Hi everyone!
Wow, it has been just ages since I lest sent something to you about what we are up to on this side.
There is a simple reason for this - there's not much going on.
The last really exciting thing we did was go to China, and since then it has pretty much just been work, work, work, work. Well..... lots of time spent at work.
Now, I can't remember what I told you about China, so let me know if I haven't waxed lyrical about that to you yet, and I'll send along an extensive, footnoted essay on our trip (with illustrations!).
At the moment the weather is turning to winter. It's not the gradual change that I'm used to in SA. In SA you sort of stop one day and go "Hey, didn't it used to be a little warmer?" and then you realise it's mid-winter. And two weeks later it's hot again.
The daytime temperatures here have started dipping below 20 degrees, and I've been trying to explain to my co-workers that in SA this IS winter. Not the run-up to, opening act of winter. They don't believe me. I can't say we're looking forward to winter. We're going to do some serious clothes shopping tomorrow in a larger town near Seoul, since the town we're in has what you might call an exclusive selection. And we're going to have fork-out a wad of cash for our winter wardrobe. The shopping here is not cheap.
We did get a small taste of winter when we arrived in February. It had snowed quite heavily the day before our flight landed, and apparently the temperatures had dipped to -20 degrees or something. It was cold! So I have an inkling what to expect for the next three or four months. Three or four months of winter! I still can't get my head around that.
But, there is one thing that is pretty cool here. Most houses have something called ondol, which is essentially an underfloor system of hot water pipes. Most of the houses have gas water heaters instead of geysers, so you only heat the water when you want to use it. This system is used to heat the water in the pipes under the floor, and before you know it the house is toasty-varm. Last night we used it for the first time this since March, and it was great. I actually started sweating.
Enough about the weather. According to the Korean English textbooks, the reason English-speakers talk about the weather is because in England the weather is so bad that when there is good weather it needs to be talked about. The Koreans don't talk about the weather because in Korea the weather is always good. Or so they would have me believe...
So let's talk about work instead.
Carin and I are having incredibly different experiences at our schools, which is interesting to observe. Carin managed to get her own classroom (which was recently renovated), and she has developed her own syllabus to work with. She's doing a bang-up good job with kids who are not academically inclined. She has a great bunch of co-teachers. I'm super jealous. But she is working really hard, and has tons of classes to do. At my school I essentially work as an assistant for my Korean co-teachers, and we change classrooms every lesson. There isn't any dedicated English classroom, which is a bit disappointing. I'd love to have a room which I could decorate with English posters and words, and enforce an "English-only" policy. Apparently the school will set aside a dedicated English classroom next year, so I'll be missing out on that.
The students at my school are doing exam prep at the moment, as they have mid-term exams next week. So I have some time to write emails and catch-up on my admin. Most of my lessons have been expropriated by my co-teachers to finish the exam work. Much seat-warming is being done by me. Next week as well. But after that the local education office will be holding an English festival, so I'll be pretty busy with that, and then we have a VERY long stretch until the December exams. So I'm savouring my free time now. Gives me a chance to put together some more materials.
Our plans for travelling next year are coming along quite nicely. We'll be visiting Tokyo in January some time. It's VERY expensive, so we can only afford to go for four or five days. But we have a very full schedule of places to visit, and we're really looking forward to it. I think we're even going to fit some sumo fights in there. At the moment it looks like we'll be leaving Korea roundabout 1 March 2009, but we'll be making some stopovers in SE Asia before we get back to SA. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia - here we come! It's strange, but it works out cheaper to bum around SE Asia for a month than to spend the same time in SA.
We'll be back in SA from about 2 April until near the end of April. That's the plan for the moment. Let us know if anyone else will be in SA at that time.
At the moment we're both craving some variety in our diet. The basic meals here revolve around kimchi (pickled cabbage with chilli) and rice. Occasionally it's rice and kimchi. We've managed to make some decent meals at home from ingredients available here, but sometimes you want a proper restaurant meal. The restaurants here tend to offer generally the same food - soups, rice, kimchi, fried pork/chicken fillets, and rice rolls. What I wouldn't give for a proper farmhouse breakfast...with decent coffee.....hmmmm
The restaurants here also don't really have any atmosphere. It's like eating every meal in a school cafeteria. Flourescent lights are de riguer, and forget about getting service if you aren't willing to shout "Come here!" Seriously. If you don't then no-one will help you. Forget about saying please or anything. You just shout "Come here!", in Korean, which is "Yogi-yo!" Best shouted at high-volume across a crowded room. We have found some places that offer "Western" food, but even these don't have much atmosphere. "Western" food translates to pizza, hamburgers and pasta. And "pasta" actually means spaghetti. So forget about choosing what pasta you want. You have a choice between spaghetti, spaghetti and spaghetti.
The contrast between our cultures is very interesting to observe and experience. Back in SA we'd make an evening of going out to a restaurant. Grab some good food (starters, main, and then dessert), preferably with a bottle of wine and some good conversation. The eating IS the evening out. Here the restaurant is more the starting point before you go drinking somewhere else. This seems to be why the restaurants don't have so much atmosphere, since they are not much of an entertainment venue themselves. We miss the eating-out culture back home.
I think I'll leave this installment here. Don't want to bore you guys with too many details. I'm going to be taking some more photos this weekend, and I'll send a link to these along.
We'd love to hear how it's going with everyone. Please send this along to everyone who doesn't have email or internet access.
T
02 October 2008
03 May 2008
Orange couches, Beijing Olympics and African experiences
Things have not slowed down here much, even though our schools have been having exams. Carin and I have been out an about, climbing mountains and meeting up with other English teachers. We climbed one of the most famous mountains in Korea, Dobongsan (Dobong Mountain), on Sunday, and we were pleasantly surprised that neither of us collapsed from a heart attack. We've been a lot more active since we arrived in Korea, and it's really starting to show. Carin even had another hike with her fellow teachers yesterday, and is still walking around today!
