Photocrafty

Over the last couple of weeks I have had to make the decision to delay my move to South Korea. It's a bit unfortunate as I'm incredibly impatient when it comes to things like this. If I make a decision to do something I like to do it as soon as possible. However, postponing Korea is the sensible decision in the long run. It means I can spend a good amount of time in Australia for my friend's wedding without the pressures of having to return for work commitments and, of course, I can save up a good amount of money. My plan now is to try and find a job in a Korean Hagwon starting around April 2015 and I have been advised by a few recruiters to start looking for these jobs in January.

So while Korea is on the back-burner for a few months it does mean I can start nailing down my plans for Australia. Having done some research online it appears it will work out cheaper to buy my flights as early as possible so I would like to get these bought in the next couple of weeks. I have been contemplating stopping off for a few nights somewhere to break up the 24 hour flight to Oz. I considered the following options - New York, Los Angeles, Moscow, Amman, Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpa.

NY, LA, Amman and Dubai were immediately ruled out due to the flight prices almost doubling with a stop in either of those locations. Beijing was ruled out for visa reasons and Moscow, despite being a interesting and cheap option, was also ruled out due to their uneasy political situation at the moment. This leaves Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpa and I think I am leaning towards Kuala Lumpa - it just seems more appealing for a brief stop over location. The stop over will add a few extra hundred pounds to my flight but it'll be worth it to see one of the most developing cities in the world. Plus, the average cost of a hostel bed in Kuala Lumpa appears to be under a fiver! Not bad!

Meanwhile I bought myself the book "Photocrafty" by Sue Venables - "75 creative camera projects for you and your digital SLR". It seems a pretty good book to improve my photography skills and looks like it might guide me into thinking a little outside the box when I'm capturing my images. One of the first "projects" is all about the rule of thirds. This is a simple photography technique to make most pictures just slightly more interesting. Basically, just place the object of the image slightly off centre. I had a go...

There's only a subtle difference, but I think the above image is better composed than the one below.

An example of the rule of thirds in Barcelona.

And another on the Rineck farm.

South Korean Schools and The Soil Association

Two blog posts in two consecutive days can only mean I have two consecutive days off work. A rare occurrence that I like to make the most of. Catching up with family and friends has been what has made up the majority of my "mid-week weekend" but I've also spent a lot of time researching different teaching opportunities in South Korea.

It seems there are two types of schools to choose from when wanting to teach English in South Korea. The public school and the Hagwon.

We can start with the public school. This is very similar to what we have in England. Daytime classes, 30 kids in one class, most of the time the teacher will have an assistant Korean teacher and they are run by the South Korean government.

These are also, (according to my research) the schools where the jobs are the most secure. They pay around 1.8million Korean Won per month (£1,100), reimburse the flight tickets (to Korea, however if you see out your contract they would pay for your out flight too), on completion of your contract they give you an extra months pay and they provide fully-furnished, private accommodation.

The second option is the Hagwons. These are private schools that teach after the normal school hours so classes seem to run from around 4 or 5pm to 10pm. The advantages are they typically pay slightly higher compared to public schools and the classes are a lot smaller (under 10 per class). Although most do provide accommodation they don't seem to be to the same standard as the public school's housing. They also appear to give less other benefits and their holiday allowance is a lot less.

As Hagwons are private schools they are therefore run as businesses and the government have very little control over them. They are, apparently, just as much a business on the high street as a local supermarket, the hairdressers or a take-away shop. While I'm sure most Hagwons are run very well, I feel like it would be more of a risk going to a Hagwon than a government-run public school.

I am therefore leaning towards applying for public schools ahead of Hagwons but I am certainly not ruling Hagwons out just yet. I am very much keeping an open mind on where in Seoul I am based, what level of students I teach, the age of the students and the type of school I work in. I have no experience of any of those things so I am not in a position to drastically rule one type out ahead of the others. My gut feeling is that teaching 7-8 year olds, at elementary level in a public school is the best option. But if I were to teach teenagers, at intermediate level in a Hagwon, I'm sure that would be an equally rewarding experience.

On a different subject entirely, I have started a monthly donation to the Soil Association charity. This charity promotes organic farming, fair trade, healthy food, biodiversity and animal welfare in the U.K. They also fight against genetically modified farming and other harmful farming methods.

With their introduction pack that they sent to me a few weeks ago came a pack of seeds. I can't remember the name of the bush that the seeds produce but apparently they help sustain our bee population here in the U.K. I dug out a small patch of grass from our garden and laid the seeds on the bare soil, not really expecting too much from them. The other day I was in the garden and checked on how the seeds were going and to my elation, and surprise, a bunch of green sprouts were arising from the ground. "Mother of God" was my initial reaction.

The green sprouts kind of looks like weeds but I'm going to ignore that thought as my inexperience on planting bushes means I am not in a position to judge. I'm sure the sprouts look just like what they're supposed to. I hope.

The First Tentative Steps To Seoul

This morning at approximately 9:00 U.K. time (17:00 South Korea time) I was interviewed for the first time over Skype. Choosing to use my home internet's connection is never the most wonderful experience as it is slower than Louis Van Gaal's start as Manchester United manager and the constant connection drops make it more unpredictable than Mario Balotelli.

I signed into Skype at around 8:50, turning up just a tad early for my appointment. I waited for around 9minutes and then realised my connection had inevitably dropped. Fortunately, it came back rather swiftly and I was then left with a decision as the clock swung to 9:00. Do I make the call or does he? The drama is bigger than a Jim White-fueled, last minute, transfer Deadline Day saga!

Also very much like a Jim White-fueled, last minute, transfer Deadline Day saga the drama produced at 9am this morning was superficial and insignificant. The interview, I believe, went fine. I was asked about what my preferences were in terms of the type of school I was working in, the type of students I am to teach and how central into Seoul do I want the school to be? He also asked me, why I wanted to come to S Korea and he gave me further information on the documents I need.

As of today, I have the following document checklist:

• Criminal Background Check (Apostilled) - currently in the process of obtaining.
• My degree certificate needs to be Apostilled - I will have to contact Brunel University to ask them about this.
• Get a reference from my current work place - to do when I am next in work.

These shouldn't be too difficult to get and I have a few months to sort it out anyway - although I will try and do it as soon as possible.

In other news Chelsea are bossing the Premier League. It's only been three games into the new season but there's a special feeling this year. We have stability, a successful transfer window behind us and such a good quality squad with depth in every position. There's a motivation to win the title after a gap of four years and we feel this year could be ours. One game at a time, keep our feet on the floor and battle through every second of this season, and who knows!? Maybe we can start dreaming again.

A special shout out to my main man, I know you read this buddy! Diego Costa. Four goals in three league games. The last man to do that for Chelsea was a certain Adrian Mutu. Adrian Mutu was a cocaine user. Costa looks like he sells it.