If you are an English teacher right now, or were last year, or were in 1984, there's a survey I'd like you to do...
1. click on this link
http://www.ballotbin.com/voterReg.php?b=15507
2. put your e-mail address in the two boxes.
This step is necessary so that we know we're getting unique survey-takers, not the same ones again and again.
3. After you've entered your e-mail address, the survey website will send you an e-mail with a link, and then it will forget your e-mail address forever. Another person will get an e-mail saying "hey! another person did the survey!" and that will be it: your address will never be connected to your answers, and will not appear in any kind of database. Promise.
4. Once you get that link sent to your address, click on it, and fill out the survey.
It asks you questions about your experience teaching in Korea - answer the questions about your entire time teaching in Korea.
5. Tell your friends about the survey.
This survey is being conducted by ATEK (http://atek.or.kr/survey), but you don't have to be a member of ATEK to participate. You don't have to be a teacher right now to participate, you don't even need to be in Korea to participate: all you need is once, at some time in your life, to have been a teacher in Korea. We're hoping to get a large enough sample size that the statistics will carry some real weight as representative of the "average" teacher's experience in Korea.
If you had a bad experience, or a great experience in Korea, we'd like you to participate, so that the whole thing's balanced: so don't just do the survey if you've got a gripe; do it if you had a great time, too.
As you know, ATEK, the Association for Teachers of English in Korea, is an organization whose mission is to improve life for English teachers in Korea; ATEK is conducting this survey to better understand the situation of English teachers in Korea, so that we know what the major issues are that affect teachers, and how to better serve English teachers in Korea.
one expat's life in Korea
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Korean Blog List: Choosing Your New Blog's Name...
From time to time I check up on the Korean Blog List to scan the K-blogs out there and see if there are any that I'd like to check up on more regularly. This, along with checking the sidebar links of your favorite K-blogs, is one of the two best ways to see what's new in the K-blogosphere.
Even "the big guys" like The Brian Formerly in Jeollanamdo got a lot of their most interesting stories from lesser-known blogs who were closer to the actual issue at hand, and a blogger who doesn't update their sidebars and keep up with what's new, runs the risk of stagnating. If the newest blog you have in your sidebar links is Brian in Jeollanamdo, Metropolitician, (not to take away from those two bloggers) or me, you might want to revisit your link list, and see what's new.
I wrote at length on "How to get your K-blog Noticed" a while ago, and when people ask me for advice or help, I usually refer them back to that post. Despite what The Stallion would have you believe, it isn't an exclusive club.
Looking through the new additions to the Korean Blog List, though, it struck me again how important it can be to have a catchy blog name - which names jumped out at me while scanning that long list? If you want to have a blog people remember, three things to keep in mind when choosing your name are:
1. times and places can limit you. "Joe's Year in Korea" "Anna in Daegu" - what if Joe decides to stay on for another year? What if Anna moves to Busan? Brian in Jeollanamdo is in Pittsburgh now... but he'll have that name, at least in K-blog circles, every time we mention him. "Seoul2008" probably feels pretty awkward blogging about Daegu 2010, doesn't she?
2. It's hard to switch names after you've already chosen one, so choosing an interesting one from the get-go will help if you hope to become a "noted K-blogger" (whatever that's worth).
3. Sorry if you have one, but there are so many K-blogs that pun on Seoul/Soul and that use "Kimchi" in the name already, that nobody will be able to keep your blog apart from the others anymore. K-blog readers I talk to still confuse "Eat Your Kimchi" with "Kimchi IceCream" - two very good, very different blogs both of whom have been writing for more than two years each. There are 12 blogs on the Korean Blog List with Kimchi in the name. There are 15 blogs that pun on soul/Seoul, including two "seoul searcher"s... I don't think any of them need to change their names, and I like some of those blogs a lot... but if you're starting a NEW blog, just recognize that the Seoul/Soul/Kimchi niche is already saturated, and let me recommend you veer in another direction that won't get confused with a dozen other similarly-named blogs. Or offer the owner of one of those blogs a fat check to take over their name.
Best K-blog name I saw on the new additions to the Korean Blog List this time: Blog-gogi. Memorable, clearly Korea-related, clearly a blog.
To everybody who already has Kimchi or Seoul in your blog name: I'm not criticizing you, your blog, or your blog name. Don't sweat it. In fact, this post isn't directed toward you at all: it's directed at somebody who's thinking of a name for their new K-blog.
As apology, here are links to every Kimchi Blog: I like your blogs! Keep it up!
