My Vizor's Bigger Than Yours

As we all know, last week was eventful in Asia. Last Friday, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan and triggered a tsunami, killing over 7,000 people, with 11,000 still missing. Alerts were sent to Taiwan, the Philipinnes and Russia where it was feared the tsunami would also hit, and an explosion at Fukushima nuclear power plant caused concerns of serious radiation leakage. It remains a huge crisis for Japan, which was met with global aid and attention.

So we should be thankful that Korea, being Japan's closest neighbour, has been so unaffected. On the afternoon of the tsunami, some younger students were worried that a 'big wave from Japan' was going to hit us, but as soon as I pulled up a world map and showed them that despite being so close, Japan acted as a land shield, they were fine. Actually, the children were more than fine...with at least 2 students cheering the devastation in every class. Crikey-malikey! Are kids always this mean? Well, no...I understand that Korea harbours bad feelings against Japan for historical injustices (some of which Japan still refuse to apologise for), but really....children should not think that applauding such devastation is acceptable. I tried explaining that lingering hatred towards another country is not productive or fair, but I think the stream of English just confused them and I ended the lecture facing ten baffled looking 9 year olds.

But despite the chaos nearby, life in Korea went on as normal. Infact, we undertook one of Korea's favourite hobby's.....hiking! Hiking is one of Korea's most popular activities, not suprising, given that mountains cover 70% of the peninsular. It's so popular it has even bred it's own hiking clan......sportswear clad adjimas with matching jackets, trousers, gloves, boots, trekking poles....and most importantly....the vizor.

The vizor means a lot. The bigger the vizor, the better the wearer. Competition takes hold for the biggest, most impressive headpiece. I've seen an adjima sporting three vizors at once. She must have been the clan leader. So Korean's always find it hilarious to see us westerners plodding up the mountains in jeans and flipflops. And we find it pretty amusing to see them marching up the man-made hiking trail with sports garb that would conquer Everest. But with all this mutual laughing at eachother, it soon turns to laughing with eachother, and makes for a very friendly excursion. We stopped by a huge Buddha carved into the rock face, and after paying her respects, a woman called me over to give a bag of walnuts as a gift. Very nice. At the top of the mountain were people selling Makoli (rice wine) and cucumbers for refreshment. We had conquered the mountain!

 Pumped with energy and enjoying the glorious weather, we took up our old spot on top of my building's roof, with drinks, fruit & guitars, and toasted the return of our good friend, Nat, to Korea. Dinner and drinks ensued. We then ended it all with a (slightly drunk) trip to the 24 hour sauna, where we spyed a somewhat suspicious looking room dedicated to.....dare I say it......Vagina Steaming. Yes. A tea-steam for your lady parts. OK, I might be on a mission to try everything new, but I think the downstairs facial can wait for another day. So feeling fresh, but not as fresh as I could have been, the weekend closed to another week.

The Fear Factor

'Do one thing every day that scares you'. Because, apparently, it's good for you. I'm not sure why, considering being scared is pretty horrific. And unbeknownst to me, this week I was going to put the fear factor to the test.....and I think I won.

The week started with the fond farewell of two of Korea's expat longtimers.... Annie & Fletch. A very sad loss, mostly because Annie was one of my first real friends in Korea, but also because Norabangs will never be the same without Fletch singing classics (cough) like R Kelly Gotham City. Anyway, we saw them off the same way as we saw them begin.....in VonTees and a Siheung Norabang until 5am. On a school night. Tsh Tsh!

You have two choices when teaching hungover (and it doesn't happen often I promise): either wish you were dead, hate all children and the unfairly loud noises that come from them, OR throw yourself into it fully and make it an extra fun day so that it passes more quickly. After a quick weigh up of the options I went for option two, and made it Simon Says, Pictionary & Countdown day. 

After the horror of the hangover we vowed it would be a non-drinking weekend. A weekend of adventure! Water Adventure to be precise. And after squeezing myself into a bikini, meeting people and facing the drama of explaining directions to taxi drivers, we were there, Bucheon Tiger World, Korea's Biggest Indoor Waterpark! And it was closed. Why? Because it's winter. BUT IT'S INDOORS. Well, there's no point in questioning why, we can't understand the stream of Korean and they don't understand our questions, and as so frequently happens when being an alien abroad, there is nothing for it but to leave beffudled.

