Back to my 80's roots...

Well, here I am again. Another day, another dollar, another T.I.K experience!I'll try and keep this brief as I have a little bit of lesson planning to do before I go to bed - it will save me getting up early and preparing something when I'm all bleary-eyed and not thinking straight! That, and I'm meant to be going to the gym tomorrow morning. Hah. 

This weekend was rather eventful - Fatima came up from Busan on Friday night and we headed out to Sugar Joe's to catch Adrenalin's penultimate gig which was brilliant! I also had dinner with Katy, Amanda and Hyemi (my Korean co-teacher) - we went to a curry house in the city and it was good, although quite possibly the hottest thing I've eaten in Korea so far! Even my eyes were sweating.

Saturday we headed downtown where I got a haircut (I found an Australian hairdresser, formerly director of Toni & Guy who charges the equivalent of £15 for a cut and style!). London, you can shove your £160 hairdos! We headed out later that night to GoGo Party for Lia's 80's tight and bright party which was a brilliant night out. As with most boozy nights in Korea it finished at a noraebang, where it was all too much for some - we sang (well, I use the term loosely) and Jeannine and Chris somehow managed to sleep through the wailing. By the time Fatima and I headed home the sun was coming up and we were feeling a little worse for wear. Special mention must be made of Fatima's efforts the following day - she christened my toilet in a most spectacular fashion, courtesy of too many baggie drinks and noraebang soju chasers. I somehow managed to feel rather sprightly the next day, but had other things to focus on ... my first Korean date! 

Fatima will attest to the fact that I wasn't really looking forward to it at all. I was initially, but as the day drew closer I began to have visions of it being tedious - that, and there was also the distinct possibility that he wasn't actually good looking at all, and that I had initially viewed him through Korea's thickest soju goggles. Heavy with trepidation, I set off for downtown and hoped that it would be over quickly and painlessly.

As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised. I recognised him immediately and he was very friendly and sweet - not to mention very nice looking. Bonus! He took me to a restaurant in the university district where we had a really nice meal and a drink. He was shocked to discover I not only ate Korean food, but liked it - why are Koreans always so surprised? They have the most amazing food! In short, it was a successful night and I'm seeing him again this weekend. He works for one of the big banks here in SK so is currently working in Pusan Monday to Friday and back in Daegu on the weekends. Suits me!

This week is absolutely chocka block already - I have classes and dinner dates with lots of new friends - some of which I haven't even met yet - so the week is shaping up to be a good one! I feel like I never stop in this country, but that's what I love about it. There's always something happening! Korea is dynamic, as they say.

Other little oddities from this week:

• Catching some of my students filming me cleaning my teeth at school. Filming someone I can understand, but your English teacher? Cleaning her teeth? Sad times. 
• Having four little students knocking at my door on Saturday morning - I had not long since staggered out of bed and answered the door looking a little worse for wear. They told me their names were 'Happy' and didn't know any other English so they just stood there grinning and trying to peek around the door into the house. Needless to say, as much as I love my little students, they are far less cute in the early hours of Saturday morning when you've got a hangover. 
• Being asked by a sweet little third grade student if it was ok to write "Oh shit" instead of "oh no!". I told her it probably was better just to use 'no' but didn't elaborate.
• Nearly being squashed on three consecutive crossings en route to my local subway station. This was NOT due to inattention, rather the Korean way of driving (again, I use the term loosely). Red light means go faster.TIK!
• Being whacked across the back by one of the older teachers (ajuma!) at school - apparently she really likes me so I qualify for the special treatment. I'm not sure what it was for, but apparently it meant I'm 'one of the gang'. Ouch.

Speaking of school, swine flu paranoia has well and truly set in. My school has managed to avoid it so far, but today several students were diagnosed with it and they're talking about shutting the school down. Of course as a teacher I still have to go in - ridiculous. Still, it will give me plenty of time to study my Korean as I never seem to get the time outside school to do it! That and I've got three Korean teachers on tap in my office - I might as well make use of them.

More soon!

