Our eldest daughter's teacher tells me that she is a pleasure to teach - enthusiastic, hard working and actively participating in class. Unfortunately for us, by the time she gets off the bus in the afternoon she has mutated into the spawn of the devil. It is obviously taking all her reserves of energy to perform in the class room leaving less than zero for us.
I hope she gets used to the new routine soon and bucks up her ideas or there will be severe fireworks in our house! I know she is only five and has taken a lot on board lately, but her behaviour is really testing my patience and understanding. Joy joy joy.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
17 Sights of Seoul
Just nipped up to our local mini-mart - the Locky Higher Martuh - aka the Lucky High Mart on account of the fact that it is at the top of an almost vertical hill. On the way, saw a lady carrying her aged mother piggy-back style to the shop, both nattering away to each other.
Halfway along Itaewon High Street with its million hand bag shops, you pass a shop called "Make yourself Fucking Lovely". Contrary to expectations it is not a sex shop, but is a small boutique selling trinkets and t-shirts. Confident name, eh?
Last Saturday we visited some people with a magnificent view from their apartment over the Han river to the office districts beyond. One sky scraper was reflecting the setting sun in all its windows like strips of brightly shining gold, and from the roof top stretched a huge high rainbow, right up into the sky, while below on the river people were waterskiing past.
Halfway along Itaewon High Street with its million hand bag shops, you pass a shop called "Make yourself Fucking Lovely". Contrary to expectations it is not a sex shop, but is a small boutique selling trinkets and t-shirts. Confident name, eh?
Last Saturday we visited some people with a magnificent view from their apartment over the Han river to the office districts beyond. One sky scraper was reflecting the setting sun in all its windows like strips of brightly shining gold, and from the roof top stretched a huge high rainbow, right up into the sky, while below on the river people were waterskiing past.
16 Ladies who lunch
Went to my first coffee morning today with the British Association of Seoul ladies. Drove over with my new next door neighbour and got to see a lot of the centre of Seoul from above ground, instead of popping up from various random locations on the underground. Found out that lots of places are much closer to me here than I had ever imagined!
Driving around the city, the streets are wide and the roads are smooth. One of the main roads is huge, with a massive statue of a kind of Mongolian style warrior on a high pedestal standing high over the traffic. In the background a huge Korean palace roof is framed by high rocky mountains. A very dramatic view of the town, and a reminder of a) how ringed by mountains we are, and b) that the warrior man is probably a reflection of the fact that the North Korean army regularly practices its invasion routine to re-take the South.
Everyone likes to say that an invasion will never happen, but on the tour of the kids school the other day, we were informed that in the case of an invasion the children will be sent their school work using the school computer server which we can all log onto from wherever in the world we have fled to. Perhaps we should formulate some kind of plan B....
On to the coffee morning and a question of going through the motions of meeting new people, listing our postings, length of time abroad, the odd inquiry about spousal employment and children as we all try to pigeon hole each other and work out where everyone is coming from. On the whole, the girls were pretty up for it. One, who is moving to Bangkok next week, told how she wept with relief on a recent visit to Thailand where she walked into a supermarket and found Branston pickle and Weetabix staring at her from the shelf. Describing grocery supplies here as "dire" (which they are), she was also able to highlight some of the good sides of life here including skiing almost every Saturday of the winter. Hurrah (and who needs pickle anyway....?)
Reminded again of how transitory this life is. The BASS welcomed six newcomers and simultaneously said farewell to about five people.
Lots of bling on show - most women wore minimum one carat per ear with a few other diamond mine annual outputs on their ring fingers. Was very glad to be able to chat through the experience with down-to-earth next door neighbour on the way home. Coffee mornings are fine, but you always leave the room feeling like you have sat one of your degree papers... drained!
Driving around the city, the streets are wide and the roads are smooth. One of the main roads is huge, with a massive statue of a kind of Mongolian style warrior on a high pedestal standing high over the traffic. In the background a huge Korean palace roof is framed by high rocky mountains. A very dramatic view of the town, and a reminder of a) how ringed by mountains we are, and b) that the warrior man is probably a reflection of the fact that the North Korean army regularly practices its invasion routine to re-take the South.
Everyone likes to say that an invasion will never happen, but on the tour of the kids school the other day, we were informed that in the case of an invasion the children will be sent their school work using the school computer server which we can all log onto from wherever in the world we have fled to. Perhaps we should formulate some kind of plan B....
On to the coffee morning and a question of going through the motions of meeting new people, listing our postings, length of time abroad, the odd inquiry about spousal employment and children as we all try to pigeon hole each other and work out where everyone is coming from. On the whole, the girls were pretty up for it. One, who is moving to Bangkok next week, told how she wept with relief on a recent visit to Thailand where she walked into a supermarket and found Branston pickle and Weetabix staring at her from the shelf. Describing grocery supplies here as "dire" (which they are), she was also able to highlight some of the good sides of life here including skiing almost every Saturday of the winter. Hurrah (and who needs pickle anyway....?)
Reminded again of how transitory this life is. The BASS welcomed six newcomers and simultaneously said farewell to about five people.
Lots of bling on show - most women wore minimum one carat per ear with a few other diamond mine annual outputs on their ring fingers. Was very glad to be able to chat through the experience with down-to-earth next door neighbour on the way home. Coffee mornings are fine, but you always leave the room feeling like you have sat one of your degree papers... drained!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
15 Getting around
So far we have met one expat who speaks Korean. He has been here for five years and has had some Korean girlfriends which has helped with fluency. Apart from that we have met, between us, over a hundred people and none of them have mastered the language.
This wouldn't be so surprising if it was actually easy to get around Seoul without speaking the lingo. You can catch the underground without needing Korean as signs are bilingual. Buses are out without it, and unless you are going somewhere well known by taxi drivers you must be able to tell them where it is unless you are clutching a map with the location written in Korean script.
Since places are tricky to find, most people will get close to their destination and then phone ahead and the hosts will find a korean speaker to guide you in by taxi, or someone will come down the road to the nearest landmark or convenience store and meet you. How inconvenient is that?
