Turn Left @ Heaven

2006-06-11T12:44:00.000+09:00

We have finally arrived home!

As we are no longer in Korea, our blog has now become an archive of our time in the Land of the Morning Calm.

If you have stumbled across our blog whilst researching your own Korean adventure, I would encourage you to look back through the previous months and read about Troy Teacher and Alwyn Teacher's fantastic voyage into the world of kimchi, norebang, and cheap crappy beer!

Below you will find a brief overview of each month, and a link to it's page.

June 2005 - Our first month in Korea + the Outback Steak House

July 2005 - Mud festival

August 2005 - Japan, Pusan, Food in Korea, Geology Museum + farewell to Matt, Kara and Jennifer!

September 2005 - More Pusan, Chusok + Troy's mum and sister visit.

October 2005 - The Dong Virtual Tour pt 1 + Troy's birthday.

November 2005 - Peppero Day, The Dong pt2 + Gyeongbokgung, Seoul.

December 2005 - First snow, Christmas + Thailand pt1.

January 2006 - Thailand pt2, Australia Day + Seol-nal (Korean New Year).

February 2006 - More snow, George's band + Graduation fun!

March 2006 - St. Patrick's Day + Strawberry Farm.

April 2006 - Cherry Blossoms, Suwon + Uam Park

May 2006 - Spring flowers, Gyeongju, Seoul Highlights, Mike's Birthday, Troy's sister's visit, Songnisan + Goodbye, farewell and Amen!

2006-05-27T08:46:00.000+09:00

So Long, Suckers!

2006-05-26T10:58:00.000+09:00

In less than 24 hours we will depart from Incheon International Airport on the first leg of our journey home, thus ending our tour of duty in Korea. The bulk of the packing has been done, goodbyes have been said, our replacements have arrived and we have started preparing mentally for our return home.

With 3 (maybe 4) cups of coffee from my "Troy-teacher" mug, 4 times saying "whose sitting nicely?", and 6 nights in Beijing standing between this moment and my first step back on Australian soil, its time t0 reflect on our time here.

The rollercoaster ride that was our stay in Korea has included experiencing the initial buzz of entering a new culture, the homesickness that comes with realising the your only 3 months into a year long contract, a dispute with our school over our contract, a bitterly cold winter and utter excitment as the temperatures climbed everyday during the ascent into the warmer months, and finally a reluctance to leave. There were times when we felt burnt out from it all, but we got through them and we have made it through the year in one piece and we are all the better for it. We will take out a lot of good memories and importance lessons, we had some really good times and we will have visited 4 new countries.

There are so many things I'm gonna miss about Korea. We have made some good friends here and I will be sad to leave them, to all my new friends who suffix there name with -teacher, I had a blast hanging with you all over the last year and I hope this won't be last time our paths cross. There have many moments that I would count as highlights of our time abroad. These include escaping the winter to the awesome warm weather of Thailand (even if it was only for a week), singing along to "Debbil's Haircut" at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, finding $5 PS2 games :), buying a coffee plunger, winter ending and last but not least the first moment I walked in front of a class. While I won't particularly miss working for our hagwon, I will miss the kids. I know it sounds cliched but my time teaching these kids has really changed my life. You spend so much time with them while your here some of them become like your best friends and I know It makes me a big girly man but, saying goodbye was really hard (please refer to the previous entry "I've finally cracked").

For me, it was my first time teaching, so I think it affect me more. Having said that, I am looking forward to being home again, and seeing all my friends and family again.

Being back in Australia will be strange, "reverse culture-shock" they call it. Everybody will speak english (and as a bonus they will all have aussie accents!), drive on the left hand side of the road (instead of both), there will be no kimchi with every meal and no pickles and hot sauce with my pizza. Cookies will become biscuits, a trash can will be a rubbish bin, and Candy will be lollies. This Hoju will be an ordinary old Australian once again.

To everyone back home, I can't wait to see you all, save a seat at the pub for me. To everyone I'm leaving in the land of the morning calm, I salute you and say Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen.

- T

2006-05-20T14:45:00.000+09:00

Well well well, only one week to go and our Korean adventure will be coming to an end. This morning we went out to Songnisan National Park and saw the marvelous buddhist temple there, complete with a breathtaking, giant bronze statue of Bhudda. Last week we had a visit from my sister, Naomi and her friend Fiona. On their weekend in Korea we went with them to Seoul on the Saturday and, on Sunday, to celebrate our American friend Mike's 40th Birthday, we all went to the baseball to see Daejeon's Hanwha Eagles beat Busan's Lotte Giants. It was our first baseball game - the weather was warm and the beer was cold (and cheap), we had fun. We also learned from the experience, heres one for all the Aussies reading, A Mexican Wave is known only as "a wave" in North America. This made me wonder where the hell we got the term "Mexican wave" from. According to Wikipedia:

The wave was launched into the soccer community and to the world at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, from which the name "Mexican wave" derives."

So there you go you learn something new everyday. Another Mexican wave fact is:

The largest recorded wave was at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 where 110,000 people made an inverse Mexican wave and two simultaneous opposite direction waves.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE

Naomi and Fiona departed Korea for Jolly Olde London on Tuesday - with this being our last weekend here we'll soon be doing the same. We shall be having a bit of a get together tonight, a farewell so to speak. Should be fun.

Below are some photos from the past couple of weeks, enjoy

Take care ,

- T

Songnisan

Seoul

Take me out to the ball game

2006-05-09T15:32:00.000+09:00

Seoul Man (and lady)...

On what will be our last long weekend in Korea, we took a 3 day trip to the city of Seoul. We had quite the time. We marveled at the secret gardens of Changdeokgung (The Royal Summer Palace), did a spot of souvenir shopping in Insadong, the art and antique district of Seoul, sampled the delicious international cuisine and happening nightlife of Itaewon, learned about some of the sadder points of Korean history at the War memorial Museum and Seodaemun prison, and saw some amazing marine-life at the COEX Aquarium. All in all, a spiffing weekend all round.

Hawkeye?A leaflet dropped by the Chinese army during
the Korean War.

Pacman frog!

We found Nemo!

Seodaemun prison was where the Japanese imprisoned, tortured and excecuted Korean independence fighters during the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 'til the end of WWII

2006-05-09T07:48:00.000+09:00

Parent's Day
Yesterday was Parent's Day in Korea. (Happy Parent's day mum!) They don't have a mother's day and father's day as such...they just celebrate the two on the one day. They also have a Children's day (last Friday), and a Teacher's day (next Monday - personally looking forward to that!).

I found an interesting article on Parent's Day on the Australian ABC news website...
South Koreans show Parental love

enjoy
-a

2006-05-03T20:51:00.000+09:00

GYEONGJU

As the clock ticks towards our departure from Korea, we are attempting to see as much of Korea as we can. This weekend we went to the town of Gyeongju which is a little more than two and a half hours from Daejeon. Gyeongju is famous for being the capital of Korea during the reign of the Silla dynasty all the way back in the first millenium. The Silla dynasty ruled most of the Korean penninsula from the 7th-9th century. The History of this place was amazing, being from a relatively new country, it was amazing to see things that were so old. On Saturday we saw the attractions of downtown Gyeongju, including the Gyeongju National Museum, Cheomseongdae (Built in the sixth century using only white granite stones with no mortar, it is asia's oldest observatory and has never been restored in any way), the Anapji pond (orignally part of the old Silla palace complex, built in the year 674), and Tumuli Park (housing the tombs of the Silla kings, which looked like big, perfectly round, grassy hillocks/giant green boobies).

On Sunday, we took the 40 minute bus ride to Bulguksa, one of the most famous temples in the Gyeongju area. This still operational temple is located in the foothills of the mountains just outside of Gyeongju and was quite impressive. Once again the sheer age of the buildings blew me away, it was first built 751. Also, the grounds were beautiful. After we took it all in at the temple we caught a bus to the top of the mountain to see the Seokguram Grotto, which housed a giant granite buddha carved into the mountain along with archways and wall carvings. Construction on this started in 751 and it took 23 years to complete. This was probably the most impressive sight of the weekend.

This Friday is Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday in Korea (two national holidays falling on the same day, what a jip). Nonetheless, its a 3 day weekend (woohoo). Alwyn and I will be spending the 3 days being tourists in Seoul, should be fun.

Until Next time,

- T

TUMULI PARK

Cheomseongdae

Anapji Pond

The Museum

Bill Murray?

Bulguksa

Seokguram

2006-05-01T21:00:00.000+09:00

Spring Has Sprung

2006-04-25T17:20:00.000+09:00

ANZAC DAY

Cheers to all the Kiwi's and Aussie's who are reading. I hope your ANZAC day was filled with cold beer, hot BBQ and good mates. I marked the occasion by playing two up with my level 2 class.

Lest we forget,

- T

2006-04-09T20:00:00.000+09:00

Hey everybody, this weekend was a pretty big one for the two of us. We did some travelling and saw some sights, I think we ended up taking around 300 photos over the course of the weekend.

And here they all are...

