Still in One Piece.

Skiing was great. We got off to a dubious start, as we had another blizzard the night before departure. However, the weather was warming up even by 4am, and all the snow was melting. Due to our early start, we all slept on the bus ride to the hill. (5:30am - 9:30am) and were awake and ready to ski upon arrival. First, we checked into our hotel, then rented out skis, had some lunch, and finally hit the hill. I only fell once, but it wasn't until the last two runs of the day that I felt comfortable on my skis.

We had a fantastic meal of rice (of course!), Barbequed pork, marinated quail eggs, bean paste soup, kimchi, tofu, and a variety of veggies. Afterwards, we were so exhausted, we watched a little bit of TV then hit the sack.

Early the next morning we were back at the hill, and having a marvelous time. Around 12:30, three of us called it quits, while the other two kept snowboarding. The three of us returned our equipement and headed off to the sauna. The sauna's in Korea are usually seperated by gender, and include 2 or 3 (or more) different sauna rooms (steam, red clay, charcoal, etc.) and 2 or 3 (ore more) communal baths (hot, warm, cold, green tea, etc.) plus little shower alcoves. By the time we were done, we were so clean and relaxed and warm, it felt as though we hadn't exercised at all.

On the bus ride home, I had one of those "Canadians and Korean are really different" sort of moments. There were lots of kids on the bus, yet somehow, in Korea, is wasn't innapropriate to show the movie "Blade 3". No one (except us foreigners) seemed upset that these kids were watching Vampires gnawing at people's throats. I was grossed out, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Anyway, we're all home safe and sound, and are planning to to it again for Lunar New Year. Next time though, I think I'm going to tackle a snowboard.

Skiing!

Yes indeed. Tomorrow morning at 4:30am (UGH!) five of us are heading out to catch a bus to the ski hill. I haven't worn skis for ages, and have never been terribly adept at the sport. Nonetheless, it should be a good time. We've also rented a 'chalet' (read dorm-room) for the night, but have access to the pool and sauna at the nearby condos. So even if the skiing is awful, I'm sure we'll still have a great time. We'll be back on Thursday, but them I'm off to Seoul for the weekend so it might be a few days before you hear all about the ski trip.

Did you know they sell breath fresheners for cats? It's true.

It looks a little blustery. 

oops, wrong caption. The little red umbrella in a blizzard was the view from my window. The giant snowman is a prime example of your western 3-ball snowman. The other snowpile with a head is a prime example of an Asian style snowman. Both were tons of fun to build. 

The view from my window around 10:30am 

SNOW DAY!!!!

Yes, I can hardly believe those words myself. After the first tiny dusting of flakes that didn't even linger for a moment on Christmas Eve, we've been bereft of the white stuff. Our days have been sunny, clear and chilly. Until today ~

I woke up around 9am and peeked out the window. The day was cloudy, but bare. I could see some students playing soccer out on the field. I made myself some coffee and wandered into my office to check my e-mail and scratch my cat. 'Round about 10:30 a took a load of laundry out to my balcony (where my washing machine is) ... and what did I see?!?!?!? Yes, that's right!! A BLIZZARD!! Snow everywhere! It was the biggest snowstorm Daegu has seen in well over 4 years. Immediately, I started phoning or text-messaging all my friends. I rustled up some breakfast, bundled up, and sat on my (unheated) balcony to watch the amazing event. As I finished my last bite, my phone rang. John and Hee-Jin were heading out to build a snowman. Would I join them? OF COURSE!! So, bundled up like woolen sausages, we joined others already outdoors. Together, we constructed the largest snowman I've ever been a part of making. (I'll post pictures tomorrow). It was great. After our snow folks were completed, and dressed, we headed around to the back of the building where there's a steep hill. Armed with heavy plastic bags and a snowboard, we proceeded to create and enjoy the best toboggan hill this side of Seoul. For the Canadians, it was a typical and welcome winter day. For the South Africans, it was a unique experience. Tracy was apprehensive about going down a hill on her bottom, but after the first run, she was hooked.

When we were all tuckered out, Tracy, Jen, and Annelie joined me at my apartment for hot chocolate and movies. (When I got back upstairs, I peeked out the back window and saw a slew of neighbourhood children already screaming and sliding down our hill on scraps of cardboard). It was the perfect snow day. I know that all of you who have been shoveling, slipping and shivering for the past 3 months may not be as excited as I am, but even though we were all around the 30 year mark, it really felt like we were 7 years old again enjoying the first big snowfall of the year. It was wonderful.