Tomorrow we're heading to Seoul to watch a Buddhist festival. This is a last minute decision, but it looks very interesting. Next week we are making a trip to the DMZ. We are really looking forward to that! Quite a few people have told us that you can still feel the Cold War tension at the DMZ. I'm looking forward to some decent photo ops.
Home and Away
On the home front we finally managed to organise a couch, even if it is bright orange. It fits with our general decor theme, though. Now all that we need is a bright red coffee table, and we're all set. I found one for R200, but I have no idea how to get it back to our house. The language barrier is a problem. Korean is not the easiest language to pick up. The sounds all flow into each other, with plenty of "yos" and "imnidas" thrown in for good measure. But we're trying to expand our repertoire of Korean phrases, especially since "hello", "goodbye" and "thanks" don't seem to be enough anymore.
On the travel front, we've booked our flights and accommodation for our China trip. We'll be spending six days in Beijing just before the Olympics, and then taking the train to Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors. This is going to be a fantastic trip, and we're missing the expensive dates by a smidgen. We check out from our hotel in Beijing on 31 July, after paying about R3oo a night. From 1 August the same room will cost about R1200 a night. Timing is everything!
Pseudo-Africa
This week the teachers at my school all went on a picnic (not quite what you think) to a place which definitely piqued my interest - the Africa Cultural Centre. It's located about a half an hour drive from my school. This was a weird experience. It is always strange to see how the rest of the world views Africa and Africans, and this was very much a pseudo-African experience. Basically Africa is only three things - wild animals, wooden carvings, and black people. End of story. So experiencing "African culture" involved seeing some stuffed animals, a couple of wooden masks and statues, and pointing at the black guys that worked there.
Admittedly, anything that isn't Korean tends to be pointed and stared at (including Carin and myself), so this was only to be expected. And I guess it isn't any worse than going to Malawi and having all the kids run up to you and shout "Mzungu! Mzungu!"
I chatted to one of the guys working there. He comes from Zimbabwe, and seems to have ended up here after trying to get some business dealings going. I guess the money must be decent to put up with all the poking and prodding every day. The funny bit was that I was really happy to chat to someone from home, even if he wasn't exactly from SA. Zimbabwe's close enough!
Photos
We've put some more photos up for everyone's viewing pleasure. Check them out here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22384&l=c503b&id=517113801
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21643&l=5b384&id=517113801
Tomorrow we're heading to Seoul to watch a Buddhist festival. This is a last minute decision, but it looks very interesting. Next week we are making a trip to the DMZ. We are really looking forward to that! Quite a few people have told us that you can still feel the Cold War tension at the DMZ. I'm looking forward to some decent photo ops.
Home and Away
On the home front we finally managed to organise a couch, even if it is bright orange. It fits with our general decor theme, though. Now all that we need is a bright red coffee table, and we're all set. I found one for R200, but I have no idea how to get it back to our house. The language barrier is a problem. Korean is not the easiest language to pick up. The sounds all flow into each other, with plenty of "yos" and "imnidas" thrown in for good measure. But we're trying to expand our repertoire of Korean phrases, especially since "hello", "goodbye" and "thanks" don't seem to be enough anymore.
On the travel front, we've booked our flights and accommodation for our China trip. We'll be spending six days in Beijing just before the Olympics, and then taking the train to Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors. This is going to be a fantastic trip, and we're missing the expensive dates by a smidgen. We check out from our hotel in Beijing on 31 July, after paying about R3oo a night. From 1 August the same room will cost about R1200 a night. Timing is everything!
Pseudo-Africa
This week the teachers at my school all went on a picnic (not quite what you think) to a place which definitely piqued my interest - the Africa Cultural Centre. It's located about a half an hour drive from my school. This was a weird experience. It is always strange to see how the rest of the world views Africa and Africans, and this was very much a pseudo-African experience. Basically Africa is only three things - wild animals, wooden carvings, and black people. End of story. So experiencing "African culture" involved seeing some stuffed animals, a couple of wooden masks and statues, and pointing at the black guys that worked there.
Admittedly, anything that isn't Korean tends to be pointed and stared at (including Carin and myself), so this was only to be expected. And I guess it isn't any worse than going to Malawi and having all the kids run up to you and shout "Mzungu! Mzungu!"
I chatted to one of the guys working there. He comes from Zimbabwe, and seems to have ended up here after trying to get some business dealings going. I guess the money must be decent to put up with all the poking and prodding every day. The funny bit was that I was really happy to chat to someone from home, even if he wasn't exactly from SA. Zimbabwe's close enough!
Photos
We've put some more photos up for everyone's viewing pleasure. Check them out here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22384&l=c503b&id=517113801
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21643&l=5b384&id=517113801
23 April 2008
Kickin' it in Pocheon
Hierdie is regtig snaaks, maar miskien net as jy in Korea bly. "Kamsa hamnida" beteken dankie, en "Annyong Hasseyo" is hallo. Dis omtrent al woorde wat ons met selfvertroue kan se. En Kimchi is die nasionale dis - basies is dit gepekelde en gegisde kool. Ons kry dit elke dag saam met ons kos.
12 April 2008
Six weeks and counting
It's been six weeks already, and time is just speeding up! Everyone warned us about this, but we didn't believe them, especially after how long the first month took. We are almost finished the first school term (though they don't call it that here), and we're already making plans to visit China just before the Olympics. All very exciting stuff!
