an adventure ends

thought I'd sum up my time here with a couplee stories, recollections on my time in Korea


Cycling with headphones? Illegal but...

Any cyclist in Seoul can tell you about the average Ajushi (older gentleman) ghetto-blasting traditional music from his bike. You can usually hear them coming from 100 metres away, or more, speakers booming from the basket on the front or the rack on the back. It seemed weird at first, but I barely take any notice anymore. Most noteworthy, two Ajushis who bike together, yelling at each other while their music blares away. I've seen them a few times, always together, yelling, and with the amps cranked to 11. One day, I got into a duel with a guy who just wouldn't quit passing me and slowing down, his trad music destroying my eardrums for a good kilometre or so until I finally hit a speed he couldn't keep up with (though he did try for a few hundred metres).


Boy scouts on wheels

I was on my way home on my bike one morning, pulled up on the footpath at a busy intersection 2 minutes from my apartment, and this old lady grabbed my handlebars. Now, when I say old, I mean she was friggin old! Certainly in her 90s! I asked her if she was ok, did she need help, but she didn’t understand. The little green walking man blinked away and she started walking across, using my bike as leverage. I held bike as we went, and halfway across, the green man turned red. The traffic tried to start moving, couldn't, but didn’t toot their horns at all. Very respectful, I found. I gave them a wave.

We got to the opposite side and the old lady pointed across the road again! She still had to cross the next road. Motorists were staring at the odd couple as we waited. I just smiled and nodded. We walked across but the green guy didn’t give us enough time again. The drivers were patient once more and when we arrived at the other side, she let go of my bike and kept going. I called out goodbye to her and she just waved as she walked away, not stopping to look back.


A x B can equal AB or C or something else!

One wintery day, an unnamed Korean supervisor rolled in to the office proudly wearing a fur coat. The foreign teachers all kinda just looked at each other, not shocked or surprised, just.. y’know.. so I thought I'd ask about it (politely):

“Is that fur?”
“Yes, it is!”
“Oh.” (nodding)
“You like it?”
“Um, yes, it looks very warm.”
“Oh yes, it’s very warm. It’s my favourite coat. Why?”
“I suppose I just don’t see many fur coats in NZ any more.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, just people in NZ thinking about the animal. Like, do Koreans think about the animals too?”
“Oh yes, the poor animal.”
“Yeah, um, what do you think about the animal?”
“I know, I feel sorry for the animal, but I love my coat.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, it’s my favourite.”
“Oh yes, it looks very nice. But you think it’s sad about the animal?”
“Of course, yes. It’s very sad.”
“Yes, very sad for the animal, but it looks good on you.”
“Oh thank you.” (beaming with pride)

Not verbatim, but the main thing I’m trying to point out is the disconnect there. I’m not saying it’s a Korean thing either. Is that possibly where culture clash exists? Cultural disconnect which is obvious to foreigners?


WHUMP! Adulthood

Perhaps I just chose one in particular, but here’s a pretty important moment that made me grow up a little.

I was teaching some 6 and 7 year olds and, while I was helping one of the students finish her workbook, the others jumped up and had a run around the class. They then decided to do flying superman leaps off the window frame. I told them to stop, turned back to the student and book and then heard a massive WHUMP! The class went silent. I looked behind me and found the tiniest little girl in the class face down and not moving. I was on the floor, not knowing whether to lift her up or run for help, then, after a few breathless moments, she started crying. I was pretty damn relieved. I got her to her feet and took her to get some treatment, but when she came back to class, she was still pretty unhappy. We finished the class and I looked at her face.

“Ah, still very pretty,” I told her. She smiled, but it hurt so she began crying again. Left the class with a massive welt on her chin and in tears. The following week she was still in pain, but could laugh when the other kids were re-enacting her face-plant (in slow motion).

Anyway, I suppose that was pretty defining to me cos at the time, I was wondering whether I truly cared about the kids. This event basically ended that little personal debate in my head.