There is a dual issue with directions here. The first, as already mentioned, is the language which makes finding places very tricky if you don't have it. The second factor is that Korea, although it has maps, does not have a very easily followed system for numbering and road naming. There are very few road names given en route, and buildings are numbered according to when they were built rather than where they are. As you enter some districts there are large boards which direct you, say, left for numbers 412, 27, 18, 35, and 49 and right for 1, 99, 26, 14 and the supermarket!
So have I been busily studying my Korean Made Easy handbook? No, not really, being rather way laid with looking after a five and three year old and moving house. But will I? Well, I sincerely hope so because life is going to be bloody difficult without it, since people either speak good English, or absolutely none at all.
I went to our local supermarket the other day and established that they would deliver goods to my house (by saying " Itaewon - Day-Lee-Ver-Ree?", "Neigh, neigh, Day-Lee-Ver-Ree," said the woman at the check out - I know that "neigh" means "yes" so I was confident with this answer). So I loaded my trolley with a mountain of goods and went to pay. At the end of the transaction the lady asked for my address (by pointing at a form - and I used my incredible deductive reasoning to work out what it was).
Not only had I forgotten my address in English, but I still haven't memorised the address in Korean script. I phoned home and asked Husband who also couldn't remember what it was, and since the internet had not yet been connected at home, we couldn't look up the address in my hotmail account which was the only place I had it written down.
So we had a problem. I couldn't tell them where I lived, so I drew a map (in English) and embarked on a sign language routine to try and ascertain if the delivery would be made in a van, and if so, if I could travel with the deliverer and point the way. This seemed to be a great idea and was apparently agreed by all involved, so I sat next to my bags and waited behind the checkout. After about 30 minutes everyone in the supermarket was getting a bit edgy and looking at me as if they were wondering why I was still there. There was no obivous sign of my goods being loaded into a van and so I went to sign language to the lady again - in the end I set off on foot with the assurance (I think) that they would try to deliver it before 5pm. And just after I got home, a motorbike popped up with all my shopping and my map.
Hurray for that - next time I will take the Korean address with me, or even get our trusty realtor to tell the local supermarket where we live!
This wouldn't be so surprising if it was actually easy to get around Seoul without speaking the lingo. You can catch the underground without needing Korean as signs are bilingual. Buses are out without it, and unless you are going somewhere well known by taxi drivers you must be able to tell them where it is unless you are clutching a map with the location written in Korean script.
Since places are tricky to find, most people will get close to their destination and then phone ahead and the hosts will find a korean speaker to guide you in by taxi, or someone will come down the road to the nearest landmark or convenience store and meet you. How inconvenient is that?
There is a dual issue with directions here. The first, as already mentioned, is the language which makes finding places very tricky if you don't have it. The second factor is that Korea, although it has maps, does not have a very easily followed system for numbering and road naming. There are very few road names given en route, and buildings are numbered according to when they were built rather than where they are. As you enter some districts there are large boards which direct you, say, left for numbers 412, 27, 18, 35, and 49 and right for 1, 99, 26, 14 and the supermarket!
So have I been busily studying my Korean Made Easy handbook? No, not really, being rather way laid with looking after a five and three year old and moving house. But will I? Well, I sincerely hope so because life is going to be bloody difficult without it, since people either speak good English, or absolutely none at all.
I went to our local supermarket the other day and established that they would deliver goods to my house (by saying " Itaewon - Day-Lee-Ver-Ree?", "Neigh, neigh, Day-Lee-Ver-Ree," said the woman at the check out - I know that "neigh" means "yes" so I was confident with this answer). So I loaded my trolley with a mountain of goods and went to pay. At the end of the transaction the lady asked for my address (by pointing at a form - and I used my incredible deductive reasoning to work out what it was).
Not only had I forgotten my address in English, but I still haven't memorised the address in Korean script. I phoned home and asked Husband who also couldn't remember what it was, and since the internet had not yet been connected at home, we couldn't look up the address in my hotmail account which was the only place I had it written down.
So we had a problem. I couldn't tell them where I lived, so I drew a map (in English) and embarked on a sign language routine to try and ascertain if the delivery would be made in a van, and if so, if I could travel with the deliverer and point the way. This seemed to be a great idea and was apparently agreed by all involved, so I sat next to my bags and waited behind the checkout. After about 30 minutes everyone in the supermarket was getting a bit edgy and looking at me as if they were wondering why I was still there. There was no obivous sign of my goods being loaded into a van and so I went to sign language to the lady again - in the end I set off on foot with the assurance (I think) that they would try to deliver it before 5pm. And just after I got home, a motorbike popped up with all my shopping and my map.
Hurray for that - next time I will take the Korean address with me, or even get our trusty realtor to tell the local supermarket where we live!
14 No more blues
My last rather subdued post was written just before we moved into our new house, and since then I have to say that things have significantly looked up. In fact, I don't know what I was rabbiting on about to be honest. Our move to Korea has been the easiest we have ever made - by miles.
The new house is excellent - not posh and not swanky but incredibly homely with bathrooms that work (!), electrics that don't make our fuses blow every time we use the microwave at the same time as the tumble dryer and much more space than we have ever had.
Moving in was pretty hectic - 357 boxes delivered in about two hours and then unpacked in a day. The result of this being that an awful lot of things are now living in the wrong places and there is much sorting to be done, but in terms of being up and running, we totally are. We have a telephone line and broadband internet, cable TV in a couple more days and while there are no pictures on the walls and all the cupboards are a mess, the whole place looks and feels like a working home, and a good one at that.
The new house is excellent - not posh and not swanky but incredibly homely with bathrooms that work (!), electrics that don't make our fuses blow every time we use the microwave at the same time as the tumble dryer and much more space than we have ever had.
Moving in was pretty hectic - 357 boxes delivered in about two hours and then unpacked in a day. The result of this being that an awful lot of things are now living in the wrong places and there is much sorting to be done, but in terms of being up and running, we totally are. We have a telephone line and broadband internet, cable TV in a couple more days and while there are no pictures on the walls and all the cupboards are a mess, the whole place looks and feels like a working home, and a good one at that.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
13 Sinking In
Although lots of people live much more challenging lives than me, and seem to manage without moaning about their hardships, I can't help but feel a little over whelmed at times with this move to Korea.
