Today is the day that the Olympics officially come to a close (well in Vancouver, tomorrow in Korea). I feel like they have been on for weeks, not just 17 days, its been a great run and I'm actually surprisingly sad that they are ending. I have become quite the expert this year, I don't know why now and not before but this year meant more to be and many other Canadians home and away. Soon my knowledge on speed skating will no longer be put to good use...whatever will I do? I'll have to find something new to obsess about now I guess :(
The games have been AMAZING and such a whirlwind of ups and downs for not only Canada but for many other teams. There have been injuries, controversy, sudden loses, surprising wins but all in all it has been an unforgettable Winter Olympics. The last few days of the Olympics have been the most emotional and simply unbelievable. There's nothing like being proud of your country and your athletes but when you can show everyone what you're made of and prove them all wrong, that is by far such an accomplishment. For all the haters, the doubters, and the people who knew nothing about Canada, now they know and maybe get us a little bit.
Winning that final gold in hockey was the best possible outcome and victory for Canada and for some people the only one that mattered. It was a tough battle and we were definitely the underdogs but never underestimate a country to created the sport! It wasn't just the victory, it was what the victory meant to a country so wrapped up in one single sport. Canada is the only country where people will pack bars and then take to the streets afterwards and cause mayhem in downtown Toronto....Canadians are the only people who would wake up at 5am in Seoul to stream it online....and Canadians are the only ones who really care if they win or loose a hockey game, nowhere else in the world do you feel that passion for this sport, it truly is out game!
The Olympics are over just as quickly as they came and it's really sad even though I'm not in Canada now. Watching the games and feeling that spirit made me miss Canada. I miss the cultures, the skyline, the lake, the politeness and people actually saying "excuse me," I miss the city of Toronto and even my little town of Oakville but more importantly I miss the people who are irreplaceable in my mind :)
I'm on this adventure on the other side of the world and I don't think anyone including my parents believes me when I say that I'm coming home but I am and I will be in 6 months or so. It's strange to be so happy in one place but still miss another but I do and it never goes away but instead I come to appreciate both places that much more.
Time to continue to take in my Seoul experience and enjoy a day out wandering the city!
Until next time,
janeython xo
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
▌♥ ▌Proud to be Canadian ▌♥ ▌
This one has taken me awhile to write...only because every time I try to talk about home I get overly emotional and can't quite find to words to say what I want to say. It's been 10 days since the Winter Olympics began in Vancouver and that's why I'm writing this I guess...to reconnect with my heritage after feeling so disconnected with being away for so long.
Last Saturday myself and my co-workers got together at a Canadian owned bar in Seoul to watch the opening ceremonies. We got all decked out in all things Canadian including flags, the Olympic red mittens and jerseys. I couldn't be more excited, this is something I've been waiting for for ages and it was finally starting except I wasn't home to see it. Not like I live in Vancouver but there's nothing like being home and witnessing it all happen on your terms and your turf. It became a big celebration for us, something we had to do and see for ourselves...watching highlights just wouldn't have been the same. So we watched...we laughed and got excited and although ther performance was hours long it felt like minutes. I don't know if it was Canada, the people I was with, ther performance but something really struck me and ever since I've been super emotional about the Games and obsessed. Like obsessed as in I wake up and my homepage is the Vancouver 2010 website, I check CTV, CBC, CANOE, TSN, even NBC just to get the full perspective. I get to work and I check incessantly all day until they would be over in Vancouver and even then I check out of habit. Not having tv and that instant gratification of finding out what I want to know and seeing what I want to see is torture so this fills that void.
There is nothing about the Games that has struck me as a failure or as a disaster as so many critics have been saying to bring negativity on such an incredible moment in Canadian history. The thing with bringing hundreds of people from all over the world to one city is that shit will happen and there's nothing you can do about it. This is obvious but for some reason so many people expect perfection but when have we ever had perfection at an Olympics in the past. You can't control the weather, you can't avoid crashes and falls and you can't change things that happen unexpectedly but you can make it better for the next person or the next event so that it doesn't happen again. Not only is all the criticism coming from a country that I am partly connected to but its coming from people who aren't even there, or who's athletes aren't placing so really is that objective. If you read comments and watch footage from the people who are there then you'll see that the only problem is really the beautiful weather when its supposed to be cold to keep the snow and ice....otherwise it's all smiles and smooth sailing and when something does go wrong it gets fixed. It's called problem solving and as Canadians we're good at that and we don't freak out when it happens, we go with the flow and we take it step by step. I don't know why it bothered me so much and why I took it so personally but I did and I felt really sorry for the people who didn't get Canada and what we're all about and more so for the people who are so closed minded that they don't care but here's what I know.
