we’come Beijing!

After three and a half years here in Seoul, Daddy Cool finally made an appearance ~ and what a jol we had! He arrived just in time for Christmas Eve Dinner at our local Canadian pub with some of my finest colleagues. And of couse, no Seoul-night would be complete without a trip to the Norae Bang to sing a few of our favourite hits. My dad was quite taken with the mic and before long was belting out some of his best songs from his army days. On Christmas day we braved the sub-zero temperatures and headed off to see the sights and sounds of the city.

Dad and the scary palace guard

This is dad with his personal bodyguard outside Gyeongbuk Palace. After walking the tourist traps flat, we then met up with the friendlies Sarah and Mathew for some good old South African boerie & mash and a few Hunter’s Dry. Let’s Merry indeed!
On Monday my friend Scott took my dad off to the biggest techno mart (3000 stores of gadgety things *vom*) for the day and then to the 63 building next to the river - 63 storeys overlooking the city. It was a perfectly clear winter’s day so dad could see Seoul in all its crowded glory. Tuesday was rest day for him, before we went to watch Jump – a taekwondo musical. Yip. A taekwondo musical.What a riot, I tell you, these blokes were backflipping and “crouching tiger, hidden dragon’ing” all over the place. It was impressive and entertaining ~ a must! On Wednesday I took dad down to see a gorgeous Korean folk village, where we came across this chap ~

surprising the cow is a no-no!

Dad got stuck into the Korean food and by the end of his stay he was already a guru with the red pepper sauce that comes with almost all dishes here. I dare say he developed quite a taste for Korean beer as well On Thursday night one of my close Korean friends, Allison took us out for a dinner of sashimi (raw fish) which was magnificent! A great way for my dad to say goodbye to Korea!

And so it was, on an early Friday morning, dad and I scuttled along to catch the train to take us to the airport, braving an astonishingly brisk breeze of about -5 degrees. Yip, the time had come for us to go and see what all the hub-bub is about this place they call The Middle Kingdom, World-taker-over-ers, American Treasury Bond owners, Manufacturers of Everything we consume, or, for an easier name to roll off the tongue ~ China. For dad’s birthday I had sponsored us a 3 day excursion to Beijing and we were in for quite the adventure. Travelling with my dad is a delight, as he is quite a level-headed chap of Springbok Boy Scout qualifications, sturdy English/Scottish origins and almost inexhaustible energy! However, I think Beijing might have almost broken him, as it certainly pushed me to my furtherest limits!

There are just three things you should know about Bejing specifically, and probably China generally:

1. It is BIG. Vastly big. Incredibly vastly big. We made the rookie mistake of thinking we could walk from the train station in the North Eastern corner of the Inner City (inside the 4th ring road that is) to our hotel which was pleasantly located right next to the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square, which appeared to be only 4 or 5 blocks away. (Thank you www.agoda.com). And so we set off, eyes agog with the heaving mass of cars and people around us, dodging bicycles and motorbikes and errant pedestrians. We walked in the general direction of where our hotel and the other huge and significant landmarks should be but after about 45 minutes came to the startling realisation that we had made absolutely no significant progress towards our destination. And as if to prove just how far we still had to go, we jumped in a taxi that DROVE for a further 20 minutes to get us to our hotel. Ok, so we underestimated that one, but surely it can’t all be that far. It is, in fact, all that far.

The Olympic Boulevard, which is home to the impressive Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, took us a full half hour to get to the end of it so we could crawl into a taxi again. Remember, I said boulevard. That very same public place in various locales where people come to gather and frolic. It is a size in itself, such that the impressive Bird’s Nest becomes more of a little wire ball balancing precariously near the top left corner of an incredible enormous open paved park area. We did wonder if all 1.3billion Chinese had been invited to a pre-Olympics celebration party which would explain the sheer space surrounding the Olympic venues.

the nest lights up at night

2. One of the most colossal understatements of the last few millenia is The Great Wall of China. Whoever came up with that unimpressive moniker had either never even seen an average garden wall in Bryanston, Johannesburg or he, quite literally, was short on space on his pigeon-carrier report to be sent back home. It takes a while to appreciate because it is physically (and mentally) impossible to take the enormity of the wall all in.

Initially, we trotted up and down a little and commented on the apparent lack of logic considering the rocky mountains alone should have kept even the hardiest of Genghis Khan’s soldiers out. But it is not it’s purpose which is impressive, it is the very wall itself: 4000kms of stone wall running along mountain ridges, exposed to some of the most brutal climates on this planet, and equipped with sufficient guard houses and sentry posts so as to keep the capital safe (via smoke signal alerts, one assumes ~ although, knowing the Chinese they may well have had smart phone technology back then and were just waiting for the markets to improve before launching it). Solid stone stacked way up high by manual labour, which as we know that country has in spades! It was quite a feeling to be up there, and the afterglow of our feat numbed the sting of watching my dad being ripped off by the hawkers selling “I climbed the Great Wall” t-shirts when we got back down.

The Forbidden City, on the other hand, is not wrongly named ~ at least in the city part. I learned today (from wiki) that is it 720,000 square metres which is an impressive and stately size to call home. Due to time constraints ~ i.e. wasting a lot of time trying to walk everywhere instead of conceding defeat and getting into a taxi immediately ~ we decided to march on through the City to the park at the north gate where we could climb up Jingshan hill and look over the city. Well, that little jaunt took us almost an hour!!! And we walked straight through, no lollygagging about and just a few brief stops to read some plaques and comment on their inefficient fire-fighting equipment of large copper cauldrons. I mean c’mon – even with an abundant supply of people who the hell can lift a massive copper cauldron filled with water and pour it over the top of a burning palace? Not such smarties after all!

