Working & learning from others around the world

2.      With the warming of the weather comes a change in clothing worn by Koreans. Gone are the very formal looking suits and now most wear more casual clothes. And perhaps as many as 25% of the young women do not wear high heels any more (but the vast majority seem to have them welded on). I’m not quite sure where these very bright bathing costumes might be worn as the nearest decent beach is hundreds of kilometres away. Koreans love saunas (separate for men and women) but the bathing area in those is nude.

3.      Its story time in the park. Perhaps the children are being read a tale of a strange old foreign man who might, right at this minute, be sneaking up on them.

4.      We thought this dog looked a little like a younger, less confident (with the tail down) version of our Sooki.

5.      In mid-May we celebrated Mothers day, as supported by our 2 own adult-children, but I saw no sign of that name in Korean society. On the 5^th May, however, they had a national holiday for “Children’s Day” but the holiday did not affect Gail’s work as it fell on a Saturday this year. On this day children choose where the family might go and what they might do. Some presents are expected too. Officially, Parents Day was on the 8^th May and is, I guess, like Mothers/Fathers Day; but as I said there was no obvious publicity for it and it does not rate as a public holiday, so is of much lesser importance than is Children’s Day. On the 6^th June there was (another) public holiday, Memorial Day –the day the nation pays tribute to its war dead.

6.      A swastika is used to represent a Buddhist temple – not a Nazi base. The birthday of Buddha was also celebrated with a public holiday on 28^th May. There are also many Christian religions in Korea (about one third claim to be Christian and 25% for Buddhism).             

We used this occasion to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie having recently seen Spiderman 3 at the same theatre – both in English with Korean subtitles. On this recent occasion, we were invited, at no cost to us, by a teacher from Gail’s school (Jacob) who came with his wife, daughter and 16 enthusiastic High School students. Yes, Gail does teach English to Jacob and to each of those students.

7.      I have finally discovered lemonade. What, here, is called cider does not taste like an apple product (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) at all. That’s right, it tastes as if it’s made from lemons, sugar and carbonated water.

(Oh dear!! Since writing that I have to admit that I have found what Koreans call “real” lemonade – in a dispensing machine. But the “cider” really does taste and look the same as our lemonade whereas the Korean lemonade is yellow coloured like Solo.)

8.      On every day, except Sunday, we see a man with a wheelie cart and a plastic bag go past our window, picking up papers with a pair of tongs. Along with 2 ladies he also cleans the park area. Of course he cannot pick up large items such as these mattresses (these were in good condition) which have been left for whoever wants them. Fortunately, Gail had insufficient space for either of these (extra) two.

9.      We (mainly it’s me) really do try to resist the temptation to bring more things into our apartment from the street. But I had to admit that a set of scales was a good idea – at least for when we are packing up prior to travelling by air where baggage limits apply. This set is of the older (analogue) type but seems to work ok – although I do NOT like the reading it is giving me in this photo.

10.  Twice in one week Korean teachers from Gail’s school have taken us out for meals (one lunch and one dinner). Very generous people and pleasant company too. Mr Han, who is in charge of the school’s Biology department and also learns English from Gail, is shown here with Jacob (the same Jacob from number 4 above) and he invited the three of us and paid for our Chinese luncheon which was almost finished when the photo inside the restaurant was taken.

11.  Experimenting as usual, Gail took us onto another bus not knowing where it went. For ~$2 each we had a trip into the countryside, rural, with rice paddies and orchards. Then the bus went half way to Seoul central and we saw three more army bases (probably American) but nothing else particularly exciting. The trip took almost 3 hours – we expected about one hour at the most, but had to stay on board in order to get back home.

12.  Koreans carry things on their backs. They do use cranes and elevators for large professional operations such as moving furniture from one apartment to another. For personal lifting and smaller businesses, hand trolleys are rare and most lift things on their back (not at the front). Very heavy weights are lifted this way as well as being popular for carrying the youngest generation of children.