It takes being away from your home, your country, to really miss it and remember all the wonderful things about it. Being Canadian isn't just how I'm known everywhere I go in the world but it's in my blood and that sense of pride and respect is ingrained in me from birth. Canada is the second largest country in the world filled with only 33 million people from every other country in the world. Canadians are peacekeepers, we're problem solvers, we're laid back and we have humility. We take the criticism but we defend ourselves with dignity because we have nothing to ever be ashamed of. We're educated and we respect not only the place we come from but anywhere we travel to. We have a whole lot of pride for our country but we're not obnoxious about it or over bearing (unless we're watching hockey). In Canada we curl, we drink a lot of beer, we spend most of our time outdoors even when its cold but we can take it, we consider hockey a religion and it's true, we do say EH! I am proud to be a Canadian and proud to know that these Olympics and these 17 days will have such a huge impact on Canada for the better.
We support our athletes and when things don't go according to plan we get ready for the next game when we can do better. We have faith in our athletes and we know that sometimes other teams are just better despite how good we are and that's really what it comes down to. You can never regret your best performance and if you work your ass off then you can't be upset....half these athletes are superhuman anyways so there's only so much we can expect from them.
I know I'm rambling, I can't help it when there's so much to say but I'll try and pull it together now. Until I came to Korea I never really thought about it but I consider myself lucky to be from Canada. I don't know any other country in the world that I would rather be even in the dead of winter with 10 feet of snow but I would be home. So eff those critics and all the criticisms cause they can get the hell out of my country, we don't need the bad vibes especially now when there's so much good happening at home...so much love and so much support. I know where I'm from and I couldn't be more proud. So for the next 7 days I'll wear my red Olympic mittens with pride, I'll obsess about the latest news and I'll be watching the closing ceremonies because that's the difference between Canadians and everyone else in the world....we can always find reasons to celebrate and to come together to show our pride for our country!
▌♥ ▌GO CANADA GO ▌♥ ▌
Last Saturday myself and my co-workers got together at a Canadian owned bar in Seoul to watch the opening ceremonies. We got all decked out in all things Canadian including flags, the Olympic red mittens and jerseys. I couldn't be more excited, this is something I've been waiting for for ages and it was finally starting except I wasn't home to see it. Not like I live in Vancouver but there's nothing like being home and witnessing it all happen on your terms and your turf. It became a big celebration for us, something we had to do and see for ourselves...watching highlights just wouldn't have been the same. So we watched...we laughed and got excited and although ther performance was hours long it felt like minutes. I don't know if it was Canada, the people I was with, ther performance but something really struck me and ever since I've been super emotional about the Games and obsessed. Like obsessed as in I wake up and my homepage is the Vancouver 2010 website, I check CTV, CBC, CANOE, TSN, even NBC just to get the full perspective. I get to work and I check incessantly all day until they would be over in Vancouver and even then I check out of habit. Not having tv and that instant gratification of finding out what I want to know and seeing what I want to see is torture so this fills that void.
There is nothing about the Games that has struck me as a failure or as a disaster as so many critics have been saying to bring negativity on such an incredible moment in Canadian history. The thing with bringing hundreds of people from all over the world to one city is that shit will happen and there's nothing you can do about it. This is obvious but for some reason so many people expect perfection but when have we ever had perfection at an Olympics in the past. You can't control the weather, you can't avoid crashes and falls and you can't change things that happen unexpectedly but you can make it better for the next person or the next event so that it doesn't happen again. Not only is all the criticism coming from a country that I am partly connected to but its coming from people who aren't even there, or who's athletes aren't placing so really is that objective. If you read comments and watch footage from the people who are there then you'll see that the only problem is really the beautiful weather when its supposed to be cold to keep the snow and ice....otherwise it's all smiles and smooth sailing and when something does go wrong it gets fixed. It's called problem solving and as Canadians we're good at that and we don't freak out when it happens, we go with the flow and we take it step by step. I don't know why it bothered me so much and why I took it so personally but I did and I felt really sorry for the people who didn't get Canada and what we're all about and more so for the people who are so closed minded that they don't care but here's what I know.
It takes being away from your home, your country, to really miss it and remember all the wonderful things about it. Being Canadian isn't just how I'm known everywhere I go in the world but it's in my blood and that sense of pride and respect is ingrained in me from birth. Canada is the second largest country in the world filled with only 33 million people from every other country in the world. Canadians are peacekeepers, we're problem solvers, we're laid back and we have humility. We take the criticism but we defend ourselves with dignity because we have nothing to ever be ashamed of. We're educated and we respect not only the place we come from but anywhere we travel to. We have a whole lot of pride for our country but we're not obnoxious about it or over bearing (unless we're watching hockey). In Canada we curl, we drink a lot of beer, we spend most of our time outdoors even when its cold but we can take it, we consider hockey a religion and it's true, we do say EH! I am proud to be a Canadian and proud to know that these Olympics and these 17 days will have such a huge impact on Canada for the better.
We support our athletes and when things don't go according to plan we get ready for the next game when we can do better. We have faith in our athletes and we know that sometimes other teams are just better despite how good we are and that's really what it comes down to. You can never regret your best performance and if you work your ass off then you can't be upset....half these athletes are superhuman anyways so there's only so much we can expect from them.
