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.

Life as a teacher

I am now exactly on my 5 weeks working as a chemistry teacher. I can remember how nervous I was when I first met my students. I can also feel how nervous my students were when they first met me. Most of them were shy and hesitant to speak loud even while introducing themselves.

Now we have all become more comfortable with each other. The students have built friendship in small groups and I can laugh with them once in a while.

Today I felt particularly upset by one of the students. While I encourage students to express their opinions to me all the time, I still expect them to show full respect to me as their teacher or even as an adult.

There is something about this girl that is not right!

How to get an authenticated NBI clearance

NBI criminal record clearance is another document needed for applying for the working visa in South Korea. Similar to educational certificates such as diplomas and transcript of records, NBI clearance should also be authenticated in DFA.

The first step is to apply for an NBI clearance in the office located in the fifth floor of Victory central mall in Monumento. Luckily it is only 20 minutes away from our home. The step by step process may be read in this link http://www.blog4charity.org/how-to-apply-nbi-clearance/ if you want to apply in the Philippines. If you are in abroad like me, you can go to the Philippine embassy in Korea bringing a passport photo with white background. There you will fill up the application card and fingerprinted in front of the appointed person in the embassy. Bring some IDs too such as your current visa and passport for identification purposes. It costs me 33,500 Korean won for this service. I then sent this together with an authorization letter and copies of my two valid IDs to my mother. She submitted it in behalf of me in the NBI office and got the certificate only after 2-3 hours if there are no records found. It costs me Php 155 for this service.

Once I got the certificate I submitted it together with my diploma and transcript of records to DFA to be authenticated.

How to get your diploma and transcript of records authenticated in Philippines.

Preparing documents such as authentication of college diploma and transcript of records required for obtaining proper working visa in South Korea can sometimes be daunting. It is very important to first know where and how these processes are made, and what requirements are needed.

When I was preparing such documents the first thing I did was asked the Philippine embassy in Korea if they provide such services which they do not. They told me that the proper way to get an authenticated diploma and transcript of records is to go to your school then to Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and finally to DFA. True enough when I verified this information from my school, Mapua Institute of Technology, they told me the same thing. Actually my school Mapua can do all this process in behalf of you in 15 days. Imagine that is an awful lot of time and for someone like me who are used to fast transactions after living in Singapore for six years, I find it unbearable. So I tried to seek more information and found out that you the time can be reduced to one third if you handle it yourself.

The first thing that I did was to bring a photocopy of my diplomas and transcript of records to the registrar office of Mapua. In order to speed up the process you have to show them a proof of urgency in the form of your visa if the expiry date is imminent, a contract and e-ticket. The fee is only Php 200 per set of documents. After signing a form and giving them your diploma and transcripts you can get the documents back with school stamps and signature by the registrar the next day. They told me to come after two days since the person in charge of the microfilm is not around according to them but I insist that I need it soon thus they finished it in one day.

After getting the documents from Mapua I then went to CHED. It was located at the second floor of HEDC Bldg. C. P. Garcia St., Diliman, Quezon City. The guy there Jimmy was surprised to see that I am handing it over myself so I told them that it is because of urgency. I can feel that he believes me but he still ask me when I am going back to abroad and ask for my e-ticket which I do not have at that time. Still he processed it for me on that day itself and I paid Php 40 per set of documents.

Now that I have the certification from CHED I went to DFA, located at the gate 1 Roxas Blvd. Pasay City, to have it authenticated. I first fill up a blue form and then queue for about hour. I gave my documents and form to them and paid Php 200 per set of documents for expedite process, meaning you can get your documents back in one day. The regular process will cost you half as much but will need four days to get back. The next day I dropped my receipt in one of the boxes in the releasing area and wait for 45 minutes before my name is called. I received my documents safe and sound and went home.

Medical care needs in South Korea

After almost a year of living here in Suwon, it was only yesterday that I visited a doctor for the first time. Thanks to my husband, who had printed a list of doctors for me around our neighborhood here in Yeongtong, I was able to find one easily. The great thing about the list was that it also tells you if the personnel are capable of communicating in English. So I found this facility called Seoul Mi Skin Clinic, which is around 10 minutes from our house. Equipped with my insurance card I went inside to have this bad rash checked. The clinic looked posh, but despite that they only charge me a mere 4,300 won (around $4) for a consultation and a shot (buttocks...ouch!) just kidding, amazingly it does not hurt so bad. The nurse was really good. After this I went to a pharmacy where I bought my prescriptions, which only cost 5,900 won. It's quite weird though here in Korea, you won't get back the prescription receipt before you leave the pharmacy. The medicines are already pre-divided in small pouches for each dosage so its easier to take it. Now I am putting my whole faith on this medicines, because this rash had been very harsh to me. I wanna say bye bye from it soon.=)

