Somewhere in amongst the hail of merry Christmases and happy new years that people have been wishing upon their family, friends, and colleagues something has gone horribly wrong. At some stage, the gap between Christmas and New Years has been forgotten. This festive perineum should be the time with the most luck and blessing attached to it, being it the time that most people have away from work, with their families and loved ones. If people are looking forward to any time of the year to be merry it would likely be this part of the year that they spend at home or on holidays with those they care about.
With this in mind, I wish you all a merry festive perineum.
The past week has been spent enjoying the city of Jeonju for a few days, attending Christmas functions and watching a bit of television.
Jeonju is known for a few things, nothing huge and touristy but a reputation for food is something that will always have my interest. Dol sot bi bim bap (beef, egg and Vege's served in a hot stone bowl) is a favourite food of mine, and this is its hometown. Suffice to say a few big meals were eaten. Korean food is generally served with a few panchan (side dishes) that everyone shares, these are little salads, preserves, and other assorted tidbits. The quantity and quality of panchan served in jeonju is absolutely amazing, imagine a table full of side dishes all with a different flavour and texture to complement and contrast the taste of the dish that you had ordered. I am firmly in favour of the panchan concept. There was a slightly difficult moment when an octopus, still completing the rather complicated process that is waving hello with 8 prehensile limbs, when a large pair of scissors quite literally cut the greeting short. Watching the tentacles dance their final dance in a pan of boiling soup does make one stop to reflect a little. In a place where refrigeration was not a commonplace item during the creation and popularization of these dishes, one can understand how a procedure of proving the freshness of key ingredients became important. Fresh Octopus is considered a delicacy to the point were there is a rather dangerous custom of eating the smaller ones live. A dangerous custom due to the tendency of the food to exact a final revenge be suckering onto the epiglottis and choking the eater to death. All that in mind, the killing of the suckered snack at the table was to prove the quality of the food so that I had no doubt that I was receiving delicacy quality ingredients, something I can't complain about as it had to die at some stage during the preparation of the meal.
The meat was a little tough; perhaps the Octopus was a little tense.
Monday, 24 December 2007
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Work, Dancing Bottles and Dr. fish
Remember all of that "Getting a job" stuff I kept nattering on about ? Well, I finally did it. I found a job. The final process of actually getting a job as a native speaking English teacher in Korea is when all is said and done ... hellish. I decided on an Elementary School that is just south of Seoul near Anyang (Get off at Uiwang station, metro people) Mainly because it met my general Criteria and the contract was worth the paper on which it was written. After reading many reports of people who had left Korea in disgust after an unscrupulous hag won (private school) had made up some reason to fire them and as such avoid paying them back pay or the government mandated yearly bonus, reasons up to and including what amounts to child rape, the following in a contract makes you wonder.
Ok, so point 5.1 is fair enough, protects the employer should the employee turn out to be shit or do anything nutty, also has an allowance should something terrible happen and they need to turf the bad person right away.
Point 5.2 is fair enough as well, if it should happen that the employee did not actually complete a Ph.D in supernatural physics (Completing a thesis on the Centrifugal forces and spacial Dynamics involved in Cat swinging) than the employer has the right to not keep something that is is not what they thought it was.
Point 5.3. however, is carte blanch for the employer, "I am sorry son, I don't like the cut of your job today, your fired which ends your visa and you shall have to buy a ticket to get out of the county by tonight.
That contract I left well enough alone, and went with one that was a little more balanced and a hell of a lot more detailed.
I had the opportunity to visit the school and meet a bunch of the children and some of the teachers the other day. Knowing how important first impressions are, and how conservative Korea can be I went wearing a suit and tie. This lead to a first for me. After meeting the Director who happened to have an office the size of two classrooms, complete with large meeting table. I apparently made a good impression there, so the wearing of the Black suit, white shirt, black tie was justified ... vale la pena. I then spent some time with the two women who run the after school English teaching program for a number of schools in the area. One of these women after taking a good look at me asked,"Are you a missionary?"
...
"Oh, God no!" I replied.
