Goodbye Korea, Hello... urmm... unemployment.

So, it's been a while since my last blog, and (prompted by my mother, thanks dear) I've decided to do a final one before I leave Korea. A sort of round up of my time here and all that lovely stuff.


My last month was a blast, and I was busy busy busy. I took another trip to Everland Theme Park, but this time with my friends not my school. Good times, though we ended the night watching England lose in the RWC Final. Not so good. The bar I was in had a good helping of South Africans too, which didn't help console me. On the upside though, we got to the final when no-one thought we would, so pats on the back all round boys. Chin up, as they say.


My last day at school was our Halloween activity day. In the morning we had to dress up in a costume and take our Kindergarten kids around town trick or treating. It was actually rather fun, as all their parents came out and followed us around giving our sweets and taking lots of photos. I was dressed as Harry Potter (I wanted something English), and my other foreign co-workers were the Devil, a pirate, and Wonder Woman. We made quite a motley crew.


(For more photos from Halloween check out this album - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2090046&l=8fbaf&id=16105286 )


I then went to Japan, and I've just got back for a few final days in Korea before John and I embark on our Trans Siberian adventure home. Japan really deserves it's own blog, but who knows when I'll get around to that.


My time in Korea has been exceptionally fun. Before I left a geezer told me to enjoy it and don't worry about making it "the best year of my life". I agreed. Especially because calling something the best year lessens the importance of other things you've done in life. Every experience is important, just in different ways. Plus, it would suggest it's all downhill from here. I suppose "the best year of my life so far" would be better, but I still don't approve. Anyway, I took his advice and have indeed enjoyed it.


I've made lots of good friends in and around Munsan and I've discovered I'm mildly good at teaching small kids English. School has been a whirlwind some days and a bore others. The kids are crazy and I wouldn't have them any other way. My favourites have definitely been my kindergarten kids. Always full of energy and very loud (mainly in Korean, though I tried hard with English) and incredibly unpredictable. I've been jumped on, laughed at, ignored, run away from, jokingly attacked, and vomited on, but it's been good fun. Sometimes hagwon (private after-school) teaching gets put down, especially with the youngest kids. Some call it babysitting, but I really believe I made some progress, with certain kids anyway. My five year old class came to me (and my Korean co-teacher) not knowing any English at all, but now they can count to 20, name colours, name close to one hundred picture cards, say what food they like and what they're wearing. It's a start anyway.


Korea is an interesting country. It's economically sound, with impressive car, mobile phone, and television industries. The people are welcoming and generous, even if they do get a little shocked and stare at westerners in small towns. We do stand out an awful lot though. Japanese people dye their hair a lot more, but the majority of Koreans stick with their nature-given dark brown. Dying often just turns it orange. So anyone with different coloured hair is an easy spot. I've been said "Hello" to so many times walking around town I've lost count. I just came from a supermarket and outside three high school girls giggled away as they said hello and asked me where I was from. Every day, I think, it happens. I don't mind, except early in the morning when I haven't had any caffiene.


I've fallen in love with Korean food, including instant spicy noodles, pancaked sausage on a stick, anything else on a stick, dumplings, DIY barbecue pork (galbi), and the old favourite - kimchi. If you haven't yet heard me talk about kimchi look it up on Wikipedia or something. Phil tells me it is available at a local Korean store in London, so those of in Hendon might well get a chance to try some at a Korean style food thing when I'm back. Maybe.


I also adore one of the great Korean entertainments - private karaoke (noraebang). These singing rooms have a become a staple on nights out, especially in Munsan. We sing some absolute classics and my friend Vicky and I always rock the shop with our rendition of Under The Sea (from the Disney film The Little Mermaid). Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Every Me and Every You by Placebo, Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols, and of course any Brit pop like Oasis and Blur, are also great favorites.


Highlights of my year include Pentaport Rock Festival, the trip to Busan, any night out in Seoul, and getting to know my newest friends. I've been around to witness some historic stuff between the two Koreas, long may it continue. All in all, it's been ace. And there you have it.