I know I'm rambling, I can't help it when there's so much to say but I'll try and pull it together now. Until I came to Korea I never really thought about it but I consider myself lucky to be from Canada. I don't know any other country in the world that I would rather be even in the dead of winter with 10 feet of snow but I would be home. So eff those critics and all the criticisms cause they can get the hell out of my country, we don't need the bad vibes especially now when there's so much good happening at home...so much love and so much support. I know where I'm from and I couldn't be more proud. So for the next 7 days I'll wear my red Olympic mittens with pride, I'll obsess about the latest news and I'll be watching the closing ceremonies because that's the difference between Canadians and everyone else in the world....we can always find reasons to celebrate and to come together to show our pride for our country!
▌♥ ▌GO CANADA GO ▌♥ ▌
Sunday, February 7, 2010
why i don't think i can be a teacher in Canada:
So it's not that I couldn't actually be a teacher....not to brag but I think I'm damn good at it lol just kidding, who knows what kind of teacher I am in reality. I get by I think, I love my kids, I love teaching them and I love watching them learn. So what's the problem you ask...well I'll tell you. I think the reason that I love teaching so much is because I'm teaching in Korea, and its a whole different ball game over here. At home there are so many rules, so many things to worry about that don't apply at all here. In North America you can barely touch your kids without a parent trying to sue you for child molestation but in Korea the parents want you to be affectionate with their kids, that's how they know you like them. Everything is about appearances and if you are smiling and hugging them and playing around then you are a good teacher....they almost rather that then their children actually learning. I enjoy being able to be affectionate with my kindergartners and especially my moms and tots because they're just so little and adorable...I couldn't imagine not being able to hug them and play fight and all that stuff, what do you do with them then? Maybe I'm just too much of a kid to understand the seriousness of it all.
I have another reason and it also has to do with working in Korea and teaching english. The beauty of the job is that no matter how good a student is at english, they still don't understand things like sarcasm and different sayings and jokes, its lost on them but that's what I like about it. I love that my students sometimes have no idea what I'm talking about and that I can tease them and say things and they are clueless. Even my Kindergarten class, I spend most of the class talking about them to my T.A and couldn't imagine not having that freedom to just say something out loud. I know I know I'm horrible and should spend more of my time helping them instead of laughing at them but I've realized that because I don't understand them I pay more attention to their behaviour and their body language. Since there's that communication barrier I spend alot of time trying to figure them out and watch them (not to sound creepy) but I do and without understanding eachother we still get by and I can still get a good idea of what they're all about. I couldn't imagine actually having to listen to them, especially my older kids, with all their attitude and drama and whining UGH I would go mental.
There's something about living somewhere and not understanding anyone...It's kind of nice being able to zone out and live in your own little world. You have to rely on everything else and pay more attention to all the visual cues you see and body language rather then words.
Anyways back on track...teaching in North America, is it in the cards for me hmmm who knows. I just know so many wonderful teachers who are much better at it then me and when I think about who I want teaching my kids its not me, it's them and that's ok with me. I would never use teaching as a fall back, I have too much respect for it now to think of it that way and would only do it if I really loved it because I would want that to show. I think I'll leave the teaching to the professionals and my kind of teaching, my play fighting, my hugging, my smiling and teasing self can stay in Korea where its allowed and legal :)
Until next time,
Yours truly xo
I have another reason and it also has to do with working in Korea and teaching english. The beauty of the job is that no matter how good a student is at english, they still don't understand things like sarcasm and different sayings and jokes, its lost on them but that's what I like about it. I love that my students sometimes have no idea what I'm talking about and that I can tease them and say things and they are clueless. Even my Kindergarten class, I spend most of the class talking about them to my T.A and couldn't imagine not having that freedom to just say something out loud. I know I know I'm horrible and should spend more of my time helping them instead of laughing at them but I've realized that because I don't understand them I pay more attention to their behaviour and their body language. Since there's that communication barrier I spend alot of time trying to figure them out and watch them (not to sound creepy) but I do and without understanding eachother we still get by and I can still get a good idea of what they're all about. I couldn't imagine actually having to listen to them, especially my older kids, with all their attitude and drama and whining UGH I would go mental.
There's something about living somewhere and not understanding anyone...It's kind of nice being able to zone out and live in your own little world. You have to rely on everything else and pay more attention to all the visual cues you see and body language rather then words.
Anyways back on track...teaching in North America, is it in the cards for me hmmm who knows. I just know so many wonderful teachers who are much better at it then me and when I think about who I want teaching my kids its not me, it's them and that's ok with me. I would never use teaching as a fall back, I have too much respect for it now to think of it that way and would only do it if I really loved it because I would want that to show. I think I'll leave the teaching to the professionals and my kind of teaching, my play fighting, my hugging, my smiling and teasing self can stay in Korea where its allowed and legal :)
Until next time,
Yours truly xo
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