Social distancing level 2 reached

Korea as a 5 step system that goes like this: 1 to 1.5 then 2 to 2.5, then level 3. Level 3 is a full shutdown. Being at level 2 for us is simple. NO RESTURANTS. If we go to the store we are in and out. We make sure to disinfect our hands before entering the house. 

If we decide to go out for drinks we do it in an isolated place. In other words you will not even know we are there. We have some nice parks in our area that have nice little nooks and crannies. Basically, we stay away from groups. The risk of causing a major comunity spread is just too high. 

I promised my students that I would be extra careful. Not only is my family at risk, so would many other families. There are people in our sociual network who just keep taking risks. They schedule get togethers that can get large. (more than 10 people). They are breaking the social distancing guidelines. 

The funny thing about all of this is how much we took a "noraml life" for granted. I miss going to resturants so much! Or just having a get together. I love spending time with my wife. However, I really enoy going to a cafe together and "people watch". Or walk all over the city and see a random shop go in and buy a few items. 

Now we have to be so careful. Now it is a finable offense to be seen not wearing a mask in public. Ok time to finish this Monday (workwise).

I am glad we were not shut down. Basically, months ago 7 people tested positive, and Iksan shutdown. Now we have over 80 covid cases. I feel like every dollar I can make is a blessing LOL.

/tata 

One week down...one more...

 Ok, this is another post about the scamdemic we are under. In Korea, there is still a surge in infection rates. I am hoping that we can remain normal and not be locked down next week. If we can weather this we can end this year nicely. 

If I were to lose work it would mean certain upgrades (yogi's pc and one of the pcs the boys are using) will not get upgraded until the end of spring. It is better to just save the 900 bucks I will need for her upgrade.

So I hope things run normally and I can upgrade this year. Next year if things go well or normal I will be upgrading all of our Ipads, and throwing out the old Ipads we have. If we get shut down then this will not happen until mid or late summer next year. 

I have a vacation coming and we need to complete Jeyo's OCI papers. So that will be risky because we will have to go to Seoul to get it done. Basically, it will be an in and out deal. KTX (Korea's high-speed rail) in the morning, submit our papers, take the interview. Then KTX back to Iksan. Usually, we enjoy a bit of shopping but not this time. In and out fast and quick! Oh, and we will not use the Subway. Taxis will be more expensive but it is less exposure to crowds. IF WE ARE SHUT DOWN, I will have to use my summer vacation to complete the OCI process, or just get him an X-visa and complete the OCI papers in India. It is more expensive and a slower process but you have to do what you have to do. 

So if all goes well I will have some posts (with pictures) of me building Yogi's new pc. Hopefully. 

/tata

walking about 20kms so far. I am hoping to add about 7 to 10kms more this weekend. 

Still running...

I was afraid we would be put in lockdown this week. We have some absent students (perhaps 3). I know why they are absent. Parents fear which is not unfounded thier kids coming into contact so many others. We have about 50 plus cases in Iksan now. It seems those few Uni students spread the infection in small clusters. 

So I am glad to say on this Tuesday it is business as usual. Of course we are being extra careful. Washing our hands, wearing masks. I feel it really helps. 

Ok this is now Thursday. Some bad news Korea topped 380 cases yesterday. I feel that if people do not follow directives this number will only go up. This year has really slowed us down. Soeul is very important for us getting our OCI cards for India, George getting his GED done, maybe even his SAT as well. 

But we are still running normally. Locally we have about 60 cases I think. So we will be staying away from resturnants and being extra careful while teaching. 

Exercise has been coming along really well for me. I am averaging 7kms a night. I am happy with 6km but I feel like I have extra energy to burn. I think saw one of our middle school students walking at the track field field yesterday. (more like a soccer field with a track around it).

We are craving raw fish and grilled sprimp. Maybe we can have it delivered on Saturday. 

Ok time to get Thursday started.

/tata

Walking about 22 kms so far this week.

The year is ending....