To our disbelief, we seem to have a much more active social life here than in South Africa. Last weekend we met about 15 other foreigners, all based in the surrounding area. And as luck should have it we really get along with a lot of them. Just for some perspective, Korea seems to attract some really odd people. A significant proportion of the foreigners here are the kind of people you'd probably avoid like the plague back home. Thankfully most of the weirdos seem to congregate in Seoul, not the bundus where we are.
So most of last weekend was about going out and meeting new people. Now this is not really what Carin and I enjoy doing, but it was a really great to get out of Pocheon and meet some new people. Being isolated does wonders for your social life, it seems.
Pretty in pink (and purple)
Other than that we are starting to explore some new places to eat and shop. Trying to find new clothes has been a hassle. Clothing is not that cheap here, and for the guys the selection is TERRIBLE. I'd probably be super happy if I had a tendency towards tight fitting clothing in interesting shades of pink and purple. I have this fear of trying on some clothes in a store and only realising afterwards that I was trying on women's clothing. It's a major problem. I'll probably hang on with my clothes shopping until we visit China in July.
What the food?!!
On the other hand, we've been enjoying the food. There is nothing quite like not being able to read the menu to expand one's culinary horizons. We've resorted to walking into restaurants and hoping that there are pictures of the dishes. This worked really well during our last trip to Uijeongbu, the major city close to where we are. We walked into a restaurant called FoodJoy, and ordered something which was apparently their set menu.
It was HUGE! I can't believe we finished all the food, but we did. We weren't sure what we were going to get, but it ended up being a noodle soup, rice and a crumbed chicken breast. All for less than R40 each, or 5,000 won. Food here isn't the cheapest, but compared to other meals we've had here, this was a bargain!
We were in Uijeongbu to meet up with some of the new people we had met over the weekend, and we ended up having a fun evening with them. We started out in an Italian restaurant, of all places, where we enjoyed cherry cokes and some interesting pasta dishes. The cherry cokes were not what anyone expected. It ended up being cherry cooldrink and coke mixed together. Nice, but VERY sweet.
The evening ended at a coffee bar called Dr. Fish. Yes, that's right. "Why Dr. Fish," I hear you ask. Well, apparently there is a species of fish that is used medicinally to cure skin problems, especially on your feet. So a chain of coffee bars offers this for your average Johann (or rather Kim) in the street. For 2,000 won (R16) you can get your feet eaten...er cleaned...by friendly fish. Carin gave it a try and loved it!
The coffee bar itself was fantastic! They even offered Rooibos on the menu. The decor was really comfy, with plush chairs and wood floors. We'll be heading that way again.
MacGyver and the joys of Korean television
We've also been enjoying the super fast internet with no bandwidth restrictions. So MacGyver has been featuring high on our weekend entertainment. I has been really funny to watch the old episodes. The acting is really bad, the storylines are absolute rubbish, but man are we enjoying every last minute of it. And it's definitely better than the average viewing on the TV channels we have access to. We can sometimes get something halfway decent on the few English channels, but other than CSI the viewing is a bit scanty. We have even resorted at times to watching Spongebob in Korean.
But I have to admit some of the Korean gameshows are just awesome. We can't understand a word of what they are saying, but they do look like fun. There is this one where people have to take part in all sorts of bizarre obstacle courses, with a guy in a ringmaster outfit overseeing the resulting messy endings. The best part is how the contestants really get into it. In last night's episode the contestants were diving into a mud pit to try and catch a ball that they'd just sent through a giant pinball machine. Fantastic!
What will the next week hold? Ah, the unknown...
Check out some of our latest photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20658&l=17a5a&id=517113801
To our disbelief, we seem to have a much more active social life here than in South Africa. Last weekend we met about 15 other foreigners, all based in the surrounding area. And as luck should have it we really get along with a lot of them. Just for some perspective, Korea seems to attract some really odd people. A significant proportion of the foreigners here are the kind of people you'd probably avoid like the plague back home. Thankfully most of the weirdos seem to congregate in Seoul, not the bundus where we are.
So most of last weekend was about going out and meeting new people. Now this is not really what Carin and I enjoy doing, but it was a really great to get out of Pocheon and meet some new people. Being isolated does wonders for your social life, it seems.
Pretty in pink (and purple)
Other than that we are starting to explore some new places to eat and shop. Trying to find new clothes has been a hassle. Clothing is not that cheap here, and for the guys the selection is TERRIBLE. I'd probably be super happy if I had a tendency towards tight fitting clothing in interesting shades of pink and purple. I have this fear of trying on some clothes in a store and only realising afterwards that I was trying on women's clothing. It's a major problem. I'll probably hang on with my clothes shopping until we visit China in July.
What the food?!!
On the other hand, we've been enjoying the food. There is nothing quite like not being able to read the menu to expand one's culinary horizons. We've resorted to walking into restaurants and hoping that there are pictures of the dishes. This worked really well during our last trip to Uijeongbu, the major city close to where we are. We walked into a restaurant called FoodJoy, and ordered something which was apparently their set menu.
It was HUGE! I can't believe we finished all the food, but we did. We weren't sure what we were going to get, but it ended up being a noodle soup, rice and a crumbed chicken breast. All for less than R40 each, or 5,000 won. Food here isn't the cheapest, but compared to other meals we've had here, this was a bargain!
We were in Uijeongbu to meet up with some of the new people we had met over the weekend, and we ended up having a fun evening with them. We started out in an Italian restaurant, of all places, where we enjoyed cherry cokes and some interesting pasta dishes. The cherry cokes were not what anyone expected. It ended up being cherry cooldrink and coke mixed together. Nice, but VERY sweet.
The evening ended at a coffee bar called Dr. Fish. Yes, that's right. "Why Dr. Fish," I hear you ask. Well, apparently there is a species of fish that is used medicinally to cure skin problems, especially on your feet. So a chain of coffee bars offers this for your average Johann (or rather Kim) in the street. For 2,000 won (R16) you can get your feet eaten...er cleaned...by friendly fish. Carin gave it a try and loved it!
