Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Video blog #1
Recently achieving a certain milestone of birthdays, i've learnt i now need to buy my own presents, so last week i bought myself a video camera. Accompanying the camera in the box was the gift of free video editing software, hence this little montage from a day-trip to Nami Island...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Not the sexy kind of sweaty...
Throughout the previous 2 weeks, my predominant bodily position (when possible) has been star-shaped, naked and next to an air-conditioning unit and/or a big fan. Potential for this attractive feat has increased ten-fold this week.
After coming down with some kind of blocked sinus/fever, and having a Korean doctor confirm i do indeed have a 'blocked face', i've taken some sick days to get to know my air-conditioning unit a little better. We've sat at home listening to David Bowie and caught up on my impressive back-catalogue of John Grisham novels. Having quietly accumulated on my shelf, un-read and lonely for months, the books are pleased to be a part of the party.
It's some party too. Various foods of breakfast, lunch and dinner are accompanied by a selection of pills in various shapes and colours, each with a different side effect.
July's summer heat has sent the mercury rising close to 40degrees on some days. The grey liquid teetering near the big four zero like a middle aged woman, off-beat on the dance floor and avoiding the rumoured new 30. Sometimes i wonder if it ever gets so hot that the mercury itself breaks a sweat.
My un-directed prayers were answered this week, with the onset of jangma, the Korean monsoon season. The mercury can no longer worry about sweating and my relationship with the air-conditioning can cool off a little. I was getting possessive.
After coming down with some kind of blocked sinus/fever, and having a Korean doctor confirm i do indeed have a 'blocked face', i've taken some sick days to get to know my air-conditioning unit a little better. We've sat at home listening to David Bowie and caught up on my impressive back-catalogue of John Grisham novels. Having quietly accumulated on my shelf, un-read and lonely for months, the books are pleased to be a part of the party.
It's some party too. Various foods of breakfast, lunch and dinner are accompanied by a selection of pills in various shapes and colours, each with a different side effect.
July's summer heat has sent the mercury rising close to 40degrees on some days. The grey liquid teetering near the big four zero like a middle aged woman, off-beat on the dance floor and avoiding the rumoured new 30. Sometimes i wonder if it ever gets so hot that the mercury itself breaks a sweat.
My un-directed prayers were answered this week, with the onset of jangma, the Korean monsoon season. The mercury can no longer worry about sweating and my relationship with the air-conditioning can cool off a little. I was getting possessive.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Korean Living #1: food
As a temporary home for various food items, this silver tray has been known to tip the scales in both directions; a great day at school and a not-so-great day at school. Here is your slicker than the average Korean school dinner...
Jamie Oliver would be proud. The much talked-about '5-a-day' can be attained in one meal here in Korea. The onslaught of healthy vegetables to my digestive system represent a catalyst for some killer flatulence, and i enjoy both the greens and the guffs. The lethal looking concoction in the top left corner of my tray is the (in)famous kimchi.
Kimchi is a national and traditional obsession. So important it accompanied the Korean astronaut, who's name i'm not even sure i remembered to be able to forget, to the final frontier. It's also what the local folk merrily chirp instead of "cheese" when you point a camera at them. Basically it's various fermented vegetables mixed with various sauces, most commonly, red pepper paste but there are countless variations.
Personally, i see the only downside of Korean grub is the is the failure to differentiate between breakfast, lunch and dinner. I miss the occasional morning fry-up and early afternoon sandwich. All three meals here tend to be made up of the same foods; rice, soup, a meat dish, vegetables and kimchi. I usually swerve around this problem by getting up 20mins earlier to make a good breakfast and devouring a Subway sandwich whenever i'm in Seoul.
