To wear or not to wear - Knickers at the gym.

2 blogs in one night - a rare occurrence!

I had to tell you about my strange experience earlier today.

I've finally joined a gym and am aiming to lose ALOT of weight - my plan is to go 5 times a week (2 down, 3 to go) and really stick to a routine of running, cycling and cross training - we'll see (im crap at exercise!!).

My gym is great, row upon row of treadmills and tons of brand new equipment that looks the part but I havent got a clue how to use it as its all in Korean! (give me time and i'll attempt it all)

So this afternoon after work I did my usual on the treadmill (whilst listening to The Prodigy full blast!) ^^ and when it was finally over I headed to the shower room.

Now, Koreans are very open when it comes to nakedness. I should be absolutely used to this as ive been here a while now (and have been to naked spa's) and ive experienced many a naked-time in Europe (particularly in France). The women in France seem to just let it all hang out in the changing rooms (bushes and all! haha). Anyways, my point is, although im absolutely okay with being naked in a public spa now I REALLY dont like showering naked with just a few Korean women around me.

* Safety in numbers applies to me here - im more nervous when there's just a few of us as they can concentrate in on me and all my flaws, rather than being able to hide in a big crowd of nakedness at the spa!

It's not for vain reasons. Well, only a little bit...you see...there's a few things that make me feel awkward - mainly the fact that I have boobs and they could be described as quite big. This means I get stared at ALOT. Also, I find lots of women (im talking mainly older Korean women) seem to be very intrigued about what's going on down below in my lady garden. I spend my time trying to avoid these parts on the women around me and just concentrate on the showering but I cant help feel im being stared at from all (unflattering) angles.

Today, whilst showering, a middle aged woman (an ajumma as we'd say in Korea) decided to befriend me. I was happy to smile and say hello whilst washing my hair. But she wanted more. You see, as I have the fear of going naked in the shower room, I had on black knickers. Yes, I probably looked strange showering in my knickers but I just needed the security of them. Anyways, she tried to make conversation about my knickers and basically was saying to me "Oh dear, you're a silly one. Take your panties off!". My reply to this was all smiles and "It's okay, don't worry, im fine". BUT, she wouldnt take this for an answer.

The very random and over-friendly lady decided to tug-tug-tug on my knickers from the side as I was showering and signalled for me to take them off right there and then. She was determined to make me lose the pants and pulled quite hard at them! What the hell was I supposed to do?!?! I considered making a run for it (she was old - I could totally out run her), I thought about actually just taking them off but then I felt like i'd be performing some sort of strip tease for her (err!!) so I casually and politely removed her hand from my knickers, smiled and said in my best Korean "No, thank you. Im finished". (I then grabbed my towel, ran to the locker room and left the building as fast as I could).

Lesson of the day - Do not bring unwanted attention to yourself (even when you are trying to hide parts that you thought would bring attention to you - does that make sense?!) ^^

I re-told my little adventure to Tae-Sun over dinner tonight (I cooked chicken fajitas for him - his first time eating them) and Tae's reply was "HAHA - You are so silly. You looked like a crazy girl in the shower. She was just trying to help you". That's me told!!

I'll be back at the gym tomorrow night but im going an hour later due to work hours - fingers crossed my new friend is taking a rest!! ^^

Korea Vacation Review - by Jo Weston.

My good friend Jo and her boyfriend Matt recently visited me here in Korea for a 3 week vacation.


Once they left, I asked Jo to write a little blog about her honest opinion of Korea and here it is -



South Korea is probably not the most obvious tourist destination on the planet and certainly when we told people we were going we got some puzzled looks, however as a keen traveller and enthusiast of everything Asian I was extremely chuffed to visit Ami in a country she is so fanatical about.  Korea may not have the ancient remains of a civilisation like Machu Pichu or the beaches of Thailand, but this is sort of a blessing in disguise.  Not only is their tourist industry almost non-existent, save for internal tourism and a few Japanese holiday makers, but we were rewarded at every step of our trip by a culture that surprised and captivated us (and you will notice that I use the word culture a lot in this blog) and a national psyche that you cannot help but fall in love with.


