Not in the mood...

Hi all....

Me again. I'm not really in the mood to write a long post today. Things feel like they are finally settling. There's still stuff happening, and news to report, but it feels like 'normal' now. I could have written yesterday, but wasn't in the mood, thought I'd feel more up to it this morning...but still not... But as they say, when you don't know what to write, just start writing the first thing that enters your mind, and before you know it...you're writing. Hey! Look! It's happening right now!

Ya well...so...I had another Friday holiday last week. It was sports day at my high school, which meant, no classes. It gets pretty boring, though, the sitting round doing nothing. I watched the sports for a few hours before lunch, then a short bit later in the afternoon.

(INTERJECTION! I'm sorry but I have to share this...I couldn't understood why I was smelling tuna salad at my desk this morning. Hoped it wasn't my new Gucci perfume! Turned out, the smell was coming from the plate of rice cake handed to me when I arrived earlier. It only clicked when I actually bit on it. (I had breakfast at home, so wasn't planning on eating it, but I was reminded by a very nice lady, so I couldn't disappoint her.) How on earth you get 'cake' to smell like tuna is beyond me. At least it doesn't taste like fish, but it's so weird. It definitely smells like fish, but it doesn't taste like it. Kinda screws up the senses, though. So there's a bit of Korean weirdness for you first thing on a Monday!)

Sports Day (also called Athletics Day) is a bit different to what we're used to in SA. Yes, they had the usual sprints by the promising athletes, but EVERY student had to participate. Those who are obviously not gifted with light, swift feet, competed against each other - 2 teams at a time - by dribbling a rugby ball around the 'goal post' - in the form of a teacher. As you can imagine, the rugby balls complicated matters quite satisfactorily.

There was no shotput or javelin throwing. But they included fun games like we would do in camps....e.g. a relay race that was set up like an obstruction course viz. drinking some revolting concoction that reeked of rotting fish guts - the poor kids were retching while they ran to pass the baton! - somersaults, picking something out of a dish of flour with their mouths, throwing an arrow into a chalice, climbing over things, etc etc. There was tug 'o war, dodge ball, and traditional Korean games. Loads of fun....

(Urgghh! I just can't get away from the fish smell!)

A word about team representation.... teams seemed to be grouped in homeroom classes. Each team had their own t-shirt. And then....some teams accessorised as follows: huge pink bows in their hair, or big sunflowers....and get this .... BOYS as well as girls! Can you picture these kids running races with big pink bows flopping over thier eyes? Strange, but true! So, naturally rather enjoyable to watch :)

After lunch, there was a bit of a performance. Some boys had dressed up in traditional female Korean garb, adding the pink bows. They ended up dancing for the other students - choreography based on K-pop (Korean pop music). At one point, all the students advanced on the teachers with water bombs and water pistols. Which was actually refreshing, since it had really started getting hot and steamy.

I'll say it again....my high school feels like a party school.

Since being in Korea, I have been meeting up with friends, or gone sightseeing, almost every single weekend. It was time for a break. Time to draw myself toward myself, enjoy my own company and do things my way, on my own steam.

Saturday, I headed to the city with a mission: shop till I drop. I had a list, and shop I would! I deliberately took a later bus, knowing that Geoff takes the earlier bus every Sat to his Korean class in Daegu. Hoping to avoid him, I opted for the later option. Much to my chagrin, Geoff was late that morning, so ended up on my bus. Now I had eaten only a small yogurt as breakfast with my daily dose of vitamins. The bus was stuffy, Geoff was ranting as usual, eventually I started feeling horribly nauseous. Whether I actually found Geoff's company nauseating or whether it was simply a case of too-much-vitamin-too-little-stomach-lining (I like to think it's the former!), I eventually told Geoff that if I seemed unresponsive to him, it was 'cause I was trying very hard not to hurl. He hadn't even noticed! Self-absorbed so-and-so! He finally said, that if I needed him to shut up, just to say so, and then proceeded to motor on! Oh what a character! I wish you guys could meet him. The next bus we took downtown, the driver actually told him to be quiet, and we were right at the back of the bus. (Sound familiar?) Eventually I told Geoff that it sounded like he was shouting when he was talking. He seemed very surprised. I tried to be nice about it, telling him that I understand that teachers sometimes forget to switch off their teacher-voice in public. Anyway, things were a bit more bearable after that.

