Pióro

14 hours on the plane.
3 hours on a bus.
In Gunsan by 7:00 am Korea time, just in time to start our full day of orientation.
Luckily, we got to bed by nine, and had a solid ten hour sleep.
Also lucky we brought boots, cause there’s like two feet of snow on the ground, and it keeps [...]

A few days before Christmas, Matt’s friend and former co-worker Warren hooked us up with a sweet job in Gun-San, Korea.
We leave tonight.
It’s been pretty hectic getting ready on short notice, but the opportunity was too good to miss. For two weeks we’ll be teaching at a winter camp for kids. One of the perks [...]

Here come a whack of pics. These photos cover the bulk of our stay in Poland, including school, and our second foray into Germany. Just click the Pics button to the right and pick Collection 5. And here’s a special Christmas treat for everyone—especially those on dial-up—all the of these images are Web optimised. I [...]

Just under six months and 16 countries later (minus one if you don’t count a simple train-ride through Switzerland and add one if you count the Vatican City) plus 10 hours of flying and 10 hours of waiting around airports and wa-BAM, we’re back in the land of maple syrup and insightful news features that [...]

So the train from Wrocław to Hamburg was dope. 2nd class but we felt like royalty: foot room, free chocolate. Bye-bye bleak East, hello glittery West. Tobi, thanks for letting us crash and disrupt your studies in beautiful Hamburg. Props to the peeps in your flat. The train to Kempten to see Kate was a [...]

I forgot my mother’s birthday. I knew it was coming. In fact, two days before, while Martha and I were on the train from Wrocław to Hamburg, I remember saying, “I have to email my mom in two days.” And did I? No. Instead, I was wandering around the Reeperbahn, Hamburg’s red-light district. A friend [...]

So after a week of letting all the school drain out of our systems, we left Kraków for the south of Poland. Zakopane is essentially Whistler, Poland, but cuter. I’m sure this place is just overrun during the summer hiking season and the winter skiing season. November is neither of these. Our converstation at the [...]

Nine years ago today, I went for a little afternoon canoeing on the Ottawa River with some friends. Dave Temple was coming over to Crystal Beach, and he, Ali, Michelle and I were just going to dick around on the river for a while. Dave brought along a friend. The first time I ever met [...]

School’s over. Martha and I have gone from students to travellers again. We both passed the course and are fully qualified to unleash linguistic havoc in un-English places around the world. With the passing of the course, also came the passing of our cool apartment. Yesterday, we trudged quite a few blocks with our backpacks [...]

In my previous class, I taught a segment on English slang. After all, what words are more ubiquitous than “cool” and “wicked?” I must admit though, I nearly lost my composure when I found myself correcting the students’ pronunciation of “hork” and “zonked.” These are essential skills I’m teaching them!
Last class tomorrow. Very excited. Then [...]