The last two evenings, I've been obliged to join the rest of my co-workers - in both English Town and Sangju Elementary - for meals at traditional Korean restaurants. As a direct result, I've got to spend some extended 'quality time' with my toilet. It may be the rainy season in Korea, but the only thunderous, torrential downpours I've experienced have come indoors, from my ignoble behind. A surfeit of Korean cuisine has given me, in Irish parlance, 'an awful case of the scutters'.
The Korean culinary novelty has pretty much worn off. They will eat anything and everything here, including seaweed, dandelions, silkworms, fish-heads, canines... pretty much anything that they can cook and consume without inducing serious liver/stomach damage. They justify consumption of these culinary abortions by claiming that they're 'good for health'. I've (just about) become desensitized to kimchi - the beloved national dish of (seemingly) petrol-fermented cabbage - and some of the spicy meat we get is good and tasty... But the side dishes are always exactly the same, consisting of unbearably strong red-pepper paste, whole cloves of garlic (with no way of cutting or grinding them) and bits of plant stems and grass that they pass as edible by simply dousing them in spicy shit. We also have 'rice cakes' with lots of dishes, which are basically rubber-ish balls of torrid blandness, which are incredibly difficult to chew and digest. But, of course, they're 'good for health' - despite the fact that many of these offending items have a consistent habit of lodging between one's teeth and taking up a long-term residence therein.
Soups are a mandatory part of most meals, a fact which has directly contributed to my anal ailment of late. Seaweed soup, which we get twice a week in the school canteen, tastes exactly as it sounds. The soups here have a tendency to exit the body in roughly the same form that they entered. Korean toilets traditionally do not flush with the velocity of their Western counterparts, so they are ill-equipped to deal with the good, sturdy logs borne of a wholesome Western diet. Maybe it's no coincidence that Korean society is supportive of the scutters.
(I know what you're thinking. Jesus Christ, Greg, enough with the diarrhoea already. I'm aware that this is more information than you need to know, but this blog is a 'warts and all' account, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, who's actually reading this?)
Luckily for me, more 'sturdy' food is easy enough to find. Paris Baguette and Tous le Jours have some nice hot-dogs and pastries if I need to skip lunch, while E-Mart and Home Mart - both a stone's throw from my apartment - have everything I need to cook my own dinners. Chicken, pasta, spuds, noodles, carrots, broccoli, etc. There's decent pizza at La Dicello (shite pasta, though), and a take-away place that can provide the miracle of boneless deep-fried chicken, seasoned with spring onions. Unlike Bulgaria, bread, butter and milk are readily available, though not of the high standard of my extremely agricultural homeland. Good cheese, beef and tea are the only things I miss from home, but still hardly worth pining over. I think I may have found the basic necessities for a decent fry-up, too.
Some of the Korean stuff is genuinely tasty, but if I'm eating it every single day, lunch and dinner, then I do run the risk of a prolapsed rectum before too long.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
12th of July; Footie and tequila
It's been an interesting few days. Last Monday, I got a lift to an English Town meeting with my co-teacher Jio's husband, 'Tom'. En route, he enthusiastically enquired about my willingness to join a soccer team. I replied in the affirmative. When asked 'What is your level?' I thought about saying 'shite', but truthfully informed him that while my technique and shooting are adequate, my general physical condition (i.e. strength and stamina) has been woeful for as long as I care to remember. He invited me to come along to a 5-a-side astroturf game that Friday.
I invested in a pair of boots and a ball, and went along to the session. I scored five goals in a 10-9 win, generally impressing my exclusively Korean team-mates. The pace was decent enough, but the Korean lads tend to be a bit lax on the defensive side of the game. I was able to find much more space, beat men and get my passes away than I would in Ireland, where the style of play is more 'physical'. I did run out of steam towards the end, so I went in goal, where I blocked a late point-blank effort with my genitalia. This left me in some discomfort, but I was amused by Tom's assertion that 'it hurt more for you - European penis very big'!
The following morning, I played a full-length, full-pitch game against one of the other Sangju teams. Still somewhat stiff from the previous evening, I didn't make much of an impact at first. I was playing on the left wing, hoping for licence to drift infield, but our left-back had a tendency to neglect his defensive duties, so I spent a lot of time and effort covering him. I did have a decent shot saved, though, on a rare foray infield. In the middle of the second half, with the score at 4-4, I drifted in behind the strikers, as I wasn't seeing much of the ball. Almost immediately, I got on the end of a lay-off from one of the strikers and drilled it into the bottom corner from just outside the box. We ended up winning 6-4, but I was a passenger for the last fifteen minutes, thanks to exhaustion and blisters on my foot. A good workout nonetheless, and I feel comfortable with the general standard and style of play, which makes a change from my usual timid displays on the UL astroturf/indoor pitches.