Things that make me smile

A Korean businessman offering me chewing gum as I sat at the train station drinking my coffee. So considerate! (either that or he could smell my breath from ten paces!)

Being told by little old ladies on the subway that I’m beautiful (I suspect they actually mean “you’re in my seat”)

Being offered food by random strangers in restaurants and public places – Koreans are genuinely friendly, generous people and it makes a refreshing change from London!

I also love the honesty and sweetness of my little students – here are a few gems from their English speech competition entries:

“I want to be a warm-hearted doctor” – sixth grade boy
“I like listening to music. Daesung (member of Korean boy pop band BigBang) is so cute, that’s why I love him” – fourth grade male student talking about his hobbies
“Anne of Green Gables is a story about a girl with ugly red hair and feckles” (sic) – fourth grade student
“Being afraid of something before you try it is silly, I think”. – third grade student’s speech on rollercoasters
“This story touched my heart. If everyone loves each other there will be many miracles”. Fourth grade boy doing a speech on the story of ‘Heidi’.
“My hamster’s name is Hamsun. He listens to me very much, I think he is smart”. Third grade student speech about her pet hamster, Hamsun.
Finally, there was also the mildly alarming sixth grade boy’s speech about how much he admired his sister – “I want to put her into big people”. (!!?)

A quick two-week mash-up

Well, it has been an eventful last couple of weeks. I'm going to attempt to mash it all into a short entry, minus the not-so-happy bits! Looking back it seems as though I have been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I guess I have. This blog is intended to be a catalogue of my life and times in Korea so it stands to reason I'm going to write about what is happening in my life, and I hope you enjoy reading it.


This weekend I went down to Busan to stay with Fatima, and we were joined by Drew who had made the trek down from Incheon, near Seoul. It was a brilliant and much-needed weekend on the town, with the main drawcard being the 5th annual Busan Fireworks Festival! Drew and I both arrived Friday night and set up camp at Fatima’s apartment. After a couple of glasses of wine we went out on the town to meet up with a group of others for a few drinks. It was a great night of noraebang (that’s karaoke), drinking and dancing. I even met a very attractive 29 year old Korean guy from Daegu – what are the odds of that? He is taking me out in Daegu this weekend, but how it goes remains to be seen. I’m picking that it will most likely be an exercise in futility (and particularly bad sign language) but you never know til you try, right? I’m also particularly mindful of the Korean courting process – I hear that after three dates you’re considered officially dating (apparently not in America!), and if you meet the parents then you might as well clip the ball and chain on! Run, Di! Run! Needless to say, there will most likely be an entertaining (if nothing else!) post coming up on this blog - stay tuned!

The festival fireworks themselves were absolutely incredible – we watched them from the comfort of an apartment rooftop at the western end of the beach.  The whole show lasted the best part of an hour, and it was an amazing sight to behold. I took a few photos, but for the most part just lapped it up and thought about a lot of stuff. I seem to have been doing that a lot lately! Kate and Al got married that same night, so I thought a lot about how that was going and what everyone back in NZ was up to. After the show a few of us went into Kyungsung for the evening – again I met some great people and it was well worth the hangover and sleep deprivation the following day!

Looking ahead I’ve got a lot to look forward to – live music gigs to go to, 80’s tight and bright parties, Halloween, tours to other parts of the country and also the arrival of a friend in a month or so. We’re going to tour Daegu and Seoul in search of puffy little dyed dogs and the sorts of experiences only Korea can offer! Til then I’ll be hunkering down in warmer clothes as the weather is starting to get a little cold and wintery. On the upside of course, the leaves are all turning and the autumn colours are absolutely stunning. I will try to get out and take some pictures while I still can!

I'm also one month into my Korean lessons, and although it's challenging I'm once again relishing the opportunity to study and get my brain working again! Teaching elementary school students doesn't exactly provide a cerebral workout, so now that I've completed my TEFL certification I'm getting stuck into (and on!) Korean. 그것은재미있어요!

For Grannie

Well, it’s been some time since my last entry – two weeks in fact. And what a ride it has been – so much has happened, so much has changed in such a short time. 

