Changes in plans and then changes back again..
Let’s face it, it is never going to be easy to leave Korea. It is a compelling place, once you have got over the sheer panic of actually making it here in the first place, the late night bars, the friendliness of strangers, the lack of small talk in the hairdressers- just some of the reasons that I find it so hard to imagine packing my room into a backpack and heading off into the sunset.
But I got dangerously close recently. So close in fact that I had started to downsize my possessions and send out emails tp people who I considered might have room on their sofas for little old me. The reasons for my change of heart are difficult to put my finger on even for me. I think that I had had enough of always being the largest person in the room, being afraid to walk into clothes shops because of the petrified look of the shop staff, often being the tallest in the room (even if it was full of men), consistently being told by men that they ‘just prefer Korean girls’, sending people into fits of giggles just by speaking English, never getting enough vacation time, being so far away from my family and, I guess, having fallen out with two of my closest friends here in Gangneung didn’t help either.
I began to have doubts about my continued presence in Korea about five weeks ago. Then I woke up one morning and realised that I was mentally packing everything in my room into boxes and decided that it was time to go. I told everyone, except the boss, and started looking for work back in London. I think that the idea that I might have been leaving soon made me appreciate Korea more. And my friends here have been amazingly supportive of my indecisiveness. Then, two weeks before I was due to resign, Sam talked me round with talk of how much more fun travelling would be if I stayed until the end of my contract, picked up my severance pay and free plane ticket and scooted off into the world with more than fifty quid in my pocket.
So I have changed my mind once more and committed myself both mentally and physically to being in Korea until the end of my contract in March next year. The plan after that is still in the construction stage but has been tentatively entitled ‘My Dream Holiday’- so let’s just say that kangaroo is probably on the menu- though probably not literally! Just five and a half more months of kindergarten to get through- that’s around 55 more classes full of the cutest and most infuriating four and five year olds you could ever meet.
As you can imagine from the above mental anguish, a lot of the two months since I got back from Cambodia has been spent sitting alone in my beanbag in a darkened room, rocking slowly backwards and forwards…… well, that is not entirely true. In fact, I had a great weekend in Mokpo, yes Mokpo- my original home in Korea way back in the good old days of 2002. There was a bit of a reunion going on- class of 2002- and it was great to meet up with people, some of whom I hadn’t seen for nearly two years. A weird sports day had been organized, I am not going to go into too much detail but I did spend quite some time throwing ping pong balls into glasses of beer, it was fun. And we stayed in the craziest motel you ever did see- with a dildo vending machine in the hall and everything! I had a great time with everyone and it certainly justified the fifteen hours that I spent on buses getting to and from the south that weekend.
And that was not the end of the fun! I have also been to Seoul a couple of times recently and had friends visit the other weekend for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving- a glorious holiday that lasted for five whole days this year and yet somehow still doesn’t make up for so many holidays this year landing on the weekends!!). My mates from Naju showed their dedication and followed in the footsteps of my Mokpo trip and came up here to Gangneung. It was good to have them up here and I really enjoyed showing them around Gangneung and indeed showing them to Gangneung. They came up on a good night as there was a concert in one of the three bars that I usually go to.
So we went to Absolut (the new bar owned by the guy that owns my other fav, Bumpin), the Warehouse (my boss’s bar) and finally Bumpin. People here usually go to those bars so we are starting to wonder why we even ask people where they went the night before- it is usually just a matter of trying to remember which order you did them in! To top it all off, Neil and Chris gallantly fished a sofa out of a skip for me in broad daylight and it has certainly added a little ‘je ne sais what’ to my room!
The Najus left on the Sunday and Monday saw me off to visit Mona in the back of beyond- ie less than an hour away on the expressway. It is really beautiful around her house and nice and quiet. We celebrated the solitude with a very enjoyable meal and bonfire. There was just four of us out there and it wasn’t so cold last week either. The next day we decided to go out to some caves. And rather then go to the local ones where the carpark is just step or two away from the stalagmite action, we drove for ages through the countryside only to find ourselves in a fake cave!
The drive was gorgeous and soon enough we were at Hwanseong Caves. Or very nearly. All that was left was a hike that was nearly to prove the death of me. I was hot and the walk was steep. Then we saw a sign saying that it was still another hour away. I was ready to quit there and then but they talked me round and Patrick actually pushed me for the last 400m. It was all worth it though. The caves were magnificent- huge and cavey with plenty of streams and waterfalls. Unfortunately my camera was out of action so no digital images to share with you. Which is a shame as the drive was also gorgeous.
Back to work for Thursday and Friday last week then off to Seoul on the Saturday. Now it is Tuesday and cold. Last time I wrote one of these things I broke into a sweat just putting my fingers on the keyboard, this weekend it got cold and I was so unprepared I found myself buying a poncho just to stay warm enough to get to the bus terminal in Seoul for my return trip on Sunday. Yes, PONCHO- wanna make something of it?
Today I got the devastating news that I have to teach my housewife class an English Folk song for them to perform at some event in December. I am toying with the idea of teaching them a Billy Bragg song- the sight of 20 housewives trilling ‘The Union forever, defending our right, down with the blacklegs, all workers unite!’ would be something to behold. But have decided to cheat a little and teach them an Irish classic, Molly Malone!
I am sure that I have forgotten loads of stuff that I meant to tell you but I have to get back to my sofa and staring at my lava lamp now. Who said that I never do anything useful!
