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IN THIS ISSUE

• Pat Moore becomes involved in interviewing prospective ESL teachers
• Dalton Deedrick concludes his story of volunteering in the Philippines
• Irene Harvalias and Emily French teach crafts to school children
• Jack Peaker sent us this story about little Bruce and Jenny
• Geoff Goodship, Gerrit deLeeuw, Jay, Shirley Conlon, Tom Williamson, and Zvonko Springer suggest interesting websites

Pat Moore put her adventures in China to good use in interviewing prospective

TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Returning to Canada from the far east was exciting but also a culture shock. After living very frugally, it was a huge shock to see the open spaces of Canada, the small populations, plus all the "stuff" we have, and it took a while to settle down to a normal life. After several Chinese dinner parties with friends who were also interested in China, we decided to get together and plan a trip to explore the "Silk Road".

However, just at this time I was approached by a company which offered me a position in Canada to interview and hire people interested in going to China and other countries in Asia to teach English. I decided to concentrate on people living in Alberta as I was not interested in travelling around Canada after having been away so long. It was possible to do the initial interview on the phone but then it was necessary to spent several hours with each possible candidate in person to make sure they would be suitable. My daughter and her family were living in Australia and it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to interview and hire people with my connections with people I had met while in China to make arrangements. I also wanted to check out other countries and to meet Canadians interested in going to Asia for the experience and this would give me the opportunity to visit Australia while checking out the office and the schools who were wanting teachers.

There were several countries to consider, and after exploring all the regulations, housing, teaching positions, etc., I decided on China and Korea. Japan sounded interesting, but after spending some time there I found the cost of living was too expensive, and the travel would be very complicated as they would have to teach in more than one school each day.

Taiwan sounded interesting but they had very strict regulations regarding the certificates required for teaching. Korea seemed to be the most attractive as the company had an office right in Seoul with some English-speaking staff which would help a great deal - both for the Canadians going to Korea and for me, as I could talk to them occasionally to check on the teachers.

There are several companies doing this in Canada and for those who are not familiar with them, I will note some of the rules: Plane tickets to country are paid, but return tickets are only paid for if the one-year contract is completed; a sparse but comfortable apartment reasonably close to the school or bus line is paid for; and a monthly salary is paid into their bank account. If the person does not spend too much on personal things like long-distance phone calls to family and friends, they can easily come back to Canada at the end of their contract with over $10,000 Canadian. Time is allowed on the school computers during their personal time to keep in touch with family.

In each country they have to gradually find their way around regarding food, travel, social life, etc., but the office tries to help as best they can, and it is very handy to have a office over there with a few staff that speak English. Occasionally there will be problems with a particular school principal and the office is usually, but not always, able to help. In some cases they will arrange to change schools if the personality conflicts cannot be corrected. The principal of a school is a very high official with much authority.

In Korea there are many long weekend national holidays so travelling to see the country is cheap and accessible. This is not the case in China as the schools are open six days a week most of the year, but in China they often are invited into the homes of the other Chinese teachers and students so they are able to learn a lot about life in China. In Korea, the English teachers are allowed, if they wish, to take on extra paying students, usually young adults or businessmen, after school hours or weekends to earn extra money.

The China experience is a little more difficult but since the Chinese honour teachers very highly, several people really enjoyed their experience. One early-retired RCMP couple enjoyed it so much they have returned for three one-year contracts. Most of the people who enjoyed their experience were amazed at the students´ determination and dedication to learning English. At all the schools in both countries, most of the seats in the libraries would be taken, and up to 100 students would be waiting in line in the hall for the next available chair in the library.

The people who seemed most successful in this adventure often went over with all sorts of visual aids, books, music instruments, games, etc., and with open minds and great attitudes.

It was very interesting for me to interview and hire a variety of men, women, and couples who were interested in this adventure, and I met some fascinating people whom I will always treasure. Unfortunately, my trip to the Silk Road was postponed until the future and that day has not arrived yet.

PS: I talked to a few people in other parts of Canada who are still involved with sending people to other countries to teach English. Due to the very strict controls that many of the Asian countries have enforced regarding proper teaching permits, the emphasis has now shifted to South America, where the interest in speaking English in the business world has increased. Now there is a demand in countries such as Brazil, which has recently blossomed in the global business world.

