new camera, new news.

Hi,

We are off to Japan on Saturday, so before I go I thought I would do a wee update on what's been happening in the last couple of weeks. Not any major adventures due to an attempt to cut back on the spending in preparation for Japan, but still some bits and pieces which may be of interest! I will just reel them off as they come into my head!

I had my first Korean cinema experience a couple of weeks ago. Myself, Neil, and few Irish friends went to see "The Mist" in CGV (the equivalant to Odeon or Cineworld in Korea). A truly awful film, but it was still interesting to see what a cinema in Korea is like. And the answer? Well it's pretty much the same as in the UK, but with a couple of better things. Firstly, food is much much cheaper, and second, you only get a couple of adverts and trailers before the film starts. I ended up going again with a couple of my co-teachers last week to see Sweeney Todd, a much better film. And in case you are wondering, they only put Korean subtitles up, not dubbing!

My predecessor Euan is back in Korea teaching at Incheon's biggest (and only?) University so a couple of weekends ago I met him and he took me on a wee tour of the campus. It is the winter vacation so the place was pretty dead but it was interesting to see what a university here is like. Apparantly the university was part financed by Korean Air so there were lots of airplanes dotted around, including a full size Boeing 727 or something. Pretty impressive......I have no idea how they got it there! Although I had bought my camera I forgot to take it so I don't have any shots, but i do have some of other things (see below).

So yes, I have finally got round to buying a decent camera. It is a Fujifilm 9 mega pixel job, a wee bit chunky but I am very happy with it so far. It is very easy to use, the picture quality is good and the PC software is child's play. I ended up buying it from E-Mart, partly due to it being a good deal (after discount, about £65) but also they give a year warranty and you can see the price, you don't have to ask as you do in Yongsan or some of the other markets.

So here are some of the shots from the new beast. I will do a bit of explaining after each.

Myself and one the teachers (Johnny) at Nam-Dong. His English is very good.

Esther and I at Nam-Dong. Her English is not as good, but better than my Korean! I look a bit smug....not the best look.

First attempt at a night shot. Not the best. This is the big building at Bupyeong station. Outback is a Australian themed steakhouse, which does pricey but very tasty steaks and pasta.

Woodstock, one of our regular watering holes. What you see in this photo is pretty much the whole bar. The toilet is round to the right, and I am standing pretty much in the doorway. It is a cosy place! Good music though.

Neil, Angel (the barmaid and co-owner of Woodstock) and I.

Yesterday I went to my headteacher at In-Dong's housewarming dinner. It was interesting to see the inside of somebody's Korean house, although she was still unpacking so it is not quite a "proper" Korean house yet. All the teachers from In-Dong were there, as well as two of the teacher's sons. They were both really cool (as most small Korean kids are). Here are a couple of photos of them and the rest of the night.

The table set for dinner. Keep an eye on the number of dishes on the table in the following photos. The wee guy (Sunny's son) is, I think, pointing at the set of chopsticks and spoon at the end of the table because they were gold and the other ones are silver. He is 3 I think. He can already count to 10 in ENGLISH. Impressive. Well I thought so.

Sunny cooking up Pajeom. They are a sort of a cross between a pancake and a pizza, but more like a savoury pancake. These ones had seafood in them. Yummy.

More and more! The plates with the black and white things are made from rice and have a sweet filling. I have no idea what to compare them to. There is nothing like them back home.

The meal underway. Dinna (headteacher) is at back right, with Yogi in front of her. What looks like a bottle of Coke next to her is actually a bottle of what I can only describe as being similar to Buckfast, but a bit better. You all have a shot glass, and you sort of alternate between shotting it and sipping. You never fill your own glass, always fill other people's around you if you see they are nearly empty, and always accept your drink by holding your glass with two hands. However, the more drink gets consumed, the more these rules are ignored!

Me with the boys. Yogi's son (on right) was a bit shy at first but once he realised he could get away with attacking me with a plastic sword and I pretended to die we were best mates. This was taken with the self-timer on the camera but it took many attempts before I got this shot as they kept running over and moving it.

So there we are. Everything else is just moving along as usual, I am being kept busy with my three-school schedule, trying to make it to the gym, the occasional visit to E-Mart to buy corn flakes and cheese and having a few beers and games of pool with Neil and many other folks. Life is good, but it will be nice to have a wee holiday and see a different part of the world in Japan.

Last, but definately not least, I have some great news in that mum has said she is coming over to visit for 10 days at the end of March. I already have a couple of days booked off and will get a couple more, it will be SO nice to have her here and show here the sights, my schools, neighbourhood and give her a chance to see what it's like to live here. If anyone else fancies a trip to the crazy land of Korea, just let me know. I'll get the Kimchi and Soju ready!