The coffee bar itself was fantastic! They even offered Rooibos on the menu. The decor was really comfy, with plush chairs and wood floors. We'll be heading that way again.
MacGyver and the joys of Korean television
We've also been enjoying the super fast internet with no bandwidth restrictions. So MacGyver has been featuring high on our weekend entertainment. I has been really funny to watch the old episodes. The acting is really bad, the storylines are absolute rubbish, but man are we enjoying every last minute of it. And it's definitely better than the average viewing on the TV channels we have access to. We can sometimes get something halfway decent on the few English channels, but other than CSI the viewing is a bit scanty. We have even resorted at times to watching Spongebob in Korean.
But I have to admit some of the Korean gameshows are just awesome. We can't understand a word of what they are saying, but they do look like fun. There is this one where people have to take part in all sorts of bizarre obstacle courses, with a guy in a ringmaster outfit overseeing the resulting messy endings. The best part is how the contestants really get into it. In last night's episode the contestants were diving into a mud pit to try and catch a ball that they'd just sent through a giant pinball machine. Fantastic!
What will the next week hold? Ah, the unknown...
Check out some of our latest photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20658&l=17a5a&id=517113801
23 March 2008
Pretty Girl en Big Eyes
Dis al amper 'n maand! Toe ons hier aangekom het, het die sneeu 'n lekker dik laag was gelê en ditkoooouuuud. Nou's als gesmelt en die bloeisels skimp al om uit te kom. Ons is nou al lekkeringesettle en voel baie tuis, en die kos nie meer so vreemd nie.
Hier's 'n recamp van ons eerste paar weke:
Die vlug:
Die vlug tussen Jozi en Hong Kong was great - ek en Thomas het 'n hele ry met vier sitplekke vironsself gehad, so ons kon lekker uitspan en fliek kyk. Ons kon nie veel slaap nie, ons koppe was heeltemal te deurmekaar met die tydsverskille. Op Hong Kong se lughawe was ons vreeslikvaak, en ons kon nie eens 'n koppie koffie bekostig nie. Die 3-ure vlug tussen Hong Kong en Suid-Korea was minder lekker - bietjie meer beknop en die entertainment minder cool.
Week 1:
By die lughawe in Incheon
Na 18 ure in die lug land ons in Incheon, naby Seoul. Ons taxi-bestuurder wag met 'n plakkaatjie (ek wou nog weet hoe dit voel as iemand vir my met 'n postertjie wag). Gelukkig praat hy nie Engels nie, so ons hoef nie small talk te maak nie. Dit vat ons 'n paar uur om by Pocheon uit tekom, en meeste van die tyd lê ek en slaap (ten spyte van die drywer se weird GPS wat die heeltyd praat en geluide maak).
In Pocheon land ons by Thomas se skool, en ontmoet die outjie by wie hy oorvat. Mark is van Engeland en is vreeslik behulpsaam. Ons moet tydelik in Mark se ou woonstel bly, en ons almal trek soontoe. Dis klein en koud, maar ons is net te bly om te kan slaap!
Die eerste week doen ons 'n bietjie admin: my departementshoof (Ms Kwak) en my gasonderwyser (Sun-Young) help my om 'n selfoonkontrak te kry, en maak vir my en Thomas bankrekeninge oop.
(Hang on - gasonderwyser klink saam. Dis 'host teacher'. Elke Native Speaking Teacher - dis ons - het een onderwyser wat jou hand vashou en met allerhande dinge help. Dis nogal harde werk vir hulle, maar sover ons verstaan is daar nogal prestige aan verbonde en kan dit tot 'n verhoging en bevordering lei. Myne, Sun-Young, is fantasties. Thomas s'n is... kom ons sê eerder net myne is BAIE fantasties en sy gaan uit haar pad uit om my te help.)
Ons ontmoet die res van die personeel, Thomas by die Pocheon Middle Girls' School, ek by Pocheon-il High School. Ons altwee is groot hits toe ons hulle groet met 'Anyong Haseyo!' (Hallo in Koreaans.) Ons ontmoet ook die ander Native Speaking Teachers in die dorp. Daar's altesaam vyf (sonder Mark, wat oppad terug is Engeland toe). Die vyf is ek, Thomas, twee (jip) Suid-Afrikaners uit die Kaap, en Alistair wat ook Brits is maar wie se ouers Italië toe getrek het. Ons eet 'n paar interessante disse - meesal Kimchi, wat enige vorm van gepekelde groente is, maar veral kool. Dis nie so erg soos wat dit klink nie, en blykbaar is dit bietjie verslawend. Die Donderdagaand eet ons rou seepampoentjies, waaroor ek nou huis toe skryf, maar in my lewe nooit weer sal eet nie. Juk. Na daardie avontuur kyk ek nie eers vir die oesters op die tafel nie.