Just kidding, below are a selection of photos from the last few days. It started on Friday with a feild trip to Uam Historical Park about 10 minutes from where we live. On Saturday, we took the train out to Suwon to see and walk along Hwaseong, the fortress wall that was built around the town a few hundred years ago, which was quite impressive. Later, we went to the Korean Folk Village - where we saw recreations of old time Korea, old style building and got our photo taken in Hanbok, Korean traditional clothes. On Sunday we went to Chungnam University to see the cherry blossom trees in full bloom, were amazing

UAM HISTORICAL PARK

HWASEONG

KOREAN FOLK VILLAGE

CHERRY BLOSSOMS @ CHUNGNAM UNI

2006-03-25T08:36:00.000+09:00

Strawberry Farm
(24/03/06)

2006-03-21T22:15:00.000+09:00

ST. PATRICK'S DAY @ THE SONGCHON-DONG SWATON LANGUAGE SCHOOL FOR KIDS

Hey Folks, please enjoy these photos from our St. Paddy's day. We spent Friday morning with our kindergarten kids doing various Irish related coloring and crafts (in one of our many attempts to aviod doing any real work). Please note that this is the debut of Troy-teacher's new kindergarten classes to the dong

The girls pictured above from are from my 6 year old (Korean age, they are really 4 years old). Actually, they are the class. There are only two kids. They are very cute but don't be decieved. At first they were terrified of Troy-teacher and would cry within seconds of laying eyes on him. In more recent week they have prefered to run around the class, try to break anything I bring into the classroom and fighting amongst themselves to show how much they care.

My new 7 (5) year old class standing proudly in front of their shamrocks

Alwyn-teacher chose to do something a little more involved than coloring printed from the net. Alwyn's classes and Alwyn-teacher made themselves each a shamrock necklace and can be seen modelling them above.

Festivities aside, all is well in the dong. It looks like we're over the worst of the cold weather and we are hoping to start doing some travelling throughout Korea in the not too distant future.

Hope everyone out there is keeping well.

Til Next Time.

2006-03-16T17:24:00.000+09:00

May your glass be ever full.

May the roof over your head be always strong.

And may you be in heaven

half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!

However you are choosing to spend your St. Paddy's I hope there is a little (or a lot) of Irish in all of ya.

Cheers to ya and don't forget to wear something green.

2006-03-13T17:29:00.000+09:00

Looks like the good folks at Korea's meteorological service got it right. For today I have been sitting in my classroom staring aimlessly out the window (I do that from time to time) to see snow falling. Thats right, Its the middle of the first month of spring and its snowing. I keep saying to myself "this will be the last time, this will be the last time". Lets hope so.

2006-03-12T20:30:00.000+09:00

It seems this winter still has some kick in it. While Friday was a beautiful sunny day that rose to 18 degrees Celsius (the warmest day we've had since the start of this god awful winter), today there was high of 0 degrees C and its predicted to snow tonight. I sincerely hope this is the last we see of the winter weather.

Roll on spring,

- T

2006-02-27T14:21:00.000+09:00

The Class of '06

The graduation was a short and sweet ceremony. Most of it was in Korean so we didn't understand much. The definate highlight of the day was Matthew, from John-teacher's class who came dressed in a very snappy suit. The kids have now moved onto elementary school, so now we'll be teaching our new kindergarten classes as of this Thursday. I have a class with only 2 four year olds in it, who don't speak english and will be crying for there mummies' - fantastic. Anyways here are some photos from graduation and the rest of the day - including Alwyn's class pigging out on ice cream. Enjoy.

2006-02-23T21:48:00.000+09:00

ITS OFFICIAL - I'VE FINALLY CRACKED

There was a time when I spent my Wednesday nights partying til the wee hours - not anymore. I don't know if its the pressure of work getting to me or just that I am just a sad bastard, but I spent all night last night meticulously arranging small piles of gifts for a group of 6 year-old children (consisting of a freddo frog chocolate, an Australian 5 cent peice, various stickers & a starburst fruit chew) in honour of their graduation to elementary school. As if that wasn't enough, I took time out to draw them each little picture with a little goodbye message. So yes, this job has finally sent me absolutely and totally barking mad.

I take solice in the fact that they loved the presents. The graduation ceremony is tomorrow its sure to be the event of the season. I'll post photos

Till next time,

- T

2006-02-21T07:42:00.000+09:00

Hello

For those who only keep in contact with us through the blog, I thought I should post to let you know that we are still alive and well.
We have had a few 'shitty weeks' at work lately...but not all is bad. Here are somethings that are great at the moment!
The weather has been warming slightly - roughly between 1c and 13c.
We have been out with our friends a few times to see one of their bands play.
We have watched a whole heap of movies - Good Night and Good Luck, BrokeBack Mountain, Capote, Jarhead, and we just finished watching the last movie in the Dirty Harry series!
We went out for Outback Steak House on Saturday...that was delicious, as was the nice little Italian Restaurant we went to for Valentines day.
This Friday is Graduation!!!
Stay tuned for a post and photos about that.

Below are some recent photos I have taken.Not that you can really see him all that well...the guy in the blue shirt is George. He's the guy Troy replaced when we came to Korea.

This is Dan and Greer - our friends from NZ...and from over the road!And no post would be complete without a photo of your's truely!

Hope everyone who reads this has a great week!
-a

2006-02-06T08:01:00.000+09:00

It's back......
Just when we thought it was starting to finally warm up, the cold weather has come back with a vengence. On the weekend we had a low of -18c!
This morning, I woke up to find the following outside our apartment window...
When is it going to end???
-a

2006-01-31T17:44:00.002+09:00

say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh or Happy Lunar New Year. We are now entering the year of the fire dog and Alwyn and I, being born in the year of the metal monkey, are now 27, Korean age. This weekend saw folks from asian countries like China, Japan, Vietnam and of course Korea celebrate the lunar, or "chinese", new year. In Korea the holiday is known as Seol-nal and is a big family holiday. Its a very important day on the Korean calender, but for us foreigners it meant a nice long weekend of doing pretty much bugger all - which I think was very much needed.

For more info on the holiday you can check out http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0101.htm, there is also some info on Wikipedia.

For those interested in their sign on the Chinese zodiac click here.

Friday saw the kindy kids at work get dressed up in there Han bok for New year celebrations. The day was very similar to the Chusok special day we had last spring. Australia day was also a fun little day. We spread the Aussie spirit around school by handing out aussie flags to the kids and I wore my green and gold windcheater that I bought especially for Australia day while we were in Bangkok and Alwyn wore here pink "AUSTRALIA" windcheater (thanks Aunty Norma).

Below are some photos of us sharing the aussie spririt with the children of Korea, thats it for now - back to work tomorrow.

2006-01-28T07:54:00.000+09:00

'Mandu Mandu Man'

Yesterday, in preparation for Korean New Year (Seol-na) we participated in the making of mandu with Kindergarten.
Step 1: Take a piece of pastry and wet it around the edges.
Step 2: Place some filling (usually pork and onion) into the middle.
Step 3: Fold the edges in, and press down firmly.
And that's how you make mandu!
After we made the mandu we gave it to the cook, and she boiled them up in a delicious soup that we ate for lunch...
Here are some other photos of our students all dressed up for Korean New Year

2006-01-26T12:06:00.000+09:00

HAPPY STRAYA DAY

G'day and Happy Australia day to everyone. I hope its a good one for all concerned however you choose to spend it. For all those lucky enough to be at Sydney's Big Day Out I hope its a good one, if your having a barbie today throw a snag on for me and if your spending the day at one of Australia's fine drinking establishments have a beer for me, and a huge cheers to any aussie ex-pats who may be reading this. Wherever you are today, whatever you're doing have a Happy Australia Day and spare a thought for those spending the day far from home...

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE-

- T

2006-01-21T10:35:00.000+09:00

Apart from myself being a little under the weather this week, all has been well in the dong of late.
Work has been keeping extremely busy - it seems our school has been getting more and more students as each month goes by. Which is great for the director of our hagwon (school) but unfortunately it means our schedules are getting more and more packed with classes as each month passes. On the bright side the past few weeks have seen the temperatures rise to an almost bearable level.

We are approaching the lunar new year holiday, in Korea it's called Seol-nal, which means next weekend will be a four day weekend - WOOHOO to that. Our original plan was to jump on a plane and check out Beijing for the lunar/Chinese new year period, but we later decided that its too cold for travelling and trekking across Great Walls. So instead we've have opted for staying at home, cooking a curry and watching movies. Although I really do hope to see Beijing and the rest of China someday - unfortunately It may not be on this trip.

