Business Meetings, Mountain Walking, Bake Sales and Christmas Trees

All manner of excitement has happened since last we posted a proper update. It's hard to know where to start!

A couple of weeks ago our friends at work, Julie and Nicole, sent us all a message on facebook informing us of an important business meeting coming up. It seems that Korean businessmen tend to have their meetings in bars and get well and truly hammered in the process, so the idea was we'd all dress as businessy as possible and go out and lay waste to Gwangju. We had an agenda and all applied formally for positions with 'The Company', and met for pre meeting cheese, biscuits and wine at Julie's apartment. Copious amounts of soju and fruit juice were consumed - by me mostly. We were informed prior to the event that someone was pretty much expected to be extremely drunk before the meeting began, and I felt it was my duty to step up to the task. I succeeded very well. By the time we got in the taxi I was becoming somewhat slurry and feeling a little ill, although I blame the latter on the heat in the taxi. When we made it to our chosen drinking establishment, we wandered in and found a table for all 9 of us. In the process, I was accosted by a 40 year old Korean man who could speak about as much English as I can Korean, who proceeded to hug me and force me to join him and his friend at their table. They gave me some food and wouldn't let me leave for quite sometime, but I eventually managed to escape and join the others. At our table I found an alarming array of soju and fruit juice smoothies being passed around, along with a suprising amount of free chips and a seafood platter which came free with the drinks. From here on my recollection becomes a little hazy, but I distinctly remember making my interview presentation, being bought another jug of soju smoothie by a friendly table of young Koreans, dropping a large prawn on the floor and then discovering that the bill came to about 3000 won each... £1.50-ish. When we left the cold air thankfully sobered me up somewhat as we made our way over to Speakeasy. There we danced around like fools for a while, until I developed an evil case of hiccups and had to go home. All in all, a pretty fun night! It did lead to a Sunday spent mostly sulking about how bad a soju hangover is though.

The following weekend we heard there was a bake/book sale at the foreigner bar to raise money for an orphanage. We walked downtown as it was quite a nice day and eventually arrived at the bar. It was pretty packed out with foreigners (it seems quite weird to see so many non-Korean faces now, I'm so used to being the odd one out!), all scrabbling for exciting food. We bought some shortbread and peanut butter brownies, and some ludicrously cheap and exceptionally well thumbed second hand books - my favourite find is the Bob Dylan Chronicles volume 1 for a mere 2000 won - about £1! It was really nice to see it so busy, especially as we got to see an English girl, Steph, that we met a while back. It's very nice to hear English accents! After that we went for a tasty Italian meal. We found a nice place with a set menu including two pasta dishes, one pizza, a chicken salad, a plate of squid rings, a soft drink each - with free refills - a single dessert between the 4 of us and a weird hot drink claiming to be coffee but that smelt vaguely of cinnamon and tasted like bitter water. Yummy. All this for just 8000 won each... just £4!

The following day we made our third trip to Mudeungsan for a spot of hiking. When we arrived we bumped into one of Becky's private students, Ron. He is a nice kid, but very cheeky and, since discovering we're together, has taken to calling me Mr Brooke. He was much more polite on this occasion, possibly because he was with his father, and offered us some tasty Korean snacks! We decided to take slightly different route through a building site this time, as on our previous hikes we haven't reached anything that could really be called a peak, or found any truly spectacular views, despite the beauty of what we could see. We'd never really been able to break the cover of trees. The new route started off pretty hardcore, but after about 25 minutes of pretty hard going, we started to see some really nice views over the city. It also pretty quickly became much easier going and relaxed. The views just got better and better as we climbed until we eventually reached the real peak and could see over the whole city. We stopped at the top for a while, sitting on a rock to eat some tangerines, before heading back down. Despite our regular photo stops and a lunch break, the whole hike was over in maybe 2.5 hours and with no aches or pains. It was a really nice hike, but from the top we could see that we'd only really conquered a relatively small mountain, and the real challenge is probably about 3 times as long. Another time I think!

Finally, it has become very Christmassy in our little apartment. Thanks are due to my amazing sister for sending us a small Christmas tree and a whole bunch of decorations, and also to both of our wonderful families for sending us copious amounts of exciting looking presents and food. It wouldn't be Christmas without our stockings!

Oh Korea, we love you. Let us count the ways...

Serbis! Whenever you buy anything, you get something else for free. Medicine (free vitamin drinks), cosmetics (free eye cream), bikes (free pump), Alcohol (free food), food (more food), cereal (free tea towel), hair gel (chocolate), Pyjama bottoms (free couple set hats). In special cases, walk down the street (mirrors, candy floss from a mobile phone shop).

 

Eating out is about as cheap as eating in.

People often give us things just because we're different (chestnuts, chewing gum).

People (especially kids) say hello to us everywhere. Small children love trying to chat to us and shouting out their random English phrases. Teenagers will shout at us when they're in packs or just after we've walked past, and then fall into hysterics when we respond. Adults usually restrain themselves from saying anything, and just watch us curiously.

Heated toilet seats. It really is so nice. Ooh and free mouthwash dispensers in restaurant toilets.

