in Korea it seems I should have been at home in bed resting and popping loads of pills. After the first week, Danielle decided that she would get me something to take while visiting the doctors with her co-teacher (who was feeling under the weather) and I was given these brilliant tablets that made users drowsy... not really the ideal when you have to take them 3 times a day AND TEACH. I caught myself a few times falling asleep standing up in class and was going to bed as soon as I got home!

Anyways... my worst week of sickness was broken up by holidays making for shorter weeks. The first was Children's Day (Thursday 5th May) which, rather than stay in bed and rest, Danielle and I joined some friends and headed to visit a town, Danyang, about 90mins away which apparently had lots to see and do. When we got there we decided to visit some caves - much like the Marble Arch caves back home though without the no-touching etiquette. The bus journey there was quite nice too - very scenic, glorious sunshine and the silence of hangovers.

When we arrived at the caves we decided to get some lunch (or breakfast for most of the group) before heading into the hillside. It was interesting to say the least - it was only midday yet we got to watch men in their 60's being ushered out of the restaurant drunk, though we were unsure was to whether they had already gone for their walk or were about to go.

The caves were quite cheap to get in to - and it was a long and winding pathway through with a mild temperature, cooler than outside but still humid.

We were all really surprised at the length of the walk inside the caves and also the constructions of stairways which rambled through, leading us ever deeper and then higher into the hills. The only issue that Danielle and I had was that everyone had to keep moving due to the crowd that was inside. This made taking photographs really difficult and probably meant that we missed quite a bit too.

Afterwards we began to head to the site of a waterfall - which we hoped would be a spectacular sight... but when we got there it was pants - so after taking a break and playing by the river's edge we headed home.

We then headed out last Monday with some of the teachers from my school who are part of the staff English Club. They kindly invited Danielle to join us for dinner and then we headed out to a Japanese restaurant/bar afterwards for some drinks and more food for the Koreans... (I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who doesn't feel full after Korean BBQ).

At the Japanese place the night turned into a drinkfest - since we were all off work the next day due to Buddha's Birthday (Tuesday 10th May). Danielle even started a drinking game which she ended up regretting when she lost and had to drink a concoction of Soju and Mokoli - rancid!

It was a really good night and I think we all look forward to doing it again as soon as possible!

Wednesday (11th May) seen me leaving Danielle (for the first time since we got married) for 3 days to go on a school trip further south. I had been invited by the Vice-Principal and the Head of Grade 2 so I could not say no. Unfortunately the weather was not as it should have been for this time of year and on the morning we set off there was a deluge of rain that lasted the whole day and resulted in everyone (pupils and staff) being soaked.

Our first stop was Busan - a place I really had looked forward to seeing - but with the weather being so bad with non-stop rain and extremely low cloud, it made sight-seeing or seeing the views a major problem.

Our first stop was Haeundae Beach, Korea's No. 1 beach apparently... but today it was a drab and miserable place to be. The staff and students were supposed to walk around the edge of a peninsula on a boardwalk - but with the rain teeming down a few of us teachers decided it just wasn't happening for us and we retreated back to the buses.

We then went to have lunch before visiting the Busan Aquarium.

The Aquarium was nice - I know some people hate that word but there isn't any other way to really describe it.... other than saying its the same as most other aquariums around this part of the world. Maybe I've just been spoilt but between Exploris in Portaferry and the Aquarium in Sydney I didn't really see anything new or overly impressive.

Once again I've decided to resorted to adding a Flickr slideshow of the photographs from the trip rather than posting too many on here. You can either view them below or if you click on the slideshow it should bring you to my page on Flickr.com where you can see them more clearly or view my other photos.

And last but not least, Danielle and I finally got the OK from both of our schools and paid for the flights to pop home for my brother's birthday in July. So, in just 6 weeks we'll both be enduring the jetlag again for 5 days at home! Really looking forward to seeing everyone there - especially the nieces and nephew!

In sickness and in health...

2011-04-18T05:06:00.000+01:00

Danielle has had a rough two weeks with sickness which resulted in her getting a needle in the bum and a couple of days in bed... but it didn't stop her having a lovely weekend away to Seoul and then spend most of this week taking it easy to make up for it.

We have both been surprised at how tired we constantly are all the time - getting home ready to die each evening and being shattered at weekends too. It's hard to tell whether it is the late onset of jet-lag or the change to our diet - or both - or that we are awake at 6.45am during the week which results in our bodies wakening at around the same time on weekends too despite our best efforts to sleep in.... but we are working on it and maybe a bit of extra exercise will help!

So, what have we done since our last post - well, probably the key event was going to Seoul, for Bryannie's birthday a fortnight ago, to see Cirque du Soleil's Varekai. It was breath taking and made me pine for the days of yore when I might have been both more physically capable and ballsy to have had a go at flying through the air, leaping around a stage and generally dressing up in some fantastical costume on a stage. It made me think whether I could have been able to keep a toe in the performance element - but to be honest with myself I doubt I'd have been of the right calibre for a show like this one!

The weekend in Seoul was very relaxed - and we were with a few other couples too which was a nice change though we did also miss some of our other friends who we would normally have been with - but big crowds have their logistics problems too so for once we were very happy with our lot. There was no set schedule or places we had to be (besides the show) or anyone else to pander to - which made it a really nice atmosphere!
We met up on the Friday night and went for some food - beef instead of pork - which may have been the only mistake of the weekend (or it may have been the McD's) as the chances of cross-contamination was particularly high as cooked meat was moved to the side as raw flesh was chucked on top... at some point over the weekend Danielle got sick and it was too hard to tell whether anyone else was effected by it too as two of the other girls were already ill when they arrived on the Friday too! lol!

On Saturday we all went off in different directions to do our own things - some went to the racetrack to place a few bets on the ponies and others went shopping. We decided to do the touristy thing and see the sights of Seoul via bus - but we got waylaid on route!

We got the metro towards the pick up point for the bus and came out to a massive square with a few statues along it. It was very clean, very pretty and also very impressive! The statue behind us is of the king Sejong the Great who was the 4th King of the Joseon Dynasty and the creator (or at least the patron) of Hangul - the written symbols of the Korean language.
Around the back of this statue is a door which leads downstairs to a exhibition all about him and the development of the language.