On Saturday night, I ended up getting plastered with Joe, Simon and Adam, in celebration of Mr. Leiner's birthday. The beer went down very well, and in enormous quantities, and it was all compounded by some tequila at the end of the night. I ill-advisedly cycled home, and as far as I recall, was all over the road. I lost my bike lock somewhere along the way, which I didn't realise until this morning. Still a bit run-down and tired today, especially after watching the World Cup final last night. One more class to go, though - but I have to do five lesson plans in the next 24 hours. Could be a bit of a disaster...
I invested in a pair of boots and a ball, and went along to the session. I scored five goals in a 10-9 win, generally impressing my exclusively Korean team-mates. The pace was decent enough, but the Korean lads tend to be a bit lax on the defensive side of the game. I was able to find much more space, beat men and get my passes away than I would in Ireland, where the style of play is more 'physical'. I did run out of steam towards the end, so I went in goal, where I blocked a late point-blank effort with my genitalia. This left me in some discomfort, but I was amused by Tom's assertion that 'it hurt more for you - European penis very big'!
The following morning, I played a full-length, full-pitch game against one of the other Sangju teams. Still somewhat stiff from the previous evening, I didn't make much of an impact at first. I was playing on the left wing, hoping for licence to drift infield, but our left-back had a tendency to neglect his defensive duties, so I spent a lot of time and effort covering him. I did have a decent shot saved, though, on a rare foray infield. In the middle of the second half, with the score at 4-4, I drifted in behind the strikers, as I wasn't seeing much of the ball. Almost immediately, I got on the end of a lay-off from one of the strikers and drilled it into the bottom corner from just outside the box. We ended up winning 6-4, but I was a passenger for the last fifteen minutes, thanks to exhaustion and blisters on my foot. A good workout nonetheless, and I feel comfortable with the general standard and style of play, which makes a change from my usual timid displays on the UL astroturf/indoor pitches.
On Saturday night, I ended up getting plastered with Joe, Simon and Adam, in celebration of Mr. Leiner's birthday. The beer went down very well, and in enormous quantities, and it was all compounded by some tequila at the end of the night. I ill-advisedly cycled home, and as far as I recall, was all over the road. I lost my bike lock somewhere along the way, which I didn't realise until this morning. Still a bit run-down and tired today, especially after watching the World Cup final last night. One more class to go, though - but I have to do five lesson plans in the next 24 hours. Could be a bit of a disaster...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
8th of July; English Camps are rubbish
The end of this World Cup will be bittersweet for me. Part of me will be sad at the conclusion of the world's greatest competition, while part of me will be relieved that I won't be compelled to stay up until ungodly hours of the night anymore. With a packed schedule over the next four weeks, I need to be more energetic than it's possible to be after a broken four-hour sleep. Also, my Championship Manager exploits have come to a head, it seems. Having guided Eastbourne Borough to a respectable 13th in the Premier League, I went on a foreign spending spree, in an attempt to take the club 'to the next level'. However, after about three painstaking close-season hours tinkering with the squad, and a successful tour of Turkey, my laptop decided to be a wanker, and froze. Three hours down the drain, and I don't really feel bothered about taking it all up again. Besides, after eight seasons, I think I've taken the club as far as it can go; with my guitar gathering dust, several songs unfinished, and my Korean linguistic skills still in the 'shamefully ignorant' stage, maybe it's for the best that I'm eschewing such an idle distraction. I could just load from the previous saved date, but no, I think that would be just on the cusp of the 'Get a life' realm.
English camps loom large on the horizon, and I would be looking forward to them - except that my two-week camp is making me do boring, rigid 'key expression' lesson plans, which will be pretty much the same as the remedial English they learn from elementary textbooks. The ethos in public schools is 'don't leave anyone behind', so the lessons tend to be excruciatingly boring for the kids who actually have a decent level of English, who go to hagwons and English camps. I generally have more behavioural problems with my gifted kids than I do from the low-level ones. Coming from public schools in rural Wexford, where intelligent, thoughtful students were forced to share classrooms with scores of inbred, knuckle-dragging morons, I have something of a problem with this mixed-level, go-slow policy. My (shamelessly elitist/pragmatic) attitude is; 'Encourage, challenge and stimulate the kids who actually want to learn'. Learning a foreign language is an incredibly difficult individual undertaking, and a child will only learn as much as he/she consciously puts into it. They won't just magically pick it up from sitting in a classroom listening to a foreign teacher. Some kids will just point-blank refuse to participate in the class, because they (a) have no interest, and/or (b) are simply too dumb. I don't generally waste too much time on these kids. If it was a private school, it'd be a different story, because the parents are paying the wages, and there's a real reason for the kids to be there... but these kids are in my classroom because there's nowhere else to put them. If I can keep the dum-dums from disrupting the lesson, and I'm actually teaching rather than babysitting, mission accomplished.