 Updated my calender in my classroom. Wow, 2020 is almost over. I do not think 2021 will be much better. Governments have been strained very hard this year due to people losing work due to covid-19. It sucks but it shows some serious flaws. 

First, money. Many people could not properly isolate themsevles because they had to support themselves. Governments gave out money (basically in a long and convoluted way made more cash), and this hurt the world economy. People are looking to the governments espically the stable ones to give support. Even those governments could not, and will be able to do it. More fiat currency means less value which means less value. 

Uncertainty is soaring nowadays. Hopstials and big pharma could not stop over 1.3 million "reported" deaths. People do not trust medical experts (USA), are led by fools (USA and other nations). This leads to all kinds of missinformation. 

Loss of security. How can one be secure if the institutions that are supposed to protect us end up killing us. South Korea has done a great job. However, like all goverments they held back exposing important information to the press. I know for a fact that certain apartment complexes in Iksan were not included in nationl counts of confirmed coronavirus patients. There were times where the mobile apps showed zero cases. Yet, my boss told me that there are actually a few cases, they want to keep things going.

We have over 30 confirmed cases in this city (likely it is higher). Yet they are not shutting down the city. It will have to get MUCH worse for them to actually do something meaningful. This delay means larger community spreads. Of course they do not want to do this...see the second paragraph. 

We live in a system of things. Things drive people to want be active. If you think about it at the base of our society if you remove "things" we would become almost barbaric. If you ask someone what do they want (I am also in this number) most will list some thing they want. We have not based our global society on true human welfare. It is based on the exploitation of others for control and the aquisition of things. 

I am pretty sure when we are on our death beds (or close to it) we can see just how we wasted our lives chasing peices of junk. 

/Tata

Walked a bit over 30 kms last week. Lets see what this week will bring! Yogita has been keeping pace with me so nicely! Time to finish this Monday (workwise).

Iksan....Covid on the rise...

 It seems the main culprit this time are young university students. I and my boss agree that it is better if Unis had stayed on lockdown and continued with online classes for the rest of the year. Perhaps even into the next year. Young people and people in their late 50's have been causing more community outbreaks. 

Young people well they just want to have fun, and they have a lot of stress to blow off. Imagine not being able to really follow any hobbies or personal interests for practically most of your young life. Then suddenly you can drink, spend time with friends, even earn a little money. 

Then you are told to attend online classes, and many places where you can hang out are shut down. Then those places open up covid numbers are low. BOOM young men and women are out having a good time. So it makes sense. It sucks but what can you do? The government opened Unis this was bound to happen.

Older people in Korea, in the beginning, could be seen wearing no masks, socializing like normal. In the alerts we received often the ages of the patients were between  50 to 60 years old. Now it is rare to see older people not wearing masks. In fact, if you are out and about and with a mask...you will be fined 100,000 won. 

Many people are getting lax about wearing masks properly. It is common to see people's nose sticking out of their masks. Today many places to shut down due to the 20 odd new local cases. So it is time to go into lockdown for ourselves. Some people in our area are being very reckless. I hope that there isn't an outbreak can be traced to them. As they are foreigners, it would really cause issues for all foreigners in Iksan. I know they made plans in advance but at this point, it is better to pay a "fine" as foodstuffs were bought and money was spent by the owner of the restaurant they reserved. Pay up and stay home is what I think they ought to do. I heard some of their ideas on "social" distancing during the get-together. It shows a real lack of microbiology, virology, and aerosol spread. Very scary. I will socially distance from them for about two weeks. I have to take care of the students I teach and their families, while my number one priority is to protect my own! They do not understand this.

Anyways...walk only 1 km yesterday, will do more today hoping for 6-7km!

/tata

To buy a car or lease one

 Esl teachers can sign a contract for up to 2 years. However, you must renew the visa every year. In the past I never gave it a second thought as we prepared our documents that we might leave. In light of current events there is no telling what might happen even next month. 

Living in the kind of city we live in a car is a really nice thing to have. We do not have the great subway system in Seoul and Kyungi province. Actually, that subway connects many cities. 

