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Phase One of Devolin Adventures complete; Phase Two begins now

29/2/2016

I know it's been a while since I last posted. It's not that nothing is going on, but I've been waiting for a significant event to demarcate the trip from the destination. We have a new apartment. I have a new job, boss and office. Today, I got these scraps of paper that says I'm official.

In the past couple of days I've realized that the good folks at Sejong University think I know what I'm doing, so they're basically letting me look after myself. Classes start in 2 days, so I've been busy trying to get ready to teach.

Full-time professors at Sejong teach 5 classes a year: usually 3 in one semester, and 2 in the other. As you can imagine, I was hoping to get the lighter load in my first semester, but that isn't to be - I will be teaching 3 classes for the next 4 months.

Given that Sejong doesn't actually have a "Political Science" department, I am a member of the Public Administration faculty. This absence of PoliSci majors means I won't be teaching advanced or graduate courses in specific subject areas (e.g. Canadian Politics or Parliamentary Democracy). Rather, I will be teaching general courses, mostly to non-majors. For any "true" academic, this would be horrible, as they see themselves as 90% researcher and 10% teacher, and get promoted mostly on the basis of publishing research. As such, they only want to teach within their specialty.

For me, I see myself as a teacher first, and consequently look forward to teaching students from other departments about the basics of politics and government. As time goes by, I think it's also likely my course offerings will become more fine-tuned as the department gets to know what I can do, and I am able to assess where I can make the most meaningful contribution. For this semester, I'm teaching the following three courses:

1) Introduction to Politics and Government - this is a general course for undergraduates from any year and any department. My goal it to help them become better able to understand and participate in public life. I expect to have 30-40 students. I think of this as PoliSci100lite.

2) Politics & Government in the United States & South Korea - this is a course for seniors in the Public Administration department. We will compare the republican governments in the USA and ROK, and will also contrast those republican structures to parliamentary systems in the United Kingdom and Canada. This class will be small, probably less than 10 students.

3) Political Thought - this course is being offered to international graduate students through the Asian Studies department. I've already begun brushing up on my Plato and Aristotle, and will have to be ready to fly through the centuries to get to Marx and Engels by the end of April. In May and June, I will introduce 4 basic political perspectives (liberal, conservative, socialist & fascist), then we will examine some issues through those paradigms. I expect about 20-30 international students from around the world.

Those familiar with my scholastic and political background know I'm not an academic authority in any of these areas. Having said that, I expect I still know more than the students, and look forward to getting myself back up to speed in many of these areas (given it's been almost 30 years since I left academia at Stony Brook). Heck, if Leonardo DiCaprio can pull off being a surgeon and airline pilot in "Catch Me If You Can", surely I can handle a university professor gig!

Anyway, I'm in my office today, learning stuff I'm already supposed to know. I'll keep you posted...

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Saturday night in Seoul

20/2/2016

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So, it's Saturday night. I'm sitting in the living room watching TV with Molly (CNN - my choice, not hers). The Hawaiian pizza we ordered for dinner was surprisingly good, and the cold Heineken washed it down nicely. George is in his room playing video games. Ursula is trying to make order of all the stuff we've dragged home these past couple of days. Doesn't sound so different from a typical Saturday night in Canada!

This morning George and I went for a run in the Grand Children's Park behind our place. The perimeter track is 3 km (by comparison, the Central Park loop in NYC is 10 km) and rubberized, so it's nice on old knees. We also found a sliding hill in part of the park we haven't visited before. There's obviously snow-making equipment, as kids and adults were riding tubes down, just like we do in Canada. What seemed strange is that within 500 metres of kids sliding on snow, we saw others riding a rollercoaster.

I think the park is the kids' favourite thing in Korea so far, especially the zoo (which also reminds me a bit of the Central Park zoo, as seen in Madagascar, except this one is free admission). After walking through with us the first day, they've gone back on their own to feed the rabbits and deer. They've seen the lions, tigers and sea lions, but haven't managed to catch the elephants or polar bears outside yet.

In many ways, it's hard to believe we only moved into our apartment yesterday morning. While there's still much to do, I think we've made great progress. Yesterday we went to IKEA: arrived at 3:00; left at 8:30. I'm not sure whose GDP I boosted (Korea's or Sweden's) but my wallet was much easier to carry when we walked out. Tomorrow morning all our stuff will get delivered. Yes, there's a new bed for Barry and Ursula, and a new couch for the living room that folds into a bed (hint, hint). Hope it all fits in here.