My tone suggested that she was about as correct as a drunk Welshman with tourett's. She said it was because they are always well dressed and clewing into the fact that she had just asked me if I was a Morman, I told her that I was missing the badge. Much backpedaling was then done on her part, I must have looked offended.
I have little to to with the Church, let alone The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints,for a start the tittle is too long.
All said and done, nice kid, nice school, nice little suburb. I am hoping that I will be happy there.
Grocery shopping at midnight is a nice thing to do if you can, 24 hour supermarkets are loverly things. 24 hour supermarkets that sell everything from milk to the fridge to put it in are even better.
Skipping forward past a slightly boring University function for the students in Sumin's Course, The most interesting part being a Professor asking me whether I was a student from a different subject area to which I replied, "No no, I'm a trophy husband" which due to a handy language barrier exacted a response of "oh, ok." from the well respected lecturer.
Skipping to the part where it snows heavily, but melts on contact with terra firma and an evening is spent in a local that boasts "Tea, Coffee, Beer and Dr. fish". That's right not Dr. worm but Dr. fish !.
Dr. fish is actually a process whereby you place your feet in a tank full of voracious flesh eating fish which would probably have wiped out all other life on earth if it weren't for the fact that they only have very tiny mouths, and a penchant for dead skin. Putting out feet in what is basically a bathtub teeming with the little fellas for 15 minutes has the effect of all of the dried up or dead skin being eaten off of your feet by schools of little fish. This isn't for the faint hearted nor the ticklish but it is very interesting and my feet now feel quite nice.
Other Korea specials in the past week included watching a quintet of soju bottles dance the choreography from all of the most popular songs in the street. Imagine the giant green bottle equivalent of "take that" or the spice girls.
Were I drunk, the sight of giant bottles of liquor would probably make me wonder if I had been slipped a mickey at some stage in the night. I doubt it would make me keen for another round.
5. DISMISSAL
Ok, so point 5.1 is fair enough, protects the employer should the employee turn out to be shit or do anything nutty, also has an allowance should something terrible happen and they need to turf the bad person right away.
Point 5.2 is fair enough as well, if it should happen that the employee did not actually complete a Ph.D in supernatural physics (Completing a thesis on the Centrifugal forces and spacial Dynamics involved in Cat swinging) than the employer has the right to not keep something that is is not what they thought it was.
Point 5.3. however, is carte blanch for the employer, "I am sorry son, I don't like the cut of your job today, your fired which ends your visa and you shall have to buy a ticket to get out of the county by tonight.
That contract I left well enough alone, and went with one that was a little more balanced and a hell of a lot more detailed.
I had the opportunity to visit the school and meet a bunch of the children and some of the teachers the other day. Knowing how important first impressions are, and how conservative Korea can be I went wearing a suit and tie. This lead to a first for me. After meeting the Director who happened to have an office the size of two classrooms, complete with large meeting table. I apparently made a good impression there, so the wearing of the Black suit, white shirt, black tie was justified ... vale la pena. I then spent some time with the two women who run the after school English teaching program for a number of schools in the area. One of these women after taking a good look at me asked,"Are you a missionary?"
...
"Oh, God no!" I replied.
My tone suggested that she was about as correct as a drunk Welshman with tourett's. She said it was because they are always well dressed and clewing into the fact that she had just asked me if I was a Morman, I told her that I was missing the badge. Much backpedaling was then done on her part, I must have looked offended.
I have little to to with the Church, let alone The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints,for a start the tittle is too long.
All said and done, nice kid, nice school, nice little suburb. I am hoping that I will be happy there.
Grocery shopping at midnight is a nice thing to do if you can, 24 hour supermarkets are loverly things. 24 hour supermarkets that sell everything from milk to the fridge to put it in are even better.
Skipping forward past a slightly boring University function for the students in Sumin's Course, The most interesting part being a Professor asking me whether I was a student from a different subject area to which I replied, "No no, I'm a trophy husband" which due to a handy language barrier exacted a response of "oh, ok." from the well respected lecturer.
