Remember to back it up!

Ladies, remember that Sex and the City episode where Carrie lost all her work because she didn't back up her hard drive before her computer crashed?

Remember?

Yea, well that episode has been playing on loop in my mind over the past 24 hours.

After two years of cruising by with my Macbook, Bert finally decided to call it quits... in SEOUL!

I don't understand why he couldn't have just gone ape$h!t in Toronto where people spoke English and I knew my warranty meant something.

But that's besides the point.

Tomorrow I will be venturing out into Seoul to find this magnificent Apple service centre that everyone keeps talking about.

I am trying to have no regrets about not backing up any of my stuff. Trying REALLY hard not to regret it. Especially all my photos. Yes. No regrets.

None.

Except for maybe those 500+ photos I took just about everywhere.

xo
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Sorry, Donald!

"Have you ever had Beijing Duck?" my co-teacher asked me as we drove to our staff dinner on Monday night.

"No," I replied. "In fact, I don't think I've ever had duck."

After Mrs. P recovered from her shock, we walked into the restaurant to be greeted with the pungent spices of red pepper garnished on cabbage - Kimchi - a staple, here in Korea.

I took my seat at the dinner table as waiters rushed in and out of the private party room my school had rented for the occassion. It was the school's 101st birthday, so they were celebrating in style.

As I looked around me I took in the scene: side dishes that ranged from coldslaw and bean sprouts to kimchi and kimchi lined the tables.

Yes, if I haven't mentioned it before, Koreans LOVE their Kimchi. I've even been forced to have it for breakfast while here. The thing about it is that it's not bad. It's actually quite tasty. But I don't get the savoury way they indulge in it. Literally, chomping, lip-smacking goodness, if you watch them closely while they eat.

Mrs. K makes it a point to announce how delicious it is everytime I eat lunch in the staffroom with them. "Deeeeleeeeciiiooous," she says, as she digs her chopsticks into a bowl-full.

Sitting at the table was quite the adventure. As I waited for the other teachers to take their places around me, I was educated on the reasons why Koreans love taking time to eat together.

"This is how we socialize," said Mrs. C. "Koreans always take time to eat together."

I realized this very quickly after entering the country. Barely anyone eats alone. And eating is a ritual. I truly think Babs would love it here... no one ever stops feeding you.

Anyway, I was already apprehensive about eating duck. I'd never tried it before so I wasn't quite sure what I was in for.

Just as I watched the pieces of meat sizzle and fry on the hot plate in front of me, one of the science teachers piped in with a big smile on her face: "S! DONALD DUCK!" she shouted over the table, as she pointed her chopsticks towards the meat.

Donald Duck.

SADNESS!

What a way to go.

But on the other side, I must admit - Beijing Duck is rather delicous... and pretty damn fatty too.

Sorry, Donald!

xo

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A block around my Seoul

Well, I've officially been in the Land of Morning Calm for two weeks. Can you believe that? I can't! It seems like so much longer, but in many ways, it feels as though I just stepped onto that plane at Pearson International.

My first solo, international flight. I never thought I'd see the day. It wasn't so bad though... I lucked out and got the most direct flight across the world to my home for at least the next one year.

My 10-day orientation is officially over and I'm inching on the one-week mark of living at my new home.

I should probably give you all a visual of what my friends have come to know as my "Livable Manolo Shoebox".

Yes, I think my apartment for the next year defines the notion that South Korea is shy on space and is a mostly vertical-neighbourhoods community.

I live in a teeny-tiny apartment... but it has everything I need. If you imagine a shoe box and place all the amenities, a bed, a study table, a shelf, a closet, a window and a bathroom in it, you'll pretty much be able to visualize it.

Here's a photo if you need some help. What you don't see is the washroom (I'm taking the photo from there) and the front door, which is to the left of my fridge, at the bottom left of this photo. It may be small, but I'm thankful to have a space that I can call my own.

I live in a brand new apartment building in Anam district. Directly to the north of me, Korea University (a private university) shows off it's large buildings and brilliant architecture. It's quite parallel to my neighbourhood, which is just across the street.

For all my fellow Torontonians, I suppose you could say I live in what we know as The Annex. It's the cool place to be for young, hip university students. It's loud at night, and the neon lights never stop shinning through my window. Actually, now that I think of it, I don't think any of the stores in South Korea turn their neon signs off at any point.

My building, which is still under construction, is off an alleyway. It's gated and has a coded entry, but once past the gate, I come face to face with the back ends of overpriced coffee houses (or caffés) and restaurants.

When I walk along the street to the east of my building, I sometimes feel as though brand-chains came by and threw up two of each on the street.

Examples? Well, I have two 7-eleven's warring across one another, a Starbucks, a 24-hour McDonald's, a Dunkin' Donut's, a Holly's Caffé (which ended up being my kryptonite during the days without Internet)... and the list goes on.

On the same street there's also a handful of PC-bangs (Internet cafes) and about six coffee shops, each filled to the brink with cool and trendy university students. Oh, and I also lost count of all the Italian restaurants. True story.

Flip to the street on the west side of my building. It's kind of scary because of all the bars and open patios that are filled with students and older Korean men, alike. I think this part gets excessively loud at night, but I've begun to drown them out.

All the neon signs in my area have had me walking around in circles a lot. Everything tends to look the same after a while. I've started to look for landmarks to remind me where I am. It's pretty interesting, though, because if I walk through the alleys and side streets between the large neon signs and brand powered chains, I find cute older Korean women selling fruit and items in stores at a much lesser price than the ones that cater specifically to Waegooks (foreigners).

I've also begun to become immune to the three (yes, THREE) billiard halls that I can see directly out my window. I'm on the 5th floor of a six-storey building, so I'm at eye-level with these rooms, which exist on top of cafés and restaurants.

I walk to and from school. It's about a 20-minute walk each way, but I don't mind it. I think overall I lucked out with a pretty good area in the sense of proximity.

I'll have more on my first two weeks in Seoul in upcoming posts.

Till then, thank you for reading!

xo
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Noraebang Queen

I don’t know what it is about these singing rooms in South Korea, but a few minutes in one and you’re certain to morph into someone you never imagined being.

Take for instance my last night of orientation with the other guest English teachers. We went out to a seafood buffet and came back to our dorms to get ready for a night out on the town. The staff was nice enough to extend our 1 a.m. curfew by an hour and we intended to take full advantage of it.

We headed out to Wa Bar – our nightly watering hole for the past week – and then, to a Noraebang (singing room) in the building next door. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that everyone was happy to have finally completed the nine-day orientation, or maybe it had something to do with the mass consumption of soju… but everyone seemed euphoric.

I think we must have taken over four rooms, with at least 15 people in each room at a time. If any of you have seen these rooms before, you’ll know that they’re not spacious. Cozy, but definitely not large.

And as for me, I’m not sure what happened. I just remember hopping from one room to the next, singing one song here, and jumping to another one there… and smiling from ear to ear the entire time. Even the most reserved of those in the group were belting out Pearl Jam and Journey. One of the staff members even asked to sing “2 become 1” by the Spice Girls. I played the tambourine for that one.


I am starting to understand why noraebangs are so popular in South Korea. In fact I think we need them in North America. They offer a sense of liberation from all that weighs you down and stresses you out. People who don’t normally talk in everyday life can perform amazing duets when in the confines of these tiny rooms. I guess you can liken it to the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” phrase. No one talks about what happens at the noraebang, once outside the noraebang.

Oh! An added bonus? You’ll be sweating up a storm while performing, so you’re certain to shed a mass amount of calories. By far the funnest workout!

xo
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