My dad is standing to the left of the little red house, waving. Apparently.

But is it big enough?? Lawdy. The park was a delight as we got to see the Chinese doing what they’d usually do early on Sunday mornings ~ Tai Chi (seriously), ball games and skipping, watermark calligraphy of chinese characters on the paving, and of course the ubiquitous smoking and spitting *gag*. We came across 2 buskers who entertained us with some ditty which, to my untrained ear, sounded a lot like this ~ ding ching wing bing Beijing sing ling ting Beijing. I could be wrong. They were the ones who gave us the glorious “we’come Beijing” welcome. Funny blokes those!

3. Lastly, but certainly not least, the third thing about that place which stays with you until you get home to your shower and scrub it all off is the dirtiness of it all. And not sexy Christina Aguilera diRRRRty. I mean Nasty Miss Jackson  dirty. *gag gag*. The subway stations are ankle deep in trash and discarded food, and don’t even get me started on the public toilets. Actually, I can’t get started on that because I was never brave enough to use one. However, Daddy Cool did and let me tell you, the look on his face when he came trembling out was enough to scar me for a lifetime. I think he’ll have some PTSD for years to come so those of you that want to hear a real war story, have a few GnT’s with him one day and he might let you in on the darkest moment of his life – those 5 minutes in the public toilets at a Beijing station.

Oh wait, there’s another really important thing to know before visiting Beijing… They haven’t yet embraced the global communication tool commonly known as English. Actually, I lie. They have.

thanks to Google Translate, English speakers are warned sufficiently

In our 2.5 days and 2 nights there, the most helpful sign we came across was when we were in the airport (leaving) and there was a sign on the floor that said “International Departures 2flr”. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is no lie. The Middle Kingdom is putting up a brave fight against the global imposition of English over their multiple-tones, 4000 character language. I can only assume that for the Olympic Games they had some stick on signs directing people because if it was anything like the city I just left then it would have been complete and utter mayhem.

And of course… the food. Referring to my previous commentary on the obvious and blatant lack of hygiene, health and safety, it should therefore come as no surprise that Father and I only ate 1 truly Chinese meal ~

Peking Duck

And it was mouth-wateringly delicious!! *drool* But then we made the mistake of taking an after dinner stroll down a little street market in Wanfungjing, and if the sights weren’t enough to take your appetite away the smell certainly did it for me! It may come as no surprise to hear that after this little jaunt the next day we feasted on a delicious meal from McDingfungling ~ those golden arches were a sight for growling bellies, let me tell you! I never thought I see the day when I actually thanked the server for my heart-attack on a bun!

no comment.

The second evening, after a hard day walking the wall and Olympic park, we popped into a delightful little pub for some of China’s finest draft beer (they certainly do make a delicious beer, those chaps!) and a pizza rather than drop into a local restaurant and sample their offerings uninformed and unprepared. China is definitely a place where it would be of unimaginable gratification (and probably safety) to have someone in the know on your side, speaking your language, to take you to the right place to have a bowl of noodles and a few dumplings without taking your life into your hands!

And now we come to the end. My photos are here if you feel like a trip through our holiday ~ I’ll also eventually get some up on facebook too. The big question remains ~ will I go back. For sure. My uncle Tim is now living in Guangzhou (sic??) and he’s almost a local after years of bouncing around Shanghai and Taiwan. But there is no amount of love nor money that would make me live there. Even if the Party Faithfuls call me up their very selves and offered me the eternal position of English language consultant to the Middle Kingdom. Its never going to happen. And I never like to say never but this time you can bet your bottom Yuan, I’ll never call China home!

Happy birthday dada xxx

rocking out

Happy 2012 everyone ~ love and light to you all and may it be a prosperous and happy year for you and yours!

Istanbul (not Constantinople)…

In a nutshell~ the sights are incredible, the men are invasive, the food is addictive, the beer is delicious, the traffic is psychotic, the vibe in winter is not so great… I think other times will be better without the winter rain… but its still warmer than here -> it was 7 degrees!

Ok… clearly there is more to it than that… the sights are interesting, unique, beautiful, and totally foreign BUT the traffic is a nightmare and winter rain is going to put a damper on anything… pun intended! To put you in the loop, I was sent to Turkey by my company WITH the President and the Director of Direct English Korea, as well as Ruda who is in charge of academic development, and also happens to be the daughter of the Pres. This is team Korea~

Unfortunately, the company who was hosting the conference (our main purpose for going all the way there) screwed up monumentally by launching online products that DE Korea has been using for years already. Big effing wow! Enough about work though… we had 2.5 days to tour the city and we did just that! I confused everyone… hanging out with 3 Koreans, looking very Middle Eastern, but ek kan did taal praat as een van daie bladdie doos’es wat binne in die Grand Bazaar werk wat raak my kwaad wanneer hulle probeer om Dutch te praat*. I’m from SOUTH AFRICA you winner, not the NETHERLANDS. Geography anyone? Most of the men had 3 “lines” for me to buy their stuff (which was identical to the stuff around their stall/shop/barrow) 1. Wow, where are you from? Paradise? (I kid you not). 2. You’re so beautiful, come here and see what I have. (concise, to the point, ambiguous) 3. “insert Turkish/Spanish/Arabic/Italian pick-up line” here. (Dude, I have no effing idea what you just said, but No.) However, I think I could pull the look off quite well if I had to…