Bottlenecks

I was crossing the road in Gayang and, after 9 months of ignorance, it reminded me very much of the main north road out of Christchurch, through Belfast. Minus the tall buildings, add a traffic island. It made me think about how I felt when I got to Korea. First impressions of Korea were high-rises and traffic, built up towns and congested living, even in the more rural areas I’ve visited. I suppose I can recall the constricted feeling when I first got here and now realise all those feelings of claustrophobia on the subway, bus, at work, walking down the street, are a major source of stress. It’s something I haven’t really thought about before, but the stress does come out from time to time. I was sitting on the subway a month ago and had this couple stand right over me while they happily chatted away. It was odd, for some reason, how they were encroaching on my space. I thought I was used to it, but this time, I had to move, and admittedly I didn’t pretend to be happy about moving either. Perhaps it was a combination of the general closeness and their noise level, or a combination of the two of them standing at my knees on an otherwise half filled carriage, or perhaps they were just abnormally close. Freaks.

When I get back to enzed, I initially have the opposite feeling. So much space unfilled and odd personal space issues. Those and the fear of impending doom, going to a supermarche and not packing groceries fast enough for the person behind me, leading them to get upset, and then needing to get out of the parking lot before they catch up and scream something harsh like, “Where did you learn to pack a shopping bag? FOUR SQUARE?!” Mother could be so cruel.


Sun, sand, 3 months of beach season

The big beach of Busan, Haeundae, has been the source of many great moments – the Polar Bear dip in December of 2007; learning Irish hurling in front of a slightly confused general public; standing on sharp implements and hobbling off to the hospital for an evil spirits shot. One particular weekend, we befriended some young people who got us to play dodgeball. It was all quite fun until I took a beamer in the nether regions. After a few moments writhing in the sand in pain, I rugby tackled the offender. He folded into the sand in a massive heap, collapsing like a house of cards. A few minutes later, he got his breath back and taught me Shirim – Korean wrestling. That is, he taught me that he can do Shirim, not how to do it. Think a 70kg scrawny bee keeper of a person throwing me (about 84kg at the time) so hard, I don't recall whether I landed on my back or my face. Great laughs had by some.


Shitwa

Every time I go back, I have two massive bursts of energy.

One is of nostalgia, hitting the bars, screen golf, the orange place, gift-wrapping jenga pieces, cycling down the causeway, “playing” basketball all afternoon until someone got a goal, chicken, watermelon, Prison Break, GS25 soju, people. People. I miss the kids, the teachers, the Gimbab Chonguk Captain, EVERYONE! Ok, almost everyone.

And the other burst of energy is to get the hell out of there! It’s not the same, man. Damo’s is gone. The strip is quiet. There’s no pimps stopping me on the street anymore (admittedly, I do only go there during the day now, and when i lived there, pimps very rarely stopped me before 5pm).

I jest. I look back on Shihwa as one of the great times of my life. I really do. It may not be THE Korean experience, but it certainly was A Korean experience.


Things I will miss

* Kids – the kids here are incredible. They study so hard and most are so giving.
* Public transport – it’s clean, it’s safe, it’s relatively well connected.
* Dragonflies – magical to watch (just look up)
* Pink sunsets
* Food – many Korean foods captured me hook, line and sinker.
* Gatecrashing neighbours parties, ending up on the norae (karaoke) machine (I’d like to say this didn’t happen more than once, but I’d be lying)
* Noraebang (singing rooms/karaoke)
* Being offered home made food at sports events, on the bus, the subway, the park, the street, you name it
* Friends - the only reason I made it here so long is my friends, and their babies ;)
* General niceness and smiles
* Kids speaking to me in Korean and actually understanding them (yes, sometimes after 3 or 4 repeats)
* Spitting