Anyway, so I proceeded to shop, and later settled down in a cinema to watch 'Angels and Demons' - quite good - before heading home.

So, you see, not a very exciting weekend...pretty normal, all things considered.

Keep warm and healthy....nice to hear the ANC being exposed in the Western Cape.

Love,

Andrea

tongue-in-cheek and a teeny bit serious

to my friends and family in south africa and abroad

nuclear weapons are being tested not far away from your beloved Andrea. North Korea is defying the rest of the world. Tremors were felt in South Korea near the border last week. all i'm saying is.....here today, gone tomorrow.

i will always love you!

(Thank you, Whitney Houston, we have a problem...)

your beloved, andrea

Star Wars: the Dark Side and Me...

Hello again!

Okey, dokey! Here goes instalment #2....The weekend.

So Sat morning, I woke up, thrilled at the fact that I could lie in and be lazy for a few hours before meeting my Korean friend, Kim Gyo Lim, at 1pm at school - they have school every fortnight. Can't remember if I mentioned it, but her parents had invited me to their home for the weekend. It was raining outside - lovely CT type weather - so I revelled in the knowledge that I could snuggle up with coffee in front of my newly installed internet tv (which I'm convinced is the same darn thing as DSTV, but there are definitely 1 or 2 more options). Anyway, so snuggle up I did, and proceeded to watch Star Wars. Ah....glorious decadence!

And then the ph rang! Dang! It was my co-teacher - the one I love so much. Well, he needed some documents from me to forward to the Office of Education - documents, I have to add, that I had wanted to give him 6 weeks ago when I first arrived, and he told me to keep it cos no one told him about it! GRRRRR! Meanwhile, on Star Wars, Anakin was being tempted by the Dark Side... Being sorely tempted by the Dark Side myself, I politely informed Lee (co-teacher) that I would be at school at 12:30. End of call. Back to Jedi warriors battling the Dark Side and cold coffee. 15 mins later...Lee phones again to inform me that someone from school will come to collect the docs. OKAY, say I! Back to Star Wars. 10mins later, the doorbell rings. I send EVERYTHING he could possibly need. By this time, Anakin is selling his soul to the 'devil' in the name of love. 20mins later the ph rings.... Lee needs my original passport....In the NAME OF LOVE, I very darkly inform him that I am now highly irritated and that the Education Office needs to decide what the heck they want, and they are conducting themselves in a very UNprofessional manner. To which he replies that he, too, is now irritated. Again, I inform him that I STILL will only be at school at 12:30. The Force is with me... I shall not be moved! If you know me well.....you know NOT to disturb me when I'm watching a good movie! LOL! And have you guessed the finale yet? 5 mins later...the doorbell rings. The same lady - our admin lady, sweet cutest, funniest girl ever - has trekked in the rain yet again to collect my passport. By the time all that was done, I had only 40mins or so before I had to start getting ready to leave. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my new lover and friend - 'Internet TV'......

Okay, so I'm now at school to meet my friend. But then she was meeting with a parent. The other teachers were ordering lunch, so I placed my order, and joined them for lunch. (I don't get it...in SA, we couldn't wait to leave school, here, they hang around as though they have nothing better to do! Already they had to work on a Sat, and then they still hang around...) After lunch, they proceeded to pile work on my friend - she's a new teacher, and young, so can't say anything. New, young teachers are the pack donkeys here. Anyway, so we eventually ended up leaving about 3pm. She is also a new driver, with a new car...and was quite scared cos the rain was pouring down. We drove at 50km/h for an hour until we reached her home town, Sangju.

My first time in a Korean family home. Her father is a government official, so quite well off. He built his own home. Very nice and comfortable. What a lovely family! Warmhearted, kind, sweet, considerate. It's obvious that this family LOVES. They immediately took me for a drive to a nearby Buddhist temple to walk around, then to a bicycle museum. The Sangju town motto: one man, one bicycle. After that, supper..the best Korean food I've had since being here. Her mom knows her stuff! After supper, Gyo Lim took me a for a walk round town. We ended up at a delightful little coffee shop, that could have been somewhere on Long Street, CT. Back home and to bed. Breakfast the next morning...freshly made rice cake, which her mom had just made, pastries and fruit. (apparently, her mom had been worrying about what to prepare for me for breakfast - too sweet!). Then off for a long drive to an historical mountain - Meongseong Saejae. Had lunch at a restaurant there. Then we set off for a 2hour hike. Thankfully, Gyo Lim, got us out of the long walk by taking me on a tour of a film set located there. Traditional Korean set-up including king's palace, torture racks, jail, homes of the rich and poor, tradiitional pubs and restaurants. A famous Korean tv soapie gets filmed here.