If you care for photos, I've got many Japan trip albums on Facebook, but if you're not on that addictive network you can look at them through these links. There are far too many photos, but that's what you get with digital cameras isn't it!


Tokyo 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2091827&l=3c58e&id=16105286
Tokyo 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092267&l=436d8&id=16105286
Tokyo 3 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092272&l=50514&id=16105286
Himeji Castle - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092279&l=c8f80&id=16105286
Kyoto - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092298&l=8822a&id=16105286
Nara - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092300&l=44d5f&id=16105286
Mt. Fuji - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2093463&l=5f53e&id=16105286

Busan, new people, and ranting.

Well, the summer is nearly over and it's been quite a while since my last blog. All is ticking along quite nicely in Munsan and I've been joined by a new teacher called Felicity (and jolly nice she is too). Here's a pic of Flick and myself enjoying a ten pound bottle of Chilean red, the first good wine I'd tasted in months. I'm far too cheap normally.

We just experienced the Korean thanksgiving festival Chuseok. It's the time of the rice harvest in Korea and it's traditional to celebrate by visiting your ancestral home and giving practical gifts. This means large traffic queues as everyone leaves Seoul (no ancestral homes there apparently) and supermarkets stocked with rather odd gift boxes. As with Christmas, Spam is one, as it tuna, olive oil, and toothpaste. The strange thing is it isn't cheaper to buy ten tins of tuna like that, in fact it might be more expensive, but as it comes in a box people hand over the dosh like nobody's business. I got a gift set from school of coffee, they know me so well. It's good because I love coffee, but at the same time I drink coffee out of the machine at school and then don't drink it at home in the evening. So I'm not sure I'll ever use it. But it will be useful for the Transiberian train.

For those who care the Spam box would set you back 20 of your British pounds, the smaller tuna box 11 pounds and the larger box 16 pounds.

We got 3 days off (plus a weekend, so 5 days of holiday) for Chuseok, so we headed down to Busan to enjoy the city and meet up with some friends we made at Pentaport festival. The trip was excellent, though getting down there was a bit of a chore. We found out the KTX train (one of the fastest in the world, based on the French TGV system) is fully booked months in advance for Chuseok, so we missed out on that. Instead we had to take a bus.

On the day we toddled off to pre-buy bus tickets we went to a travel agents in Seoul first to order our Russian visas. The girl who served us was from Busan and she told us trips on the roads are stupidly long and it would take us at least 9 hours by bus. At least! She was jolly polite and made the trip yearly, so we trusted her judgement. We went and got the tickets anyway, as we had no other option, but had to make some serious preparations before bording the bus the next week. We stocked up on food, made sure our various MP3 players were fully charged, and I ripped out a couple of Super Sudokus from a book. I'd noticed the buses were sans-toilette, so we also made a concious effort to stop drinking water an hour beforehand and use the toilet as much as possible pre-bording.

In the end we put in all that effort for nothing. Well, not nothing, but not the 9 hours travel lady had said (or the 13 hours a Korean colleague had predicted.) The first half of the main road from Seoul to Busan has an inside bus lane, so whilst traffic queued we zoomed along. The bus stopped twice at service stations for ten minutes, so the toilet wasn't a problem either. Finally, the bus terminal turned out to be right at the northern tip of Busan, but still thankfully on the subway line, so there was no inner city traffic to deal with. The estimated time buses normally (on non-holiday days) take to Busan is five and a half hours. We made it in.... five and a half hours. The moral - never trust travel agent ladies, no matter how polite they are.

This photo is of the friends I went with from the north. L-R John, Ben, Mick, Flick, me. I nicked this photo from Flick, so I hope she doesn't mind!