We have always bought second hand cars over the years. Why would I get an autoo loan or save up for a new car when I might be leaving in a year?

I have seen some really nice ads about leasing a car. The culture of sharing is coming. Leasing means that taxes (which must be paid twice a year), and insurance costs will be a much smaller expense. Maintence will also not be something I will need to factor in when leasing a car. 

I think that it is likely that a large number of the "new" cars that I see on the road here are actually leased models. They have monthy, biweekly, and even weekly leasing contracts. The cost are not as crazy as they used to be.

Many rental companies do not even do one day rentals anymore. Prefering to lock in customers for longer periods of time. 

I am leaning towards leasing a car. I might try a 2 week plan and see how that goes.

Yesterday I walked 6.5 km felt awesome!

/tata

Some sad facts.

 Everyweek students must write a dairy entry. Sometimes they spill thier heart into it. You can catch a glimpse of thier soul. These kids come from famiies that are upper middle class to well off families. You would think that having that extra wealth would make these kids happy. They sport the latest smart phones, name brand clothes and very expensive back packs. They live in very nice apartments, and are driven around in high end cars. 

Yet, in thier diaries I read about parents wanting to see 100 points on every test. Kids overburdened with homework. Kids getting bullied and teachers just ignoring because they think it is "normal". Kids that when asked "What would like to do for the holiday tomorrow?" They usually answer I want to sleep. I then ask them do they dream when they sleep. These kids close thier eyes just to shut out the stress of thier lives. Sounds like an adult leading a family, or struggling with life's hardships. These poor kids. 

My son was feeling depressed because he wanted to fit in with the kids around him. He wanted to go to academies. I hope he understands (after I talked to him) more that these kids are in a grinder. They study more but actually do not really learn. They just memorize data and spit it back out. 

Yesterday we walked 5.49 kms. 

/tata

Got some new sneakers!

 I rarely buy shoes. However, for the last weeks I have been walking at night around our neighborhood. I feel that it is better to get the exercise in around 11pm and finish at mid night. It works out better for our games (there is an event running). If we go later then I feel like I do not hve enough time for other things. 

One thing Yogita and I both noticed was that our footwear needed upgrading. When we walked in our old walking shoes we could feel ground under our feet as if we were wearing socks. Long term that woud lead to many issues. So last weekend we got new walking shoes. The soles are so thick and they have a shock absorbent gel in the heel. 

This week we should be able to walk faster (for me when I am alone I walk at abour 5.1km/hr with yogita is it up to 4 km/hr). If we can average 5.5 or 6km per hour we would only need 45 to 50 mins a night.

I have set our target range at 5km a night. So if we can go a bit faster we can be back home showering and getting ready to game or watch documentaries earlier. Friday is one day that is a bit challenging as Yogita is very busy on Saturdays. I have a work around which these shoes we got should be of great help. 

Last week we averaged 6 kms a night.. I hope to stay at this level activity this week.

Ok time to go!

Distanced walked so for this month about 30 kms. 

/tata

Making a change

When it comes to dieting and exercise usually people do it wrong. I too make the same mistakes over and over again. Firstly, once wieght is gone, the diet stops, or the extra activity (exercise stops). Then the yo- yo effect comes into play. The issue is as we age our metabolisms slow down. We have to keep it burning by making life style changes. For me it will be taking measured walks. Even a 3km walk is better than not walking at all. 

I think on a normal day I walk perhaps 800 meters. I walk to work. That activity level is just to low for me. When I started walking in the evenings last week that number jumped to about 5kms. I feel stronger, my legs that is. As I am married it is so much easier if we both can support each other in this change. 

Yogita is still getting the motor going. Every winter she gets congested lungs. So yesterday the walk helped clear some of that congestion. I will post how many kilometers I walked. I hope that it will help keep me motivated to no stop this activity. I think I am burning about 300 calories each night. The app I use shows that I am burning MUCH more, but I do not trust the numbers it shows me. 