Last Monday, 12th of October I had a call from New Zealand to say my grandmother had passed away. You can never quite prepare yourself for the actual event of someone’s passing, regardless of the circumstances and no matter how imminent. Those phone calls are what every traveller dreads, but are an unfortunate by-product of life, travel and our own mortality. All you can do is hope the calls don’t come, and hope that when they do you have the strength to deal with them on your own!

In a way, it was a blessing for my grandmother as she has not been in the best of health and had all but made the decision to move on. Stubbornness runs in the family, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for her decision. I loved my grandmother very very much, and feel so fortunate to have had her in my life for this long – I can only hope to do her proud in following in her footsteps as a teacher (I suspect she was eminently more patient than I am, and I daresay more ladylike)!  I will certainly do my best.

I was thinking about her the other day, and remembered a toast she used to say at family gatherings. Given it has been thanksgiving recently here in Korea and I have been teaching my adult students about toasts, I included it in my lesson for them. I felt it was quite befitting as one of them had just become a grandmother for the first time, and in a way it was also my own sort of (private) tribute to Grannie. So...

Here’s a health to all those that we love
Here’s a health to all those that love us
Here’s a health to all those that love them
That love those
That love them
That love those
That love us

(Partially) philosophical musings

Well, the honeymoon phase is supposedly drawing nearer to a close, but I’m still just as happy here now as I was six weeks ago. I’m slowly getting to grips with the Korean way of life, and learning the language. It’s quite a buzz to be able to go out and read some of the signs and menus (although understanding what the word means is a whole different ball game!). I’ve begun to establish a routine, which includes much more sleep than I was previously getting, and also going to the gym. 

The highlight of my day is still lunch – I could never get sick of the food here (just fat!). How anyone could come here and want to eat ‘western’ food and pay a premium for it is beyond me. But then again, everyone is different. I guess I’ve been away from home for long enough not to be homesick or crave particular foods (that said, please forward any jars of marmite, marshmallows and peanut slabs to my home address!).
It seems a little strange to see friends around me (some of whom are traveling for the first time) get homesick. I guess it hit me when I first went traveling but I’ve been moving around so much over the past few years that in some ways homesickness doesn’t really affect me as I have no tangible ‘home’ to go back to. New Zealand will always be home – don’t get me wrong – but I speak of home in the sense of bricks and mortar, as a familiar house or place of residence. Home is always going to be where my  family is – I guess distance has become all too familiar and the addition of technology (hooray for Skype!) means I can keep in touch with loved ones by way of phone and webcam which makes it infinitely more bearable.

I do miss my family and friends a lot, and have recently been considerably frustrated at events that are occurring for which I cannot be there for – both good and bad. New babies (Sas & Stu!), weddings (Kate &  Al!) , housewarming parties (Mel &  Thom!), and the not so good – family issues, sickness and the passing of loved ones. It’s times like this that I realize that every day is a gift and regardless of where I am in the world I need to appreciate and give thanks for my life, health and happiness. Over the last year or so I’ve become all too familiar (perhaps uncomfortably so!) with the concept of life and mortality, and as such have come to the conclusion that irrespective of where I am or what I do, the one thing I don’t want is to have any regrets. Granted, there may be some poor life decisions (dot com!) along the way, but life is all about learning. As ‘they’ say (whoever ‘they’ are), the only real mistakes are the ones from which we learn nothing. Mark Twain said it better than I ever could: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.”. So … onwards and upwards – Korea!

An update… life in the R.O.K

Well, it’s been some time since my last post, so I thought I’d better get cracking and write something. It’s been an eventful time – today I have no classes so it is the perfect opportunity to try and condense the last few weeks into a blog post that won’t put you all to sleep!

A couple of weeks ago I went to Busan for the day with Mi Young, a teacher from my school. We were accompanied by her husband and three year old daughter, and two other couples (friends of theirs, also with children). We drove down, leaving at 8am on a glorious sunny day. On the way I was fed up on some amazing food, and then after meeting their friends en route I was also plied with kimbap (delicious Korean sushi with vegetables, crab and sometimes even spam!) Effectively, I ate my way to Busan – it was heaven.

