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Blog Part 4
Firstly, apologies for how long it has taken me to update my blog! I've been so busy in Korea these last few weeks, that it has been difficult finding the time to write the blog, and obviously the longer you leave it, the more you know you're going to have to write, so you end up putting it off again and again and so on….
However, today is a 9.40pm on a Wednesday, and I am staying in so I feel have no excuses not to start to write the next chapter.
So what has happened in the last 7 weeks…well quite a lot actually? There has been far too many things to try and put into a chronological blog, so I think this time, I'll just list all of the things I've done and maybe go in depth of a few of the more interesting things I've done, or maybe not.
So what I have done since my last blog….in no particular order these are some of the interesting, and not so interesting things I've done. The list is not exhaustive, but just what I can remember right now so here are 26 things for you…
1. I've been to a 4D cinema to see Planet of the Apes.
2. Watched Incheon United, and FC Seoul play in their respective World Cup stadiums.
3. Been out drinking in Seoul 3 or 4 times.
4. Been to Global Gathering Korea.
5. Won a trivia night with our team, Chicken & Beer, and helped create the questions for the following week.
6. Joined a beginners Taekwondo course.
7. Taken up (and then dropped!) Korean language lessons.
8. Been sightseeing around Seoul including the National museum, Namsan Tower, Cheonggyecheon, Ganghwamun Square.
9. Played Beer Pong….badly!!!
10. Eaten more, cold, spicy, fermented cabbage than I ever thought was possible for a human to eat.
11. Entertained Allan Murphy and his brother, in my shoebox apartment for a week
12. Been out for a meal with my teachers and principle to a traditional Korean restaurant.
13. Been drunk more times than I can actually remember.
14. Eaten more bad food than I ever would in England, including introductions to Taco Bell, and Quiznos Subs!
15. Been running further, and more often than I have ever done in England, to help counteract the above terrible food!!!
16. Sang terribly, several times while drunk in a Noraebang.
17. Been to the beach for Chuseok holiday.
18. Eaten too much chicken and drank too much beer.
19. Not eaten enough chicken, or drank enough beer.
20. Developed an addiction to Strawberry milk, Chilsung cider, and Twixes (is that the plural of a Twix?)
21. Found 2 Nepalese restaurants (and been to both), found a pie shop in Seoul, and a toastie place near my house that does Ham and cheese toasties for 90p a pop…Booyah!!!
22. Bought a laptop off a random Korean man!
23. Signed up to a Korean phone contract so I have now a phone contract in 2 different countries…..DOH!!!
24. Watched an amazing fireworks display on the beach in Busan.
25. Genuinely loved teaching every single day, the kids and teachers are amazing, and the job is just a pleasure to do each day.
26. Genuinely loved every single day of being here! I've met some wonderful people, made some ace friends, taught amazing children, worked alongside brilliant teachers, and seen some incredible sights, and shared some experiences that have just blown my mind, and opened my eyes to the world….and long may it continue.
Pictures are available on Facebook if you wanna learn more about some of the above. ;-)
Now rather than explain each one, I genuinely can't do it, as I like to waffle and it'll take me until the day I fly home, so instead I'm changing tack and just gonna list a few of the good, bad, and the ugly of Korea. Nothing really bad, just the little amusing, quirky, idiosyncratic, strange things you see on a daily basis that definitely sets this country apart from England (both good and bad!).
I have loads of these but I'll just start with 10, and save the rest for another blog.
So here we go, again in no particular….
1. Koreans love to spit…everywhere! This may not be a Korean thing, probably more an Asian thing in general, but Koreans certainly like to partake in this "wonderful" act all the time (mainly men). They do however give you a warning, as they seem to produce the saliva using a guttural, clearing of the throat first, followed by the spit so they do at least you give some warning first. So if you hear that sound, take a look to see who it is, and then make sure that you are nowhere near that particular person!
2. Motor bikes on the pavement. Unfortunately while you're too busy dodging phlegm on the pavement, that means you're not concentrating on the motor bikes and scooters that mount the pavement at every opportunity. I've learnt Korea has one of the highest pedestrian accident rates in the world, and it's not difficult to see why! Even the green man symbol crossing the road, doesn't quite mean the same as England, as cars turning right, are still allowed to cross the road when the green man is showing. So really in Korea you're not safe to walk the pavement, and it's not save to be in a car, so ultimately, it's best just to take the subway.
3. Spam!!! Not talking here about emails about "60 Viagra for 10$", or emails from Nigerian "lawyers" advising me I've been left an inheritance. No, I'm talking about the food….. Spam!
