One Year in Korea

Today marks my one-year anniversary in Korea. I feel happy, settled and am enjoying great relationships with my Korean students and colleagues. I have also started Korean classes, and have loads of help and advice from my Korean pals (친구 = cheen-goo = friends). Even my high school principal has come on board with my learning! He checked my homework, and even sent me a bilingual email, to further motivate me to study hard!

I was pleasantly surprised a couple of days ago, when one of the admin ladies came into the teachers' office with a newspaper clipping with a photograph of me! How did this happen?! What are the chances of them actually catching it? Very very sharp eyes, I tell you!

Newspaper clipping of Bernice and I writing our hopes for 2010.

Common Colds, Jabs in the Bum, and Yellow Chinese dust

Well, it's that time of year again. Spring.... Change of season.... Allergic rhinitis time. The time of year when I am most susceptible to throat, ear and chest infections. I know my body's responses to these seasonal mishaps so well, that I am able to diagnose myself very accurately by now. Usually, I can go to the doctor and inform him/her of my symptoms and request a script for antibiotics, and before I know it, all's well. So imagine my huge surprise when I fell sick as a dog after my birthday weekend in Busan, barely managed to drag myself to the doctor on Monday, only to be told that I had a COMMON COLD! How's that for taking the wind out of one's sails! I got a jab in the bum, and meds for 3 days.

I still felt ridiculously ill the following day, so stayed at home. I must say, I have NEVER been that sick from a COMMON COLD. It took all week and into the start of the following week before I began to feel like myself again.

Another wonderful characteristic of Spring in Korea is the Yellow Dust which blankets the Korean peninsula. This Yellow Dust blows in from China and Mongolia (the Gobi Desert). This year, the highest levels ever were recorded on Saturday and Sunday (2684 micrograms per cubic metre). I was in Daegu for the start of my Korean language course at the YMCA. I couldn't understand why my nose was burning so terribly and the sky was overcast with an eerie blanket of what looked like highveld rain clouds. Meanwhile it was the dust, which kept many Koreans indoors for fear of respiratory problems, and apparently drivers and pedestrians who were out and about complained that the dust clouded their visibility.

Busan Birthday 'B'arty

So the big celebration has finally come and gone :) And it was a wonderful one.

On Saturday morning, Bernice and I made our way to Busan, on the South Coast of South Korea. Busan is the second largest city in Korea, after Seoul. And it is also very foreigner-friendly. The closest comparison I can make is... think of Seoul as Johannesburg, and Busan as Cape Town. Almost every sign/notice was in both Korean AND English. And for a change, we saw more than just Korean-made cars! There were BMW's, Chevrolets, VW's, etc. In my neck of the woods (Daegu and surrounding areas, all you see are Hyundai and Kia!)

After checking into our motel, we took a 5min stroll and were at Haeundae Beach, the most popular beach in Korea among tourists. It's like a cross between Camps Bay and the Durban Promenade.

Slaves to fashion: high heels at the beach!

Busan Aquarium

We visited Busan Aquarium, which is not very big, although it took us a good 3 hours to see everything, including a ride in a glass-bottomed boat in the shark tank. All the displays were clearly marked and all the sea creatures appeared to be healthy and well-taken care of. All the tanks contained crystal-clear water. The water in the shark tank looked so inviting, that I was sorely tempted to accidentally fall in, just to be closer to my beloved sharks :) I must say, that this was the most number of sharks I've ever seen in a shark tank... there were at least 10 big sharks, besides the smaller sand sharks.

View from the glass-bottomed boat.

My First Birthday in Korea

Hi again!

Well, not my FIRST birthday, obviously! But you know what I mean.

I woke up to snow this morning. It caught me by total surprise, as I had no idea that it had snowed. I sat down in the lounge, ready to get a grip on world news from the BBC, with my bowl of Rice Krispies (smuggled into Korea in my suitcase on my return from the USA!) and just HAPPENED to glance out of the window, and hey presto! The sight took my breath away! What a wonderful birthday prezzie :)

And so it is, that I have finally reached the wonderful age of 37. This is the age that I always kept in the back of my mind, since I first heard my mother, aunts and older cousins talking about how a woman changes when she turns 37. What wonderful things did they say to each other? (Obviously these things were not meant for the ears of a certain little mouse!)

Things to do when you turn 37 .......

1. Lie about your age: from now, until at least, your 50-60s, you will always be 36 years old!

2. Crow's feet begin to show at 37. (I have to admit that I actually checked for crow's feet a month or two ago! Not that I could find any!)

How one is supposed to remain 36 with ever-increasing crow's feet is beyond me! Oh, now I remember!

3. Nivea. Nivea is the answer! You know the THICK Nivea cream? That one!

Thankfully, although I have always kept these pearls of feminine wisdom in the back of my mind for such a time as this, i.e. TODAY and forever.... I am happy to say that I have never had a problem divulging my age to anyone, and after reaching this milestone today, I still don't have a problem being honest about my age. Living in Korea, though, already has me accustomed to aging myself even further. Last year, I was already 37. So, here in Korea I have turned 38 today, based on the lunar calendar.

