A student in one of my conversation classes this week informed me that Korean artists and writers try to get jobs in North America. "Do you know where North American artists and writers go?" I asked her. "They come to Korea."
Setting up this sucker in some haste - no doubt shamed into action by Kat's recently created blog - I realised that I already said everything I wanted say in the "About Me" section to your right. But what - if anything - does all this say about English teachers in general and why they all want to write a bloody book?
First off, my generation (that is if I'm part of a generation at all: given that I was fourteen back in 1991, I've never felt much like an Xer and "Y" is so vapid and inane they couldn't even come up with a decent name for themselves - it's not as though the Baby Boomers are called Generation W, is it?) has never stopped dreaming. Granted our dreams may be less noble and idealistic than those of our folks but the hippies eventually grew up and became venture capitalists - not so much selling out as waking up. But have we? Have I? Every single person I knew a decade ago with even the faintest trace of creativity is still gamely plugging away at their craft, holding out for that ellusive pay-off. Some of us continue to wait.
Meanwhile, there's nothing quite like a bit of the expat experience to put off the inevitable - be it getting a real job or going toe-to-toe with that dream artistic project. As opposed to McJobs, teaching carries with it a level of respectability and the work isn't particularly taxing (correction: it isn't at all taxing). As such, I have the perfect environment for creativity to blossom but where idleness conspires to make it stagnate.
(A chicken and egg scenario: did I create this blog only to realise that I have an emerging sense of artistic ennui or did this malaise spur me into a blog?)
If nothing else, being over here gives us the chance to feel a little bit special. That is until we spot another English teacher who's also planning to write a book.
This Week's Best Bowling Score: 145
Personal Best: 183
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1 comment:
Hi Paul. Well, I for one feel that this blog is inspiring me to write. It jumpstarts my creativity. The problem is that after I write it, I lose steam and don't start anything more substantial. I hope that this blog will indeed lead to something substantial in the future. Keep up the good work and don't let the blog die. I won't let mine die either.
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