Andy는 타짜 아니거든! *^^*

On Friday, i met up with the Korean guy that I met the week before. We got some snacks from Kmart, and then went to a park on the river for a chat, and played some 맞고. He came up with the following idea: First to 100 points is the winner, loser has to buy dinner. Anyway, I got to 100 points first, and by the time we finished playing 맞고, it was almost dinner time, and since we were close to Apex Park, he was interested in seeing a beach on a river, so I took him there.


성국 decided that thai food would be nice, so we went to the new thai restaurant in town, called Thai-riffic.





A little pricy, but it tasted pretty good.

The Plan

A lot of people have been asking me "So, what are you going to do now?" or "What are you doing next year?" and things like that. Sure, after being in Korea for 3 years, they wanna know what my next step is. But with fucking everyone asking that, it gets damn annoying. So, for the people who wanna know, here's a bit of a plan that I've got going in my head.
  • Get my Victorian Teacher Registration sorted out (which is gonna take time)
  • Possibly to go Melbourne to visit friends in November or December (depending on the money situation)
  • Get some substitute work, so that I can get back into the feel for "real" teaching (What I was doing in Korea, I wouldn't call "real" teaching).
  • After getting some substitute work, actually get a contract position in a decent school, which could lead to an ongoing position somewhere.
  • Try to budget my cash, since I don't/won't have much until I do get some work
  • Exercise now and then so that I don't put on the weight that I lost in Korea, and if possible, lose some more
  • Stop eating as much delicious Cadbury Chocolate (It's been on sale in three different places since I've been home!)


Ah, and one more thing I've thought about:


Try to keep my Korean at a decent level, and not loose too much of it, since I won't be speaking Korean almost at all here. In a previous post, I said that I met a Korean guy in my town, so I might use a bit of Korean with him, but other than that (other than on Skype now and then with Korean friends I made in Korea), I won't really use that much Korean.

Korean is only one of a couple of languages I'm interested in (Japanese being the other one). I'd like to keep learning it, and I've even been toying with the idea of going back to Korea in the future, to study Korean at a university there for about 6 months, after I get some things sorted for my life in Australia (like an ongoing teaching position somewhere).

While I was shopping with my sister yesterday, I noticed this in the "christmas" section of Target.


It's a santa claus chocolate statue, easter bunny style! WTF!

Christmas sucks!

Note to self...

When looking for my sisters' cats, check the car:


I can haz drive?

Dusty Sunday

With all the dust from the land that's been cleared, the wind brought a lot of dust today, but unlike the dust from China (when I was in Korea), it's not toxic or metallic or whatever it was.

I've been home for a week now, and I've been slowly getting used to things here. The cost of stuff is still freaking me about a bit. If I don't need to drive around a lot, I can easily catch the bus into town (not as many buses as Korea, and a but more expensive). The price of a daily ticket is abou the same as 2L of petrol, so it works out fine for me, and it's a decent workout as well - walking to the bus stop, walking around town, and then walking home from the bus stop.

Today, it kinda dawned on me - I'm not going back to Korea for a long while. Yeah, I know, I've been out of Korea for a week, but it takes a while for things to settle in and to get things straight in my head. Today was the day I also craved some Korean food, and speaking Korean and things like that. If I didn't have to budget, I would have called a few Korean friends today.

Went to a garden place, to get some ideas for a family member's birthday present.




Some things around there looked nice, but it's not my thing. We chose something out, put it in the car, and came home.

By Chance

Today was one of those days, where if I didn't get the bus, instead of driving, the cool things that did happen, wouldn't have happened.

I've eaten a fair bit of delicious chocolate since I've been back (and it's damn good), so I decided to walk to the bus stop near my house. Well, kinda near - it's 2 km away. A daily ticket for all the buses in town costs $3.20, which isn't too bad. For the two things I only had to do today, I would have used more than $3.20 of petrol anyway.