Tonight will be the farewell of my good friend and everyone's favourite Bosnian, Darko J, along with his lovely lady Jess from Australia's shores as they embark on a European Vacation I'm sure be so mind-blowingly spectacular and crazy that even Clark Griswold would be jealous. To make it doubley important tomorrow is Darko's birthday. The day of my last birthday Darko was kind enough to give me an awesome birthday acknowledgement, and today I would like to return the favour. So to Darko, my former ghettomate - the super cock-rocking Bosnian Kiwi Aussie Motherf***er, the king of the chubb blue undies and facial hair, and the man who put the MAN in MANGINA. Ding dong to you my friend - I have to be honest I'm sad that I'm not gonna see you when I return but I at the same time I am so happy for you and Jess. So - Cheers to Darko, the only man who I could convince to grow a handlebar mustache and to strut his underwear clad arse on a stage in front of his brand new girlfriend (on separate occasions), you're the king - we've shared many a late night together at the pub, or in front of the Playstation, and hope to spent many more. I would give anything to be partying with you guys tonight but all I can do is say farewell, Bon Voyage, Good Luck and Happy Birthday - I know you 'll have a ball.

Have a drink for me,

-T (Bone)

2006-01-18T07:46:00.000+09:00

I Won!!!

Last night I was presented with a 20,000 won gift voucher for the Gran Piatto Resturant.
It's Italian food, and apparently good Italian food....so that should be good.
mmm...yumm!
The guy in the photo with me is Nico, he's a Korean guy who has lived all his life in Belguim. Lucky guy!

Well that's about all the news I have atm.... (only 4 months to go!)
-a

2006-01-08T11:21:00.000+09:00

THAILAND

We had an awesome time in Thailand. In our time there we patted tigers and elephants, saw the bridge over the river Kwai, chilled on the beach in Koh Samui, visited some amazing old temples and palaces, bought a whole bunch crap that we didn't really need, ate some of the best food we'll ever eat in our lives, enjoyed the cheap and easily accessible drinks (you can buy a beer with your subway sandwich in Thailand) and basked in the altogether warm weather. Tragically, we are now back to work in the land of snow and kimchi, but here are some photographic highlights of our trip to what is known in Korea as Taeguk.

Wat Pho (The Temple of the Reclining Buddha)

Bangkok's Grand Place and the emerald buddha temple

Koh Sahn Rd (Bangkok's Bootleg Clothing, CD/DVD/Game, Fake ID Shopping Mecca)

I couldn't agree more

The Bridge Over The River Kwai (in the province of Kanchanaburi - about two hours from Bangkok)

The Tiger temple (also in Kanchanaburi)

N.B. While it was magical to pat these tigers and we got some great photos; we heard stories from our tour guide of the tigers being mistreated, sedated, and underfed by the temple - while being held for a hefty profit, none of which is going towards giving the tigers a better life. I must say the tigers did seem thin and they were most certainly sedated (I saw kids sitting on them and a drunk aussie pulling on ones tail). I don't know exactly how much truth there is to those claims but it most certainly took the magic of the experience. The tigers were truly beautiful animals.

Maenam Beach, Koh Samui

I'm sorry if I overloaded your senses with so many photos but there's so much we wanted to share. Needless to say, we had a great time in Thailand, my major regret it that we only had 1 week there. I will almost definately return and spend more time in Thailand and south-east Asia.

2006-01-01T09:20:00.000+09:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope everybody had a good NYE wherever it was spent. Its 7am and we are about to go to the airport to fly back to Korea. We had an awesome time here in Thailand, we took plenty of photos so stay tuned...

2005-12-27T00:09:00.000+09:00

Hey Guys, hope you all spent your christmas' in merriment. We are having a great time here in Thailand. The weather is warm, the beer is cheap and the food is amazing. Alwyn and I spent our christmas day shopping at Bangkok's Chatuchuk Market, the big weekend market. This place is one of, if not the biggest markets in the world. We walked around all day and I don't think we saw three quarters of it. Full of knock-off designer products, cheap clothes and shoes, awesome thai antiques and artworks, and crazy pets (Tarantulas, iguanas, snakes etc) - to name just a fraction of what was on offer. We were able to score ourselves a bargain or two. The highlight of the day was being able to haggle with the dealers - that was fun. Christmas night was spent at Big John's Backpackers Hostel where we enjoyed a traditional roast xmas meal with others who were away from home on this xmas day.

We spend our Boxing Day Temple gazing - we saw Wat Pho home of the giant reclining Buddha, and Bangkok's Grand Palace grounds including the temple of the Emerald Buddha. To top it all off, on the walk from the train station to where we're staying we were lucky enough to see an elephant walking down the street. Here are some photos from our past few days for your enjoyment.

2005-12-25T09:59:00.000+09:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE - All the way from Bangkok. Whatever you are doing on this christmas day I hope it be merry for all. Best Wishes to everyone out there be there in Sunny Australia or the frozen wasteland known as Korea (or Scotland).

Christmas eve was a superlong day for us but we made it, and I'm writing to you from Big John's Backpackers Hostel in Bangkok and weather is fine. Today we will be hitting the markets for a little shopping, if you have been good this year I might just get you a little present. Merry Christmas all!!!

2005-12-23T10:59:00.000+09:00

Well we taught our last classes at 6 last night and we are one christmas talent show, a 5 AM bus ride and a few hours on a plane away from spending christmas in sunny Thailand. We are pretty much all packed and ready to go - stay tuned for pics.

Merry Christmas,

-T

2005-12-15T15:40:00.000+09:00

Please disregard any comment I may have in the previous post that may lead one to believe that this season is magical, beautiful or in any other way positive. Little more than weeks into winter and I'm well jack of it. In fact, I think it took a little under 48 hours for the season to sour for me. The walk to work the monday after the snowfall was a killer. The ensueing week involved me getting sick, almost slipping arse over tit everytime I set foot on the outside foodpath, and freezing my balls off on the journey to and from work everyday. Tis the season they say.

Aside from being cold - we have been busy preparing for this years installment of the Annual Swaton Christmas Talent show which will be performed next Friday (December 23rd, 2005) by the our kindergarten kids. Starring yours truly as the wise old octopus in the Rainbow fish, in which I will also be making my directorial debut. They take this sort of thing very seriously here and there has been a lot of work gone into it over the last few months. I'll let you all know how it goes.

The plus side to all this cold is that there is light at the end of the tunnel - Alwyn and I will be in sunny Thailand from christmas eve, where it is a sunny 27 degrees C today. oh yeah.

Til next time,

- T

2005-12-04T14:36:00.000+09:00

SNOW!!!

well well - winter has only just begun and we have all ready seen our first deluge (well a deluge as far as aussie standards go). In the early hours of this morning we saw the first snow flakes of the season and making this officially the third time I have seen snow. The snow came down steadily as we watched from one inside of our local bars.

After a few hours the parked cars had a thick covering of snow; we decided to walk around the corner and see how the snow had affected the rest of the dong. A few short hours of snow had absolutely transformed Dongchundang park into a snow covered asian winter wonderland. At around 1:30-2 o'clock Alwyn, John-teacher, and I were lucky enough to be amongst the first to see it - untouched. It was awesome. We also managed to get in a snowball fight with a bunch of the local young ladies. We took loads of pics but unfortunately they all didn't come out as well as we would have hoped.

Today, A decent build up of snow has remained. We wandered down to the park to get some photos by daylight. It was cool to see the kids out sledding and building snowmen, and while some of the snow had disapated the park was still a spectacular sight.

So, it certainly is beginning to look a lot like a northern hemispherical christmas. In fact, in the time that it took me to write this post snow has started to fall snow outside our window. (We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto)

2005-12-01T07:41:00.000+09:00

December 1st
Today is officially the first day of winter....and this is shaping up to be the coldest winter I have ever experienced.
This morning I decided to check out the temps using Yahoo weather, and this is what the week has in store!!!

Today - High 13c, Low -1c .... Mostly Sunny
Friday - High 5c, Low -3c .... Mostly Sunny
Saturday - High 6c, Low -4c .... Partly Cloudy
Sunday - High 3c, Low -6c .... Rain/Snow

Now....here's the one that's gonna be the killer
Monday - High 2c
Low -6
Scattered Snow Storms!

It's also now only 24 days till Christmas - and only 23 days till Thailand!!!
-a

2005-11-30T08:00:00.000+09:00

Seoul - 27/11/05

Troy and I went to Seoul on Sunday - we did the usual trip to the electronic markets, visited the gourmet delights of Itaewon, and caught the extra fast KTX train. The day consisted of buying some excellent Christmas presents. Troy bought a top-notch MP3 player, and I bought myself a wiz-bang digital camera.
However, the highlight of the day was visiting Gyeongbokgung, one of Korea's old palaces.
Below are some pictures taken at the Palace...
enjoy! -a

2005-11-26T10:58:00.001+09:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving at work yesterday - its not a holiday in Australia, but you know you things have changed when a "party" involves sitting around with 5 year olds, sipping on grape juice and ends at 2:30PM. At least there were plenty of spills to clean up, some things never change.

- T

2005-11-22T15:38:00.000+09:00

Greetings Earthlings, this weekend just gone marked the 6 month point of our contract and our half way mark in Korea. The time seems to have passed by so quickly, yet it feels like we have been here for an eternity at the same time. I've already forgotten what its like to walk down the street and understand what people are saying around me, and what its like to be in a country where a parking space is not defined as a place that a car can be physically crammed into (including, but not limited to, corners, intersections, and footpaths). From what I've been told once you reach the halfway point, its all downhill.