ZenKimchi
Kimchi Mamas
Tiffany in Kimchiland
Kimchi and Cornbread
Kimchi Ice-Cream
Kiss My Kimchi
The Kimchi Chronicles
Kimchi with Eish
Kimchi Cheeseburger
Korea, Kimchi, & K-pop
Cats and Kimchi
Kimchi World
and links to every Soul/Seoul Blog: I like some of these - in fact, some bloggers from both of these lists are among my favorite blogs, bloggers, and people...but 15 is a lot, yah?
Joe Seoul Man
Seoul Man in Tokyo
The Seoul Patch
Seoul Sucking Jerk
formerly Seoul Purpose
Seoul Searching
Seoul Food
EPs Heart in Seoul
We've Got Seoul
Seoul Sounds
JSE Seoul Searching
Deep in my Seoul
The Seoul Searcher
A Seoulful Life
A Soul-less Man
Some of the uniquer K-blog names out there...
Paul Ajosshi
ZenKimchi (nobody mixes it up with anybody else - inventing a new word helps)
The Chosun Bimbo
Gusts of Popular Feeling
Good for Man's Health
Hermit Hideaways
Even "the big guys" like The Brian Formerly in Jeollanamdo got a lot of their most interesting stories from lesser-known blogs who were closer to the actual issue at hand, and a blogger who doesn't update their sidebars and keep up with what's new, runs the risk of stagnating. If the newest blog you have in your sidebar links is Brian in Jeollanamdo, Metropolitician, (not to take away from those two bloggers) or me, you might want to revisit your link list, and see what's new.
I wrote at length on "How to get your K-blog Noticed" a while ago, and when people ask me for advice or help, I usually refer them back to that post. Despite what The Stallion would have you believe, it isn't an exclusive club.
Looking through the new additions to the Korean Blog List, though, it struck me again how important it can be to have a catchy blog name - which names jumped out at me while scanning that long list? If you want to have a blog people remember, three things to keep in mind when choosing your name are:
1. times and places can limit you. "Joe's Year in Korea" "Anna in Daegu" - what if Joe decides to stay on for another year? What if Anna moves to Busan? Brian in Jeollanamdo is in Pittsburgh now... but he'll have that name, at least in K-blog circles, every time we mention him. "Seoul2008" probably feels pretty awkward blogging about Daegu 2010, doesn't she?
2. It's hard to switch names after you've already chosen one, so choosing an interesting one from the get-go will help if you hope to become a "noted K-blogger" (whatever that's worth).
3. Sorry if you have one, but there are so many K-blogs that pun on Seoul/Soul and that use "Kimchi" in the name already, that nobody will be able to keep your blog apart from the others anymore. K-blog readers I talk to still confuse "Eat Your Kimchi" with "Kimchi IceCream" - two very good, very different blogs both of whom have been writing for more than two years each. There are 12 blogs on the Korean Blog List with Kimchi in the name. There are 15 blogs that pun on soul/Seoul, including two "seoul searcher"s... I don't think any of them need to change their names, and I like some of those blogs a lot... but if you're starting a NEW blog, just recognize that the Seoul/Soul/Kimchi niche is already saturated, and let me recommend you veer in another direction that won't get confused with a dozen other similarly-named blogs. Or offer the owner of one of those blogs a fat check to take over their name.
Best K-blog name I saw on the new additions to the Korean Blog List this time: Blog-gogi. Memorable, clearly Korea-related, clearly a blog.
To everybody who already has Kimchi or Seoul in your blog name: I'm not criticizing you, your blog, or your blog name. Don't sweat it. In fact, this post isn't directed toward you at all: it's directed at somebody who's thinking of a name for their new K-blog.
As apology, here are links to every Kimchi Blog: I like your blogs! Keep it up!
ZenKimchi
Kimchi Mamas
Tiffany in Kimchiland
Kimchi and Cornbread
Kimchi Ice-Cream
Kiss My Kimchi
The Kimchi Chronicles
Kimchi with Eish
Kimchi Cheeseburger
Korea, Kimchi, & K-pop
Cats and Kimchi
Kimchi World
and links to every Soul/Seoul Blog: I like some of these - in fact, some bloggers from both of these lists are among my favorite blogs, bloggers, and people...but 15 is a lot, yah?