As a final observation, I'd like to note one more time that Seoul is a very big city. When I checked the online subway routing from our local station to IKEA, I noticed it was 32 km and 80 minutes. (Not bad for less than $2!) But seriously, every time we take the subway it's full. Trains run every 3 or 4 minutes along the 18 lines between more than 600 stations. I just looked at Wikipedia, and now I understand why it seems so busy - average ridership is 9.8 million passengers each day!

Molly and I testing the sofas at IKEA.

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My most memorable moments.

18/2/2016

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You may have noticed the kids have posted some of their favourite things from the trip, and Ursula posted a very nice summary. In a similar vein, I've been feeling nostalgic, and wanted to share a few of my most memorable moments from our 6 month trip.

1) On September 20 we were in London, the day the UK commemorates the Battle of Britain. It was after lunch, and we were walking down the street towards Westminster Abbey. Then, quite unexpectedly, we heard a roar from above, and a squadron of Hurricanes and Spitfires roared over - very low and very, very loud. Then, they did a second pass. At that moment, an elderly gentleman (obviously in his Sunday best) started to talk to us. He had lived in London as a boy, and had tears in his eyes as he watched those vintage aircraft fly over. He said he remembered those days well, and the sound of those planes. For a moment, history came alive. It was spine tingling.

2) On October 20, after spending 5 weeks in Canada for the campaign and election, I drove to Toronto, flew to London, flew to Basel, then rented a car and drove across Switzerland. About 9 pm I found the Beachli family cabin, and climbed a hundred or more steps up the side of the mountain in the dark to find Ursula, George, Molly and John waiting for me. As I sat down and enjoyed my first glass of wine, it was clear to me that my parliamentary career was really over. I was back with my family, and we were on our way to the next chapter in our lives. What a relief. It felt great.

3) On December 6 (about 5 a.m.) we drove into Kruger National Park in South Africa for the first time. Within the first 2 hours, we had seen buffalo, giraffes, rhinos and elephants. In fact, one massive bull elephant got so close to the car we could hear him breathing and see that he was looking at us. I remember sitting frozen, trying to savour the experience, but also aware that bull elephants can destroy a car in a minute or two if they turn aggressive. Time stood still. The elephant lingered, then left. Nothing bad happened. It felt exhilarating.

As many of you know, travelling, particularly travel planning, is my passion. If it is an art form, then this trip has been my masterpiece. I spent hundreds of hours planning it, and we've spent 176 days experiencing it. I still can't believe it's over. I'm happy and sad at the same time. I know there will be more trips, but never another one like this with our children. It was truly the trip of my lifetime.

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Which is worse - really cold or really hot?

14/2/2016

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We've heard that Ontario is in the grips of a serious cold snap, with temperatures in the minus 30's and windchills in the minus 40's. I don't know anybody who enjoys that kind of bone chilling cold. Ironically, when we looked at the weather online yesterday, we saw the same number for both Haliburton and Kuala Lumpur, and that was 35.

I'm sure everyone can remember the hottest day they ever experienced in downtown Toronto. You know, 30-something degrees and super humid. Stepping outside felt like stepping into a sauna. When the sun shone, it felt like an inferno. When the wind blew, you felt like you were in a convection oven. Well, add about 10% to that, and you have Malaysian weather this week.

Looking back on our trip, Ursula and I can recall seeing 35 degrees or more five times: 38 in Death Valley in Israel; 36 in Dubai; 40 in Kruger National Park in South Africa; 36 in Kalgoorlie in the Australian Outback; and 35 in Kuala Lumpur the past 3 days. But in comparison, the weather in those other places really doesn't compare with what we've experienced in KL this week.

Today it was mostly overcast with little breeze, and the air still felt smothering. When the sun did pop out for a few minutes, it felt like being under the broiler. Thank goodness we are able to dress in t-shirts, shorts and sandals! Tomorrow morning I have to go to the Korean Embassy to pick up my work visa, and I dread having to wear a real shirt and pants for the first time in months.

Having said all that, I know I won't get any sympathy from anyone in Ontario this week. I don't envy you the frigid temperatures you're dealing with, but we're genuinely looking forward to arriving in Seoul Wednesday, where it's forecast to be -3 in the morning and +5 in the afternoon. (Ursula even bought some mitts today!) After living in summer-like conditions since last May, I think we're all ready for a change in the weather. Believe it or not, the kids are really hoping to see some snow! I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the planet...