Things I won’t miss

* Leaving kimchi on my kitchen bench overnight (did it again last night, dammit)
* Fake niceness and smiles – seriously sick of this version of bs here. I've stopped accepting fake apologies (signs of a jaded foreigner)
* Residential areas with 6-lane roads - I wonder how people can let their kids walk home with the buses and trucks hurtling along. I’ve only seen a few accidents, but just wow, the speeds...
* Hagwons – never again. Anyone considering working in an English hagwon in Korea, don't. Or, if you feel the need, don't be surprised when it sucks. I've had great experiences at both Hagwons I've worked at, but while the positives outweighed the negatives 6 months ago, the polarities have been reversed.
* Somek – soju + beer. sounds like happy, tastes like danger, tomorrows like wrecked
* Racism - this is a tough one to discuss. I'm thinking of writing a book. Seriously.
* Other people spitting
* Kids – I know. Some kids are great, some are incredibly disrespectful. I’m not saying they should respect everyone, but if there’s someone with a pram, move. If there’s people standing at a bus stop, don’t ride your bicycle at top speed on the footpath. If I catch you swearing at school (I know a few swear words now), don’t throw a hissy fit when I boot you out of class or report you to your homeroom teacher.
* Adults – Some adults are great, some are incredibly disrespectful. I’m not saying they should respect everyone, but if there’s someone with a pram, move. If there’s people standing at a bus stop, don’t ride your bicycle/motorbike at top speed on the footpath. If your friend disrespects you, don’t feel that social decorum demands you smash a beer bottle over his/her head and then stand over him/her screaming that you are older than s/he is by 7+ hours, while he/she bleeds profusely in the gutter (I think I've seen something like this 4 or 5 times, and at least once in each area I've lived).
*FHM using Freddie Flintoff for tips to get in shape – a) FHM wants me in shape?! and b) if you’re fit enough to walk to the shop to buy FHM, you’re fit enough for cricket. Not sure of the link to Korea, but I think it's still pertinent commentary.

Thanks for reading this far. The above isn't an all engrossing statement on Korea. I have a million stories about this place, the people, my adventures etc. I've just chosen a few slightly random ones that I haven't heard anyone else discuss before. Korea certainly is a trip which I endorse.

Moscow part 1

day 14
MOSCOW!
arrived at 420am, waited a couple of hours at the station, then taxied to our very central, very accessible, very open hostel. soon enough, showered and changed, we were hungry as hell, so i talked for hours to Steve and Sinead (NZ and Welsh, married), while Dee was on the internet.

finally, we left the hostel, walking to RED SQUARE! Steve, the tour guide, directed us in from the north, definitely, must approach the square from the north. St Basils Cathedral is incredible, as are all the buildings. i was surprised how small the square is, but it's massive, nonetheless.

after lunch, we visited the 7th sister tower on a hill outside central Moscow and, wow, the building is incredible. it's a university, with halls of residence, and a number of lone buildings conjoined into one towering eddifice. built in the wake of the USSR's grand victory over Hitler.

a stroll down the road, and laid out before us (and a few hundred other people) was the city including, directly below, the stadium that hosted the Chelsea v Man Utd UEFA final last month. we counted off the 7 sisters, including the one behind us.

i was finding the city unphotographable. i felt like just buying post cards, cos i needed a helicopter to get a decent angle on the grand structures dotting the landscape. beautiful city, and the subway stations are incredible too. of course, how they financed the entire operation is a bit of a downer.

came back to the hostel, a beer, a chat, then collapsed into bed around midnight

leaving Siberia, morning vodka, and scrabble (of course)

Day 11
woke up, slept, woke up... the warmth of the east was waning, a couple of stops and opportunities to purchase local treats, a pancake filled with what seemed to be sweet cheese and another filled with honey or a caramel sauce. Dee enjoyed them both, but i could hear mysel getting fatter.

the lady sharing our cabin (hers was a top bunk) planted herself on Dee's bunk an seemed content and, after a few hours, got on Dee's nerve (mine too). we finally got control later in the night while we made a tomato, tuna an cucumber sandwich (thanks to the green grocers on the platform at Taiga).

beat Dee at scrabble, 333 points (a record for me)

we were still awake, chatting about prostitution, when the train rolled into Novosibirsk at 2am(ish). too cold, or too tired, or lazy, to jump out for a look. blankets on my bed for the first time.

day 12
BADGER
nothing much all day. our cabin friend left a chewed piece of gum on Dee's bunk which she promptly sat on and somehow restrained herself from going apeshit. wonder what i would've done.

short stops, long waits, timezone changes, turgid scrabble, and Dee was coming to some kind of precipice and dragging me with her. finally, got to Yeketerinburg, got out for a walk with the crowds on the platform, splurged on some water, bread, chocolate and i hoped Dee was turning back...

we'd finally left Siberia (not that the scenery changed much) in the evening, and passed the Asia/Europe obelisk just before midnight to little fanfare (first time i've ever been to Europe).