Ummm... Happy New Year!

Hi, yes, I know. I haven't updated my Blog recently. But hey, after the thrilling tales of my talented feline, it's been hard to find something to say of equal calibre. To be honest, I still don't have anything to say... Maybe I can make something up....

... nope.

Back to the truth. Yesterday I went to see Ocean's Twelve with my afternoon conversation class. (Their idea, not mine). It was nice ~ and a pretty easy class to teach! The movie was good, but I think something was lost in the subtitles. (The movie was in English, but the subtitles were in Korean). After the movie, we went for dinner, and I asked my students what they thought of the movie. The girls all liked it (Brad Pitt, George Clooney) and the guys all liked it (Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta Jones) but after a few moments, they all started to say "I didn't really understand it. It was confusing. What happened?"

Oh, and I've just remembered. I plugged my name into the Super Hero Name Generator (which can be found on Ben's Blog). I was rather distraught to find that my official super hero name is The Green Philosopher. I don't think I'll be getting my own comic book with that one anytime soon. Everyone else in my family has cool names. sigh.

There, the proof is in the pudding...well, actually, the proof is in the toilet. I don't think I'd want it in my pudding. 

Mission Accomplished.

Hooray! My cat is now toilet trained!!! Not litter trained, toliet trained. She does her business in the toilet (but she can't flush). No more litter boxes for me (well, not that I used the litter box, so it's not really for me...) Three Cheers for Catticus!!

Christmas Eve at the Police Station

So, how did you spend Christmas Eve this year? I spent mine in the local Police Station. Here's the story:

I caught a ride with my friend Justin to Costco to pick up some food for Christmas. On the way there, a delivery truck was doing some severe tailgaiting (Not uncommon in this part of the world). Justin braked slightly a few times to get the guy to back off... but he didn't. Finally, Justin put his hand out the window and motioned for the guy to go around us.

The truck driver though that Justin had given him the finger, so he pulled up beside us, looked down into my window, then drove his truck into our lane (while we were still there!) He swiped the side of Justin's car, scratching the paint and denting the side a bit, but nobody was hurt at all. Then the guy stopped his truck right infront of us, and as Justin got out of the car, he got out of his truck and started pushing Justin. He refused to give us his lisence #, insurance or phone numbers (all of which drivers are required by law to exchange after an accident). As it happened, a Korean friend of ours was driving by and saw us all standing around in the middle of the road, so he stopped and translated for us and called the police.

The cops came, took our statements, then escorted us all to the police station. We sat around while the cops gave the truck driver a lecture on recklessness. Then, the police asked where we were from. We said "Canada", which then prompted the cop to give the driver a lecture on being kind and showing a good face to foreigners. Finally, after some discussion, the police suggested that it would save everyone a lot of trouble if we didn't engage the insurance companies, and agreed to let the guy pay us in cash for the damage(!?). So then we had to wait for a guy from a local autobody shop to come in and estimate the cost of the damage. (about $100) Then we had to wait for the guy to go to the bank machine and get the money. We were a little skeptical of a cash transactio, but the the cops mentioned that this was really the best way ~ it would save them paperwork, it would save us the time and trouble of engaging translators to help us process the paperwork, and Justin wouldn't actually have to get his car fixed he could just pocket the money! lovely.

The nice part of all this is that as we were in the police station, a gentle snowfall (the first of the year here) made it look a little bit like Christmas Eve afterall.

Just a Superstar kind of day...

In grand Korean style, my univeristy is hosting a number of recruitment events for highschool students. As part of the program, the English teachers have been asked to participate. "No problem", thought I. ...

My task was simple. I had to go up on stage; introduce myself; and give a quick, fun quiz. Reality was a little less unobtrusive. I found myself standing at the back of a dark, crowded auditorium, waiting (along with a Chinese exchange student) for our names to be called. When our names were finally called, the lights dimmed, a popular rock song started booming, and a spotlight followed us down the long aisle as hundreds of highschool students cheered. I felt like The Ultimate Warrior and Oprah all at the same time. Once we'd finished the proscribed quiz show (and the MC co-erced me into singing a few bars of Yesterday by the Beatles), we made our way back down the aisle as students reached out their arms to touch us/shake our hands. Afterwards, some of them approached us to get their pictures taken.

Just another day in the life of a foreigner.