I have started reading autobiographical books of women who do extraordinary things, partly I think, to make me realise how soft things are for us. So far I have read Ellen McArthur's book about her Vendee Globe round-the-world solo sailing challenge (fantastic book - what a woman). I am now reading about Claire Bertschinger, a valiant nurse who has treated casualties and sickness in some of the world's most awful places and was the inspiration for the first Live Aid.
Husband thinks it is hilarious that I am reading these accounts, but I find them quite inspirational and they make me determined to get Korea licked and our situation sorted out so that I can go on and use my time productively and usefully. It feels like years since we started moving to Korea - although it is only actually about 6 months since it became an almost definite plan.
This kind of "trailing spouse" time is frustrating. Six months is a long time to be doing admin, sorting, arranging, packing and all the other nonsense that a move entails. And the aim at the end of all this upheaval? To recreate the same home situation in a different geographical location. When you look at it like that you wonder why anyone can be arsed moving at all - losing almost a year of productive time (not to mention all the work and social contacts you have in one place) to shut down something only to reopen it immediately somewhere else (with almost zero contacts and no social life!). What a wacky life...
I have started reading autobiographical books of women who do extraordinary things, partly I think, to make me realise how soft things are for us. So far I have read Ellen McArthur's book about her Vendee Globe round-the-world solo sailing challenge (fantastic book - what a woman). I am now reading about Claire Bertschinger, a valiant nurse who has treated casualties and sickness in some of the world's most awful places and was the inspiration for the first Live Aid.
Husband thinks it is hilarious that I am reading these accounts, but I find them quite inspirational and they make me determined to get Korea licked and our situation sorted out so that I can go on and use my time productively and usefully. It feels like years since we started moving to Korea - although it is only actually about 6 months since it became an almost definite plan.
This kind of "trailing spouse" time is frustrating. Six months is a long time to be doing admin, sorting, arranging, packing and all the other nonsense that a move entails. And the aim at the end of all this upheaval? To recreate the same home situation in a different geographical location. When you look at it like that you wonder why anyone can be arsed moving at all - losing almost a year of productive time (not to mention all the work and social contacts you have in one place) to shut down something only to reopen it immediately somewhere else (with almost zero contacts and no social life!). What a wacky life...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
12 Thai truths
If there is one thing I learned from living in Thailand it is that in the face of a problem, the approach most likely to bring success is nearly always to stand calmly and smile gently at the situation and the people involved. Freaking out, shouting, threatening, begging and all the rest never work, but remaining incredibly calm and staying put can often bring results.
And this seems to hold true in Korea. Our container has now arrived from Bangkok and a team of men are standing by ready to unpack it on Friday. Today was Wednesday and this morning I went to collect the keys for our ready-to-move-in abode. It is now 6pm and I do not have the keys. The house needs to be painted and cleaned before we move in.
As the landlady chatted away to me in Korean (looking me directly in the eye which was most endearing considering I had no idea what she was saying!) and our agent translated for me, the nub of the problem was that the house was not ready but we were. Since we are paying $200 a day to stay in our wholly charmless serviced apartment, we dont want to delay too much on moving into our new pad.
For a while it seemed hopeless - the painters couldn't start until Friday at the earliest, it would take at least three days. Mrs landlady hoped I would understand that the people who just moved out had had some problems and were delayed and they havent had time to get things ready.
Our agent duly translated back to her that of course, we understood absolutely and there was no problem except for the fact that we are now paying rent and a hotel bill concurrently. Smiling away and nodding agreeably at each other the landlady suggested perhaps we might only like to paint a few crucial places. And with my face almost aching with the length of smile, our agent duly communicated to the landlady that while this would of course save time, once some parts have been painted, there would be some very obvious places which had not should we take this option.
The smiling continued for some time. We don't have the keys yet but the house will be painted tomorrow and we will move in on Friday (let's not get too hung up on the quality of the paintmanship, eh?!).
As husband pointed out, if the house had been ready, the chances are that our container would have fallen off the boat in the South China Seas, or been shored up sheltering from a typhoon for weeks on end.
And this seems to hold true in Korea. Our container has now arrived from Bangkok and a team of men are standing by ready to unpack it on Friday. Today was Wednesday and this morning I went to collect the keys for our ready-to-move-in abode. It is now 6pm and I do not have the keys. The house needs to be painted and cleaned before we move in.
As the landlady chatted away to me in Korean (looking me directly in the eye which was most endearing considering I had no idea what she was saying!) and our agent translated for me, the nub of the problem was that the house was not ready but we were. Since we are paying $200 a day to stay in our wholly charmless serviced apartment, we dont want to delay too much on moving into our new pad.
For a while it seemed hopeless - the painters couldn't start until Friday at the earliest, it would take at least three days. Mrs landlady hoped I would understand that the people who just moved out had had some problems and were delayed and they havent had time to get things ready.
Our agent duly translated back to her that of course, we understood absolutely and there was no problem except for the fact that we are now paying rent and a hotel bill concurrently. Smiling away and nodding agreeably at each other the landlady suggested perhaps we might only like to paint a few crucial places. And with my face almost aching with the length of smile, our agent duly communicated to the landlady that while this would of course save time, once some parts have been painted, there would be some very obvious places which had not should we take this option.
The smiling continued for some time. We don't have the keys yet but the house will be painted tomorrow and we will move in on Friday (let's not get too hung up on the quality of the paintmanship, eh?!).
As husband pointed out, if the house had been ready, the chances are that our container would have fallen off the boat in the South China Seas, or been shored up sheltering from a typhoon for weeks on end.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
11 The Stone Rabbit
Having sent our entire Barbie (registered trademark) collection, many jigsaw puzzles and toys by air freight from Bangkok, I am delighted to report that our kids are playing almost exclusively with a small stone rabbit which their granny bought them to put in their new garden in Seoul. Weighing about a kilo I was delighted with this particular present, but it has made it intact to Seoul and the kids have made it a selection of paper foods to eat (radishes, carrots and lettuce) from a bowl inside our air conditioned serviced apartment. Lala, as the rabbit is known, is probably the world's best maintained non-pet, receiving much love, care and regular food and water.
Monday, August 07, 2006
10 Singing in the park
We went for a 5 kilometer walk to the top of the highest peak in town yesterday and stood at the foot of the Seoul Tower for a good peek out over the city. Following some onlookers' instructions, we followed the bus route to the top which meant that we walked along a busy uphill road through the park to the peak - zero contact with grass or foliage for the duration . The Yellow Bus Number 2 passed us every five minutes with various tour coaches in between so that the top was buzzing with ice cream vendors and ladies selling what look like re-heated roadkill squid (even though a squid would be doing well to be road kill).