This week has also seen the inevitable cold change in the weather that this Aussie has been dreading. Yes, winter is on its way folks. So basically what that means to you, the faithful donger, you will see a lot more posts on this page from myself as it will be to cold to leave my flat when I'm not working, unfortunately there's a strong possibility that these posts will comprise of nothing more than yours truly whinging about the cold. Enjoy.

- T

2005-11-17T15:42:00.000+09:00

THE DONG - A VIRTUAL TOUR
PART 2

Please enjoy some more photos from the place we are currently calling home. Above is a photo of the intersection between our place and work. In it you can see the Toast guy's cart, a kimbap place, baskin and robbins, Sunbimal apartments and the mountains in the background - this photo allows you to get a feel for the dong, so to speak. Oh and you can't see it but the yellow upright sign to the left of "flower" says "JESUS 2000"

Jin Jin Pig - Fine purveyors of Donkkas - Korea's pork cutlet dish (see our entry on Korean food) Don't be fooled by the roll of toilet paper immediately inside the floor, they cook a spicy but very tasty pig.

Pizza Etang - Our prefered pizza vendor - Home of the corn-free pizza.

Mr. Park's Samgyeopsal restaurant - Once again see our entry on Korean food. There are literally hundresds of places like this one in the dong, serving Pork or Beef grilled on the table with mountains of side dishes, and the ones we have tried have all been fantastic. Due to the friendliness of the owner Mr Park and the wide variety of side dishes offered Mr Park's is a favourite among the Swaton foriegn teachers.

Our school building from the back the top row of windows are windows into some of our classrooms.

The local ice-cream jobber - upstairs is the local Pizza 2001 which is owned the parents of one of Alwyn's students.

Two of the local singing rooms - Noraebangs are everywhere - these two are right around the corner from our place

Korea's answer the McDonalds, Lotteria. Like McDonalds they are on every corner, this is our local one. They offer familiar treats like cheeseburger and french fries, but if you want something with more of a local flavour watch out for the Bulgogi burger, Kimchi burger and the Hot squid burger. They also serve Milo - aussie aussie aussie!

The building across the road from our school. Its the tallest building in the dong but is particular special because the restaurant on the top floor of this building is the Opera House Restaurant (thats what the Korean writing on the top of the building says), complete with pictures of Sydney Harbour inside - Oi Oi Oi!

One of the local Waygooks (white people) - Dan is from New Zealand and is over here with his fiancee, Greer; but more importantly this photo captures the blank stare that we often attract from the locals.

That's all for now. Hope you had fun looking at the wonderful photos of my dong.

- T

2005-11-12T12:11:00.000+09:00

Alwyn and I made out with a swag of Pepero sticks yesterday - an excellent day for any chocolate lover or stockholder in Lotte. Judging by the amount of Pepero that was flying around our school yesterday, a LOT of chocolate/biscuit sticks were sold throughout Korea yesterday. It was quite interesting to experience such a frivolous commercial holiday on one of the most solemn days on the Australian/Western calander, Rememberence Day. In a way, that speaks volumes on the whole Korea experience.

Yesterday was also an open day for prospective parents who may be placing their little ones into next years Kindergarten classes. It was a pretty cruisy day - the kids were shipped off to a near-by amusement centre and all the foreign teachers had to do has stand near the elevator and greet the parents as they arrived, being a token is fun you should all try it sometime.

-T

2005-11-10T20:36:00.000+09:00

Happy Pepero Day

Today is a special day in Korea.

In homes, schools, and workplaces across the country, countless people are giving their loved ones a delicious baked treat. Why? To show them that they love them.

But what is Pepero Day? According to Wikipedia, Pepero Day is a holiday in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day in the West. It is named after the Korean snack food Pepero, and is celebrated on November 11, since the date "11/11" looks like four sticks of Pepero.

To read more about Pepero Day click here

Pepero is basically a thin pastry stick that either has chocolate on it or in it. Troy was lucky enough to recieve some Pepero from one of his students!!! They are actually quite delicious!

So, now you know all about Pepero Day, you have no excuses...go out there and join the commercial bandwagon, and go by some Pepero - and show someone how much you love them!

HAPPY PEPERO DAY!!!

2005-11-03T12:08:00.000+09:00

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup - the race that stops the nation....and apparently NZ too (so thats techincally two nations) was on Tuesday.

Every year millions of once-a-year gamblers make their way to the local TAB to bet on this fantastic race. Troy and I usually take part in Melbourne Cup festivities, however seeing as we are in a different country, we had to make our own fun!

We placed our bets (via Troy's mum) the night before. Troy and I aren't big gamblers - we spent roughly about $35 AUD, and we spent the day anxiously awaiting the big race.

Luckily, the race was during our lunch time, so we had settled ourselves at a computer, ready to listen to the big race.

The race - from what we could hear, as we were surrounded by SCREAMING children - sounded very exciting! Makybe seemed to spring to the front with perfect timing.

Unfortuntely for us.....we didn't back the winners.

I would like to congratulate Makybe on a brilliant win. She truely is one of the greatest horses ever. In the past two Melbourne cups, I backed Makybe to win. However, this year I underestimated her. I'm glad she won. I hope she enjoys her retirement....apparently she is going to be used as a breeding mare......SO I'm sure she will have fun!

-a

2005-10-28T10:51:00.000+09:00

Top of the morning to everyone - today is a fine day in the dong. Well its a little overcast outside but this morning our kindergarten students have gone to a halloween party at Korea's premier theme park Everland. So instead of listening to 5 year olds talking about Pacrucky man and Bobby Boo, and being up to my neck in coloring and small fiddly bits of cut up paper I spent my morning sleeping in and downloading 80's music - I'll be strolling up to work at the nice old time of 2:50PM. To that I say Ding Dong!

This next part is from Darko's blog, who stole it from Meg's blog, who stole it from somebody elses blog - and in the spirit of good ol' online theft I will continue - the idea is to google your name and "needs"- so I typed in "Troy needs":

Troy needs Guitar and Bass.
Troy needs a costume for Halloween!
Troy Needs Prozac!
Troy needs to switch shampoo brands.
Troy needs your help!!
Troy needs vindication
'Troy' needs more mythology
Troy needs to be read and is anxiously awaiting your comments and advice. (It's true)

Alwyn needs grilling for this
Alwyn needs to wear a tux.
Alwyn needs help in figuring the positions of the stars on Saturday night.
Alwyn’s body needs fixing

Try it and leave the results in the comments section.

While your on google try typing in "failure" and hitting the "I'm feeling lucky" button. Alwyn happened along this one - its pretty funny.

Funny website - www.liquidgeneration.com

Funny toon - How pregnancy happens - made by the planned parenthood foundation in America

Funny Dubya Movies - "Bush Speaks"

"Gay Bar"

The last two movies are from www.spikedhumor.com - This is a website has some very funny movies on it, but some of the stuff on there is not for the faint of heart - you've been warned.

2005-10-24T15:54:00.000+09:00

Hello Everyone! Just a quick note to you all to let you know what an awesome birthday I had. I went for the "Rockhampton Rib-eye" at the Outback steakhouse and it went down a treat - after a trip to the Cool bar for some of the local ale and a couple of shots of tequila (which didn't go down too badly either), the requisite visit to the Noraebang was on the cards for sweet renditions of everyone's favourite songs including Aerosmith's Walk this way, Rick James' Superfreak, Bon Jovi's Living on a prayer, The Beatles' All of my lovin' and Wham's Wake me up before you Go-go. Got in at 4:30 - sign of a good night.

A HUUUUUUGGGGEEE thank you to everyone for the presents, e-cards, phone calls, emails, kind words and well-wishes (by which I mean not wishing me any particular harm). To everyone here who came out to celebrate on Friday I hope you had a good night - you made a birthday so far from home so much more enjoyable. Everyone back home in Oz (and those who are travelling at the moment) I miss you all so much and wish I could have celebrated 25 years with you all - theres always next year.

Until Then,

Ding Dong

- T

Troy wearing silly birthday hat at the Outback Steakhouse

2005-10-21T12:37:00.000+09:00

yes yes Happy Birthday to me. Today I reach a quarter of a century, I'm finally an adult in the eyes of the Australian government. I have received many nice presents this morning, including a swag of folded origami paper from my kindergarten kids. Tonight we will be celebrating with Beer and Aussie steak at that dinky-di aussie establishment The Outback Steakhouse. For those who are interested, I share my birthday with the following people:

1772- Samuel Coleridge

1833 - Alfred Nobel

1917 - Dizzy Gillespie

1928 - Whitey Ford

1940 - Manfred Mann

1941 - Steve Cropper

1942 - Judge Judy Sheindlan

1949 - Benjamin Netanyahu

1952 - Trevor Chappell (underarm anyone)

1955 - Eric Faulkner (of the Bay city rollers)

1956 - Carrie Fisher

1957 - Steve Lukather, (singer/guitarist of the band, toto!)