From here we followed the square to the end where we discovered that we were at the Royal Palaces of which there were a few - and decided to have a look around with a view to coming back if we had time either after the bus or the next day.

But once we got closer to it we ventured inside, and wanted to see more...

IT WAS MASSIVE!!! In the end we spent around 3 hours walking around it and only seen about a third of the area which had the palaces restored and kept in exquisite order.

There were men dressed in traditional costume at the main gate - guarding the entrance much as they would have done hundreds of years ago. They had traditional weapons and even the changing of the guard too of which there was as much pomp and circumstance as you would expect at Buckingham Palace.
There was a museum, a children's museum, an arts centre, displays of old buildings from the 50s and 60s, replicas of historical statues from across Korea... and much more that we didn't even get to see! In fact, in order to show you the images I had to rearrange my Flickr sets so I could stream the photos on here.

So - this weekend we decided to stay at home in Chungju again and relax. Saturday was a lazy but expensive day. We walked to the shop where I bought my bike to leave it in to be repaired as the back wheel had buckled and needed fixed by someone more qualified than I. From there we walk into the town to waltz around the shops and then headed to get some snacks for a pizza and movie night we were hosting. This last stop resulted in us buying an oven - unfortunately all the instructions are in Korean... there is no translation available online... and it sounds like a microwave when on but we'll figure it out this week as I try making a few bits and bobs!

Sunday saw us venturing out towards Chungju Dam, with Hanna Bear, to see what all the fuss was about - as everyone was talking about seeing the Cherry Blossom Festivals here... it turns out there are two sides to the Cherry Blossom Festivals - the lovely Cherry Blossoms and the awful entertainment they provide (it was NOT entertaining!!! X-Factor NOT!!!).

The most entertaining aspect of the day was the matching clothes that couples and families sometimes wear here in Korea - especially young families will wear matching jumpers or t-shirts which looks really cute but also funny, though adults do it too. We were also lucky to catch a couple of molested dogs decorated by their owners... no idea why though! lol!

So, I'm off back to class and will prepare myself for a week of baking and roasting (lots of accidents and errors are expected as I try to figure out what the oven is doing and how it works)... fingers crossed I'll work it out and get some good results in the end!

Where does the time go?

2011-04-07T03:28:00.000+01:00

It has been a few weeks since I last had the chance to write on this blog... the daily schedule seems to have become:

- wake at 6.45am, get washed, get breakfast, get out by 7.45am
- get to work around 8.10am and then classes start at either 8.45 or 9am (depending on the day of the week)
- work until 4.30pm (for Colm ) or 5pm (Danielle) and then head home
- get home and collapse onto couch...
- make dinner / go out for dinner (restaurant or maybe a friend's)
- go to bed / get home and fall into bed
- sleep.

The only variation is the weekends - which are either the same morning schedule delayed by an hour as we jump on a bus to Seoul or we blow the schedule out of the water by not moving until 11am, and when we do move it is only to eat and lounge around on the couch until we can be bothered to wash and get dressed.

After another visit to Seoul a couple of weeks ago (which did result in some shopping by Danielle and Colm buying a guitar) we decided that we should remain in Chungju for the first time last weekend - and it was great! No rushing to get a bus, no stressing about dodgy accommodation, no worrying about where people have disappeared to/when they'll be back/why the bloke behind you is hacking phlem up (and is he going to spit out beside you while you try to eat your sandwich).

Staying in Chungju was lovely - the weather, the relaxing - it made for a 'nice' weekend and gave us the opportunity to get to know a little more about the city we live in.

So, on the Sunday, we decided to go for a cycle out towards the centre of Korea where a 7-story pagoda stands - but we never got there! We ended up being side tracked to a park area which was dotted with sculptures of seemingly risque nature which overlooks where two rivers join together.

Grand Auditorium - with a solo fella playing Sax to dodgy music...

The boys loved the sculptures!

So, we are heading off to Seoul again this weekend to see a show, meet up with some friends and generally have a wail of a time (or is it whale...?). Tickets are bought, accommodation sorted - but Danielle is ill which a Doctor's visit deemed to be due to the weather, the change of diet and stress. They were able to rule out pregnancy so no party yet! lol!

I'll try and update on here earlier next time so you can be fully informed!

Thanks for reading!

Fun, frolics and worrying.

2011-03-14T04:31:00.002Z

It's been an eventful fortnight - started teaching in my school, started cycling to and from school (albeit on a rickety old bike that crushes bones), got internet into the apartment and mobile phones sorted out - and we also had our first weekend away to another city! Lovely!

I have quite a full schedule each day which totals 24 classes (during school) each week and 3 after school classes but I am looking at this in terms of money and kudos in the school - in the hope that I may have future favours return to me too. If I scratch their backs...blah blah blah...

I've so far found that my 1st Graders are much better and more open with their English than either of the 2nd or 3rd Graders - which I am attributing to them having had a good experience with GETs in their elementary schools. I don't know how the previous GET to me got on with the students so all I can hope is that they slowly come round to me over the course of the year... which may of course take time when you only have a class once each week!

Danielle enjoys both of her schools - she attends one school 4 days (Mon - Wed and then Fri) and the other only on Thursdays. Her Thursday school is small in numbers but, due to its location near an Airbase, she has found the children to have a good level of English which means she can have more fun with them.

We met up with a load of other GETs from our Orientation for the weekend in Daejeon - one of the country's larger cities. A train journey on Saturday morning was cheap, comfortable and quick. We then went to watch Daejeon's football team play against Seoul in the K-League - a 1-1 draw but was good craic and only cost 5,000Won - roughly 2.50 GBP!

It was soooooo easy to get there that we are pretty certain that we will go back to a few more home games and support Daejeon in the future... though if we learn that Chungju has a team then we may just have to support them instead! We know there is a stadium but we haven't seen it yet... sure we are here for at least a year - we'll have lots of time to go and see it another time! hahaha!

A substantial amount of drink was consumed that night by all (bar me) and after entering a bar/restaurant called Boobie Boobie (merely because of the name) for a quick one - we left over 2 hours later with some members of the group having to be helped down the stairs. It was then onto a Karaoke room or Noreban as they are called here - for more drink-fueled singing and banter. We even picked up some locals on the way and forcibly made them join us....

It was a great weekend - lovely to see some of our friends from Orientation with who we've become quite attached, and to see more of this country and it's people.