Dalton Deedrick concludes his story about his experiences as a volunteer dentist in the Philippines:

WAR AND CHAOS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Last week´s story painted an almost idyllic picture of life in the camp, and indeed the organization was excellent, but I think you will agree that most of these unfortunates deserved some respite following their harrowing experiences making it to Marong. I will relate the story of one boatload of people who landed just days before I reached the camp, and their story is not unique.

A group of 23 people crowded into a little coastal fishing boat with one week´s supply of water, food, and gas, and departed South Vietnam, headed for Thailand. They were refused landing there, so they set out across the 500-mile stretch of the China Sea for the Philippines. Out of fuel, they drifted with the winds and current, with only rainwater to sustain them. They were within hailing distance of countless ships which would not pick them up, or offer other aid, suffered through two typhoons, and finally, after 52 days afloat, they washed up on the beach about three miles from Marong. Seven of those who started died on the boat; two more died after landing; and a baby, which survived, was born the day they landed.

The reason no big ship could pick them up was because if it had done so, it would have been refused landing at any of the ports in the nearby countries. Hundreds, or more likely thousands of "boat people" like the ones mentioned, were lost in the China Sea from pirates who robbed, raped, and pillaged the helpless people on the tiny boats, then sank them, or left them to chance the next typhoon.

Not all of the camp people had such dramatic histories, of course. Most were middle-class people who simply did not want to live in a communist country, or perhaps they had previous ties with the U.S. or South Vietnamese military, which made them targets for eventual severe treatment. A few were suspected criminals who were getting out because they were on the run; quite a few were in no real danger at home, but were hoping to get to one of the "lands of promise" where they might make a better life for themselves; and there were a few who were mentally deranged.

There were interview teams who tried to direct each family to the country desired, or where they had sponsors or relatives, quota permitting. I think they made a conscientious effort, but what an impossible task!

I started this little essay to tell about my dental experience in the camp, and somehow got sidetracked with a lot of other things. Well, dentally it was a great experience! There were two dental clinics in the camp, nearly a mile apart, each manned by a Rotarian volunteer. My confrere was a gentleman from India, resplendent in a snow-white turban which he wore all the time, somewhat to the astonishment of his patients. By luck, my clinic was in the nearby hospital, while his was a mile away, in the other end of the camp. He could either walk it four times a day, or for the 15-cent fare, take the little motorbike taxi with the fringe-topped sidecar down to his end.

The water supply for his clinic was in a 500-gallon water tank, perched a few feet above his roof. His patients began to complain that the taste of the water from the rotor coolant, and rinsing syringe, was a bit peculiar, so he went up to the ladder to look in the tank. The trouble was soon apparent. The lid had shifted a bit, and several unfortunate birds had drowned in the tank. Oh well, nothing in this world is perfect.

My clinic was in the hospital, with excellent new equipment supplied by Japan. Japan would not admit any immigrants, but she did sent funds which in this camp were used to equip hospital and dental clinics quite adequately.

The dental work was about half extractions, and half restorative work. The whole exercise would have been twice as efficient with one good assistant, but instead, I had four assistants all the time, each one proficient in one language, but not knowing much English. There was a Thai, a Vietnamese, a Cambodian, and a Laotian, each determined to be the one at my elbow, and none of them had ever been in a dental office his life. They were racking up hours of credit against their requirements for "pre-employment" experience, and of course they were interested in such marvels as freezing, fillings, and simple surgery.

Every day, one fellow came in with a notebook and solemnly copied down the names from our list of patients, and then left. He was one of those mental patients that no one knew what to do with. He couldn´t go back to wherever he came from, and they couldn´t in good conscience send him anywhere. He had been in the camp a couple of years, with no likelihood of placement.

Every Monday was bittersweet day in camp, for that was the day that a fleet of buses would arrive from Manila to pick up some 300 people who had passed all the hurdles, and were on their way to a new and distant land. Families were kept together of course, but good friends, lovers, or distant relatives might well be listed to go to opposite sides of the country, or even be some other country´s quota.