4:42 pm Office. Have spent most of afternoon reading sequel to Briget Jone's Diary (Briget Jones: Edge of Reason). As a result, have spent remainder of afternoon, and most likey evening, with disjointed (almost)30-something single woman dialogue running through my head. Even worse, it's coming bereft of modifiers and aritcles AND in an unconvincing British accent. Next time, must remember to read something intelligent, containing properly constructed sentences.

4:58 pm. Still narrating own life with botched accent. Must stop, as am now starting to fear opening my mouth in case horrid mental narration becomes audible.

Well, I guess it's time for an update...

... My plants are all still alive. None have been voted off yet. I've discarded the idea of plastic ones as that removes the challenge...and I'd have to dust them.

... I'm still going to Yoga class 2~3 times a week, and I like it even though my instructor tries to coax my limbs into the proper position then gives up muttering "impossible. impossible."

... I got accepted for the Master's of Applied Linguistics program at Macquarie University in Sydney Australia. I can do most (all?) of the coursework while I'm still living and working in Korea. I start next semester with "Grammar: Meaning and Discourse". fun, eh?

... I wanted to spend the day taking pictures around campus (our leaves are still lovely colours) but of course, since it's the weekend, it's cloudy and gross.

That's all.

STRETCH......

Since finding myself to be just around the corner from old age, I have joined a Yoga class. The martial arts offered on every corner here seemed to be too daunting for my limited physical capabilities, (I was afraid I'd fall over), so I opted for a more sedate form of exercise. It was harder than I expected, but I feel pretty good now. However I must confess that even in yoga I fell over...while laying on my back. Yes, it's true.

In other news, my plant died from the rampant epidemic of "Drought --oops! -- then drown" in my home. The good news is that I got 6 new plants for my birthday. It'll be like a giant game of horticultural Survivor in my place. They're just waiting to see which plant will be 'voted off' next.

Happy Halloween everyone.

Just thought you'de like a look at my 'new hair'. Actually, it's just a wig for a birthday/dress-up party on Friday night. We had a good time, but a I had to wrestle a fierce pineapple on the fruit-plate to get the little mini-umbrella. (It looks better on me)

I've picked up a couple of quotes lately (okay, okay, my brother-in-law e-mailed 2/3rds of them to me ) and I thought that I'd better write down before I forget them, and now you get to read them too!

1) (Thanks, Walter) This one seems to sum up at least my style of Journal writing pretty well.

"People don't keep journals for themselves. They keep them for other people. Like a secret they don't want to tell but they want everyone to know." -Marilyn Manson ~ I never would have thought I'd be quoting Marilyn Manson, but there you have it.

2) I was a little tired coming home from Seoul a few weeks ago, and bust up laughing when I overheard this from a guy trying to impress the girl he was with...

"Oh, don't read that. That book is absolute garbage. It's not worth your time. Of course, I've never read it myself" (He was referring to the best selling novel Tuesdays With Morrie)

3) My 4 year old niece is a genius, and has managed to discern my hitherto most well kept secret....

"Does Auntie Janice live on that planet"? - Kaitlyn (while pointing to the Moon)

Sunday as Sunday should be...sort of.

What a lovely day. The sun was shining, a breeze was blowing, and I got to go to church for the first time in a while!

I went to the Gospel Service at Camp Walker with my friend Glenys. This was the first time I'd ever been to a black, southern, hand clappin' "Can I get a Witness?" kind of service. It was fabulous. The message was good and the members of the congregation were really friendly.

It was also the first time I'd been on an American military base. It was..... American. And Military. I had to go through a double guarded gate, but once I was inside it looked (and sounded) just like America. It was a bit of a shock to just walk through a gate and wind up in another country.

Anyway, it was a good day. I met lots of nice people, and saw another part of the city that I'd never been to before. I'm sure I'll do it again sometime.

As the leaves perform their gentle autumn dance and change colours, so to does my hair. Just like a diseased maple turns an unnaturally gross reddish hue, so has my hair turned a ghastly maroon shade.

I swear, I pointed to the colour swatch that was a light auburn...NOT K-car interior upholstery maroon. drat. Oh well, it's dramatic, and the cut's much nicer than that awful perm most of you had to look at over the summer. (sorry).

with the exception of me from the eyebrows up, everything here is good. My students (some of whom would rather drink than study) are sweating their way through midterm exams, and will emerge no worse for wear on the other side. My co-workers and I are enjoying cooler weather, and looking forward to our winter vacations. My kitty is spastic, and I like her most of the time.