Donderdag laat weet Thomas se departementshoof, Mr Kim, dat ons by Mark se woonstel moet uittrek. Hulle't nou nog nie vir ons 'n ander plek gekry nie, maar hier's die adres en nommer van 'n motel. Ons moet Vrydag uit wees. Die motel is ver, dis dodgy, en ons weet nie hoe ons al ons goed daar gaan kry nie. En dis deksels koud buite. So Vrydagmiddag sit ons en wonder of ons met ons tassies teen die berg gaan uitklim (die motel is hoog), of ons daar gaan plak totdat iemand ons uit met 'n trokkie kom haal omdat hulle nou al desperaat is om ons daar uit te kry. Hier, uit die bloute, bel ons recruiter, Joyce, om te hoor hoe dit gaan. Nee, dit gaan goed, maar ons weet net nie mooi waar ons vanaand gaan slaap nie. Wat?!? sê sy. Ons moet haar 'n paar oomblike gee, sy gaan gou rondbel. Sy bel rond, en hier 5-uur kom haal Ms Kwak en Sun-Young ons om na woonstelle te gaan kyk. Die eerste een wat die agente ons wys, is nog kleiner as Mark s'n, en ver uit die dorp uit, en in my mees hoflike stemmetjie sê ek Dis bietjie te klein. Gelukkig stem hulle saam, en ons is hier weg na nog 'n woonstel. 'n Bietjie ongemaklik, want dis al amper 6-uur op 'n Vrydagaand en dit was Thomas se skool wat drooggemaak het, blykbaar, en nou moet my skool die stoffies opvee.
Hier's die storie. My skool is gevra om die verblyf uit te sorteer. Omdat hulle baie agtermekaar is, kry hulle weke voor ons kom, 'n 2-slaapkamer plek. Maar nee, sê Thomas se Mr Kim (hier's so baie Mr Kims in Korea, ons noem hom die Kimster), hy wag vir 'n papiertjie van die regering om te bevestig dat ons kom, of so iets. Maar daar bestaan nie so papiertjie nie, en met die gewaggery vir 'n papiertjie wat nie bestaan nie, verloor my skool die 2-slaapkamer woonstel. En die Kimster wag nogsteeds, en die papiertjie kom nie. So land ek en Thomas toe nou, en driedae later is daar nog geen papiertjie nie, en nog geen woonstel nie. En hy's ouer en dalk meer senior as my Ms Kwak, so ek dink daar's bietjie huiwering om hom te omseil.
Maar toe klim Joyce in, en die wiele begin rol.
Die tweede plek wat ons na kyk, is ook net bietjie buite die dorp, maar dis nie meer as vyf minute se stap na die busstop nie. Twee slaapkamers, 'n woonkamer, 'n BAD! (in die ander plekke was die badkamer een groot stort met 'n wasbak en 'n toilet. Weird.) en - hier kom die kwikslag - vensters aan weerskante, wat beteken daar's son en lig regdeur die dag. That does it. Hired to the two Africans (daar gaan die area se aansien).
Die plekkie is wel vreeslik vuil, en die naweek spring ons in om te skrop. Sondagoggend word ons wakker en dit sneeu! Dis die eerste keer dat Thomas sneeu sien, en ons sit bietjie by die venster en uitstaar. Ons plekkie is heerlik warm - nie net is daar dubbele vensters nie, maar aan weerskante van die huisie is daar stoepe. So: buitekant, dubbele venster, stoepie, dubbele venster, kamers. Met ondervloerse verhitting. (Ons sit dit net vir 'n paar uur elke aand aan, want dit werk met gas en dis bietjie duuur. Baie eko-vriendelik, though.) Alistair het ons genooi om bietjie saam met hom te gaan stap die Sondag, maar ons twyfel of ons Suid-Afrikaanse kleertjiesons op 'n berg in die sneeu gaan warm hou, so ons stel dit uit na volgende week. Ons gaan welinkopies doen, en ry met die bus Tesco se Home Plus toe, dis in die naburige dorp. Ons probeer 'n duvet en 'n paslaken koop, maar ons kan nie uitfigure wat is wat nie. Ons kry nie 'n paslakennie, maar koop darem na 'n lang gewik-en-weeg 'n Baie Pienk comforter. Kom by die huis, en dis 'n paslaken.
Week 2
WAT Ons begin werk! Gelukkig het ons 'n week om vir ons klasse voor te berei, so vir die week sit onsbasies in die kantoor en probeer lyk of ons werk. Dis moeilik om voor te berei as jy nie weetjy moet voorberei nie! Kry dit darem reg om besig te lyk.
'n in orals Saterdag gaan ons Seoul toe. Eers Uijeongbu (waar M*A*S*H afspeel) toe met die bus vir sowatuur, en dan met die trein Seoul toe. Ons is nie TE avontuurlik nie: ons loop net in die subway-stasie se koopsentrum rond. Maar goeie genade! Ons was Yongsan stasie toe, watbekend is vir sy groot elektroniese winkelsentrum. Hoeveel vloere - 7? 8? Net rekenaars en selfone en ipods en stofsuiers en yskaste waar jy kyk. Thomas koop die rekenaarkabeltjies wathy nodig het (helaas nie die regtes nie), en ek koop 'n silikon-jassie vir my ipod. Ons drink koffie, loop nog lekker rond (daar's ook baie ander winkels), en teen aand se kant toe kom ons terug. Die volgende dag gaan ons weer Home Plus toe. Hierdie keer is ons al klaar minder verward, en ons koop 'n fraaie comforter wat soortvan by die Pienk paslaken pas. Die middag gaan stap onssaam met Alistair en ons is verbaas oor hoe fiks ons is! Ons klim tot by 'n tempel. Ons gaan nienie, want ek dink hulle was besig om te bid, maar ons loop buite rond. Daar's net Buddhatjiesrond. Party van die klein beeldjies - veral die plastiek poppies - is klein bietjie creepy.
Week 3:
Ons begin skoolhou! Maandag gaan rof. Ek het my laagste vlak klasse, die landboustudente, en hulle steek hulle gebrek aan Engels agter rumoerigheid weg. Oi. Gelukkig gee ek net 2 uit die 4 klasse, want die middag gaan ek en Sun-Young Uijeongbu toe om aansoek te doen vir my Alien Registration Card en ook vir my Multiple Entry Visum. In Suid-Afrika kon ons net Single Entry Visums kry, maar met 'n Multiple Entry een kan ons kom en gaan soos ons wil.