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I think we've had enough (I guess it was bound to happen eventually)

13/2/2016

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I think it's official: the Devolins are sick of travelling. We are supersaturated with seeing new places, and we just want to get to Korea and get on with things! For the past few days, we have all been busy checking out things online about Seoul. After talking about this for 2 years, it's hard to believe our new life will actually begin in less than 96 hours.

Looking back over the past few days in Kuala Lumpur, it's shocking how little touristy stuff we've done. I haven't been anywhere other than our hotel (room, rooftop pool, lounge, gym) and the mega-mall next door since Thursday. We eat breakfast in our room, then go to the mall on and off all day, including for lunch and dinner. Fortunately, there must be 30 places to eat there. Today we had Subway for lunch, and are having pizza for dinner. (So much for exotic cuisine!) Ironically, there are 4 or 5 really good looking Korean restaurants, but we're giving them a pass, as we figure we'll get lots of kimchi once we get to Seoul Wednesday.

In even more shocking news, I spent most of the day clothes shopping. I know, I know, you probably don't believe me, but I have the new shirts, pants, sox, shoes, belt and jacket to prove it. We shipped some nice clothes from Vietnam to Korea last month, but if we don't get them for a couple of days, I won't be able to show up at the university wearing my hiking shorts and Crocs for my first day of work!

Molly and George also got lots of new duds, and even Ursula has picked up a few things. It's not that clothing is much cheaper here than Korea, but all the clerks speak English fluently, and we have lots of time to find what we like. When we arrive in Korea, it's likely to be -1C or -2C, so we will also need some warmer stuff than the shorts and t-shirts we've been wearing for 6 months. This also means we'll have to buy a new suitcase to haul all our new stuff onto the final flight.

On a more philosophical note, if someone had told me a year ago it was possible for a trip to be too long, I would have scoffed at the notion. Now, I've experienced it first-hand. In addition to that, I'm also digesting the fact that the longest trip of my life is now over. Sure, I will continue to travel, but I can't imagine I'll ever visit 17 countries in a six month period again. But as of today, I am totally ready to settle down in one place - well, for a few months...

Everything in the 4 red bags is for me!

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Reflections on Singapore

11/2/2016

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I’m writing this while riding on a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Before you feel too sorry for me, I should tell you that buses here can be pretty nice. This 500 km / 6 hour trip in a regular highway coach would cost about $25. For $30 you get a better bus, with movies and a meal.

For $54 you get a luxury double decker bus (that’s what we’re taking today). Imagine a bus with airplane business class seats (one on each side). As such, this bus holds just 18 passengers. We have an attendant who serves drinks and meals. Our pod seats recline and offer a massage option. There are multiple movies and video games available, just like a plane.

There are also $70 and $100 buses, but I can’t imagine what additional things they might offer (not booze, Malaysia is a Muslim country). Plane tickets are $50-75, and take almost as long downtown to downtown. We talked about it, and the kids decided they wanted to try the luxury bus rather than taking another discount flight - so here we are! We walked out of our Singapore hostel at 9 am, and should be to our hotel in Kuala Lumpur about 5 or 6 pm. Quite a relaxing day, when you think about it. (We actually walked into our hotel at 4 pm. Interesting tidbit: our 15 minute cab ride to the bus station in Singapore cost $18. A longer cab ride in Kuala Lumpur cost less than $3.)

Anyway, my main subject today is Singapore. What a fascinating and intriguing place. We had a really nice week, and already want to return to see all the stuff we know we missed. Ursula and I both said “I could live here”. George liked it. Molly decided she likes heat, but not humidity, so Singapore won’t ever be on her bucket list.

Singapore has a unique racial history. Unlike most large Asian cities, there weren't many inhabitants on this island before the British arrived. Today, there are three major (almost indigenous) groups: Malays (Muslim); Indians (Hindu mostly); and Chinese (Buddhists). There are also many people from other places, including Westerners and other Asians. This means that when you’re walking down the street, you have no idea whose families have been here for hundreds of years, and who is a recent arrival or tourist. For anyone who embraces the diversity of the 21st century global culture, Singapore is invigorating and energizing.