1971 - Jade Jagger

1971 - Damien Martyn (aussie cricketer)

1976 - Jeremy Miller (Ben Seaver from TV's Growing Pains)

Thats all for now - enjoy...

Yours sincerely,

birthday boy.

2005-10-21T07:29:00.000+09:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY!!!
hope you have a rock'n birthday

-a

2005-10-15T15:36:00.000+09:00

Good afternoon friends, family and wellwishers - It is Saturday afternoon and the most beautiful day in the dong. The sun is shining and its one of those autumn days perfect for lapping up those golden rays. We need to enjoy it while we can before the northern hemisphere winter rears its not so pretty head. Okay so since our arrival we have managed to keep everyone up to date on life in Korea and in particular life in The Dong - just so everyone is crystal clear dong is the Korean word for suburb or neighborhood, the particular dong in question being Songchon-dong - Today I thought I would take some time to show what the dong looks like. So sit back, relax and enjoy....

THE DONG - A VIRTUAL TOUR

PART 1

I apologize to those reading this from within the dong as it may seem a little boring; but to all those outsiders reading, particular those downunder, please enjoy this pictorial guide of our new stomping ground.

Firstly, This is the front of our apartment - we have a pretty good apartment by Korean standards, for which we are grateful. We are on the 2nd storey. Note the pork restaurant downstairs these are EXTREMELY popular in our area. Also note the "Heaven" sign, from which we derived the title for blog. I'm not too sure what it is exactly some people say its a hof/bar, but the word on the street is that its a front for a brothel - very common in Korea.

Above and below are shots from outside our schools building. Swaton language school is on the 7th floor.

This is one of the most important stops on the tour. The Beer Hunter - our local watering hole. Half Price Tuesdays is very popular with the foreign teacher community in The Dong.

Sunbimal - The local high rise apartment buildings. A bulk of the kids we teach live in these apartment buildings

Dongchundang Park - the local park. Complete with cultural relics. Today was such a beautiful day we took our lunch there to bask in the sun. Its a beautiful park to have right at our door step.

Kimbap Cheonkuk - Our favorite place to go for tasty and cheap Korean food - you will usually find us here a few nights of the week. Check part two of the tour for more of our favorite places to eat.

Our local convenience store - good for late night beer, chip, ice cream, and chocolate runs. Convenience stores are on every corner in Korea. "How convenient!". Unfortunately this particular one has just changed hands recentky and is no longer 24 hour. Drag.

Heaven - a better shot of the afore mentioned establishment

Stay tuned for Part 2....

2005-10-10T15:32:00.000+09:00

Hey everyone, just another quick update to let everyone know that all is well in the dong. Teaching is going great guns, despite having to work on Saturday, and I think we are adjusting to our new asian life more and more as each day passes. The main reason for this entry is I want you all to check out this trailer for The Shining that our friend Greer turned us onto. I won't spoil it for you - I'll just say its amazing what can be done with a little editing. If you like them also check out : Psycho, Parent Trap, Westside Story, and Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind.

All of them are good but the Shining is brilliant. Check em out.

Before I go I have one quick request. As you may already know the internet is freaking fast over here in Korea, I have maxed out my hard drive once already and am currently making space for a new batch of mass downloading. What I want from you, the faithful donger, is ideas - movies and tv shows - especially those from the 80's. The cheesier the better - Don't let me down guys. Leave suggestions in the comment section.

Peace, Love and Kimchi,

- T

2005-10-03T11:16:00.000+09:00

Just a quick note to send our well wishes to our good friend, former bandmate and now fellow expat aussie, Brett - who is now in Jolly ol' England. Have a good one over there man, if we can ever get over there we'll definately look you up. I have added a link to Brett's blog to the page. I have also added the blog of everyone's favourite Bosnian - Darko, to the page - enjoy.

2005-09-30T20:24:00.000+09:00

Greetings Dongers, It's time for another update on life in everyone's favourite dong. This Sunday saw the departure of the visiting members of the McNamara Clan from the Republic of Korea. My mother and sister paid Alwyn and I a visit, spending a total of 9 days in the dong.

They were here over the chusok weekend - unfortunately this meant any highway or train travel was a virtual impossibility due to everything being booked out and the highways being jammed full of cars (40 million Koreans making the annual trek to their nana's house at one time tends to do that) So we used the 5 day long weekend to explore the wonders of Daejeon city. In addition to the obligatory tour of the Songchon-dong, they saw the downtown area, various local markets, Dunsan-dong (the major dept store shopping area and the home of Daejeon's only Subway sandwich shop), and Yuseong (just ask them about their visit to the traditional Korean spa). The highlight of the weekend was our visit to Ppuri park which is on the other side of town, it was in set amongst the mountains in the south of the city with a river running through it. The park is all about Korean ancestory with a statue for every Korean family name in the park.

After three days in the factory it was the weekend again! and we were off to the world's fifth largest city, Seoul. The primary purpose of this day was for the ladies to indulge the number 1 vice of females everywhere, shopping. (I think I've seen enough fake Louis Vuiton bags to last me 10 life times). So it was off to the markets. We went to three markets in total Namdaemun , dongdaemun and Yongsan. Namdaemun was a haven for dodgy fake handbags, humourous t-shirts, various items of Koreana and crazy Koreans driving there vans into crowds of people. We actually found t-shirts with Korean on them - a rarity. Namdaemun markets is also home to its name sake - Namdaemun which is the Great Southern gate and Korean National Treasure #1. Despite being crowded and cramped it was a pretty cool market, I picked my self up a few knock off t-shirts and some cheap sunnies. - and Alwyn got a Spongebob T-shirt.

Namdaemun

Dongdaemun markets, for us, was not so good. Dongdaemun was more of a shopping area than a market and we had no idea where to look. All we managed to find there, were army surplus items and plants. So for any commando horticulturalists out there Dongdaemun is for you. And finally there was Yongsan - now I must admit here is where ol Troy boy did quite revel in the shopping environment. For those not familiar with Seoul, Yongsan is the electronics market. With all sorts of goodies - from mobile phones to computer parts. Today I was shopping for pirated DVD's and PS2 games - at $10 for PS2 and $5 DVD how can you go wrong? After our day of shopping it was off to Itaewon - Seoul's foriegner neighbourhood - for a tasty curry.

And what trip to Korea would be complete without a visit to one of the many singing rooms Korea has to offer! Our trip to the Naraebang was filled with many renditions of classic tunes from way back when with a few new tunes thrown in for good measure. Of course, I was reluctantly dragged onto the mic for a few numbers.

It was cool to spend a week doing some touristy things in Korea being that we haven't really taken much time to do that. A good time was had by all - although Mum wasn't too keen on Korean food. There was a plus side to that as we got to try a lot of western and other foods over the week. Including Outback Steak house (see Alwyn's entry on our field trip there for more info) which served up a delicious steak with proper chips! oh yeah. Even better the meal was free because my sister found a grub in her veges. To that I raise my free glass of Fosters.

As for us now we have had to put the tourist facade to one side and its back to working and watching cartoons. Work has been pretty good lately, I got my class timetable for next month recently to find that the class I have dubbed The four thirty Fuckwits have been given to another teacher. The icing on the cake is that that other teacher is Alwyn-teacher! Ding Dong. Outside of work I will be keeping myself busy with many of the wonderful items I purchased from shady characters at the Yongsan markets. Stay tuned for game reviews.

Until next time,

- T

2005-09-22T21:29:00.000+09:00

Chusok @ Swaton Language School For Kids

On Thursday September 16, 2005, Alwyn and I helped out at the Swaton Kindergarten Chusok Party. Chusok is the Korean Thanksgiving holiday and Chusok day was on Sunday September 19 this year.

Chusok is a quite a big deal in Korea its probably the equivalent to christmas back home, but most importantly it meant 5 days off work for us, for which I give thanks. The party involved the kids playing traditional Korean games, making traditional toys, as well as preparing and eatting the traditional Chusok snack, song pyun. By far the highlight of the day was seeing the little ones dressed up in their Hanbok (Traditional Korean Dress). They were so cute, they all looked like little Korean princes and princesses. It was a really fun day, I have attached a few photos from the day - enjoy.

For more pics click on the link to "Troy's photo album"...

- T

2005-09-15T20:46:00.000+09:00

Hey Guys - I hope all is well for everyone reading this. Just a quick G'day just to let you know we are still alive. All has been well in the dong of late - just been working and sleeping pretty much. This weekend is Korean Thanksgiving , which is called Chusok -but the most important thing is that we have the 5 days off from work, now that is worth giving thanks for. At the moment we have been busy preparing for my mother's and sister's guest appearances as themselves on The Dong. Please note that I have added to our entry on Korean food and also I have included some more photos from our trip to Busan supplied by Dong local Dan the Kiwi, enjoy.