We visited the Busan aquarium at Haeundae beach which was fantastic. Although I’ve been to aquariums before, this had a lot of different sea life in it that I had not seen before. What also made the experience great was the fact that we were there with some little kids – things like aquariums somehow become more exciting when seen with a child! Mi Young’s daughter was so well behaved, and very cute. The penguins were darting around like crazy in their tank and she alternated between staring, mesmerized and squealing as they zoomed past her at high speed. The three other little kids with us were similarly entranced, however two of them weren’t quite as well behaved. One in particular was demanding toys and throwing the odd tantrum, but Mi Young’s little girl was very placid. I bought her a blow-up fish from one of the many stalls in the aquarium and it didn’t leave her hand the entire day – even during her two hour afternoon nap!

We then went to an amazing Korean traditional village for lunch, and ate in a hut with a traditional mud floor and low table. Not the easiest thing to sit at for me as I am still unable to sit cross-legged as a result of my accident, but I’ve learned to adapt by poking one leg out in front of me under the table. Classy. We had some amazing food – the entire table was covered in plates and I didn’t know where to start. I’ve adopted a rule here in Korea – eat first, and ask what it was AFTER you’ve finished. Offal is infinitely more palatable when you think you’re eating a tasty bit of steak! The meal was incredible, and I tried every single bit of food on the table (as is custom in Korea). My favourite (without a doubt!) was Hoddeok, or Korean pancake. More of a dessert food, but it was served up before and during the meal and I couldn’t get enough of it. Most Korean pancakes are of the salty variety, stuffed with anything from kimchee to scallions or even oysters. But not Hoddeok! Hoddeok is stuffed full of delicious brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon and then pan-fried to perfection. Probably not the healthiest, but worth every single calorie.

Our final stop for the day was the Yonggungsa temple, which is situated on the coast of the north-eastern part of Busan. It is right on the water and is a truly spectacular place. Build way back in 1376, it has been lovingly restored over time and is now both a place of peace and prayer and a tourist attraction (seemingly incongruous, but that in itself sums up many aspects of Korea!). It was here I also saw my first ‘dyed dog’ – see attached pictures. I’m slowly building up a gallery of these, as the mere concept fascinate me no end (and to clarify, this is from a bystander point of view only!). I have been intrigued enough to investigate, and have since learned that it is done for fashion and that if you are wanting to dye your dog (what self respecting person wouldn’t?) you need to invest in special dog dye, as human dye is too toxic for animals. You’ll be delighted to know I’ve saved you the time and effort of researching the best place to purchase your canine-friendly dyes – simply click here. Truly bizarre … but that’s what I love about this place!

More recently we had Korean thanksgiving, which is known here at Chuseok. I went to Busan for the long weekend and had a really good, relaxing time. There were a number of new experiences, including:

• My first swim at a Korean beach – Haeundae
• My first trip up a Korean mountain (admittedly via cable car instead of the traditional hiking route), where we enjoyed glorious views across Busan. We climbed the side of a hill to sit atop a ledge overlooking the city – it was so serene, with a small prayer house and many birds fluttering around in the quiet afternoon sunshine. The peace and tranquility were momentarily shattered by a Korean hiker hollering “Hello! Where you from!” up the hill, but that’s the Korean way I guess – they will talk to foreigners even when spotted a hundred feet off in the distance!
• Purchased my first K-Pop CD (kids, don’t mix soju and shopping, this is what happens!)
• Played Jenga in a bar
• Went to the world’s largest department store at Centum City – a glorious, 293905m2 monument to capitalism in the heart of Busan.
• Found (well, purchased) and ate the most glorious fresh Korean steamed pork bun – heaven in a box!

 The Chuseok moon over Gwangalli beach, Busan

Yonggangsa Temple, Busan

From the 'What were they thinking' files ... dogs with dyed tails and leg tufts

Catching the last of the summer rays, Haeundae Beach

Lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant with one of the teachers from my school (second from left) - Busan

A wee Korean cutie - her daughter finding a penguin to cuddle

Views from the mountain, Oncheonjang, Busan