This weekend, some friends and I will be heading to Busan, on the south coast of Korea, to celebrate this momentous feminine coming-of-age. More news on that next week!

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes! I am surrounded by wonderful people :)

To being 36 forever!

A

Reflections from a South African in Korea

Well, I am back into the swing of things here in Korea. Life goes on, as it must.

My visit back home was wonderful. I can't stop looking at all the photos! Memories to be treasured for a lifetime! And yet, it feels good to be back in Asia. Weird, yes, I know.... but as I have had much time to reflect on the oddity of this reaction, it has finally become clear to me. I have made a home for myself in my apartment in Daegon Village, Gunwi-eup, Gunwi-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. (My mouthful-of-an-address!). This is where 'I lay me down to sleep' at night. It also struck me, during my many hours of travelling reflection, that I am far more familiar with Incheon Airport than either Cape Town or Johannesburg! What can this mean? Hmmmmm ....

Speaking of Incheon Airport, many returning Koreans were sent to have their bags checked at Customs. (Or perhaps they were Chinese! The Koreans certainly mistrust the Chinese!). As for me, I have been very fortunate. I always get waved through. And yet I always have food in my suitcase! One time, I actually had to TELL them that I had beef jerky from Macau which I had forgotten to eat! Only then did they send me to have my bag checked! And even then, the Customs guy was too polite to scratch further, cos I controlled the situation very nicely, stopping any further examination by closing my suitcase myself, thank you very much!

My first few days back at school have been very easy, allowing me to drop off at my desk now and again, thanks to jet-lag and crazy socializing in Cape Town! I only taught 2 classes yesterday (Thursday) and even that was no big deal. So YAY for me! I'm also enjoying Korean food again, after a month of Western eating out, which was lovely, but took its toll on my body, I have to admit. I actually feel cleaner inside, since I'm back, if you can swallow that! (Pardon the pun!)

I experienced this odd sense of being rather pleased with the world and took utter joy in the moment, when I set foot on Hong Kong soil. Firstly, it was the end of a long journey (13 hours of flight from Jhb to HK). Secondly, was the fact that I had returned to Asian soil. I never thought this would happen to me.... that I would be happy to be the odd one out! There I was, surrounded by Asians, and I was happy to stand out from the crowd....literally! Thirdly, it having just re-occurred to me, is the fact that I totally LOVE Hong Kong! Although you might be foreign, and look and sound different, they don't actually give you a second glance. Thus, it is easy to start believing that you look like everyone else there! Whereas, in Korea, there is still that element of staring at foreigners.

I have also been very blessed by my Korean friends here. I came back to letters, emails and phone calls from teachers who had moved to other schools in my absence. I have one ex-coteacher phoning me almost daily to tell me how much he misses me! He even did this in front of his new foreign co-teacher! Ouch!

Weather-wise, my body loves being back here. I still get a laugh out of this.... when we landed in Korea, the temperature was 3 deg Celsius. And yet it felt nice and warm compared to when I had left a month ago. I must have brought the sunshine and heat from South Africa, cos I was the only one walking around in a t-shirt at the airport and feeling quite comfy! Nonetheless, things have definitely warmed up a bit here, with it raining daily. That means it's too warm for snow. This marks the beginning of Spring. And along with Spring, come fun and games :)

I have finally registered for a Korean language course, starting 20 March, at the YMCA. I also have to do an online course regarding teaching in Korea, starting 15 March. So the study bee that has been buzzing round in my bonnet will finally be satisfied for a while. And I have also been invited to a Korean wedding!

It would appear that things are about to get busy again, as they usually do here. Within 2 days of arriving back in Korea, I've received 7 invitations, 4 of which are for this Saturday alone! And that's beside the emails and text messages I received in Cape Town, asking whether I was still in South Africa and when I was coming back, and that they miss me! So while at first, some Koreans may appear aloof (remember, it's just the fear of foreigners), once they befriend you, they are amazing!

Yesterday, I went to pay some bills, etc, and as I was walking downtown, it felt so good as students were calling greetings from all directions. I almost got whiplash from all the times I had to look behind me, or across the street to see who was calling me! ("Andrea! Long time, no see!") And yet again, even a stranger whom I'd never met before, came to talk to me and intro himself.

And then later, I met Bernice at the doctor's before she came over to my place for dinner. And there were 2 young Korean guys, dressed very smartly in their suits and ties, paying what they called a 'business trip' to the doctor. These 2 gentlemen were very pleased to see me and Bernice, and we were rather involved in a very engaging conversation. They have traveled around the world a bit themselves, and so we could share quite a bit. I've never had such a good time in a hospital waiting room! Even the nurses, and another old granny, were killing themselves laughing. One of the doctors kept telling us that these guys are single, and he kept encouraging them to make more conversation with us! Hilarious!

Anyway, guys, as usual, I shall be keeping you posted. Stay tuned!

Love and hugs!

Andrea