Busan was lots of fun, and it's definitely where I'd choose to live next if I ever came back to Korea. It's a city but it's so relaxed compared to Seoul. It's on the coast, so you can party on the beach, go swimming, or just sit and watch the sunrise after a long night out. We went to many places, met many people, and drank many beers. Our hostel was located in an apartment block. I think the owner had simply bought an apartment and put in some bunk beds. She lived 5 floors above (smart lady) so there was no curfew and no hassle. Excellent stuff. We didn't do too many touristy things as we became mildly nocturnal, but no-one cared. It's strange, when I live in a country I tend to forget to do tourist things. I suppose I just don't think of myself as a tourist here.

(Busan is the 3rd largest container port in the world. Not surprising really for a peninsula country whose only land border is with North Korea.)

Coming home was more of a chore, as people began flouting convention and using bus lanes for normal cars. The traffic coming into Seoul was considerably jammed We booked the same bus one of our friends was already on and got the 3.50 from Busan, which should have got into Seoul around half past nine. We hadn't really thought it through, but that didn't leave much time for lateness and getting to Seoul station to catch the last trian home at 10.45. We failed, considerably. We got into Seoul at 11, with a travel time of seven hours and ten minutes. Slightly closer to the predicted nine than I would have liked. In the end we had to take the subway an hour and a quarter north to Ilsan, a city half an hour from Munsan by road, and then a taxi. I eventually stumbled into bed at half past one with the exiting promise of 6 hours sleep before starting work again. The next day was, I must admit, something of a sleepy blur.

Well, that blog was more about the bus than Busan. But nevermind.

Friends they come, friends they go.

August and September have been a jolly happy time for me because I was visited by some rather special guests. Phil and Elle, my friends since early childhood, decided (I'm not sure how) to spend some hard earnt money (well, some earnt money) coming out to Korea and seeing the sights. They had a whole crossover thing worked out as Phil was busy with his band in the studio in August and Elle had to get back to start her masters course in September, but I eventually understood once it had been explained a few times.


Elle came first and we managed to meet at Seoul station without too much difficulty and no mobile phones. It was ace, just like before mobile technology took over our lives. I remember the old days when someone would say "Yes, I'll be at this place at that time", and they would stick to it. None of those phone calls whilst your waiting at Hendon Central apologising but saying they'll be twenty minutes late. That's all well and good that you've called me, but I'm still standing here, waiting, looking like a tosser. Just because you can phone and apologise doesn't make it alright to be late without a good reason. And no, doing your hair is not an excuse boys and girls. Ok, rant over.


Of course I'm not talking about anyone specifically here. Simply my general generation. We're all guilty of abusing mobile communications at some point.


Elle spent a happy two weeks hanging out at my apartment, coming into school to observe the madness of my students (her words, not mine), and navigating the important sights of Seoul. Eventually Phil turned up and the two of them took off to Daecheon to enjoy the beach and seafood delights. Well, Phil enjoyed the seafood, I think Elle was a bit iffy when it came to octopus. Before Elle left we had a great night out at club night in Seoul and stayed down there to shove Elle on an aiport-bound bus and show new teacher/arrival Felicty a few sights and sounds of Seoul. Mainly Starbucks and a greek restaurant, but I think she got the picture.


Phil stayed for the next two weeks and did the same things Elle had. In fact he made her write him a list he could copy, lazy boy. We hung out, went out in Seoul, and went noraebanging (singing karoake in private rooms) a number of times. Phil's rendition of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (the Titanic theme tune) bought a tear to my eye, though perhaps for the wrong reasons. We also made it to the Under-17s World Cup Final (the ticket for which included the 3rd place match before hand). 2 games, Seoul World Cup Stadium, five pounds. Cheap as chips. And a couple of fun matches, especially the final penaty shoot-out to decided the wholee thing. Much easier to watch those when neither country is yours. Congrats went out to Nigeria, who beat Spain to lift the cup, and Germany who beat Ghana to come in 3rd.

I loved having Phil and Elle, and now that they've gone I only have one and a half month's left before I finish my contract and travel around Japan and Russia. It's getting exciting.....