Back to the point, it seems like the English Camp classes will even be mixed from 4th to 6th grades, where the difference in levels in the same class will be ridiculous. It's a shame, because English Camps are a great opportunity for gifted kids to challenge themselves, develop and practice what they know in a creative, open setting - not to be hand-walked through a regimental series of mundane, facile activities.
Just finished teaching my 5th graders. We had a vocabulary game, with the class divided into four teams, and I'm glad to say everyone participated, had fun, and seemed to grasp the grammatical concept behind it all. I asked the kids to make up their own English team names, and among the predictable ones like 'The Tigers', 'The Smartest' and 'Manchester', the 'troublesome' boys chose that inspiring moniker; 'The Republic of Ireland'. And guess what? They won by a point!
P.S. I believe in Paul the Octopus.
English camps loom large on the horizon, and I would be looking forward to them - except that my two-week camp is making me do boring, rigid 'key expression' lesson plans, which will be pretty much the same as the remedial English they learn from elementary textbooks. The ethos in public schools is 'don't leave anyone behind', so the lessons tend to be excruciatingly boring for the kids who actually have a decent level of English, who go to hagwons and English camps. I generally have more behavioural problems with my gifted kids than I do from the low-level ones. Coming from public schools in rural Wexford, where intelligent, thoughtful students were forced to share classrooms with scores of inbred, knuckle-dragging morons, I have something of a problem with this mixed-level, go-slow policy. My (shamelessly elitist/pragmatic) attitude is; 'Encourage, challenge and stimulate the kids who actually want to learn'. Learning a foreign language is an incredibly difficult individual undertaking, and a child will only learn as much as he/she consciously puts into it. They won't just magically pick it up from sitting in a classroom listening to a foreign teacher. Some kids will just point-blank refuse to participate in the class, because they (a) have no interest, and/or (b) are simply too dumb. I don't generally waste too much time on these kids. If it was a private school, it'd be a different story, because the parents are paying the wages, and there's a real reason for the kids to be there... but these kids are in my classroom because there's nowhere else to put them. If I can keep the dum-dums from disrupting the lesson, and I'm actually teaching rather than babysitting, mission accomplished.
Back to the point, it seems like the English Camp classes will even be mixed from 4th to 6th grades, where the difference in levels in the same class will be ridiculous. It's a shame, because English Camps are a great opportunity for gifted kids to challenge themselves, develop and practice what they know in a creative, open setting - not to be hand-walked through a regimental series of mundane, facile activities.
Just finished teaching my 5th graders. We had a vocabulary game, with the class divided into four teams, and I'm glad to say everyone participated, had fun, and seemed to grasp the grammatical concept behind it all. I asked the kids to make up their own English team names, and among the predictable ones like 'The Tigers', 'The Smartest' and 'Manchester', the 'troublesome' boys chose that inspiring moniker; 'The Republic of Ireland'. And guess what? They won by a point!
P.S. I believe in Paul the Octopus.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
May 9th, Man's eternal struggle against Nature
My phone erupts with an ostentatiously loud, undeniably Korean alarm call. 6:45. Six. Fucking. Forty. Five. On a Saturday. And I'm awake. It's a long way from being on the dole, crawling out of bed after noon; regarding the monthly 8:30 rise to 'sign on' in Dominic Street as being an ungodly, body-clock wrecking ordeal. The reason I'm up at this hour is the 'Sangju to Jeomchon Hike' - a gruelling twenty-eight kilometre trek across the mountains and farmland of Sangju county. A trek into unfamiliar territory.
At eight o'clock, I joined Joe and my fellow Sangju-ites Julian and Jessica at the bus station. Joining us were a couple of lads from Jeomchon and Gumi (Giovanni and Thomas), a few Koreans, and Margaret, whose place I had taken at Sangju Elementary. After waiting for everyone to assemble, and being introduced to Julian's faithful mascot 'The Commissioner', we set off into the hills near Sangju. At first, my worn Asics runners were struggling on the dry, hilly terrain through the forest, but I found a good old stick to help me with the treacherous downhill pathways. The first two hours or so were spent on the mountain. We took a wrong turn at one stage, despite Jessica's assertion that she was '190 per cent' sure of the way! We eventually descended into the rice-fields, taking a few dirt-tracks before resorting to the road. A bus-driver actually stopped upon seeing our group, and presented us with a cake. Can't beat Korean generosity. Don't think that would happen with the Limerick City bus.
