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....

Music to my Ears

You know it's getting warmer in Korea when the bunny-selling adjimas reappear. Squatting flat footed in subway stations, the tiny old women display large cardboard boxes filled with their days sale: baby animals. Puppies, kittens, bunnies and even ducklings (who would want a pet duck?) huddling together before being sold and taken away (in a carrier bag?). Not great for animal rights, but great for us......spring is on it's way!

This weekend was a musical one. Some people we knew were playing their last gig in Korea, and some other people we knew were playing their first gig in Korea... at the same venue and with the same drummer. The bands had very different styles, and both were really good, especially when the coolest of cool Korean saxophonist started effortlessly bluesing his way through the songs of Dodge n the Bullitz. Looking forward to more of where that came from. Alas, all good things come to an end, and a too-cheesy band took centre stage. It's amazing how loud music is incredible if it's good, and bleedin' terrible if it's bad. So with this shift from incredible to terrible I ran away, ate kebab, and then realised my phone had died and I didn't know where anyone was now. Schoolboy error Michelle!

But heyho, it was now Saturday and I was hangover free. Lexi and I were decided - we wanted to go for lunch, but not Korean food. We wanted home comforts. Unfortunatly, living away from Seoul makes that pretty difficult unless your willing to stoop to Mcdonalds or Greasy Pizza. Bah Humbug. Secretly, I was mentally licking my lips at a Big Mac, and about to start saying 'Dammit, I suppose we'll just have to go for a burger' until we passed an 'Italian' Restaurant. Ooo la la. Bueno, even. A lovely girly chat and a Koreanised version of Italian food later, and it was time to start getting muscial again.

We met Will and his wife Yungjong for drinks before heading to a Norabang to belt out some classics. Lee and Will screamed System of a Down whilst alternating between Yungjong's Korean ballads and my Soul Solos. We spent a long time harmonising on the kareoke machine before deciding we were amazing and the norabang wasn't cutting it anymore. We needed instruments. We headed back to our apartment (after a 7-11 booze stop of course) and impressed eachother with our guitar and singing talents. Actually, Will and Lee were too drunk to remember how to play, and I'm not even that good on the guitar, but our verions of Dylan, Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks and Jonny Cash were incredible. At least..... they were at the time.

Somehow, by the love of God, I wasn't hungover the next day. Maybe last weekend's two day hangover had convinced alcohol karma to give me a break. Anyway, I was spritely.....and it's a good thing too....we were off to see Eric Clapton in Seoul. Clapton was incredible, of course. He didn't play a single song like any version I'd heard him do before. The only time I felt uncomfortable was remembering belting out my own version of Layla at the Norabang the night before, so Yungjong could 'know who he was'. Probably a good thing she wasn't here to hear the real version and realise the whole thing isn't done with a tambourine.

It all ended in cocaine. OK, Korea is a strictly drug-free country. You're not facing the death penalty if you're caught with drugs, but you are facing a long long time in imprisonment with even the smallest of evidence, and so I've not even come across a whiff of weed since being in Korea. A far cry from England. From my experience, Korean's have no want for drugs, there is no real market for it, and it's generally quite frowned upon, even by students (gasp). So when Clapton ended it all with his classic 'Cocaine' I didn't expect the whole audience to jump to their feet, storm the stage, and start hollering 'COCAINE' at the top of their voices. Maybe I'm wrong. There's a market for it afterall.

China - How Shiny Can Deck Shoes Get?

So there was Ollie, in Shanghai! Last time I'd seen him he'd been about to leave for India, and me for Korea...and now we were in China, shows how plans change eh. But Ollie hadn't changed at all...except for the brown deck shoes he was now sporting. So after catching up and knocking back some cheap beers we headed for bed....we had Qibao in the morning.

Qibao is a small canal town, over 1000 years old. And on this day, it was packed. Maybe it's because it was a National Holiday, maybe it's just because it was China. Even so, it was lovely.

What was odd, was that all these hundreds of people had come to visit the town, but 95% of them stayed within a few lanes in the centre....step outside of the crazy lanes and there was a whole town to discover. The surrounding town was all painted green, and in the backstreets were tables of people betting wads of cash on games and knocking back beer. This was the poorest area we visited, but the people were the friendliest. And of course, there was lots more meat on coat-hangers.

We dropped into another Taoist temple, ate some spicy noodle soup (which Lexi was sure was pigs blood, I chose to ignore, and then ate hers) and then headed home for a nap, a hotpot and more cheap beers. Aaaah the life.

We got up super early to get a bus to Zhujiajao, left late, misjudged the distance, ran a long way, missed the bus, sweated a lot, stressed out, then realised we could just jump on the next bus. Excellent. Zhujiajao is a water town outside of Shanghai, which has canals instead of roads. Kind of like a small Venice. And it was stunning.

So we did the best thing to do when wanting to enjoy the scenery - find some tables in the sun, drink beer and play cards....and, um....get your deck shoes polished.

That night was more cheap beers, more hotpot, more cards games.....I could spend more time here! But alas, tomorrow was our last day. My friend had suggested a local Bird, Fish, Insect & Flower Market and I thought that sounded intruiging. Might be able to smuggle back a beetle or two. Trouble is, no-one knew where it was. The hostel had a vague idea it was down a main road, but we shouldn't have worried.....we heard the birds tweeting a mile off.