Oh, additionally, enjoy this. It's a photo of my 6 year old class with the homage to big bird we made by drawing around and cutting out our hands. My hand is Big Bird's hand as theirs were too small. Lovely stuff.

In the summer time...

... when it's bloody hot!

Well, the rainy season has finished here and it's getting hot hot hot. I've never been so glad to have air conditioning! The bugs had a bit of a field day with me at the rock festival I recently attended but they have subsided a bit. I do have to run around my apartment every now and again squishing mosquitoes. It's quite hard actually - the minute I get close to getting one it zooms off. Very frustrating.

I got a new haircut to go with the weather. The guy at the place had limited English though so it's slightly shorter than I would normally allow (not able to quite tie it back yet) but never mind. I'll survive. I quite like it really. He bobbed and ducked around me like an artist producing a new piece. He also did some weird Japanese style thing, involving sliding the scissors down taught hair without actually cutting, that thinned it out then eventually declared the style's name was "Grated Bob". Makes me sound a bit like cheese. Maybe it was Graded and I misheard. Well, either way, there it is. It was quite a nice chain called International Designers (the 'International' made me hope they'd have some experience with westerners, unlike the last place - Butty Hair Shop). In the end a cut and dry only cost me 15,000 won, which is about 8 pounds. Not too shabby really, I'm sure the same thing would have cost me 50 pounds in London.

The rock festival I went to was lots of fun. I met loads of westerners, saw some good bands and had a good time. Highlights included the Chemical Brothers, Muse, a Korean ska band called Copy Machine, and Ocean Colour Scene. We also saw a New Zealand band dating back to the '60s called Human Instinct and the next day we met and sat and had a drink with the lead guy. He sings whilst playing the drums standing up. Impressive in itself but he also ran around the stage and jumped over things like a man half his age. He did own up to some battle scars the next day - but from his performance you'd never know he got hurt doing it.

The campsite was tiny, and rather than big fields it was in a sort of park with walking paths, trees, and many a water-draining ditch for drunk festival goers to fall into. I managed not to. Hoorah! It was strange being in such a small site compared to Glastonbury, Reading, and V. Never a problem finding our tents, especially once my Scottish friends had hung up a giant Scot flag between two nearby trees (my idea, why do I suggest these things). It was rather a Celtic festival one way and another - so many Scots and Irish folkies. Don't despair though, England was well represented too.

The weather was hot for the first two days (despite lots of sun-tan cream we all got a little sunburn). It rained a little on the Sunday but John and I were well prepared with sexy raincoats. We decided to up the sexiness with some green duct tape and it worked a treat. We had initially bought the tape to patch up our cheap tents if it started to rain (see previous blog rant) but, you know, fashion always comes before personal comfort. Of course it stopped raining almost as soon as we finished the final touches. Always the way isn't it? (I'm not the one with the Rampant Lion flag.)

The best part of the festival was, strangely enough, the food. Why English festivals consist mainly of greasy noodles, hamburgers, and chips is beyond me. Here we were treated to lots of stuff on sticks, bangers and mash, steak sandwiches, Indian curry and barbecue, traditional Korean fast food, and lots more. We were also able to get cheapish beer (well, the same price as in a local bar) thanks, I would imagine, to the festival being part subsidised by the Korean government. It was great not to have any of the ridiculous booze and food price-jacking I'm used to at festivals.

All in all a good time. I'm very happy to have seen the Chemical Brothers now, the animations for their set were mesmerising. Muse were great yet again, if a little tired from coming straight from a Japanese rock festival in Fuji.

Here's one last photo to tickle your fancy. I like it because it looks rather cool when opened up fully (if you click on it, which I think you can on Blogger). Check out the guy's arms and the purple light. Totally trippy dude....

P.S. Please excuse the poor layout - Blogger just isn't doiung what I tell it to. I though we were meant to be the masters and computers were meant to be our slaves, not vice versa!

Well then, it's not really raining or pouring... much.