 

Condom machine in the hotel room.

Heated floors. Because feet really should get the most heat.

Service bells on the corner of the table in restaurants. No more trying to catch a waiter's attention. It took a little while to build up the courage to ring it for the first time, but now we love it!

Taking shoes off in restaurants. It makes me feel more relaxed and at home when I can sit on the floor and eat with my shoes off.

The food. Shabu Shabu and Gogi Mandu are amazing, as are many other things. Kimchi may not have become our favourite snack still, but there is a lot of tasty goodness about.

A naughty child is one who talks a little louder than you might like, or forgot their homework, rather than one who tried to stab another student.

Everything is available as couple set. Set menus, pyjamas, underwear, gym membership, duck statues... Just recently we've also started seeing couples sharing mittens on 'idiot strings', one mitten each while they held hands with their other hands. It seems to be incredibly special to be a couple in Korea. Although it would be preferred if we were married. Our students seem completely perplexed by the fact that we live together but aren't married.

But sometimes Korea, we find you a little harder to understand...

Supermarkets often seem to be arranged in a random order. When looking for specific biscuits the other day, we eventually found them nestled among the crisps, rather than on the more biscuity shelf in a completely different aisle.

Motorbikes on the pavement and using pedestrian crossings. We can understand that they'd rather not compete with the cars on the road, but it is slightly distressing when they speed towards you on the pavement.

Pedestrian crossings. When the green man shows (after you've waited 15 minutes), don't always walk, because cars will be trying to get across too.

Fighting when we expect to queue. Buying bus tickets can be particularly difficult and old women will shove you with all their might to get there first. I have become rather good at pushing forward to get on the bus now and saving a seat for Alan, who is finding his Britishness a little harder to shake.

Despite the fact that Korean girls wear the shortest skirts (and shorts) known to man - all year round no less - you'll still get disapproving glances for revealing your shoulders in summer. See also the restaurant that gave me the apron to cover my lower back.

Taxi drivers who watch TV. Don't get us wrong, we don't mean they shouldn't be allowed to watch confusing Korean soaps after a hard days work, but while they're driving? Having a TV screen next to the steering wheel seems somewhat dangerous, even if it doubles as a Sat Nav.

The gym's air con isn't switched on ever, even the height of summer (by all accounts, we weren't actually here then, but it was pretty toasty even by the time we got here). Some Koreans even work out in the sauna! On the other hand, windows are left open during snow in order to allow air to circulate through the building.

Unisex toilets, with the urinal located next to the shared sink.

There are loads of other things that fit into both categories, and we've only been here 3 months so far, so this list is sure to keep on growing. This is just a taster!

It's Been A While

We haven't posted in ages, but I just wanted to say we've added a whole bunch of new photo albums today so go look at them! A new post with actual information and exciting things will follow. Soon. Probably.

what's in a name?

An exciting part of teaching in Korea, is that whenever a new student joins a class, we get to give them an English name. Some kids have ended up (not always from our school) with some pretty strange names, as Alan has pointed out. Today was an exciting day, as I got to name my first child. So, TJ you now have a small Korean boy named after you (Tom, really. Thought TJ might be a bit confusing). I promise the first girl will be Katy.

Jeonju-The city of "love"

We fancied another weekend away (one a month just isn't enough) and decided on the town of Jeonju, which was nearly our home at one point. It's only a one and a half hour coach trip from Gwangju (which is merciful, considering my recent tendency for nausea and vomiting!). We'd read about an intriguing motel in the lonely planet with big jacuzzis, so we decided to try and stay in our first Korean "Love Motel", the Mint Motel. We found it pretty easily. It looked fairly harmless from the outside, although not exactly classy. More like something you would find in the cheap bit of Las Vegas, with it's pink paint and palm tree pictures, but we ventured inside nevertheless. The lobby was extremely dark, it had UV lighting and a reception desk with a little opening which I called through. A woman stuck her head round and motioned a sleep sign with her head and hands, to which I nodded. This was quite a relief as we had been wondering how we would explain that we wanted the room for a full night and not just for the hour. Key in hand, we took the lift to the 3rd floor. Our first surprise came when we noticed the book shelf of pornographic videos (and Robocop) available for customers to take into their rooms. A little further on, we found a vending machine full of sex toys. Clearly a place designed for true "love". Our room was actually pretty amazing and didn't feel too seedy once we got past the condom vending machine in the corner, the blue light above the bed, the huge portrait window from the bedroom into the bathroom (complete with naked woman glazing) and the enormous flat-screen TV, which seemed only to show four channels with a choice of porn, cooking, home shopping, or more porn. As promised in the lonely planet it was very clean and there was a huge jacuzzi in the bathroom, so we were happy.