day 13
in the morning, a man blocked my path at the hot water dispenser holding a bottle of vodka and two glasses. after joining him for a shot, he followed back to our cabin where Dee and i were playing scrabble. another shot down (still before lunch) and i was slightly drunk while he was wasted. he was harrassing our cabin friend, so Dee and i had to boot him out, literally dragging him down the aisle by the wrist. (should i mention i won the scrabble while still slightly drunk?)

at one of the stops, some of the hard men from the carriage split kindling for the carriage attendant. at another 2 minute stop, the vodka guy, who'd disappeared for the afternoon, hopefully sleeping, and the wood splitter held up the train while they stocked up on beer. then an argument over language, culture, importance, and we were 3 hours closer to......

on the move, a break in Siberia, then on the move again

Day 6
Trees trees trees and grass. beat Dee at scrabble.

Grass grass grass plus trees. a few stops but none any longer than 15 minutes or so. lots of food on offer out there.

Beautiful sunset again. we had a pink sky for about an hour! and the trees and forests became misty as dark set in.

lots of abandoned buildings in the process of crumbling or getting close to ruins status. long since used. and the houses are small wooden boxes, like cheaper versions of log cabins. i was literally reminded of Asterix comic books. the cars though, all seem less than 10 years old. oh yeah, the wake up music at 10am nearly blew my ears off. very dance, very rave though. my thoughts went back to Chinese trains and the Kenny G on loop play....

Day 7
sleep and trees and grass and rivers. big big rivers. with ruins. either modern buildings a few decades since being abandoned, or even castle-like behemoth skeletons overlooking those rivers. Dee bought us some nice food at one of the stops and befriended a couple of railway workers sharing our carriage.

they spoke very little, or no English, so they enlisted Anya, one door from us, to help translate. she was a little shy at first, but for no reason. very capable of english conversation. she lives in Chita with her husband, and she's a railway engineer. the two men also worked for the railway, although i couldn't figure out what they did. perhaps they drove trains? no idea.

soon enough though, having knocked back a few shots of Vodka, the boys started hitting on Dee, so we retired back to our cabin which had a slight smell of BO. settled in for the "night", although the sun went down around 11pm and it was still light at midnight.

Day 7
a fairly strong version of body odour woke me up. i'm certain it wasn't me, but rather from our cabin mates in the bunks below. an older couple who hadn't left their beds for 2 days. a short stop in Ulan Ude and our ever-increasingly friendly carriage attendant pointed the way to a photo opportunity with BEARS!! (carved from wood).

around Lake Baikal (wikipedia or google, people, it's very impressive), we were treated to incredible scenery: snow capped peaks, clear, clear lake water. Dee cleaned a window, pissing off the afore mentioned friendly attendant when she saw the colour of her previously white towel. made for great pics. Dee then scored 332 in scrabble!!!

and then, we arrived in Irkutsk, and, under the boiling evening sun, drama!

ticket sellers wouldn't sell us anything so we finally went to the "service" centre, where we were sold the wrong tickets, despite our very clear instructions!!! when we tried to change them, they closed in my face, saying "tomorrow". ARRRRRRR!

afer a few minutes to an hour of phone calls, most of that time being dedicated to finding a phone, we found a fantastic hostel. very lucky.

then i almost broke the washing maching because i don't listen...

Days 8 & 9
drama at the train station became a slightly expensive lesson in frustrating Russian logic as their mistake cost us money. but we spent the day chatting to other travellers, learnt a bit about Siberia from Alena, the hostel captain, and had a walk around town.

next day, we woke up too early due to failing the timezone change on my alarm clock! yet we still missed the bus to Lake Baikal. took a faster mini-cab, which was still quite cheap, and arrived at Listvyanka, a small town by the freezing cold water!!! we had a walk along the shore, then went to a small cafe to hide from the icey wind. a man made a rice risotto thing over a coal fire outside, so we had a feed of that, followed by sunbathing as the day heated up, then a speedy ride back to Irkutsk.

we got a little lost at the bus station, then had an argument with a German mechanical engineer in the oil industry over a beer at the local pizza restaurant (no, we didn't argue oil).