Some interesting things about Istanbul~ it is the only city to straddle two continents and the Bosphorus River cuts in in half (not equally) flowing from the Black Sea up north to the Sea of Marmara down south (which eventually ends up in the Med) but it also has another body of water, The Golden Horn, which cuts the European side into the top two thirds of modern, later development and the lower third which is where most of the history and sights are. There are about 13million people who call this city home, and there are about 6million cars. Are you getting a picture yet? Now picture this people… THEY ONLY HAVE 4 BRIDGES!!!!!!!!! Ya… 2 across the Bosphorous and 2 across the Golden Horn. Sure, there are a bunch of ferries crossing the water… but 4 bridges… 6 million cars… Seoul has 19 bridges, some of which are for trains, and we still sit in traffic getting from one side to the other. Can you imagine the traffic problem in Istanbul? This is the view from the hotel’s restautant – rainy winter’s day as well~

Anyhoo… I’m no town planner, but I think they should consider building another bridge or two. Another thing you’ll notice in the city, in abundance, are fat, healthy, well-fed, stray cats! Yip… the city is theirs to frolic about to their heart’s content without a worry in the world. In the Qur’an there is something about cats being special (I could go into more detail about it, but it a long and winding story… wiki it here ) and so they are everywhere. This particular one caught my attention – I’m not a cat person, but this guy is living the good life~

Here are my piccies ~ I tried to be a real tourist and snap away, and I think I did a good job! If you’re not into old buildings or art, or you’re a little hungry right now, don’t go through these pics! Turkish food is certainly one of the top 5 cuisines in the world! Its ridiculous how awesome the food is….

Their local beer, Efes, is in my top 5 beers ever.

Another interesting thing is that according to Islam, artists could not depict human form, hence the magnificent mosaics that are painted onto tiles, which then adorn the palaces, mosques and various other places. It is exquisite, the detail is amazing. The colour red was only introduced much later, so all the early stuff is in various shades of blues and greens set on white tiles. My pictures don’t do this beauty any justice, sorry, but these were some that took my already taken away breath even more away… do you get me?

And this one also…

And the ceilings were a sight on their own. The details were not lost at all, despite the height of some of these domes, and the fact that everything was still so brilliant and clear after hundreds of years is testament to the artists’ skills.

We were lucky enough to see an exhibition of the Qur’an from the last 1400years… it was really amazing! Again, my photos don’t do these delicate and elaborate pieces of work any justice, but I hope you can get some of my impression from these~

and this one also, see the case it comes it~

Wow~ there is so much to say about all of this. The Qur’an, as a piece of art, is in a league of its own! I think you’re getting the idea though~ Istanbul is a city to see things! Rain and sh*tty traffic aside, the sights are amazing. We went on a cruise up the Bosphorous River, and took in the historical significance of Istanbul~ not only as the gateway from Europe to Asia, but also the fine balance between Christian and Islamic beliefs, and old and new lifestyles, all co-existing. There are few skyscrapers, and the apartment buildings are seldom taller than 6 storeys.

The taxis are all Hyundai Accents (the smallest sedan on the market, in the world, ever) and the drivers aren’t really into following universally accepted road rules. This provides one with some entertainment when trying to cross a road, because in many instances the pedestrian crossing is indicated with a SIGN rather than the more useful, less deadly, TRAFFIC LIGHT… Tell that to the guy speeding towards you at 80km/hr… “look at the sign! look at the sign!”

The bazaars (Grand and Spice) are something else. I’m not a fan of crowds, men who have no concept of pesonal space, or bargaining, so I wasn’t really all that excited about going into the Grand Bazaar. Not only is it the oldest covered bazaar in the world, but it also has over 4000 shops (yes, that says four THOUSAND) and hundreds of streets to get lost in so it is almost impossible to go out the same gate you went in. It looks much like this…

The Spice Bazaar was much more interesting for me. The smells were intoxicating, and the sights were mouthwatering. Towers of Turkish Delight, piles of spices, racks of dried garlic/tomatoes/other things, shelves of tobacoo for the famed nargilahs (water pipes- hookah) and more…

and more…

I think you’re getting the idea hey! Istanbul is a place to visit for sure~ roll with it, the noise, the smells, the traiffic. But… don’t go in winter… rain is not fun for touring. But go… go go go!

at our last dinner, the restaurant put these on our table!

the one when Tanya came to visit

my cousin Tanya arrived last Saturday, and so began a whirlwind tour of Korea. But first… I went to my ex-colleague (T.T) Jason’s wedding which was a traditional Korean wedding! Have a look at these piccies to see him and hi lovely wife Sunah saying “I do” Korean style. It was very interesting and beautiful

Anyway… back to Tanya. We went out for dinner with my colleague Allison and a new friend from Dubai, Kat and of course… WE WENT TO NO RAE BANG!!! Tanya was a bit shy at first (and jet-lagged) so she was camera-shy… but I was not and am not… here I am rocking out to “I want to break free” (one of my top 5 No Rae Bang songs)…

The photos tell the story of what we saw, but they don’t quite capture the humour… Tanya arrives and as soon as I see her, I remember she had MAJOR back surgery a few short years ago… and I don’t have a bed. I’ve really taken to this whole “sleeping on the floor on a thin mat” thing which the Koreans have going (although msot of them have a bed now!). The poor girl had to sleep on the floor for 8 nights, because I had booked us into traditional Korean houses and inns to stay in while travelling… sans beds!  But other than this major eff-up, I managed to get us around Korean using my Korean… and since I’m sitting safely at my desk typing this and Tanya is safely in one piece on her flight back to Singapore, I can assume that I can speak Korean well enough to feed us (well), get us drunk, have great accommodation (albeit it on the floor), travel well, and see awesome things. Yay me *^^*

Anyway, moving along. On Monday we were to begin the first leg of our journey around Korea. We were taking the high-speed train (300km/hr) down to Gyeongju, which is the old capital of Shilla which was one of the biggest and most powerful countries in historical Korea. (note- the name Korea is very new, a few hundred years old, where as Koreans can trace their history back more than 5000yrs.). Gyeongju was interesting and nice. But our next port of call was Jeonju, and I fell in love with this city the moment we arrived! We took a super frindly taxi to the Hanok Village (hanok = traditional Korean house) and when our hostess came to pick us up and found out we were South African she hugged us tightly, and with a squeal informed us she’s been to CAPE TOWN and she wants to go back ASAP. How lovely is that! This village is historical, as well as beautiful and has delicious food everywhere. And of course… it has bokbunja, which is a delicious wine made from rasberries… meant for sipping after dinner… not for throwing back while laughing and crying our way through “the old days” and our crazy (but lovable) family. Let it be known, if you come and visit me, we will go to Jeonju!