One of my translator-assistants had finally qualified for departure, so I went down to the departure plaza to see him off. It was a scene of high emotional drama, probably a repeat of what our ancestors experienced when they embarked for the new world, but it was a wrenching experience to witness. I couldn´t help but wonder what fears and hopes were in the minds of those boarding the buses, all bound for a new, strange land, leaving behind a culture and a way of life they would never experience again. Each of you reading this will have their own assesment of how well or how badly those entering your commuity have succeeded.

Like all good things, my assignment came to an end, and I bade farewell to my turbaned friend, who was going to stay another week, and greeted a jolly little Welshman who had come half way around the world to replace me. It had been a memorable month, and even now, years later, whenever I see a little dark-haired Asian citizen, I have an urge to approach him and say, "Did you, by any chance, come here from a refugee camp in Marong?" I never have followed that urge, of course, but if I did and the answer was "yes," I think we would have a great conversation.

Irene Harvalias and Emily French are two of the dedicated seniors involved in

INTERGENERATIONAL CRAFTS IN SCHOOLS

Irene writes: When I lived on Mayne Island I got hooked on quilting. After having been a retired teacher for a couple of years and missing the kids, I decided to see if I could combine the two. I asked the principal at the school if he´d be willing to donate a little kid time for some of us from the guild to teach the children how to quilt. This suggestion was received with enthusiasm, and so it started, about ten years ago on Mayne Island ... and it´s still going.

When I returned to the mainland nearly four years ago, my daughter, a teacher at Maywood school - an inner-city school in Burnaby - asked if I´d be interested in quilting with her class. She teaches a split 6/7. Of course, the answer was a resounding "YES!"

We started after Easter with a small project with the whole class, and the kids seemed to enjoy it a lot. We just did one small block with applique work on it by hand, as there were no machines in the school.

Meanwhile, there was a fire in one of the buildings behind the school, and many families who lived there and whose children attended the school were left homeless and destitute, with whatever little they owned gone. One of the teachers in the school thought it would be nice to make a quilt for a raffle, or some kind of fund-raiser. And I thought, why not make quilts for all the kids who were involved?

Student with quilt. (click for larger image)

There were eighteen in all, so we put the word out that there would be a "quiltathon" on a Saturday, and any teacher, parent, friend who wanted to come and help could join us in the gym, with or without a sewing machine. I cut out all the pieces at home from fabrics I happened to have handy, and took them to the school. We put together the 18 tops and my daughter and I took them home and quilted them over the weekend; the kids got their quilts the next Monday.

As a result of this, some of the mothers who came to help but who had never sewn before said they would be interested in learning how to quilt. One of the teachers who had helped, used to teach in the school and asked if she could help me with the class. Yes, of course! I gave the mothers´ names to the community school coordinator and waited for her to tell me when we could start, and where in the school we could work. September would be the starting time.

During the summer my daughter and I talked about it, and decided that we would split the class into three. One group would be doing digital photography with my daughter, the second one would do research in the library, and the third one would quilt with me, and whoever else I could get to help me. But we had no machines. Hmmmm ... time to scrounge. We put out the word for anybody who had old machines and some appeared miraculously at the school. They were, however, old and very frustrating. Then I saw an ad in a local newspaper from a store in Abbotsford for sewing machines at a greatly reduced priced. Off I went, holding my smoking line of credit, and bought seven machines. I also had three Singer Featherweights at home, and took those along, and voila - ten machines ready for each group.

A "scrap" quilt made by one of the mothers (click for larger image)

That made life a lot easier, and I had the help of the other teacher and between the two of us we did a fine job of teaching the children the basics of how to use a sewing machine, and watched them produce their first little quilt with great pride - theirs and ours.

But what about the mothers? Well, the list was lost, and we didn´t know which mothers we should contact, so the idea sat on the back burner until just before Christmas. Then one of the mums saw me outside my daughter´s room and lit right up. Her daughter was one of my daughter´s students. So we had one mother, and she had a friend who was also interested, so we went to the community school coordinator´s office and got a starting date for after Christmas. Word got around, and more women showed up. We used whatever scraps we were given. I put the word out to my quilt guilds both here and on Mayne and got donations of bits and pieces of fabric, and we managed both the kids´ and the mothers´ needs ... and there was always my bottomless stash at home, and the line of credit was still useful at times!