Die res van die week gaan beter - maar eers nadat ek Maandagaand frantically my lesplan aanpas.
Die naweek bly ons meesal by die huis. Sondag gaan eet ons in Pocheon, gaan na 'n PC Bang toe (internetkafee) en loop bietjie rond.
Week 4:
Maandagaand kry ons internet by die huis! Dis reg, vir 42 000 won 'n maand (dis so R320) kry ons wireless internet, sonder enige bandwidth beperkinge, met 'n spoed van 100 meg 'n sekonde (alhoewel dit nader aan 10 per sekonde is). Wat beteken dit vir 'n Suid-Afrikaner wat gewoond is daaraan om te gaan koffie maak terwyl 'n Youtube video laai? Niks sulke dinge nie - dit laai vinniger as wat jy kan kyk, ons kyk flieks en televisie in streaming video, luister radio, bel met Skype... En word bederf. Internet in SA gaan nie weer dieselfde wees nie.
Die naweek is ek siek! Ons wou weer Seoul toe gaan, hierdie keer om boeke en klere te koop, maar Saterdag het ek die heeldag geslaap, en Sondag reën dit en slaap ek die hele oggend.
En die kos?
Behalwe vir die walglike seepampoentjies en een of twee disse wat 'n kwaai kyk gehad het, eet ons baie lekker. Koreaanse kos is S-P-I-C-Y! Nie vir mense wat bang is vir 'n chili twee nie. Darem nie so warm dat jou oë traan nie, dit laat net my neus loop. En baie rys. En kimchi saam met elke maaltyd. In die restaurante hierso kry jy saam met elke maaltyd sop, side dishes (kimchi en slaai) en drankies soos koffie en soda verniet. Jy betaal net vir die hoofdis. Ons gunstelinge sover is die Bibimbap, of Spicy Rice. Dis rys met groente, rooirissiesous en 'n eier bo-op. Ons hou ook van Galbi (gebraaide vleis, raai raai) en Om-Rice, 'n omelet met rys binne. En Bimbap, or rice rolls, wat amper soos Sushi is, maar met groente en ander goedjies binne-in. Jy kry so hele rolletjie (met so 7 stukkies in) vir R8. All-in-all eet ons baie gesond, en ons het altwee al 'n paar kilgram afgeskud!
Die taal
Sja, ons kan nog nie veel praat nie. Anyong Haseyo en Kamsa Hamnida (dankie) werk sover nog goed, maar ons moet nog frases leer! Ons kan darem die alfabet lees, en dit help baie in restaurante en met naamborde. Partykeer lees jy nog so vir die lekker, en dan kom jy agter jy lees 'K Ma-tu' (K-Mart), 'Mo-Ning' (Morning), 'I Mi Gi' (image) ens. In Koreaans is daar nie twee verskillende konsonante langs mekaar nie, so as hulle Engelse woorde sê, breek hulle die twee konsonante in verskillende lettergrepe in. So die naam Mark word Mar-ku, en die fliek Scream is Su-Cu-Ream. En as 'n woord met 'n S eindig, sit hulle 'n 'u' in die einde. So Thomas is, ten spyte van vele protestasie, Tomasu.
Wat dink die studente van ons?
Ek en Thomas het baie mooi neuse. (Het ek nie plastiese sjirurgie gehad nie?) Thomas het mooi groot oë. Ek is 'n Pretty Girl. Of Cutie. My oë is dan bruin! Is dit my regte haarkleur? Ek is so lank! Vir iemand wat nie Koreaans is nie, is ek mooi maer. Thoma-su is 'n rock star, met jillende jong tienertjies wat giggel as hulle hom in die straat sien.
PS:
Ons het 'n ekstra bed en slaapkamer vir kuierende familie en vriende! ...
xx
Hier's 'n recamp van ons eerste paar weke:
Die vlug:
Die vlug tussen Jozi en Hong Kong was great - ek en Thomas het 'n hele ry met vier sitplekke vironsself gehad, so ons kon lekker uitspan en fliek kyk. Ons kon nie veel slaap nie, ons koppe was heeltemal te deurmekaar met die tydsverskille. Op Hong Kong se lughawe was ons vreeslikvaak, en ons kon nie eens 'n koppie koffie bekostig nie. Die 3-ure vlug tussen Hong Kong en Suid-Korea was minder lekker - bietjie meer beknop en die entertainment minder cool.
Week 1:
By die lughawe in Incheon
Na 18 ure in die lug land ons in Incheon, naby Seoul. Ons taxi-bestuurder wag met 'n plakkaatjie (ek wou nog weet hoe dit voel as iemand vir my met 'n postertjie wag). Gelukkig praat hy nie Engels nie, so ons hoef nie small talk te maak nie. Dit vat ons 'n paar uur om by Pocheon uit tekom, en meeste van die tyd lê ek en slaap (ten spyte van die drywer se weird GPS wat die heeltyd praat en geluide maak).
In Pocheon land ons by Thomas se skool, en ontmoet die outjie by wie hy oorvat. Mark is van Engeland en is vreeslik behulpsaam. Ons moet tydelik in Mark se ou woonstel bly, en ons almal trek soontoe. Dis klein en koud, maar ons is net te bly om te kan slaap!
Die eerste week doen ons 'n bietjie admin: my departementshoof (Ms Kwak) en my gasonderwyser (Sun-Young) help my om 'n selfoonkontrak te kry, en maak vir my en Thomas bankrekeninge oop.
(Hang on - gasonderwyser klink saam. Dis 'host teacher'. Elke Native Speaking Teacher - dis ons - het een onderwyser wat jou hand vashou en met allerhande dinge help. Dis nogal harde werk vir hulle, maar sover ons verstaan is daar nogal prestige aan verbonde en kan dit tot 'n verhoging en bevordering lei. Myne, Sun-Young, is fantasties. Thomas s'n is... kom ons sê eerder net myne is BAIE fantasties en sy gaan uit haar pad uit om my te help.)
