Having got through a grueling day of two 40min lessons, a delightful bibimbap lunch and a two hour golf lesson, Mr Glenn (who is once again referring to himself in the third person) has spent three hours online learning about the Philippines. It was a bit of a random choice of holiday location but I’ll arrive there, via Hong Kong, on 24th December. Why? Firstly, it was the best value flight offered by the travel agent, secondly, I got a guidebook as part of a ‘3-for-2’ offer on the Lonely Planet website and finally, because I want to.So… The Philippines, it really is spelt with ‘pp’. I knew it was a lot of islands, I knew is was in Southeast Asia, I knew it’s home to some very beautiful women and I’d heard the word jeepney before. The three hours online have taught me that there are no fewer than 7107 islands… The Philippines is indeed in Southeast Asia… the women are beautiful, The Philippines was the first Asian country to win five major international beauty pagents (two for Miss Universe in 1969 & 1973, and three for Miss International in 1965, 1970 & 1975)… Jeepneys are a cool mode of transport, based on leftover parts of GI jeeps from the US Army, locals manufactured colourful half jeep/half bus vehicles which now serve locals and travelers.
Jose Rizal was born and lived in The Philippines. He was a writer and a national hero who could read and write by the time he was two-years-old. He could speak over twenty languages by the time he passed away, his last words were “Consummatum est” (it is done). I also found out that…
* The yo-yo was invented in The Philippines
* There are 500 coral species in the world; divers in The Philippino waters can find 488 of them.
* It’s the worlds 3rd largest English-speaking nation, behind only the UK and USA.
* The Palawan bearcat isn’t actually a bear or a cat.
* Cebu is the oldest Philippine city.
* Rice Terraces in Banue are widely regarded as the 8th wonder of the world.
* The worlds largest pearl was found in Philippino waters, it weighed 14lbs.
The only parts of the trip booked are the flights and to remain open to ideas, changes, couchsurfing, randomness, adventure and a true experience, I intend to keep it that way. I have worked out a very approximate plan though... Manila, travel north to Angeles, Baguio, Banue, Sagada, Vigan, Kalaban, fly to Cebu, Cebu City, Bohol Island, lay on a beach for some days, fly back to cold Korea.
From The Englishzone, I bid you a good afternoon. You know, it just occurred to me that I must have settled here. It didn’t feel worthy of a mention in my daily activities, but last night I bought a new mug for the sole purpose of ‘Mr Glenn’s school coffee cup’ and I’ve spent 30mins this afternoon re-arranging my desk and cupboards to ‘just the ay I like them’. Right, I’m off to put my coffee cup in the sink in the teachers room. Billingham out. 10-4.
There’s something very satisfying seeing powerful, egotistical yet clueless people fail. I’m referring to the England footballers, manager and the FA. You can’t pin too much blame on McClaren though, the FA should never have made the appointment. If you give the national team managers job to an in-experienced and very average club manager, then you have to expect mistakes to be made. It made me smile watching the highlights of England v Croatia. I smiled because i knew the outcome didn't matter one bit. You see, i live in a place called reality. Greedy, arrogant, warped yet worshipped individuals earning £100,000 a week has nothing to do with reality.
It occurred to me today that I’m not a teacher; I’m posing as a teacher. Teaching English to elementary school children is something you can be amazing at if you have a passion for it, but, it’s also something you can be just decent at if you have common sense and little passion. Although it can be a difficult act to keep up sometimes, generally, it’s an easy life, sometimes too easy. I don’t feel guilty for that statement either. People respond to incentives and I am no different. The incentives of a nice wage, rent-free apartment, the experience of a different country & culture, free evenings & weekends, four weeks paid vacation and my own whiteboard far outweigh the fact I don’t see teaching as something I want to do full-time.
Café Ann made me sleepy though, having had just 4 hours sleep the previous night (more Friday noraebang). I needed bed. A 5min taxi ride turned into a 40min adventure as the driver didn’t understand my directions and didn’t recognise the name of the hotel. We finally got the right place after spending 20mins in a police station as two friendly policemen rang several people asking for directions… totally bizarre and wonderful. That’s one of my favourite things about being here, I can leave Icheon on Saturday afternoon with all I need in my pockets, be away for 24hours and anything can happen. Anything.
Another Sunday and another day lost, the bright lights of Seoul city maintaining levels of liquid in-take, conversation, non-sleeping and cool-bar-finding until 6am. Last night it was Club FF for some live music and Oi Bar in Hongdae, which I think I can describe as an albino cave. Pure white as far as the eye could see and decorated with secluded seating areas, snowflakes, cushions, hookah’s, more candles than I’ve ever seen and some people wearing pyjama bottoms. Good people and good times. I also saw a Korean Amy Winehouse. Live music here is eclectic to say the least, but it dawned on me that not enough bands are mixed gender. As Club FF proved, there aren’t many things sexier than a pretty girl with a good voice who knows how to rock and uses a retro silver microphone. Sunday is a blur though. Wondering through the bus terminal before heading back to Icheon I spotted a café offering a breakfast deal I had been yearning for. Wearing last night’s clothes and with hangover hair sitting on my head, I enjoyed a bacon, egg, cheese and yellow pepper bagel with a generous mug of coffee. It was 3pm.
I was listening to a few songs of Robin Thicke earlier this afternoon. It’s a very bizarre thing to say and I’m not even sure why the thought entered my head in the first place, but, I’ve decided what song I’d like for the first dance of my wedding… if-ever, whenever and wherever that may be. ‘Angels’ by Robin Thicke is the softest and one of the nicest songs I’ve ever heard. I may have to run that thought by a potential fiancé, naturally. Actually, the song can be a little too slow, so maybe after a couple of verses and chorus I’d get the wedding DJ to launch into a sweaty salsa track so bride and me could show off some dam sexy moves and rhythm. Families and close friends would make a good audience for that. It’s not happened yet bit I’d like to think any lengthy courtship with me would involve a series of salsa lessons.
Yes, i spent 20mins of my day today explaining the difference between 'pizza' and 'Peter'.
I cancelled Christmas this weekend. I booked flights for my winter vacation that’ll see me stay in Hong Kong for two days before flying on to Manila and traveling the Philippines for three weeks. Nope, i’m not sure why I’m spelling numbers with letters. It was always going to be a lonely kind of Christmas anyway, and the whole thing is a lot of fuss about nothing. I’m sat here in the classroom and racking my brains a little bit. I can’t remember last Christmas Eve at all. I know it was the Olly Dabblers first performance at the Squirrels, but I don’t think I was there. Ahh well. When morning breaks on the 25th December this year, I’ll be in Manila. That’s as much as I know. A three week vacation, just Mr Glenn and the couchsurfing website.
