Helen Goes Quiet...
Well, it happens to the best of us. Even I go through a quiet patch every once in a while. It has been rainy season here in Korea and rain here doesn’t bring a respite from the heat- in fact it manages to rain and be humid at the same time! Nice. But the rain has disappeared since the weekend to be replaced by blistering heat- I am fully fostering the English habit of always talking about the weather in my students here- with a good dose of complaining thrown in for good measure. Under my tutelage, you could pop one of my students into London and be hard pressed to notice the difference between them and a local when it comes to discussing the weather. I am so proud of them! Next step is getting them to refer to their umbrellas as brollies and stop them mentioning how handsome Beckham is every time England comes up in the conversation.
Since it is hot in Korea I could think of no better time to go somewhere even hotter. Me and my mate Sam should be heading to Cambodia in ten days for a wee look around and maybe a touch of shopping. I have wanted to go there since I first arrived in Sydney and met someone who had already been. Ever one to jump on the bandwagon at the point where it is getting dangerously crowded to do so, I have waited nearly six years to go myself- thereby ensuring that it is now firmly on any backpacker’s itinerary for Asia. I have never claimed to be anything more than a backpacker (no hint of an adventure traveller in me, it is not that I like my comforts, I just enjoy the company).
Other than gorging myself on the beauty of Angkhar Wat, I am hoping that the influx of backpackers will mean that I will be able to surround myself with ‘normal’ sized women. Over two years in Korea is doing nothing for my self confidence and self perception. I am overweight in any country but it is only here that I get escorted out of clothes shops by horrified shop assistants, fearing for the safety of their petite clothes. Part of me thinks I should lose weight to fit in, however, the more persuasive part of me tells me that even if I was tiny by western standards I would still be huge here so I might as well enjoy that ice cream(!) And the practical part of me points out that I have to stay the same size as when I arrived here otherwise my clothes won’t fit anymore and I will have to try and force my way into a Korean clothing store to re-clothe. Don’t let the practical side of me see the mirror by the way!
So summer is well and truly here- yesterday was the day for eating dog soup for the maintenance of stamina- man thing- and chicken for the fainter hearted. My local supermarket has piped in cicada sounds throughout the food department. At first I was slightly disturbed by this but now I have realised that it makes it possible to enjoy the sounds of summer in an air conditioned environment which also stocks cheese. Every summer the sound of cicadas dominates the outside world in Korea. I like it but until yesterday had never actually seen one of the little fellas.
I finally came face to face with one while I was waiting on the pavement for one of my students to pick me up and take me to work (ah the benefits of adult students and their air conditioned cars). I heard a loud, almost electronic, noise. I looked down into the gutter to see something that looked like an enormous housefly. It seemed to be having some problems getting off the ground and I watched it as it tried, and failed, several times to take off. It looked like it was finally going to make it- having just got itself the right way up again which has to be a good start- when my student’s car pulled up and ran the thing over. Ca la vie!
While it is great to live in a city so close to the beach it isn’t that interesting during rainy season- nah, it is much better to wait until a typhoon has been forecast before cracking out the barbecue. We had a farewell party for Katie, my American neighbour and at times voice of sanity, and her boyfriend a few weeks back. We sat on the beach for a while, obviously just killing time until the clouds were in the correct formation where the appearance of food and a barbecue would summon rain. It was a great day- saved by the procurement of several large parasols from a nearby convenience store. We stayed on the beach until it got dark, set off some fireworks and decamped to town.
And since then I have been away at weekends. Fridays just aren’t the same without Katie and our favourite dak galbi dish. Two weeks ago I went south to visit my mates from the first year (a.k.a. the reason I came back to this country)- the land where the lemon soju flows freely and the mosquitoes hurt like hell when they bite! We threw a small fortune into a crane machine- I managed, helpfully, to set the toys up for the others to win but didn’t manage to win anything myself.
