New teaching post in Singapore

I had started teaching in an international school. So far it has been a great experience. Today I met new students for the first time. Today I felt very much challenged by the need to use extremely different degrees of difficulty towards different groups of students.
There are students who can handle the course well while a few students are in deep trouble.
Some of the problems which I see is the inability to study materials in English.

My job as a teacher is to make student learn as much as possible, the material for the day.
I hope that my student will put enough effort and be in charge of their own learning.

How to sell your car in Korea.

We sold our KIA Soul car about two weeks ago. When we decided to sell our car, we were very afraid. There are so many questions like, will we get the right price, will we be able to sell it soon, etc.

After advertising our car in few forums we soon realized that it was hard to quickly sell the car to an individual. So we decided to sell the car to SK encar, which is the biggest car buy/sell agent in Korea.

One day they came to our apartment to inspect the car. The guy was really systematic in checking. One thing that struck me the most was how he ckecks underneath the rubber on the edge of roof rails and pillars. After checking the car and calling the agents, they decided that they will buy the car for 9 million won. We bought it for 13 million eight months ago. It was a bargain for the condition of the car and SK told us about it. It only ran for 10,000 km, and never had once a problem. They said they will export it to Russia.

Before one call sell a car you must have a "인가증명서" or Seal certificate. Here are the steps to secure one.

1. Firstly you should have a stamp bearing your fullname and initials. Just like this one below. You may get this done in homeplus or other place which sells locks, etc.

We got ours for 8,000 won.

2. Secondly you must go the municipal office or "Gu Chong" to register your new stamp. Go directly to the counter which serves foreigners. Show your ARC and your stamp. Then someone will direct you to another counter where the Seal certificate will be made. Below is the one from Seomyeon (in front of E-mart traders) Busan.  

3. After securing your Seal certificate you may proceed in selling your car. Be sure to have your ARC and bank account ready.

How to get international driving permit in Busan?

If you are holding a Korean driving license you are eligible to get an international driving permit from any driving license agency around South Korea. Me and my husband went to one of these agencies in Sasang, Busan. The international driving permit is valid for one year.

Here is how to get an international driving permit.

First bring your Korean license, ARC (alien registration card), and one passport-size photo.

Second go to 북부면허시험장 (Bukbu myeonheo shiheom-jang) in Sasang which is about half way between Deokpo and Modeok subway stations. Exit 3, walk 350m north and turn left from Deokpo, or exit 1 and walk the same distance south and turn right from Modeok.

Third enter the premise and head to counter no. 4 국제 면허 (Kukje Myeonho) which translates to International license.

Fourth fill-up the form near the counter and give it to the person together with your photo, ARC, Korean license, and 7,000 won. You may need to wait for around 10-15 minutes, depending on the crowd. Usually it is not crowded since there are not many applying for such license in Korea.

Lastly you will get your international driving permit which is a brown booklet with your photo in it.

Entrance to the building.

Building where you can get the permit.

Counter for international license.

Application form.

International driving permit.

Teacher's day in South Korea

Today, May 15, 2012 (Tuesday) is teacher's day here in South Korea. I have been working here in KSA for over a year now. It is great working here in KSA. The students are intrinsically motivated. Even if I have not worked before as a teacher elsewhere, I know that my students behave pretty well compared to others. They are mature individual who are very much aware of their strengths and capabilities. This morning one student came to my office to give me a small gift. She appreciates me during this day as her teacher even if I am a foreigner. She said that at the beginning she was apprehensive about the subject since I am a foreign teacher, but it changed when she saw the effort I put into the class. I am sure that most of my students had the same feelings. Even I as a teacher felt anxious in the beginning. Each time I meet my class I learned something new. I always strive to be the best teacher I can be. I always listen to what they have to say, and changes my approach when needed. I think the best skill that a teacher could acquire is the ability to read body languages. Students may unknowingly send signals of boredom and disinterest during class time. This is when a teacher's talent and creativity comes out. Teachers anywhere have the same goal, that is, to create a fun learning environment each time in class.

Frustration

Is what I feel right now. Specially after expecting compassion from someone who is above you. Its all been coming into me now. The negative things I've been hearing about some people from this nation. I used to ignore most of them and choose not to believe. Now I realize that I've been experiencing only the surface of it all. I am yet to face the reality of life here.

Sometimes I wonder, was it really his nature to be insensitive of others needs or did the system changed him to be like this due to all these years oh hearing whines and cries from different people.

Well I have observed this interesting phenomenon to two people until now. I observed that people of position, as they age, becomes less sensitive to your needs and concerns, as if they have not gone through the same situation themselves.

You might say that to avoid disappointment from these people, you must lower your expectations of them, well now I think that is a good point. But we are just humans and we do fall into the same trap because we always have this tendency to think that people promoted to such high positions are better than us in many aspects not only through talents but also through character. But I guess now this idea in my head is all but fantasy and far from being a reality.

So now I learned a very important lesson that "do not judge the book by its cover" the outer appearance does not tell you who the real person is until you talked to them, until you need something from them.

My own Tower of Babel moment

The title does not exactly describes my ordeal because in my case I am the only who does not understand what the rest of the people around me are saying.

Have you ever experienced listening to what is supposed to be a very important talk but not understanding a single word out of it?

Obviously, such situation only happen when you are the only one who does not speak the language, while the speaker and the rest of the audiences speak that language.

I would say that it is very HARD. I often felt like exploding or even leaving like I do not give a damn. However, I cannot do any of that specially the second one surprisingly, because in this world where I function in, presence is very very important.

I hope it does not happen to you guys. I hope you will always have a brighter option in life.

Midterm had just finished

Midterm test in our school had just finished last week. I am very pleased by the results of the test. Since the overall average had increased by 10% compared to last quiz. However, I can't help but worry for those students who continue to perform below average. I observed that most of the foreign students are having a hard time grasping the concepts in Chemistry. This comes as a huge surprise to me since I expected it otherwise. Foreign students are way better in English than Korean students, however it seems that proficiency in English does not guarantee the students success in Sciences and Maths.

I will do whatever I can to help these foreign students to learn and get their grades up in their future tests.