So whilst I could tell you about all the places we went to: a sprawling metropolis that buzzes round the clock, a volcanic island for honeymooners, a rock festival at a ski resort - Korean style, the most rewarding part of a trip to Korea is not something that is so easily conveyed by an itinerary list or some pictures in a guide book because it is a place that you genuinely have to visit to fully appreciate. 


One of the best things about Korea is the culture of providing many of the experiences that would traditionally occur in the home within western society, outside of the home.
Koreans tend to have very small apartments and consequently, are very sociable, they will do everything from eating to watching DVDs to meeting up for karaoke outside of the home.  And for most of these activities it is simply a case of hiring a room for an hour and adding “bang” onto the end of something (DVD bang, PC bang, Noraebang etc.) and hey presto – instant entertainment at any time of the day or night.


Korea really is a country that is open all hours and this happens to be very convenient given that Korean people hardly sleep at night.  This is chiefly because of their insanely competitive and aspirational work culture and means that it then becomes acceptable to nap anywhere and everywhere during the day time – on the subway, on a park bench, in a jimjilbang (public bath).  But opening hours are not the only part of Korean life that seem to be incredibly convenient, everything is designed very thoughtfully, from specially designed subway entrances for kids, to plastic bag dispensers for your umbrella when it has been raining, to heated toilet seats in the winter.  


The service you get in restaurants and hotels is pretty much the best in the world.  In the UK, we have become used to any little extras coming at a premium price and companies that are out to catch us out with the small print.  In Korea, the complete opposite is true, taxi drivers will refuse to pick you up when it is quicker for you to walk, people on the street will phone up a friend or pop onto a computer in order to give you directions, hosts can be quite easily taken advantage of (not that I advocate this but sometimes it can happen completely by accident) and restaurants serve you many little side dishes with any food you order. This is said to be how the kings ate and is a sign of wealth.  Much can be understood when you realise that 50 years ago Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world however it is now an officially recognised developed country with GDP in the top 10.  For a country that has seen such a change of fortune, it is also seen as very shameful to appear poor, it is for instance, insulting to tip and you should always leave food on your plate at the end of a meal. 


Some of the best value of all however comes when you visit a love motel.  Here, for £15 a night you can drop by at any time of night for almost a 5* experience and everything you could ever desire – from circular beds to steam rooms to robes and slippers, all the toiletries you need, access to a library of porn movies and channels, calling cards for hookers, dildo vending machines and free condoms.  These hotels have arisen because most Koreans live at home until they get married and like the west, Koreans are now leaving it later and later to get married.  And so for a country that likes to pretend that sex outside of marriage doesn’t exist, this is quite a big cover up.  When it comes to sex, the Korean attitude is a huge contradiction. I understand that while education is improving, there is a very high abortion rate (which is ultra hush hush), and for a culture that seems to cherish children and counts their age as one year old upon their birth, the fact that this is occurring seems very strange indeed.


There are a lot of contradictions in Korean culture but when you are caught up in the middle of it all, it is almost easy to miss the biggest one of all.  For a race that is so sweet, passive and at all times keen to maintain social harmony and avoid confrontation or difficult situations, you could almost forget that there was a war going on.  South Korea, to me, is the most technologically advanced country I have been to, it is common to see people making video calls from the subway, 3D TVs have been on the market for some time, they have robotic vacuum cleaners and the cities are lit up like beacons with advertising and art installations.  


Its ex-spouse in the north on the other hand, is one of the most isolated, antiquated and unknown about countries in the world and it’s only 50 miles over the border from Seoul.  At a time of heightened tensions, our trip to the DMZ was a most incredible end to our trip.  Whilst Korean people have been living with the same fears for over 50 years and are simply resolved to carry on with their lives in the face of international hostility, we couldn’t help but feel as though (as the guidebook put it) we were in the eye of a storm.  Strangely calm on the frontline but we were constantly reminded about stories of incidents; from the Russian who tried to escape across the border on a tour from the north, resulting in a shooting firing episode, to the two Americans who were killed when a tree cutting incident got out of hand.  Perhaps the most extraordinary story was of the POWs from both sides who, at the end of the war, were given the choice between crossing into the north and the south – which one would you have chosen I wonder?