It had been raining the entire time, so our shoes were coated in mud. We stopped at a river's edge to wash the mud from our shoes, and I was extremely humbled as Gyo Lim's mother squatted and washed the mud off my shoes with her bare hands. That's a big deal for Koreans as they will wear gloves for almost every menial job. After that, they took me to the Museum of Roads, located at the same place, and then home. The rain only let up when we left Sangju.

An absolutely lovely weekend with a beautiful Korean family.

Till next time....

Love, Andrea

Teachers' Day in Korea

Howdy! Howzit! Hi! Hello! Good morning!

Hope everyone doing well. My side...the past 2 weeks have been very difficult. I'm DEFINITELY out of the honeymoon phase. Culture shock has set in. According to Geoff - the loud American - culture shock is what I'm experiencing every time I get mad, angry, upset and irrational. As much as Korea is technologically advanced, in other areas, they can be somewhat 'vertraag'. The Korean English teacher 'in charge' of me, is a lazy, absentminded so-and-so, with whom I have been the picture of patience and understanding for my first 6 weeks here. I have now had it with him. Thanks to his poor planning, communication, laziness and absentmindedness, I am the last person in my foreign teachers' orientation group of almost 200 people, to get my cellphone and Alien Registration Card.......but......finally I am feeling much calmer and peaceful now. Regrettably, I have learnt to employ 'American' tactics...so now I show my displeasure, impatience, my low opinion of him, and his unprofessionalism...basically, I now hound him whenever I want something done. I'm sorry...it goes completely against the grain...but after 6 weeks of frustration and forced patience, I've become American. It seems to work: seeing that he is so American-verskrik...he can get the full treatment! Please rest assured ......I am only like that with him, okay? Andrea has not changed... LOL!

So due to my American ways with him, I now finally have international tv programmes again...internet TV (like cable - but supposed to be better and more hi-tech, who knows?), internet phone, internet connection for the computer...for which I am still waiting...he was supposed to bring it round to me Friday evening....but of course....I'm still waiting. Don't worry...I'm on his case again today! (Sjoe! It's exhausting!).

Right got that out of my system...see, it's pointless throwing a bitch fit here. No one's gonna understand! They'll think I'm crazy.

On to better Korean things....Now here's something that SA can learn from Korea....TEACHERS' DAY!

As you may or may not remember, I go to the high school on Wed and Fri. So, when I arrived at school Fri morning, I discovered that there were no classes due to Teachers' Day. Now, I knew it was Teachers' Day...but coming from SA...it's usually a normal day, with nothing special. Not so in Korea. Teachers are honoured and appreciated here. There's an old Korean saying / belief that goes: King / President, Parent and Teacher are the same. Basically, you give the teacher the same respect you would the King. So Friday morning was a wonderful eye-opener....Students had decorated their homerooms with balloons etc. They (or their parents most probably) had spent money on buying cakes, floral bouquets and gifts for their teachers. Students kept coming into the staffroom to fetch their teachers, sometimes by force! They would present their gifts in the classroom, sing for the teacher, etc. Things quickly progressed to a general air of chaos and frivolity. But all good fun - nothing scary like in SA (razor blades, etc). Here, the naughty boys started smearing teachers with fresh cream. Just imagine...big teenage high school boys chasing tiny little Korean female teachers around the staffroom with cream! (I just gave them my sternest look...and they looked too uncertain re tackling me! LOL!) Oh.. it was lovely! I just wished I could also get my hands on a cream pie and smash someone's face in it! One of my co-teachers had to change his clothing cos he ended up with a shirt doused in red wine! After that...more frivolity was in store. It was now time for the Teacher Appreciation Ceremony in the hall. The students had organised everything. each teacher was presented with a floral pin, the principal gave a very long-winded speech that had me dozing while standing up! Then the fun and games! Teachers vs students in badminton and volleyball. Then teacher-and-student teams competed in relay races, then there was a general knowledge quiz (they even included a question about me!). And then the inevitable...karaoke. Finally...it was time for lunch.