Joe Seoul Man
Seoul Man in Tokyo
The Seoul Patch
Seoul Sucking Jerk
formerly Seoul Purpose
Seoul Searching
Seoul Food
EPs Heart in Seoul
We've Got Seoul
Seoul Sounds
JSE Seoul Searching
Deep in my Seoul
The Seoul Searcher
A Seoulful Life
A Soul-less Man
Some of the uniquer K-blog names out there...
Paul Ajosshi
ZenKimchi (nobody mixes it up with anybody else - inventing a new word helps)
The Chosun Bimbo
Gusts of Popular Feeling
Good for Man's Health
Hermit Hideaways
Back from the Honeymoon!
Here's the score:
Spain World Cup: sigh. I watched the game on tape, and they DID deserve to win, but sigh. My dad's Dutch.
W Hotel Maldives: amazing! Amazing! Amazing!
Male: capital city of maldives. Probably warrants a post of its own.
Coral: mmm.
Photos and videos: about eight or ten gigabytes worth (fortunately much of that is HDMI video) - will go through it, will post some of it, but have a lot to process.
Family in Korea: so so sweet! My nieces and nephews are pretty awesome, and my brothers and sisters are, too.
The Blog: sorry about the light posting... fortunately I only plan to get married once in my life, and henceforward, I'll be back to my usual self.
Seriously though, that light posting: if you're pretty choked about it, let me know, and I'll send you a refund check.
Pictures: because the internet can be a very public place, don't expect every single picture, either of the wedding or the week with the family, or the honeymoon (especially not the honeymoon) up here... but I'll try to find some representative ones. Every picture of a loved one's face (other than my own) that goes up here will be posted only once permission has been obtained, so bear with me, and forgive the smaller number. Jagiseyo knows when I'm taking pictures for my blog, because I'm not including her in any of the pictures, and we've had a few conversations to the effect of "are you blogging right now?" which is a nice way of saying "you're not really present in this moment with me, are you?" and on the honeymoon of all places, I've been mindful of that.
However, I don't begrudge any of my blog-friends posting one or two of the (not unflattering) pictures they took of the wedding, and I hope Joy, from Foreign/er Joy doen't mind me re-posting a few of those photos.
I also certainly hope my friends who took pictures at the wedding send me copies. Hint, hint, hint.
A few pictures from Joy's page:
Some of my own pictures, and maybe a few from the studio, coming as soon as I can catch up with the eighty e-mails in my "ATEK Communications" inbox...
of course visa requirements come up when I'm on vacation. Of course.
Spain World Cup: sigh. I watched the game on tape, and they DID deserve to win, but sigh. My dad's Dutch.
W Hotel Maldives: amazing! Amazing! Amazing!
Male: capital city of maldives. Probably warrants a post of its own.
Coral: mmm.
Photos and videos: about eight or ten gigabytes worth (fortunately much of that is HDMI video) - will go through it, will post some of it, but have a lot to process.
Family in Korea: so so sweet! My nieces and nephews are pretty awesome, and my brothers and sisters are, too.
The Blog: sorry about the light posting... fortunately I only plan to get married once in my life, and henceforward, I'll be back to my usual self.
Seriously though, that light posting: if you're pretty choked about it, let me know, and I'll send you a refund check.
Pictures: because the internet can be a very public place, don't expect every single picture, either of the wedding or the week with the family, or the honeymoon (especially not the honeymoon) up here... but I'll try to find some representative ones. Every picture of a loved one's face (other than my own) that goes up here will be posted only once permission has been obtained, so bear with me, and forgive the smaller number. Jagiseyo knows when I'm taking pictures for my blog, because I'm not including her in any of the pictures, and we've had a few conversations to the effect of "are you blogging right now?" which is a nice way of saying "you're not really present in this moment with me, are you?" and on the honeymoon of all places, I've been mindful of that.
However, I don't begrudge any of my blog-friends posting one or two of the (not unflattering) pictures they took of the wedding, and I hope Joy, from Foreign/er Joy doen't mind me re-posting a few of those photos.
I also certainly hope my friends who took pictures at the wedding send me copies. Hint, hint, hint.
A few pictures from Joy's page:
Some of my own pictures, and maybe a few from the studio, coming as soon as I can catch up with the eighty e-mails in my "ATEK Communications" inbox...
of course visa requirements come up when I'm on vacation. Of course.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Still alive, but...
Re-watched Thunderball, the old James Bond movie.
Ate breakfast at a W Hotel.
Narrowly avoided sunstroke.
Saw 40 different kinds of fish.
Life is good in Roboseyoland, but once things settle down a bit more, I'll be back to blogging as usual.