Checking a map for the journey down meant that we enjoyed the forest more intimately and tranquilly, finding acorns and horse chestnuts and a man, standing on his own facing a brick wall and a drainage channel, singing loud chants along with his tape recorder. Whatever gets you going, I suppose!
Checking a map for the journey down meant that we enjoyed the forest more intimately and tranquilly, finding acorns and horse chestnuts and a man, standing on his own facing a brick wall and a drainage channel, singing loud chants along with his tape recorder. Whatever gets you going, I suppose!
9 Silver City
Praise Allah, Emirates airlines have granted me a silver class membership of their loyalty programme after flying 29,000 kilometers with them during July! Yippee. I now get an extra 12kgs of luggage allowance any time I fly with them (so will be able to bring the cool bag of goodies from the delicatessen back with me after all!).
Saturday, August 05, 2006
8 Saunas and Soggy Veggies
We arrived from Glasgow last night for the whole family to be together for the first time in over two months. A gruelling 26 hour journey door to door and straight into our serviced apartment which overlooks a view of the Han river and the business district of Seoul.
Kids were awake from 2.30am to 4.30am and we finally woke at 10 this morning. Straight off to see our new house which is full of packing boxes of the people moving out. Very happy with our new abode which has plenty of space for all of us and a cute garden.
Then off to our new sports club, the Seoul Club, which is a smart marble-lined club house complete with indoor and outdoor pool, a gym, squash and tennis courts and different restaurants and bars. We had a good lunch (for 50 dollars - a far cry from the costs of the British Club in Bangkok where it is rare to spend more than 20 bucks during the whole day) then went for a swim.
Afterwards we all went for our showers and entered the world of Korean personal hygiene. The shower rooms are replete with places to scrub every last scrap of skin from your body - three different temperature soaking pools, a huge sauna, rows of showers and a large sitting shower room. Here you use a small plastic stool to sit and shower and soap and scrub yourself all over. Everyone is naked, there is no concept of private changing here, but strictly single sex with children over 60 months of age banned from the opposite sex's changing area.
Members take small plastic baskets of lotions and potions to aid with their ablutions and then move into the carpeted changing area to dry their hair, moisturise everywhere and generally make sure that all is clean and dandy before venturing outside again. Not used to all this equipment it took the girls and I over 40 minutes to finish beautifying ourselves, but we were all smelling gorgeous as we emerged to find husband had been waiting for nearly half an hour!
From the Seoul Club to the Hannam Supermarket - billed as THE supermarket for expats living in Seoul. This reminded me of a schol ski trip to Bulgaria about 20 years ago when we were allowed to venture out of our hotel to dispose of our spending money in the local supermarket - at the time it only sold chocolate-coated cherries, cherry brandy and fresh cucumbers!
The impact of moving somewhere as unusual as Seoul came home as we cruised the small aisles of "expat-friendly" products (most of which appeared to come from CostCo). The cheese selection is repulsive - fake Brie, processed cheese "party" cubes and American "cheddar" imitations. Meats consisted of over-priced, old cuts of Australian imported beef and some sad packs of salami. Vegetables were wilting packs of lettuce (sold by the leaf not attached to the heart), soggy aubergines and some bruised bananas. Colgate toothpaste really is six dollars per tube.
I came to Seoul with 12 tins of Illy expresso coffee packed among my clothes, some balsamic vinegar and three pots of Marmite (essential materials for expat living!). Next time I go home, I will not pack clothes, but instead will travel with a large cool box and bring back Camembert, delicious breakfast museli mixes, smoked fish of all descriptions and even some fresh vine-grown tomatoes.
I left the not-so-super market with a head buzzing with plans to grow herbs in my laundry room, tomatoes in pots inside the living room and wondering where I can buy wheat flour to make bread. Looks like we might have to plough up our lawn and start a market garden!
Kids were awake from 2.30am to 4.30am and we finally woke at 10 this morning. Straight off to see our new house which is full of packing boxes of the people moving out. Very happy with our new abode which has plenty of space for all of us and a cute garden.
Then off to our new sports club, the Seoul Club, which is a smart marble-lined club house complete with indoor and outdoor pool, a gym, squash and tennis courts and different restaurants and bars. We had a good lunch (for 50 dollars - a far cry from the costs of the British Club in Bangkok where it is rare to spend more than 20 bucks during the whole day) then went for a swim.
Afterwards we all went for our showers and entered the world of Korean personal hygiene. The shower rooms are replete with places to scrub every last scrap of skin from your body - three different temperature soaking pools, a huge sauna, rows of showers and a large sitting shower room. Here you use a small plastic stool to sit and shower and soap and scrub yourself all over. Everyone is naked, there is no concept of private changing here, but strictly single sex with children over 60 months of age banned from the opposite sex's changing area.
Members take small plastic baskets of lotions and potions to aid with their ablutions and then move into the carpeted changing area to dry their hair, moisturise everywhere and generally make sure that all is clean and dandy before venturing outside again. Not used to all this equipment it took the girls and I over 40 minutes to finish beautifying ourselves, but we were all smelling gorgeous as we emerged to find husband had been waiting for nearly half an hour!
From the Seoul Club to the Hannam Supermarket - billed as THE supermarket for expats living in Seoul. This reminded me of a schol ski trip to Bulgaria about 20 years ago when we were allowed to venture out of our hotel to dispose of our spending money in the local supermarket - at the time it only sold chocolate-coated cherries, cherry brandy and fresh cucumbers!
The impact of moving somewhere as unusual as Seoul came home as we cruised the small aisles of "expat-friendly" products (most of which appeared to come from CostCo). The cheese selection is repulsive - fake Brie, processed cheese "party" cubes and American "cheddar" imitations. Meats consisted of over-priced, old cuts of Australian imported beef and some sad packs of salami. Vegetables were wilting packs of lettuce (sold by the leaf not attached to the heart), soggy aubergines and some bruised bananas. Colgate toothpaste really is six dollars per tube.