I went back to my middle school (where the food is better!). My high school colleagues were all coming to middle school a bit later anyway, cos there was to be a big volleyball tournament for the schools in the surrounding area. Once again...teachers and vice-principal competing. So...a very enjoyable day, all in all.

One of my middle school students sang the special Teachers' Song just for me. Called me out of the staffroom into a secluded little corner cos she's so shy but wanted to honour me by singing to me. The cutest thing! She sang in Korean - obviously - with lots of actions to demonstrate meaning! (Poenantjies!) I only a had a sweet to give her, but she was soooo grateful. She couldn't believe that I was giving her something to thank her.

After the fun and games at school, the technician came round to my place to install the latest fancy gadgets...(see 2nd paragraph).

The weekend news is far too much to include in this email....So you should get another email tomorrow....

Lots of love, as always

Andrea

Me, a Kid Again...

Hi all.....

I'm feeling a bit under the weather. My careful health routine has been interfered with and so my immune system is under attack. But just like a Star Trek adventure, I am fighting the 'Kling-On's' (and no, I have not yet seen the new Star Trek movie, even though it's on circuit here - but to all my fellow Trekkie pals, I promise, I shall see it as soon as I have a mo!)

Whoever said exercise was good for you, should be ..... ya well.

I had waaaay too much exercise last week. Between the mountain hike, socialising, amusement park rides and sightseeing this past weekend and lack of sleep and failing to take my vitamins, I feel somewhat fluey.

I think my last mail to you guys was about the staff social (mountain hike and karaoke). Well, the very next day, I went to Daegu for the weekend. A Canadian pal, Tim, had travelled down to Daegu to do touristy stuff. Which was great, since I hadn't yet had a chance to go to the tourist attractions in this area. Booked into a hotel, quite nice, decent room...but with nasty aircon (which I'm sure has contributed to my allergies flaring up again). And it was terribly HOT to boot, so no sleep for me. On Saturday, we travelled by bus for 1h30 to the Haeinsa Buddhist Temple which is located in the Gayasan National Park. It reminded me so much of home - just so breathtakingly beautiful. The temple houses a UNESCO monument - the Tripitaka Koreana. A few million handmade wooden blocks, which were specially made as an offering to Buddha many many years ago. I took as many pics as I could but we were not allowed to take photos of the Tripitaka Koreana. But it is etched into my memory. I even managed to get a long-distanced shot of a big gold statue of Buddha in the temple where people were worshipping.

Mountains, Fish, and Disco Lights

Hi all!

Well, I have realised, yet again, that my Korean experience is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. So, I had a bit of a crappy (Korean: clappy) day on Wednesday. And then, yesterday, was totally opposite. The mountain hike was absolutely beautiful. It was extremely hot in town, but the higher we climbed the cooler it became. Being surrounded by green forest on all sides was a most breathtaking experience. And, yes, there was a lesson in the hike.....perseverance truly holds a wonderful reward. The view and the cool breeze from the mountain top was worth the effort. (I had wanted to stop along the way so many times, thinking these people would make great torturers!)

What's more, besides the benches at regular intervals along the way, there's also gym equipment. Is the uphill exertion not sufficient exercise, I ask you?

It has been very hot here, like a Cape Town February, almost. Hopefully, it'll rain soon.

Anyway, so after the hike, a few of us were quite exhausted enough. But then it was off to dinner. Dinner was, wait for it....fish broth! And, rice, of course. Don't pull up your noses at the fish soup just yet. These people know how to make fish soup taste good! My vice-principal decided to announce to EVERYONE that Andrea likes SOJU. Now allow me to explain.... on my arrival, when he and my main co-teacher took me out for dinner, they asked what I liked to drink. Me, trying to be culturally aware, said that I tried soju in Seoul and that it tastes like vodka. Of course, out came the soju!