We got back late Thursday night, and our weary but happy bodies sank to the floor (lol) asleep in moments. On Friday we were up and at ‘em early bells for our trip up north. Now this is when things get a bit serious. But first let me tell you about our guide, Laura. She was brilliant, that perfect combination of information and humour that makes a tour go perfectly! She giggled at her own jokes, which considering that her English was very good was even more funny. She was strict when needed ~ “no pictures now! Don’t wave your arms! Don’t point! NO PICTURES PLEASE!!!” and very cool when she could be “ok, you’re safe now, you can point anytime! lol” For me, having lived in Korea for well over 2 years now and having learnt all about the war and the last 60 years from my students and a long-cultivated interest in international relations, has given me a kind of sensitivity about the whole North-South thing. It was very tough going into the main MAC building in the Joint Security Area~ standing on the North Korean side and seeing South Korea. It is so sad to imagine the impact of the war, the 60year cease-fire (no peace treaty has been signed to date), and the current situation in North Korea. Ok… too heavy. Sorry. The bright side was the cute soldier who was a our guard/guide and of course, Laura. She was top drawer!

On Saturday I took Tanya up to Kukkiwon, which is the world headquarters for Taekwondo, and we got to see an hour of training and meet some guys from other countries who were here training.  Super interesting, and oh so Korean! But before you know it, it was time to take Tanya off to the airport again… well to the bus that would take her to the airport. It was a fun week, interesting and challenging. So you can check out our photos here. Apparently, a lot of people thought we were sisters… I don’t see it!

the one my new laptop :D

I am such a loyalist… 6yr3m ago, I bought my first laptop. It was a Dell latitude, from my dear friend Bruco, and that old girl worked like a trojan horse, let me tell you. I don’t think a day has gone by when she wasn’t turned on, music blaring, movies showing (recently), documents/reports being typed, HR issues being researched (previously). There was one dark moment, about 4 years ago when the dreaded BLUE SCREEN arrived, and we had the whole “have you done a defrag recently” conversation with my techie guy. But other than that, she went the distance, and Dell can be proud.

So it was without a doubt that I would only consider getting another Dell, when my old lady started freezing on me, hanging, slowing down and generally spluttering to a halt on Friday the 13th (coincidence? I think not…). So… I got help from my Dell Korea students and attempted to order a new Dell. One small problem. In Korea… they speak Korean. :P  And, according to Dell Korea, English is not a consideration. At all.  So… I had a 35 minute convo with a super English-speaking saleslady who guided me to the ONLY WAY I could get a computer whose operating system could be changed to English, after delivery. Good grief… And then the hunt for English-MS Office… Again… Korea is under the impression that no English-speaking people would purchase these products in this country. Fortunately for facebook status updates… and fantastic friends who work in MS South Africa!! Thanks Heath you’re a star!

So… last week was my birthday (thanks for all the wishes and thoughts) and I just have to say that in the last year since birth-month celebrations last year and birth-3-day celebrations this year, a lot seems to have changed. I didn’t notice much a difference between 29 and 30, or even 30-31-32-33… but turning 34 seemed to be a completely different ball-game. Firstly, I only drank a tenth of my body-weight. Some of you may remember last year that I drank like a first-year for a month (and most of the preceeding years). Despite going to my trusty old WC Bar for cocktails until 2am, I was up and at ‘em on Friday and had a chilled dinner with colleagues and friends on Friday night again. Nothing major, no 5am power-drinking marathons, no 1 hour’s sleep, no extended celebrations. Sad? I THINK NOT! Apparently, it has taken the better part of 34 years, but my body and mind are finally in sync about the dreaded hangover. Neither of us want it. My body never really wanted it, but my mind was always like “c’mon, lets have another one!!!” Not anymore!!

This could have something to do with the running (which is not going great at the moment by the way, but I am hoping to redeem myself tomorrow morning when I do a 10km race just near the beautiful DMZ -> before you panic about North Korea, we are in a secretly secluded spot far from the maddening crowds!) It might also have a lot to do with the cost of my impending studies… an astonishing $12,000! Doesn’t leave much room for frivolous spending anymore :S But mostly, it dawned on me a few months ago that, in fact, I am no longer a spring chicken! I don’t have a problem with this, don’t get me wrong, on the contrary I am reveling in my thirties and the comfortable and confident place I find myself in. Its just that… well alcohol takes a lot longer to work its way out of my system nowadays. And it usually demands an accompaniment of a three-hour headache and possibly an upset stomach for a morning at least. It also requires a quick scan through my phone to see who I phoned (Melissa, inevitably) and then my wallet to see the financial damage of my escapade. And so I find myself wrapping the night out with friends up at a respectable 11pm, mentally calculating what time I’ll be home, how long it’ll take to ablute and deconstruct my face (another requirement, by the way, because some naughty lines have take up residence below my eyes which I’m trying to evict. But I digress…) and get into bed. I need at least 20 minutes to read, and then its lights out. Hopefully before 12am, because I am up at 6am most mornings. Yes… I think about these things, and calculate times, and start getting a little edgy if the night starts getting longer. A little sad?