Can't wait for the next time!!! lol!

As for the worrying part - we have a cousin who is living/working in Japan, specifically Fukishima where the Power Plant is. He has been on the road since Sunday and is trying to move to a safer part of the country with a couple of others. We've been able to speak to him on Facebook and Skype but even knowing that he is currently safe doesn't stop us worrying about him and his friends - and also his girlfriend's family too. Japan is still in turmoil and will take some time to recover and too many people have died. So even if you don't have a faith, please say a word to the man upstairs to give them strength.

A beautiful place to live...

2011-03-08T07:00:00.000Z

While looking for videos and inspiration for conversation topics for my classes I found this on a website I have been checking out on a regular basis since last November when we were initially told we were going to South Korea - Eat Your Kimchi.

This video is a brilliant view of the country in which Danielle and I now live - if you have the time then take a look... it might encourage you to come here to visit!

Do You Know South Korea? from David Dutton on Vimeo.

Its all go here!

2011-03-02T01:52:00.002Z

So, we've finally moved to Chungju and after a night in an 80s hotel we moved into our apartment.

It is a nice place in a block of apartments. We're close to shops, takeaways, the bus station etc so it is very handy!

It has 3 bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen/living-room, a reasonable sized bathroom and a balcony.

I took a quick video yesterday (after we had decorated the living-room wall and the kitchen units) so you can all see it for yourselves!

Never thought it would happen...

2011-02-23T22:35:00.000Z

During one of our classes yesterday it became apparent that the lack of provision for those with Special Needs was not the only issue we would have to deal with in regards to behavioural problems or causes for disruption in our classes.

Special Needs children mainly carry on in regular school classes but drop off the register as they fail exams to get into High School - with no real specialist support (though in some cases a helper may be employed to assist them in school to a certain extent). This is due to the stigma attached to not succeeding in this country... a place which shamefully has the highest adolescent suicide rate in the world due to the pressure of exams and the need to be the best academically.

But today a new situation was flagged in our faces - Orphanages.

I had expected that such institutions would have existed here as there are orphans across the globe due to illness, low mortality rates, war etc. but I had not been prepared for the harsh and selfish nature of Korea in this respect.

It is not uncommon for a child to be placed into an orphanage if their parents get divorced! They just get rid of them!

Why? Because no one wants to get married to someone and be a parent of another blood line!

??? So they just divorce their own kids to look for a new partner? Yep!

We can't even imagine how this would affect the children involved - an eternal feeling of 'I'm not wanted'?

I know I'll not be able to change anything here in South Korea... and I know I'll have to hold my tongue on many things that will drive me mad while I am here... but even if I can't change it - I think that letting these children know (along with the other orphans) that they are the rice of Korea, the future of the country, that they more important than their parents is a must for me during the next 12 months and that I should go out of my way to make life better for them.

How can a parent ditch such a responsibility as a child just to copulate?

Rant over for now.

Field Trip and lesson planning...

2011-02-22T04:48:00.002Z

So after two days of intense lecturing, learning Korean, watching Korean movies and trying to be sociable we were all looking forward to Monday's Field Trip to the Jeonju Hanok Village and then the Traditional Cultural Centre. Everyone wrapped up warm and boarded buses to take us to our starting locations - classes 1 to 4 went to the Hanok Village first for a tour with some handicrafts (making a photo frame) and then off to a restaurant for some Bimbimbap for lunch.

This was our first real class group photograph (although 4 members of the class were missing as they had to attend the medical that the rest of us suffered on the first morning here), taken outside the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

After going round the village we ventured down to Nambu Sijang a market area which gave us a real insight into both the people here and also the wears that they sold/bought in the markets. Some things were a bit "eugh!", such as the silk worms which they ate but there was also a fasinating selection of fruits, fish and beans/lentils too.

From the market we went to a craft village where we made the aforementioned photo frames from paper made in the village (using traditional methods). The paper is also used in the making of doors and windows.

Then it was off to a popular Jongro Restaurant, Korean tourist restaurant, where we were all given some traditional Bimbimbap - a dish that translates as being an all in one bowl dish. Some people loved it and the various other delicacies that were provided... others not so much! lol!

It was then onto an old traditional school which is partly being restored and not currently in use. Inside the grounds was a tree which the Korean people hold very dear as it is over 800 years old... so of course loads of people wanted their photo taken with the tree and seized the opportunity to touch it!

There was soooo much happening throughout the day that I can't possibly post all the photos on this blog.

Between dancing, drumming and traditional Korean wedding cermonies (Danielle was a Bridesmaid!) the day was packed and we were all totally exhausted by the time we got back to the university. Unfortunately the day didn't end as soon as we all got back as many of us wanted to meet up to go through lesson plan planning for joint presentations on Thursday morning... an EPIK orientation teacher's day never stops!
So, as a means of giving you the opportunity to have a look at all the photographs from the day I have added in a slideshow below... fingers-crossed it works!

Grand opening ceremony and dinner!

2011-02-19T09:08:00.001Z

Yesterday (Friday) we met our classmates and were given our theme/guidance for our lesson plan presentations which will happen next week... so of course we all immediately settled down last night to work on them - YEAH RIGHT!!!

We had an opening ceremony in the afternoon which included some displays of a drumming dance, taekwando and a fan dance too. The Taekwando was definitely the most interesting and visually stunning and included some very fancy kicking the tripe out of wood and apples!

Here's a quick video of some of the bum-kicking fun!

And some pics of the rest to give you some idea of it:

After this we had a grand buffet dinner - thankfully we were the first to cotton on that the food was already sitting waiting for everyone and quickly getting cold so we jumped at the opportunity to warm up a little with the various dishes presented - some tasty... some just a bit iffy to our palates!

The venue was so cold that in the end we decided to head down into the town and find a pub where we could all sit and chat in a warmer surrounding!

Saturday would see us all having our first full day of lectures, Korean Language lessons and a Korean movie to watch... so we ended up having a quiet and early night... ...was that enough to convince you??? There were a few soreheads the next morning but that was due to Jetlag... yeah... that's the answer everyone is sticking to!

Hello Europe, this is South Korea calling...

2011-02-17T22:40:00.002Z

Don't know why on earth I've used a Eurovision phrase so don't mention it...

