Well, Katherine and I have been mulling around for the past month or so in decision-making mode. Really, the decision has been made for some time now, but we've basically been coming to terms with it. No matter which direction we choose, there will be a loss of some sort, so it's been very difficult in letting go what could or might be. So we've been drowning ourselves in busy-ness to avoid having to cope with it. So to ease the pain of another year, we've decided to take a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam for Christmas with Erin Grosjean and Jeffrey Fridfinnson. Our original plan was Thailand, however, it is more expensive and more touristy, so we'll put that off to some other time. Perhaps next year at the same time. It will be a very short trip, hopefully not too rushed, just short. Two and a half days in Siem Riep and Phnom Penh (Cambodia), one day taking a boat up the Mekong River into Vietnam, and one day in Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon (Vietnam). Then, we fly back to work the next day. Exciting. Siem Riep in Cambodia is best known for the famous temple ruins Angkor Wat. Phnom Penh is a much more somber destination, with the Killing Fields, and the Genocide Museum. However, this is something that is meant for balance. Nothing makes the things that are beautiful and good moreso than the contrast and reality of the other extreme.

Anyhow, more on that as the situation develops. Either way, expect us back in Canada for a visit in February, now only a few months away...

of crows flocking around the soccer field and it reminded me of an occasion when I still lived on Quebec St. Our neighbor was a strange lady who was in her mid-80s and was extremely racist and confrontational against her Latino neighbours. There was one occasion that she told me this delusional tale of when she was walking home from someplace and she was attacked by crows. Now, I will say that when one gazes even shallowly into the eyes of a crazy person, it is not always immediately apparent that that certain spark of sanity is missing in the twinkle of their eyes. Then again, she wasn't totally nuts, just a little delusional, as she the way she described it was quite rational, in a way. She said that one time when she was walking home she noticed she was being followed by a crow, when she turned around to shoo the crow away, it started to sweep at her. She decided to run away, and when she looked back, she saw that it had turned into many crows. Soon the crows were started to swoop at her a lot, and eventually they knocked her down and started to try and pull her away. She told me that the crows were starting to lift her off the ground when finally she escaped and made it back to her house. So she doesn't like crows anymore and I saw her several times chasing them out of her yard with a rake, in a very slow-motionesque way. This story I thought to be very strange.*

The group of crows brought back this very vivid account that she gave me, and just before I turned my back to walk up the stairs, I took a glance back. Even though a group of birds keeping an eye on a passing person is not unheard of, I found it more than a little freaky to see 30 or so crows staring at me. Really, I should use this as sort of inspirational and queer moment to write some sort of Edgar Allen Poe/Alfred Hitchcock type short film or story, but the truly scary thing is that I will probably just go play Lord of the Rings Online some more. I just bought a house, and I can go slaughter crows all day if I like. Now THAT's terrifying.

*This wasn't the only crazy story I heard from her, but the other one was verified, which makes me sort of question the complete craziness of the first. I've told this to a few people, but on one occasion, the poor old gal fell down in her bathroom, and could not get up. Now before anybody cracks any cheesy jokes about that stupid commercial from the 90s (80s?), I will add that she was stuck there for 3 days before anybody found her. Her bathroom window was directly across the sidewalk from mine, perhaps only 6-7 feet away. She told me how she screamed for help whenever she saw the light turn on, but neither Kat nor I could testify to that, because we never heard it. At this point we had two cats that liked to prowl the neighborhood, and after day 2 or 3, she told me she was starting to hallucinate and the dustbunnies that were on her bathroom floor were meowing at her. The only thing that I myself noticed suspicious in that whole time period was that I could hear her phone beeping as though it was off the hook, and though I felt it was kind of strange to hear that kind of volume of beeping so late at night with the lights on, and I did for a moment consider going and knocking on the door, in the end I dismissed it. For that I feel guilty, as the experience would have been quite a harrowing one. However, after several weeks in the hospital she recovered and finally moved into a special care home after one more similar occurrence (this time however, somebody checked on her daily).

well, we're within a few weeks time of having to decide whether or not we sign on for a second term or head home. we have been flip-flopping almost as much as Harper in the last few weeks, sure we'll stay, then sure we'll leave. personally, if i can't continue traveling due to budget constraints from the depreciating Korean Won, than why should i stay? monetarily, i won't be able to achieve any of my goals for lessening our debtload for the same reason. so why should i stay? should i stay?

It is very hard to articulate into words the horror and dismay I felt when I saw the use of corporal punishment for the first time. Instantly I sided with the students, my Canadian resentment for authority getting the better of me. After time, I learned to let it go, that most of the time it really wasn't a big deal. Mostly the students accept it and don't live in constant fear of it. I initially felt it to be a strictly a cultural difference, and though my moral conscience screamed that it was wrong, I decided I'd push that metaphorical line in the sand back a few feet. I stopped losing sleep over it, and no longer felt a welling up of anger and indignation. Then one day, my co-teacher, a man of Christian philosophy dragged a student into our office in a great rage, he then proceeded to, at full strength, slap the student's face with an open palm multiple times. In an instant, all the things that I had previously thought I was okay with disappeared, and I was left with a singular emotion of pure, naked indignation. After the ninth time that slapping sound rattled the cage of my emotions, it became apparent to me that he would not stop. My anger finally burst forth, and I shouted several times, "Stop it!" at the top of my lungs until the teacher stopped striking the student. He then turned his temper from the student to me, further cementing my belief that this punishment only marginally was about the disciplining of an unruly student, and more about the cathartic satisfaction of making that student pay dearly for his mistakes, as those mistakes were what ignited this flash fire to begin with. "Don't do that, this is not your business, this is personal." I said, "Obviously, it is very personal." As I stormed out of the office, my rage burning and seething like a coal oven still could not help but remember the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedoms. I looked it up, and the exact clause is Article 5, stating: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Past the cultural differences, I know that I do not stand alone on this issue. There are many Korean teachers, some of those who even support the use of a lesser form of corporal punishment that condemn these extremes; this cruel and unusual form of degrading punishment. To those who consider themselves of Christian faith, like that of my angry co-teacher, I would ask this one question: How many times in the bible did Jesus strike another human being out of anger or demand for control? Or even out of love, like those proponents of corporal punishment claim the act is? Even aside from the broader implications of the lessons students will learn from their teachers that use violence as the solution to a problem of discipline, the fact is that even in Korea, there is a line drawn in the sand that most teachers will not cross. The problem is that there is no protection for the students from those that do.

About a week has passed since I intervened in this atrocious act, and it has caused me great grief at my school. Miraculously, most of the teachers are taking my side, and despite a few awkward moments of the older teachers debating about what to do about it, most people have shown their support to me. However, my relationship with my co-teacher, who I sit beside and have the most contact with, is irreparably damaged. However a working relationship is something that we must maintain, and that is a horrible awkward structure that seems to want to tip at any time. Principles are expensive, a wise person once said to me, in more ways than one.