So last night, he got up from his table, which is quite an honour, as he has the status of king around here. Came to my table with a cup/glass 3x the size of the normal shot glass that soju is served in. He filled my cup to the brim for me, and laughing like a maniac went back to his table. The women, of course, were quite perturbed, as soju is supposed to be dangerous...hmmm. in which way, I can only wonder. Anyway, I managed to finish almost all of it. And then got up to go and pour for him. (One never pours soju for oneself. It is always poured for you and you in turn pour for someone else.) So, at the urging of those at my table...I had to provide the foreign entertainment again....so I went to pour for him, and got him back a little bit...causing tremedous guffaws when I tried to fill his - actually my - cup to the brim! All good sport!

And after dinner....we all walked to a Noraebang (Karaoke singing room). And yes, I had to sing a song! With the usual disco lights and tambourines, pitchers of beer and dried fish etc etc. Oh but did I have fun! What a wonderful bunch of people. They sang along to the English songs, which I know is very difficult for most of them. I got my 2 English co-teachers to sing a duet in English. One of the admin guys took me for a weird kind of dancing spin. There was much singing, and performing, and dancing.... What a wonderful team-building experience!

As we parted for the night, the older ladies cautioned me against drinking soju, saying it's not good...they are very concerned for my well-being. Bless them! (I must just assure you here....I was neither drunk, nor behaving in any inappropriate manner.) It's just the way they are....the same ladies who stuff me with biscuits and rice cake.

And, today, it's back to school. Ah well, I will be spending the weekend as a tourist (finally) in Daegu, visiting the tourist attractions in the surrounding areas outside the city.

Have a great weekend, all...

Lots of love, as always

Andrea

Amusement Park Not So Amusing

Hi y'all!

Hope everyone keeping well despite the cold over there. Weather my side is still fluctuating....(my colleagues are stuffing me with biscuits first thing in the morning again!). As I was saying....yesterday was a Cape Town summer, then thunder and rain. But not cold at all. So, soon, I'll be experiencing my first monsoon. Of course, I'll keep everyone informed....

Here in Korea, all the high schools wrote mid-term exams last week. This week, it's the middle schools' turn for exams. At the end of exams, the students - (now I've been handed warm, green rice cake! You don't need bubblegum when you have rice cake!) - at tthe end of exams, the teachers have some team-building activity (last week at high school was volleyball). Today, at middle school, it's the final day of exams, so we are going hiking afterwards, and then off to dinner.

Yesterday, I went along on a high school outing - the school takes the students out for a day of fun after exams. The 1st Grade students all went on a 3-day tour of the country, while 2nd and 3rd Grade went to an amusement park for the day. Apparently, amusement theme parks are really big here. (You see, Korea models itself sooo much on America.) Anyway, almost all the teachers who can speak English confidently had gone on tour, so, needless to say, I felt kind of left out of conversations, neglected, ignored to a point....like the invisible alien...quite literally! I eventually excused myself from the teachers, since they were being boring anyway, just sitting and eating and talking. It was my first time there...a bit of thought and conscience would have been appreciated. (I'd like to think we would treat them a bit better if the situation were reversed.) My now-almost-friend American Geoff's theory is that Koreans are still pretty much closed off from the international world, hence they need training in how to deal with foreigners in their country.

So off I went for a 'walk'. Throwing a mini-tantrum (how else do you know me?) Marching along, muttering to myself, like a typical crazy foreigner! At least I did this along a quiet deserted footpath. After a few deep lungsful of 'fresh' air, I decided to explore. Ended up eating at KFC - out of pure revolt I assure you - then went to sit at a fountain to read my book. After I'd recovered sufficiently, I decided to walk back to where they were. But along the way, some students came up to me and tried to get me to go on a rollercoaster with them. Of course, this simple request took at least 10 min to communicate due to their poor English. Eventually, it was ok, I went along with them but not on the ride. One ride on The Cobra at Ratanga more than satisfied my curiosity re rollercoasters. After that, things started to look up. I met some more students, and managed to have some conversations with them. And this shook me awake a bit...my purpose here, is to enrich the lives of my students, not to socialise with teachers. That change of perspective helped tremendously. I then ended up at the NATURE PARK, which is really a sorry thing to see. It was terribly hot, and the animals could have been taken care of much better. There were dogs, asses, ducks and geese, rabbits, goats, chickens, pheasants and peacocks. The furry animals had matted fur and they were in pens with concrete floors. I didn't even take any pics cos it was just too sad. Later, I joined the rest of the teachers again, and yes, they were eating again....lunch this time. Thereafter, I stayed with those teachers who were spending time with the students and so it was much better. So thankfully, a not-so-amusing amusement park expereince turned round. (Hey! At least my parasol came in very handy for the hot sun!)