Skipping to the part where it snows heavily, but melts on contact with terra firma and an evening is spent in a local that boasts "Tea, Coffee, Beer and Dr. fish". That's right not Dr. worm but Dr. fish !.
Dr. fish is actually a process whereby you place your feet in a tank full of voracious flesh eating fish which would probably have wiped out all other life on earth if it weren't for the fact that they only have very tiny mouths, and a penchant for dead skin. Putting out feet in what is basically a bathtub teeming with the little fellas for 15 minutes has the effect of all of the dried up or dead skin being eaten off of your feet by schools of little fish. This isn't for the faint hearted nor the ticklish but it is very interesting and my feet now feel quite nice.
Other Korea specials in the past week included watching a quintet of soju bottles dance the choreography from all of the most popular songs in the street. Imagine the giant green bottle equivalent of "take that" or the spice girls.
Were I drunk, the sight of giant bottles of liquor would probably make me wonder if I had been slipped a mickey at some stage in the night. I doubt it would make me keen for another round.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Sleep is an optional extra
This is a City.
The city breathes, feeds on the movement of its inhabitants,
they pulse through grand arteries by day.
Returning through veins lit by neon at night,
seeping in to capillaries to eat, drink, sleep,
create the life,
That is a City.
I very much like to understand things, although at times it is close to impossible. So trying to understand here has been an interesting challenge. I don't think that you could come close to understanding the reality of the Korean people without spending a great deal of time amongst them, or learning the language. the language is something I still have to work on.
For a start I consider an element of the difference between the Koreans and the cultures I am a little more accustomed to.
Personal Space.
Koreans don't really have a personal space, by that i mean a sense of yourself individually and the area in which you are that person. This is expressed in a physical space that you occupy metaphysically. In Australia, this physical space is quite large, due probably to the abundance of available space, but I would also like to think that the individualistic spirit bred by isolation plays a part. Australians are always looking to do something different, and the moral high ground is not being concerned about what others think of you.
Korean has more of a community space rather than a personal one, both physically and socially. Being literally wedged into a train to the point that you might have problems breathing is an acceptable discomfort if it means that more of the community can be transported at once. Everyone accepts this so long as everyone is in the same position, forming a temporary collective. In Korea the moral high ground is doing what is popularly accepted as being the right thing, and this is generally what everyone else is doing.
I am still having a good time here, although I am still surprised that a New York Bakery would be considered as legitimate here, just as Aussie Kebabs were in Colombia.
The city breathes, feeds on the movement of its inhabitants,
they pulse through grand arteries by day.
Returning through veins lit by neon at night,
seeping in to capillaries to eat, drink, sleep,
create the life,
That is a City.
I very much like to understand things, although at times it is close to impossible. So trying to understand here has been an interesting challenge. I don't think that you could come close to understanding the reality of the Korean people without spending a great deal of time amongst them, or learning the language. the language is something I still have to work on.
For a start I consider an element of the difference between the Koreans and the cultures I am a little more accustomed to.
Personal Space.
Koreans don't really have a personal space, by that i mean a sense of yourself individually and the area in which you are that person. This is expressed in a physical space that you occupy metaphysically. In Australia, this physical space is quite large, due probably to the abundance of available space, but I would also like to think that the individualistic spirit bred by isolation plays a part. Australians are always looking to do something different, and the moral high ground is not being concerned about what others think of you.
Korean has more of a community space rather than a personal one, both physically and socially. Being literally wedged into a train to the point that you might have problems breathing is an acceptable discomfort if it means that more of the community can be transported at once. Everyone accepts this so long as everyone is in the same position, forming a temporary collective. In Korea the moral high ground is doing what is popularly accepted as being the right thing, and this is generally what everyone else is doing.
I am still having a good time here, although I am still surprised that a New York Bakery would be considered as legitimate here, just as Aussie Kebabs were in Colombia.