Here are some Korean dinner time personal favourites:
Those who are keen amateur chefs/chefettes will have realised that Korean food is relatively simple to cook. My recently purchased Korean cookbook can verify this. This is one reason the 'Kimbap Heaven' restaurant chain is rightfully a popular godsend. Not too dis-similar to an English truckers cafe, think flirty-something older-lady waitress, relaxed setting, homely menu and good value. If you can pronounce it, you can eat it, every Korean food there ever was... all for approx. $5 a meal.
Click HERE for the best of Korean cooking online.
Bon Appetit Bitches!
Jamie Oliver would be proud. The much talked-about '5-a-day' can be attained in one meal here in Korea. The onslaught of healthy vegetables to my digestive system represent a catalyst for some killer flatulence, and i enjoy both the greens and the guffs. The lethal looking concoction in the top left corner of my tray is the (in)famous kimchi.Kimchi is a national and traditional obsession. So important it accompanied the Korean astronaut, who's name i'm not even sure i remembered to be able to forget, to the final frontier. It's also what the local folk merrily chirp instead of "cheese" when you point a camera at them. Basically it's various fermented vegetables mixed with various sauces, most commonly, red pepper paste but there are countless variations.
Personally, i see the only downside of Korean grub is the is the failure to differentiate between breakfast, lunch and dinner. I miss the occasional morning fry-up and early afternoon sandwich. All three meals here tend to be made up of the same foods; rice, soup, a meat dish, vegetables and kimchi. I usually swerve around this problem by getting up 20mins earlier to make a good breakfast and devouring a Subway sandwich whenever i'm in Seoul.
Here are some Korean dinner time personal favourites:
- Dalk-galbi - a one-pan feast of stir-fried chicken with red pepper paste, hot sauce, soft rice cakes and every vegetable you could ever imagine, served and ate wrapped in lettuce.
- Sam-gyeop-sal - sliced fatty pork grilled at your table, usually wrapped in lettuce and accompanied with a spring onion salad, red pepper paste, garlic and green chilli's.
- Sam-gye-tang - chicken soup with ginseng, garlic, ginger, dried jujube fruits and rice. A popular summer dish which includes a free wish-bone and increased sweating.
- Gam-ja-tang - spicy pork, potatoe & vegetable stew... made with boiled pork backbone and is traditionally believed to prevent both aging and snoring.
- Kim-chi-ji-gae - (only in winter) a sch-mokin' hot fermented chili cabbage soup with beef, tofu and vegetables. It's sight alone could melt a snowman.
Those who are keen amateur chefs/chefettes will have realised that Korean food is relatively simple to cook. My recently purchased Korean cookbook can verify this. This is one reason the 'Kimbap Heaven' restaurant chain is rightfully a popular godsend. Not too dis-similar to an English truckers cafe, think flirty-something older-lady waitress, relaxed setting, homely menu and good value. If you can pronounce it, you can eat it, every Korean food there ever was... all for approx. $5 a meal.
Click HERE for the best of Korean cooking online.
Bon Appetit Bitches!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
The "keeping it fresh"-ness factor
WARNING: This post includes mild negativity and mild nudity.
Something has been happening over the past few weeks. Thoughts, based on observations and experiences within the environment of daily life, have manifested, multiplied and gnawed away at my head space. If Korea is my lover, the spark of attraction is lost and we are bonded only by a loveless marriage existing solely for the children.
Korea: she looks good but has some truly quirky habits and is becoming difficult to live with...* (*NB: this is a metaphor, i'm sure the actual and very real Miss Korea (Honey Lee) would be a pleasure to live with. An absolute pleasure.)
Ahem.
Maybe it's springs final haze of yellow dust in the sky, maybe it's the increased sweating from the early summer humidity, maybe it's the constant smell of wet dogs that accompany the monsoon rain, maybe it's because i've just been served a bowl of milk & salad for lunch, or maybe it's just that 12 months is enough in the land of the morning calm (Korea), but my life and times here are no longer exciting, no longer challenging and no longer fresh.
