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• Kiwi in Korea 16 - the unblogged stuff

  Sunday, Aug 10, 2008 7:36PM / Standard Entry

  yeah all the little random bits that I haven't spoken of, or spoken much about - you know stuff like.....

  Squat toilets - somehow K only used one once and that was in her last weekend here in Korea, she wasn't impressed.  Whereas I feel differently.  I must have a weaker bladder than her (and used more public toilets) and of course I teach at schools with only squat toilets.   Somewhere between 6-8 weeks into my stay here we were in Busan and I went to the toilet in this lovely little organic soy ice cream/waffle shop.  It was a Western style toilet and I was hesitant to use it, I have gotten used to squat toilets in public and didn't want to sit where so many bare bums had been before

  Coffee - I don't drink coffee (don't be telling me there is just as much caffine in tea coz I don't care, to me, coffee tastes terrible), I don't like coffee cake and will scrape coffee icing off chocolate cake.  Anyway since I have been in Korea I have drunk 4 cups of the vile stuff (the only 4 cups I have ever drunken).  Why - because I don't want to offend the person who has given it to me.  If I can I put it down and try and forget it I will but this is not always possible.  The last time I was waiting for the bus to Daegu and one of my students, who also happens to live in the apartment next to mine, was going to Changwon with his mother and they bought me one from the shop.  How could I say no!  Remember that the English is really poor.

  Middle School - its not an unblogged stuff blog with a further rant about the Middle School, gah I'm not upset that I will be leaving that school.  After the last time I blogged about them (when I went out to lunch and was embarrassed by the Deputy Principal) I tried to explain the situation to my co-teacher and she misinterpreted me - she thought I was embarrassed coz they were offering me soju.  Er why the hell would that embarrass me, I'm a kiwi girl, bring it on (ok I exagerate but NZ is a drinking culture so I'm not embarrassed but that sort of thing).  I tried to explain that it wasn't that and NZ had a drinking culture so I used to it.  I explained again that it was the how the Dep Principal had exagerated my faux pas (as if I was an oaf) that embarrassed me and she said "even Korean women are embarrassed when men try and make them drink"  I mean wtf,  I gave up after that.   The teachers are kind and the Home Ec teacher invited K and me to the after school Korean craft club (which was really nice).  But they also tend to be a bit immature, it's like they have emotional level of Middle School students, seriously - they giggle when a certain male teacher speaks to me, the Deputy Principle speaks about me (I hear my name) and the staff laugh, he also asks me the same question more than once to show off in front of other teachers, another has asked me extemely inappropriate and personal questions in the school dining room (like if I think about men, and how much/do I think of them a lot) the kind of thing one talks and jokes about with friends, not with peops you hardly know at work.   When it is obvious I am uncomfortable with things my co-teacher assumes I am having trouble with Korean culture - which is patronising, overly simplistic and imo not true (unfortunately she doesn't have the English skills for us to discuss it properly).  I have none of these issues at the High School and last time I looked they were all Korean too.

  Driviing - you know I have spent years arguing with people who use the stereotype "Asians can't drive" and then I come to Korea and the drivers are fucking insane - honestly.  Apparently Korea ranks worst in the OECD for pedestrian deaths and was ranked 4th (at last count) for pedestrian deaths of persons under 14.  Sometimes I feel like I take my life in my hands everytime I cross the road (also students and co-teachers warn me to take care and being on a pedestrian crossing makes no difference).   No road rage though which is a good thing

  I hope you have all had a great weekend   and congrats to Korea for the gold medals they have won in archery, judo and swimming and the silver in shooting and weightlifting.

  I hope NZ wins a couple of golds we usually do, our strengths are sailing, rowing, canoeing, equestrian (we like to do it all sitting down) and atheletics.  We have won at least one gold every Olympics since 1952 and our biggest Gold Medal haul was the 84 LA Olympics.   A few Golds everytime may not sound like much but it makes us proud coz there is only 4 million of us (gold medal per head of capita we do very well) and we don't have a lot of money to invest in sports (like Aussies do with their Australian Sports Academy). 