So far, the leader in the "Girlfriendoseyo needs a new nickname" sweepstakes is Selorm (seconded by Kushibo) with "Chagiseyo" - but I'll have to check with the official "updated romanization" whether I'll be using "Jagiseyo" or "Chagiseyo" or something else suggested by someone else in the comments, that's even better.
And now... it's Chagiseyo's birthday, and I have to get some stuff ready.
Stay joyful, dear readers.
Here's my mood right now.
Those who came to the wedding know why. Chagiseyo's learning the words now. The three times she's funniest are when she's singing, and when she's half-drunk.
Wedding and honeymoon photos later, once the huge mass of them (two different cameras) get processed.
Until then... Joy wrote up a nice little post about my wedding, which you can read. Thanks, Joy. I'd also like to take this moment to publicly thank Chris in South Korea for the photos he privately sent me of the wedding. Chagiseyo loved them, and sends along her thanks, too.
Ate breakfast at a W Hotel.
Narrowly avoided sunstroke.
Saw 40 different kinds of fish.
Life is good in Roboseyoland, but once things settle down a bit more, I'll be back to blogging as usual.
So far, the leader in the "Girlfriendoseyo needs a new nickname" sweepstakes is Selorm (seconded by Kushibo) with "Chagiseyo" - but I'll have to check with the official "updated romanization" whether I'll be using "Jagiseyo" or "Chagiseyo" or something else suggested by someone else in the comments, that's even better.
And now... it's Chagiseyo's birthday, and I have to get some stuff ready.
Stay joyful, dear readers.
Here's my mood right now.
Those who came to the wedding know why. Chagiseyo's learning the words now. The three times she's funniest are when she's singing, and when she's half-drunk.
Wedding and honeymoon photos later, once the huge mass of them (two different cameras) get processed.
Until then... Joy wrote up a nice little post about my wedding, which you can read. Thanks, Joy. I'd also like to take this moment to publicly thank Chris in South Korea for the photos he privately sent me of the wedding. Chagiseyo loved them, and sends along her thanks, too.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Got married. More later.
A few things about the wedding:
1. my wife is just awesome.
I'm trying to think of a new nickname for her, now that she's no longer girlfriendoseyo... I'd gotten used to girlfriendoseyo, and liked it (fianceeoseyo and betrothedoseyo didn't really work), but with the new upgrade to "Wife" status, I think it deserves a new nomenclature, and Girlfriendoseyo 2.0 isn't going to cut it.
2. My family's in town. It's AWESOME having my family in town. To a person, my brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, parents and steps are top-notch human beings, and I love having them in my life, and I really love combining the things I love about my family with the things I love about my life in Korea:
seeing my new wife laughing with my sister.
seeing my new wife playing with my nieces and nephews.
seeing my nieces and nephews take her hand as they walk along the chonggyecheon, as naturally and unconsciously as if they'd known her and hung out with her since the day they were born
the funny variety of reactions as different kids find different things they like and dislike in the dishes of food put in front of them by waiters in Korean restaurants
everybody turning into butter when my nieces say "kamsahamnida" to them
walking through the winding back alleys
my nephew sidling up to me and asking me how to say "You look pretty" in Korean, so that he can tell the lady in hanbok what he thinks (an my niece calling all the ladies in hanbok at the traditional show "princesses")
3. If you have the chance, get out to the Jung-dong theater and see the show "Miso". It's described as an opera, but that's a huge misnomer: when people say "Opera" it stirs up associations of pretension, dry snootiness, and long, boring performances that make grey-haired people nod their heads they way they do when they swirl their wine glasses. In fact, this show was captivating, for everyone from my dad, approaching retirement age, right on down to my two and three-year-old nieces, who always had something colorful to look at. The show's almost entirely nonverbal, the costumes are fantastic, they incorporate really skilled demonstrations of most of Korea's traditional performance arts, all into a colorful, funny, charming adaptation of a Korean folk tale. So yeah, drop the thirty to fifty thousand won to see the show: it's worth it. Every member of my family had a great time. This is the same theater where I saw this show, which was amazing... but Miso is even better. By about a mile.
Now I'm showing my family around Seoul for a week, before my folks head home (they're going home in stages: my brother yesterday, my sister + 3 kids and brother-in-law today, my other sister, niece, and parents on Friday), and then on Saturday Wifeoseyo and I will head out on a honeymoon. It's been great.