Ding Dong

-T

2005-08-28T11:06:00.000+09:00

G'day/Anyeong to all those out there in Netlandia, T here. Just dropping you all a line to let you all know whats been happening in the dong of late. First of all I would like to say farewell to some people who have recently left us to go stateside. Firstly - Jennifer and Kara who we have spent the best part of 3 months working with at Swaton.
Thanks for all your help when we were getting started, we'd have been lost without you guys - It's not going to be same without you. Also, a huge farewell to Matt and Aden. Hope you have fun in Texas, thanks for everything over our first few months you really helped us find our feet socially in Korea. I think that if it wasn't for you guys we'd still be hiding out in our apartment every night. Most importantly, you taught us how to play Texas Hold 'em - we miss poker night guys, Thursday nights will never be same. To Matt, Aden, Jennifer and Kara - I wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do in your new American life, please keep in touch and if you are ever downunder drop us a line. If we are ever stateside expect a knock on your door!

Okay, now that the sentimental goodbye's are over with, I can let you in on everything else that has been happening. First to the wacky world of ESL teaching - I have been spending my days reading such intellectually stimulating classics as Yippy-day-yippy-do, Be careful Matthew, Jolly Jumping Jelly Beans, and The Wind Blows Strong. As well as playing games such as Connect 4, Jenga, Bingo, and Uno. Of the past few weeks there have been some definate highlights of my classes. "Like what?" you say. Little Timmy learning his first word in English? Teaching a child to read? An Apple for teacher? Not quite. First of all a girl in my class drew a symbol in her notebook "Teacher, Teacher - Korean, Fuck you" Thanks for that. Another moment that made me laugh was when one of my kindergarten kids drew a lady and wrote my name "Lady- hot lady, Troy-teacher happy!" She didn't mention any names but I'm pretty sure they starting to cotton on to Alwyn and I? "Troy-teacher married? Troy-teacher Alwyn-teacher --- friends?" followed by streams of giggling. Also the younger of my two kindy classes have invented the game get the car keys from teachers pocket. They think its the best game on the planet- needless to say its not so fun for teacher. Let me tell you, theres never a dull moment in crazy world of English education. Included are some photos from last week's excursion to the Geology museum with our kindergarten classes.

Apart from working, Alwyn and I have been keeping ourselves busy with various pursuits. A few weeks ago we went with 2 fellow Songchon-dong ESL teachers - Dan and Greer - to Busan to farewell our Texan friend, Matt. Who's father by the way was good friends with Bill Hicks! very very cool. Anyways, we hung out on the beach drinking beer with thousands of Korean's until 3 in the morning. We had an awesome time. Apart from that we've just been hanging out in Daejeon trying to keep out of trouble. I have included some photos of our trip to Busan .

Keep smiling,

-T

2005-08-21T10:27:00.000+09:00

Food in Korea

Korean food is delicious. Every meal in Korea is served with numerous side dishes. These side dishes are free, and vary depending on the food you ordered (even the pizza is served with a side of pickles -T). Korean food is generally flavoured with garlic and red pepper paste. So, for our faithful dongers here is a crash course on the Korean foods we have tried so far...

Kimchi - Kimchi is the Korean staple. It is said in Korea that, a meal is not a meal if it does not include Kimchi and rice. Kimchi is usually cabbage that has been left to ferment in spicy red pepper paste. Kimchi can however be made with other vegetables...such as raddish. It also varies in taste depending on how long it has been left to ferment (Fermented Cabbage. It tastes as good as it sounds -T). Kimchi has been known to be left for up to a year. Every October in Gwangju is the traditional Kimchi making festival.....this is one place that I will NOT be visiting. Troy and I have been told that the longer you spend in Korea, the more you will enjoy Kimchi. Obviously we haven't been in Korea long enough!

Samgyeopsal (sam-gip-sal) - Samgyeopsal is barbequed pork filliets brought to the table raw, then cooked on your table, dipped in sesame oil and salt, then wrapped in lettuce leaves. This is a VERY popular dish in the restaurants surrounding our place. Samgyeopsal is served with the many side dishes that accompany most Korean meals. I can gladly recommend Mr. and Mrs. Park's Samgyeopsal resturant in Songchon-dong!

Kimbap - mmmm. Kimbap is similar in looks to Japanese "Sushi" or Nori Rolls. Kim (seaweed) is wrapped around a neatly made package of rice, ham, raddish, fish cake and egg. These are the basic ingredients of Kimbap, however there are numerous versions of Kimbap (including Kimchi Kimbap). I personally like Chumchi Kimbap, which is tuna Kimbap. The basic Kimbap costs around 1000w (Au $1.20) while the Chumchi Kimbap is about 2500 w (Au $2.80). It is a cheap and filling meal.

Bibimbap - This is one of my favourite Korean dishes. Bibimbap is a bowl of mixed shredded vegetables, lettuce, cucumber, rice, and hot sauce with an egg on top. Upon recieving your Bibimbap, you then procceed to mix the ingredients vigourously. My prefered way to eat Bipbimbap is Dolsot Bipbimbap . Dolsot Bibimbap is served in a hot stone bowl with a raw egg on top. The egg cooks as you mix it in. It's delicious! You can get Bibimbap at all good Kimbap places for W2500-W3500 (AU$3-4).

Mandoo - Mandoo are steamed or fried dumplings that are served either on their own, with noodles, or in Mandoo-guk (Mandoo soup). Mandoo is usually filled with meat and vegetables, as well as some spices, however you can also get other types of Mandoo...such as Kimchi mandoo.

Kalbi - Kalbi are short ribs that are BBQ'd Korean style at your table. Kalbi ribs are marinated and brought to your table to be cooked and served in the same style as Samgyeopsal.

Seafood - Seafood in general here is really good. My favourite seafood dish is Samchi. Samchi is a pan fried fish brought to your table on a sizzling plate. There are also many sushi and sashimi places nearby, as well as lobster and crab restaurants. (There is also a huge amount of squid served in the menu here. Served in all sorts of ways, the most interesting being squid jerky which is commonly served at bars -T)

***AMENDED 09/15/2005***

Donkkas - Much to certain peoples disgust we left this culinary gem off our original food posting. Donkkas is much like a cutlet or schnitzel that you would eat at home. Its basically a pork cutlet which is breadcrumbed and fried and served with either a savoury brown/BBQ type sauce or a spicy sauce and sides. Its delicious - If you are ever in Songchon-dong, Daejeon I strongly suggest you try the Donkkas from Jin Jin Pig next door to the BYC undies shop.

Cheers - T

There are many more Korean foods out there, we have only just begun on our culinary guide to Korea. Stay tuned for the Winter Soups review.

- A.

P.S If anyone from the land of the morning calm is reading this and thinks that I have left anything major out, please email me.

2005-08-17T22:19:00.000+09:00

and now for another episode of...

DONGS IN SPACE

2005-08-07T10:12:00.000+09:00

JAPAN

R & R in Tokyo

On Monday, July 25, 2005, Alwyn and I caught the 3 hour hydrofoil ferry from Busan, South Korea across the Japan sea to Fukuoka, Japan for our
week long trip ot Japan with a number of questions on our mind. Is it really as expensive as people say? Were we going to be able to afford eat? Are Japanese people as short as people say? Is Tokyo truly the city we see in movies like Kill Bill & Lost in Translation? What's that strange smell? All of these questions, with the possible exception of the last one would be answered in our week long tour of the land of the rising Yen.

HIROSHIMA

Upon arriving in Fukuoka we caught the night bullet train to Hiroshima. A tram ride and a frustrating search for the hole in the wall hotel I had chosen for our accomodation later we went to sleep in our sweatbox hotel room. We checked out the hotel the next morning and headed out to explore the city. In the light of day we noticed that Hiroshima was a beautiful city, the tramline really lent it an old charm.

Although the hotel was fairly basic it was good in the regard that it was right near all the places we wanted to see that day. So after breakfast and a coffee we walked the short walk over the bridge to Hiroshima's Peace Park. Peace park is a very nice park that was set up as a memorial of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city. The park's site is located at the hypocentre of the explosion and is dedicated to nuclear disarmament and peace in general - the perfect use for a place that was witness to such brutality. Yesterday (August 6) marked the 60th anniversiry of the bombing, so you may have seen pictures of Peace Park in the news.

To look at the park their wasn't much to suggest that it was once obliterated by nuclear bomb - except for one thing, The "Atomic Dome". The Atomic dome is an old government building with a dome roof (hence the name) that is one of the few buildings that survived the blast, and is the only one still standing today.

The Atomic dome sits at the back of the park as a grim reminder of what happened 60 years ago. They say the reason it is still standing is because the bomb was detonated in the air almost directly above the building, the force hitting the building downwards instead of across. It gutted the building, everything inside caught fire and everyone inside was killed instantly, but the the building's framework remained untouched. It was so surreal, we stared at for an hour.

During our walk in the park there were a bunch of young japanese English students who interviewing the foreigners in the park, most of them around 5-7 years old. They were so cute , asking questions like "What is your name?", "Where are you from?", "Do you like purple?" and "Do you like lollypops?".

