Why I want to stay in Korea

Single figures

I have five days left at work, seven days left in Korea and nine days until I'm home.

For some reason, I have a feeling that those final five aren't going to run as smoothly as I'd hoped.

Oh well, on a positive note, I have booked my haircut, and a doctors appointment AND two dinner dates with some fabulous people.

War Museum

Last Saturday I headed to the War Memorial Museum of Korea, in Seoul (Samgakchi). I had been meaning to visit for a while, and with Korea still technically at war, I thought it was intrigued to have a look at their 'take' on War History.

Despite trying my best to be interested in guns, missiles and the strategy, I totally failed, and focussed on the things I usually like looking at..

Name-tags, possibly the most beautiful name tags in the world?

Used as military underlay, I could definitely wear it as a dress...

Sunday goings on

Well, contrary to the post title, I'm not really going anywhere, instead i'm just hanging in my apartment and indulging myself in the fact I don't really have to do anything, if I don't want to. So far, i've watched a bizarre film called 'Russian Doll' with Hugo weaving, 'F@llow me' on OnStyle, a program I am relatively obsessed with despite the fact it's Korean, and I have no idea what's actually going on! I'm now into my third hour of ANTM re-runs, and the most productive thing I have done is wander downtown for further indulgence (buy nice food). I came back with, amongst other things a 'Pink cloud' from Tous Le Jours, a french korean cake shop, which was so beautiful and so tasty i totally forgot to take a photo, which just gives me an excuse to buy another one before I leave.... Today is clearly one of those days where i'm saying 'F*uck food intolerance's, it's so pretty!'........

PGCE Pending

Today I got sent an email asking me to fill in some online forms ahead of my PGCE enrollment on September 9th, they also included my student number, email address, passwords and the details off my first course seminar. I know only have a mere 13 days left in Korea, it's mental, and i'm really excited about heading back to Uni. I have, however, SOOO much to do in the days between arriving back home and heading back to London it's crazy, especially when all i'm going to want to do is recover from the previous 369 days by sleeping in my own bed.

Dr Fish

Dr Fish is a process in which you stick your tootsies into a bath full of fish and they eat away the dead skin. I have been meaning to have this experience for a while, but finding the time to get to Gangnam from Munsan has always been a bit of an issue, it's just so out the way. Anyhow, a few weeks ago I decided that this Saturday the 21st of August would be the day. It's also the designated day to do everything in Seoul I will kick myself if I don't do (War museum, Leeum Art museum, Jongymo Shrine) all bits that i've planned to do but never actually made it. The process is apparently painless but rather ticklish, it's also really cheap, around 2000 won for 15 minutes ish, (about £1).

However, thanks to last weekends jaunt to Sokcho, where i decided to wear my flipflops on the Sunday, get them sodding wet by walking in the sea, cover them in sand and then walk around in them for a further 8 plus hours a now have a feck off blister on my right foot and can't go. I'm not happy. Apparently your feet have to be free from any 'mank' such as cuts or scabs or weak skin etc because the fish are stupid and will just eat it off you, so then it gets even worse.

I'm praying that the stupid blistererous monster will heal itself so I can just wake up early and go next weekend, before I go to Dragon Hill, if not the Dragon Hill ladies are sure to just bash off the dead skin anyway, and then I wont need Dr Fish...

Still, the whole thing sucks.

two and a half weeks...

Things I will miss...

1. The people - From my Munsan wonderland homegirls Jenny & Mary, to those Geumcheon rivals (Shauna I mean you!) , to the genuinely fabulous 'waeguk's' I have met along the way...

To the Korean staff I work with in particularly Jenny Teacher!

And my AMAZING students

in particular the following - the kid who i still plan to hide in my suitcase - His name is U Shin/Peter. I can not express how much I adore him. I need to get more photos and video before I leave. I'm sure it wont be that hard. HE ROCKS

2. The food. What's a meal without Kimchi?? That's almost a joke, it's the seafood, the amazing seafood, the raw fish, the recently discovered Squid Sundae, Koreans and their way with fish will always have a place in my heart, or should that be stomach. Korean cakes. Because they are amazing, Korean pizza. Because it is also amazing. GALBI!!!!

3. The clothes - Hongdae, Dongdaemun, Meyong-dong, La festa, Western Dome and all that is in between, especially the place in Munsan, the one with the plastic swing doors, near the sex shop. Topshop is just NOT the same.

4. Peter - I LOVE HIM. truly

5. Downloading movies - because in Korea, it's okay.

6. NOREABANG

7. Bars that open all night, and bars like MAX PAPER, in Hongdae - which when you turn up worse for wear at 4am, give you a blanket and let you go to sleep (until they wake you up with very loud Argentian Tango music)

8. Not quite knowing what your going to get when you place a food order

9. Mountain Dew - because in Korea, it's everywhere!

10. Having my own apartment.

Things I wont miss...

1. Squat toilets

2. Taking your shoes off, i understand the hygiene issue, (not compared with the state of the toilets) however I always have that 'Carrie Bradshaw at a babyshower Sex and the City Moment'... you know what I mean

3. Ajumma RAGE

4. Being called russian

5. Having to wear far too many clothes in extreme heat and humidity because of etiquette

6. Being followed around shops whenever you enter - I NEED MY SPACE

7. PRESSURE - On the kids.

8. Not quite knowing what your going to get when you place a food order

9. That it's okay to wack kids with sticks. It's not.

10. Having my own apartment

Things I CAN NOT WAIT ANY LONGER FOR....