Day 10
finally, a sleep in, and no electricity at the hostel. cruised through the day, met some very beautiful and friendly Finnish girls, then found a www cafe. went to the train station in time to wait stressfully for our very late (by 15 - 20 minutes) ride to Moscow.

we gave up waiting in the station and headed to a/the platform. made it to our lower bunks, saw half of China disembark, then we left Irkutsk, Dee kicked my ass at scrabble, and that was another day as the sun kind of sunk below the horizon, but the sky was still a dark shade of blue

from Samcheon Po to Vladivostok's train station!!!

Day 1
walked out of my apartment, left Samcheon-po feeling a little depressed, but after seeing a Korean Air flight take off from Sacheon city (30 mins later), i was smailing with gay abandon all the way to Busan. Joined Dee on the beach, great swim, then to Kyungsang for a final night of drinks with Brian and company.

Day 2
the bus to Sokcho!
largely uneventful 6 and a bit hours ride. we ate Gamjatang (pork meat soup, yummy!) for dindins! scoped out the small city of Sokcho, and thought, woah, it's another Korean city.....

Day 3
went to the ferry terminal for our tickets, and once i got back, Dee's hotel room, or more precisely, her bags and possessions, were in complete disarray. i left her to it, hoping she'd sort herself out in time, and of course, she did. made our boat in the early afternoon, met Gary, of Australia, who is motorcycling from Vietnam to Italy via Spain!!! We also met a Spanish nun who lives in Vladivostok, plus a woman from Kazhakstan who lives in Korea, off to visit her brothers in Vlad.

the boat was relatively calm, rocking and vibrating constantly. i only felt queezy during the scrabble loss to Dee (and thereafter seeing and smelling the Korean men who were doing shots of soju in groups of 10 or more.

Day 4
woke up the next morning as we were docking at Zarabino (i defy you to find that on any map anywhere), and found it to consist of 2 sheds, a road, and a boat (ours). after a few hours waiting onboard, we finally made it through border control to an awaiting bus with an old driver with gold teeth (lots of golden smiles greeted us). the bus took us to customs and once the old dog got out of the way, we filed off the bus, into the building, through the turnstyle, outside and grabbed our bags off the bus again... i'm not joking! it was a 30 second transition.

walked to a street corner nearby to wait for a bus to Vladivostok, taxis being offered at high rates, but we were offered a ride by Mr Ham, of Sokcho, and Sergei Han, a Kazhakstani Korean, car salesmen shifting a car to Vlad from the ferry. a couple more hours waiting, goats feeding on the street corner, then the car cleard the customs turnstyle, and we were on the "road", most of it being roadWORKS (but most of it was perfectly okay).

the area south of Vladivostok is very beautiful countryside dotted with old houses, abandoned buildings, and trees, glorious trees! and a snake! at least 1.5m long! didn't expect snakes in Russia!!!

next, we stopped for dinner (it was around 5pm) and Dee and i made our first meal in Russia BORSCH! delicious. Mr Ham paid for, and after a little wait, we were transfered to Aleksanders car. Sergei refused any money for fuel (and looked insulted when we offered). then we hit the road again, seeing a MiG fighter jet land over the top of us! 30 minutes of high energy driving from Aleksander (an obvious fan of Gotham Racing), we were at our hotel, and in desperate need of some rubles!!!

Day 5
i wish i had a 4WD!! Vladivostokians used to wish that too. Beuatiful day, started late after a sleep in, changed money with the only slightly dodgey looking people sitting in deck chairs outside the bank, then bought our train tickets.

what a wait! we spoke no Russian, yet still took less time than most people ahead of us in the queue. after a high 5 with Dee in a successful tickets purchase celebration, the locals were all laughing, or at least, smiling. we'ed served as entertainment for a few minutes. Then, a walk to the beach, enjoyed the view (at which point, i shall refrain from mentioning the extremely attractive women populating the city, or more precisely, the waterfront ;) and to a monument nearby.

while waiting for Dee in the hotel lobby, maybe i should've wished for pointy toed shoes too.

we made it to the train, lots of tearful goodbyes on the platform from the locals (for other Russian people, not us), while i chatted to Lena, a lawyer/economist from Vlad, off to visit her parents a few hours away. As we left the station, the boys next door broke out a guitar for a sing, but soon enough, it was just the rocking and rolling of the train, and an unbelievable sunset.