Just before we reached the reservoir, we saw a baby snake - which our Korean friend Whee insisted was poisonous. When we got to the reservoir, we stopped for lunch. I brought a Twix, a Snickers, and a couple of cans of tuna. Apparently, despite being motivated for an all-day hike, I'm too lazy to make sandwiches. After recharging the batteries, we ploughed onwards. Our next landmark was a river, and we reached this at a small, ramshackle village, apparently named 'Daegu'. Since the village shares its name with the bustling metropolis down south, many a joke was had about Korea's third-largest city falling on remarkably hard times. We happened upon a small shop, where Giovanni purchased a bottle of soju. The few shots I took seemed to reduce the pain in my legs, as we battled toward the river.
The river - just as the reservoir had - provided some outstanding scenery, with several rocky outcrops and evergreen trees in the backdrop. After coming through a particularly nice pathway, crossing an orchard and a nice bit of hill, we came to a dam. Julian advocated that we wade across the shallow part of the river, scale the dam (a vertical, 20-foot climb if we couldn't find steps up) and try to find a path which didn't actually seem to exist. While I admired our Fearless Leader's rustic sense of adventure throughout, that one was - literally - a bridge too far, and the group elected to go the longer, but considerably safer, way around.
The last ten kilometres of the journey was generally through flat farmland - seeing a squirrel was arguably the highlight. We stopped to rest outside some farmhouse, as a heavily crippled man stumbled/crawled up to us to inspect our strange Waegook faces. Myself and Joe then - rather guiltily - speculated that he had come from Monty Python's 'Ministry of Funny Walks'. We're possibly both going to Hell.
The fatigue was starting to kick in then - it was pushing six o'clock, and we had passed the 23 kilometre-mark, with about seven left. We ploughed on, crossing the train-tracks. Julian suggested we follow the tracks to Jeomchon, but thankfully we didn't take up that route - the train sped by a few minutes later. We reached a small village, where cans of beer and ice-cream were imbibed. With the light fading, we finally made it to the outskirts of Jeomchon. Fifteen minutes of agonising hikeage later, we found our final destination, the beef restaurant - which, to our horror, was closed. After what seemed like an eternity, we found somewhere else, and sat down to our delicious dinner of Samgyeopsal - grilled pork slices. Yum.
All in all, it was about a 31 km hike, give or take a few kilometres for elevation in the initial stages. It took roughly eleven hours, and I'm still quite stiff and sore, writing the day after. It was well worth it, though. Saw some excellent scenery, nice views, a bit of wildlife, and had a good laugh with a nice crowd. I would gladly have stayed along for more booze, but I had left my wallet at home, and had barely brought enough cash for food and the anticipated bus home. As it turned out, myself and Margaret were offered a lift home with Whee, and it made sense to take it.
It was only on the way back that we realised how far we had trekked. It was twenty-five minutes by car, taking a direct highway. Easily my longest ever hike, and a thoroughly enjoyable one. Can't wait to do more.
At eight o'clock, I joined Joe and my fellow Sangju-ites Julian and Jessica at the bus station. Joining us were a couple of lads from Jeomchon and Gumi (Giovanni and Thomas), a few Koreans, and Margaret, whose place I had taken at Sangju Elementary. After waiting for everyone to assemble, and being introduced to Julian's faithful mascot 'The Commissioner', we set off into the hills near Sangju. At first, my worn Asics runners were struggling on the dry, hilly terrain through the forest, but I found a good old stick to help me with the treacherous downhill pathways. The first two hours or so were spent on the mountain. We took a wrong turn at one stage, despite Jessica's assertion that she was '190 per cent' sure of the way! We eventually descended into the rice-fields, taking a few dirt-tracks before resorting to the road. A bus-driver actually stopped upon seeing our group, and presented us with a cake. Can't beat Korean generosity. Don't think that would happen with the Limerick City bus.
Just before we reached the reservoir, we saw a baby snake - which our Korean friend Whee insisted was poisonous. When we got to the reservoir, we stopped for lunch. I brought a Twix, a Snickers, and a couple of cans of tuna. Apparently, despite being motivated for an all-day hike, I'm too lazy to make sandwiches. After recharging the batteries, we ploughed onwards. Our next landmark was a river, and we reached this at a small, ramshackle village, apparently named 'Daegu'. Since the village shares its name with the bustling metropolis down south, many a joke was had about Korea's third-largest city falling on remarkably hard times. We happened upon a small shop, where Giovanni purchased a bottle of soju. The few shots I took seemed to reduce the pain in my legs, as we battled toward the river.
