Blog posts, Faraway Hammer Writing

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Got an expat in Asia medical story to share?

May 15, 2012

Looking for expat medical stories.

Are you a foreigner who is a current (or former) expat in South Korea or Japan?

Got a medical/dental story you'd be willing to share?

If so I'd love to hear from you. I'm currently gathering material for my second book, which will be a collection of medical mishap stories from both countries.

* Your tale(s) can be funny, sad or outrageous.

* All contributions will be published either anonymously or with a pseudonym of your choice, unless you
particularly wish to use your own name.

* Stories of any length are welcome.

* All contributors will receive a voucher for a free copy of the finished e-book/PDF as a token of gratitude.

*Entries may be edited to fit the book's theme, however all key details will remain unchanged.

* Please email me at farawayhammer (at) gmail.com with submissions or any questions you may have.

I would very much appreciate it if you could Facebook, G+, Tweet, Pin or Stumble this post as widely as possible.

Thanks.

Val

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Being an expat

An interview with Dina Porell: author of a new book on Egyptian culture

May 7, 2012

When I heard that my favourite local author friend was releasing a new book I just had to grab an interview with her. Read on to find out more about this unusual ex-pat cook and writer.

Dina, you are not the usual kind of expat English teacher I meet here. What brought you to South Korea?
I have a long story with Korea. A few years ago I used to watch Korean drama on Egyptian TV. Korean dramas are very popular in Egypt. Anyway in 2008 I won the bronze prize of the first international Dokdo ess...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Books

Korea is making me sick, literally!

May 4, 2012

*Do note that this article discusses bodily functions to a level of explicity you may be uncomfortable with*

I apologise in advance if this post reads like a bit of a rant, but I am truly not a happy bunny right now.

The clock just ticked over into day 16 of me being ill. What I thought was a common cold is actually bronchitis. It's quite severe and the doc is concerned it may well be heading for pneumonia.

As I've not had this problem before I've been wiling away the hours I cannot sleep doing...
Continue reading...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Being an expat

Korean university students and EFL: challenges

April 29, 2012

In the South Korean education system there is intense pressure for students to achieve. From around 4th grade in elementary school a child's learning future may well be mapped out. Competition to get into the 'best' middle or high school is intense, and by age fifteen a large percentage of Korean kids will have spent about two thirds (or more) of their waking hours working towards this goal.

82% of high school graduates will enter university, (source: Glutted with graduates), their final desti...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : EFL teaching in Asia

A question for authors

April 24, 2012

Publishing my first non fiction book a couple of months ago was a wonderful moment in my writing life.I believed in the story I was sharing, felt totally committed to the project and didn't have a moments doubt that this was going to be a great read.

That it is still selling steadily thrills me. I feel like a proud mother. I want to do it again but I'm having problems.

Even with several exciting options at various stages of development I can't seem to pull anything together. It makes me feel li...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Being a writer

Writing notes for future blog posts

April 15, 2012

Are you the kind of writer who never leaves the house without pen and notebook?
I definitely am. Unfortunately my compulsion to be ever prepared for literary inspiration doesn't always have a positive outcome. I've no problem with making notes. It's making sense of them afterwards that causes me problems!

An example
During my recent travels to Sri lanka I filled an entire small jotter with mysterious scribblings that make absolutely no sense to me now. Perhaps I thought that phrases such as :

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Being a writer

Cooking at home in South Korea

April 8, 2012

I don't eat out very often here in South Korea, for various reasons.

My limited language makes it too much of a lottery. Point and smile only goes so far!
Most restaurants serve food in portions intended for 2+ people, which is fair enough as few people here would go out to eat alone.
Lots of the food is high in salt or pickled.

When I get together with friends I enjoy good BBQ meat, lamb or fried chicken, but most days I fend for myself.

Because I live in a fairly rural area I have ...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Being an expat

Sri Lanka phase 2: from Colombo to Habarana

April 2, 2012

Having spent the first two days of the trip at the aptly named Paradise Hotel in Colombo, Jane and I reluctantly packed our bags for phase 2. We were to meet our driver and set off on the long journey to Habarana, complete with hangovers from the Arrack cocktails of the night before!

Needless to say, much of that journey passed in a blur. We were blessed with a great driver of course, and a comfy ride.

The famed 'cultural triangle' area was really more about my friend than myself. Being plagued...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Travel tales

Shouting dictation

March 22, 2012

Here we go again

It's a new semester and I am once again facing the task of engaging overwhelmed freshman students. The best way to convince them that language learning can be fun is to make part of each lesson interactive. I love see-ing them get into a task and completely forget that they are in that dreaded compulsory English class, even if only for a few minutes.

Time to be noisy

Next week I'm rolling out the first of my madcap activities. The wonderful 'shouting dictation' exercise. It take...
Continue reading...

Posted by Valerie Ann Hamer. Posted In : Teaching tips & resources

Negombo: my absolute favourite place in Sri Lanka

March 18, 2012

If you asked me to name the area of Sri Lanka I enjoyed the most I could only answer Negombo. Don't get me wrong, I loved most other places too and all for different reasons, but Negombo still ranks as the best. Why?

Maybe it's because this was the first stop on a whirlwind tour of the country? It was brilliant to catch up with my good friend (who flew in from the UK), and to do it at the aptly named Paradise Beach Hotel.