I came to Seoul with 12 tins of Illy expresso coffee packed among my clothes, some balsamic vinegar and three pots of Marmite (essential materials for expat living!). Next time I go home, I will not pack clothes, but instead will travel with a large cool box and bring back Camembert, delicious breakfast museli mixes, smoked fish of all descriptions and even some fresh vine-grown tomatoes.
I left the not-so-super market with a head buzzing with plans to grow herbs in my laundry room, tomatoes in pots inside the living room and wondering where I can buy wheat flour to make bread. Looks like we might have to plough up our lawn and start a market garden!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
7 Thoughts after one week
So tonight I head back to the airport for one week in the UK and then to bring our kids back to their new life here. What are they going to make of this place?
At ages 5 and 3 their entire life experience has been Asian-based, and so in many ways they will likely see less weirdness than we do. The Koreans are a handsome race - strong-looking and handsome with high cheek bones, generous features and a willingness to smile and laugh heartily and often. I think the girls will be a focus for much attention from people here, but because of the respectful nature of the Koreans, I hope that they will endure less physical touching than they have had to deal with in the past from mainland Chinese in Hong Kong and the gentle Thais. And korean kids are soooo cute in their own way, that perhaps two blonde little western girls will present less of an attraction.
Already I can feel myself adapting to life here. The fashions are very different, and Koreans LOVE their complicated patterns and off-beat cuts. Assymetric tops for ladies are common, and the layered t-shirt effect is common. Lace trim and a colour palette that favours plum, yellow, turquiose green and apricot tones as well as lots of strong spots and stripes make for a colourful and interesting range of attire.
In bureaucratic terms life will likely be easy here. Everything is efficiently set up to provide minimum red tape and fuss. The subway has tickets of course, but once you have a credit card you can use that as your pass to travel eliminating the need for travel cards and another thing to remember.
When we go out at night, if we travel by car and then decide to have some beers, we can phone one of about 20 companies who will send a sober driver to our restaurant and drive us home. We tried this the other night and it was fantastic. To order this service you need to speak Korean or ask a waitress to call them for you.
Expat life is well set up with societies for everything that all have websites and responsive members to help with all newcomers questions: The Royal Asiatic Society for cultural tours, the British Women's Group for networking and the Seoul International Womens Association which includes a working women's network and charity raising activities thrtoughout the year. National societies from all over the world are thriving, websites abound with information on restaurants and bars.
Life here will be as good as we make it. If we work hard, master the language and remain permanently positive, I think we will be very happy. Let's see how I feel when I return.
At ages 5 and 3 their entire life experience has been Asian-based, and so in many ways they will likely see less weirdness than we do. The Koreans are a handsome race - strong-looking and handsome with high cheek bones, generous features and a willingness to smile and laugh heartily and often. I think the girls will be a focus for much attention from people here, but because of the respectful nature of the Koreans, I hope that they will endure less physical touching than they have had to deal with in the past from mainland Chinese in Hong Kong and the gentle Thais. And korean kids are soooo cute in their own way, that perhaps two blonde little western girls will present less of an attraction.
Already I can feel myself adapting to life here. The fashions are very different, and Koreans LOVE their complicated patterns and off-beat cuts. Assymetric tops for ladies are common, and the layered t-shirt effect is common. Lace trim and a colour palette that favours plum, yellow, turquiose green and apricot tones as well as lots of strong spots and stripes make for a colourful and interesting range of attire.
In bureaucratic terms life will likely be easy here. Everything is efficiently set up to provide minimum red tape and fuss. The subway has tickets of course, but once you have a credit card you can use that as your pass to travel eliminating the need for travel cards and another thing to remember.
When we go out at night, if we travel by car and then decide to have some beers, we can phone one of about 20 companies who will send a sober driver to our restaurant and drive us home. We tried this the other night and it was fantastic. To order this service you need to speak Korean or ask a waitress to call them for you.
Expat life is well set up with societies for everything that all have websites and responsive members to help with all newcomers questions: The Royal Asiatic Society for cultural tours, the British Women's Group for networking and the Seoul International Womens Association which includes a working women's network and charity raising activities thrtoughout the year. National societies from all over the world are thriving, websites abound with information on restaurants and bars.
Life here will be as good as we make it. If we work hard, master the language and remain permanently positive, I think we will be very happy. Let's see how I feel when I return.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
6 Beginning to settle
After a weekend of culture shock (and having to basically leave Insadong area after finding it all too weird!), Monday morning felt fine and I headed out into town to explore. Perhaps it is the jet lag lifting, but I felt much happier today to be wandering the streets of Seoul. On Sunday I had experienced a strong desire to go back and sit in our hotel room and watch english-speaking television. This was a very unusual sensation but one which hardworking hubby admitted to also feeling the previous weekend when he had watched three movies back-to-back and only ventured to the basement to buy snacks from the convenience store. People keep telling us that the Bill Murray film Lost in Translation will become our favourite film after living here for a while, and I think I will re-watch it when I am back home.
I can't remember feeling quite so foriegn in a place before. Everyone I see, each person who I watch making their way around Seoul, all the families, friends hanging out and chatting and laughing together - I feel that there is a huge distance until I could even ask them their names, let alone have any understanding of what makes them buzz. Like a vast ocean of cultural differences to cross.
Every night I dream the most wild and crazy dreams: last night I was hit by a truck taking my kids to their new schools and running late (but survived more or less intact) and then had to go and enrol in a new university as a fresher! I think this is a reaction to the changes in my life!
I have just looked back at the title I have given this blog, and realise that I havent written about settling in at all. Perhaps I should be a little more patient.
I can't remember feeling quite so foriegn in a place before. Everyone I see, each person who I watch making their way around Seoul, all the families, friends hanging out and chatting and laughing together - I feel that there is a huge distance until I could even ask them their names, let alone have any understanding of what makes them buzz. Like a vast ocean of cultural differences to cross.
Every night I dream the most wild and crazy dreams: last night I was hit by a truck taking my kids to their new schools and running late (but survived more or less intact) and then had to go and enrol in a new university as a fresher! I think this is a reaction to the changes in my life!