This last weekend I was in Seoul. I only intended to stay for the night which is why I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me. But a hungover Saturday morning ensured that I would still be in town when the drinks hit the table on Saturday evening. Oops! And still wearing the same clothes- which only got more attractive as the day turned into Sunday and the sun came out. Saturday night we were in Gangnam and then Itaewon- the GI and general sleazy foreigner district- where we entertained ourselves by watching men either be pulled into brothels or saunter casually in of their own accord. Add to that the sight of the military police going about rounding up the GI’s and escorting them back to the base- leaving a string of irate girlfriends alone in bars- and you have a pretty fun filled evening.
Me and Sam stayed in Jongro-sam-ga the next night and had a drink up the tower the next day- where the view of the city from the toilets was amazing. We walked through Insadong and with that nod to culture out of the way it was time to head back to Itaewon for our traditional Sunday afternoon pints of Stella.
As if the weekend wasn’t good enough, I met a guy on Friday night who possessed the holy grail, the elixir of life, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow- that is to say, the internet address of a site where it was possible to download the soaps and sitcoms from back home! A truly incredible claim which actually turned out to be true! I have been gorging myself on Eastenders, Corrie and Wife Swap since Monday night. My joy knows no bounds at the moment! But it was weird to leave the house after a double bill this morning to discover that it was still Korea outside my front door. I think that I have found this site just in time as, even as I was watching on Monday night, understanding the accents which were once my own has become more difficult! A truly unsettling experience! Going to need some speech theory when I get home, methinks, plus a vocab coach to wean me off saying things like garbage can, bathroom, pants, soccer and sidewalk. Don’t even get me started on leaving perfectly useless but decorative ‘u’ s out of words and asking questions like ‘did you eat breakfast yet?’ and them being grammatically OK in the context of American English. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with AE, just that it makes me homesick sometimes.
Anyway, it is too hot to be slaving over a warm laptop at the moment (oh matron!) so I will just leave you with something that one of my elementary school students wrote today (there I go again, junior school). We were doing ‘Have you ever …?’ questions today. One of the students, for reasons unknown and not anything to do with me, has the English name of Willy. Another student is a bit of a wise-guy which is, I am sure, why he asked Julie whether she had ever ‘eaten Willy?’ I had to laugh!
And on that note I will go
Love
H
xxx
Since it is hot in Korea I could think of no better time to go somewhere even hotter. Me and my mate Sam should be heading to Cambodia in ten days for a wee look around and maybe a touch of shopping. I have wanted to go there since I first arrived in Sydney and met someone who had already been. Ever one to jump on the bandwagon at the point where it is getting dangerously crowded to do so, I have waited nearly six years to go myself- thereby ensuring that it is now firmly on any backpacker’s itinerary for Asia. I have never claimed to be anything more than a backpacker (no hint of an adventure traveller in me, it is not that I like my comforts, I just enjoy the company).
Other than gorging myself on the beauty of Angkhar Wat, I am hoping that the influx of backpackers will mean that I will be able to surround myself with ‘normal’ sized women. Over two years in Korea is doing nothing for my self confidence and self perception. I am overweight in any country but it is only here that I get escorted out of clothes shops by horrified shop assistants, fearing for the safety of their petite clothes. Part of me thinks I should lose weight to fit in, however, the more persuasive part of me tells me that even if I was tiny by western standards I would still be huge here so I might as well enjoy that ice cream(!) And the practical part of me points out that I have to stay the same size as when I arrived here otherwise my clothes won’t fit anymore and I will have to try and force my way into a Korean clothing store to re-clothe. Don’t let the practical side of me see the mirror by the way!
So summer is well and truly here- yesterday was the day for eating dog soup for the maintenance of stamina- man thing- and chicken for the fainter hearted. My local supermarket has piped in cicada sounds throughout the food department. At first I was slightly disturbed by this but now I have realised that it makes it possible to enjoy the sounds of summer in an air conditioned environment which also stocks cheese. Every summer the sound of cicadas dominates the outside world in Korea. I like it but until yesterday had never actually seen one of the little fellas.