all heads west (well, the first 12 hours were mainly north)

Let me show you

I've managed to avoid the "demonstration" classes until today.

nb. a demonstration class is usually little more than a teacher teaching kids having put 500% more effort than normal into the preparation and planning, as anywhere between 10 and 50 "observers" will be present (or, in the room). and the added bonus of anywhere between 2 and 10 "practice classes" (so the kids know the subject and don't need the class by the time the demonstration comes along, but hey, it helps, so let's all move on).

mine today was not the usual. i was to teach a subject OTHER than English, using English for the Korean kids. Immersion program. okay, 500% more planning and preparation, but no chance for a practice class, and also, a different school. the kids didn't know me, or my style, or, "style".

Ms Gang, my co-teacher, and i prepped a great group of kids on the water cycle, and after an hour teaching kids words such as cycle, heat, cool, rise, fall, evaporation (they actually understood that too!), i was seriously apprehensive about moving onto the water cycle class proper. then, as the bell rang, 30 ppl shuffled into the back of the class (some were watching in through open windows) and i started, only to stop, being told the school actually started at a 2nd bell 5 mins after the first. GREAT START!

40 odd minutes of theatre sports later (props, worlds worst, party quirks, everything short of scenes from a hat), the kids all had a rough idea that the sun heats oceans, warm air rises, cools, becomes cloud, rains, or something to that effect.

i'd used a flashlight shining sunlight on my forehead (which explained my sunburn, which the kids were unfamiliar with - they thought i'd been drinking soju), a globe, which the kids could play with for hours, and a plastic bag slowly getting filled by bottles of water (and the poor boy who was holding the bag having to carry them around the room as it got heavier and heavier - mwahahaha, i love my job). only, i'd used the bare minimum of English. the kids didn't learn condense, precipitation etc, that is normal to learn, and SHOULD be in an immersion program, surely.

i had to go to a meeting afterwards, discussing the feasibility of an immersion program, which Emperor Lee Myeong Bak has already filed in the not-gonna-happen-for-some-time basket. having walked out of the toughest class i've taught since my first kindergarten class, i had to give an assessment. it went along the lines of, for the kids normally bored by the ease of school English, they seemed to love it, and for the kids who barely know their abc's, they were most likely more frustrated than they normally are. a practical class that i tried to present as a puzzle to solve. give the kids the pieces, then they can put it together...

on the whole, i enjoyed it, but i'd never get involved in an immersion program in Korea, unless they double my salary. so much work, and so difficult, and also, so pointless for many kids - attack them when they're young.

anyways, i have 5 work days to go!! Dee and i are traveling in a very short time!! wahoo! i keep looking at my backpack and wanting to fill it - to practice now or not (i usually begin packing 4 hours before i leave).

A funny tale in the end

Sam – 3
Cheon – River
Po – Port

The teachers at school aren’t sure, but Samcheon Po most likely means the port of three rivers. These days, it’s little more than a name to most people here. I suppose that’s how I feel about places like Christchurch and Canterbury, Lancaster Park, and Burnham Camp Golf Club. Being here though, I try, or tried, to make sense of everything. Tried to find the method or reason or meaning behind everything. Whether it’s something physical, like the small shelters built in the mountains, or something cultural, like taking your shoes off before sitting on the floor of those shelters while eating your lunch.

In some ways, I feel like I’ve really gone beyond myself while I’ve been here. Heading off to work each day can be the dawning of a new world each moment. I see something new every day, whether it be how similar we all are as human beings, or how different. Many times, I found myself loving the exchange.

That said, being raised in 1980s Canterbury (not particularly diverse at the time), culture clashes really are a new experience every time. I must admit, when something occurs, I’m most likely to be strong willed and stick to my guns (perhaps that’s due to growing up with a 120kg behemoth for a brother :-)

I suppose, what I’m saying is, while I was seeking the meaning of everything, I wonder if I missed the point. Or the essence of what it is to come somewhere completely foreign and experience it firsthand. Or maybe I did, and I dealt with it well. Let’s put this in life’s mystery file…

Samcheon Po is a wonderful little town. And many of the people are very friendly. It’s the sort of place one walks down the street and feels very safe. I had not one issue at all in my time here. I know 8 months isn’t a long time, but it can be when your hair is dyed blond, you’ve got a goatee, wearing sharkies (these things are very foreign to Koreans outside the major cities).