I have just looked back at the title I have given this blog, and realise that I havent written about settling in at all. Perhaps I should be a little more patient.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
5 First weekend in Seoul
So on Friday night we met up with some old friends (from our Brazil and Hong Kong days - hope they dont think we are stalking them!) and went out for dinner in the trendy Apgujeong area. This end of the road was quite different from our Apgujeong experience the other night - there was noone sitting on floors here and the roads were all crammed with big cars manned with drivers who were waiting outside and smoking cigarettes. Quite glitzy and posh prices. Later we went to a wildly expensive cafe for more drinks (see my other blog spot SeoulFoodGuide.blogspot.com for a review). It is all good fun, but even more expensive than Hong Kong or Singapore- the kind of town where people are rich enough to want to show it off by spending. Personally I find cash hard enough to get hold of that I do not share this desire!
Hardworking hubby and I wandered down into Rodeo Drive until we found a groovy little bar with plastic tables and loads of same-age-as-us Koreans having a laugh on a Friday night. It was good to feel that we had landed in normal land, and to see Koreans having fun around us and see that they look pretty OK and fun, actually. They are a fashionable, good looking bunch and I reckon shopping must be a popular past time. The bill in Nori People was more normal too, with beers costing just $3 instead of $15 in the cafe - ouch!
While we were there it started to rain so we were trapped into having another one for the road while we waited for the storm to pass (shame...). As we sat there with rain streaming off the front canopy, a car drove by with a guy sitting on the bonnet for a giggle.
As we left, we got chatting to a drunk fat guy outside the convenience store. He was very jolly and did the usual "where you fom?" "Scotland", "Aaaahhhhh, Scotlan, whisky ha ha ha" exchange, until he tried to say something else which just came out in Korean and basically we were all just too drunk to make it work. Never mind, plenty of time.
We rocked into our apartment at about 2am and didn't surface until the room service lady rang that bloody bell again at 10.50 and burst in - this time round I beat her to it, though, and managed to grab my dressing gown first (so no naked guest thrills/horrors for her that day)!.
Hardworking hubby and I wandered down into Rodeo Drive until we found a groovy little bar with plastic tables and loads of same-age-as-us Koreans having a laugh on a Friday night. It was good to feel that we had landed in normal land, and to see Koreans having fun around us and see that they look pretty OK and fun, actually. They are a fashionable, good looking bunch and I reckon shopping must be a popular past time. The bill in Nori People was more normal too, with beers costing just $3 instead of $15 in the cafe - ouch!
While we were there it started to rain so we were trapped into having another one for the road while we waited for the storm to pass (shame...). As we sat there with rain streaming off the front canopy, a car drove by with a guy sitting on the bonnet for a giggle.
As we left, we got chatting to a drunk fat guy outside the convenience store. He was very jolly and did the usual "where you fom?" "Scotland", "Aaaahhhhh, Scotlan, whisky ha ha ha" exchange, until he tried to say something else which just came out in Korean and basically we were all just too drunk to make it work. Never mind, plenty of time.
We rocked into our apartment at about 2am and didn't surface until the room service lady rang that bloody bell again at 10.50 and burst in - this time round I beat her to it, though, and managed to grab my dressing gown first (so no naked guest thrills/horrors for her that day)!.
4 Stuck in a blog spot
This blogging business is supposed to be so easy, but I cant work out how to put anything on my blog in any order. I also couldnt work out how to switch on my bedside light in this serviced apartment the other day, or work the washing machine or the air conditioning. Am beginning to wonder if I am actually a techno moron after all, having denied it vigorously all my life...
Friday, July 21, 2006
3 Hunting for 'Koppee'
So, Hardworking Hubby has been living her for almost six weeks but has survived on a diet of either business entertaining or convenience store goodies. His preferred Family Mart snack is a pot of instant noodles with an egg cracked in the top - YUCK. There ain't no way I am eating that kind of muck. And even more important than food is getting a good coffee first thing in the morning. In Korea it is called "Koppee" because there is no sound for "f".
Yesterday I had a long search for fresh "Koppee", but was unsuccessful. Even after cunningly stealing some extra coffee bags from under the nose of the room service girl this morning, I knew that we had to do better than that, so today I tracked down the nearest supermarket to us, which is located in the basement of the very, very high end Hyundai Department Store.
My goodness this is an expensive place to live.... last night we stopped in Itaewon area on the way back to the car and bought a small box of Kelloggs bran flakes, 6 bananas and a litre of milk and it cost 9 US dollars. Even after by-passing the banks of perfume and handbags on the way to Hyundai's food court I was prepared to be shocked. Some things are really bad. Olive oil there was US$22 a bottle, fresh koppee was not even on sale (panic), a small box of fresh tomatoes were US$9. Dear me. So I just spent 50 bucks on some fruit, splashed out on a small pot of Pesto and some pasta and then wandered into the adjacent food court trying to sniff out the dumplings.
The food court is full of about 200 different dishes which are all utterly unrecognisable (even the ingredients are so out there that I have no idea what they are - seaweed or tripe, for example, an important diffference to distinguish). I literally sniffed my way around until I got to the familiar odour of soupy noodle dumpling things and pointed at one of the congealed sample dishes. It was pretty yummy although I have decided that small dried fish stirred into anything don't really add much to the dish. Normally I wouldn't put them in, but I have made a promise to myself to be a bit more expansive in my food experimentation here and so I added a few to my soup, ate one and then removed the remaining bits with my chop sticks. Ugh, hate them.
Finished my soup, went to the poshest supermarket toilet I have ever seen which had silver tiles and self flushing loos, and on leaving the establishment, spotted a coffee place with fresh coffee beans on sale. I am now typing with a mug of freshly ground and brewed "Jazz" filter coffee at my side and I am a much happier girl, I can tell you. The coffee cost 30 dollars for one bag, but to off-set this huge outlay, they gave me a free box of dairy creamer..... nice!
Yesterday I had a long search for fresh "Koppee", but was unsuccessful. Even after cunningly stealing some extra coffee bags from under the nose of the room service girl this morning, I knew that we had to do better than that, so today I tracked down the nearest supermarket to us, which is located in the basement of the very, very high end Hyundai Department Store.