1. My mum

2. Family & Friends

3. Proper Wine, in particular Rose

4. Food - Pitta, hummus, avocado, Indian food, moroccan food, dairy milk, beetroot, herring roll mops

5. Blonde hair dye & Batiste dry shampoo

6. LONDON

7. WEST SUSSEX

8. Swimming Pools.

9. Lack of unbearable humidity

10. Understand what the feck is going on...

Child's I

The Child' s i foundation is a charity my friend Claire 'introduced ' me to, a british born Ugandan based charity that has set up a home for abandoned babies for more detailed information check out their

website - http://www.childsifoundation.org/

facebook - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100198310303&ref=ts

twitter - https://twitter.com/childsi

The reason I am mentioning this charity, is because a time comes around when one feels its time to get more involved in charitable work, whether it be age, or being in Korea, I made a step a few weeks back to 'mentally' get involved more, in anyway I could.

Child's i seemed an obvious choice, due to my awareness and the involvement of my friend Claire, who was not only involved on a base level but was also part of the team when they initially went out to Uganda last December to start with the set-up of the project, she is somewhat of a film making genius and created some beautiful short docs documenting the 'start'...

You can have a look here - http://claireratty.wordpress.com/

It was this story that came to light last week that made me make the step up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0izq1pN6Z3E

That made me write this rather pathetic post, basically stating how awesome and amazing this charity is, and how everyone should be aware of the work they are doing.

Also to say a good luck and all the best to Lucy Buck, who set up the charity who is doing a fecking amazing job!

Seoraksan & Sokcho

With 3* weekends left in Korea before returning to fabulous England and its awesome new government (extreme sarcasm for the latter) Me and Jen decided to go and hit up the East coast, Gangwon-do province the chosen holiday destination for almost every single student I teach. So we did another wake-up god early, take the subway to the Express bus terminal and purchase return tickets to Sokcho, with the intention of hoiking it around on the beach and taking a wander up Seoraksan, THE mountain range of Korea.

The first thing we learnt was that the guidebooks (Rough Guide & Lonely Planet) lie. On two counts. Firstly that it takes 3/4 hours by bus to reach Sokcho, secondly that its a viable day excursion from Seoul. FIVE HOURS ON THE DELUXE EXPRESS LATER, we pulled up in Sokcho, maybe the torrential rain on the way hindered the journey slightly, or possibly the heavy traffic, but hey ho. We made it! YAY!. I spotted the hotel almost immediately...

Is there any surprise in that?? Umm no. I like pink!.

The decor on the inside was also, well... genius!

The plastic bouquet above the bed, did make me think for a minute that I was on honeymoon... and the mirrored bedhead, WOW!

Anyhow, so after checking into the Hotel/Motel, we went to find the International Tourist Information centre, and figure out if we had enough time to get to Seoraksan and back before it turned dark. The tourist information was based in the biggest most ostentatious glass building in Korea, and was also possibly, the worst tourist information I have been too, considering they pride themselves on being International and helping all nationalities, their English was abismal. however we somehow found a bus stop, we waited for around twenty minutes before discovering that we were on the wrong side of the road, then we gave up and took a cab. 15 minutes later and we were at the base, ready to ascend the mountain. Using our initative we thought, heck why climb when there's a cable car, so we bought tickets and jumped on. The weather, it wasn't raining any more, made us slightly nervous about what the view would be from the top, it was thick with cloud and a few minutes from 'take off' the cable cars simply dissapeared into oblivion!

However, luckily, the mountains are so fecking huge, they peaked above the cloudbank, and the view was, putting it mildly, spectacular

After arriving at the top cable car station, we took a wander up to the 'peak', Seoraksan has a whole bunch of peaks, this was just one and I can't remember the name... (insert later, when I have found the information guide!) This involved a mild hike for me, and a slightly more strenuous one for Jen as she decided to go further up a mound of rock, I can do the up, but I am TERRIBLE at the down, so stayed where I was! After hanging out for a while, we then went to investigate a small temple nearby, where we met the lovely resident monk, who was impressed by our templestay and kept telling us about his Buddhist monk friend Mary who lived in Oxford... very cute!

We then made our descent (again by cable car) and went to find the giant stone Buddha, we had seen from the top of the mountain.

Our previous mountain excursion, when we climbed Bukhansan back in the autumn also lead us to a giant Buddha, and this one was equally beautiful, situated again near to 'Sinheungsa' another beautiful temple...

By the time we found our way to the bus stop it was getting dark, and we were starting to crave some much anticipated seafood, so we took the bus to Daepohng port 'Raw fish complex', where we wandered the strip of harbour gawping at the amount of restaurants and stalls before settling down in a tiny restaurant to a sensational plate of raw fish washed down with beer. It was freshest fish I have ever eaten, from swimming to stomach in less than 5 minutes.

After wandering the market for a few hours atleast, we then decided to purchase some of the freshly made local dish 'Ojeondae Sundae' - aka stuffed squid - looked amazing, and lets be honest squid and anything is nearly always a taste sensation, the idea was to grab some beers and head back to the hotel... a trip to familymart meant the beer was upgraded to Strawberry wine and eating our umm second dinner in that sensational hotel room was pretty amazing.

The next day, we took a walk up the seafront (well actually the dual carriageaway parallel to the seafront) towards Abai village, the former landing point of North Koreans, which turned itself into a North Korean refugee camp so to speak and to the beach where we spent a few hours chilling out, dipping our toes in the sea etc

We then headed back to the bus terminal, via e-mart and a restaurant to indulge in another meal of the lucious 'Squid Sundae'. Once board the bus, it took another 5 hours through heavy traffic, two subways and the trusty 9710 bus to get us back to Munsan. Essentially a fabulous final roadtrip!

*I know only have two weekends left...EEEEEKKKKK