I haven’t seen any statistics, but I cannot imagine there’s anywhere on earth with more places to eat than Singapore. In fact, if you’re a foodie, Singapore should be at the top of your Bucket List! More surprising than the sheer number of options is the fact that even the cheapest street vendors and food courts offer excellent food for surprisingly low prices. I guess the never-ending and fierce competition keeps everyone on their toes! The notable exceptions are the touristy places along the river and in big hotels. These places are also good, but much more expensive.

As Ursula has noted in her blog, there is also an amazing variety of architecture in terms of buildings, but also in terms of bridges and roads and parks and monuments. In fact, we met a young Dutch woman who studies architecture and had just finished a semester in Singapore exploring all it had to offer. Civic infrastructure is first rate, spotlessly clean, and perfectly maintained (reminds me of Germany and Switzerland).

Overall, I give the place an A+. I know it’s not democratic and individual rights are not protected like in the West, but there is much to admire in this unique city-state - and I know I want to spend more time here.

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Afterthoughts about Australia

10/2/2016

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(I wrote this 10 days ago, but forgot to post it. Better late than never!)

Our fortnight is Australia is almost over. I know we haven't blogged much, but that’s mostly because the internet service in every one of the five places we’ve stayed has been lousy. I don’t know if that is symptomatic, or simply bad luck. Whenever we did have a decent connection, we focussed mostly on posting a few photos.

Having said all that, I’m still formulating my overall impression of this place. Western Australia is a naturally beautiful corner of the world. The countryside reminds me a bit of California, a bit of Italy, a bit of Florida, and a lot of South Africa. The beaches go on forever, and never seem to be busy (even though we were here during summer vacation). The density of people per unit of natural beauty is very low - maybe this is what California was like in the 1950’s.

We’ve seen town after town of lovely, well-kept homes. Even in the less affluent rural areas, things were almost always neat and tidy (although Southern Cross had a certain “Crocodile Dundee” feel to it). Along the coast, it seems like every house and neighbourhood is being prepped for Better Homes and Gardens. I also like the fact they aren’t faux versions of historic architecture. There’s a clean, modern look to most places, but they still have interesting details and character.

More than once I’ve asked Ursula “where are the poor people?” We haven’t seen anything that looks like public housing or decrepit older homes. This is in sharp contrast with almost every other country we’ve visited, but especially South Africa, where serious poverty was evident on the edge of every community.

Granted, we’ve only seen a small corner of the state with the highest average income. Australia is a similar size to Canada, so I assume there are significant differences between regions. But still, we have driven more than 2000 km in two weeks. No slums. No junkyards. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a single homeless person. It almost feels sanitized.

In terms of people, Australians remind me of Canadians - for better and for worse. I’ve heard Aussies described as outgoing and gregarious, but that hasn’t been our experience. They are polite, but cool and aloof. When we’re out walking on the beach or street, people rarely acknowledge us or say hello. When we’re in a store and speak with an obvious accent, nobody ever asks us a question, and they don’t offer much information either. We had more (and more meaningful) conversations in Israel and Turkey and South Africa, even Vietnam. Maybe we aren’t a novelty to Aussies the way we were in those places. Maybe they don’t get many foreign tourists. Maybe they don’t give a shit. I don’t know.

When we were considering adding Australia to our trip about a month ago, we knew our regular $300 a day budget would not suffice. After looking at expected costs, I calculated that two weeks in Australia would cost about $3000 more than staying in southeast Asia ($1500 for airfares and another $100 a day for regular expenses). We knew that prices for accommodation, as well as food and drink, threatened to be real budget busters if we weren’t careful.

Turns out, we were right. Other than in Perth, we paid $150-200 for cabins in campgrounds. Coffee is never less than $4.50. Today we paid $4.80 for small ice creams. Yesterday, I paid almost $30 for a six pack of Heineken and two bags of chips. We’ve only eaten two meals in real restaurants: Ursula and I went out in Perth ($56 for 2 burgers and 2 beers); and last night we went for fish and chips ($18 for a single serving in a basic, cafeteria style place). Fortunately, groceries and the rental car were reasonable and many of the tourist activities were free or inexpensive. (Note: we did manage to stay on our budget by being very careful.)

Looking back, I’m really glad we decided to come here. We’ve all enjoyed our stay. This is a beautiful and unspoiled part of the world. I can easily understand why people who live here like it a lot, even if it is very isolated. If somebody offered me an interesting job in Perth for a year or two, I think I’d take it if the salary was sufficient to cover the high cost of living - and I wouldn’t say that about everywhere we’ve been over the past 5 months!