The river - just as the reservoir had - provided some outstanding scenery, with several rocky outcrops and evergreen trees in the backdrop. After coming through a particularly nice pathway, crossing an orchard and a nice bit of hill, we came to a dam. Julian advocated that we wade across the shallow part of the river, scale the dam (a vertical, 20-foot climb if we couldn't find steps up) and try to find a path which didn't actually seem to exist. While I admired our Fearless Leader's rustic sense of adventure throughout, that one was - literally - a bridge too far, and the group elected to go the longer, but considerably safer, way around.The last ten kilometres of the journey was generally through flat farmland - seeing a squirrel was arguably the highlight. We stopped to rest outside some farmhouse, as a heavily crippled man stumbled/crawled up to us to inspect our strange Waegook faces. Myself and Joe then - rather guiltily - speculated that he had come from Monty Python's 'Ministry of Funny Walks'. We're possibly both going to Hell.
The fatigue was starting to kick in then - it was pushing six o'clock, and we had passed the 23 kilometre-mark, with about seven left. We ploughed on, crossing the train-tracks. Julian suggested we follow the tracks to Jeomchon, but thankfully we didn't take up that route - the train sped by a few minutes later. We reached a small village, where cans of beer and ice-cream were imbibed. With the light fading, we finally made it to the outskirts of Jeomchon. Fifteen minutes of agonising hikeage later, we found our final destination, the beef restaurant - which, to our horror, was closed. After what seemed like an eternity, we found somewhere else, and sat down to our delicious dinner of Samgyeopsal - grilled pork slices. Yum.
All in all, it was about a 31 km hike, give or take a few kilometres for elevation in the initial stages. It took roughly eleven hours, and I'm still quite stiff and sore, writing the day after. It was well worth it, though. Saw some excellent scenery, nice views, a bit of wildlife, and had a good laugh with a nice crowd. I would gladly have stayed along for more booze, but I had left my wallet at home, and had barely brought enough cash for food and the anticipated bus home. As it turned out, myself and Margaret were offered a lift home with Whee, and it made sense to take it.
It was only on the way back that we realised how far we had trekked. It was twenty-five minutes by car, taking a direct highway. Easily my longest ever hike, and a thoroughly enjoyable one. Can't wait to do more.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
6th of May; Larvae and humidity
Just sitting in my office with the window open, trying desperately to assuage the stifling humidity. It's cloudy outside, with a slight relieving breeze, but it really is very warm. I used the air-conditioning in my apartment for the first time last night; didn't think it made much of a difference until I went into the kitchen this morning, to be greeted by a blast of mugginess. Still, I can't complain; the consistently underwhelming Irish summer isn't exactly something to get nostalgic about.
Yesterday was Children's day, hence, a day off. I went drinking and 'Noraebanging' on Tuesday night (myself and Simon chanting football songs to the bemusement of all), so half of my day off was spent in bed, sweating it all out. I went for a meal with my new friend Sun-Young in the evening, in a very distinctive place that looked like something from the Flintstones. Had some decent spicy chicken, even if my stomach was slightly the worse for the previous night's drink. There's a hike planned this weekend - a 25 kilometre trek from Sangju to Jeomchon, which should take about ten hours. Slightly intimidating, but I'm up for a challenge.
Saw a couple of uncomfortably large insects and arachnids in the environs of my domicile. Given my proximity to a number of rice-fields, I expect to see a lot more 'wildlife' as the summer progresses. Speaking of which, I ate 'insect' for the first time on Tuesday night. Myself and Joe went to a cafe-place called 'Manchester', which, despite the name, is no more Western than anywhere in the city. Since custom dictates that we eat while drinking, we pointed to one of the cheapest things on the menu, hoping for sausage or chicken dippers. The waitress returned with dried-out, papery squid (with extra tentacles), and a small basket of larvae. Nothing there to whet any Western appetite. Emboldened by alcohol, I tried a larva later on in the night. It tasted exactly as I expected... like faecal matter. I really don't know how anyone can stomach it over any extended period, and the quantity of larvae per bowl is really quite astounding. Later on, Rick (an Aussie Sangju veteran) demolished a full bowl for a bet, and nearly vomited.
Here is a pic of said dish:
Yesterday was Children's day, hence, a day off. I went drinking and 'Noraebanging' on Tuesday night (myself and Simon chanting football songs to the bemusement of all), so half of my day off was spent in bed, sweating it all out. I went for a meal with my new friend Sun-Young in the evening, in a very distinctive place that looked like something from the Flintstones. Had some decent spicy chicken, even if my stomach was slightly the worse for the previous night's drink. There's a hike planned this weekend - a 25 kilometre trek from Sangju to Jeomchon, which should take about ten hours. Slightly intimidating, but I'm up for a challenge.