And so that’s it, I could go on forever but why should I?  You should just go visit!  I hope at least I have given you a little flavour for Ami’s life in Korea.  A big thank you to her for all of the effort she put into planning our trip, showing us around Seoul and Busan, taking us to awesome places to eat, explaining how everything works and even washing our clothes.  And to all of the sweet, humble people of Korea who were so eager to please and made our trip something that we won’t forget - a big thank you.  Especially of course to Tae Sun, Ami’s boyfriend, who was kind enough to do all the barbequing in Galbi restaurants and even to wait for us at our hotel (when he should have been at work), when he realised that he’d given us the wrong airport name when we flew to Jeju island. 


Anyong Ka Seyo Korea!


Jo.


* Thanks for this Jo - as always, you write very well and it was my pleasure to have you both here! ^^ x

The Homeplus Toilet Incident.

Those of you back home call it 'Tesco', here it's 'Homeplus' and its where I head to for my big monthly shop.

Today, Tae-Sun and I decided to go for lunch and onto Homeplus to stock up on some groceries - a very normal/non-dramatic day. Or so we thought...

As we were wheeling our trolley through the frozen section my stomach started to rumble in a strange way - the way it feels when you're about to a) be very sick b) poo your pants right there and then!! 

I thought to myself, "I'll be okay, we only have to get some veggies and then we'll be on the way home to our nice private bathroom". But as I was thinking this, it seems Tae-Sun was thinking the exact same thing...weird how things synchronize hey?! He moaned at me "Toilet...gotta go!!"....and all I saw was his back, running off in the direction of the exit.

I tried to compose myself and wait for him in the Ramen aisle. "He won't be long", I thought to myself, "I can wait this out." Turns out I couldn't wait. I left the full trolley near the bananas and legged it as fast as I could to the Homeplus toilets (seeing the sign brought me MUCH joy!!). Ten minutes later we called each other from our cubicles to check we were both over the worst and planned to meet back at the trolley.

Turns out the lovely spicy chicken we ate and enjoyed so much last night didn't seem to like us at all!!

Lesson learned - Never head to Homeplus when you're unsure of your bowel movements and their planned attacks!!

On a brighter note - we stocked up on a big bag of 10 ice-creams to soothe our poorly stomachs AND I treated myself to a bottle of red wine that I would usually drink back in England (it's a shame I forgot to buy a corkscrew - duh!! Im unsure how ive lasted 18months in Korea without one of those!!)

Apologies for the graphic nature of this blog, but if you know me well, then you know that im always open to telling people about poo incidents! ^^

Work to Live OR Live to Work?

Apparently I am part of the 'Y generation'.  Kids born in the 70's/80's that have watched their parents work long hours and scramble for money and status. Our parents have worked to put dinner on our plates, to afford a summer holiday, to keep up with what is expected of them.

But the Y generation are now grown up and have a completely different set of priorities and demands. We care less about salaries and more about lifestyle, flexible hours of work, time to travel, volunteer opportunities - basically a better work-life balance.

But do we deserve these choices? And if we do live with better life balance then what will become of our children?

I had a deep debate with Tae-Sun about this recently. We both discussed what we want within the next 5 years. Turns out we want roughly the same. I want to do another year or so of teaching in a school environment...then i'd like to go it alone and within my home i'd like to become a part-time private tutor (all legally of course!)  Tae-Sun would still have the businesses and id work for him too. We've thrown around the idea of opening another cafe/bar with some sort of language exchange to it but we're not completely convinced this would work long-term. But working for myself/for Tae would give me flexible working hours/time to have a baby when one comes along and more time to enjoy life.

My first job was back when I was 14 - since then ive been proud to have always had a job, whether it was part-time whilst studying or full time after University. Saving for travelling has meant that for alot of my working life (back in the UK) I even had 2 jobs - part-time bar work in the evenings became a regular thing for me. I've never been one to shy-away from hard work. I actually enjoyed most of my jobs. But as im getting older, and im only 27 - why do I feel more and more that work just isnt important to me??

