"And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physcial expression, go out and explore... Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, 'What is the use?' For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a great deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg."

-Apsley Cherry-Garrard, from
The Worst Journey in the World



Wednesday 15 September 2010

























Gravestones aren't really a common thing here, moreover a small patch of ground will be walled in (as below) and a huge mound of earth will represent where a peron is buried. These are everywhere; next to houses, in fields (mostly in fields actually), on the coast.... There is one day set aside for cleaning up and tidying the graves. I think it is actually a sort of holiday actually.

The chap with the smoke is a bug killer... on my ride to school a few days ago I saw the most beautiful butterflies dying on the road. They are huge here and everyone seems to be a different colour. When I say huge, generally they would cover the palm of your hand, unless you have really small hands which would make them so not big at all.



Another shot of the ladies... I'll try get thier faces so you can see how old they are. They are pretty shy though so may take me a while.



Yesterday the grade 3's were sort of out of control; it was the first day I felt like a proper teacher. Everytime I began talking and explaining something, they all turn around and start getting animated with each other (we were playing a game standing up with blindfolds and this was enough to get them giddy). So I kept saying 'quiet, look at me blah blah blah until they pushed it too far and I proper shouted 'EVERYBODY' and their was genuine fear in their eyes. SUCCESS!?! NO! they were attentive for 2, possibly 2 and a half minutes and began talking again.


Today I spend every lesson setting out rules of the classroom. Every lesson.


OH and in my grade 5 one kid apparently pulled a middle finger up to another kid. I asked him if he did it and he looked at me, looked at the floor, nodded his head and began laughing. I asked him in quite a serious voice,


"Are you laughing?"


I had a MASSIVE moment of reflection on myself and the seriousness of the situation made me start smiling (which I was trying so hard to keep back) and because I didn't want the kid to see it was a joke I kicked him outside for 5minutes. It worked perfectly.


Also I can now spell my name in Korean 사이몬 literally 'Saimon' :D.


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