Hi again!
I'm back, as promised. Thought you could rid of me, hey?! Even from the other side of the planet, I'm still on y'all like a fly on syrup!
Well, last Wednesday, I went along with some Korean English teachers from my county - oh, big-mouth Geoff went, too - to a place called the English Village. Oh my word! What a set-up. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) has joined with the Korean government to build these English Villages all over Korea, as part of their English training programme for all Korean people. Un-freakin-believable! Here goes:
The one we went to, is located up in the mountains: they have built and equipped 'situation' rooms. There's an airport lobby and lounge, with signs and all, there's a real airplane - complete, full, real airplane - equipped with training equipment (tv etc), airplane seats, the works! The dorms are set up as though the guests are booking into a hotel. Then there's the gym, the restaurant, the post office, the police station, music room, bedroom, kitchen, transportation (buying bus, plane, train tickets etc), cooking classroom, science lab, art room, etc etc etc. Basically these villages are built to allow Koreans to experience life in English. Children from kindergarten through high school, university students, and working adults are encouraged to book into the Village for English camps. They are taught how to survive in an English world. Strange but true.
Then on Friday night, I had been invited by my neighbour (and colleague) - she lives in the apartment below me - for supper. Gyo Lim was also invited, to help interpret. (I'm so proud of her - her English is coming along in leaps and bounds, so much so that she is now my interpreter when needed! Her parents are also happy that she and I will be travelling together, cos I speak English!) Anyway, our hostess has an interesting story. She was widowed, thanks to a car accident, when she had 3 young boys, about 20 years ago. She raised her sons alone. They are all grown men now, and she is now also a grandmother. She is also a traveller, having been to a few countries herself. This summer she will be travelling to Russia and Mongolia. She just loved having us girls in her place. Like a typical mother, she kept on feeding us! All our protestations of being too full fell on deaf ears. I felt so bad, cause I couldn't finish all my food. She normally doesn't cook for herself, but in honour of her guests, she prepared a feast, which according to her was just a simple rustic meal. She gave me a huge bowl of rice, which had black beans in it (hello! already filling on its own!), a huge bowl of seaweed soup (the seawood's good, excellent fibre, but oh so filling!), she cooked a huge bowl of meat, plus a delicious fish dish, potato fritters - painstakingly decorated with spring onion, plus all the typical Korean side dishes: kimchi (fermented vegetables), huge jalapeno peppers, red pepper paste, dried chillies etc etc etc. Apples, peaches and persimmons for dessert. Chocolate and chilled plum tea. We rolled out of there. Fortunately, I could roll up the stairs and straight into bed!
The next day, I had a lunch meeting with another South African, whom Leonora had put me in touch with. She's been in Korea for a few years. It was wonderful being able to talk to another SA in person. We went to an Australian steak house (also a chain restaurant like Spur) called Outback. Had grilled chicken breast fillet and spare ribs AND chips! Real chips, like Spur chips, not McDonalds fries! Whooppeeee! (Can one get so excited about chips? In Korea, YES!) After lunch, Sanel took me shopping. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, struggling to find nice summer clothes that I could wear to work. Everytime I go to Daegu, I walk past this store, but it looked so expensive and chic, that I just assumed they only did Asian sizes and high fashion - not my style at all. WRONG! I bought 4 beautiful tops, in the style that I favour, in beautiful, bright Andrea colours! And they have such beautiful shoes! Imported from Brazil, nogal. They even have Indian tops! Apparently, this store (called ZARA) is also in the US. And they are NOT cheap! But after 2 months of looking, it was worth it.
After saying goodbye to Sanel, I still had to buy birthday presents for the trio-b-day party later that evening, and find a hotel for the night. The tourist info centre sent me to the Eldis Regent Hotel. I walked in with my little backpack and shopping, paid cash for a room, showered, changed, and hailed a taxi to the bday venue - rotating restaurant 200m above the city. (The same tower I'd been to a few weeks ago.) Lunch had scarcely begun digesting, and here was dinner! Seafood starter, teriyaki steak, red wine, cheescake, Aussies, Brits, Kiwis, Americans, Koreans and me, representing sunny SA! Lekker times! We saw a magnificent firework display over the city - no idea what the occasion, but enjoyed it nonetheless. They all went on clubbing, I wasn't in the mood, so went back to my fancy hotel room and big wall tv. And had an absolute blast! Ordered breakfast in my room the next morning, checked out, did a bit more shopping and back to my country home! I could SO get used to this kind of life!!! Yes, I am grinning rather smugly as I type this :)
And back to work this morning, which really isn't that much...
So, now I've updated you guys. I'll have to sift thru the pics but will save that for tomorrow. (By the way, I've sent 2 sets of pics already, but some of your email addresses don't accept them. So don't say I didn't send you pictures!)
Love you all....Please stay in touch
Andrea
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