I DON’T THINK SO!!! I love the new me . I love that I ran 21kms, that I love my job, that I’m going to study, that I have a cosy little house that I’ve turned into a home and will soon have some visitors! I love that I can help my family, buy lots of books, fit into clothes 1 size smaller (even if the scale doesn’t corroborate) and generally just feel great. Don’t get me wrong… I will never turn my back on red wine or champers (or beer or soju, for that matter). They have stood by through thick and thin (mostly thick, these last few years), the good times and the bad, and they have an important place in mylife! But now they make up a much smaller part of my life’s activities, and that, I think, is the true difference between 33 and 34~ I’ve grown up a little!

Love and light to everyone, as always, and I hope to put some piccies up soon of my forthcoming trip to the East Coast of Korea. xxxx

2nd worst blogger in history

after my brother, who only blogged 3 times before quitting. I’ve at least lasted longer than that although the frequency of my writing is become less and less. I’m a busy chick… and I’m a bit of a runner now! I just ran a half marathon on the lovely little island south of Korea – Jeju - which I finished in 2h40m. Not a record-breaking time but good enough .

I was also recently promoted to Training Manager of my company Direct English. This is great because I get to train the new teachers before they go to their branches, as well as still teach my students! All of my favourite things rolled up into one groovy job. I also moved to the early shift, which means I finish work at 4 or 5pm unless I am training new teachers. So I have evenings free to do fun things like have dinner with friends, go to the gym/yoga/screen golf or take a ride to the river. Or just laze about at home, enjoying the balmy summer evenings and thinking about honour and its place in the World Cup after some seriously questionable displays of sportsmanship all in the name of winning.  You know, topics like that which require a bottle or 2 of red wine and some good friends to truly get to the bottom of!

Watching the World Cup being held in my home country from another, far away (7hours ahead) country has really made me realise a few things. Firstly~~ I am proudly South African! I was super excited to tell everyone and anyone within conversational distance (which, with my voice, is quite far!) that I was South African! Secondly, I was so proud of Bafana  Bafana! I will be honest and say upfront that I didn’t hold out much hope for them being the least experienced and least qualified side in the tournament. But… the first game against Mexico was so exciting and thrilling and they played out of their socks!! I realised our boys had taken that big step towards Big Match Temperament! Due to the dastardly effect of time difference, their game against Ur-a-cheater was at 3.30am so I missed it, and luckily I did because when I opened news24.com the next morning to a picture of Itumeleng Khune crying after being red carded, I first cried a little and then I turned my death-glare onto the “you-know-who’s” from South America and nothing could be said to persuade me otherwise!

The game against France was monumental. I went to my new local, and when we won I was cheered as if I myself had just sent the Blues home.  Short of being hoisted onto shoulders, I enjoyed the attention that comes with not only winning but beating one of the highest ranked sides in the tournament AND holding (I quote) one of the most thrilling world cups ever! (According to my colleague-in-the-know of all things football Jason) So what if we are the first host team not to go to the final 16. Screw the final 16~~ WE BEAT FRANCE! Plus… we hosted/are hosting a top drawer sporting event that has made ALL my Korean friends and students want to come and visit. WELL DONE SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Anyway… back to me (it is my blog, afterall). Around all this promotion/half marathon running time I decided to do my Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language! Yip… from next March I am hoping to enroll into the MA programme at a renown university here and complete my masters part-time. Wowzers trousers… its all hapening hey! This means I will be running short on that valuable commodity time, and it also means I will probably be staying in Korea until June 2012… but I am already planning a visit home next Aug or Sept… sounds faraway, but time really does fly. I mean.. its already July for crying out loud!!!

Other than that… not much. North Korea is not as much of a real threat as the UK and US reporters would have you all believe. I appreciate all the messages about my safety~~ but we’re all good here. I’m more worried about their soccer team ~ instead of braodcasting the game against Brazil which they narrowly lost 2-1, they showed the game against “the most expensive non-performer in the world cup, with Rooney and Messi” and his team Portugal annihilate North Korea 7-0. This is a big worry, as reports from 1966 say that that World Cup team, who sent Italy packing back then, lost to Portugal after a night of alleged drunk and disorderly behaviour and as a result they were invited to spend 10 years in a luxury HARD LABOUR CAMP! So… lets hope these chaps are better off!

ok peeps… my bike is calling… love and light, and apologies for being the Ronaldo of bloggers! Oh wait, I didn’t have a kid to take the attention off what a disaster I am. Ok… the Messi of bloggers then. xoxoxoxoxoxo

the one about the Thailand trip…

Everyone has an image about Thailand, and lately that image has been a bit tainted what with all the restless natives rioting and spilling/throwing/drawing blood. Well, let me tell you that whatever you have imagined about Thailand, Koh Phi Phi is ten times better! Not only were the Thais we met the friendliest and most chilled out people in the world, but they appeared to have less than zero interest in what was happening in Bangkok, and probably wouldn’t know a red-shirt if it sat down next to them. I LOVE IT!

So… for some reason unknown to anyone in the Eastern hemisphere, Korea only has flights to Phuket that arrive at 1am. Which means we had to spend a night in Phuket… and then catch the ferry out to Phi Phi the next day. Not such a hardship, I might add, considering the hotel we stayed in had an infinity pool overlooking the beach which allowed my travel weary body to unwind almost immediately. Oh, we also had the first of our MANY thai massages… lawdy, they are addictive!