I finally came face to face with one while I was waiting on the pavement for one of my students to pick me up and take me to work (ah the benefits of adult students and their air conditioned cars). I heard a loud, almost electronic, noise. I looked down into the gutter to see something that looked like an enormous housefly. It seemed to be having some problems getting off the ground and I watched it as it tried, and failed, several times to take off. It looked like it was finally going to make it- having just got itself the right way up again which has to be a good start- when my student’s car pulled up and ran the thing over. Ca la vie!
While it is great to live in a city so close to the beach it isn’t that interesting during rainy season- nah, it is much better to wait until a typhoon has been forecast before cracking out the barbecue. We had a farewell party for Katie, my American neighbour and at times voice of sanity, and her boyfriend a few weeks back. We sat on the beach for a while, obviously just killing time until the clouds were in the correct formation where the appearance of food and a barbecue would summon rain. It was a great day- saved by the procurement of several large parasols from a nearby convenience store. We stayed on the beach until it got dark, set off some fireworks and decamped to town.
And since then I have been away at weekends. Fridays just aren’t the same without Katie and our favourite dak galbi dish. Two weeks ago I went south to visit my mates from the first year (a.k.a. the reason I came back to this country)- the land where the lemon soju flows freely and the mosquitoes hurt like hell when they bite! We threw a small fortune into a crane machine- I managed, helpfully, to set the toys up for the others to win but didn’t manage to win anything myself.
This last weekend I was in Seoul. I only intended to stay for the night which is why I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me. But a hungover Saturday morning ensured that I would still be in town when the drinks hit the table on Saturday evening. Oops! And still wearing the same clothes- which only got more attractive as the day turned into Sunday and the sun came out. Saturday night we were in Gangnam and then Itaewon- the GI and general sleazy foreigner district- where we entertained ourselves by watching men either be pulled into brothels or saunter casually in of their own accord. Add to that the sight of the military police going about rounding up the GI’s and escorting them back to the base- leaving a string of irate girlfriends alone in bars- and you have a pretty fun filled evening.
Me and Sam stayed in Jongro-sam-ga the next night and had a drink up the tower the next day- where the view of the city from the toilets was amazing. We walked through Insadong and with that nod to culture out of the way it was time to head back to Itaewon for our traditional Sunday afternoon pints of Stella.
As if the weekend wasn’t good enough, I met a guy on Friday night who possessed the holy grail, the elixir of life, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow- that is to say, the internet address of a site where it was possible to download the soaps and sitcoms from back home! A truly incredible claim which actually turned out to be true! I have been gorging myself on Eastenders, Corrie and Wife Swap since Monday night. My joy knows no bounds at the moment! But it was weird to leave the house after a double bill this morning to discover that it was still Korea outside my front door. I think that I have found this site just in time as, even as I was watching on Monday night, understanding the accents which were once my own has become more difficult! A truly unsettling experience! Going to need some speech theory when I get home, methinks, plus a vocab coach to wean me off saying things like garbage can, bathroom, pants, soccer and sidewalk. Don’t even get me started on leaving perfectly useless but decorative ‘u’ s out of words and asking questions like ‘did you eat breakfast yet?’ and them being grammatically OK in the context of American English. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with AE, just that it makes me homesick sometimes.
Anyway, it is too hot to be slaving over a warm laptop at the moment (oh matron!) so I will just leave you with something that one of my elementary school students wrote today (there I go again, junior school). We were doing ‘Have you ever …?’ questions today. One of the students, for reasons unknown and not anything to do with me, has the English name of Willy. Another student is a bit of a wise-guy which is, I am sure, why he asked Julie whether she had ever ‘eaten Willy?’ I had to laugh!
And on that note I will go
Love
H
xxx
posted by Helen @ 10:53 AM