I wish I could be a career girl - to strive to be the best in my chosen industry and work in a top company. That's what people seem to want out here in Korea. Children seem to be striving all their life to become the best here - education is the most important thing in their lives from an early age - the kids literally study every waking hour (or so it seems) and sleep an average of 5-6 hours per night. They all aim to be top of the class and achieve a place at one of the few exceptional Seoul universities. But what for?

What happens once they've achieved all this? Do the men then just work work work until its time to retire? Do the women throw the career away once its time for babies?

Tae-Sun has the bar and a restaurant. He works on average 17 hours per day. To me this is insane. But that's how he has been brought up - he thinks only about the future/saving for a family/providing for his parents in their old age. This is one of the reasons I love him - he's never selfish and NEVER lazy. But, I also think he's absolutely crazy for never putting himself first.

Tae-sun mentioned to me today that he feels he is getting lazy. He used to open up the restaurant and work there through the day, before having a quick shower/dinner and then heading to his bar to work until 4/5am. He would literally do this 7 days a week with no break. But since we're together and he's living with me, he tends to come home from the bar a little earlier and whilst im up for work at 8am, he's sleeping in until midday. He now feels that because he has staff in place to open up, he should be using the few hours in the middle of the day to get ANOTHER job or study or even make something ^^ 

I know Koreans will have a completely different mind-set having been a country (technically) still at war since the 1950's - they have worked so hard to rebuild this country and have gone from having nothing to having it all. I have never experienced such a hard-working society like Korea. Thailand in comparison, was so relaxed the people were literally horizontal!! ^^ 

I guess my point is - what is the right balance? Living and working in a country where work comes first often makes me feel guilty for expecting 'a lifestyle' and for not wanting a 'career'. I'm happy to spend my time doing what makes me happy, as long its in a positive environment and preferably has cute little kids then im all set!! (I suppose that's why English teaching is so ideal for me).

I'd be interested to know what you guys think...

One week of freedom.

July 24th to August 1st was Summer Vacation.


I spent my precious days in Busan with Tae-Sun, Jo and Matt.
It was my second trip there and I have to say, I only have love for Busan.
The weather was as good as it gets - blue skies and sunshine everyday.


Our days were spent exploring and enjoying Taejongdae island, Haeundae, Gwangali and Nampodong (where we stayed).

Tae-Sun wanted to eat freshly grilled mackerel for breakfast one morning - so we headed down close to Jagalchi Seafood Market and even I enjoyed the salty little fish.


I burnt my legs, arms and face on Gwangali beach after stating 'I need to burn a little in order to tan'.
Jo and Matt found this hilarious when I could hardly walk the next day (and rightly so ^^).

We enjoyed a seafood barbecue in Seomyeon. The selection of fish was a little nerve-wracking for me so I stuck to the basics (prawns!) but the others devoured mackerel, octopus, eels, prawns and even fish bones.

We then headed to Jisan Valley Rock Festival.
The headliners and highlights were Muse/ PetShop Boys/ Vampire Weekend/ Massive Attack/ Corrine Bailey Rae/ Third Eye Blind, plus MANY Korean bands ofcourse.


Again, the weather was amazing and as the festival is held in a ski/snow resort we had use of the newly built HUGE swimming pool. We camped right next to the pool area and spent the days keeping cool before enjoying the music in the evenings.


Jo and Matt headed back to England last night. They were here for 3 weeks and I *think* they enjoyed their stay. They were pretty impressed with the Korean way of life and were open to trying everything so that made things fun - in particular noraebang (karaoke) and eating the spicy Korean delicacies! 

I was teary eyed and emotional when saying farewell to Jo - it was so surreal to have a friend from home out here with me - finally someone from home got to see inside my new life here and could see how happy this place and Tae-Sun makes me ^^

Does what it says on the tin.

Anyong,


This blog will be used for storing my random thoughts, questions, memories from Korea and reflections on times past.


I decided to remove my online travel blog as it was time-consuming and only encouraged me to babble on.


I'll keep things shorter and sweeter with this one.


Join me in my quiet mission to subconsciously promote South Korea to my unsuspecting family and friends back home in blighty ^^