According to a possibly-misled source the rainy season ends today. I'm sure that doesn't mean a total end to rain, but if that was it for any kind of "monsoon season" I think I got off pretty lucky. Granted, we had some major downpours and it was a lot heavier than we normally get in England, but overall it's been rather dry. Maybe all the rain in India, Bangladesh and Gloucestershire has meant an unusually dry season here. If so then sorry to the good people of the west country. Your flood has been my sunny day.

At the moment it's a little grey and drizzly but I'm hoping that will pass over tongiht, because tomorrow we head off to a rock festival called Pentaport. My bosses have kindly changed things here and there so that we can being our holiday tomorrow so we get to go early and set up camp. It does mean coming back next Friday to teach 3 (yes three) classes in the morning then toddling off home again. Rather pointless, but there it is.

This will probably be my least prepared festival ever. If it does rain I'm sure to get wet. As it won't be cold here, we were uber-cheap when buying tents. We spent a grand total of 10 pounds on each, and they are those wonderfully fun pop-up tents. Easy up, tricky down should be their motto really. Each tent only has one layer, and we noticed one or two seam-problems when putting up one as a test. So if it does rain I might have a few leakage worries. We've laid our hands on some duct tape, so hopefully that should help any big holes. We shall see.

Speaking of duct tape, buying it was a perfect example of over-pricing named brands. At a big store in Seoul we found proper Duct Tape on sale for 8000 won (about 4 pounds and 50 pence). I convinced John not to be rash and that we would find it cheaper somewhere in Munsan. Fortunately for my honour, we did. We found a green varity for just 900 won (50 pence). 8000 <-> 900. It's criminal what some people can charge. I'm not even sure what to call it, I've got a sneaky suspicion duct tape is just what everyone calls it because that's the brand they know. Rather like Hoovers. Answers on a postcard please.

For the fest we did manage to get some folding chairs and I've got a big English flag and some emergency Snickers, so I think I'll manage. Festival delights will include Damien Rice, The Chemical Brothers, and (for the second time in Korea) Muse. Oh, and I think there's a karaoke stage, Koreans just can't live without it. Good times will be had.

So here's looking forward to my holdiay (the first since mid-February.) I really do need it now, and I'm sure once it's over I'll complain it wasn't long enough. I think I might be a bit justified though, 6 days really isn't all that long. Hopefully I'll finally get to the DMZ during that time. Or maybe I'll be too busy sleeping...

It's raining, it's pouring.

The rainy season has official started here. Granted, we're not doing as badly as a lot of the rest of the world but the rain can be pretty insane. Over the weekend it rained constantly, only stopping every now and then as if to give people false hope that it might clear up. Saturday night in particular was crazy with thunderstorms lashing my town and lightning striking all around. The thunder was shaking my windows and giving my apartment block quite a jiggle.

It's only the start though. July is said to be wet wet wet, and then I've been told August will be hot hot hot. I thought the 29 and 30 degrees we were getting in June was it but it's going to get worse. So they say. Ah well, weird weather is one of the exciting perks of world travel. At least the summer rain here is warm.

Apart from the rain the country seems to be gettign on quite well. I'm beginning to feel slightly like I've worked here forever and I've forgotten what holidays are like. Thankfully I get a holiday in 3 1/2 weeks, and it won't be a moment too soon. We're off to a rock festival to enjoy some muddy relaxation and I'm certain it's going to be a blast.

The summer blockbuster season is keeping me happy at the box office. Not always totally satisfied (Shrek 3 was the first film I've ever called 'too short'), but happy. We've had most of the trilogies, and Hot Fuzz finally came along. I was pleasantly surprised by Transformers which, for a Michael Bay film (he of Armageddon and Pearl Harbor fame-shame) was actually rather enjoyable. I found out later that many of the 'bots were voiced by the original guys from the eighties cartoon series, a great extra touch. I've still got Harry Potter 5, Die Hard 4, and the Simpsons to look forward to in the next few months. Releasing films simultaneously worldwide is a great step forward, may it last. Next year we Brits will have to wait a little for some blockbusters as money grabbing execs won't bring them out during Euro 2008 or even the Olympics. Some people...

