My Rocking Cradle

A Korea Times article dated yesterday reads “Obama Lauds Korea’s Education for Children“. I clicked on another article… then… wahaaat? I clicked THE article again.  Picture this: 7am in school, home by 9pm (lucky child) or home by 10pm (normal child) or home by 11pm (are you still a child?). For a normal competitive Korean family, [...]

If Koreans will have their way, almost all of the parents would want their child/ren to go to Ivy League universities in the US. The English language is a national obsession. English hagwons are everywhere here in South Korea. As early as seven (7) years old, children are being sent out to other countries, alone, to study [...]

The name of the building above is Mapo English Literacy Center. My Korean friend brought me there to 1) borrow toys for two weeks for free and 2) borrow English books for two weeks for free. It is a newly-renovated building which houses Mapo’s new English program. The program will be formally opened on January 29, [...]

Vacation in Iloilo City couldn’t be complete without revisiting my Alma Mater, the Colegio de San Jose (CSJ).   This vacation year was even more special as it was a good time to introduce my Little Dynamo to my teachers. Imagine my kindergarten teacher meeting my 2 year old son! The picture below shows the [...]

Today is the international founding date of Alpha Phi Omega, one of the prominent UP fraternities. What makes the fraternity exciting? The annual Oblation Run, what else! The Oblation Run is an annually anticipated event of the fraternity where members run naked around the campus. It’s original intention was to express protest about a current political or economic situation. [...]

Minnie, one of my Pinay Seoulites friend here in Seoul, had requested us, on behalf of her Korean friend, to bring along with us a 12-year old Korean girl to the Philippines. The girl will be staying in the Philippines for three months with a family she, nor her parents, has never met. Want to [...]

 South Korea’s high school seniors took the College Scholastic Ability Test yesterday. The result of this test will determine their “future”. Koreans take too much importance on university education, most especially which university one graduates from. That is why, it is imperative for high school seniors to do very well on this exam. This is such [...]

For more than a month, I volunteered to teach English to toddlers in the LGCNS nursery. The nursery has more than 30 toddlers ranging from 1 to 4 year olds (2 to 5 years old Korean age). I only taught the 3 and 4 year old toddlers as I think the younger ones are too [...]

The Korean Government does not hide its preference for native English speakers to teach English in Korea. In fact, under Korean law, only those from the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom (what else do I miss?) can be granted the E2 visa (teaching visa). You would think no Filipino teaches Koreans here in South Korea. Talk about bending the [...]