Thanks to everyone for their love, support, advice, shoulders to cry on and offers of sofas, spare rooms and tents in the garden!
Love
H
xxx
But I got dangerously close recently. So close in fact that I had started to downsize my possessions and send out emails tp people who I considered might have room on their sofas for little old me. The reasons for my change of heart are difficult to put my finger on even for me. I think that I had had enough of always being the largest person in the room, being afraid to walk into clothes shops because of the petrified look of the shop staff, often being the tallest in the room (even if it was full of men), consistently being told by men that they ‘just prefer Korean girls’, sending people into fits of giggles just by speaking English, never getting enough vacation time, being so far away from my family and, I guess, having fallen out with two of my closest friends here in Gangneung didn’t help either.
I began to have doubts about my continued presence in Korea about five weeks ago. Then I woke up one morning and realised that I was mentally packing everything in my room into boxes and decided that it was time to go. I told everyone, except the boss, and started looking for work back in London. I think that the idea that I might have been leaving soon made me appreciate Korea more. And my friends here have been amazingly supportive of my indecisiveness. Then, two weeks before I was due to resign, Sam talked me round with talk of how much more fun travelling would be if I stayed until the end of my contract, picked up my severance pay and free plane ticket and scooted off into the world with more than fifty quid in my pocket.
So I have changed my mind once more and committed myself both mentally and physically to being in Korea until the end of my contract in March next year. The plan after that is still in the construction stage but has been tentatively entitled ‘My Dream Holiday’- so let’s just say that kangaroo is probably on the menu- though probably not literally! Just five and a half more months of kindergarten to get through- that’s around 55 more classes full of the cutest and most infuriating four and five year olds you could ever meet.
As you can imagine from the above mental anguish, a lot of the two months since I got back from Cambodia has been spent sitting alone in my beanbag in a darkened room, rocking slowly backwards and forwards…… well, that is not entirely true. In fact, I had a great weekend in Mokpo, yes Mokpo- my original home in Korea way back in the good old days of 2002. There was a bit of a reunion going on- class of 2002- and it was great to meet up with people, some of whom I hadn’t seen for nearly two years. A weird sports day had been organized, I am not going to go into too much detail but I did spend quite some time throwing ping pong balls into glasses of beer, it was fun. And we stayed in the craziest motel you ever did see- with a dildo vending machine in the hall and everything! I had a great time with everyone and it certainly justified the fifteen hours that I spent on buses getting to and from the south that weekend.
And that was not the end of the fun! I have also been to Seoul a couple of times recently and had friends visit the other weekend for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving- a glorious holiday that lasted for five whole days this year and yet somehow still doesn’t make up for so many holidays this year landing on the weekends!!). My mates from Naju showed their dedication and followed in the footsteps of my Mokpo trip and came up here to Gangneung. It was good to have them up here and I really enjoyed showing them around Gangneung and indeed showing them to Gangneung. They came up on a good night as there was a concert in one of the three bars that I usually go to.
So we went to Absolut (the new bar owned by the guy that owns my other fav, Bumpin), the Warehouse (my boss’s bar) and finally Bumpin. People here usually go to those bars so we are starting to wonder why we even ask people where they went the night before- it is usually just a matter of trying to remember which order you did them in! To top it all off, Neil and Chris gallantly fished a sofa out of a skip for me in broad daylight and it has certainly added a little ‘je ne sais what’ to my room!
The Najus left on the Sunday and Monday saw me off to visit Mona in the back of beyond- ie less than an hour away on the expressway. It is really beautiful around her house and nice and quiet. We celebrated the solitude with a very enjoyable meal and bonfire. There was just four of us out there and it wasn’t so cold last week either. The next day we decided to go out to some caves. And rather then go to the local ones where the carpark is just step or two away from the stalagmite action, we drove for ages through the countryside only to find ourselves in a fake cave!
The drive was gorgeous and soon enough we were at Hwanseong Caves. Or very nearly. All that was left was a hike that was nearly to prove the death of me. I was hot and the walk was steep. Then we saw a sign saying that it was still another hour away. I was ready to quit there and then but they talked me round and Patrick actually pushed me for the last 400m. It was all worth it though. The caves were magnificent- huge and cavey with plenty of streams and waterfalls. Unfortunately my camera was out of action so no digital images to share with you. Which is a shame as the drive was also gorgeous.
Back to work for Thursday and Friday last week then off to Seoul on the Saturday. Now it is Tuesday and cold. Last time I wrote one of these things I broke into a sweat just putting my fingers on the keyboard, this weekend it got cold and I was so unprepared I found myself buying a poncho just to stay warm enough to get to the bus terminal in Seoul for my return trip on Sunday. Yes, PONCHO- wanna make something of it?
Today I got the devastating news that I have to teach my housewife class an English Folk song for them to perform at some event in December. I am toying with the idea of teaching them a Billy Bragg song- the sight of 20 housewives trilling ‘The Union forever, defending our right, down with the blacklegs, all workers unite!’ would be something to behold. But have decided to cheat a little and teach them an Irish classic, Molly Malone!
I am sure that I have forgotten loads of stuff that I meant to tell you but I have to get back to my sofa and staring at my lava lamp now. Who said that I never do anything useful!
Thanks to everyone for their love, support, advice, shoulders to cry on and offers of sofas, spare rooms and tents in the garden!
Love
H
xxx
posted by Helen @ 10:40 AM