The only other thing I can think to speak of is the fun I had last night watching an advert on tv. It was for, wait for it, Spam! I almost wet myself from laughing. The ad had a hansome Korean guy using Spam in all sorts of exciting culinary ways. Spam canopes. Spam wrapped around rice. Fried Spam, grilled Spam, Spam on a stick. I've discovered it's an extended version of one you can see on YouTube. It's a short one but you can jump on my laughter train (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ez9Ca0ANk).

I can't stop grinning about Spam now. Hehehe. No, I think I'm gonna have to stop typing and go an chuckle somewhere...

Mozzie's and drinks.

Well, things are going surprisingly well in my little world. Summer has hit well and trully and I've become jolly grateful I've got airconditioning in my classroom. The temperature guage has it at 29 centigrade when I get in in the morning, and the lowest I've managed to get it is 25, so it's still stuffy. My body's getting used to it though, I think.

With the warm weather have come many a "wee beastie" as my Scottish colleague would call them. I've managed to keep most out of my flat, but I've had a few bites and to me that always means summer has properly started. I dunno what it is about my blood or scent or what but bugs just love me. I'm currently dealing with at least 5 mosquito-esque bites and a large spider bite on my arm. Don't get too concerned though, I manage to get through this every year. At camp in America I had 3 spider bites at once and my wrist was double it's normal size, but the nurse didn't seem at all worried so it's fine. Unfortunately there aren't any exciting compensations like Spiderman got....

I made it to a football game a few weekends ago and saw Holland beat Korea (only narrowly though). I was most excited when Kuyt came on as a sub as he was the only Dutch football player I could name off the top of my head that was actually there. Van Persie's injured and Man U's goalie-guy (a-ha, Van Der Mar, just remembered!) wasn't around. The game was alright, but it was the stadium that really impressed me. Despite so much concrete it's rather magnificent, especially at night. During the national anthem of Korea a giant flag magically flew up a stand at one end of the pitch. It waved and jiggled from side to side and then, at the song's conclusion, vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Wonderful things they do with technology here. Also, and I'm not sure whether it was done on purpose, there did seem a bit of a slight with the anthems. Disregarding the giant flag (it is their stadium after all) the Korean's got a woman to sing the Dutch song, rather feebly, and then a strong operatic bass man to sing the Korean song. Lovely way to say "We're real men and you're a bunch of girls," I thought. Didn't help SK in the end, they lost.


A word on drinking here, for those interested. The most popular alcoholic beverage is Soju, a clear rice liquor that tastes somewhat like sweet vodka. It's pronounced So-jew (I think the Koreans say it with a fairly short "o", but I tend to say it slightly more home counties-esque) It's not too bad, but at 20% it has a bit of a kick. It is drunk in shots, not sipped, and that accounts for a fair amount of drunk men and women wandering the streets of my little town. They drink as they eat (being in a bar and not ordering food is rather bad manners here, but at 6 pounds for an unwanted snack I generally break their rules) and it's a polite custom to refill one another's glasses. John and I once got conned into paying a fiver for some dried and charcoal heated small fish that came with mayonaisse. We didn't ask for it, it just turned up like a free snack (popcorn or little hoola hoop type-things are generally given free in bars), so we assumed it was free. When we went to pay for the bottle of beer we'd each had we got a nasty shock. That's one place we won't be going to again.