  
  

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• Kiwi in Korea 14 - lost on Geumjeongsan

  Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 2:14PM / Standard Entry

  I went tramping (that's hiking if you don't know) yesterday.  I headed for Geumjeongsan (san is mountain) which is in Busan and according to the Lonely Planet, some of the best tramping in Busan.   It was overcast and when I was on the tops it was cloudy but I really liked it.   I had intended to go to a bath house after for a good soak but I took an adventurous route, got disorientated and ended up being a couple of hours longer that intended.

  

  I started at Beomeosa (the temple I have previously blogged about) and the trail went up into the clouds to the North Gate of Geumjeong Fortress, it is not really a fortress but a wall that is the remains of a fortress and gates.  It was built after Japanese and Chinese invasions in the 16th and 17th centuries.  It was destroyed during the Japanese occupation from 1910.

  As I said it was cloudy and I love tramping in the mist:  It was all up hill to the North gate, but imo, worth it. North Gate Looking through the East Gate (all the gates were similar so I wont post pictures of them).  After reaching the South Gate (about 8.8 kms from the Nth Gate) I went in search of Seokbulsa temple which is described as off the beaten track and worth the effort to get there - and it was too, though I don't know if anything written in the Lonely Planet can truly be called off the beaten track.

   it was all down and then all up to get to

   this let me know I was close I know it's a buddist symbol but I always think of Nazis.  part of the temple was carved into rock local mountain bikers (who must have thighs of steel) were up there too.  After I left this temple I took a little track off the path in the spirit of getting away from it all.  Of course you can see the city from many spots in this place, here you can just see it through the cloud.

    It was just after taking this photo that I took a wrong turn, I followed the trail up and asked a fellow tramper at the top of this hill (where this structure was).... if I was on the way to the Cable Car, he smiled and said yes.  Later I realised he was just being polite and probably couldn't speak English.   Thankfully I met this Korean family who took me the right way.  I wasn't sure they were going in the right direction cause I thought they were referring to Namman (a little village on the way to Seokbulsa) but they were actually referring to Nam Mun - the South Gate. doh. The son offered to carry my bag (because I looked so tired) but it was drenched in sweat and he had such a nice crisp white shirt on I had to decline.  So I spent 5 hours climbing up and down undulating mountain paths.  I felt as shagged as I look.  The parents look grumpy in the photo but they were actually very sweet and kind. Woot resting my feet on the cable car down, the city is still only viewable through cloud.

  Despite taking a wrong turn and not having time for a bath house, I really enjoyed my tramp.  I may have to see what tramping clubs are around.  K doesn't like tramping so now is a good time to get in what I can. 

  Hope you have all had a good weekend - and survivied Narom's onslaught of blogs - haha

  
  

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• Kiwi in Korea 13 - would you like some tiger testes with that

  Friday, Jul 25, 2008 9:56PM / Standard Entry

  Went to Daegu today.  It utterly pissed down - thankfully every corner shop in Korea sells umbrellas.   I went to the Medicinal Markets, which are not really markets but lots of shops selling traditional Korean medicine.   It was interesting, especially seeing the velvet and antlers as my father used to export velvet (he was a deer farmer) to Korea.  There is also a exihibtion hall (no camera flash allowed) so no photos.  It was mainly full of botantical samples but included a stuffed bear, fur seal, tiger, leopard, boar, not to mention flying geckos, snakes, sea horses etc on display.  It was interesting - I am a plant nerd and have had an interest in herbology for about 20 years.

  Downstairs was the wholesale warehouse.  I toured the area with a French woman I met at the large map in the subway station (I was trying to figure out which exit to take and she was trying to figure out how to get there).  Here are some shots of the warehouse.

   box of thorns anyone? fungi then? wood shavings?  ??

  After strolling the street to the entrance gate (above) it was time to check out Rice Cake St, there were some really interesting creations

   but we decided on pajeon (pancake) for lunch.  This lady was lovely and her pajeon is yummy, especially dipped in the sauce provided.

  After lunch we went our seperate ways and I went book shopping, so now I have some good books to last me for awhile (War and Peace, The Count of Monte Christo, Sense and Sensiblity, The Rape of Nanking, The Aquariums of Pyeongyang and A single shard (which is actually children's literature - hehe))

  And for Butter who asked

  

  Have a good weekend everyone

  
  

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• Kiwi in Korea 12 - Seoul and bye byes

  Thursday, Jul 24, 2008 5:53AM / Standard Entry

  Hey spunky dunkies

  hope you have all had a great weekend.  K and I went to Seoul on Friday night and came home Tuesday but went straight to Pusan as she had a flight first thing Wednesday morning home.  I will miss her.   It was so good catching up with my mate M again and meeting her lovely friends.   Unfortunately I drank more than I'm used to on Friday night and stayed up a bit too late so wasn't feeling so hot on Saturday - doh. 