4. I've been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill my friends have put forward. Honestly, my wedding was on July 4th, so I expected a number of my American friends to go, "Geez; bad choice of date... It'd've been nice to go, but I have an Independence Day party to attend"... but instead, almost every person I invited, showed! It was humbling and amazing. The wedding venue actually had to set up extra tables for the dinner, because so many people came out. Plus, I was worried that when they do the traditional photo of the couple with all their friends standing behind them, that Brideoseyo would have WAAY more people on her side, than I had on mine... but it turned out that we were pretty much balanced. Sweet!
"You really do like me!"
5. Because the wedding was on the Han River, on July 4th, we got to look across the river and see a fireworks show during the after-party, in the air over Yongsan army base, due to the independence day festivities there. Did YOU have a spectacular fireworks show on YOUR wedding night?... I mean, an ACTUAL fireworks show?
Yah, I didn't think so.
Pictures... when I have the time.
Continue to expect light posting until I get back from the honeymoon.
And thanks for coming! (if you came)
and thanks for not coming! (if you didn't come.. because we were overflowing as it was...though I still wish I could've seen you)
1. my wife is just awesome.
I'm trying to think of a new nickname for her, now that she's no longer girlfriendoseyo... I'd gotten used to girlfriendoseyo, and liked it (fianceeoseyo and betrothedoseyo didn't really work), but with the new upgrade to "Wife" status, I think it deserves a new nomenclature, and Girlfriendoseyo 2.0 isn't going to cut it.
2. My family's in town. It's AWESOME having my family in town. To a person, my brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, parents and steps are top-notch human beings, and I love having them in my life, and I really love combining the things I love about my family with the things I love about my life in Korea:
seeing my new wife laughing with my sister.
seeing my new wife playing with my nieces and nephews.
seeing my nieces and nephews take her hand as they walk along the chonggyecheon, as naturally and unconsciously as if they'd known her and hung out with her since the day they were born
the funny variety of reactions as different kids find different things they like and dislike in the dishes of food put in front of them by waiters in Korean restaurants
everybody turning into butter when my nieces say "kamsahamnida" to them
walking through the winding back alleys
my nephew sidling up to me and asking me how to say "You look pretty" in Korean, so that he can tell the lady in hanbok what he thinks (an my niece calling all the ladies in hanbok at the traditional show "princesses")
3. If you have the chance, get out to the Jung-dong theater and see the show "Miso". It's described as an opera, but that's a huge misnomer: when people say "Opera" it stirs up associations of pretension, dry snootiness, and long, boring performances that make grey-haired people nod their heads they way they do when they swirl their wine glasses. In fact, this show was captivating, for everyone from my dad, approaching retirement age, right on down to my two and three-year-old nieces, who always had something colorful to look at. The show's almost entirely nonverbal, the costumes are fantastic, they incorporate really skilled demonstrations of most of Korea's traditional performance arts, all into a colorful, funny, charming adaptation of a Korean folk tale. So yeah, drop the thirty to fifty thousand won to see the show: it's worth it. Every member of my family had a great time. This is the same theater where I saw this show, which was amazing... but Miso is even better. By about a mile.
Now I'm showing my family around Seoul for a week, before my folks head home (they're going home in stages: my brother yesterday, my sister + 3 kids and brother-in-law today, my other sister, niece, and parents on Friday), and then on Saturday Wifeoseyo and I will head out on a honeymoon. It's been great.
4. I've been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill my friends have put forward. Honestly, my wedding was on July 4th, so I expected a number of my American friends to go, "Geez; bad choice of date... It'd've been nice to go, but I have an Independence Day party to attend"... but instead, almost every person I invited, showed! It was humbling and amazing. The wedding venue actually had to set up extra tables for the dinner, because so many people came out. Plus, I was worried that when they do the traditional photo of the couple with all their friends standing behind them, that Brideoseyo would have WAAY more people on her side, than I had on mine... but it turned out that we were pretty much balanced. Sweet!
"You really do like me!"
5. Because the wedding was on the Han River, on July 4th, we got to look across the river and see a fireworks show during the after-party, in the air over Yongsan army base, due to the independence day festivities there. Did YOU have a spectacular fireworks show on YOUR wedding night?... I mean, an ACTUAL fireworks show?
Yah, I didn't think so.
Pictures... when I have the time.
Continue to expect light posting until I get back from the honeymoon.
And thanks for coming! (if you came)
and thanks for not coming! (if you didn't come.. because we were overflowing as it was...though I still wish I could've seen you)
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