Off we set on the ferry – now I have been know to suffer from motion sickness (just ask my poor orthodontist who for 2 years had to check my braces after I been sick during the trip to Durban from Eshowe!) Jane – my travel partner and dear Korean friend – had some plasters for behind your ears to prevent motion sickness, and let me tell you  they worked a treat! Thus the ferry ride was quite spectacular and makes for quite the entrance when you approach Phi Phi Island!

We stayed in a superb hotel called Phi Phi Cabana Hotel which was perfect~ close enough to the beach to frolic hourly, close enough to “town” to shop, drink, watch shows, bump into South Africans from East London, watch the world go by while nursing a cold Singha beer… If you’re going to Phi Phi, best you stay in the Cabana!! Thailand is cheap, hot, and easy-going…. the way I like my holidays (and men, if I were to be honest ! The food is lovely but you already know that because Thai food is certainly one of the top 5 cuisines in the modern world, and an authentic Thai Green curry goes a long way in cementing that status! Accompanied with a cold Singha and it is not hard to see why some people arrive on the holiday for an intended 5 day break, and land up staying a couple of months!

Now there is one person who most certainly CANNOT and SHOULD NOT go to Thailand, and that is my darling sister Bronwyn Arde! A few years ago there was a joke doing the rounds of a chap ordering room service from his hotel in Thailand, and the hilarity that ensued with the order-taker’s pronunciation. Bronwyn cannot hear or read or tell that joke without collapsing in a fit of giggles. I learned first-hand that while the Thais love to speak to the tourists – so don’t be alarmed to hear them calling out Jewish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, English, German, French and Spanish greetings – their English pronunciation is HILARIOUSLY cute. So different and odd that Jane could barely understand a word, and most people just nodded gamely at our guide on the day-trip we took. Bronwyn would absolutely die of laughter when being spoken to, and probably have to run off to the loo all the time! Sorry for you Bron

We took a half-day snorkelling and kayaking trip which was exquisite. Again, our guide’s pronunciation left us wondering most of the time what we were going to be doing (besides the obvious of snorkelling and kayaking, which we already knew from the poster!) but he was a doll and so enthusiastic for us to have the most fun ever! We did. We snorkelled in tropical waters, kayaked into secret bays, frolicked on the very beach that Leo arrived on in his movie a few years back, swam with some turtles, and generally just had a rollicking good time! Well, its hard not to have a good time when you meet fellow-travellers from all corners of the earth, jump off yachts into a clear ocean, colour your lily-white, winter-dry skin with some perfect Thai sun, and let the gentle waves wash you up onto the beach  every now and then to wake you from a beauty-mesmerised induced stupor!

In 4 days we managed to fit in 6 hours worth of massages. I didn’t see a single temple, nor elephant, nor cabaret show featuring the finest lady-boys the island has to offer. But my trip was perfection personified and relaxing beyond imagination. I did see some lady-boys, but sadly I wasn’t able to see them dancing or performing, and I certainly can’t verify the ping-pong ball projection rumour. I will return one day, with this sole purpose in mind, to do such but until then I am happy to have been served beer by a pretty girl with a slight Adam’s apple, sat next to a lovely “lady” with big hands and seen a waitress wearing a cute little dress with her apron over it and only when she spoke did I hear the distinct rumbling voice of a man!

Although not so rumbling because Thai is quite the sing song language! It is referred to as a tonal language, because it has 5 tones (ascending, descending, high, low and flat) and consequently each character/letter can have different meanings depending on the tone. Reading it is virtually impossible because it is merely a collection of squiggles and curls, with some decorative stuff above or below some words. When we discovered a few days later that Thai is read from right to left it made absolutely no difference to my level of incomprehension. Once again I am eternally grateful I chose to come to Korea because Korean, despite having horribly difficult grammar rules, is infinitely easier to read and write that most other Asian languages!

On a final note, I will admit that in our 4 day break I managed to fit in 5 massages including a 2 hour guy just before we went to the airport. Call it over-indulgence if you must, but I tell you… if I could have I would have brought one of those Thai ladies (real ones) home in my bag. Heavenly….

Ok… here are some photos, but once again I willdraw your attention to the fact that I am not a photographer. Jane on the other hand took over 400 photos, so I will get some of hers too and load them here. I was too busy relaxing and holidaying to think about taking pictures! xoxoxoxoxo

the one about being an outsider…

A few days ago, the lovely editor of SA Promo mag, Sue, sent me the blurb for this month’s article request. In a nutshell -> “What would it take for you to come home / what’s stopping you from coming home?”

Immediately, I started banging away on my keyboard for about 15 seconds before I came to a grinding halt. Whoa-f**ken-whoa… this is a heavy question and a hell of a hard one to answer. So I have been stewing over it for a couple of weeks now, and here is my take on it… Enjoy. Warning~ get some drinks and snacks before you start reading!

Firstly… I have been fortunate to travel to some beautiful places in South Africa and if the truth be told, they are no more beautiful than places I’ve seen in other countries. Sitting on the beach watching the sun setting over the Indian ocean with a cold savana in my hand is just as breath-taking as watching it from a beach in Bali or Mauritius. Standing on top of the Drakensberg, early in the morning, after a night spent in a cave, watching the mist settle and the pink glow change to orange stills the mind and quietens the heart as much as sleeping in the Sinai desert under a blanket of summer stars. The vast expanse of the Karoo disappearing over the horizon under a cloud of red dust is matched by the devastatingly desolate Negev Desert in Israel. So no… I don’t yearn for South Africa’s geography.