We've arrived safely in South Korea and are settling into our university accomodation for a week of orientation in Jeongju University 'A place for Superstars'.

After very little sleep on the plane journey we did get a quick nap on the bus journey down to Jeonju and then had a very patchy night of sleep too (including a visit at midnight from one of the staff to give us some LAN cables for the internet... he surely assumed we would be wide awake!).

I've uploaded a quick video of our room for the next week so you can see what it is like!

We'll try and keep you posted throughout the week as to how things are going... this morning we have a medical examination which requires me to give blood... NOT looking forward to this! Oh, by the way we ended up turning the heating off completely and opening a window (-6 outside) to try and get the room cool enough to sleep - under floor heating nearly burnt our feet but is off this morning so its now a bit chilly! lol!

Leavin' on a jet plane!

2011-02-16T17:33:00.002Z

Tuesday 15th Feb 2011.

Danielle and I have set off again on our travels/adventures - this time to South Korea for a year of God knows what! Its the first time I have agreed to take on a contract of work without knowing exactly where I will be working, who I'll be working for, where I will be living and have a strong knowledge of my rights as an employee... so it could be a bit of craic! lol!

We flew to London with Danielle's sister, Andrea, and met up with her friend, Paul. We had all arranged to go into London to see the girl's cousin performing in Wicked. We were not disappointed! It was absolutely brilliant and we loved every moment of the musical.

We'd already stuffed ourselves with a nice warm Nandos prior to going to the Apollo Victoria... but we still loaded up on sweets and water for some unknown reason - Paul even indulged in some donuts!

After the show we went around to the stage door and I waltzed right in with Danielle and the others following - right past some of the new stars that appear in the cast. We went up to Rachel's dressingroom and chatted with her for about 30mins as she removed the green body paint that seen her leaving the theatre last every night from the cast's side of production.

So, we left Andrea and Paul in England as we jumped on another plane this morning (Wednesday) and headed east. I am currently posting this from Abu Dhabi, a nice, big airport with free Wifi! We are waiting to board our next flight onto Incheon Airport in South Korea... which will take us another 7/8 hours of flight time with little sleep.

The next post will hopefully be from our room at Jeonju University where we are to be based for the next 10 days before being sent out to our respective schools and, fingers-crossed, some very nice accomodation for Danielle and I - our first real home (not counting the hut in Malawi!).

Out of Africa...

2011-01-26T14:13:00.000Z

So, we organised our flights back to the UK through a number of manic phonecalls and then a plater of emails between London, Addis Ababa and Malawi and finally got a date to return to London. Unfortunately our onward flights to Belfast were going to cost us far too much (£50 to change and then an extra £230) so we decided to rebook flights with a different airline (Easyjet) which worked out at less than £50 all in!

The only problem was - and this required the utmost of careful negotiations and tact - our final flight back into Belfast wasn't going to be for 5 days after we arrived in London! We would be stuck in England for 5 days so what could we do?

Thankfully a close friend, Aaron, and his partner Tara, helpfully agreed to let us stay with them for the few days we were to be there - a God send! It was all looking good and it would be great to catch up with them since we hadn't seen them since the wedding.

It was so nice to be back in cool/cold weather too! We landed after 13 hours of travelling (excluding the 7 hour to, and overnight stay in Lilongwe) from Malawi to the Congo, on to Addis Ababa and then to London.

We arrived in around 6.30am and went to pick up a hire car to help us get around over the next few days - it was once again nice to be back driving. We got to Aaron and Tara's shortly after 8am just as Tara was about to head to work - and she was shocked to see these two tanned figures appear at her door in summery clothes!

It took me a while to acclimaitise (hence the flipflops and t-shirt) but Danielle was feeling the cold straight away so our first port of call, after a quick nap, was into High Wycombe to get some clothes to wear that were more suitable to the temperatures in the UK!

Danielle really felt the whole reverse-culture-shock sensation while we were driving around. Not seeing multitudes of people walking around, seeing animals actually in fields, how green everything was in comparison to Africa, not seeing people working in the fields to the same scale, and even having running water that you could drink! I don't know why I don't get those sensations - I seem to be able to switch from one world to another like turning on/off a light. It is possible that some of that comes from the years spent as a child at numerous times throughout the year living in Donegal in the West of Ireland. I remember having to go and collect water from the river and local wells so that there was something to wash and drink, I've experienced cereal with the fresh milk still warm from the cow's udder. When in Donegal I wouldn't think twice about going outside for a pee, back in Belfast I wouldn't consider it - an immediate switch happens and I think that is the same between UK and African living.

We also began looking for work for when we got home to cover us until we would leave for Korea. We had a quick chat on Skype with our recruitment company out there too and finally set a firm date for our interviews which were scheduled for 5.20am for Danielle and 6.20am for me! Doh!
We had a great time in England - we got to go into London to see Wicked (though Danielle's cousin Rachel was off that night - she plays Elphaba (the green witch)) and enjoyed it so much that we swore we'd go back again to see it when Rachel was working. We also got to enjoy Bonfire night too and it sort of made up for not having been around for Hallow'een.

Hot food, good craic and, of course, fireworks! We had a great time! And even little Sam showed no fear or shock at seeing or hearing the fireworks at all!

On the Sunday night we left and headed to Luton airport and got the first flight home to Belfast. We arrived in and again got a hire car just to help us get around and surprise everyone. We stopped up to my parents' house first. My brother Tomás opened the door saying, "Holy S%&T! Holy S*"t!" quickly followed by tears from my mum. After a bit of breakfast we drove over to Danielle's mum's and again there were tears flowing as they were so surprised and happy to have us back home.

So, that's us home until Jan/Feb when we head off again.

(Well, its techincally the end of Jan 2011 now and we now know that we leave Belfast for South Korea on the 15th of February. We have been told we will be placed somewhere in the Cheungbuk province - an area that wasn't even one of our choices! So, the next time we post it will be from Korea!

It will be much easier to post on the blog from there - super internet speeds! And I am sure there will be so much to tell! I also hope to get some video footage on here too so that is all still to come!)

Korea was calling and we had to go!

2011-01-18T20:40:00.005Z

Well hello folks!

It has been a very long time since we last posted anything on here and that has been due to a number of various reasons that I will quickly skirt over so we're all on the same page! lol!

