I think the winter has started. It dropped 5 degrees over the weekend and on Monday, everyone arrived in hats and gloves and the heating was full on at work. After trying and failing, on Saturday, to install an English display language for my new Averatec laptop, I ventured away from Changwon again on Sunday. I visited Wolchulsan National Park with a group of around 30 eager hikers, all part of a climbing club. My 25,000 Won covered the 4 hour bus ride there, ...

7/52. I am inbetween mountains. Having climbed Chong Byong San last Sunday, I will be attempting a higher mountain, in Jirisan National Park, this Sunday. Kilimanjaro, they are not! They are hills, really. But it is great to get out of the city. I really have developed a passion for it... got my schooling in Snowdonia as a kid, and more recently enjoyed the climbs of the Lake District. For an experience, Kilimanjaro is unlikely to ever be bettered.. unless I conq...

6 weeks in and i am suffering from my first cold. Inevitable that at some point I would catch a bug, what with the working conditions and numerous kids spreading germs around (it gets much worse in winter apparently when the heating is on). I also woke up this morning and there was no running water. Kelly (Eun-jung) rung to inform me that it had been turned off in the district for maintenance. By Friday evening, 9 Nov, I was completely knackered. Owen and Scott...

A more difficult week at work. I lost my cool and through an eraser down the corridor at one point, which 'hit' a girl. The kids have been more restless but there are changes coming next week. A couple of my older Zenith - TEOIC and TOEFL - classes are being merged into a larger, Intensive-Couse (Upper), class. Effectively we are combining 3 of the rudest students with 4 of the quietest, plus a few cherry-picked individuals from other classes - so it should b...

Well, I had an interesting weekend. After volunteering at my second speech contest and visiting town, it was back into town for a Hallo'ween Party at the International Pub. Numerous things were happening in the centre of town, including some filming for a TV show and a talent contest in which the prize seemed to be a new car. Myself and Garry settled down to some free food and all we could drink for 15,000won. On offer was OB Beer, Gin, Vodka, Rum and Whiskey. I...