A random one I know, from scooters mounting pavements, to talking about Spam but hey it's my blog, and I can do as I please…so any way Koreans love Spam. You know that horrible, nasty cheap food in England that is the butt of all jokes about s***ty, cheapo family dinners from the 80s. Well in Korea, Spam is seen as something to behold….to the extent that you can purchase your loved one a Spam gift set, which is in a nice gift box, with a bow, and I've seen many people with these….the gift that every lady wants for Christmas I'm sure!
4. Speaking of women there is a little bit of a sexist attitude still favouring men over women in Korea, I'm afraid to say. It probably comes from the fact Confucianism is quite big here, and the hierarchical side of things states that men are at the top, and the head of the family and everything. Don't get me wrong it's not like Taliban-era Afghanistan or anything, but it's certainly little bit more sexist than England, as e.g. all principals, and vice principals at schools are nearly always men, while the majority of the other teachers at the school are often predominantly women.
Well sexism is obviously bad (yes…Dave it is!). However, I couldn't help but chuckle when I was in Home Plus (Korean Tesco's……please keep up!) earlier, and they had women working in incredibly short Tesco issue skirts and knee length socks, in a vain attempt to try and get these one-track-mind guys to sample some chicken at a stand (it was very nice and tender!).
Also, it was rather amusing to see that in the aisle with the Korean to English translation, "Women's Items", they just had loads of different types of detergents and dishwasher products, and nothing else….the pace of change is clearly not always the same everywhere.
5. If you've been lucky enough to go your whole life without hearing LMFAO -Party Rock Anthem, then please don't come to Korea, as in the space of a week, you will end up hearing it at least once for every single day that you've been alive!
6. Incheon has an old, abandoned, religious theme park....SERIOUSLY…and at night it is spooky as hell!!! Reported sightings of Scooby-Doo, and the Mystery Machine in the area have so far proven unfounded.
7. It costs 25 English pounds to do a 7 week, 14-lesson taekwondo course, including free uniform…crazy cheap!!
8. Waking up to death, violence, profanity, sex, drugs, and destruction. No I'm not talking about my worse ever student hangover here ;-), but more the fact that I can whack Korean cable TV on at 7.30am when I awake on a Tuesday morning, and they have the full unedited version of Robocop playing. The watershed clearly doesn't exist here, unless they think that technically any time in a day is after 9pm, so everything is technically after the watershed. I don't know, but what I do know though is despite the sex, violence, and drugs, they do make sure that whenever a character smokes a cigarette, they make sure they blur out the cigarette on screen. Makes sense really, as we wouldn't want the little 'uns being exposed to anything inappropriate now would we.
9. Did I say I've found a place that does 1 quid beers and 1.25 mixers (no pound sign on my keyboard)….even a man as perpetually poor as myself can afford to drink in Korea!!!
10. If you want to eat doughnuts, purchase a mobile phone, and drink coffee, then Korea is definitely not for you, as you'd struggle to find places that provide such things. You could literally walk all day and not find anywhere like this. However, if you're after fried English breakfasts, a pint of West Country cider, a betting shop, and an English-style beer garden, then you'd be in for a treat, as there are literally loads!!!*
Any way, it's getting late, it's a school night, and so I'm gonna go to bed, as I have a full 8 hours of Facebook ahead of me tomorrow!
Patria o muerte, Venceremos!
Jonny
*Note no. 10 may contain a slight hint of sarcasm!!!
- comments
Pri I am so glad you told me that you were being sarcastic! Genuine relief... You are good at this writing business Johnny mannnn. Good to know that you are living it up in Korea.
Petergaskell Marvellous mum and
Leigh brilliant stuff jonny boy!!! sorry (hangs head in shame) we've not spoken on skype yet!!!! been working loads and danny has officially stolen my mac off me haha
Greggles Jonny this is hilarious to the point where I'm laughing out loud in my room like some crazy fool. You could publish this stuff mate, it's so easy to read. Peace yo.
Leon Another quality read mate and it seem writing these blogs comes so naturally for you. I certainly found myself smiling and giggling away whilst reading it. Catch up on Skype Sunday mate and I miss you loads fella! Can't wait to visit and see you in June 2012!
Craig Hulme Loved the blog dude. Sorry its taken me soooo long to read but better late than never. I must say that I'm intrigued by the SPAM gift set, that sounds like a porn xmas present. Where can I get me one of those???? Just joking lol I'm loving the updates fella, keep em coming. Love ya man, stay safe x ps When we gonna skype?
Joyce I loved this post! I've always been cuiorus about South Korea, and what life is like there. Your pictures tell a story. This is a wonderful way to show, rather than tell, about the life you are living. I really enjoyed it.One question: As a surfer, I'm wondering are there are good surf spots there?!Maria Brophyb4s last [type] ..[]mezz Reply:February 23rd, 2011 at 6:01 pmthanks Maria great to see you hear again surfing really doesn't exist here waves are too small .hope your well peace[]