After the walk in the park, we headed to the museum. The relatively calm atmosphere of the park was contrasted in the museum. The museum documented the history of the war and the bomb, emphasising the nuclear bomb's destuctive power and the need to get rid of these weapons. The part on the rebuilding of Hiroshima added some hope to the picture. The most moving part of the exhibition was the section where they showed relics from the bombings, complete with children's school uniforms that they were wearing at the time of the blast, a watch that stopped at 8:15 (the time of the blast), a child's lunch box with his lunch burnt to a crisp inside, a piece of someone's thumb, and a toddler's tricycle. Everyone around the room was close to tears.

Going to Peace park and the museum in Hiroshima is something that will stay with the me for the rest of my life. If you are ever in Japan I strongly recommend that you go, it has a way of putting things into perspective...

Late in the afternoon we traveled to Kyoto by train.

KYOTO

We arrived at Kyoto at about 9:30pm. Tonight we would be staying at the Holiday Inn, which strangely enough was the cheapest hotels out of all, possibly because it was one the hardest hotels to find (My hotel choosing skill once again proudly displayed). We had no idea to get to the hotel so we called them from the closest payphone and got rough directions. So we did what they said and got on the bus and got off at the bus stop close to the hotel. The hotel wasn't in eye shot, it was dark and we had no idea how to get a hotel. After wandering around for 20 minutes, we finally asked someone for directions. This was where we got our first real taste of Japanese politeness. The guy we asked, he looked like he was on his way home from work with his dinner in his hands, did an about face and gestured us to follow him. He walked us the way to the hotel, which would have been very difficult for us to find as it was in a back street. If that had been in Australia I'm sure all I would have got was a vague point followed by "over there" or something to the effect. So, we found the hotel which was your typical international hotel, it was fairly nice.

The next morning we first headed back to the train station to put our bags in lockers so we could trek around and see the temples. We got some tourist info and off we went. We got on a sight seeing bus, which was similar to the regular buses but it traveled to different temples throughout the city. Kyoto is an absolutely amazing city, one of the few cities that did not get bombed in WW2, so it still looks and feels like old Japan. The old-style arcitecture in the town was good to see; especially all the buddhist temples and shinto shrines. Their are over 2000 temples and shrines in Kyoto so it was hard to chose which to visit. In the end, we found a walk by the name of the "Path of Philosophy", which was a scenic walk that took us past many small temples and shrines and ending with the magnificent Nanzen-ji temple. The walk was beside a small river and lined with cherry blossom trees. The walk took us about 2 hours, it wasn't very long but we stopped to look at things on the way. The buildings we saw were nice, so different from anything I'm used to at home.

At the end of the walk we found ourselves at Nanzen-ji temple, an absolutely breathtaking place. It was originally built in the 13th century as a retirement villa for the Emperor but was turned into a temple upon his death. Most of the original buildings were destroyed in the 15th century by civil war and were rebuilt in the 17th century. After walking though the menacing sanmon gate we found ourselves in the temple's grounds. Within this were numerous sub-temples. We explored the small temples and the grounds before paying our 500 yen (about $AU7) to go inside the main hall. In the main, or hojo's, hall we explored the old sleeping quarters which had walls decorated with old Japanese drawings and enjoyed the beautiful traditional gardens, - "Hows the serenity?"

What we saw of Kyoto was amazing; and what we saw was but the tip of the iceberg. It is a big city with all soughts of things like this to explore - I'd love to go back someday. After our day of walking - it was on to the night train to the buzzing metropolis that is Tokyo.

TOKYO

We got into Tokyo at about 8pm on Wednesday, July 27, 2005. After having some problems with getting the ATM's to accept our foriegn cards we hopped on the subway to catch a train to our next place of accomodation, the Ryokan Kantetsu. A Ryoken is a Japanese style hotel. So it was a futon on the floor and a fairly basic room. It was similar to a backpackers at home only Japanese style. The grounds were nicely landscaped with Japanese gardens and rock pools, the common room had internet and a cool, but strange, massage chairs.

We had two days in Tokyo to explore the city before the fuji festival. We spent our time basically just wandering around the city and checking it out. We went to the Sony building in Ginza, it was good but there was not as much hi-tech new gadgets as I had hoped and no sign of the PS3, the shinjuku shopping area, which was buzzing with bright lights and people everywhere, the Ginza shopping district, and the electric town, a conglomerate of electronics shops (a must for all cybergeeks). Tokyo is a city of contrasts, while it is a huge bustling city unlike any I have been to, there are places like Ueno Park, which was a giant park surrounded by museums, art galleries, an antiques market and a zoo. Inside the park there were also Shinto Shrines and beautifully landscaped grounds. It was the perfect escape from fast city environment, and the shade provided much needed respite from the heat, as it was a very hot day. We spent all afternoon there.

Tokyo had the big city vibe that I was hoping for and more. Of all the cities we visited its hard to pin down a favourite but Tokyo is the city I would most like to spend an extended time in, maybe someday.

So, what did we learn in our week in Japan? Well, Japan is not as expensive as people say, its a little more expensive that Korea and Australia but nothing to stop anyone from going. I mean if you wanted to eat steak every night and go exclusive stores and clubs then yeah you will drop a lot of cash, but otherwise its okay. So, yes we could afford to eat. We also learned that Japanese people are not short people (another Myth BUSTED). As for the movie question, well I think its best to visit a place like Japan especially Tokyo without to many preconceptions, having said that those movies are not completely off the mark. We never found out what that smell was....

Till next time

-T

2005-08-06T12:31:00.000+09:00

FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

On Saturday, July 30, 2005, we embarked on a journey to the town of Naeba, in northern Honshu, Japan, to participate in the Fuji Rock Festival - the festival was a three day festival but we just had the Saturday ticket due to work restrictions. The day wasn't exactly the fun in the sun with the Japanese summer festival atmosphere that I had anticipated - being that it pissed down rain for most of the time, and the festival was held up in the mountains at a Ski field - these two combined to make it a little chilly. So after traipsed through the mud through a monsoonal downpour and discovering that my raincoat is only really good in light showers - we found shelter under the marquee and attempted to dry off - to no avail really. That was the worst of the day over with - the rain did clear up to light showers during the afternoon, so after checking out some pretty cool japanese bands and some not so cool western bands - we headed out of the marquee to explore the grounds.

The food at the place was awesome - there was Jamacian Jerk Chicken, Russian food (qacalash & crab juice - j/k), hot dogs, kebabs, meat pies!!!, fish and chips and loads more that I can't think of right now. Okay, you know your in a foreign land when you are standing next a whole bunch of people eating fish and chips with chopsticks. Anyways after a good dose of western food (meat pies and chili dogs) we checked the main stage. The stage area was excellent - surrounded by the mountains. Breathtaking.

It was here we would see the feature acts that we had paid to see - BECK and FATBOY SLIM. We managed to get to the front for Beck so we had an awesome view but unfortunately security wouldn't let us take photos. Beck was great he played songs that he didn't play last time I saw him, like Sexx Laws and Beercan, which I really wanted to see live. On stage, there was some weird dude in 80's tennis gear who just danced and bashed the drums occasionally. Also, late in the set the backing band did this cool percussion piece on plates and glasses at a "dinner table" that they were sitting at during Beck's solo acoustic songs - which led straight into Where it's at (Two turntables and a Microphone). Anyway it was great, I could go on for ages. If you want more details email me!

About half an hour after Beck, Fatboy Slim started with the star wars imperial march and a dazzling light/animation show. The Fatboy ripped it up on stage mixing up everything from Sunshine of you love to Billie Jean, and of course favourites such as Praise you, Rockerfeller Skank, Right Here Right Now, and Fatboy Slim is ___ing in Heaven. My personal favourite was when we mixed Public Enemy's Bring the noise with Seven Nation Army - tre cool. He played for two hours and it was one hell of a party, the climax of which reached as the storms returned and the sky began to emulate the dazzling light show onstage.

After Fatboy Slim ended the party continued, we caught a Japanese blues band, and an electronica band from the states - before going to the british council marquee and watching screenings of such british comedies as The Office and The Sketch Show. After this, at 2:00 (or 26:00 as the shuttle bus schedules would have it) it was time to catch the bus down the mountain and wait for our 6:00 train back to Tokyo. Sleeping on the concrete outside the train station with about 100 of the local punters is something I'll most certainly be able to chalk up to experience. I didn't manage to get much sleep as I seemed to chose the snoring section of the pavement.

We got our train at 6:00 and flew back to Busan at 2:00pm. Back to the reality (well the Korean version of it anyway)...

2005-07-31T20:21:00.000+09:00

July 31, 2005 - Hey guys - we've just walked in the door, home from Japan. We had an awesome time there but today was so long. I'm to tired to write a long message as I didn't get any sleep last night but I will post a whole heap of info on our trip and the Fuji Rock Festival. We have lots of photos to post once we get them developed (we used one of those old fashioned cameras). Stay tuned.