Thursday, 29 November 2007
It's not that cold
All things being relative, it is apparently not that cold in Seoul. Relative to me, it is cold enough, with the temperature quite obviously dropping below zero (freezing puddles) one night and playing with it dangerously the rest of the time. Heated flooring makes the inside of places comfortable enough, but makes the selection of an appropriate amount of clothing a difficult operation.
The first week here has been spent quietly, little excursions in the neighborhood and with a chaperone have been enjoyable. The Koreans put an emphasis on service which is a refreshing change from Colombia. A few little tours of the shopping centres and of Sumin's University have been interesting and the sheer number of people is diluted somewhat but the efficiency of the transportation systems.
Now for some of the things that have appealed to the geek in me:
The card technology for the use of the public transport (yes all of it) is unlicenced, meaning that anyone can make the cards that you use. This means that you can buy a metro card from anywhere, charge it with money at the station then use it. What it also means is that the "cards" have been integrated into everything including key chains, mobile phone fobs, other cards(ID cards) giving people a huge amount of convenience. There are no weekly , monthly or seasonal passes. Just charge up your card, or mobile phone sticker and away you go ... you can charge the cards with a large amount too so that you only have to worry about running out every now and then. No paper, no free rides no fuss. The transport system can also track the usage of the network so that it can respond to the quantity of people moving between transport nodes.
I had to buy a mobile phone, but the one that I got (quite cheaply too) has tv, internet, video conferencing and a whole host of other things aswell, apparently the phone is capable of the next generation in high speed mobile internet aswell, which is 7.2 Mbps. All that aside, it looks nice and has decent sized buttons for non-korean fingers.
Talking of fast internet, I had always wondered what the internet would be like in the world leading country .... I downloaded something the other night at 450mbit/sec ... so the 80Mb Chaser episode downloaded in under 5 minutes. This is just a standard domestic connection too !
Good food here aswell, but .... erm I have to leave something for the next post cause ... well ... I want to go out now :)
The first week here has been spent quietly, little excursions in the neighborhood and with a chaperone have been enjoyable. The Koreans put an emphasis on service which is a refreshing change from Colombia. A few little tours of the shopping centres and of Sumin's University have been interesting and the sheer number of people is diluted somewhat but the efficiency of the transportation systems.
Now for some of the things that have appealed to the geek in me:
The card technology for the use of the public transport (yes all of it) is unlicenced, meaning that anyone can make the cards that you use. This means that you can buy a metro card from anywhere, charge it with money at the station then use it. What it also means is that the "cards" have been integrated into everything including key chains, mobile phone fobs, other cards(ID cards) giving people a huge amount of convenience. There are no weekly , monthly or seasonal passes. Just charge up your card, or mobile phone sticker and away you go ... you can charge the cards with a large amount too so that you only have to worry about running out every now and then. No paper, no free rides no fuss. The transport system can also track the usage of the network so that it can respond to the quantity of people moving between transport nodes.
I had to buy a mobile phone, but the one that I got (quite cheaply too) has tv, internet, video conferencing and a whole host of other things aswell, apparently the phone is capable of the next generation in high speed mobile internet aswell, which is 7.2 Mbps. All that aside, it looks nice and has decent sized buttons for non-korean fingers.
Talking of fast internet, I had always wondered what the internet would be like in the world leading country .... I downloaded something the other night at 450mbit/sec ... so the 80Mb Chaser episode downloaded in under 5 minutes. This is just a standard domestic connection too !
Good food here aswell, but .... erm I have to leave something for the next post cause ... well ... I want to go out now :)
Friday, 23 November 2007
First Three days
Well, I am here.
I have little more to say than that other than the fact that it is a little cooler here than it was in Brisbane and that the food is good.
Am happy to be reunited with the little bit of family that I was apart from and because of that union feel strangely comfortable in a place so foreign.
In short its good to be here and I am feeling ready for the challenge of finding my little niche.
I have little more to say than that other than the fact that it is a little cooler here than it was in Brisbane and that the food is good.
Am happy to be reunited with the little bit of family that I was apart from and because of that union feel strangely comfortable in a place so foreign.
In short its good to be here and I am feeling ready for the challenge of finding my little niche.
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