Politically, South Africa’s sometimes idiotic, partly incompetent, often embarrassment of a government is nothing unique or special. Thailand, with one of the world’s highest HIV+ rates just held a blood protest where they threw litres upon litres of blood at goverment buildings in a protest against that country’s PM. My current host country’s politicians are renown for the shame they bring to the citizens with their antics in parliament which include (but are not limited to) opening fire extinguishers on each other, breaking down doors to enter closed oposition meetings, and various other high-jinx which should only be found on a primary school playground! The United States just passed a law entitling another 30million citizens to health care, which has taken more than 60 years to pass. Yes… SIXTY YEARS! The Republicans have fought it tooth and nail because, in essence, they and their constituents will now rake in far less profits than ever before. As for Europe… where does one start when commenting on the behaviour, corruption, mismanagement etc. in their respective governments. So no, it is not SA politics and our Lothario President that is keeping me from returning home.

Is it the crime? Well, good question. I have been hijacked at gunpoint, as was my 84 year old gran, and my cousin, and my friends… the list goes on. However, my Korean colleague  told me on Friday how she was so tired because the night before her brother’s apartment had been burgled and they took everything. Iwas so shocked and devastated - South Korea always seems so safe and crime-free to me. Nope, crime happens here. Recently the country was rocked by some horrific crimes involving rape and murder of children.  Lets not even get started on the crimes stats for the USA or the UK… and do you really want me to dole out the figures of crime China, India, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico and Columbia. Believe me, South Africa is not the most dangerous country in the world, as some tabloids and big-mouthed, small-brained social commentators would have you believe.

Is it the persistent racism that is keeping me away. Maybe. South Africa is not alone in it’s racial intolerance and xenophobic attitude. Almost every other African country has similar sentiments. But… so do countries the world-over. Again, my host country has daily accounts in the newspaper of the unjust treatment meted out to the cheap labour from South East Asia. Atrocious examples of exploitation and abuse of segregated communities in first world countries top newspaper headlines everyday, and it would appear that no government has learned from history with regards to the millions upon millions of lives lost just because of a person’s race or ethnicity. Essentially, their skin colour. So no, not really. Julius Malema is no more of a racist ignoramus than other political leaders across the globe.

The list of comparisons and contrasts could go on for pages and days. And my answer is not to be found anywhere amongst them. So why did I leave South Africa in the first place? Well, after 8 years of dealing with the bureacracy that is the South Africa SETAs and the frustrations borne from the Employment Equity Act and BEE requirements, enough was enough. Just as an accountant would tire of Trev’s tax laws, and a lawyer would succumb to the absurdity that is the CCMA. I was tired of my career. I didn’t know what else I wanted to do that would make enough money for me to live comfortably, so I decided to come and teach here in South Korea. Simple as that. A chance to experience a new culture, explore a new corner of the world, and expand my horizons a little. No hard feelings South Africa, I still love you, but right now I need something else!

Will I come back? Now this is the toughie. Yes, I’m an outsider here~ I don’t speak their language fluently. I don’t understand their culture totally, or even just a little sometimes! I probably won’t find a boyfriend here because of language/culture/social and various other barriers, so even though I make friends and have good times, I am always ALONE. But isn’t that what travelling is about? How would I experience Korea if I spent time with South Africans, doing South African things, and rehashing home stories? I want to see the world, see how people live and learn and love and laugh, and the way to do it is to let go of attachments and move amongst strangers.

There is much to see. Much to do. Many people to meet, even if it is just a fleeting aquaintance. Yesterday, I sat next to a chap on the subway and I recognized a picture in his book of Cape Town. So I told him (in bad Korean) that I was South African, and asked if he was going there. We chatted (poorly) for twenty minutes, and then he got off at his stop. And I smiled, because for 20m minutes I had bonded with a total stranger over my country. Its like a high, without the munchies afterwards

One day I’ll come home. Afterall, home is where the heart is, and my heart is with my friends and family. Wherever they are, I am home. And when I come back, I’ll be that much more experienced and enriched and I can’t wait to share that with other South Africans!

the one about my Lunar New Year’s experience

This past weekend was the Korean Lunar New Year (more commonly known as the Chinese New Year) and for more information on this holiday you can read my blog post on the fabulous SAPromo website. My super friend Jane invited me to her family for the weekend, mostly so I could experience 설날 (Sollal) but also because we had a long weekend so I could just chill out really! 

Jane has 2 older brothers, each of whom have one kiddie~ CuBin is 9yrs and SoEe is nearly 4. Here they are getting ready to bow to their elders as a sign of respect as well as quick money-spinner, as they get some cash from everyone! 

here they are getting ready to bow.

Because it is rather expensive, not many adults dress up in their Hanbok but the kiddies do for these high-days and it is lovely to see them all out and about, like little dolls!

This is not all the food we ate!! Amazingly enough, everytime a dish was nearly empty another replaced  it! I could hardly roll home! And of course… we drank~~ soju, makkeolli (rice wine), beer, and even some Nederburg Cabertnet which I had brought as a gift for Jane’s parents! I don’t think we mixed our alcohol enough

Jane's family, the food and drinks, and the obligatory drama on in the background!

And after all the eating… we then play GOSTOP! This is a fun traditional game involving gambling skill which I don’t have, as well as a thorough knowledge of what the cards all mean! But I had no shortage of helpers… and Jane’s mom made sure I left with a pocket full of 100 won coins!

These were the pros!!

It really was one of the most amazing Korean experiences I’ve had in my 20 months here… an opportunity to see how families live in Korea. Perhaps not surprisingly, I think my experience was identical to my own family during festive occasions ~ lots of eating, drinking, talking, laughing, some arguing and shouting, and lots of hugs, noise and love! 