My goodness this is an expensive place to live.... last night we stopped in Itaewon area on the way back to the car and bought a small box of Kelloggs bran flakes, 6 bananas and a litre of milk and it cost 9 US dollars. Even after by-passing the banks of perfume and handbags on the way to Hyundai's food court I was prepared to be shocked. Some things are really bad. Olive oil there was US$22 a bottle, fresh koppee was not even on sale (panic), a small box of fresh tomatoes were US$9. Dear me. So I just spent 50 bucks on some fruit, splashed out on a small pot of Pesto and some pasta and then wandered into the adjacent food court trying to sniff out the dumplings.
The food court is full of about 200 different dishes which are all utterly unrecognisable (even the ingredients are so out there that I have no idea what they are - seaweed or tripe, for example, an important diffference to distinguish). I literally sniffed my way around until I got to the familiar odour of soupy noodle dumpling things and pointed at one of the congealed sample dishes. It was pretty yummy although I have decided that small dried fish stirred into anything don't really add much to the dish. Normally I wouldn't put them in, but I have made a promise to myself to be a bit more expansive in my food experimentation here and so I added a few to my soup, ate one and then removed the remaining bits with my chop sticks. Ugh, hate them.
Finished my soup, went to the poshest supermarket toilet I have ever seen which had silver tiles and self flushing loos, and on leaving the establishment, spotted a coffee place with fresh coffee beans on sale. I am now typing with a mug of freshly ground and brewed "Jazz" filter coffee at my side and I am a much happier girl, I can tell you. The coffee cost 30 dollars for one bag, but to off-set this huge outlay, they gave me a free box of dairy creamer..... nice!
2 Life among the Koreans Day Two
I woke up as a bell went off in my room. I didnt know what time it was, or if this was my wake up call, mobile phone or door bell! Totally confused then realised it was room service. Before I could say anything, she had let herself in to see me naked staggering around the room. I think she said, " Oh sorry I will come back in a minute" but cannot be sure, as it was all in a torrent of fast Korean which I am sorry to say I am far from mastering at the moment.
It was 10.50am. Late to wake up.
Found one disgusting coffee bag (who ever thought that coffee could be made in the same way as tea? They are COMPLETELY different drinks) and make the most pathetically weak cup of coffee ever. There is only one coffee bag in the apartment - not enough to get me started really.
Husband phones on my new mobile. The ring tone is set to start with a horse whinnying and then a kind of jolly country and western number. I try to re-set it but the phone seems to be in Korean and I can only get into the call register menu, seemingly no matter what button I press.
I am to meet him for lunch.
I retraced my steps of the previous night to the underground and bought a ticket to Yeoksam Dong, just two stops away. To get there I had to walk through a massive paved square full of stark sculptures, like a massive linked pair of very veiny arms set in concrete. The square is above a huge underground mall called Coex, which features a range of rank looking fast food joints at the entrance to the subway.
The trains are massive and spotless and there are clean toilets on every platform - so efficient.
Get out of the subway and find my way to Star Tower, the font of our destiny in Seoul and where Hardworking will be putting in the hours while we are here. It is pretty smart, playing Schubert in the lobby and immaculately clean. I had to wait for a few minutes and watched the Koreans going in and out. They are all very business suited, Asian style. The men wear outrageous suits - a mixture of shiny suits or crazy pinstripes, with short legged trousers so that you can see their socks. My favourite was an Elvis-style business man with huge gold-framed shades and bracelet, white jacket and chequered black and white trousers over slip on shoes with a woven leather top. His hair was thinning on top and he had a slim, lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth for the whole time I watched him. I wonder what on earth his life is like....
The girls are all wide hipped and slim, young ones wearing pretty floral dresses and cardigans in colours like pastel green, apricot and acid yellow. Older women wear kick-ass suits that look like they are straight out of Armani (and judging by the street of shops which we passed on the way back from Apgujeong the other night, they probably are. In about 10 mins we passed two Louis Vuitton outlets, Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss, Escada, etc etc etc - all of them basically there on one road). The whole place exudes wealth, everyone looks really together and I have only seen one mad old lady on the subway who was walking along with a transistor radio around her neck begging. I havent seen any police yet, but I wonder what happens to vagrants in this part of town - reckon they might be "removed".
We found a dumpling restaurant around the corner from Hardworking's office and sat on chairs this time (Hardworking finds it very hard to cross his legs under a low table!). Delicious dumplings in a thin mushroom soup, filled with chopped pork and garlic and onion. My mouth is watering as I write this since we now have bananas in the apartment and i havent had lunch.
Strangest breakfast I have probably ever eaten, but we went to Coffee Bean afterwards for a reassuringly good coffee (agh, relief!). They call it KOPPEE BEAN on account of there being no "f" sound in korean.
In fact i am so hungry now I am going to take my phrase book out and try to order some more of this top Korean nosh.
It was 10.50am. Late to wake up.
Found one disgusting coffee bag (who ever thought that coffee could be made in the same way as tea? They are COMPLETELY different drinks) and make the most pathetically weak cup of coffee ever. There is only one coffee bag in the apartment - not enough to get me started really.
Husband phones on my new mobile. The ring tone is set to start with a horse whinnying and then a kind of jolly country and western number. I try to re-set it but the phone seems to be in Korean and I can only get into the call register menu, seemingly no matter what button I press.
I am to meet him for lunch.
I retraced my steps of the previous night to the underground and bought a ticket to Yeoksam Dong, just two stops away. To get there I had to walk through a massive paved square full of stark sculptures, like a massive linked pair of very veiny arms set in concrete. The square is above a huge underground mall called Coex, which features a range of rank looking fast food joints at the entrance to the subway.
The trains are massive and spotless and there are clean toilets on every platform - so efficient.
Get out of the subway and find my way to Star Tower, the font of our destiny in Seoul and where Hardworking will be putting in the hours while we are here. It is pretty smart, playing Schubert in the lobby and immaculately clean. I had to wait for a few minutes and watched the Koreans going in and out. They are all very business suited, Asian style. The men wear outrageous suits - a mixture of shiny suits or crazy pinstripes, with short legged trousers so that you can see their socks. My favourite was an Elvis-style business man with huge gold-framed shades and bracelet, white jacket and chequered black and white trousers over slip on shoes with a woven leather top. His hair was thinning on top and he had a slim, lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth for the whole time I watched him. I wonder what on earth his life is like....