13.  Generally we feel relaxed and comfortable. Sometimes we are confused. Most things we gradually come to understand, at least in part. There are attitudes or approaches taken where we just wonder ….. how could that be? On a more specific and safer level, the sounds of the letters of their alphabet can also be confusing with a “b” sound being interchangeable with a “p” sound – likewise a “g” with a “k” and an “r” with an “l” and an “s” with “sh”– depending where in a word they occur. For example, “poor” would come out as a “bool”, “lob” would be “rop”, “sag” would be “shak” and “sit” would be “sh..” (can you guess?). So in addition to different symbols, a different language and a different language structure there are also special rules that further complicate things. Similarly, there are aspects of personal and professional life which we see as being equally as “wondrous”. I do not believe that this is the best place to be more specific except to say that much of what we perceive as being Korean is very similar to Australia in the 1950’s , but …….it is changing, sometimes with confusing and complicated end results.

14.  We are surrounded by small apartment blocks (called villas) so our view of the countryside is necessarily limited. This is about all we have – our narrow peek at the world beyond the streets. Gail also liked the photo she took showing that view as well as me filling the washing machine with a bucket (it’s much to slow to rely on the normal fill mechanism).

15.  Koreans driving small trucks “hawk” their wares in the suburban streets. The little loud speakers make a huge and annoying noise as they advertise their stuff. This one is selling only garlic.

16.  Our water is also delivered by truck, after I ring to order it.

17.  We have had more enjoyable walks, mainly at weekends:-

- One was in central Seoul where a floodwater “drain” has been converted into a pretty 3 km watercourse; at night, under lights, it is a famous area for lovers but we have not seen it under those circumstances. 

- Another, more obviously a park, also about 3 km, is jammed between our local city hall and the expressway, forest-like but with lots of man-made improvements.

- Walking in central Seoul on another occasion we found these people who paid to hand-paint mugs; the adults, in particular, were amazingly skilful.

- Not all waterways are beautiful as you can see. This walk, in our nearest city area, was a bit of a disappointment in comparison; although, away from (i.e. well above) the water level, there were some redeeming features.

Seoul Forest is not a forest, rather a large family park area. Many thousands crowded in with us. There were play areas for children, a functioning equestrian centre, tennis, basketball, croquet (on sand not lawn), badminton, soccer, kickball,  a lake packed with fish, walkways, lots of shade for picnickers (of which there were heaps) and an outdoor theatre. There were other things of interest but we didn’t have time to see them all.

Springtime Part 3 – 7^th June (Happy birthday to Wilma)  Here are some miscellaneous (now familiar to us) aspects of life in South Korea. These are in addition to the many I have previously cited – or at least I hope that is so as I do not want to be overly repetitious.·        A rotating red, white and blue pole does not represent a barber shop and visitors must not make that mistake. When I asked, it was explained to me that, in such an (expensive) establishment, the (female) workers may inadvertently touch men’s hair, but not the same hair area that the barber would touch and not in the same way that the barber would touch. Without being offered further detail, I think the message was clear enough.          

• Many streets do not have footpaths, possibility due to understandably poor planning back in times when there were few motor vehicles and almost all traffic was on foot. 
• Motor bike riders are sometimes a part of normal traffic, but most often they will ride on the footpath, if there is one, beeping their horn to clear the way of pedestrians. So even if there is a footpath and even if you are on it, you are not safe from traffic. It must be illegal, though, as they look very “cross” if they see you taking their photo.

•  There are very few push bike riders and these use the footpath almost exclusively, regardless of their age (maximum is 12 year old in Victoria to ride on the footpath).
• There are no trams but there are masses of buses, taxis and trains that are all clean, modern and efficient. There are no pedal-taxis or motorized taxi bikes as there are elsewhere in Asia. Although trains and buses run every few minutes there are times when only standing room is available; up to an hour of standing with constant acceleration and deceleration is very tiring on the feet and legs. 

• There are lots of steps in (mountainous) Korea. The people should be super-fit. There are escalators and lifts everywhere but still it seems that you are constantly walking up or down (it feel like it’s mainly up) stairs. This is not a place to be on crutches, for example.