Korean class at Suwon migrants center

Today was my third week attending the beginner level of Korean language at Suwon migrants center (http://smwc.co.kr/introduce_smlc.htm). My teacher (선생) is Ms. Choi Su Jeong (최 수 정). She speaks pure Korean at class but can speak English fluently with me. I have learned Korean before in Singapore for about 2 months, so I can generally read the words however, I am quite poor in conversing, specially in understanding it through listening. I hope that I can start conversing Korean soon. I am glad that there are few migrant centers here in Suwon which offer three levels of free Korean class (Beginner, Intermediate and Advance). In my class, there is Bow (피날팟) from Thailand and Tegi (태기) from Mongolia. I hope to be friends with them as well as with my teacher.

Is it laziness or what?

My husband has this habit of bringing a glass or a bottle of water, tea, juice, or whatever beverage he is drinking at that time, in our bedroom. He has this small, three layer shelf beside his bed where he puts his stuff. Often times he brings the glass or cup of his drink, and place it in his shelf without bringing it out to the kitchen after using it, until it piles up. I have once told him about this, particularly at one incident when I was feeling irritated, and in total bad mood for unexplainable reason. After I told him, "Is it hard for you to pick up after yourself once in a while?", he responded negatively and a huge fight broke out between us. His opinion is that, since I am at home all the time, does not have a job yet, and mostly doing nothing big at home, that doing this small things after his hard day at work should not irate me. Yes, I know that some of you might think that he has a point, but for me it feels like contempt. I know that I have not done any meaningful thing these past few months while staying at home, but I do have a lot of ideas in my head. All I want is to have the time to think about my past, and where I will be heading. I want to correct some of the shortcomings, I think I had, in the past. I wanted to be sure of what I want in life, particularly in my career. The thought of all these, coupled with fears of failing myself, and other worries for the future may have well been the reason for my mood swings lately. Of course nowadays we don't fight about this petty things anymore, because I learn to shut up and just do it. It's a small thing actually if you think of it, and not worthy of a fight. I guess being married, you learn to swallow your pride more and more. Please don't get me wrong, my husband is a wonderful man. He is a good provider, loving man, who will do anything to make me happy. There are just times when both of us had a bad day, that small remarks result to colossal arguments.

Singing as a hobby or a career.

Since she was 4 years old, she always loves to sing. In the morning while her mother is voice taping (during the early 80's this is one way to show how they were doing to her father working abroad), she started singing songs by Claire dela Fuente, which are her favorites. Whenever I hear this voice tape, I cannot help but wonder if her mother had honed her skills, she could be a professional singer by now. Although she is now working in a marketing division of a company, she would sometimes join singing competition, or engage herself to singing in different programs in her company during holiday seasons. Her talent had become a hobby. But who knows, maybe whether or not her mother sent her to a voice lesson school, she might still end up not being a professional singer. This makes me contemplate on what destiny really mean for each one of us.

Friend of great faith

I have a friend, who had just found out, that she is pregnant. I was so happy when I read about it. This friend of mine is a woman of great faith in God. She is not like me, who panics a lot and who is impatient at times. She seize each day of her life. While I live my life perfectly fine, not stepping on someone else s' foot, I struggle to be like the person she is: patient, gentle, and trustful.

My day!

Today is as usual days. I worked a little and watch a lot of that 70's show re-runs. I am reading my PhD thesis in the hope that it could help me clarify my thoughts on what to do with my life. I realized that while I am free, this is my opportunity to look back into the past 6 years of my life and think about what I really wanted to do as I move on with my life. Also, I made my first even 'gulab jamun" today. It is an Indian dessert. I have a photo of it but I won't be publishing it here because it is not made well. It was hard and not fluffy like the usual gulab jamun I get from the Indian restaurant. I am planning to make it again in the coming days and this time I will be make it better.

Midnight snacks

Yesterday I made my very first "gajar ka halwa" (carrot pudding). I got the recipe from Manjula kitchen (http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/04/26/gajar-ka-halwa-carrot-halwa/). Although I burnt the cashew nuts a little bit, it still came out to be good. Satish liked it. So today I made it again for our midnight snack. I would say that the ingredients are fairly simple but the cooking time is not that attractive. You have to stir it in low flame many times until the liquid is dried. Regardless of this, the taste, aahh, all worth it.

