Quest for ratings

Look at my blog. It’s all writing, writing, writing. Where’s the appeal in that? There’s no bang for your buck or instant gratification, no wonder Jessica’s blog is pulling ahead in the number of hits – her’s is all ‘ooo what a pretty picture’ and how can I compete with that?

But things are about to change, you see now when people search for Paris Hilton on the internet they are going to open up my blog – I can just see my little hit counter ticking over tick , tick , tick. Ha ha, Pow! Take that Jessica, how can you ever expect your cheap Power Point tricks to compete with the likes of Paris Hilton??? – that ubiquitous blonde that represents, represents … ah therein lies the problem. What does Paris Hilton represent? Why the fascination, and why is she sporting that oh so unfashionable bunion?

The problem is that you simply cannot escape the tart – she’s even found her way onto my blog. I’ll be honest, I’m feeling grumpy. I spent last weekend skiing and each time I completed one of the major runs I was greeted at the bottom by a large billboard of Paris sporting the latest Fila fashion. So my weekend played out like this – do the ski run, see Paris, wonder what she represents as I took the lift back up, do the ski run, see Paris, wonder what she represents as I took the lift back up…

It really irked me that I had to come across Paris Hilton every couple of hours. What does Paris represent? Why is it that even in the middle of no where, after hours on the bumble bus, I must contend with her image?

To me her wide spread image is symptomatic of something far larger than simply another unintelligent ill thought Fila advert. When I go skiing in the middle of no where I want to see something new and different, and so I was disappointed to see large bill boards and especially that large bill board bearing Paris’ grinning mug. I’m sure you can picture that smile of her’s – I cannot imagine much going on behind those eyes – she’s a walking talking doll – a zombie - and exactly what Fila wants of you and me.

Sometimes I get the feeling that much of advertising is based on the premise that if you bombard someone enough they will go out and buy the product. Maybe this is why even in the mountains you cannot escape the likes of Paris Hilton.

Well, I’m sick and tired of Paris Hilton and everything she represents- or doesn’t represent. I’m insulted that Fila has the arrogance to think that by bombarding me with images that my brain is going to turn to malleable mush.

Sod the both of them.

Back to school

Hi all

First of all thanks so much to everyone who replied to my last email. It was great to hear from you, it was especially nice that so many of the replies were so prompt.

It’s back to school proper next week. Right now I am feeling relaxed and happy, and a little apprehensive. I wonder whether I will feel quite as happy this time next week?

I’m really hoping this school year will go a little bit better. I really hope that I have learned from the mistakes that I made last year, and that I have also taken something away from the positive lessons. My main aims for this school year are to provide relaxed and fun lessons.

I really want to help the student’s improve their English, and I believe that the best way to accomplish this it to try and establish a relaxed and informal class setting – I want the kids to relax, have fun and make mistakes. Aiming to get the children to make mistakes may sound strange but there is a certain logic to it- many Korean students fear making mistaking and it can be difficult to get the kids to open up and express themselves at all, even in strictly controlled exercises. I want the students to make mistakes, and grdually get used to making mistakes - and I want them to understand that mistakes rarely bothers me, just so long as I can understand them. I understand their fear though. I myself am nervous about making mistakes when learning Korean and I am aware that this nervousness inhibits my own progress. (My Korean learning fell by the way side for a long time and has only just picked up once again.)

I often wonder how much I achieve through my lessons. I see the classes that I teach on an either once or twice weekly rotation, which is not enough to achieve everything that I would like to – but I must admit that I will never achieve everything that I would like to. I constantly have to remind myself that just as important as providing good lessons is planting, and nurturing, a positive attitude towards the English language. If I can stimulate an interest in the English language, and foreign cultures, my influence will be magnified over years to come. I am constantly aware that I for many of the Koreans that I meet I represent more than just myself – I’m an ambassador for South Africa and western traditions in general. Sometimes this can be a bit much, it’s difficult to put on a friendly face when I am feeling grumpy and a curious stranger approaches me.