Happy Lunar New Year everyone~ its the Year of the Tiger… so make it a good one! xxx 

the one about our snowboaring trip to YongPyeong

This last weekend I went snowboarding with one of my colleagues, Jason, and our great Korean friend Jane, and one of my students and her boyf, JiYeon and YoungWoo. We had to catch the 6am bus so had to be up at 5am… wowzers trousers! This was only my second snowboarding attempt ever, so I was more nervous than excited! The ski resort we went to is in the north eastern part of Korea, so their is quite a bit of snow usually!

not much snow really... luckily for snowmachines!

Everyone who boards told me not to worry, it is like riding a bike and it all comes back to you… well… I’m not entirely sure thats how it works, because when we got to the top of the beginners slope and I looked down… it felt as though I was about to launch myself into an abyss. Crisis, I was shrieking a little and did have a few “life flashing before my eyes” moments before I pulled myself together and went down the slope at about 3km/hr considering the gradient. After a few runs of that to get my groove back, we hit the next grade slope.

this is a bad picture of JiYeon & YoungWoo on the ski-lift but you can see some of the slopes and resort below.

Finally, we decided to go down the longest slope which is for intermediate people. I was rather chuffed my friends thought I could do this, and as soon as I get the pics from them I’ll post the one of us at the top – 5.18kms away from the bottom!! The first 30m of the slope was absolutely terrifying becasue there was so much ice that I kept falling and really wanted to pack it in. Thank goodness for Jason’s patience and encouragement because as soon as he got me past the “death patch of ice” I was off and managed to get most of the way down without any help. Some times I needed a little rest…. 5kms of boarding is a far way actually!

Stupidly, I decided to take my kneepads off at lunch time – because I had been falling on my bum so they were just an accessory at that moment. Naturally, Murphy’s Law, the afternoon I mastered going forward and turning but was trying to learn some other things that meant I kept falling on my KNEES!!!

how are those pretty knees.....

Anyway, a good time was had by all except Jason who decided to hit the slopes on Saturday night and managed to break his wrist in the process! 바보!!

ok… myuscles are hurting to type this… love and light!

the one about my trip home and some other observations

So I can honestly say that 2009 was one of my best years ever. There is something to be said about living a stress-free life, doing a job I love, and experiencing an amazing and interesting culture. It was lovely to go home and brag about my host country!

After a 19 hr journey, I arrived in sunny SA just 30 mins after Rory did, so was met by dad and him at OR Tambo, and moseyed on home to spend New Years day catching up with family and friends with oodles of champers!  It was so lovely to be home, be surrounded by the people I love and enjoying the incredible weather. Life was so hard!

On Sunday I took Rory through to Adri and Joe in Pretoria to have game potjie with al die maatjies~~ gave Rory a chance to touch up on his Afrikaans in preparation for his re-entry into the civil engineering industry. He’s going to be working in Swaziland~ full circle, considering we lived there before moving to SA. He even bought a two-tone khaki shirt so he can really blend in. Now just to pick up a brandy and coke habit…

I took a long trip down memory lane with a visit to the berg. First I went to Cathedral, and caught up with the ladies over lots of wine and many chats. It was touching to see all the staff, and have a few requests to come back! I didn’ve have the heart to tell them that there is nothing on this planet that would make me go back into HR… fmaous last words?

Then I went across to Stelli… and we managed to catch up as much as possible before Paddy, worn down by our nattering finally announced that he would send Stelli to visit me this year. Whoooo-hoooo!! Trace came through, and that night we all went to Monks and caught up with some other locals ~~ amazing how quick it feels like I’ve never been away. Sad to say goodbye again… but not for long!

lovely to see Kell again, and of course Stelli Doll!

On Thursday was my dad’s 60th and again the crowds came round for more champers and celebrations. Rory and I have bought my dad a ticket to visit me, so I’m hoping he’ll come for my birthday! Incidentally, he arrived in Israel on my 23rd birthday to surprise me with a visit, so how cool if we can have another birthday celebration together in another country!! Fingers crossed!

On Friday Melissa and Derick took me on a road trip to Graaf-Reinet for Bee’s wedding! Words cannot describe how much fun we had! Melissa failed in her duties of providing snacks, and consequently she wasn’t entitled to sleep on the back seat with comfy pillows! G-R is a quaint little town, and provided many moments to experience the real South Africa! However, our venture into Nieu Bethesda was definitely accompanied by banjo music! Wowzers… the Owl House was helluva creepy UNDERSTATEMENT! But the home-brewed beer salvaged the 45 minutes dirt road trip, thank goodness! We went into the Camdeboo Nature Reserve which is a MUST if you’re in that area. The Valley of Desolation is breathtaking, and very clearly desolate! The game reserve was stunning and lots of animals. Including flocks and flocks of black eagles I love the Eastern Cape!

drinking the local brew

The reason for this trip was Beezer’s wedding to the superb Geoff! Mr and Mrs Bodner chose her folks’ farm for their vows and celebration. It was possibly the most perfect day ever and Bee was a glowing bride. It was lovely to catch up with Rhodes friends, and just chill on a summer evening drinking champers and eating lamb on the spit! Can life get better….

me, Melissa and Mr&Mrs Bodner

I have more pics to upload which I’ll do soon! The end of my ten days was drawing quickly to a close! Time really does fly when you’re having fun. Monday night I went to bookclub and had a lovely evening hearing all the girls’ news, catching up with babies etc! My last day was a blur… all too sad really to be saying hello and goodbye to people. I met Big Dom… Shims little boy, who I hugged and squeezed as much as possible. I also met Bad Ad… Caroline’s little guy who is 15 months old and a character of note. Agh… almost makes me broody….

Ok… 2010 plans… well… I’m expecting lots of visitors starting with the van Schalkwyk’s in April with little Zara-Rehn, and then Stelli, Dad, Mel and Derick and whoever else can swing by!

Lots of love and light for this year… may it be the best ever!