Musical English

Yesterday the whole school congregated for the end-of-year performances they've been rehearsing all semester. Some were decidedly better prepared than others. The costumes made up for any lack of flair the actors may have been blessed with, however:


I'm so tired. Marie left today to go back to Australia for a holiday, so I did a double load of teaching today. It's graduation tomorrow. I'll be staying in tonight preparing my speech.

Locked out!

When I returned home after an excellent farewell Vietnamese dinner with Ryan and his wife in the south of Seoul, buzzing from all the delicious food and lugging a Korean tea set that I received as a lovely parting gift and will add wonderfully to my 20kg weight allowance, I realised I didn't have my keys. I'm reasonably impressed with myself that after nearly 18 months of living here, this was the first (and most definitely hopefully only) time I've misplaced my keys and forbidden myself entry to my apartment.

What is more, is that despite having lived here for nearly 18 months, and only ever nearly needing it, I've never been in the knowledge of the phone number of office tel guy - nor do I know where he lives. Luckily - not quite having the courage to knock on any of the doors of my adjacent strangers - my next door neighbour happened to be popping out. She called the guy for me, who was thoroughly irritated, and I spent the best part of forty-five minutes with her while the guy was - undoubtedly not without annoyance - having a new key cut for me.

Perhaps I could have been inside a lot more quickly if he knew I had a spare key inside, but it gave me an opportunity to get to know my next door neighbour. Just a year older than me (the hierachical nature of the language dictates you get this kind of information quickly in Korea; I still barely know the ages of many of my Western friends here) she was in the midst of a mammoth origami session as she was making individual wrappings for individual chocolates to go in an amazingly ornate box for her boyfriend for Valentine's day. She's been at it for the past month. Actually, it shows I've not been shopping lately as I haven't noticed any pro-Valentine's day merchandise around, but on reflection I'm sure it's out there in abundance.

So the best was made out of an inconvenient situation - we exchanged numbers and movie opinions; I am just pretty amazed I've lived here so long and practically not even seen another person go in or out of their rooms, let alone conversed with them. Lucky, eh.

Sledding and Sleeping

It's not just me for whom this year is coming to an end. The kids had their graduation field trip yesterday near Children's Grand Park at a temporary sledding slope. It was really good fun, but highly tiring. Normally I can play with the best of them, but a couple of hours' exhilaration sliding down the slopes in over-inflated rubber rings really took it out of me. I was only able to scramble through the bouncy-castle obstacle course once. Many of the kids were going through for more, five or six times. Either I'm too big, or I'm too old. Or just too tired. A sad realisation!

I know I only have a few more weeks left in Korea, and I want to make the most of the time spending time with the people I love. I definitely feel in a state of limbo; the school year is coming to an end so work isn't as occupying as usual, but it's a little early to start the physical pack up unless I want to spend the next three weeks in a bare apartment, and meeting people for 'final goodbyes' seems far too sad and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that finality to really kick in! So it's quality time all around; last night the gang met up in Suwon to spend a quiet night in at Subok's place; tonight it's down to Sanbon for movies and sleeping at Robin's. I love sleeping, and it's always more fun to wake up to animated brunches and good company.

The 2008 Centre Georges Pompidou Exhibition "Heaven for Artists"

Being a Sunday afternoon midway through the running of the exhibition, of course it was like battling rush hour subway traffic trying to get a glimpse at any of the paintings.

Maybe best just to see them in Paris.

Granola in Korea

It is difficult to find certain foodstuffs that one might be used to at home. Good cheese is one. Branston Pickle might be another. Custard might be another. Granola is definitely one of them. [1]

Apparently you can find it in Costco - an international hypermarket of which many foreigners are admittedly members - but if this isn't convenient to you, and granola is on the list of things you miss from home, there is a potential solution.

Post - a Korean cereal brand - have brought out "Almond Cranberry Granola". Containing a full 30% granola, it's almost like the real thing.

It isn't bad.

[1] So actually we don't really have granola in the UK, rather favouring muesli as a nation instead. Also, not everyone likes it.

Essential Korean For Foreigners

Besides hello, goodbye (not many of which really grasp, there being different forms depending on who's leaving and who's staying), thank you, and tuna kimbap please, there are some words and phrases that, by living in Korea, are unavoidable. These include:

바보 [babo] : a fool. Can also mean stupid, silly, an idiot, a dunce, a dumb bunny. My worst experience with this word was having a kid in tears self-declaring himself a 'babo' because he couldn't do my worksheet.

아줌마 [ajumma] : aunt. This can be a derogatory term for an old lady. Galbijim states, "The stereotypical 'ajumma' image is that of a short, stocky, tough old woman who wears purple pants and permed hair, and has sharp elbows on the subway." I can't put it any more eloquently than that.

미치다 [mitchida] : to be crazy. As in mad, insane. Pronouncing "you're crazy" to somebody (even if you innocently mean "enthusiastic") can be wildly offensive. My students have taken to asking me, "Mary Teacher, are you crazy?" Cheeky buggers.

가위 바위 보! [kawi bawi bo!] : rock, paper, scissors. This game is the Korean teacher's God-send. Used by children and adults alike, it is the ultimate decider and can appease the most tense of disagreements.

Got any more to add?

Happy Lunar New Year

I've taken on some extra part-time work this week, so have been forced to favour my computer screen this long weekend rather than partake in extended family rituals this year.

This also means that instead of gorging myself on festive foods indoors, I've experienced the one time of year that Seoul closes down. Shops and restaurants might be open on Christmas Day in Korea, but the 24-hour convenience lifestyle is annually renounced for the first day of the year by the lunar calendar.

This year that day is today, Monday 26th January.

One thing that the second national turnaround does give, is an excuse for establishments to keep their excessive Christmas decorations up a little longer, much to the horror of Korea's western residents. Although the shops are shut, Yongsan's CGV was screening some films which gave me the perfect excuse to dust my camera and snap some shots at the I-Park Mall - hence the unseasonal photograph.

Subok and I checked out Changeling, and despite craning our necks to view the big screen from the second row as we battled all the other cinema-goers on this national holiday, it was an excellent choice. Definitely recommended.