Wow, I found tea. But it's damn expensive.

I recently went on a trip to Seoul to have a wander around a few of the markets and I had a joyous time in one. Namdaemun market is a lot like other Asian markets; loud, full of odd smells, and ridiculously crowded. I enjoy almost all of it, except for one section that appears to exist only to sell roasted pigs trotters and cows feet (hooves, whatever you call them). Walking past them is rather gross and I expect in summer the accompanying smell will be really quite bad.

Namdaemun has an underground market where, in the past, my friend and I discovered alcohol stores that sell western liquors at reasonable prices. This time we explored a little deeper and I found English tea! It is highly expensive, at 5 squid for 25 bags, but it's good to know it's there as a safety net. My dear sweet mother is helping me out by sending me some every now and then in the post (which works out much cheaper), but I'm so happy to know I can go and grab some if that supply runs out.

I also found chocolate in that market - Cadburys! Granted, it was made in Australia, not Birmingham, but it tastes authentic.

So another good day, although all I bought was a bar of chocolate. I didn't indulge in many of my consumeristic impulses. Wow, I must be growing.

We went to see the new Leonardo DiCaprio film, Blood Diamond, which I would recommend to those not too squimish. It's not as good as Hotel Rwanda in terms of dealing with African nation atrocities, but it's worth a look. Just don't expect Leo's accent to be consistent, because it's not.
Another week of school has just begun, and so far it's going well. Let's just hope the young kids I have this afternoon don't spoil it.

I'm a millionaire!

That is to say, I've got 1.8 million won.

My employers set me up with a bank account at the end of last month, and so I've had this month's pay check put in (last month's was in cash). It's a surreal but great feeling to check your balance and see over a million in there. Not at all like the student days. This must be what Bill Gates feels like. Almost.

Still, a million doesn't actually go that far when you consider a crappy cup of coffee costs 3000. I'm just about getting used to paying what seem like big amounts but it's taking time.

I'm managing to save a lot, which was a major reason for coming here, as the cost of living isn't too high. I don't pay rent, only bills, and they aren't too much. The main thing is heating because it's jolly cold here, but as I live on the top floor I do get some benefit when the people below me turn theirs on. Still, it is costly in winter.

So the money situation is hunky dory. I do have another cold though, which sucks, but never mind. I'm sure I'll get over it... eventually.

I've definitely settled in now.

I've been here over two months now, and wowee it goes fast soemtimes. Although at other times it kind of feels like the batteries on the Earth's clock are losing power and times is ticking slower.

My Korean is coming along. I've been learning the alphabet and I can almost read the signs on stores and labels. Well, I can slowly work out how they would be pronounced. My "Hello" and "Goodbye" (same word - ahnyonghaseyo) has been perfected to a t, and my "Thank you", is also good. They don't seem to use thank you here very much though, it seems to be reserved for special occasions when they really mean it. So everytime I leave a shop and say thank you they find it mildly odd, instead they always say goodbye. I'm trying to adjust my manners.

I think, given a few more months, I'll be able to read words a lot faster, which will be good for trying to work out what film or program is going to be on telly next. I forked out 30 quid for Sky, as just having that one US military channel was driving me nuts, so I get some good movie channels now. Woo-hoo.

I'm getting quite into Korean food here. I don't eat in Korean restaurants much, as the language barrier is still a bit of a problem in such a small town as mine, but I eat Korean food at school everyday. You get a bowl of rice and a bowl of some kind of soup, and then you sit at a round table with lots of additional dishes in the middle. You then pick from the bowls bit by bit as you work your way though the rice and soup. My chopstick skills have come in extremely useful and everyone at school seemed very impressed that I could use them when I first came. And some of you mocked me! All those years of cooking stirfry's and eating them with chopsticks at home have really paid off.

The food is good. The main thing they love here is called gimchi (or kimchi, depending on how they choose to spell it). It's a vegetable of some sort, mostly chinese leaf cabbage, that has been soaked in a red pepper spicy concoction. It sort of pickles it, but in a very spicy way, and they spend early November making loads of this stuff so that it lasts them through the barren winter. The spices here are definitely hot, but I like them. Unlike spices from places like India, which hit the back of your mouth and your throat, Korean spices hit the top of your mouth and your nose. This seems to suit me better than Indian spice, and I can manage most food, even when my colleagues warn me that it's hot (another way to impress them). Korean cooking also includes tofu, green vegetables and, unsurpringly for a country that is 70% surrounded by the sea, lots of fish. I still steer clear of big fish, as big bones freak me out somewhat, but the little dried ones aren't too bad. Good for the brain.

So I'm learning the language, I'm liking the food, and I'm getting used to the manners. I think it's fair to say I've settled in.

New Year, new schedule.

Well then, so it is now 2007. I had a good New Years Eve, which I won't bore people with.
I'm back at school after a winter holiday, of all of 6 days, two of which were a weekend so they don't count. I believe I have another holiday in February though, so that is something to look forward to. I got to see Casino Royale during the holiday, so I'm a happy bunny. Not the best but certainly better than the most recent Brosnan-fronted offerings we've been getting. Mildly stupid ending though, which was annoying.

At school we now have a different schedule, something to do with some other schools having a long winter holiday. Or something. I don't really understand the hows and whys, but I do understand having to get up an hour earlier, which I now do. Have to. Oh dear, but it makes it seem a bit more like a real job I suppose. And it means I'm doing 9-5 now, rather than 10-6. So I get out earlier and that can only be a good thing.

It also means I teach my older classes in the morning. It's a good change because they were always too tired to work properly after a long day at their regular schools. Wonderland is an after school program for the older kids and gettign them to do work was often something of a struggle. But now more! I just had two older classes and they worked jolly hard. Hoo-rah. Hopefully it also means my young brats will be a tad more tired int he afternoon and maybe not quite so demonic.

Well well, enough of my intricate yet unexciting (unexciting?) details. I hope everyone else's new year went well and that the end of the holidays don't hurt too much. At least for most of you it'll be a relief for your livers.