It has been about a week since I have updated this. This is mainly because I have spent so much time wondering what I can do in my free time by the time I have decided to do something it is time for work. I will start with my happenings from last Friday. One of the other teachers at Avalon (not in my department) was leaving and was therefore going out in downtown Daegu on her last night...So when I finished work on Friday we all got into a taxi and I was given my first experience of Downtown Korea.
We started in a bar called 'Organ' who had a sign outside asking 'Do androids dream of electric sheep' we all congregated here before moving around downtown. Our next stop was a kiosk that sold cocktails in plastic bags. They were kind of like resealable freezer bags with a strawer in. I wasnt going to drink any more after having already consumed rather a lot of 'Hite' beer but the novelty of drinking a cocktail in a bag was way too much for me to pass up. After drink in a bag we all hung around chatting for a long time. During this chat I seem to remember having a heated debate with a couple of American teachers about their involvement in the Second World War, and wandering around with another English teacher high fiving people who liked beans on toast. Conclusion, drink in a bag is yummy but dangerous. A little later I acquired a pizza in a cup, this seems to be quite a popular snack food for drunkards in downtown Korea, it is literally as it sounds...A Pizza in a cup. They were very nice, although we did have a small gravity problem meaning I ended up with a cup of cheese, but theres no better way to make friends than wandering around asking people if they would like your cup of cheese! To cut a long story short I got in about 5.30am on Saturday after having being put in charge of directing the taxi in Korean. I managed it, I was extremely proud of myself, it is impressive...especially considering my inebriation.
Fast forward to Saturday. After sleeping until about 2pm I decided I would go on a walk to try and find Suseong Lake. It is my experience a lot of fresh air helps with the fuzzy head after drinking the night before. Suseong Lake is about 15 minutes walk from where I live, and is, well, its a big lake. It was nice to get away from all the buildings for a change. Im not used to living in a city yet and it can feel a little claustrophobic. I walked all the way around the lake, passing a lot of what seemed to be outside gyms (kind of a playground for old people), a fun fair and an airplane restaurant. But then nothing is suprising me anymore. I will eventually get around to adding pictures to this blog Im sure, especially of things like the little swan boats. But for now you can just imagine a rowing boat shaped like a swan in a bow tie.
Sunday I slept. Monday it was back to work, which at the moment seems to mean I sit and do not a lot most of the day. Occasionally do some prep for another teacher or plan for my 2 lessons but after this week I should be getting more lessons to teach yay!
Tuesday brings me to the bugs and nettles, incase you thought I had forgotton. Tuesday night we decided to go for BBQ which Im sure I have mentioned, if not you get a hot plate, a lot of raw meat and a selection of side dishes. One of these side dishes was what appeared to be bugs (we have later learnt they were silk worm cacoons but whatever, they were squishy) and a plate of salad leaves that seemed to include giant nettle leaves. Anyway, Im working on the theory that as far as food is concerned I will try anything once. But bugs and nettle leaves taste nasty and I wont be trying them again and I dont suggest you do either. Ok, I should probably start thinking about going to work. At the moment I have been given the task of phoning all of the students to see how they handle a phone call in another language. I have a set of pre designed questions which are basically 'tell me about Korea' which means I know more about Kimchi than I need to. Kimchi is made from cabbage and a hot red paste. It is left to ferment and then you eat it. It is delicious and very Spicy. It is also very healthy. I hear there are also some theories that it can help to cure aids...hmm...
