Hi all!
There's just waaaaay too much news for one email, and it's Tuesday already... How on earth am I gonna keep up? I'll try to be as concise as I can...
Friday night:
My doorbell rang approx 9pm. Thought it might be some of my Korean friends, but it was (aaargh!) a strange white Western man, named Geoffrey from Colorado, USA. He works in a nearby town, comes to the gym in my town, heard that the new English teacher was here (me), decided to pop in and intro himself. We ended up chatting for 2 looooong hours. I was not impressed that he put his sweaty tackie feet (now in socks) from gym on my couch! He is a motormouth! Speaks sooo loudly and way too much. My next-door neighbour heard him. My other friend who lives 2 floors up heard him. Enough said! My one friend thought I had some drunk men visiting! (I swear I thought I detected a hint of jealousy in his eye when he asked me! LOL!) Anyway, Geoff turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise, as he was going to take the bus into Daegu the next morning - as was I - so we agreed to meet on the same bus, so he could show me the ropes re catching the correct bus in Daegu, etc.
Sat:
Meet Geoff on the bus. Am horribly embarrassed by him the entire trip and the next bus trip too. (2 buses to get into the city centre - Daegu is the 3rd largest city in Korea. Travel, travel, travel!) An old Korean man who I was sitting behind had been sleeping peacefully till motormouth-built-in-amplifier Geoff arrived. We were sent to the back of the bus! I could have died of embarrassment. One of my students was also on the bus. And here's Geoff bad-mouthing Korean drivers, the education system, etc, etc, etc at the top of his voice. The Koreans kept giving us dirty looks. By the time we got into Daegu, I just wanted to get away from him. I didn't take much notice of the info he was giving me, as everything was blocked by this barrier of irritation, frustration and embarrasment! Finally, away from him. I had 4 hours to explore and shop before meeting my other expat friends. Found 2 bookstores that sell English books. Books definitely cheaper here than in SA. Yay! Signed a membership at Kyobo bookstore (just like Exclusive books but bigger, way bigger, same coffee shop set-up, only with Starbucks.) Found tons of stores: all the namebrand clothing and shoe shops are here: Nike, Puma, Skechers, Adidas, Asics, New Balance, etc etc. Checked out one of the department stores here - combination of Edgars and Woolworths. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't find something in Korea. Generally, it's all here: Pantene, Nivea, Neutrogena, Ferrero Roche chocolates, Clinique! (I even found Gucci fragrance in my little rural town!) The list goes on.... Also bought a lovely bid RED handbag! On the street, of course, since it's WAAAY cheaper than the department store prices. Finally met up with some expats (Kiwis, Aussies, Brits, another Springbokkie and a NICE American). I'm ashamed to admit, we did the Western thing and had lunch at Burger King! IT WAS GOOD! Junk food, processed cheese and french fries.YUMMY!
The weird thing, though, is that although we had wanted to hook up and speak some rapid English with one another, soon it was enough. Some of us have settled in so nicely into the Korean way of life, that the Western thing seemed oddly uncomfortable. Oh dear, what does THAT mean? Only time will tell. We went our separate ways, in smaller groups. My little group went walking and stalking. We found a traditional Korean market: huge octopus, all manner of fish, some humungous fish, that could have been tuna, crabs galore....and then...the disturbing: we passed a dog restaurant, and just outside it, were stalls selling dogmeat. Hindquarters, skinned and ready to be sold, some legs still had paws attached. And just beyond that, a stall with whole cooked dogs...ears, eyes, teeth intact. It was bizarre, and even more disturbingly, there was a live dog (a pet, I think - I hope) nearby, Surely, the dog must live in a state of constant anxiety, smelling cooked dogmeat all day. As one of my friends pointed out, we kill and eat cows, and baby sheep, what makes eating dog that different?
Eventually, I left to go home. But remember, I had wanted to get away from my 'tour guide' earlier that day. Basically, I got horribly lost. I had bags of shopping with me, it was dark, I'd been on the wrong bus going round Daegu for an hour, expecting to get back to my bus terminus to connect with the bus to my town. All logic was long gone, I was just in a state of silent panic, suppressing the tears. No one could understand me. I didn't have energy to try to communicate. I didn't even want to ph my co-teachers for help. I was just too upset. Eventually, I hired a private taxi to get me home - needless it was a very expensive trip (about R500). The relief was worth every last penny!
Sun:
Some Korean friends came over for supper. (2 guys and 1 girl). I made roti and curry and rice, just to satisfy the Korean rice craving! But what do you know, they enjoyed the roti so much, they hardly touched the rice! They also thoroughly enjoyed my cucumber sambal and asked for the recipe! In Korean culture, when you visit someone's home, it's custom to take a gift. I got fruit, fruit juice, and wait for it...the guy I like-like, brought me laundry detergent! At least, I won't have to buy washing powder for the next year or so! They also brought cake. Basically, we ate till we couldn't move: Menu: vegetable soup, beef curry and roti/rice, sliced banana and cucumber sambal, strawberries and kiwi fruit for dessert. Chocolate cake. And then the finale: beer and squid biltong! (Korean beer is very weak, tastes like cider, so I can drink it, and I actually enjoyed the dried squid - they were surprised, as usually Westerners don't like it, due to the smell!) It actually starts tasting sweet, the longer you chew it. Hence, dessert!
They said I should mention to you guys back home that the Sunday tradition lives on...Sunday lunch/dinner at Andrea's....just with Korean friends :)
Well, folks, that was my weekend!
Love and peace
Andrea
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