I spent many a night eating chicken and having a drink with some fishermen who are great guys (I even teach some of their kids).

Mountains and the beach are all within walking distance of home. A pleasant place to be.

But isolated. Sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, even though I had a few friends, I just seemed to be separated from people whom I felt understood me. My colleagues are lovely people, but fun times at work didn’t graduate into many invites to parties or movies or coffee or walks or whatever. But that’s as much my fault. It seemed every other weekend I was off to Busan or Seoul. Perhaps the fact I was already familiar with aspects of Korea made me more flippant when I arrived and less interested in everything than the teachers at school were hoping. Mystery file again…

The students really made my days. We seem to laugh our way through 75% of the classes. I really notice how boring it is at school when English class gets cancelled. The most fun I had was hanging out in the lunch room with the kids teaching me Korean words for spoon, chair, table, fingers, head, whatever came up (most promptly forgotten).

At some point, it became more than just a job. I enjoy what I do. But the lifestyle I’ve been leading isn’t the best.

Too much downtime, too little to do. In the past 3 months, I’ve worked a grand total of sweet f*** all. I’m not complaining about that, but when you’re not working much, you need to be busy doing something else. That, most likely, was my downfall. I didn’t busy myself outside of work. In fact, if we get down to it, this update is relatively event-free because I’ve done very little lately. Or, at least, I feel like I have. Okay, I’ll try to make a list:

Work
* the tension has gone, mostly, between myself and the teachers I talk to, but those who don’t speak English (or don’t speak to me often) are a little more standoffish after the events in the past few weeks. Fair enough. After talking to a few people, it seems Koreans really do take it personally when a colleague quits. Perhaps they consider it my fault, my issues, or perhaps they feel a little powerless. Mystery...
* I’m going to miss my grade 3,4 and 5 kids. And a few 6ers. I’m not every students best friend, but I’ve tried to at least make their days a little brighter (I wasn’t a good student, so prefer to have a laugh rather than be particularly regimented)

Korea
* got away to Busan, Seoul and Shihwa to visit friends before taking off. Can’t say I saw everyone I wanted to see and said everything I wanted to say (who ever does?) but it was nice to see people. Admittedly, I dedicated a few hours to watching some rugby and wasn’t particularly sociable… (the rugby was good and my team won)

Travel
* wahoo! It’s full steam ahead! I’m hunting the best way to get to places!! I bought myself a new backpack, some tuppaware containers, and vegemite! The beginning of the essentials!!! Once I have my passport, tickets, travel visas and backpack, I think the simmering excitement is going to boil.

General life
* Observations often stream out of my head, but for this post, I think I'll leave them out of it. Mystery file, one more time :D
* I don’t really know where I’m headed. I don’t really know what’s around the corner. I don’t have many ties to anything. For a long time, that’s felt like a great way to live, and many people have told me how envious they are of that lifestyle. At some point though, I think it has all caught up with me. I may not want everything that others want (I won’t deny my desire for power, fame and money), but I suppose at some point, I stopped questioning why other people wanted things like a house, a career, a family, when I started seeing similar wants in myself.

Thanks for reading this far. Please take care, wherever and whenever you are.

Wow, this one got deep, introspective and not particularly funny. Here’s a funny story to reward those who got to the end:

I can’t find quarter cut watermelons in Korea, but when I spotted half-cut ones, I got one. Then I spent the next 2 nights gorging myself on it. Crikey they’re filling. I was inching pieces of watermelon into my mouth, just to finish the fucker, when my doorbell rang. My landlady was there to apologise for some guy smashing a window down the corridor in the middle of the night (he was drunk, loud, and kicking the crap out of a woman’s door at the time). So, to appease the general collective’s displeasure, she’d bought everyone a watermelon. Tonight, I have a watermelon to cut in to, but by crikey am I avoiding it. Okay, it was funnier with the actions and the stomach aches and “Watermelon! NOOOOOOO!!!” in my grade 4 class, but perhaps you had to be there.