Next week, Monday, the middle school will be going to the same amusement park. Let's see what that'll be like...

So for today, I have a relaxed day again, sitting at my desk for a few hours, browsing the internet, maybe working a bit, hmmmm I don't know...the life a Foreign English teacher in Korea. We'll have an English market a bit later. Those students who have excelled in class have progressively earned 'dollars' which they can spend on stationery. I'll play the shopkeeper, and they have to speak good English in order for me to grant their resquests. The question is, what mood will I be in? Benevolent fairy OR hateful witch?

Till next time....

Love, hugs and kisses...

Andrea

Cell Phones and Parasols

Hi all you lazy South Africans!

When are you going to start working and saying goodbye to all the holidays?

GOOD NEWS! I finally have a cell ph connection here! Isn't this great.......? Here, you can choose the last 4 digits of your cell ph number!

I had another eventful weekend. I suppose that's going to be the norm here. I had started feeling lonely and weepy last week. What didn't help, I suppose, was the fact that they were writing mid-term exams at high school last week, so I had a lot of free time in which to get bored and sad. This week, the middle school is writing exams. At least, I can use the time to prepare for the English camp coming up in June.

On Friday, after the exams at high school, the teachers had another team-building activity: Volleyball this time. I was extremely bored by this time and just wanted to go home. It gets a bit lonely once the novelty's worn off. The teachers who are usually confident enough to talk to me were all playing volleyball, and so basically I was sitting on my own. Quite different to the usual amount of attention and chatter going on. Basically, I guess I started feeling sorry for myself :(

That Fri night, my big-mouthed American colleague, Geoff, stopped by for a chat and ended up leaving at 01:30. This time, I received him and what he had to say with better grace.

Sat morning, I was up very early, vacuuming etc to get the place ready for my next weekend guest. Not all of you will know about Ernest, but anyway...he's a Capetonian who came over here in October last year. Dianne had met him through work, and told me about his leaving for Korea. She put us in contact with one another and he has been such a valuable source of knowledge and advice during my preparations prior to leaving SA. Anyway, so we finally arranged to meet. Had lunch at that Pakistani/Indian restaurant, and lo and behold, ended up meeting a bunch of Capetonians who were dining at the same place. We all miss our roti and curry and breyani, etc! One of the guys was a very vocal loud and proud Klora from Parow. Did he have us in stiches! True Cape Town in Korea...Cape Flats swear words and all! Need I say more?

Oh yes, and I finally own a parasol! A floral one, nogal! LOL!

And I got stalked! An elderly Korean man followed me, asked where I was from, asked me to go on a date with him, kept saying he 'loves' me. I walked away from him, only to discover 5 min later, that he was still following me, and in front of the old Korean ladies, continued propositioning me. The only way I eventually got away, was to jump in the nearest taxi. Then, at the Indian supermarket, guess what I found? Custard! And Lipton black tea. They have lentils, etc, so can make dahl, breyani, etc. And they even have dhania! (Sorry to get so domesticated on you....as fellow Capetonians, if you were here, you'd understand.) Yes, again, the Indian and Pakistani men were all smiles and winking eyes at me. On the bus back to Gunwi, a Pakistani man sat down next to me, and tried to enagage me in conversation. Thankfully, his command of English is very limited, so I was able to 'escape' most of the time.

So, in a nutshell, that was my weekend. It could have been a nice long weekend since tomorrow is a public holiday, and today is a short working day due to exams. But our school decided to start exams today. Naturally, the students and teachers weren't too happy about that! Were it not for school today, I would have gone to an International Film Festival in a neighbouring province. But the time it takes to travel there and back just for one day...it's not worth it. So I opted for a quiet day in the country, i.e. stay at home and vegetate!

Ciao for now, folks... stay in touch. Your emails keep me going....

Lots of love,

Andrea