Got into town, and walked to a shop close by. I accidently bought a DVI-A to VGA connector, and I just needed a DVI to VGA (which doesn't really happen), and I need to get a Mini-DVI to VGA cable to get my Macbook connected to the awesome LCD TV that my parents have in the lounge room. Anyway, got a refund for that, and then started walking up to the other end of town, which had a shopping centre, and the only real kinda-Apple place in town. I needed a power cable for my Time Capsule that has an Australian end on it, and while I was there, I thought I'd get a Mini-DVI to VGA cable.

the only cinema in town


On the way, I saw someone who was familiar, and she was looking at me. Turns out it was a friend who I've been trying to get in touch with since I've been home. While I was in Korea, her phone number became inactive, and the only other option was going to her parents place, and asking. We had a hag, swapped numbers, and had a quick chat, catching up on what we've missed out on in the past 3 years.

It got me thinking... If I didn't get the bus, or got an earlier/later bus, or was walking on the other side of the street at that same time, I wouldn't have seen her.

on my way to the apple-ish store, i walked past this chinese restaurant. I'm not sure of the chinese characters/hanja, but after being in Korea, i wanna find out what it means

She had other things to do, so we went on our way, and I walked up to the Apple-ish store to get my cables (the Mini DVI to VGA will be in next week). I realised that it was too late to get the 4:05 bus back out my way, so I had to wait for the next one, which was at 5:45. I went to the shopping centre near by, and checked out some stuff.

While I was waiting at the bus stop, there was an asian guy sitting there. About 10 seconds before I sat down, I saw him spit on to the concrete, which made me think, Korean people do that. lol. After sitting down, he opened his wallet, and I saw something that said 카드 on it. So, a few seconds later, I asked him if he was Korean, and he replied "yes" and from then on, until he got his bus, we talked about things in Korean and English, and swapped numbers.

It also made me think again. If I didn't see my friend and stop to talk to her, I would have made it back to the bus stop in time for the 4:05 bus, and I wouldn't have met the first Korean guy in my town.

After walking 10.5 km around my area, I'm a bit tired - and a bit sunburnt. It was a good day today ^^

Sandwich or Toast

It didn't take long to start feeling overwhelmed with stuff, but it was something simple over bread, when it started to feel a bit weird.

After I dropped my sister off at work, I walked around the shopping centre and did a few things: exchanged some clothes, since the shorts I bought yesterday were a bit too small; bought a new mobile phone; and went to a supermarket for some stuff.

So, yeah, my news phone - a Sony Ericsson w610i. I decided to go on the Telstra network, since most of my friends are on that network. At the telstra shop, most of the phones on Pre-paid options were LG or Samsung, and after my experiences with Korean made electronics, I wanted to keep clear of those, which only left Nokia and Sony Ericsson. I'm not a fan of the Nokia UIs of late, which only left 2 Sony Ericsson phones.

The w610i came with a 512Mb memory card, a 2 mega pixel camera, Bluetooth, and a few other cool features as well, and a headset with the style of headphones that I like, so it's all good. It's also a walkman phone as well, so it can play many different type of audio files.


One thing I'm gonna have to get used to is not having Korean on the phone...


...but I put a few pieces of stuff on my phone. ^^


So, the bread. I was at a bakery, and I asked for a loaf of wholemeal bread...

Andy: I'd like one loaf of wholemeal please.
Bakery Girl: Which kind would you like?
A: Wholemeal.
BG: I mean, which type would you like? Regular, Poppy Seed.. *and a few other that she mentioned but I forgot*
A: Just regular thanks.
BG: Would you like that sliced?
A: Yes, thanks.
BG: Sandwich or Toast?
A: Sorry?

It was at this point where she gave me a bit of weird look, and I was getting a bit frustrated about all these damn options when all I wanted a loaf of wholemeal bread.

BG: Sandwich or Toast?
A: Ah, you mean the slicing? Umm... what's the difference?
BG: *still with the weird look*, Sandwich is sliced thinly. Toast is sliced thickly.
A: Oh, ok. Well, sandwich please.
BG: Sure.