Saw a couple of uncomfortably large insects and arachnids in the environs of my domicile. Given my proximity to a number of rice-fields, I expect to see a lot more 'wildlife' as the summer progresses. Speaking of which, I ate 'insect' for the first time on Tuesday night. Myself and Joe went to a cafe-place called 'Manchester', which, despite the name, is no more Western than anywhere in the city. Since custom dictates that we eat while drinking, we pointed to one of the cheapest things on the menu, hoping for sausage or chicken dippers. The waitress returned with dried-out, papery squid (with extra tentacles), and a small basket of larvae. Nothing there to whet any Western appetite. Emboldened by alcohol, I tried a larva later on in the night. It tasted exactly as I expected... like faecal matter. I really don't know how anyone can stomach it over any extended period, and the quantity of larvae per bowl is really quite astounding. Later on, Rick (an Aussie Sangju veteran) demolished a full bowl for a bet, and nearly vomited.
Here is a pic of said dish:
Friday, April 30, 2010
30th of April: All settled in.
Two weeks on. Weather hasn’t really improved, but I’m feeling ever more comfortable in Sangju, since my mobile phone and bank account were set up. The Maekkoli and Soju festival in Gyeongju panned out in predictably raucous fashion, as I joined some familiar faces from orientation to gorge on Korea’s most notorious tipples. We started drinking at about two in the afternoon, so by about midnight, we were all the worse for wear. Apparently, I got lost while looking for a toilet, and was found half an hour later, wandering the street. Good times. Gyeongju seemed like a pleasant little city, well worth checking out more comprehensively during future visits (rather than just drinking myself into oblivion).
Again, I was slightly hung-over and run-down during the following week in school, and my condition was not helped by another epic session with some of the other foreigners in Sangju. Eager to make a good impression with my fellow ex-pats, I overdid the soju on the Wednesday night, and practically had to be carried home. My co-teachers took me out the following night, and introduced me to a hitherto unseen Korean custom. Three of us went to what looked like a normal noraebang (private karaoke room), but after a while, three attractive ladies walked in. ‘Choose one’, my co-teacher urged. Apparently, these ladies charged hourly for ‘company’ – basically, it was like renting a girlfriend for an hour, without the physical benefits. A strange experience, but at least I had someone to pour my beer.
I stayed in Sangju last weekend, going for a bike-ride with Joe to a monastery called Namjangsan, about five kilometres from the city. From there, we hiked to the top of a peak called (could be wrong about this) No-ak-san. I almost vomited during the ascent (having suffered a slight bit of ‘Asian belly’ earlier in the day), but I recovered sufficiently to enjoy the spectacular views. The peak was about 730 metres (put into perspective, Mt. Leinster is about 790), and it took about three hours, all round. I went for a meal with the Sangju foreign contingent afterwards, and thankfully kept my alcohol intake to respectable human levels (staying away from soju). I’ve had a bit of a cold this week, so I’m planning on taking it very easy this weekend.
16th of April 2010: In Sangju
So, 25 days after my last passage, I’m sitting at my desk, in my office, in the English Centre of Sangju Elementary school. It was a long, eventful, but fairly smooth journey to get here; from the tentative departure from Wexford to the stage where I’m almost totally settled into life in South Korea.
I left Wexford at about half seven on the morning of the 23rd of March, getting the Airport bus, which arrived in Dublin at about half ten. I checked in without difficulty and flew the short distance to Frankfurt, where I partook of three pints of Padeburger beer with a Korean businessman and a French-African guy from the Red Cross. On the flight to Incheon, I sat beside a young Korean student who had spent a year in UCD, and she proved an agreeable companion over a few complimentary beers. I don’t think I slept much, and my legs did start to die towards the end of the ten-hour flight.
Arrival in Incheon on Wednesday morning was slightly disorienting, given the vastness of the terminal, and I faced an anxious wait for my bags once I negotiated the way. Given that my orientation wasn’t due to begin until the following day, I had to fend for myself, and thankfully I was able to get the lovely ladies at the tourist info desk to book a hotel for me, and arrange a lift. And so it transpired that my first night in Korea was spent in a cheap hotel in Incheon.