Here's to a good year.

Philippines (Post1)

Hello All

Jess and I arrived back in Korea and Sunday morning, it already feels as if we never left. I’m finally back at school, after more than a month, and am slowly getting into the swing of things once again. Everyone around me seems very busy, and here I sit wistfully thinking of my ten days in the Philippines while making very little progress on lesson plans.

I enjoyed the Philippines very much, but was disturbed by the very open sex tourism.

Although I intend writing a more general piece on my experience I felt the need to first explore my thoughts on one of the more sinister sides to what could otherwise be paradise.

Sex Tourism

The first thing that struck me about the Philippines, apart from the dramatic change in temperature after only four hours of flight, was that it is clearly a third world country. I’m not sure why this surprised me, I already knew something of the poverty that afflicts the Philippines, having read a little and watched a few documentaries on it’s sweatshops that produce all manner of fashionable goods for export, but still I was taken aback. Cebu City, where we landed and spent our first night – we landed after 1:00am, is an ugly sprawling city but it is also the gateway to a group of spectacular tropical islands known as the Visayas.

Cebu City is hardly worth mentioning, and I would gladly not mention it were it not for the fact that it was where I was first introduced to one of the uglier features of tourism in the Philippines: sex tourism. Having already met one westerner in Korea with a far younger Filipino wife I was aware that it is a popular destination for western men to meet, and marry, (young) Asian women. I was under the impression however that it was a discreet matter, and I had no idea that it is as wide spread as it is. I was therefore in for a shock when I entered the dining room of our hotel for my first breakfast in the Philippines. Far from secreting themselves away from the public view, we were surrounded by men who had clearly picked up far younger Filipino women for their holiday.

The atmosphere was stagnant and the very little chatter at the tables around us was forced. I felt very uncomfortable eating a meal in the contrived setting, and could not help but feel that by quietly eating my breakfast beside these 'couples' that I was somehow giving credit to the farce.

The reality is that sex tourism, judging by the numbers of these couples that I encountered, must account for a significant portion of tourist revenues in the Philippines. The ever authoritative Lonely Planet suggests that sex tourism is quietly ignored by paid off police, but the pervasiveness of the industry, and it’s widespread tolerance, suggest that far from being ignored that this industry is counted upon – perhaps, although unacknowledged, even welcomed – in tourist visited areas. Here’s the line of logic: Estimates suggest that tourist revenues accounted for roughly $5 Billion of a $144 Billion economy in 2007. $5 Billion as a percentage of the whole economy is a paltry 3.5%, but these revenues are concentrated in the small touristed patches of the Philippines; and must surely account for far higher percentages of these local GDPs. Tourist money likely carries a lot of clout in these areas, and I suspect that far from merely tolerating sex tourism, communities and local officials support the industry. Accepting obvious sex tourists into a hotel is itself an act of blurring the lines between tolerance and encouragement, accepting a sex tourist once is encouraging them to return a second time.

Despite the strong revenues and tacit, or even overt, support that the industry receives, Filipino women that engage in the trade must find themselves in a precarious position. In a country where Christian imagery is unavoidable, and Catholicism dominates public life, women plying the sex trade must occupy a position akin to lepers in biblical times – except in making this comparison I obviously look over the fact that these women bring in money – which of course supports the community.

As for the men, it’s easy to write this group of usually well heeled travellers off as ‘total losers unable to attract women or maintain relationships at home’ – but there’s more at play. These men pay a woman to go on holiday with them, they buy a week of somebody’s life – which in effect means taking control of a person’s life for a week. Doing so is intended to bring pleasure, but it also speaks of insecurity, vulnerability and fragile egos. Taking control over another person’s life is an act of power, or an attempt to gain power, which begs the question “What happens when the bought illusion of dominance fails?”. If a women refuses some act behind closed doors does the insecure and very much egotistical man accept the refusal, or does he assert his dominance through less subtle means? In which case who, if anyone, does the sex worker turn to?