After looking back, I realised that I went thought the same process before I left for Korea, but since I didn't have to go to a bakery and go though all that, I completely forgot. Also, from this point on, it's when I realised that things were getting a bit overwhelming. During the day, I've been sending emails back and forward to the Korean embassy about getting a Criminal Record Check to go with my Teacher Registration, and then being explained the whole process, which could take about 4 weeks.

Then I remembered which country I've gotta deal with *^^*

One last thing: This is one of the t-shirts I bought yesterday:


It has some random Japanese on it. It made me think about all the random English t-shirts in Korea. In Australia, mainly for design purposes, (same reason for English on t-shirts in Korea) there might be some Chinese or Japanese on the shirt. Made me laugh for a bit, thinking "I don't have any idea what it says - must be like Koreans when they buy a t-shirt with English on it".

Day 1

As of today, I'm credit card debt free... until I run out of cash, hehe. So, i'm trying to budget my cash. I bought some new clothes today, but I gotta take them back to get a size smaller, but not sure how "small" I will stay, since I'm not eating Korean food, and will drive now and then (which reminds me, might check out the bus timetable - it's a good 20 min walk to the bus stop form my house).

When I went though a check-out after getting some clothes, I went though my wallet, and realised just how much change I had in it - plus all the different shapes, sizes and the 2 colors (gold-ish and silver-ish). So, as I was trying to make the right cash to pay for the clothes, I made the comment "Just give me a second, I'm still getting used to Australian money". The middle-aged women behind the counter then said to me "Where are you from?", and I replied "I was living in South Korea for 3 years, and got back yesterday", and we had a small conversation about that. But as I walked out of the store, i realised what she asked me, and it made me laugh.

Met up with my sister after work, and we did some shopping together. She wanted some new headphones, so we looked around for that, and I wanted to check out new mobile phones. There are way too many Samsung and LG phones here, and after my experiences in Korea with Korean phones, I wanna try something else - Nokia or Sony. Will buy one tomorrow.

One thing I missed from Korea was real chocolate, and when I saw 250 gram blocks on Cadbury's chocolate on sale for $3 (regular price is $4.48), i bought 5 blocks! Dairy Milk, Rocky Road, Snack (8 different flavoured fillings), Fruit and Nut and Top Deck (milk chocolate base with white chocolate on top). 맞있지? This was in K-mart, by the way. I haven't eaten too much of it yet, either. it's 1.25kg of chocolate! I had a few pieces of Top Deck after dinner, and that was about it. I've lost about 25kg, and I'm not in a hurry to put that back on.

Then, went to Safeway, and found the "asian foods" section in one of the aisles. I laughed when I saw this:


Then, had dinner at home. Mum cooked the chicken schnitzels, my sister put some chips in the oven, and I prepared two salads. It was delicious.

I'm home

Arrived at Brisbane airport at 7am, but it was insanely busy at the airport. Took a long time to get though customs and immigration, and then not knowing that the domestic and international terminals at Brisbane were in the same building, so byt he time i got the the domestic terminal, it was too late to check in my luggage (got a ticket in Japan), so I was able to change to the next Melbourne flight, one hour after the planned time, at no charge, which was awesome.

Daylight savings has kicked in early in Victoria, and I forgot that Queensland doesn't do Daylight savings time, so that buggered me up a little.

Had some Subway for breakfast and dinner. Not many healthy and cheap options for food in airports. I had to pay $3.30 because my luggage was a bit heavy for my last flight. My mum and sisters met me at the airport in Mildura, and then came home. My sisters wanted to have Fish and Chips for tea, and just relaxing with family.

3 time zones in 36 hours... Tired and emotional.

Narita Airport

Got to Narita Airport on time, and then got to terminal 2 with no problems. Just followed the signs, and there was a airport staff member with a list of people who had to transfer from the Korean air flight. Waited for the bus, and got to terminal 2. The girl at the check-in country (who was very kind, and cute ^^) tried to sort out my luggage so that it could go through to Melbourne, but she couldn't, since it's gotta go though customs.


