What I'm doing next
26th March 2007
I'm
leaving New Zealand on the 3rd of April and heading back to the
Philippines for one month. I can't wait. I imagine myself
stepping off the plane and taking in a big deep gulp of Filipino air.
But then I remember I am landing in Manila... It pays not
to take a deep gulp of air in Manila.
I'm meeting up with some good friends in Manila for tea then
it's straight back to the airport to catch an early morning flight to
Iloilo. Then it is onto a Jeepney and off to Pulao Elementary School
for their graduation. Pulao was the school I taught at last time.
It will be great to see some of the pupils that I taught
graduate. If it is anything like the last one, it should be fantastic.
I'll probable spend about one-and-a-half weeks in the area.
I have a lot of people I want to catch up. Especially the
nice folks in Dumangas Country Village, and Risa and her family in particular. I thought I might teach anybody who is interested to know how to make the paper beads that are sold on www.GrassRootsUganda.com. It might even provide them with an alternative income source.
I am also very interested to see what effect the oil slick has had on the area.
After that it is back to Manila to catch up with Raymund
and co. Raymund runs CERV, the NGO I volunteered through originally.
I have been in contact with Raymund quite a lot while I've been
away. After my stay in Korea (more on this in a second) I will be
returning to the Philippines for an extended stay. Maybe a year.
Maybe more. During that time I will be getting stuck into
some long term projects and help CERV out wherever I can.
CERV no longer operates in Dumangas, which still breaks my heart. See here
for the full story. So while I am in the Philippines I will also be
checking out their new volunteer setup in a place called Romblon.
I know practically zero about Romblon but am keen to learn what
they are doing there.
After my stay in the Philippines, I am heading to South Korea to take up a one year long paid (!) teaching position*.
I will be in a place called Inch'on, which is about a fifty
minute train journey from Seoul. Once again, I know next to
nothing about Inch'on!
I will be teaching English at one of the many language
academys over there. I am unsure about what the age range will
be, though I have requested that they be at least eleven years old as I
am not good at teaching very young children.
I am a little apprehensive about heading to South Korea.
Will I fit into the foreign teacher mold? Will I click with the
other foreign teachers? Will I be able to work a nine-to-five job?
I am mostly excited though. A new country to explore.
It also opens up a lot of Asian countries that I have never seen,
most notably China and Japan. I am also keen to try and get into
North Korea, which is very hard to do. And when you are there you
have to praise everything about North Korea to your guide (it is
impossible to do without a guide) or else the police start asking some
very serious questions... North Korea will be a worthy addition
to my passport stamp collection.
After South Korea, it is back to the Philippines as I
mentioned above. The money saved in South Korea will fund my stay
in the Philippines.
* See Nick. I told you I could organise it in time.
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Do you like the work that I am doing?
Wanna help in a real and tangible way?
Then visit GrassRootsUganda.com
and purchase some crafts made by Ugandan ladies. 100% of the profits
are returned to the ladies
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me.
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(c)
2005, 2006 and 2007 Malcolm Trevena.
All the stuff on this site is written by me, Malcolm Trevena. Feel free to
link to this page. Heck, you can even copy stuff from here if you
want. Just make sure you sight me as a reference.
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