So with nothing to do and a group of people to socialise, there was nothing for it.......the pub was calling. Our attempts at not drinking just made us drink earlier. Actually, it was a beautiful day with sunlight streaming through the windows, a pool table, darts board, and good people to spend time with....it felt like we were back in England on a Sunday afternoon. Good conversation and pitchers of beer were flowing.... and kept flowing.... until we stumbled across the road to where Dodge N The Bullitz were playing at a live music bar, Santana.

Santana is run by Yongsoo Yoon, the saxophonist in Dodge N The Bulltiz, and the owner of a music academy in Bucheon. He showed amazing hospitality with food and drink, and a great night of live music. Where potentially anybody could get up and perform. Hmmmmm...... interesting. With beers inside me and a hum in my head I decided....it was time to take the stage!

I had expected to put in my request and be straight up. But as over an hour passed my beer confidence ran out the door. Oh. No. Why had I aksed to sing on a stage with actual muscicians, who had done crazy things like.....rehearse? I wanted to say that I'd changed my mind, but nothing looks worse than someone who confidently asks to perfrom, then gets scared, and then says they can't do it because they feel like they might be sick.

On stage and I belted out a rather drunken Dock of the Bay, after requesting 'You Can Call Me Al' and they didn't have it (thank god for that...imagine). And was happily sitting down with pure relief that the whole thing was over when it seemed that drunk girl number 1 (me) had set off drunk girls number 2 & 3 (no names mentioned, cough...Lisa & Emma) and suddenly my name was being called to sing with them. I don't remember what song. I think I'm blocking it out...... because all I remember is that 3 drunk girls on stage sound like...well....3 drunk girls on stage. Thankfully one of the guitarists stepped in to drown out our screaching.

So another Sunday was awakened with that 'Oh no.....did I?' feeling. But it's OK, ....because doing things that scare you is good for you. So despite the sweaty palms and embarrassment, I win. Apparently.

The March Movement

'A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month......no returns!' Aaaaah that old ryhme......how I loved being simultaneously pinched and punched by fellow schoolkids, all in 'celebration' of the first day of the month....every month. Thankfully, in Korea, March 1st is even more special.... so special that we all got the day off from school to honour it.

The day marks the 'March 1st Movement', where millions of Koreans took to the streets to protest against the oppressive and brutal Japanese Military Occupation, in 1919. Since the Japanese had occupied Korea they had attempted to totally annihilate national identity - burning the royal palaces, banning the Korean language, clothes, radio, currency, even their names, and placing thousands of local women into sexual slavery as "comfort women" to the Japanese Army. The Japanese police attempted to supress the March 1st Movement through force, killing over 7,000 people in the following months....but ultimately, the Koreans had succeeded, as there followed a marked change in Japanese policy towards Korea, and they lifted many of the oppressive laws.

So with this day of freedom at our fingertips, what to do? Their had been talk of a picnic by the Han river - the wonders of facebook had recruited over 120 eager expats to join force in Soju drinking, frisbee throwing and BBQ eating.....but alas, we had all been too optimistic. Three days of warmish weather last week was mistaken as a sure sign of Spring, and with shorts and sunglasses ready to be whipped out, we woke up to find snow on the ground. And to think I'd had my bikini at the ready.

So instead, we took to the streets in search of Art, and found it at the Leeum Museum of Art, Itaewon.

After shuffling quickly through 3 floors of ancient ceramic pots, trying to look interested, but wondering how interested you can be with pots ('large pot', 'lidded pot', 'small pot', 'water pot') we headed to the contemporary art section and saw some amazing pieces. On display was film, photography, scultpure & paintings... and despite the occaisonal 'red square on white square' (where my sister would say, "but Michelle, it's so much more than just a square.....") there were some great conceptual pieces. Such as Damien Hirst's 'Dance of Death' - a mirrored cabinet lined up with all the medicine an average person takes in their life. Crikey. So we're all druggies anyway.

On leaving the gallery to meet friends for a few bevs, we passed an old Korean women sat on the street in a chair with a ripped American flag around her shoulders, and a sign that read 'Foreigners with drugs, go home or we will kill you'. I wanted a photo but she looked quite serious with her threat of death so I ran away, just wondering what her statement meant. Did she think that all foreigners were American? Or that foreigners are the root of all drugs in Korea? I should have told her that, according to what I'd just seen, she's as much a druggie as the rest of them...

And so the day of the March Movement ended, with drinks and a Lebanese meal. Another school day looming, a new term starting, new classes to teach and new kids to get to know. So far I have a child called Randy and a boy with the best mullet I've ever seen, so things are looking good....