• Rather than queuing for, say, food or movie tickets Koreans often use the “take a number” system and wait until their number is called or displayed at the service area or window – then they can place their order or buy their tickets etc. (Also used in Australia, in certain situations, I know.)
• There are many more restaurants than in Australia – often very small, perhaps with only 2 or 3 tables. Korean food is spicy (they like it really hot – peppers and chilli) and many women drink beer because mixed drinks, juices, soft-drinks and wines are difficult to locate in restaurants and bars. Water is always provided with every meal; beer is seemingly available everywhere, often even from street stalls selling snacks.
• Many businesses are conducted in small spaces – this (local) bakery is a typical example where all of the baking is done in the tiny area behind the display cabinet.

• Food is also readily available in the streets – hot snacks and traditional Korean sweets. 

• The term “shopping plaza” might mean a big shopping mall or it might mean a single rundown little shop in an alley. Food shops abound. Some restaurants are closed on Mondays. General shopping hours are 11am to 10pm pretty much 7 days a week (although some shops are closed on Sundays) whilst lots of convenience stores remain open 24/7.
• Underground shopping is often well disguised – a stairwell down from the street may just be another entrance down to the subway (some subway stations have more than 10 entry/exits) but it may lead to lots (hundreds) of small shops selling mainly clothing. Food markets are above ground, thankfully, as the smell of fish is bad enough without it being trapped down under.

• Shop attendants do not impose, but as you look at their products they hover courteously nearby. There is no hard sell and, generally, no bargaining. However, they do care about their store and their stock so if you touch something even briefly many find that they immediately must rearrange that item to be exactly as they want it to be – they cannot wait until you leave to do this and will almost push you out of the way or even take the article from your hand. This sort of thing has happened to me several times and their personal touch is needed even when I have carefully replaced the item exactly as it was. This is not true in all shops and certainly not in bigger stores and supermarkets.
• There are some terribly expensive items here – furniture is one such – (although most things are okay in terms of price) so there must be some people wealthy enough to afford them – some very, very rich folk as well as some poor ones. Whilst in Busan Gail purchased 3 tops and we each purchased 2 lightweight jackets – total was $35 for the 7 items, so some things are inexpensive too. Since that time Gail has again bought some cheap clothing but has found that dresses and skirts are dear.
• Barbequed chicken is different. It has a very gamey taste – like wild birds have – not at all like a Safeway chook and not particularly pleasant. Excellent fresh chicken breasts can be purchased if you have cooking facilities, but if you don’t you’ll pay a lot for some rather shoddy food, perhaps deep fried at best (a little like KFC in the bad old days when they were regularly described as Kentucky Fried Rabbit – all bone and batter rather than crumbed meat). They charge more for legs and wings and they include the necks too (our dogs at home would miss out on their bones if that happened there).
• Speaking of birds there are lots of pigeons and some doves but, even in Busan which is an ocean port, no seagulls have we seen in Korea.
• In a country where most people live in apartments it should be no surprise that there are few dogs (and fewer cats). Dogs are small and seemingly owned by wealthy (certainly well dressed) people – our little Arki could be the big bully dog here, which would surely please him as well being a change from reality in Australia. When we see a dog we usually take a photograph, as it is a rare event rather than commonplace. I admit that I recently went all soppy when I saw the most beautiful little white puppy for sale in the local pet shop (move over Shaun).

• Not only (do you get what you want) but also….. Many products come with attachments. Even a litre of milk has a piggyback companion (200ml of a different milk product, always one that I do not want) taped to it.

• Smoking – many people smoke cigarettes and it is cheap to do so, much less expensive than in Australia where the Government taxes them almost out of existence. No, we have not taken up the habit. Well, Gail has not started and I have not reverted after quitting on 30^th June 1988 (but who’s counting).

Probably unrelated to the above list, and hence separated from it, is my recommendation to travellers NEVER to buy socks in China. Whether purporting to be brand names like Kelvin Klein or no-name products they are absolute crap. We purchased perhaps 10 pairs with a zero strike rate. Some developed holes on the very first use, some leaked black die into other clothes in the wash, some shrank so much as to be unwearable after one wash – none were satisfactory and none were at giveaway prices even after bargaining them down to about 20% of the original asking price. We also bought socks in Korea (made in China, I guess) which are also hopeless. They look good and feel good but they are pathetic.

Springtime Part 2 – 30^th May