Hotel sorted, we went to explore Jeonju and managed to get a little bit lost in the process. First impressions were not wonderful as we were wandering through the outskirts and the streets were definitely somewhat more pungent than in Gwangju. We passed a couple of huge and gaudy wedding halls on the way, and stopped to watch as some of the couples came out in their hanbok (traditional Korean dress). When we eventually found the downtown area, it was nice, although very similar to Gwangju, except for the bizarre light canopy running above the main shopping street. We passed through, following signs to the hanok (traditional Korean building) village. The hanok village was beautiful, made up of genuinely old buildings and beautifully built imitations. In the centre there was an area where some of the buildings were shown as a museum, but for streets and streets around, there were others in use as shops (some with lovely craft gifts), restaurants and tea shops. In amongst these buildings was a beautiful, red brick, Catholic church, which was built by Italian missionaries on a spot where Korean catholics were executed. 

One of the greatest discoveries of the weekend was down a little side street in the hanok village, where we found a small restaurant selling curry. There was no menu and just two options; hot curry, or mild curry. We decided it was best to go for the mild in a country where they have kimchi for breakfast. It was a wonderfully  quirky little place, the food was delicious and we even got handmade banana lassi for pudding. All for about £2.50. Lovely. After dinner we found a funny little bar where we had a beer before heading back to our love motel.

The next morning we left the hotel (without ever having seen another guest) and did a bit more exploring in Jeonju, a little bit of Christmas shopping, eating a semi Italian lunch (we realised last night that we have only eaten one meal out since getting here, that wasn't served with kimchi. Sometimes I really enjoy it) before heading back to Gwangju. 

Almost forgot. We witnessed what we assume is another korean tradition this weekend. We saw two separate wedding cars, where the bride was sitting in the open boot, leading the groom along with ribbon behind the car. Very funny

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

So, in the last couple of weeks there's been a pretty huge temperature drop here. This reached exciting new levels yesterday afternoon when it started snowing during our first lesson of the day. This caused huge excitement for my students, with me having to physically tear them away from the window and put them back in their seats. It stopped pretty quickly and started being all rainy instead, but overnight it snowed heavy and hard. We awoke this morning to incredibly bright light coming through the windows and braved the cold to open the windows and take a peek outside. The roads were pretty much snow free but everything else had a nice healthy covering, so I went for a quick walk taking some snaps in the immediate area around the apartment.

Although it is very cold here now and our school is somewhat lacking in heating (in that it has none at all - luckily some heaters are now on order so we won't have to teach in hats and gloves), I have to say it's much less depressing getting into winter here than at home. It's still sunny with blue skies and a happy lack of miserable clouds and biting winds - so far at least. If it stays like this, I'll be pretty happy. Especially as I managed to buy a new winter coat, scarf and hat for 23,000 won - about £11.50! Happy times. I'm praying for much more snow anyway. It makes me very happy!

On a thoroughly unrelated note, Becky's favourite Korean advert just came on tv. It features a nice slow motion shot of a young child running towards his mothers open arms and bouncing his head off her chest, before cutting to the product on sale... Car air bags! Ace.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

One of the greatest pleasures of teaching here, is the funny things that the children say to us. Sometimes, they say such lovely things. A little girl told me last week that her mum says I'm very beautiful, although this was somewhat overshadowed when she told Alan that her mother had called him "handsome, like a God". They often tell me that Mr. Armstrong loves me, as if it's a shocking revelation, which is also pretty funny.

Some things that we tell them, also seem very funny to them. Alan tried to explain to his students that his mother was called Mrs. Armsrong, and that in fact his entire family shared the name. They found this very funny and probably still think that it was just a big joke! When I told one of my classes that I was from England, they looked confused "teacher? English in England?", meaning, do they speak English in England? When I said "I'm from England. I am ENGLISH", they found this hilarious, and started pointing at where it said "English" on the front of their exercise books, and saying "same same". I then had to explain that the fact that the language they learn and the name of my nationality are the same, is more than just a strange coincidence. I must confess that I made a big X with my arms and said "English, not from Canada, not from USA. English from England". I don't feel too bad though, because apparently Alan has also demonstrated this point on the board. It seems necessary, otherwise they are concerned that their teachers may not atually know how to speak English (especially when we accidentally write 'colour' rather than 'color' on the board).

At other times the things they say are just wierd. One of my students touched the moles on my arm, and asked me in wonder what they were. Alan's students seem mostly to be completely obssessed with his beard, oh and one class went through a stage of constantly calling him red panties, because on one ocassion when he lifted his arm to write on the board, they caught a glimpse of the red band at the top of his underwear. This continued until, one day, having had just about enough Alan came into class and threatened anyone who mentioned the nickname with 'no goodbye' (what we call detention).

Although still funny, some of the other things we hear are pretty tactless. I have been asked on a couple of occassions (when wearing baggy clothing, may I add) whether I have a baby in my belly, and once when I said no, they kindly told me that I was looking fat. The other day one of my sweetest students looked at me seriously and asked me why it was so black around my eyes. One of Alan's students informed him that he looks very old and now some of them have started calling him Grandfather teacher (although he claims that this is only because of the beard).

This very frank attitude to appearance is not always limited to the children. Our experience so far has only been positive, but there are lots of stories of others being refused to try on clothing because they are "very big". The funniest thing I've heard, was from an English girl we know, who works in a state school. When she met the director of education for the area, he asked her if she was pregnant. When she (slightly put out) informed him that she wasn't, he insisted, saying "are you sure? I think you should go to the hospital and check".