Ons ontmoet die res van die personeel, Thomas by die Pocheon Middle Girls' School, ek by Pocheon-il High School. Ons altwee is groot hits toe ons hulle groet met 'Anyong Haseyo!' (Hallo in Koreaans.) Ons ontmoet ook die ander Native Speaking Teachers in die dorp. Daar's altesaam vyf (sonder Mark, wat oppad terug is Engeland toe). Die vyf is ek, Thomas, twee (jip) Suid-Afrikaners uit die Kaap, en Alistair wat ook Brits is maar wie se ouers Italië toe getrek het. Ons eet 'n paar interessante disse - meesal Kimchi, wat enige vorm van gepekelde groente is, maar veral kool. Dis nie so erg soos wat dit klink nie, en blykbaar is dit bietjie verslawend. Die Donderdagaand eet ons rou seepampoentjies, waaroor ek nou huis toe skryf, maar in my lewe nooit weer sal eet nie. Juk. Na daardie avontuur kyk ek nie eers vir die oesters op die tafel nie.
Donderdag laat weet Thomas se departementshoof, Mr Kim, dat ons by Mark se woonstel moet uittrek. Hulle't nou nog nie vir ons 'n ander plek gekry nie, maar hier's die adres en nommer van 'n motel. Ons moet Vrydag uit wees. Die motel is ver, dis dodgy, en ons weet nie hoe ons al ons goed daar gaan kry nie. En dis deksels koud buite. So Vrydagmiddag sit ons en wonder of ons met ons tassies teen die berg gaan uitklim (die motel is hoog), of ons daar gaan plak totdat iemand ons uit met 'n trokkie kom haal omdat hulle nou al desperaat is om ons daar uit te kry. Hier, uit die bloute, bel ons recruiter, Joyce, om te hoor hoe dit gaan. Nee, dit gaan goed, maar ons weet net nie mooi waar ons vanaand gaan slaap nie. Wat?!? sê sy. Ons moet haar 'n paar oomblike gee, sy gaan gou rondbel. Sy bel rond, en hier 5-uur kom haal Ms Kwak en Sun-Young ons om na woonstelle te gaan kyk. Die eerste een wat die agente ons wys, is nog kleiner as Mark s'n, en ver uit die dorp uit, en in my mees hoflike stemmetjie sê ek Dis bietjie te klein. Gelukkig stem hulle saam, en ons is hier weg na nog 'n woonstel. 'n Bietjie ongemaklik, want dis al amper 6-uur op 'n Vrydagaand en dit was Thomas se skool wat drooggemaak het, blykbaar, en nou moet my skool die stoffies opvee.
Hier's die storie. My skool is gevra om die verblyf uit te sorteer. Omdat hulle baie agtermekaar is, kry hulle weke voor ons kom, 'n 2-slaapkamer plek. Maar nee, sê Thomas se Mr Kim (hier's so baie Mr Kims in Korea, ons noem hom die Kimster), hy wag vir 'n papiertjie van die regering om te bevestig dat ons kom, of so iets. Maar daar bestaan nie so papiertjie nie, en met die gewaggery vir 'n papiertjie wat nie bestaan nie, verloor my skool die 2-slaapkamer woonstel. En die Kimster wag nogsteeds, en die papiertjie kom nie. So land ek en Thomas toe nou, en driedae later is daar nog geen papiertjie nie, en nog geen woonstel nie. En hy's ouer en dalk meer senior as my Ms Kwak, so ek dink daar's bietjie huiwering om hom te omseil.
Maar toe klim Joyce in, en die wiele begin rol.
Die tweede plek wat ons na kyk, is ook net bietjie buite die dorp, maar dis nie meer as vyf minute se stap na die busstop nie. Twee slaapkamers, 'n woonkamer, 'n BAD! (in die ander plekke was die badkamer een groot stort met 'n wasbak en 'n toilet. Weird.) en - hier kom die kwikslag - vensters aan weerskante, wat beteken daar's son en lig regdeur die dag. That does it. Hired to the two Africans (daar gaan die area se aansien).
Die plekkie is wel vreeslik vuil, en die naweek spring ons in om te skrop. Sondagoggend word ons wakker en dit sneeu! Dis die eerste keer dat Thomas sneeu sien, en ons sit bietjie by die venster en uitstaar. Ons plekkie is heerlik warm - nie net is daar dubbele vensters nie, maar aan weerskante van die huisie is daar stoepe. So: buitekant, dubbele venster, stoepie, dubbele venster, kamers. Met ondervloerse verhitting. (Ons sit dit net vir 'n paar uur elke aand aan, want dit werk met gas en dis bietjie duuur. Baie eko-vriendelik, though.) Alistair het ons genooi om bietjie saam met hom te gaan stap die Sondag, maar ons twyfel of ons Suid-Afrikaanse kleertjiesons op 'n berg in die sneeu gaan warm hou, so ons stel dit uit na volgende week. Ons gaan welinkopies doen, en ry met die bus Tesco se Home Plus toe, dis in die naburige dorp. Ons probeer 'n duvet en 'n paslaken koop, maar ons kan nie uitfigure wat is wat nie. Ons kry nie 'n paslakennie, maar koop darem na 'n lang gewik-en-weeg 'n Baie Pienk comforter. Kom by die huis, en dis 'n paslaken.
Week 2
WAT Ons begin werk! Gelukkig het ons 'n week om vir ons klasse voor te berei, so vir die week sit onsbasies in die kantoor en probeer lyk of ons werk. Dis moeilik om voor te berei as jy nie weetjy moet voorberei nie! Kry dit darem reg om besig te lyk.