Orientation started the following day, and the directions EPIK gave were spot on. I arrived in the Korean Open University, Seoul, at about lunchtime. I gave my details and was shown to my dorm, where I met my room-mate, Caoimhin from Belfast. He turned out to be a more-than-agreeable, well-travelled bloke, and we went for a couple of drinks with our ‘neighbours’, Matt and David from the States, before sleeping off the remainder of our jet-lag. The rest of the time in orientation brought back memories of Spain; meeting new people, having a good laugh, a few nights out, misbehaving during classes, and the general euphoria of being abroad. I made friends with a nice crowd; Amy and Geoff from Canada, Joe from the US and Jonni from Norwich. There were a few others from the States, England, and Ireland, but since the five of us were heading to Gyeongsangbuk-do province, it was natural that we latched on to each other. I felt completely re-energised by the whole thing, a world away from the unmotivated dullness I had slipped into in Limerick.
We left Seoul after a long few days. It was only on the bus to Gumi that we were told where our placements would be. Myself and Joe ended up in a place called Sangju. At first, I was a tad disappointed, as Sangju was a completely unknown quantity; also, I would be a considerable distance from Amy and Geoff, and nowhere near the sea. However, I reserved judgement; all would be revealed shortly. At Gumi, I met my co-teacher ‘Patrick’, a very pleasant Korean 30-year-old Glen Hansard fan; within minutes, it was clear that we were going to get on fine.
Patrick showed me my apartment after the 50-minute drive, and I was absolutely delighted with it; spacious, secluded, modern and close to the school and town centre. To my delight, there was an E-Mart (large department store, not unlike Dunnes) nearby, which we visited for the purchase of various moving-in essentials. Therein, I bumped into a couple from the US, who informed me that there was a ‘Wae-gook’ (foreigner) population of about twenty or thirty in Sangju. All in all, the first day allayed pretty much every possible fear I could have had about living in ‘provincial’ Korea. I was literally jumping for joy when I was left to my own devices in the apartment.
I was eased into the teaching process, merely observing for the first few days, while my medical test – and other administrative crap – was undertaken. My co-teachers brought me on the piss the first Thursday night, where I indulged in maekkoli (light, sweet rice wine) and soju (malevolent 20% brew and national institution) for the first time. I hung around the city for the first weekend, which was quite tedious, despite further exploring the small city and watching a few English-language movies on Korean TV. My first full week was handy enough, despite a few badly-prepared lessons. I would only be teaching twenty-two classes a week, and classes would only run to forty minutes each at most. ‘Co-teaching’ actually involves me teaching the class and – generally – the Korean co-teacher translating key sentences and enforcing discipline. There were a few panicky mornings, and often my first classes would turn out disastrously, but steadily improve throughout the day.
The food in the school cafeteria is usually decent enough for Korean fare; I still haven’t got used to kimchi (the national dish), red-pepper paste, nor the novelty of using chopsticks, but my skills in the latter department are slowly improving. Bulgogi (meaty, peppery stew-like concoction) became an early favourite, along with the exclusive meat dishes, like duck and bacon. Soups are decent too, quite thin, but full of whole vegetables, fish and sometimes meat. Western food is available; there is a faux-McDonald’s called 'Lotteria', and several bakeries around the place. I’m going for pizza later on, with my colleagues from English Town, a camp-like institute where I teach every Tuesday. Weather has been quite changeable, ranging from roasting hot last weekend to very cold and sometimes windy this week. The temperatures are set to rise consistently until the peaks of late-July/August.
I went to Daegu last weekend to visit Rob. After a spot of GAA, we went on a storming session, taking in all of central Daegu’s ex-pat hotspots. I was buckled by the end of the night, severely hung over on Sunday and still visibly shaken in class on Monday. I may keep the drinking to more ‘non-Irish’ levels in future, for my own good. Really not able for it anymore; and I’m not helped by the chemical level in Korea’s preferred gargles. My sessions with my North American/British buddies in Seoul seemed to be a lot less debilitating, and just as much fun, so there’s something to be learned in that. I did enjoy my GAA though, scoring five nicely-taken goals in the training match.
Just about to finish my second full week here, and overall, I’m really enjoying it. I’m going to a ‘Maekkoli Festival’ in Gyeongju for the weekend, which should be good craic, but I’ll probably buy a stereo and stay in Sangju next weekend, maybe catch up with some of the other foreigners here. Looking forward to a good, long stay in Korea!
I left Wexford at about half seven on the morning of the 23rd of March, getting the Airport bus, which arrived in Dublin at about half ten. I checked in without difficulty and flew the short distance to Frankfurt, where I partook of three pints of Padeburger beer with a Korean businessman and a French-African guy from the Red Cross. On the flight to Incheon, I sat beside a young Korean student who had spent a year in UCD, and she proved an agreeable companion over a few complimentary beers. I don’t think I slept much, and my legs did start to die towards the end of the ten-hour flight.