- T

2005-07-18T21:11:00.000+09:00

Ding Dong to everyone out there in cyberspace. Alwyn's already mentioned the Mud fest. It was quite amusing... It basically is what you would imagine, people getting muddy at the beach . It had it all - cheesy music, drunk crazy muddy wayguks (whitey), drunk crazy muddy Koreans, cheap beer, bikini girls and lots of mud. I managed to slippery myself up nicely. On the downside there was no nudity involved - and everyone knows slippery and naked go hand in hand. But you can't win 'em all. On the plus side we were given two roman candles by a random kiwi dude. When I was in the water washing the mud this Korean kid comes up to me and says Hello! (not that strange - those of you who have been or are currently in Korea would not be surprised by this at all) and the usual questions followed How are you? where are you from? etc. followed by "Do you like Gimch?" I said what - "Do you like Gimch". I said "do you mean do you mean Kimchi?" he smiled inanely "I like Gimch - Goodbye" I said "see ya" He swam off - about 10 minutes later he comes back "Can I help you?" - "No thank you" - "Okay goodbye". Welcome to Korea.

Well that was my Sunday in a nutshell. Saturday was cool too - went shopping for crazy Korean items in the day (I got sprayed with deodourant by a promo girl in the mall - freaked me out) and went out at night and enjoyed some of the local swill - jolly good show. Oh and one more thing - on the bus ride home on sunday night we went past a shop called "Queer" and on the next block there was a bar called "Bong". I love this place.

Not much else to report except that we are going to Japan in a week. Where, as well as travelling around the country, we will be going to the Fuji rock festival where we will see such artists as Beck and Fatboy Slim with a whole bunch of Japanese people. It's gonna be f**kin awesome. We will try and get some photos and stuff to post on here.

If you want more info and pics on the boryeong mud festival you can Click Here

Until next time

- T

2005-07-18T06:06:00.000+09:00

Boryeong Mud Festival 17/7/05

After a night of farewelling some good friends who are going home soon, Troy and I decided to take a 2hr bus ride to the Boryeong Mud Festival.
The Boryeong Mud Festival is an annual event held in late July at Daecheon Beach in Boryeong.

This is pretty much what the mud festival looks like. Basically you and thousands of others, coat yourself in as much mud as possible, then you sit around and enjoy the festival. When you feel that you have baked as much as you can inside your armor of mud, then you take a dip in the Yellow Sea and wash it all off.
We had a great time! Stay tuned for Troy's account of the day...
-A

2005-07-10T18:16:00.000+09:00

July 10th, 2005 - Day 54
It has been a while since I posted, so I thought it was time I regaled you with more fantastic tales from the land of crazy sunvisors and kimchi. Okay, well yesterday was Alwyn's Birthday she turned a quarter of a century. The day consisted of starbucks coffee, italian food, cheap korean beer and Karaoke. We spent the day shopping and looking at the "Jung-Ang" market - which is Daejeon's traditional Korean market, mostly food and clothing. It was really cool, but unfortunately it was pissing down rain and it is an outdoor market. Next time we go I will try and get some photos for the blog.

The highlight of the day was our late night Karaoke session at our local Norebang (Korean for karaoke room). Featuring renditions of familiar hit songs that we all know and love, including but not limited to Lionel Richie's Three times a lady, The theme to Footloose and Flashdance, Fly me to the moon, Sex bomb, Nirvana's Lithium, Marilyn Manson's Disposable Teens, 50 cent's In Da Club and Outkast's Miss Jackson (slowed down to 3/4 speed). Definate highlights of the set would be a rockin' performance of Robert Palmer's bad case of loving you, and a moving interpretation of Paranoid Android by myself. What adds to the whole experience is the fact that you get a score at the end of the performance - I earned myself a 100% thanks to my roof-raising performance of Helter Skelter.

I could go on forever about the good times to be had at your local Norebang, but I will leave it at that. Not much else to report really apart from working I have been spending my time downloading and watching cartoons and various sitcoms from the 1980's and 90's. I watched the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou today, another quirky offbeat comedy from Wes Anderson.

Surprise, Surprise the cast includes Owen Wilson and Bill Murray. It was pretty cool, Bill Murray was awesome, but I think I have to watch it again to fully appreciate it. I also watched the Get Shorty sequel - Be Cool - which was terrible. It had its moments (Andre 3000 was awesome, and the Rock as a gay bodyguard) but it wasn't half the movie shorty was. Well thats my two sense anyway.

Before I go has anyone noticed that Alf sounds exactly like Keanu Reeves. Check it out - its true.

Until next time- Ding Dong

-T

P.S. I saw an ad on the side of a bus yesterday, I think it was for an insurance company, that said "Ding Dong my happy life" on it. If you don't get that - nevermind.

2005-06-30T15:44:00.000+09:00

Outback Steak House

Today we went on a 'field trip' to the Outback Steak House. For those not familiar with this establishment, The Outback Steak House is an American chain of restaurants, in Korea, with an Australian theme.

When we got there we went up the stairs to the outside of the restaurant, where we saw some lovely Aboriginal dot paintings of Kangaroos, boomerangs, and coke bottles!

The inside of the Steak House was cheerfully decorated with many Australia photos, and signs. There were many framed posters of famous Australian artwork, such as the Ned Kelly paintings by Sydney Nolan. Oh and I can't forget the Aussie flag. It was there, right next to the bar!

There was of course only one Aussie beer on tap - Fosters Australia's Famous Beer.

The food there was tasty, but very un Australian. Think American deep fried cuisine...and you will get the picture. The best bit was the comically named dishes. Check out their website for more info on the names. It's gotta be seen to be believed...

http://www.outback.co.kr/english/defa/ed00.asp

I am told that the meat is Australian though, so one day I might go there if im craving beef. Beef here is really expensive and hard to get.

The field trip went well.

For more photos of field trips and others of our party, check out the website below:
http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alwynjo/my_photos If this link doesn't work please let me know! Thanks. -A

2005-06-29T11:04:00.000+09:00

S.O.S Somebody help me!! I was out til 2:30 last night drinking and I feel like crap - and I have to teach a bunch of screaming banshees known as kindergarten for the next 4 hours. SAVE ME!

2005-06-26T13:12:00.000+09:00

39 Days in - June 26, 2005. - Hi Troy again, just throught I'd let you all know how everything is going for us over here. Everything seems to be fine - except the weather is stinking hot and humid as f**k. Okay so 39 days is a while so I've got a lot of catching up to do. Let me start with the plane ride over- we watched Lemony Snicket which was awesome - after the 10 and a half hour journey we get off the plane expecting to go though customs and quarantine and whatnot - instead we walk out a door and next thing I know I'm eating Maccas (McDonalds for those non Aussies who may stumble across this site) with my recruiter. Anyways after the flight we had to get on a bus for another 3 hours (fun!). So it was about midnight and we got to the motel only to find out that it was a "lovin'" motel. When the director turned on the TV to show us how to use it there was an excellent display of the local pornography showing - excellent initiation.

Anyways - since then we have been extremely busy at work we work from 10am-7:30pm but with planning its more like 9-8, but its not so bad the kids are cool in an insane sort of a way. Especially the kindergarten kids, you will find out more about them as the blog continues. So - Korea... whats it like? Apart from getting stared at all the time by people in passing cars, who seem to think we can't seem them , and the whole language barrier thing, its kinda cool.

There are so many "little differences" from home that I have quite enjoyed. "Example" Not only can can go into any convenience store and purchase am alcoholic beverage (which are ridiculously cheap), there are tables and chairs so you can sit out the front and drink beer there 24/7 if you like, and if you do want to goto a bar it stays open till you decide to leave - bad idea, I need that 3 o'clock its time to go home call. Also they eat spaghetti bolognaise with chopsticks not a pretty site. On the darker side (or browner side) of the whole little difference from home thing one thing that it not so enjoyable is instead of flushing your used toilet paper down the toilet you place it in a bin next to the toilet. Disgusting.

Okay that comes close to bringing you up to speed - well not really I left a fair bit out but I will catch up in future posts. Bye for now and keep smiling - T

2005-06-26T12:22:00.000+09:00

THE DONG

Let me explain to you about the "dong" as cited in the title/web address. For those not not in the know "dong" in Korean means suburb or neighbourhood. Hi, I'm Troy the self proclaimed comedy writer for the blog. Welcome to my virtual Dong, at present is a small dong but with time it will grow. This is where I will chronicle my time spent in Korea, my travels through the country and its neighbours and things that I see that I find comical due to the fact that this country is different to my country. You can also expect photos of various things Korean and so forth. So wherever you may be in this crazy world; sit back, relax and enjoy the dong. DING DONG!

2005-06-25T17:02:00.000+09:00

Korea: Land of the Morning Calm

1 month down...11 to go. We are writing from an apartment above a pork restaurant. This pork restaurant is just down from Heaven. Heaven is a Hof in Songchon-dong. Songchon-dong is a neighbourhood in Daejeon. Daejeon is in the Province of Chungcheongnam-Do. Chungcheongnam-Do is right in the middle of the Republic of Korea. The Republic of Korea is a 10 and a half hour flight from Sydney.

So now you know where we are...we expect you to drop by!