. Since my husband likes salty snacks too. I also made poha in addition to gajar ka halwa. I have done poha many times now. My only issue is that the peanuts available here in Korea are big and not that tasty. This is unlike the peanuts we get from Philippines and India which are small and very crunchy. My trick is to put the peanuts as garnishing after the poha had cooled. Chow!

Child trafficking

A documentary about child trafficking in India presented by Lindsay Lohan in BBC 3 had prompted me to write this post. While most of us have heard about child trafficking in poor countries in Southeast asia (Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc) and India, we still do not comprehend this issue. Partly because we have not seen it in person, we have not talked to someone who have gone through it and we have not read about it. Of course most of us who knew about it feel helpless most of the time because this issue seems unstoppable and we, as a powerless individual or group, may not substantially prevent and totally eradicate this problem. People living in rural areas such as villages or undeveloped slum areas are the main targets for human trafficking. These people live below poverty line. They struggle to even put food in the table in a daily basis. Most of this people are not educated and do not have livelihood to support their family and children. These are just some of the reasons why they are the easy target for human traffickers. These human traffickers lure them into believing that they will receive education and better livelihood if they come with them. Of course for those families who had heard this the first time will immediately jump to the idea and prospect of improving their life. The person who have been trafficked will then be subjected to hard labor for very little pay and sometimes abuse. I am sure that like me it breaks your heart to hear that a 9-year old boy is subjected to 17 hours of work in a day in a cramp house with very little food. Or a young girl who was forced into prostitution. There are charity institutions and NGOs which rescue these people. But still there are a lot of them who are still out there waiting to be rescued and still a lot more continuously being trafficked. Most people who writes about this issues voices out their concerns to the government and sometimes put pressure on them to do something about it. I do not know if these politicians read them or if they did do they do something about it? Unless people who conduct such malpractices are persecuted this problem will not be hugely decreased. Of course ideally we all hope for this problem to stop. But in reality I think unless we all worked together to improve our economy and give good life to people in rural areas, this will not stop. I am sure that similar to me you are thinking of how can I contribute in order to help eradicate this problem. Well I guess at first we should be informed about it by knowing the root cause of this issue. We should know who are the most vulnerable people who is likely to be targets of this problem and help them to prevent this from happening to them. We are all human being living in the same world. Let us give purpose in this life by sharing it with others.

Tips on acidity

I have GERD (gastroesophageal disease) or what most people call "acidity problem". The symptoms I usually experience are frequent throat clearing, heartburn, dryness of the throat, increase salivation and recently fleeting pain in the tummy. Sometimes I hear mild crackling sound in my tummy even after having a meal. It is a very bad experience. Specially when I am just beginning to feel the symptoms around 6 years back. I have taken several types of medicines such as Nexium, odeprasole, etc but it just gives temporary relief and sometimes had side effects. The one that worked for me is changing my lifestyle. I eat less fatty foods, fried foods and chips now. I eat more vegetables now and more variety of food. My husband has been a big factor in all this since he is a big fan of vegetables and wheat bread. He is an Indian and as you may know, Indians does not eat so much meat and fried foods. However, sometimes spicy dishes do trigger the acidity in my tummy. I try to avoid very very spicy food. Some of the simple tricks I found that could reduce acidity is by not eating very fast. Oh I am a fan of food and I eat like I have not eaten for the last 2 days. When you do not chew your food well, your tummy will have to do twice as much work in digesting the food in your stomach. And for us people who have GERD, the rate at which the food content in the stomach is emptied is very slow. So if you have a full tummy of half-chewed food it is a disaster. I often encounter regurgitation and tummy pain as a result of this. So I think it is very important for us to eat less but frequently. Another way is to not drink so much while eating. Most of us tend to drink a lot while eating. Well I found that by taking sip of water or juice instead of a big gulp after a meal can help lessen the pressure that could build inside your stomach. The third way is by simply seating properly with your upper body straight up or by doing vajrasana. It is a yoga position wherein you kneel and sit on top of your legs. You can do this position even after eating. While doing vajrasana, immediately you can feel increase in activity in your tummy. There are actually more ways that you can use to reduce acidity and it is often you who can figure it out.

collection of thoughts

inspired by the book: Core concepts in supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry by Steed, Turner and

-often nature is described as a well concerted orchestra in which its elements are interdependent with one another this is from what i read about binding of substrates in enzymes found in biological systems behaving cooperatively between each set of bond created between the substrate and enzyme (host).
-there are more than one way in which you can describe a situation sometimes the way you describe a situation is not the way a person is used to imagine and hence understand it and it is not uncanny that scenarios like this becomes a source of misunderstanding or miscommunication