The girls are all wide hipped and slim, young ones wearing pretty floral dresses and cardigans in colours like pastel green, apricot and acid yellow. Older women wear kick-ass suits that look like they are straight out of Armani (and judging by the street of shops which we passed on the way back from Apgujeong the other night, they probably are. In about 10 mins we passed two Louis Vuitton outlets, Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss, Escada, etc etc etc - all of them basically there on one road). The whole place exudes wealth, everyone looks really together and I have only seen one mad old lady on the subway who was walking along with a transistor radio around her neck begging. I havent seen any police yet, but I wonder what happens to vagrants in this part of town - reckon they might be "removed".
We found a dumpling restaurant around the corner from Hardworking's office and sat on chairs this time (Hardworking finds it very hard to cross his legs under a low table!). Delicious dumplings in a thin mushroom soup, filled with chopped pork and garlic and onion. My mouth is watering as I write this since we now have bananas in the apartment and i havent had lunch.
Strangest breakfast I have probably ever eaten, but we went to Coffee Bean afterwards for a reassuringly good coffee (agh, relief!). They call it KOPPEE BEAN on account of there being no "f" sound in korean.
In fact i am so hungry now I am going to take my phrase book out and try to order some more of this top Korean nosh.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
1 Just arrived
It has been four days since I stepped on real grass.
Flying to Seoul was great after my wonderful upgrade to business class on not one, but both legs of my flight - what a pleasant way to travel when you are used to the total shag of cattle class.
Our plane from London to Dubai was delayed so me and this cool old barrister from Melbourne drank Moet and chatted away on the runway for two hours while the staff fannied about fixing a small light that wasnt working. Drank so much Moet actually, that I suffered from a rather nasty hangover headache all the way to the middle east... lesson - don't get too excited about business class, you sad loser!
Hardworking hubby had run out of gas on the motorway trying to drive his brand new car on the wrong side of the road from the city he doesn't yet know to the airport, so he wasn't there to meet me. I called him on his mobile as he raced along, foot on the floor. He had driven half way around South Korea trying to find a) gas and b) Incheon Airport (which is disappointingly for him nowhere near the town of Incheon - I couldn't blame him really, an easy assumption to make!). Fortunately, a nice guy helped him back onto the right road by driving through Incheon for 15 minutes leading him back to the motorway.
We cruised the 30kms back into Seoul in no time in our new, sleek, corporate mobile. Compared to our old Mitsubishi truck this car is smooth! It is also very hard to find in carparks as it is exactly the same as all the other corporate mobiles on the roads - a black executive car. Boring but free, so who cares?
We got to our serviced apartment which has a big view of Kangnam-Gu district of Seoul then headed out to find supper. Hardworking as been here for nearly 2 months so I thought he might have somewhere in mind...
We went to Apgujeoung area which he had heard was cool, and had already been there once a while ago. I think we must have come out of the subway on a funny exit because it was pretty unremarkable at first sight. We wandered around and then came across a barbecue place which looked okay and still had some residual diners in it (so we weren't breaking our rule of never eating in a restaurant with no other customers).
It was delicious. Man, Korean barbecue is good. We sat on the floor on either side of a low table which had a cool stainless steel, shiny, mini-chimney sucky thing hanging down from the ceiling above our own little grill to hoover up all the smoke from the meat cooking. Hardworking hubby managed to order some meat and the waitress brought a whole heap of condiments, salads, soups etc for us to eat together with our meat tit bits. Bloody yummy and all washed down with a small bottle of Soju ( the local tipple made with potatoes apparently, not as mad as tequila, kind of like sweet Sake) and a couple of bottles of Cash beer.
Taxi back to the apartment for one more beer, like we really needed it but having so much fun being back together after 6 weeks of almost total separation, and to sleep. So knackereed that going to bed at the equivalent of 4pm made no difference and I slept through the night. Day one in Korea complete!
Flying to Seoul was great after my wonderful upgrade to business class on not one, but both legs of my flight - what a pleasant way to travel when you are used to the total shag of cattle class.
Our plane from London to Dubai was delayed so me and this cool old barrister from Melbourne drank Moet and chatted away on the runway for two hours while the staff fannied about fixing a small light that wasnt working. Drank so much Moet actually, that I suffered from a rather nasty hangover headache all the way to the middle east... lesson - don't get too excited about business class, you sad loser!
Hardworking hubby had run out of gas on the motorway trying to drive his brand new car on the wrong side of the road from the city he doesn't yet know to the airport, so he wasn't there to meet me. I called him on his mobile as he raced along, foot on the floor. He had driven half way around South Korea trying to find a) gas and b) Incheon Airport (which is disappointingly for him nowhere near the town of Incheon - I couldn't blame him really, an easy assumption to make!). Fortunately, a nice guy helped him back onto the right road by driving through Incheon for 15 minutes leading him back to the motorway.
We cruised the 30kms back into Seoul in no time in our new, sleek, corporate mobile. Compared to our old Mitsubishi truck this car is smooth! It is also very hard to find in carparks as it is exactly the same as all the other corporate mobiles on the roads - a black executive car. Boring but free, so who cares?
We got to our serviced apartment which has a big view of Kangnam-Gu district of Seoul then headed out to find supper. Hardworking as been here for nearly 2 months so I thought he might have somewhere in mind...
We went to Apgujeoung area which he had heard was cool, and had already been there once a while ago. I think we must have come out of the subway on a funny exit because it was pretty unremarkable at first sight. We wandered around and then came across a barbecue place which looked okay and still had some residual diners in it (so we weren't breaking our rule of never eating in a restaurant with no other customers).
It was delicious. Man, Korean barbecue is good. We sat on the floor on either side of a low table which had a cool stainless steel, shiny, mini-chimney sucky thing hanging down from the ceiling above our own little grill to hoover up all the smoke from the meat cooking. Hardworking hubby managed to order some meat and the waitress brought a whole heap of condiments, salads, soups etc for us to eat together with our meat tit bits. Bloody yummy and all washed down with a small bottle of Soju ( the local tipple made with potatoes apparently, not as mad as tequila, kind of like sweet Sake) and a couple of bottles of Cash beer.
Taxi back to the apartment for one more beer, like we really needed it but having so much fun being back together after 6 weeks of almost total separation, and to sleep. So knackereed that going to bed at the equivalent of 4pm made no difference and I slept through the night. Day one in Korea complete!
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