Since I last posted we have celebrated Danielle's 25th birthday while in Malawi. This was preceded by a number of bouts of what appeared to be an emotional breakdown (nothing to do with her age) due to the medication that we were taking for Malaria - Lariam. It seems that the drug was causing her to be extremely overly emotional resulting in tears flowing at any point - even in the middle of laughing she would break down into floods of tears!

There was an up side to the tablets in that they temporarily rid Danielle of any intolerances to the food types that normally plagued her - but the final straw was when she started having nightmares about the snakes and scorpions crawling over her during her sleep. So it was clear a change was needed.

So we made a big thing of celebrating her birthday as a bit of a pick-her-up! I was a bit crap to be honest - we were in the middle of nowhere and the option of even getting her a present was a far fetched one! A card.... well, they don't even seem to have postcards here nevermind Birthday cards!

We went out to the next lodge, Chintheche Inn where two of our friends Nick and Zana are in charge, for a lovely meal and a change of scene. It was great food which we were so glad it lived up to our expectations.

On Danielle's actual birthday we all got together to have a brie (BBQ) with Richard, Lauren, Zana and Nick.

During the course of the evening of the party it was sort of decided that Danielle and I needed to escape from Makuzi for a bit and it was agreed that if we could sort out the logistics of it all then we would take the following weekend off. We decided to head south ( a 7 hour drive) to a music festival called Lake of Stars - an event that was also to be Danielle's first experience of CAMPING!!! (Something she swore she would never do!)

So, we went for broke and did it - borrowed a tent, some mats to sleep on, the ute and hit the road!

The drive down was great - it felt like we'd had our wings released and it was such a relief to see Danielle suddenly come back to life as we enjoyed the scenery, trees and people.

Even though we had already done our sums and knew it was going to be an expensive 5 days away - we knew we both needed it and even if it left us broke it would be worth it!

Lake of Stars is quite a good idea as far as festivals go. It is organised by an organisation in London and really tries to attract UK based artists along with a number of African based ones to perform at a weekend festival. It is also promoted via STA which means that a lot of young people take the opportunity to visit Malawi for Lake of Stars and then also either have a safari or travel around the country which helps feed into the economy of the locals - not necessarily the government (which is possibly the bane of the country's problems).

Anyway... it was great to get away and I really enjoyed the driving too - could have been a longer trip but work called!

The next thing we knew emails expressing concern over our skype connection and telephone line began to come through to let us know that if the connection wasn't improved then we would not be able to conduct the interviews for Korea... and therefore would not gain a placement for travelling there.

This stumped us... there was no way we could possibly do anything about the quality of phone or internet connection in the whole of Malawi... so we were pushed into making the extremely difficult decision to leave Malawi and return home... devastating for both us, our friends, the school and the children.

Danielle's class.

Colm's class.

The following week, after numerous phonecalls and emails, we were flying back to London.

What happened next I will blog later this week! Promise!

Greetings from Makuzi Beach in Malawi!

2010-10-07T15:20:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since we last wrote on here...

We were back in Belfast for exactly 20 days... which was just enough time for Danielle's sister to eventually give birth to a beautiful baby girl, Sophia. It also allowed us time to catch up with some of our friends and family before our next 3 months away in the wilderness of Africa.

We left Belfast on 20th September on an afternoon flight to London Heathrow and then, a few hours later, we boarded a flight to Addis Ababa. By 6:30ish the nest morning we had landed in Ethiopia and then had a short 4 hour flight on to Lilongwi in Malawi.
The airport in Lilongwi was relatively simple, old and easy to pass through - one room and a runway! A man called Sam was there to collect us and bring us into the city of Lilongwe itself to where Lara lived, and where we would be spending our first night. Lara had only recently moved back to Lilongwi from Makuzi Beach so that her sons could go to a proper school for a few years. Prior to this year they were home-schooled.

The drive itself was an eye-opener as there were so many people just walking... though it appeared that it wasn't to anywhere in particular! There were the odd number of schools scattered here and there with hundreds of pupils just finishing for the day (around 1pm) which we initially thought was a bit early however they do start school at 7am.
When we arrived at Lara's we met her and then opted for a few hours sleep and a shower before dinner.

We woke to a very dusty and misty evening in what sounded like an alien city that we had only ever encountered via television and film. Outside was the hum of insects, traffic and birds and cutting above all of this was the evening Call to Prayers for the Muslims at a nearby Mosque. By 8pm we were back in bed and preparing for an early start and a long drive from Lilongwe to Makuzi the next morning.

Wednesday morning came all too quickly - again wakened by the hum of animals and just before 5am there was the Call to Prayers - which was a very pleasing way to rise... so we were more than ready for our 7.30am 4 hour car journey north.
During the next 4 hours we learnt a lot about driving on the roads in Malawi - which included the necessity to use your horns at least every 100 yards or so... not due to traffic (which we were surprised that we did have a traffic jam in Lilongwe - a place that as a city appears so sparse and undeveloped we couldn't see where everyone was possibly trying to get to) but due to the roads being regarded as public footpaths. It became clear that forgetting your Drivers' License was a big No-No too as there were randomly placed Police check points scattered along our journey, though they did have extremely varying levels of security being applied depending on whether you knew the officers, had previously bribed the officers or just didn't mind being detained indefinitely at their leisure.

We soon arrived at Makuzi Beach and settled into our accommodation for the next 3 months, a three roomed abode which they kindly had put a double bed mattress into along with some cutlery and pots and pans. An outside toilet and shower told us we were in the lap of luxury... but the shower doesn't work.

We have met some wonderfully accommodating people here so far... not least Richard and Lauren who are managing the nearby resort of Makuzi Beach Lodge - without them we would probably have packed our bags and returned home.

I will try to add more as soon as I can - though the internet is a separate problem in Malawi... at 115bps it is possibly the slowest connection I have experienced since the internet was first accessible to me.

I will leave you with the revelation that although Malawi is only 1 hour ahead of GMT, it seems to be 4 hours behind GMT - our day begins with the morning chorus (and a cockerel or three) at around 4.30am, which gives us some time to lie in bed and contemplate the day ahead (or to try and get back to sleep). We walk to the school just after 6.30am for classes at 7 - and at present we finish teaching and are back home by 9am. Lunch is ideally around 10.30am, dinner is started around 3 though normally eaten at 5pm just before bed at 6.30/7pm as it is completely dark outside by this point. Not sure how we will last past 6pm when we get home to Belfast at Christmas!