Ok time to fnish this day err the working part.

/tata

Yesterday 5.2 km so far this week: 10.3 km.

Do as I say not as I do....teaching in Korea...

 Somethings relly make  me want to roll my eyes. When we first started teaching English years ago it was ok to use Korean in the classroom to explain things in English. It still is but you have to do it in a certain way. 

However, these private schools have one rule that is usually the number one rule. That is DO NOT SPEAK KOREAN. This applies mainly to students. Foreigner teachers can use a bit of Korean to explain certian things A word here or a phrase there.

However, some places the kids are told in KOREAN, to not use Korean. Then Korean teachers will in KOREAN scold or have small talk with students. So for the kids it is confusing and frustrating. One school ONLY one school ALL teachers had to use English Apple English Language Institute had a rule were every teacher had to use Korean. It was for the students. We had students using English 80-90% of the time because EVERYONE used it! It was not perfect but you could hear English conversations here and there. 

It is the same with parenting, you have set and example and your kids will follow it. I am a gamer yet I am not addicting to games. My boys can look at me and get the same idea. Ugh. Anyways what can one do but keep on rolling!

Yesterday we walked for 5.3 kms. (go job Yogita it was not easy for you!)

/tata

Monday another week.

Last week was a nice week. Boys enjoyed meeting their friends. Dog is doing well. Yogita and I excecised a lot. We started our walking program. Basically, we use our smartphones health app to help keep track of our activities. 

I have a nice route that is in total 4.5 km long. It is not very hilly so should be a bit easier on our joints. We need to get proper walking shoes, that will happen this weekend on Saturday. 

I hope to get in about 5 days of walking this week reaching the 4.5km mark. Perhaps 2 or 3 km on the other days. Or Sunday will just be a rest day. I can already feel lighter on my feet. In the mirror things are looking a little better. The problem is Yogita gets painful cramps as her muscles are to get back in shape. I will make she gets electrolytes into her system. 

Ok I have to go my students are waiting for me. 

/tata

Politics

 Well, the presidential election is underway. It looks like Biden will win. I have spoken to a number of people who have strong feelings towards this election. 

For me personally, I feel that it just shows how weak we are as Americans. We have a two-party system that divides the nation. With two polar opposites, there can never be a general consensus. Perhaps this is just another example of how badly mankind has done leading each other. 

Some people point to the fact that Trump is good on the economy. Well, when you are running a world economy (still pegged to the US dollar) based on debt creation...you will fail. People who saved for decades lost everything when banks when under in 2008 in the USA. 

For me, I do not feel good about this election. I feel that it just shows how divided America is. How even after so many years people have not grown up and that they are still sleeping with their eyes open. 

We are in a system in which we are basically put into one of 2 groups. It is so easy to control people that way. Feed lies to each half, and watch as they try to rip each other's throat out. At the same time, things are happening that are taking away what little freedom people have.

So there it is. Who will win we will see. Time to get this Saturday started!

/tata

A very nice surprise!

Ok so we went camping last Saturday. On the way there we got lost. Actually, my friend's wife told him to take the wrong the exit. I enoyed it. I knew we took the wrong exit but I was not really excited about camping and driving around was actually really nice. 

Finally we arrived and the sun was going down. We were shocked. Yogita's friend had prepared a mock wedding ceremony to celebrate our 20th wedding annervesary. It was really nice, while Yogita and I felt uncomfortable because of all the attention other people at campsites around us looked on. 

We took loads ot pictures. The food was very nice. We brought steak which was cooked medium rare, and well done. We had eel, pork belly, sasuages, and more. It was nice. Sleeping was very comfortable due to our electric blanket. 

So all in all it was very nice. However, I am very happy to have it all behind us now. I think I will try to for very quiet 21st next year. VERY QUIET. I want to head to Seoul by ourselves. I made some new friends last week. 

If we stay in Korea for another year then we will go camping more provided covid-19 does cause a massive outbreak. 

Ok time to go love Wednesdays!!!!

/tata