'n in orals Saterdag gaan ons Seoul toe. Eers Uijeongbu (waar M*A*S*H afspeel) toe met die bus vir sowatuur, en dan met die trein Seoul toe. Ons is nie TE avontuurlik nie: ons loop net in die subway-stasie se koopsentrum rond. Maar goeie genade! Ons was Yongsan stasie toe, watbekend is vir sy groot elektroniese winkelsentrum. Hoeveel vloere - 7? 8? Net rekenaars en selfone en ipods en stofsuiers en yskaste waar jy kyk. Thomas koop die rekenaarkabeltjies wathy nodig het (helaas nie die regtes nie), en ek koop 'n silikon-jassie vir my ipod. Ons drink koffie, loop nog lekker rond (daar's ook baie ander winkels), en teen aand se kant toe kom ons terug. Die volgende dag gaan ons weer Home Plus toe. Hierdie keer is ons al klaar minder verward, en ons koop 'n fraaie comforter wat soortvan by die Pienk paslaken pas. Die middag gaan stap onssaam met Alistair en ons is verbaas oor hoe fiks ons is! Ons klim tot by 'n tempel. Ons gaan nienie, want ek dink hulle was besig om te bid, maar ons loop buite rond. Daar's net Buddhatjiesrond. Party van die klein beeldjies - veral die plastiek poppies - is klein bietjie creepy.
Week 3:
Ons begin skoolhou! Maandag gaan rof. Ek het my laagste vlak klasse, die landboustudente, en hulle steek hulle gebrek aan Engels agter rumoerigheid weg. Oi. Gelukkig gee ek net 2 uit die 4 klasse, want die middag gaan ek en Sun-Young Uijeongbu toe om aansoek te doen vir my Alien Registration Card en ook vir my Multiple Entry Visum. In Suid-Afrika kon ons net Single Entry Visums kry, maar met 'n Multiple Entry een kan ons kom en gaan soos ons wil.
Die res van die week gaan beter - maar eers nadat ek Maandagaand frantically my lesplan aanpas.
Die naweek bly ons meesal by die huis. Sondag gaan eet ons in Pocheon, gaan na 'n PC Bang toe (internetkafee) en loop bietjie rond.
Week 4:
Maandagaand kry ons internet by die huis! Dis reg, vir 42 000 won 'n maand (dis so R320) kry ons wireless internet, sonder enige bandwidth beperkinge, met 'n spoed van 100 meg 'n sekonde (alhoewel dit nader aan 10 per sekonde is). Wat beteken dit vir 'n Suid-Afrikaner wat gewoond is daaraan om te gaan koffie maak terwyl 'n Youtube video laai? Niks sulke dinge nie - dit laai vinniger as wat jy kan kyk, ons kyk flieks en televisie in streaming video, luister radio, bel met Skype... En word bederf. Internet in SA gaan nie weer dieselfde wees nie.
Die naweek is ek siek! Ons wou weer Seoul toe gaan, hierdie keer om boeke en klere te koop, maar Saterdag het ek die heeldag geslaap, en Sondag reën dit en slaap ek die hele oggend.
En die kos?
Behalwe vir die walglike seepampoentjies en een of twee disse wat 'n kwaai kyk gehad het, eet ons baie lekker. Koreaanse kos is S-P-I-C-Y! Nie vir mense wat bang is vir 'n chili twee nie. Darem nie so warm dat jou oë traan nie, dit laat net my neus loop. En baie rys. En kimchi saam met elke maaltyd. In die restaurante hierso kry jy saam met elke maaltyd sop, side dishes (kimchi en slaai) en drankies soos koffie en soda verniet. Jy betaal net vir die hoofdis. Ons gunstelinge sover is die Bibimbap, of Spicy Rice. Dis rys met groente, rooirissiesous en 'n eier bo-op. Ons hou ook van Galbi (gebraaide vleis, raai raai) en Om-Rice, 'n omelet met rys binne. En Bimbap, or rice rolls, wat amper soos Sushi is, maar met groente en ander goedjies binne-in. Jy kry so hele rolletjie (met so 7 stukkies in) vir R8. All-in-all eet ons baie gesond, en ons het altwee al 'n paar kilgram afgeskud!
Die taal
Sja, ons kan nog nie veel praat nie. Anyong Haseyo en Kamsa Hamnida (dankie) werk sover nog goed, maar ons moet nog frases leer! Ons kan darem die alfabet lees, en dit help baie in restaurante en met naamborde. Partykeer lees jy nog so vir die lekker, en dan kom jy agter jy lees 'K Ma-tu' (K-Mart), 'Mo-Ning' (Morning), 'I Mi Gi' (image) ens. In Koreaans is daar nie twee verskillende konsonante langs mekaar nie, so as hulle Engelse woorde sê, breek hulle die twee konsonante in verskillende lettergrepe in. So die naam Mark word Mar-ku, en die fliek Scream is Su-Cu-Ream. En as 'n woord met 'n S eindig, sit hulle 'n 'u' in die einde. So Thomas is, ten spyte van vele protestasie, Tomasu.
Wat dink die studente van ons?
Ek en Thomas het baie mooi neuse. (Het ek nie plastiese sjirurgie gehad nie?) Thomas het mooi groot oë. Ek is 'n Pretty Girl. Of Cutie. My oë is dan bruin! Is dit my regte haarkleur? Ek is so lank! Vir iemand wat nie Koreaans is nie, is ek mooi maer. Thoma-su is 'n rock star, met jillende jong tienertjies wat giggel as hulle hom in die straat sien.
PS:
Ons het 'n ekstra bed en slaapkamer vir kuierende familie en vriende! ...
xx
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