All the best for now!

Back to work...

2010-08-19T13:39:00.000+01:00

Danielle and I have settled into our new roles in Uclés as Dance and Music teachers respectively... and so far so good!

We had sort of hoped that it would have meant a little less work to do - but unfortunately it hasn't!

I've also had to explain to different classes how I lost my wedding ring at the beach in Hospitalet de l'Infant and that there are somethings you just cannot replace no matter how much money you have. One of the teachers even thought I was bluffing!

I will have a few pics from the last wee holiday and from Uclés (which starts it's own Fiesta activities tonight and runs all weekend so we will have many sleepless nights ahead).

Cheers,

Colm

Long time no writing...

2010-08-11T17:37:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I have been able to get online to write on this blog... and to be honest I'm not sure there is much to add!

We finished our first month working for Forenex and thoroughly enjoyed it! The food was rubbish, it was so hot that it was difficult to sleep, lack of sleep made us stupid and Danielle nearly turned to drink to ease her stresses! lol! But the kids were great craic and we had a wonderful time meeting them and making some new friends amongst the other teachers.
And Danielle enjoyed it so much that she volunteered us to be available for another fortnight should we be needed! Doh!

We then stayed with one of the other teachers, Charley, and her husband for the weekend until we had to travel on the Med. She isn't always up for having her photo taken.... though sometimes its hard to stop her...

So, we set off for a short holiday last week and joined up with Danielle's Mum, Charley-Louise and Pearse in Hospitalet de l'Infant... which is about 45 mins south of Tarragona.
The journey here has been something of a story too - the Spainish website for the trains won't work in English so we had to do it in Spanish... so we booked an overnight train to Tarragona from Madrid... all that was ok! Then when we actually got the train, the Preferential cabin we got was from the 1960s, and smelt like it hadn't been cleaned since then either! We also had to share it with 4 others so the opportunity to sleep for 7 hours flew out the window!
To cut a long long journey short - after a really awful night's travelling I lost my treasured straw hat and when we got to Tarragona we had to wait for a further hour in the dull and cold street as Danielle's Mum had sent our lift to the Bus Station for some unknown reason.... but we're all ok and smiling now!!!

Hospitalet isn't much to write about - its small, everything closes at siesta and its full of French, Germans and Spaniards... plus a handful of Brits and the 5 of us that are Irish. Having said that, it has a summer programme of 'entertainment' (they seem to have used that in its loosest possible terms) which has at times been entertaining. There was a night which was billed as Dancing with Mar Blava - which turned out to be two different schools of dance, one contemporary and the other Flamenco, at it was genuinely really good - especially the Flamenco!

They also have outdoor cinema once a week, but it was Avatar last week and this week its Invictus so we aren't going to bother with that. Every so often something else pops up that keeps us amused at night - otherwise it is the beach from 12pm until around 8pm at night (except for me who has work to do!).

So... it's time I got back to said work.. no rest for the wicked!

Quick there's an internet connection - use it!

2010-07-23T18:40:00.000+01:00

We haven't had internet access for just over a week - and all of the teachers have been going spare as we are about to enter our last week of teaching and need to arrange travel and accomodation for next weekend!

We've been having lots of fun too!

Last night we took part in a Terror Night organised for the kids - to pretty much scare the tripe out of them... and in the majority of cases it worked!

I had taken part in something similar in my first week of teaching but more teachers took part last night which made it a lot more fun!

Danielle and I also taught a wee Merengue class on Wednesday night for a laugh!

I've lots of emails to respond to - and photos to upload so I'll try and get on here again over the weekend to update you further on our antics!

Drrrring! Drrrrring! Back to school!

2010-07-09T22:33:00.001+01:00

Danielle and I started back to school this week with us both teaching Elementary English to 8 - 11 year olds in an old monastery in Uclés.

Lots of Lesson Plans along with 5 hours of English per-day!

The food is well below standard, served on prison style metal trays (apparently that was actually the norm here in Spain up until the 00s started!), and the double windows and doors just magnify the sun and heat so we all spend much of the day dying! But otherwise it is a lovely place!

This is the corridor from our staff room to my classroom.

And this was my classroom at the start of the week - but now it has a load of pictures on the walls and across the middle of the room.

The children had an exam today... which one described as 'isi' (easy) - but unfortunately the same child didn't do too well in the exam! Oops there! Wasn't that easy then! lol!

We did have a fantastic night on Wednesday when we watched the Semi-Final match between Germany and Spain. I admitted that I really was convinced that Germany was going to wipe the floor with a slow and lathargic Spanish team.... but was extremely pleasantly surprised to watch them finally step into gear and also see almost 400 students (packed into a small corridor) go absolutely wild as Spain scored!

We will spend Sunday evening with them too - hopefully watching Spain win!

As you can see - its been non-stop and it just keeps going....

2010-07-09T22:23:00.000+01:00

As you can see there have been a lot of '...and then..'s, and there are still more!
On the last Thursday of June we spent the day with the Masters Students, of the Vaughan Systems English Masters programme, as they led a tour of some of Madrid's key landmarks as part of a presentation assignment. Although the Tutors were not really sure why Danielle and I would even want to be there, we seen it as a golden opportunity to learn about Madrid from some of its own residents - and another ingredient was that it was completely free! lol!

We then went for lunch with Lucas, Almu and Luis and had our first tasty Spanish food! It was great! 3 courses including drinks for 10 Euro!
It was in a small street just back from the famous Gran Via - and it was great!

We ended up turning a morning's walk around the city sights of Madrid into a day long event finishing in the Retiro park later that evening.

2010-07-09T22:09:00.001+01:00

We went to El Rastro (the Sunday Market in Madrid) early a couple of Sundays ago! It was really interesting and there were so many antiques and collectables around. If we had loads of money - and probably more importantly a place to put it all - then we could have bought a few things but we were very sensible!

We then went on around the southern area of central Madrid for a bit of a tour with Lucas. The other girls are Isabel and Meg - both two Americans that were absolutely lovely to have spent time with and fingers cross we will see them again!
It was Meg's last day in the city.

We then went to Lucas' parents' house on the Saturday to watch the football - and Spain win again! Lucas cooked a bit of food outside while Danielle and Isabel went for a swim!