Arrival in Incheon on Wednesday morning was slightly disorienting, given the vastness of the terminal, and I faced an anxious wait for my bags once I negotiated the way. Given that my orientation wasn’t due to begin until the following day, I had to fend for myself, and thankfully I was able to get the lovely ladies at the tourist info desk to book a hotel for me, and arrange a lift. And so it transpired that my first night in Korea was spent in a cheap hotel in Incheon.
Orientation started the following day, and the directions EPIK gave were spot on. I arrived in the Korean Open University, Seoul, at about lunchtime. I gave my details and was shown to my dorm, where I met my room-mate, Caoimhin from Belfast. He turned out to be a more-than-agreeable, well-travelled bloke, and we went for a couple of drinks with our ‘neighbours’, Matt and David from the States, before sleeping off the remainder of our jet-lag. The rest of the time in orientation brought back memories of Spain; meeting new people, having a good laugh, a few nights out, misbehaving during classes, and the general euphoria of being abroad. I made friends with a nice crowd; Amy and Geoff from Canada, Joe from the US and Jonni from Norwich. There were a few others from the States, England, and Ireland, but since the five of us were heading to Gyeongsangbuk-do province, it was natural that we latched on to each other. I felt completely re-energised by the whole thing, a world away from the unmotivated dullness I had slipped into in Limerick.
We left Seoul after a long few days. It was only on the bus to Gumi that we were told where our placements would be. Myself and Joe ended up in a place called Sangju. At first, I was a tad disappointed, as Sangju was a completely unknown quantity; also, I would be a considerable distance from Amy and Geoff, and nowhere near the sea. However, I reserved judgement; all would be revealed shortly. At Gumi, I met my co-teacher ‘Patrick’, a very pleasant Korean 30-year-old Glen Hansard fan; within minutes, it was clear that we were going to get on fine.
Patrick showed me my apartment after the 50-minute drive, and I was absolutely delighted with it; spacious, secluded, modern and close to the school and town centre. To my delight, there was an E-Mart (large department store, not unlike Dunnes) nearby, which we visited for the purchase of various moving-in essentials. Therein, I bumped into a couple from the US, who informed me that there was a ‘Wae-gook’ (foreigner) population of about twenty or thirty in Sangju. All in all, the first day allayed pretty much every possible fear I could have had about living in ‘provincial’ Korea. I was literally jumping for joy when I was left to my own devices in the apartment.
I was eased into the teaching process, merely observing for the first few days, while my medical test – and other administrative crap – was undertaken. My co-teachers brought me on the piss the first Thursday night, where I indulged in maekkoli (light, sweet rice wine) and soju (malevolent 20% brew and national institution) for the first time. I hung around the city for the first weekend, which was quite tedious, despite further exploring the small city and watching a few English-language movies on Korean TV. My first full week was handy enough, despite a few badly-prepared lessons. I would only be teaching twenty-two classes a week, and classes would only run to forty minutes each at most. ‘Co-teaching’ actually involves me teaching the class and – generally – the Korean co-teacher translating key sentences and enforcing discipline. There were a few panicky mornings, and often my first classes would turn out disastrously, but steadily improve throughout the day.
The food in the school cafeteria is usually decent enough for Korean fare; I still haven’t got used to kimchi (the national dish), red-pepper paste, nor the novelty of using chopsticks, but my skills in the latter department are slowly improving. Bulgogi (meaty, peppery stew-like concoction) became an early favourite, along with the exclusive meat dishes, like duck and bacon. Soups are decent too, quite thin, but full of whole vegetables, fish and sometimes meat. Western food is available; there is a faux-McDonald’s called 'Lotteria', and several bakeries around the place. I’m going for pizza later on, with my colleagues from English Town, a camp-like institute where I teach every Tuesday. Weather has been quite changeable, ranging from roasting hot last weekend to very cold and sometimes windy this week. The temperatures are set to rise consistently until the peaks of late-July/August.
I went to Daegu last weekend to visit Rob. After a spot of GAA, we went on a storming session, taking in all of central Daegu’s ex-pat hotspots. I was buckled by the end of the night, severely hung over on Sunday and still visibly shaken in class on Monday. I may keep the drinking to more ‘non-Irish’ levels in future, for my own good. Really not able for it anymore; and I’m not helped by the chemical level in Korea’s preferred gargles. My sessions with my North American/British buddies in Seoul seemed to be a lot less debilitating, and just as much fun, so there’s something to be learned in that. I did enjoy my GAA though, scoring five nicely-taken goals in the training match.
Just about to finish my second full week here, and overall, I’m really enjoying it. I’m going to a ‘Maekkoli Festival’ in Gyeongju for the weekend, which should be good craic, but I’ll probably buy a stereo and stay in Sangju next weekend, maybe catch up with some of the other foreigners here. Looking forward to a good, long stay in Korea!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)