I'm also reading a great book right now called "Still life with Rice". It's a Korean-American author, writing her grandmothers biography. It's a fantastic story, and really helps me understand a little bit more where on earth some of the older folks in this country are coming from. The generation gap here is huge. Changes that took 40 or 50 years to come about in Canada are taking place here in the span of 10 or 20 years. I wonder what the next decade will bring....

Some Good Advice

If you ever decide to ride your bike to the grocery store (because it's a perfectly beautiful autumn day), and your path is paved almost entirely in uneven cobblestones, and you plan to bring your groceries back in your Mary Poppins bike basket... don't buy eggs.

In other news, I haven't managed to kill either my cat OR my new plant yet. Both greenery and furrery are growing nicely. But my plant smells better....

And finally, I had my professional evaluation the other day. (My boss comes to observe one of my classes, and makes comments). Apparently, I have an "impeccable blackboard". I guess all those hours playing in the basement pretending I was a teacher and writing on the underside of the pingpong table really paid off.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
I hope you're all having a lovely holiday... unless you're not from Canada, in which case HA HA!!!

I travelled to Seoul with a group of friends on Saturday. We went our seperate ways during the day, then met at the Grand Hilton for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Thanksgiving Dinner. As you can tell from the title, it wasn't as cozy as home, but there was some fabulous turkey and all the usual fixin's (if you count fully dressed salmon as a usual Thanksgiving fixin.) Many of the Canucks present brought Korean friends with them, and you could hear explanations down the buffet line. "That's the turkey...yes, it's really a bird that big. It's like a giant chicken." "Those are brussel sprouts... don't take any." "Oh! Beets! Like we used to have at Grandmas. Don't get the juice on you". etc. etc.

On Sunday, we had ANOTHER dinner for 7 or 8 of us who wanted to pitch in to whip something up. The atmosphere was much closer to 'homelike', but there was no turkey...

I followed up a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend (the weather was also perfect) with a flu shot today. Now my arm hurts. ouch.

I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, and loved ones nearby to share it (and the leftovers) with.

So, more about Kyoungju. For those interested in a speck of Asian history, I present the following snippet:

HISTORY BIT: A long long time ago, (about 100 BC) on a Continent far far away, (Asia) three l'il 'ol city-state type areas bickered, fought, and sought alliances with China. The runt of the litter (the Shilla kingdom) was seen to be the least interested in wealth or war. However, as the stories of Clifford the Big Red Dog will tell you, the runt of the litter sometimes turns out to be big stuff. It was the little Shilla kingdom that eventually united the three feuding Kingdoms and created the first unified Korea. Kyoungju was the Capital for 1,000 years during the Shilla period. That's a lot of history packed into one little city. It is often called "The Museum Without Walls" becuase you can't take 10 steps without tripping over a piece of history. (Well, in my case, I can't take 10 steps without tripping over my own two feet...but tripping over history is better).

'WHAT I DID THERE' BIT: I've been to Kyoungju before, so a few of the things I saw were repeats...but worth it. It was also great this time because it was Chuseok, or Korean Thankgiving. Everyone was at their family homes, so there weren't many tourists. We went to Sokuram, which is considered to be one of Asia's finest examples of Buddha. It's way up on top of a mountain, and he's got a big jewel in his forhead, so when the sun was rising or setting, you would be able to see it for miles around. The next stop was Bulguksa, a temple, which (like Sokuram) was built around 500 A.D. It's gorgeous, and has what is considered to be "The most beautiful wall in the world". It was pretty. It's contructed with large, smooth rocks and no mortar.

THEN - the bonus of the trip... we were walking around the lake after a rotating Italian dinner. (Rotating because the three of us couldn't decide what to order, so at 5 minute intervals, we'de pass our plates clockwise and enjoy 3 dishes instead of just one.) Anyway, we were stuffed and needed to walk it off. We came across an outdoor amphitheatre (is that redundant?) and sat down. As we looked around, it looked like the stage was being set up for a show! About 20 minutes later, a show of Korean folk and court dances started. It lasted an hour, was incredibly professional, and was FREE!! I assure you that my mouth was gaping through most of the performance... I looked just like a slack jawed yokel. The best of the best was "The Dance of the Three Drums". It's difficult to explain, so when Eva gets her pictures downloaded, I'll post one here. (Silly me thought "I don't need my camera, we're just going for dinner".)

And that was my weekend.