Fresh, it's a good word. The Oxford dictionary online states 'fresh' as;
• adjective: 1 not previously known or used; new or different. 2 (of food) recently made or obtained; not preserved. 3 recently created and not faded or impaired: the memory was fresh in their minds. 4 (of water) not salty. 5 (of the wind) cool and fairly strong. 6 pleasantly clean, invigorating, and cool: fresh air. 7 full of energy and vigour. 8 informal presumptuous or impudent. • adverb: newly; recently. (DERIVATIVES freshly adverb freshness noun.)
Afternoons of free time are endured rather than enjoyed and day-dreaming has become a significant hobby. The mind lacking in creativity, motivation and the ability to finish this sentanc...
Don't misunderstand me. Korea still represents all the positive things i've shared with you but personally, only for a certain timescale. And i've come to perceive anything longer than 12months as too long. This rather unique "job" situation would be perfect for someone with a genuine passion for teaching languages to small children as a career, someone studying part-time, someone who likes day-dreaming, someone who feels comfortable in Korean society and someone who could pick up the Korean language. I am not someone. Here's a someone:
Korea: currently providing my conscious with more questions than answers...
In early September, the 'Mr' part of Mr Glenn shall be dropped and i'll return home. I look forward to seeing friends & family, hearing the voices of family set to the backdrop of a sizzling BBQ , smelling pre-match deep-heat before a football match on actual grass , speaking a commentary to a flickr photo collection and touching you. Then, after a week or two, a new 'fresh' will be sought.
No more negativity, yes more nudity.
Something has been happening over the past few weeks. Thoughts, based on observations and experiences within the environment of daily life, have manifested, multiplied and gnawed away at my head space. If Korea is my lover, the spark of attraction is lost and we are bonded only by a loveless marriage existing solely for the children.
Korea: she looks good but has some truly quirky habits and is becoming difficult to live with...* (*NB: this is a metaphor, i'm sure the actual and very real Miss Korea (Honey Lee) would be a pleasure to live with. An absolute pleasure.)Ahem.
Maybe it's springs final haze of yellow dust in the sky, maybe it's the increased sweating from the early summer humidity, maybe it's the constant smell of wet dogs that accompany the monsoon rain, maybe it's because i've just been served a bowl of milk & salad for lunch, or maybe it's just that 12 months is enough in the land of the morning calm (Korea), but my life and times here are no longer exciting, no longer challenging and no longer fresh.
Fresh, it's a good word. The Oxford dictionary online states 'fresh' as;
• adjective: 1 not previously known or used; new or different. 2 (of food) recently made or obtained; not preserved. 3 recently created and not faded or impaired: the memory was fresh in their minds. 4 (of water) not salty. 5 (of the wind) cool and fairly strong. 6 pleasantly clean, invigorating, and cool: fresh air. 7 full of energy and vigour. 8 informal presumptuous or impudent. • adverb: newly; recently. (DERIVATIVES freshly adverb freshness noun.)
Afternoons of free time are endured rather than enjoyed and day-dreaming has become a significant hobby. The mind lacking in creativity, motivation and the ability to finish this sentanc...
Don't misunderstand me. Korea still represents all the positive things i've shared with you but personally, only for a certain timescale. And i've come to perceive anything longer than 12months as too long. This rather unique "job" situation would be perfect for someone with a genuine passion for teaching languages to small children as a career, someone studying part-time, someone who likes day-dreaming, someone who feels comfortable in Korean society and someone who could pick up the Korean language. I am not someone. Here's a someone:
Korea: currently providing my conscious with more questions than answers...In early September, the 'Mr' part of Mr Glenn shall be dropped and i'll return home. I look forward to seeing friends & family, hearing the voices of family set to the backdrop of a sizzling BBQ , smelling pre-match deep-heat before a football match on actual grass , speaking a commentary to a flickr photo collection and touching you. Then, after a week or two, a new 'fresh' will be sought.
No more negativity, yes more nudity.
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