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Who says you need a big room to be comfy?

9/2/2016

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Before we got to Singapore I told the kids that hotels were expensive, and warned them we'd be staying in a pretty small room. Turns out, I wasn't kidding! As we approach our 7th night in this compact space (with shared washrooms down the hall), we've discovered we can get along just about anywhere there's good internet connectivity. I've also promised that our room in Kuala Lumpur will be bigger (as well as having a private bath and swimming pool). After two weeks in rural Australia, welcome back to urban Asia!

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I've made some new friends in Singapore

8/2/2016

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One of my personal projects this fall has been to get back into the running habit. After running lots of races between 2008 and 2011, I overdid it in early 2012 and strained my knee. (I stupidly ran two races back to back, a hard 10k Saturday and half marathon Sunday.) I couldn't train consistently any more, and eventually quit running altogether. Twenty pounds later, I was officially off the road and onto the couch.

When we were in London in September, I was out for a little run/walk, and happened across a bunch of people running in a community event called ParkRun. I tagged along (as a bandit) for a bit, then asked one of the volunteers what was going on. He explained they held this 5k event in that park every Saturday morning. I figured it was unique to that park, or maybe to England.

When we were in Australia, I discovered they also have ParkRun, so I showed up in Busselton on a Saturday morning and ran. It was great running with a "pack" again. While there, someone told me similar events are held in hundreds of places around the world every Saturday morning, including Singapore. So, I ran here this past Saturday and made more new friends. We all went to Starbucks afterwards, and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals.

Today, they held a special Chinese New Year race, so I got to run again. The photo above was taken after the race this morning. The cute little doggy belongs to a Korean couple who live here. (He didn't run, but was pushed in a baby stroller.) The others are part of a larger gang who went to Starbucks afterwards. The diversity in this photo is a good reflection of both ParkRun and Singapore. Young and old. Moms and kids. Husbands and wives. Locals and tourists. Racehorses and clydesdales. In some ways, I wish we were moving here so I could run with this gang every week. (There's no ParkRun group in Seoul - yet.)

While I've found it challenging to run in the humidity here (it was 'only about 27C' at 7:30 this morning), I was still able to set a new "I'm over 50 now" personal best of 25:23 today. Not exactly greased lightning, but also not too bad for someone who couldn't run 2k non-stop in September.

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I think I like Singapore

5/2/2016

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Everyone is getting ready for Chinese New Year - now just 4 days away!

We arrived in Singapore 2 days ago, and so far, so good. I understand that the weather here is pretty much the same every day year round - 32C and humid, with showers on and off during the day. I love this tropical weather in shorts and a t-shirt, and hate it when I'm wearing a wool suit and tie. As such, I'm happy this week!

We're staying in a very small hostel in the heart of the city (Boat Quay), on a little side street with loads of bars and restaurants. The hostel is very well kept, and we've met lots of interesting people here from around the world. Our room is tiny (about 12' x 6'), barely big enough for two sets of bunkbeds and 4 small lockers. Having said that, we have a nice big window onto the street and the A/C works well. Breakfast is minimal, but we're happy with toast, cereal and coffee so it's ok for us.

The first couple of days we've walked around to get our bearings. Yesterday we walked to both Chinatown and Clarke Quay (former warehouses now restaurants). Today, we toured the Little India and Arab Street areas. This morning the boys also went down to the port to see cruise ships while the girls went to a doctor (Molly has an infection in her foot, but in on the mend).

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out early to do another 5k ParkRun event, like I did last week in Australia. (I've been out each morning and it's like running in a sauna, so I don't imagine my time will be too impressive.) George will go with me to look after my stuff during the race. Apparently the gang goes to StarBucks afterwards, so that should be good.

People are friendly here, and it's easy to get along in English. Food is also awesome and cheap. I have never been anywhere with so many eateries. It seems like people here eat out 3 meals every day - and why not - how can you cook for $4 each!?

Anyway, things are very enjoyable. The adventure continues...

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<<Previous

Phase One of Devolin Adventures complete; Phase Two begins now

Saturday night in Seoul

My most memorable moments.

Which is worse - really cold or really hot?

I think we've had enough (I guess it was bound to happen eventually)

Reflections on Singapore

Afterthoughts about Australia

Who says you need a big room to be comfy?

I've made some new friends in Singapore

I think I like Singapore

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