Got some lunch, and checked out the duty free. The only thing I was interested in was a digital photo frame. But, with the exchange rate at the moment, I don't think it was worth it. Just bought a daily thing for using wifi in the airport and chilled. I'm looking forward to sleeping on the plane. If I can.

It's about 15 minutes from boarding time. Will be good to be home.

Last Day, Part 3

The boss came to my place at about 1:40am, to collect my stuff, and take me to Gwangju bus terminal. On the way, we stopped at his place, to say good bye to his sons. They're like younger brothers to me - I used to see them every day. One of them was already asleep, but the older one stayed up to say good bye. The boss said he'll miss me, and I know I'll miss him.

Got to the bus terminal at about 2:30am, and the boss and I talked for a while, said goodbye, and then I got the bus. I think I got about 30 mins sleep, coz I woke up, and it was damn hot. The bus driver, in thin slacks and a thin shirt, had the heater on 1000% and then some. Other people were complaining that it was to hot, but then he started talking about how it's better to be too hot rather than be too cold or some shit.

The bus got to Incheon International at 7:00, 30 minutes ahead of schedule, which was good, since the check-in lines for my first flight were insanely busy. Took 40-50 minutes to check in, and then i went around checking out the exchange rate (which wasn't too bad, considering that it's gone over 1,000 won per AU$1 a while ago.

Then I finally got around to calling the friends who came to meet me at the airport. I'm so fucking happy that they woke up early and made the effort to come to see me off. They're the kind of friends that made me think twice and a third time about leaving.

After chatting, hugging, a bit of emotion showing a bit of crying, I went through the magical frosted doors, though customs and immigration, handed over my alien card, and got on the plane...

(the internet at Narita is a bit shit.. I'll post some pics later).

Well, that's the end of my Life in SK.

I'll continue blogging at: andyinreallife.blogspot.com

Last Day, Part 2

Decided to take my suitcase down to the post office, since it was feeling a little heavy. Glad that I did. It was about 26-7kg. My limit is about 20, but I've had an instance where the people at the check in counter say "The real limit is 30kg, but we tell people 20kg so that they don't over pack". But, that was 3 years ago, so just wanted to make sure. So, I decided to send some stuff home, just in case. One of my domestic flights in Australia has a luggage limit of 15kg, but luckily, that's the shortest flight, and the fee for every kg over is about $4.

So, with that sorted, came home and got ready for work, via the supermarket for some snacks. Played games and had snack parties with my elementary classes, then had dinner with the boss' sons (who are like younger brothers, since I see... i mean, used to see, every day) and one other student who has been at the hagwon since I arrived.



Welled up after dinner, when the other student gave me a big hug and went home. He did too. I had one more class, with middle school kids, but it was just hanging out. When I got there, they were writing letters to me. They made me promise that I will read them when I'm back in Australia. But, I read one, from one of my better students. ^^ After that, cleaned up my classroom, and then waited for another class to finish, so I could get their photo.

Came home, sorted out the rest of my stuff, had a shower, and did some last minute cleaning. The only thing that isn't packed, is my Macbook and charger. Fridge is defrosted. (Kinda) cleaned the bathroom yesterday. All I gotta do before I leave, is take out the trash.

In 12 hours (1pm Saturday), I will be at Narita Airport in Tokyo, during my 9 hour stopover, waiting for the flight at 9:30pm (Korea/Japan time) to Brisbane.
In 24 hours from now (1am Sunday), I will be on the plane from Tokyo to Brisbane.
In 36 hours from now (1pm Sunday), I will be at Melbourne airport, after getting the Brisbane to Melboure flight 1 hour and 50 minutes after landing, waiting for the last flight to my hometown, Mildura, Victoria.
In 48 hours from now (1am Monday), I will be at home. Sleeping. Dreaming, as my sub-consious tries to make sense of my Andy in SK experience.