On the Monday we headed off to the hills again - on the Madrid side - and we went walking for a few hours over. Too much exercise!

It was Isabel's last day with us and it was a bit hard to really let her go! But she is now off with some other tourists (mainly Oz and Yanks) to visit all the sights of Spain.

2010-07-09T21:51:00.001+01:00

This pic was taken in Segovia - just on the other side of the hills north of Madrid. It started out as a lovely warm day and then it turned nasty with a cool Lightening storm that kept me entertained for a hour or so!

This was taken as the wind had really picked up - one of the parasols was lifted right out of a café table and came flying down the street, tumbling as it went. I quickly lept into action (mainly because everyone else just stood and watched as it headed closer and closer to some children and a woman with a pram) and I took a hold of it... then one of the staff from the café finally turned up as I was taking it down and therefore I left it to him. Another day of service to the world....

Its been a while!

2010-07-09T21:40:00.001+01:00

DSC_0026
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

In order to try and catch up on this blog I'll try and post a few pics to explain whats been happening!

This pic is a photo on our way into Toledo during our first Saturday between the Valdelavilla weeks - so it was some time ago now!
It was quite a pretty town - very old and with lots of different influences - but it was steep and too warm so we ended up sitting in the town square for ages (see the pic of me asleep! lol) waiting for the heat to ease a bit!

Valdelavilla Week 2

2010-06-30T16:45:00.001+01:00

DSC_0344
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

This photo is from a much sunnier, and warmer, week in Valdelavilla!

It was a very different bunch of people but just as much fun as the previous week.

We again made quite a few new friends and have since spent quite a bit of time with both the Americans (Meg and Isabel) and also the FT Masters students - Lucas (the tour guide), Luis (the daddy) and Almu (the talker).

They have really made our extra week in Madrid worth while and helped us enjoy it - especially going off to Lucas' parent's house to watch Spain beat Portugal last night!

At present Danielle and I are working away in our hotel room trying to complete assignments and prepare lessons for next week as we will be starting a month of teaching English to 10-14 year olds in Uclés in Cuenca.... really not expecting the best of mobile reception or internet connect there either! doh!

Impro Skit

2010-06-30T16:37:00.001+01:00

Impro Skit
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

This is from our second night at Valdelavilla - and the group of performers were a mix of Anglos (Native English speakers) and Spaniards.

It was extremely funny to watch at the time and we felt that it broke the ice for a lot of us as it allowed us to laugh at each other and ourselves - especially the Danielle and Colm 'Just Married' carry on!

Michael did a great job of playing Gregg and the phrase 'More Wine' will haunt my head for the rest of my life!

Glass Market in Madrid

2010-06-30T16:34:00.001+01:00

glass market madrid
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

We actually went here before Valdelavilla but never had the time to upload the video footage!
It was very busy and lots of people were chomping on all the varieties of lovely food available.... and I don't think it was merely because it was cold and wet outside!

This place is just outside Plaza de Mayor.

Valdelavilla Week 1

2010-06-21T17:12:00.001+01:00

DSC_0233
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Here is a quick pic of everyone on week 1 - including the dog!

Such a great week will be hard to beat - though I know that the Yanks and Spaniards that are here this week are determined to beat them... don't really know that they can to be honest!

I'll wait and see if they prove me wrong!

A massive thank you to all of you and I hope to see as many of you as possible again - either in Belfast or here in Spain!

C

DSC_0042

2010-06-21T17:09:00.001+01:00

DSC_0042
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Danielle at Valdelavilla.

We have just started our second week at Valdelavilla in the hills of Soria in Spain.... and although there is absolutely NO mobile phone signal and possibly the weakest internet connection since dial-up, we had a great week with everyone we met there!

I will post some more photos here so you can view them - but if you'd like to see more then click on the image and follow it to my Flickr page to see the whole collection!

C

Madrid

2010-06-11T21:01:00.001+01:00

DSC_0213
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Danielle and I decided to do the touristy thing today and visit sights around Madrid and get a wee bus tour in too before we leave on Sunday morning.

There is sooooo much to look at - though you do get a really nasty creek in your neck always looking up!

The pic is a representation of Don Quixote and his man servant (or whoever is his accomplice in the book!).

Wedding Photo with flower girls and page

2010-06-09T18:45:00.001+01:00

SDC10529
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Another group shot with Charley-Louise, Aoife and Pearse included...
didn't they look lovely!

Group shot of Wedding

2010-06-09T18:43:00.001+01:00

SDC10530
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

A quick pic of the wedding party...

Photos are coming in....!

2010-06-09T18:16:00.000+01:00

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped us celebrate or sent their best wishes to Danielle and myself for our wedding!

This was taken moments after our service finished!

There are more photos appearing on Facebook and also on my flicker account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkdance-ni/).

We've literally just arrived at our hotel in Madrid and the weather isn't great but we will keep you updated as things develop here and will keep adding photos to FB and Flickr!

Bye!

We're Married!

2010-06-08T02:01:00.001+01:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make our day truely amazing!

We're finally goin to sleep!!!

Thank you again!

www.dkdance.co.uk tel: 07736 66 66 74

It's really close now...

2010-06-06T01:01:00.000+01:00

Well folks,

It is likely that this is my last blogg before Danielle and I walk up that isle and tie the knot!

We had a casual practice on Friday and it was easy! We've spent the last week running around like two people possessed - though always able to keep an outward impression of being totally calm!

I think the reception is more of a stress than anything else - and I'm starting to feel we would have needed an extra week to tie up all the loose ends here such as sorting out our cars, insurance, the tax man etc.

We did have a bit of a bad phone call on Thursday afternoon to tell us our month of paid work in Tarragona has fallen through - we were both devastated but it just means we need to find something else to do and hopefully it will be paid work!

We both can't wait though to get married and are excited about our adventures ahead!

Right - I'm gonna go as we have a very, very busy day tomorrow prep'ing the venue and sorting out last minute arrangements!

Tally-ho!

Colm

www.dkdance.co.uk tel: 07736 66 66 74

Almost here....

2010-05-28T10:47:00.000+01:00

Well, its just over a week until Danielle and I tie the knot and then disappear off for our first trip!