So anyway, because it's drunk in shots while eating a lot of soju gets drunk and jolly quickly too. There are also some rice wines here but I tried one a few months ago and really didn't like it at all, so I've yet to try another. They do have beer, including Cass Hite and OB, all of which taste exactly the same. It's rather fizzy beer and not great, but Hite also produces an "export" beer called Max Prime (yup, what a name eh?) so I tend to stick to that where possible. Euorpean and other good beers can be bought but they are comparitively expensive. Since I've been here I've treated myself to two glasses of Hoegarden (twice the price of a normal beer here) and a bottle of Kingfisher (3x normal beer) because curry without Indian beer just ain't right. I get by though, but I'm really desiring a pint of Budvar. The wine here is also expensive and not too special, so that is something I don't get much of either. Boo-hoo.

For your own knowledge the Korean for cheers is "kum-beh" (beh sounds like bay) and it is said in rather an excited "hoo-ray" sort of manner. Aside from that drinking manners include special rules for pouring drinks. The most confusing for me is when to poor for others, when to hold your glass, and how many hands to do it all with. I once offended a guy by using two hands when pouring him a beer. Apparently that was an uber-polite way of doing it, and by that time he considered me a friend. Fairly soon after that someone else I was with used two hands to serve me! Very confusing, so I stick to being uber-polite. If I'm going to be wrong I'd at least like to be consistently wrong. If you see what I mean. As well as hands there are other social rules to deal with. Read this and decide for yourself if you could manage to remember and put into practice these rules (remember, you'll probably have had a few drinks alreasdy when you have to do it).

• When drinking in a group, pour for those of higher position or age first, then in descending order.
• When someone of higher position pours you a drink, it is considered proper to turn away from that person when you then drink it.
• While drinking together, others may pour drinks for you to drink, and you should accept these offers.
• It is not good to be too assertive in encouraging someone else to drink what you would like to pour for them.
• As it is considered rude to refuse to drink altogether, people who do not ordinarily drink alcohol should say "Please pour me just a little," and allow a glass to be poured for you. If the other person continues to encourage you to drink, it is at this point you should tell them that you do not ordinarily drink alcohol, which will not come off as being rude.

It's not easy...

I've been making myself do a few extra touristy things recently, like wandering around streets selling "authentic" stuff, and going to the odd museum. Last weekend we went to the War Memorial Museum and it was very good. They have big arrows that show you the best way to go around and it means you circle the floors moving up and up. At first there was too much information to take in but as we kept going I began to understand more and more about the war. The front line changed dramatically quite a few times and only a city called Busan, on the south-east coast, managed to escape being occupied by the North Koreans at all. When the war began the readiness of the North's army far outweighed that of the South. In fact, the South had few ships, no aircraft, and very little in the way of big guns and even actual man-power. If it hadn't been for the UN the South would never have been able to fight back as an official army. That's right, I said the UN. It wasn't just the Yanks, as I'd always tended to assume, but an alliance made up of a dozen countries. Britain sent 63,000 troops alongside the USA's 480,000 and others. 37,000 Americans dies, 1100 Brits died. Sounds sadly familiar doesn't it.

The museum was informative, and outside we got to look at some planes, tanks and rockets, which is always fun. It was rather strange watching little kids playing on tanks, because they'll be recruited to do mandatory national service when they get older and be in an army that is technically still at war. My town has a large SK army base nearby, and soldiers are always seen in and around town. It's not uncommon for our school to be buzzed once or twice a day by a fleet of helicopter gunships. At first I was excited by this, but it has now become a mundane interruption to classes. What that says about my life here I don't know!

The other exciting thing recently was watching part of a Korean movie being made in town. As John and I walked home from school we noticed a crowd of teenage girls taking pictures with their phones and getting autographs. We then watched them film part of a scene, something to do with a girl with an eyepatch and a policeman's uniform dragging some boy along a street. It was being filmed right next to a pizza shop we go to, and they almost prevented us from going and getting pizza! They didn't though, and you never know we might be in the far background! It's not very exciting, but if you want you can see a short video I took with my camera on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rpLGmJT7B8

Well, that was a long blog wasn't it. Stay tuned for some more ramblings coming your way soon!

Oh, here's one more photo. I like messing around with setting on my camera and this one is courtesy of "Night time". Enjoy.