I'm not sure if these animals were for pets or for food (I suspect a bit of both), and the cages were definatly too small for some of these animals (especially the cats and dogs)....so we found ourselves walking from cage to cage giving water to the animals and even trying to buy pet food for some of the skinnier felines. Even so, the market was fascinating. The animals were in pretty good spirits, which suggested they weren't mistreated, so we wandered around trying to talk above the squeeks and squawks, and buying whatever dusty gems we could find. I bought a bone for some reason.

Our Shanghai time was running out so we headed down to the meeting place of the first ever Communist Party of China. You weren't allowed to take photos. I didn't notice. I got screamed at in Chinese and thought the guard was either going to explode or break my camera.....but I got this pitcure....mwoahaha.

It shows the original plan for the Communist Party....which is such a good plan. But we later saw that most of the delegates at this meeting were later expelled from the Party, sent to prison, or murdered. A flaw in the plan I think when the founders are killed by the followers.

So time was up! Only one thing left to do. Knock back cocktails in the French Concession, head home, don't eat dinner, drink more, and more, get a stupidly small amount of sleep, get up at 5am to go to the airport and then sit clutching a sick bag for the whole of the flight home. Seems strangely familiar.....

So goodbye China! Until next time. And goodbye Ollie. Until we meet again...who knows where that will be, but that's the exciting part ;-)

China - They Are Some Big Knickers

So we were in Shanghai for the first day of the Year of the Rabbit. The white metal rabbit apparently. And in this year 'you may not express your feelings in words, but make up it by deeds'...... So, actions speak louder than words this year. Superb. I can do that.




So we started our year of actions with a visit to a Taoist Temple. Taoists believe that the universe sprang from the Tao, and the Tao guides people on their way. But Tao is not a god....it is a natural force of the earth. Neverthless, there are many dieties, all holding a particular role, which are themselves subject to the Tao. And according to the statues inside, quite a few of them have purple hair.



Stepping outside this Temple and you were lost in backstreets, all hosting stalls selling candyfloss or fruit, and once further into the labryinth, row upon row of washing hung out to dry, on rails, on lines, on coat-hangers.....undies and all. And there were some impressively big knickers hanging around.

Even stranger, everywhere we went there was meat and fish hung out to dry on coat-hangers. Almost every house had them swinging from their doorways and windows, and we couldn't figure out if it's a New Year ritual or if they're just preparing lunch. Either way, if Shanghai's landscape is dominated by skyscrapers, then Shanghai's backstreets are definatley dominated by coat-hangers of meat and knickers.

So we left the coat-hanger district and ventured into Old Town. Old Town by name, not really by nature. Although the markets date back to the 1800's, they were rennovated in 1999 and now resemble more of an Old Town Theme Street than an actual old town. The Pepsi logos everywhere somehow gave it away. Even so, all the buildings were traditional Chinese architecture, there were lanterns & decorations gallore, gardens & pagodas inside, and with the hoardes of Chinese people shuffling through the lanes it was very atmospheric.

The only thing left to do that day was to reunite with Mr Cole! Hurrah! Ollie has just started teaching in China so a vendez-vous was in order..... and with everyone's travels you've got to grab any opportunity to meet up, for who knows when they will spring up again.....

China - Six in the City

I've just spent six days in the city of Shanghai, over the Chinese New Year, and what a city it is! Shanghai is like a country within a country....with a backdrop to rival New York, consumerism at it's beating heart and Capitalism rivaling Communism, it's almost hard to believe you're in China. But head down a back alley and find rows of washing hung out to dry and meat strung up on coat-hangers and birds tweeting in cages and you remember.....this is the city where old meets new.

We left for China at 5am after 2 hours sleep and drinking 3 bottles of wine. We regretted that. But it's amazing how quickly you can shake off a hangover when you've got a new country to explore (how else would backpackers survive)...so after a quick nap in our new hostel we were off!

We bumbled down to the Bund....the river front hosting Shanghai's tallest, most modern and most impressive architecture. On the other side of the road, the street lined buildings almost perfectly resembled London. Ooooooh. Aaaaaah.

The only problem was that there was no-where to eat, and true to form, I felt starving as soon as I knew there was no food around. After desperation caught hold, I ate the first thing I came across....a somewhat slimy suspicious meat...I'm not going to question what that could have been. Didn't help that it was ball shaped.

After finding some actual food we wandered down the famous East Nanjing Road......only to realise it was desserted. Actually, everywhere was desserted. I thought China was meant to be packed? But of course, today was New Years Eve - the biggest holiday in China - and everyone had left the city to visit their family back home, or were in their houses eating the traditional feasts. So we took advantage of the one day's grace of space and headed to the most obvious tourist points - the Jinmao Tower for views of the city, the Bund Tunnel & the Curious Aquatic Collection. And it was a curious collection.....a mix of live fish, embalmed fish and pickled fish in jars. This one must have been pickled on a sad day.....

It was still early but the city was becoming alive. After feasting, the Chinese people traditonally let off firecrackers outside their home to bring on good luck. And they don't just let off a mere one or two...oh no!...every household lets off hundreds of firecrackers, starting at around 5pm New Years Eve and ending....well, they were still going off 6 days later when we came to leave...so who knows. Every direction had fireworks bursting and bits of red paper falling from the sky. These crazy people were letting off rockets from their hands and throwing firecrackers at our feet, and at midnight, it was hard to know which direction to look in for fear of missing the best displays.

We rounded off the amazing day by going to a terrible nightclub and then headed home. On to tomorrow and the first day of the Year of the Rabbit! A lucky year apparently. I bet they say that every time......