The Wedding Dress and Bridesmaids are sorted - the fellas are almost sorted..., the food is organised, we've got the drink, the sweets and the decor (well, what we can afford) all sorted and paid for!

Basic itinerary for the next few months is:
9th June - off to Madrid for 4 days then off to the northern hills for 2 weeks.
July will be spent in Tarragona doing a project there with English, dance, drama and music - and generally having fun.
August is a bit open at present - we may HelpX for a bit but we are also trying to secure some extra work in Italy.
September will see us home to change our bags and hope for a new arrival to be delivered in time for us to meet them before heading off to Malawi on the 20th for 3 months.
We'll be back for Christmas (20th December) for a short change of baggage again before South Korea!

Where to after that is open....

C

Hen Party date change!

2010-04-15T10:44:00.000+01:00

Just another quick update:

Danielle has had to change the date of her Hen Party to Friday the 21st of May!

It is hoped that this will allow for more girls to attend as April was proving to be such a busy month!

The Stag event is still set for Saturday 8th May - a day of Coasteering / Pier Jumping and then some food and a trip to the pub for the drinkers! Please get in touch if you would like to join me!

C

Countdown continues...

2010-04-13T15:14:00.000+01:00

We're counting down the weeks until the big day! Whoop Whoop!

I will be finishing my current job on the 28th of May - so for me the push is on to sort out any paperwork or issues at work. Danielle has a few more classes over the next 7 weeks and then we will both be free of the hustle and bustle of the 9 to 5 for a while!

We will be leaving Northern Ireland on the 9th of June and heading to Madrid for a couple of days before going off for two weeks in 4 star comfort all expenses paid.... and it is work! All we have to do is talk in English and help Spanish business people develop their language skills through socialising, games and chatting. Could be a bit strange but hopefully we will be able to enjoy it and relax a bit as well as making new friends and contacts.

Danielle has darkened down her hair from the blonde it was before:

She feels it looks better with her dress - which I have no idea what it looks like so I can't possibly comment or advise her!

That's all for now folks! Post again soon! (Maybe when the suits are sorted out! lol!)

Suits you sir!

2010-04-07T09:12:00.000+01:00

...is it always this difficult to get the right suit???

We've been searching everywhere for the right colour and shape... only to end up with 2 suits that may (or may not) be right!

Doh!

We bought one of the shirts and thought we might try and work around it.... but one suit is an older, more mature cut and the other is slightly darker in colour, and a more modern cut, but it doesn't work with the shirt as well.... may need to change the shirts but am worried that the look just won't be right now.

Getting the bridesmaids sorted was sooooo much easier!

OOooooh - its getting closer!

2010-03-30T16:12:00.000+01:00

Well, its all getting much closer! ~ 9 weeks left!

Both Danielle and myself have been pinched and proded and feel a bit like pin cushions - roll on the last jabs!

We went and chose our wedding rings just over a week ago - Platinum for her, Paladium for me. It seemed a bit too easy to chose them.... just hope that we are still happy with them when they arrive!

We're in to the final stretch - final meetings with Priests, Caterers, Florists, Venue and Photographers are all coming up and small niggly things like the fellas' suits still need sorted out! (Our arguement is that we can't decide on the suits until we have the colour swatch from the bridesmaid dresses!)

Most people have got back to us with their choice of meat for the main meal section... which is a relief - though there are still those who have yet to respond! So, to them - GET YOUR FINGER OUT AND LET US KNOW!!!

For those who we have been unable to invite the whole day - there will be some food served in the evening but once its gone its gone! I think its spit-roast pig and possibly some lamb too (if there is any left from the meal time).

We've still quite a bit of our TEFL still to finish - I've quite a bit more than Danielle to do - but as my evenings become freer I will be able to get stuck into it and get it all finished off! Promise!

'Til the next time!

Invites are going out!!!

2010-03-04T22:53:00.001Z

Yep - they are!

We've made nearly all of them and (fingers crossed) have the correct addresses for most folks... though there are some we'll have to deliver by hand too!

Not sure how some people feel about emailed invites - is it a taboo or in this digital online age is it more acceptable to send an email out too?

We've had to become quite strict about the daytime numbers.. which is a pain but our pennies only stretch so far! We'd love everyone to attend the church part but we would need to win the lottery (and find a bigger venue) to feed everyone :(

We also got a nifty wee map inserted to help everyone get to the Evening celebrations which are jam packed! We've to be out of the venue by 12:30am so there isn't much time really...

The directions to the venue can be found by clicking here: Larchfield Estate (not sure if javascript works on here! lol!)

Right - off to join Danielle for a bit!

Colm

Almost there!!!

2010-02-20T22:36:00.001Z

Well we've spent the last two weekends sorting out our invites... and making them!

As of 10:30pm on Saturday 20th - they are almost ready to be posted - just a tiny bit still to do and then they are outta here!!!

We are going to try and save a bit of money by sending some non-pc "electronic invites" but surely no one is going to be that bothered.

We also sorted out the bridesmaid dresses and our jags this week! Doh! Really really not looking forward to that part! The list seems endless and the cost for self-inflicted pain from needles is really not appreciated... a few hundred pounds... a few hundred! Visas and jobs next to be sorted!

Thats all for now!

First mobile blog!

2010-01-26T14:24:00.000Z

Hi all,

Dan and I are starting to get itsy about the speed that everything is approaching us at! It will be June very soon and we still have so much to do!

I will be ringing my doctor this week to arrange my injections too - so I'm not sure which is going to cause more stress... needles or workload!

Colm

Welcome!

2010-01-25T13:11:00.002Z

Well, it is the end of January 2010 - so it is 132 days until we get married! Woohoo!

It was suggested that we use a blog to document our travels during our honeymoon as we depart our native shores and spend a bit of time roaming the world. The plan so far is to leave in June 2010 and spend 3 months in Europe before heading to a small area off Lake Malawi where we will be doing some charity work for 3 months. We hope to return home around Christmas 2010 before heading to Japan in January 2011 to teach English.

After that the plans become a little sketchy as we will be working for money to subsidise the rest of our travels and partying - so we may find that we stay in certain areas longer or possibly shorter than expected, or we may even return to areas to seek more work.

We will try and post to this blog as often as reasonably possible... including over the next few months so we can get used to posting here!

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions or get in contact to arrange to meet up with us on the way.

Many thanks,

Danielle & Colm