Last Day, Part 1

Went to see Babylon AD at the cinema on Wednesday. I had some points on my cinema card that I had to use before I left, so I could see a free movie. It was either that, Hellboy 2, or 고고70 (Only because 신민아 is in it - my Korean actress crush *^^*), but since Hellboy 2 stopped showing the day before, and I wasn't in the mood for thinking too much at 10am, i decided to go with Babylon AD.

My classes rotate every day, so on Thursday, I had a party with all my classes. I'll have a party with the other classes today. This morning I also woke up early to go to the local Elementary School's Concert, which a lot of my students said that they'll be performing something. I met the Korean English teacher at the school, and he had a decent chat (I think someone the other day jinxed me saying that I would meet a decent woman in my town on my last day). Also had a chat to one of the other hagwon owners in town, and another guy that used to do Geomdo. It was good to see some of my students out of the hagwon. Today is gonna be pretty emotional.

A few people around town are (naturally or acting) surprised that I'm leaving. Most of them ask me why, and I just give them the nice answer: I want to restart my Australian life, and I need a break.

By this time tomorrow (it's 12:45 PM-ish now), I would have just got off the plane at Narita, and will be trying to figure out how to get to Terminal 2, then wait for almost 9 hours for my flight back to Brisbane (then a flight to Melbourne, then a flight to my home town).

Oh yeah, and Brian over at Brian in Jeollanam-do wrote some stuff, that quotes my stuff. Don't worry, he had my permission stuff to write his stuff.

Enjoy the cross-linkageness... stuff. *^^*

텔 잇 투 마이 하트

YMGA (from YG family), have taken and turned Taylor Dayne's track, Tell it to my heart, and made their own... kinda. I don't mind the way it sounds.

Here's the video:

And there's a live performance.

Apparently, this was going to be a Jinusean (지누션, also in YG) track, but got passed over to YMGA.

here's a link to the original Taylor Dayne track, if you feel the need to go back to 1987-88. I'm sure there are a few other covers out there too.

Se7en can haz English?

I was checking some stuff out on Youtube today, when I found Se7en's Youtube Channel (and then Official Myspace page - all friendly with RnB artists in the US, and an Official Facebook - joined ^^) and heard the latest song Girls (produced by Darkchild). It's well produced. This video, Seven's Video Message to for getting his Myspace thing sorted, shows some of his Engrishee skills:


Better than Rain's Engrishee? I'd have to say, yes... just. (by they way, he starts talking at about 1:18). This other video has him talking for a bit.

When I was listening to his latest tasty sound byte of Girls, there were a few small fuck ups, but nothing too major. The main one that annoys me (which is something that annoys me with every Korean learning English until they get it right), is dropping off the "s" at the end of the word. In the song, there's the line "I like them girls, that’ll love to trip / Trying to spend 24 at Se7en’s crib", and I'm hearing "Se7en crib". You can check out the rest of the lyrics here. There are a few other Engrishee cringe moments for me, but the production by Darkchild is so damn good that I can ignore it. The generally bad but cool rapper's grammar can kind of hide some bad grammar, I guess. :p

Other lines that make me laugh from the song:
Like Will I’m Legend, feel me / You can Google me, baby
I wish I had a clone machine / Then I could make 6 more of me
I like them girls, shot calling a whip (WTF does that mean?!)

If you don't mind girls screaming, this video was recorded and has some decent audio. In May, Se7en was having small promo concerts in the U.S. Around the start of October, Girls somehow got leaked and found it's way on the net.

So, Se7en... When can we haz new Engrishee album?

Last Hike (마지막 등산)

Decided to go for a bit of a hike on the hiking trail near my apartment, and take a few pictures:



The Map of the hiking trail.









directly translated: black/dark water crying face. clear water smiling face.



Directions


Exercise Equipment


Let's not throw away trash, let's love Palam mountain.


Be careful of mountain fires

옥녀봉: 200 metres


Steps to the other mountain.


팔고찌: 180 metres



Panoramic View of my town from 팔고찌.

Farmers drying their crops on the side of the expressway.

Random rocks for keeping drying nets on the ground.