  M and me

  Saturday we went to a baby shower.  It was the first time I had been to one and it was fun - hehe especially as I won some prizes - I won the nappy competition (putting on a nappy with my eyes shut) , and a magazine (in English - woot) that I read on the train home (the KTX rocks), I also won the comp about saying the word baby or mother (or derivatives of).  Basically everybody started the day with a safety pin and if you heard someone say those words you could claim their pins.  I had six at the end of the day (luckily I won back the two I had lost previously).  This was my prize -  Korean soft porn haha, and soju - excellent *touches fingers like Mr Burns

  Meet Jeff da Maori

  

  It is the rainy season so it rained most of the time we were in Seoul.  I don't mind the rain cools things a little.  This is the view from my mates officetel. yay the sun came out

  Sunday we went to Itaewon (like the reverse of Korean town, this is the place where Westerner's congregate) and K had her hair dyed and I bought some clothes.  Woot, cause the clothes sizes fit westerners.   In the afternoon we went to Lotteworld (but not on the rides) but we weren't that impressed).

  Monday we went to Coex Mall and it was choice - more shopping (for K - eek it was a costly weekend).  We also went to see The Good, The Bad, The Weird when we were there - it is a Korean spaghetti western and K and I enjoyed it although we couldn't understand the dialogue.   The Wierd (Song Kang-Ho) was funny (the audience laughed at his dialogue and K laughed at his slapstick) and The Bad (Lee Byeong-Hun) was bad ass sexy.

  

  Tuesday was spent travelling and packing.  I put K on the plane home yesterday morning.  She was supposed to meet a friend at HK airport but they missed each other and she spent 5 hours wondering around the airport.  Nevermind I appreciate my mate going.   Thanks  

  I will get on to myfeeds and responding to comments as I'm a tad behind. 

  oh and when I was in Busan after taking K to the airport I went to Home Plus to buy a cute Pink Panther toaster over (ah toast *blissful sigh*) these two young Korean guys were asking me where I was from.  I think one of them was asking for my phone number but I did the blink (dumb foreigner) look (thanks M for the tip), they were sweet though and I should probably just have said that I was old enough to be their mother but the English wasn't so good (and my Korean is terrible).

  
  

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• Kiwi in Korea 11 - bloody muddy, bloody great

  Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 7:29PM / Standard Entry

  K and I headed off to the Boryeong Mud Festival on the weekend.  This is the 11th year and it gets bigger every year.  Last year it attracted over a million tourists.  The festival goes for a week but we went to the opening weekend.  We drove up with some Native English teachers from Miryang.  Getting there was interesting - we were fine until it was time to leave the expressway.  How many English teachers does it take to read a map?!    It was a long way with over 5 hours of driving each way but mud + sun + beer + rock (that every self respecting Westerner knows) + good company = a great time.

  Unfortunately I left my camera at home and resorted to taking photos with a disposable jobby - I really missed zoom and focus.  Oh well, here are some photos:

  yay we finally get there and the first thing we do (after tracking down a carpark and our hotel) is get muddy

   Kim's so cute!  It was a real family affair too   ahhh, beers on the beach - actually I'm such a grandma I crashed not long after taking this photo  sleeping Marae stylz last mud effort before going home I really missed my zoom, you can hardly read the sign.... *sigh*  Okay, now for a juvenille moment - wtf, penis fish - really I had never heard of them before.  Apparently they taste like rubber bands.

  UPDATE: there has been a few questions regarding the mud and it's properties, it is supposed to be good for the skin, this is from korea.net

  It has been confirmed by a group of scientists that Boryeong mud brought in from the tideland of Gungpo-ri of Boryeong is abundant in minerals, including germanium and bentonite, some of the major ingredients for cosmetics. Mud itself is known to stimulate blood circulation, slow the aging process and cleanse the skin overall. Enjoy this mud while you can, since the festival is the only venue for free access of the luxurious stuff. At other times, the mud is strictly limited to be used for the cosmetics industry in the region.

  
  

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