Fun in the sun

Courtney and I went snorkeling yesterday. We took a half-day trip out to Khai Nai and Khai Nok, two tiny desert islands off the east coast of Phuket. We snorkeled at three sites and had a great time. The fish were vibrant and inquisitive. There was a mention of an opportunity to see some sharks but sadly that never happened.
I couldn't help but compare the diving to my experience on the Great Barrier Reef in 2007. The Barrier Reef trip involved a 2 hour boat ride out into the ocean before we reached our dive sites so the water was crystal clear and the diversity was amazing. I'm not sure how much the reefs in Thailand have changed as a result of the tsunami or if their relative disrepair is due to tourist traffic.
Still it was a great experience. Even if we didn't go snorkeling, just going out to the islands and sitting on creamy white beaches with the surf lapping at your toes, eating watermelon, would have been enough for me.

The Vegetarian Festival

ECC made an offering to the spirits during this morning's Vegetarian Festival parade.. We were all invited to take part in the offering. It didn't require anything of us, just gave us a place to stand and watch the parade. It was an amazing parade, with some quite awesome acts of self-mortification going on.

The Next Big Thing

So I've finished teaching at OES Kids, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It was a fantastic experience, my first 'real' job out of university and has probably marked the beginning of my ESL teaching career. Now I'm at a bit on an in-between stage as I prepare for what's next for me. Which, if everything goes okay, will be a teaching job in Thailand.
I finished work on Tuesday, had an unexpectedly busy day Wednesday as I sorted out my accounts and stuff for my trip to China. Today has been spent packing as Courtney has been told that she has to move out of her apartment by the end of the week. That leaves us with nowhere to stay once we come back from China. We have a few friends we (hopefully) will be able to bunk with but it was an unexpected and stress inducing piece of news. I'm positive that things will turn out okay.

Take my advice, I'm not using it...

So much for focusing on my time in Korea.
Been looking at the CELTA course that ECC does in Thailand. It's a tad annoying that after three years and ten grand it looks like I'm going to have to fork out another thousand pounds for another qualification. Normally the idea of paying for some sort of course wouldn't be much of an issue for me, except that I'm getting the qualification to do a job I'm already doing.
Except there are no mangoes growing in Korea...

Summer Program

Its the start of the Summer Term at OES Kids. It means an earlier start, earlier finish, and, most importantly of all, a proper lunch.
This also means that I'm entering the final chapter of my time here in South Korea, just 15 teaching days left. I've had an amazing time here in the Land of the Morning Calm, but I need to remember that I'm not actually leaving for about a month yet, so I still have time to enjoy Korea and I should try and limit how 'checked out' I become.
Which will be difficult as the next destination will be Thailand...