KSIS

I taught at Kunshan International School (KSIS) from September 2005 - June 2006. After my experience in Korea I was really down on teaching abroad. However, a new country and a new school changed everything. Now that I’m home in Canada I always think of the positive experiences I had at KSIS and in China.

First Photo: Grade Eight Class Two in front of the KSIS domestic campus.
Second Photo: Alan the KSIS teacher who spoke perfect English and helped the English department win the 400 meter relay.
Third Photo: Eddie, I can’t say enough good things about him. He went with the flow and everything worked out well for him. He taught at KSIS this year and I believe he’s going to Korea next year.
Fourth Photo: Some of my grade six students from last year. I remember them all but for the life of me I can’t remember all of their names. I had over 700 students at KSIS.

http://ksis.org.cn/

The Tee Dot

These photos were taken Saturday night. We went to say goodbye to our friend Jules. Jules is going to New Zealand today. She is going to live with her true love. I hope she can find a teaching job in N.Z.

Nerves of Steel

This is Thuc. He is a maniac. We went out to party after the last day of teachers’ college. I feel lucky to be alive today after the insane events of last night. I can’t really describe how close Thuc came to killing me. He shrugged off our near death experience and I almost cried.

Women

As I mentioned earlier, it’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen Sandra. She was supposed to visit me as soon as I got to Malaysia but she has recently acquired a Chinese boyfriend. There goes that plan!

Skateboarding

As I mentioned before, my friends and I were hardcore skateboarders in high school. I can't really ride one anymore. However, when I went to visit my homeboy Roger in Tianjin (June 2005), we tore it up. Malaysia has the perfect weather for riding but it's too dangerous for an old man like me. Maybe I'll use one strictly for transportation.
BTW, this photo is published on www.thrashermagazine.com in the "Stoke of the Day" section.

My Ticket Arrived

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m leaving June 26th. I’ll arrive in KL at about noon on June 28th. I got my ticket in the mail Thursday May 18th. It’s starting to feel like time is passing too quickly. I have a connecting flight in Hong Kong. I should have arranged a stopover for a few days..

Online Learning: The Good and the Bad.

THE GOOD

I am currently enrolled in ESL-AQ Level One. It is offered through OISE/UT. I chose to do it online because I am currently doing an internship at The Bata Shoe Museum and I didn't feel like sitting in a class for five hours (twice a week) after a full day of work.

I am very impressed with the way this course is run. The other students have a wide variety of teaching experience and we interact everyday through online forums.

The cost of the course is $865. I think this is a bargain. It qualifies me to be an ESL teacher in Ontario high schools. Since demand for business studies teachers isn’t so great, this will help me to get my foot in the door.

I give this my stamp of approval. What else could you expect from OISE/UT?

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/aq/candidates20065F/esl/

THE BAD

INTESOL INTERNATIONAL

I did this TESOL certificate course by distance while working in Korea. I give it a big thumbs down. It cost over $1,000 and was highly impractical. I enrolled in this course because I no longer wanted to work in a language mill. The next job I got really didn't require me to have this certificate and it's of no use to me now. Finally, I don't recommend this to a new TESL teacher because their is no observed lesson component. Find some other course.

http://intesolinternational.com/distance-tefl-course.shtml

I Guess I Should Talk About Malaysia.

I have been hired by Taylor's College to teach in their International Canadian Pre-University programme. Students in this programme work towards earning their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Taylor's College also offers Cambridge 'A' Levels and South Australian Matriculation. I will be working at the Subang Jaya campus, which is located in the suburbs of KL.

Check it out!
http://www.taylors.edu.my/main.php

JORDO

This is my homeboy Jordan. He's getting married in July, but I won't be able to make it. We're going to party 'old school' style before I leave though. He's a talented guy. Check out his website: http://www.jhodgsonmusic.com/home.html

Peace
The Saint

Happy Mother's Day!!!

FIRST: My mom’s boyfriend Reid moments after telling me the most disgusting story I’ve ever heard in my life.
SECOND: I took my mom to a sushi restaurant for mother's day. It was awesome!
THIRD: Flexing my chopstick skills. I'm picking up a wasabi pea.
FOURTH: I've never seen two cats and a dog get along so well. Those cats weren't set up like that. I blame it on my mother!

THE EWOK

This is my mother with her new puppy Nicholas. He weights 1 1/2 pounds right now, but when he's full grown he will only be 3 pounds. He will certainly be a pampered pooch. According to my mom he has, "such a beautiful temperment."

Queen of Crazy

This is Sandra. She currently has my dream job. It has been close to one year since I've seen her. She will visit me in Malaysia for two weeks starting the day after I arrive myself. She is the only person I know who makes me look like a drinking lightweight. I don't know the story behind this photo, but she is the blue bird.

FART CREW

Back in the day, all my friends were hardcore skateboarders. We sk8ed everyday. It didn't matter if it were -40 degrees or there was a major exam the next day. We were some seriously misled youth. I really miss those carefree days. Appearing from left to right: Adam, Ryan, Jordan, The Saint, and DJ Juice (formerly known as Justin). Fart Crew members not pictured are The Hawk and Rudie. This photo was taken at The Supermarket (where DJ Juice is the sound man). Later that night we went out to a place called Film and danced until 6:00 a.m. I didn't get home until about 11:00 a.m. We were all out celebrating Jordan's engagement to Linsay. Although it's been a long time since we've stepped on skateboards, we are homies from the cradle to the grave. This photo was actually taken about a month ago but I doubt I'll get a photo of all of us together before I leave.

Same Blog as Kudlow

I was very happy to learn that my hero Lawrence Kudlow now uses the same blog provider as me.

http://www.kudlowsmoneypolitics.blogspot.com/

Hey Kudlow, can I get a link on your blog?

Tribal Members

This is a photo of Nathasa, Selina and I after our last day of core business class. You can see that I am drinking water. This is because the picture was taken at 11:50 a.m. Ten minutes later, I was pounding a Keith's. Nathasa and Selina were in my tribe. The closest we came to giving our tribe a name was, "The Efficiency Tribe". A tribe is like a team. If you forget when something is due, you e-mail your tribe. If plagarism is possible, you rely on your tribe! Nathasa and Selina were my "go-to" tribe members because they are always on their game. Both will be persuing an M.Ed come September.