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About

"So I guess this is where I'm supposed to introduce myself. I'm a Canadian male teaching ESL in Seoul, Republic of Korea. This will be my second stint teaching ESL, only this time I'll be teaching at a High School, using my actual teaching experience to use. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me - no question's too small. Take care, and enjoy the ride."

Other Blogs of Note

  • Student in Korea
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  • Surviving South Korea
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  • "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire" by Niall Ferguson
  • "Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami
  • "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" by Samuel P. Huntington
  • "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth" by Benjamin M Friedman
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  • the unfortunate incident at Virginia Tech....

    I think that what's happened at Virginia Tech is indeed something that should have never happened. I feel truly sorry for the families of those who lost children, family members, brothers, sisters, et al. All of them will be in my prayers.
    I think what has been interesting, living in the country where the shooter was born, has been the reaction from both sides. On one hand, you have the great American broadcast stations, now neglecting to mention the fact that Cho was an American citizen, living in Virginia since 1992, nearly fifteen years. He is now referred to as a South Korean; an attempt I'm sure to deny any possibility that he was at any point a resident-alien citizen of the United States. On the other hand, you have the South Korean perspective, where, this story was not even considered news-worthy in Korean broadcasts until it was discovered that he was born in South Korea. Even then, the story has still failed to catch on. Even the major source for international news, Yonhap, has never had the headline higher than second on its broadcasts (the city of Inchon winning the 2014 Asian games received higher reports than the actions at Virginia Tech). For this, I feel especially bad for the suriving family; each of their countries - both adopted, and home country, seem to be denying their existence, which I find truly unfortunate.
    Now, I want people to know that I truly disagree with the students actions; I think they were hateful and shocking, and nobody deserves to die that way. I hope that this incident however brings some light to the situation that many immigrants face when they move to America.
    I think that what many people fail to comprehend is how much foreigners want to come to the United States. For my students right now, ask them where they want to go to school, or University, and the first place they will say is "America", without missing a beat. Their parents too; its any parents ultimate goal to have their child attend an American school - its a sure-fire job when they come back after graduation. The problem however lies in the idolized view of how things will be when they move to America, because the America that they see on television shows, movies, and hear about, is far different from the real America: the America that can be lonely, isolating, and not always welcome to foreigners. As to whose fault the idolized version of America it is that that they see, I'm sure teachers and the media are both to be blamed. Imagine what it would be like to be a Korean-American living in the US right now....
    I'm not trying to say that we need to be friends with all foreigners; there are many instances where immigrants can acclimate very well to Western society. However, I think that we need to remember that sometimes, for immigrants living in America, it can be really hard. I know not only because of what just happened in the news, but also because I've taught many students who have gone to America, and come back much sooner than they had hoped to, primarily because of struggles. And I think that as the world continues to become more international through globalization, I think that this is an issue that we will need to pay close attention to, to prevent incidents like this from ever happening again.
    God bless,

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