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grahamb
Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 6:09 am Post subject: The Boy Wonder does the DRC |
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Stephen made a good point about aid agencies. Try oneworld.net. It's full of links to NGOs. Whether any of them would consider employing a 30 year-old with the mind of a 10 year-old is another matter.
And that's my final word on the subject. You're terminated. |
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Africaexpert
Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 109
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 2:24 pm Post subject: Congo is a no-go |
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I had a fantasy once, too, about Khartoum, Sudan. But it turned out that the fantasy was much more picturesque than the reality.
So it is about the Congo. Read the book "East along the Equator". Talk to some of the numerous refugees from the region who live in the US now. While I was teaching in Morocco, we regularly received students from the Congo because they just don't have much in the way of ESL schools there.
Go if you must, but don't be surprised if your fantasy is shattered. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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We had a colleague in Saudi who went to work in Khartoum. He didn't exactly go unaccompanied. Just ahead of him were a load of B52's from the US bases in Britain which decided to blow up the only pharmaceutical factory in the country because it formed part of the US's recurring chemical weapons fantasy.
He met all the parents at the airport. The trouble was that they were all on the way back to the UK.
When he realized that his school was not going to open, and that nobody was going to answer his telephone calls, he took a flight back. His baggage was somewhere mid-flight five months later!
There is one advantage of going to Khartoum. You will never complain about London traffic again! |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 399 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2003 2:29 am Post subject: Re: The Boy Wonder does the DRC |
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Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 399 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2003 2:32 am Post subject: Re: Congo is a no-go |
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Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Africaexpert
Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 109
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2003 2:46 am Post subject: That I doubt |
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Seeing as though you have not lived in one single African country, you really don't have any idea. If your idea of a developing country is Greece or Korea, you have a surprise in store for you.
But do go, I'll await your full report upon your return. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2003 6:15 am Post subject: jason ! |
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I think you are accused of having the mind of a ten-year-old because you throw temper tantrums. Mature adults do not react to adversity that way.
You have probably spent too long in Korea. Perhaps a long spell experiencing the real horrors of the Thiurd World would be good for you.
But really you should not expect someone in Kinshasa to be recruiting EFL tecahers over the internet. Do you have any other skills to sell apart from your very variegated career as an EFL teacher ? You have started your studies for an Ll.B. Perhaps you can offer to teach law at Kinshasa University ? |
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grahamb
Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2003 8:48 am Post subject: Sorry, but I couldn't resist one last throw... |
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Let me see if I understand Jason's logic:
Formal educational qualifications = intelligent.
More qualifications = more intelligent.
There's a guy we all know who has a degree in history from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. Given these qualifications he must be something special. Who is he? Step forward President George W. Bush!
Enough said. |
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baby predator
Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 176 Location: London, United Kingdom
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2003 8:43 am Post subject: |
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Just found another interesting/scary article on the Congo:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/congo/story/0,12292,961954,00.html
If you really are gung ho enough, I think you should go and try to write about the experience - maybe get some first hand reports out to newspapers.
Quote from the article:
"Does the world care what happens to Congo? No," said Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Vollot, the French commander of UN forces in Ituri.
Maybe a mouthy foreigner could generate some more articles like this one and increase the pressure for some "regime change".
Good luck if you do decide to go. |
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Seth
Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 575 Location: in exile
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2003 12:54 am Post subject: |
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I lived in Haiti for a while, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Probably poorer and just as violent as DRC. I thought it would be cool and romantic to live in Haiti, especially as a young pup at age 21. Went, was suitably horrified, and returned. It was a good experience, but one I'd never do again. I can tell you some of my horror stories sometime, some of them are pretty unbelievable and I'm still amazed I survived those 3 months. I lived in a rather backwards part of rural China for a year as well as Nicaragua, and not even that came close to Haiti. The 3rd world separates the men from the boys, and I've had enough of the 3rd world to last me for a long time. I couldn't imagine spending any amount of time in Africa, the very thought makes me cringe. All the adventuresome 'man of the world' talk sounds tough, but once you're there, it's a whole different ballgame.
Beware of what you ask for, you just might get it! |
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Steiner
Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 573 Location: Hunan China
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gerard
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 581 Location: Internet Cafe
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2003 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: failed states |
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jason_seeburn wrote: |
Conrad was there in the 1800's. He was a notorious exaggerator and very short sighted. He saw what he wanted to see. He was hysterical like a woman. |
EH? You weren't an English major I guess. Conrad was a master of languages and the greatest novelist ever. Exaggerate??? Maybe but what the hell does that have to do with it??? |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:40 pm Post subject: Conrad |
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And it was not the 1800's. Try a good bit after that.
The Congo is still a violent and dangerous place. Not for anyone who has a modicum of sense or instinct for self-preservation.
It could be good for EFL teachers with suicidal tendencies. |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 399 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 9:57 pm Post subject: Re: failed states |
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Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 399 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 10:02 pm Post subject: Re: Conrad |
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Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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