Both programmes are still going today, and the kids love their quilts, and their OPQRST (our photography, quilting, researsch special time) is one of their favourite subjects. I have two of the mothers who come and help with the kids, and there are always new ones coming, and some go because they get jobs, but everybody is happy. Especially ME!

Emily French is another senior involved in teaching crafts in schools. She usually teaches puffed quilting, and like Irene, has been doing it for many years - 18, in fact!

Emily French and one of her classes in puffed quilting

Emily teaches children at two elementary schools in Toronto, Thursday and Friday afternoons for ten weeks in the fall and ten weeks in the spring. Other grandparents teach other crafts in the library before the recess break so the groups will be small. The second half of the class of about 36 at Selwyn school meet for crafts with volunteers after the recess break.

Emily has four or five students each time. The class sizes at Victoria Park school are smaller, but there are fewer grandparents. They are part of Community Care East York, and they represent grandparents in the Intergenerational Teach and Learn Community.

At the introductory meeting, the co-ordinator from Community Care East York speaks to the whole class, including the teacher, to introduce the grandparents and the tea lady, a mother at the school who will co-ordinate the classes. The children learn about volunteering and grandparents show the craft they teach. This year at Selwyn they can choose puffed quilting, rug hooking, felt craft, or corking. A man taught stamp collecting for several years but he has passed away.

These seniors are volunteers and are not involved with discipline. The tea lady removes anyone who is disruptive, and he cannot return. Intergenerational involves grandparents, parents, and children, but the TLC part is emphasised, and the kids know it.

JacK Peaker forwarded this touching story about

LITTLE BRUCE AND JENNY

Little Bruce and Jenny are only 10 years old, but they just know that they are in love. One day they decide that they want to get married, so Bruce goes to Jenny´s father to ask him for her hand.

Bruce bravely walks up to him and says, "Mr. Smith, me and Jenny are in love, and I want to ask you for her hand in marriage."

Thinking that this was just the cutest thing, Mr. Smith replies, "Well, Bruce, you are only 10. Where will you two live?"

Without even taking a moment to think about it, Bruce replies, "In Jenny´s room. It´s bigger than mine, and we can both fit there nicely."

Still thinking this is just adorable, Mr. Smith says with a huge grin, "Okay then, how will you live? You´re not old enough to get a job. You´ll need to support Jenny."

Again, Bruce instantly replies, "Our allowance. Jenny makes five bucks a week, and I make 10 bucks a week. That´s about 60 bucks a month and that should do us just fine."

By this time, Mr. Smith is a little shocked that Bruce has put so much thought into this. He thinks for a moment, trying to come up with something that Bruce won´t have an answer to. After a second, Mr. Smith says, "Well Bruce, it seems like you have got everything all figured out. I just have one more question for you. What will you do if the two of you should have little ones of your own?"

Bruce just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Well, we´ve been lucky so far."

Mr. Smith no longer thinks the little s--t is adorable.

THIS WEEK´S SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Geoff Goodship writes: These gorgeous October days are an inspiration to the photographer instinct in all of us. The day I chose was windy; Trees and leaves were moving about. That determined I´d shoot video rather than stills. The cardinal rule in video (especially for amateurs) is to hold the camera still and let the subject move.) Here´s what I found outside yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK_zYh2IwIk

Gerrit deLeeuw sends this link to a video of an amazing athlete:

http://arunaurl.com/3896

Jay sends this link to a suggestion to bypass a common dilemma for drivers of light vehicles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GAacxGiV4A&NR=1

Shirley Conlon suggests you check out this video clip from Stockholm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw&feature=player_embedded

Tom Williamson writes that this video is a delight to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgW2qgMsnzw

Zvonko Springer recommends this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jgkm2pdWgY&featureplayer_=embedded

To watch an elephant painting an elephant, go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk&feature=player_embedded