So this week was a little crazy, what with North Korea bombing South Korea and all that. Thanks to everyone for your concerned emails which were really nice to get - I honestly don't know any more than you guys, but I can assure you that if a war did break out I would be on the first plane out of here! The Korean teachers here at the school seem to be completely unphased; I'm just hoping it's not a case of the proverbial frog in the boiling pot, that doesn't notice how warm it's getting.
That aside, I have had a quiet couple of weeks, mostly just spent trying to find new and inventive ways to fit more clothes on top of other clothes. I am failing dismally at writing 50,000 words in a month - if I'm lucky I might hit 10,000. I shall pretend that what I actually meant was that I will write 50,000 words by the end of next November...
Tonight I am going to find some dutch courage and get into some noraebang (Korean karaoke) with my friend Corrie. I let it slip that I had never sung karaoke (by myself anyway), so apparently this has to be immediately addressed. At least they do it differently here - I don't have to sing in a bar, they have rooms where you go with just your friends and sing, which actually sounds pretty cool. I can definitely see Kylie and Rachel getting into that if it ever took off in Darwin. I shall post an update on how it goes if I'm not feeling completely embarrassed by the experience :-)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Lantern Festival
Seoul has been having a Lantern Festival this last couple of weeks, so I made it out there on Saturday night to have a look. It was pretty cool for the most part, all these huge 'lanterns' set up over a stream running through the centre of Seoul. Some of them were gorgeous...
Friday, November 12, 2010
Chocolate Stick Day!
Okay so yesterday was Chocolate Stick Day in Korea - otherwise known as Pepero Day, not sure of the Korean spelling. What is the significance of Chocolate Stick Day you might ask? If you think about the date yesterday, 11/11, it kinda looks like chocolate sticks if you squint really really hard... So I thought great, chocolate! That is, until, I was onto my third sugarhyped class for the day with two more to go. Seriously they were hanging from the rafters - one boy could literally not sit still in his chair, I was watching him actually vibrate.
I did have one major awww moment though; I think it was my second class, and I'd just gotten through my greeting for the day when one boy interrupted to say something in Korean to my co-teacher. My co-teacher told me he said that even though I was only new to Korea the boy felt really close to me and really liked coming to my class. Awwww! But it really shows the difference from Korea to Australia doesn't it? If an Australian kid said that in class I'm pretty sure he would be teased for the rest of his life. So that kinda made up for the rest of the day which was just exhausting. I wasn't sure of the etiquette either when I was presented with a plastic-wrapped sausage by one of the male teachers at lunchtime - apparently much to the envy of the other female teachers!??!
I did have one major awww moment though; I think it was my second class, and I'd just gotten through my greeting for the day when one boy interrupted to say something in Korean to my co-teacher. My co-teacher told me he said that even though I was only new to Korea the boy felt really close to me and really liked coming to my class. Awwww! But it really shows the difference from Korea to Australia doesn't it? If an Australian kid said that in class I'm pretty sure he would be teased for the rest of his life. So that kinda made up for the rest of the day which was just exhausting. I wasn't sure of the etiquette either when I was presented with a plastic-wrapped sausage by one of the male teachers at lunchtime - apparently much to the envy of the other female teachers!??!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Music Cafe
This is where I've been coming the past couple of Friday nights. The owners of this cafe are keen to preserve traditional styles of Korean music, so every Friday they invite someone to come and play here. Last week it was drums, this week it was the 'gayagum' or something like that - it doesn't translate too well. It was very beautiful to listen to though.
Music Cafe
Before the small crowd piled in; they always have some sort of tea served, usually in glass tea pots. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm actually glad I broke one of these in Darwin - now I know how not to do it.
Music cafe
Unfortunately standing out as I do, I tend to get called upon for audience participation a lot. This is my awesome friend Corrie - she was born in California, so very much an American, but comes from a Korean background so she can speak the language, which is kinda like having a cool superpower here; needless to say when we eat out, she orders :-)
Friday, November 5, 2010
Insa Dong
Bit of a photo day today; this was taken at Insa Dong, a town in the middle of Seoul which sells a lot of authentic Korean goods and has a lot of old style restaurants. I only got about a quarter of the way through the place, which is just as well as I went a little crazy in the shops - so much fun stuff everywhere! I've promised myself a full day here when I've got a little more cash on me - don't ask me how I'm going to get all this stuff home; I've only been here two months and I've probably doubled my luggage already.
Buddha on rock
I went for a hike with the teachers from my school yesterday at a nearby mountain, where they showed me this. I'm not sure how well it comes up in the photo, but if you look closely you can see the outline of the Buddha carved into the rock. It was pretty amazing - over fourteen metres high, and it's been around since before the 1300's. Unfortunately the rise in pollution in Korea in the last couple of decades means that it may not be around for too much longer.
Foggy days
So this was the 'view' from my window this morning; it felt really weird walking to work, like fog was getting in my head, totally spacing me out more than normal.
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