bike, choc and paper

I've been a bit lazy since I've been home. When I was in Korea, I tried to do some hiking almost every day, but since the part of Australia where I live is pretty much flat, I dusted off my old bike, and have been riding that almost every day. Today, not yet... it's a rainy day today.

Anyway, I made a bit of a graphic to show the distance I ride.


The blue line is just what I was doing the first few rides, to get used to sitting on a bike seat again. Took about 20-30 mins (depending on head winds).
The green line is what I've been doing for about a week and a bit, and it's not too bad, takes me 30-40 mins.
The orange line is what I'm thinking of starting next week, since the green line is getting a kinda easy. My guess is 40-50 mins.
The red line is after the orange, for more distance. There are a few other variations I could take, but just wanted to put one up for comparison ^^

The good thing about being outside of town, is less traffic, so don't have to worry too much about being run over. Also, I try to ride in the morning. My alarm is set for 6am, so that i can ride before all the work/school traffic. If I leave the alarm off, I'll go for a ride at between 9:30 and 10:30am.

When I was going to the gym in Korea, I'd mix up the cardio work - use the stepper, the bike and the treadmill, and it felt great after a leg workout. The gym I went to in Korea was pretty small, but wasn't too bad.

This the leg workout I used to do (before I stopped going to the gym and did hiking almost every day):

Leg Extension: Warm up set: 15 reps @ 70kg, then 4 sets (15 reps) at 100kg (machine max)
Leg Curl: Warm up set: 15 reps @ 20kg, then 4 sets (15 reps) at 30kg (this one was difficult, but felt good afterwards)
Hip Extension: Warm up set: 15 reps @ 60kg, then 4 sets (15 reps) at 80kg (machine max)

Then, if i had time, i did a lot of cardio.

I lost about 25kg in my 3 years in Korea, and most of it was all from lifestyle changes - eating different (mostly healthy) food, not having a car, so having to walk everywhere. Doing the martial arts class after work for 2 years, and going to the gym and hiking. I've put on a few kgs since I've been home (with Korea having terrible snacks and chocolate, and then coming home and going to Target, Kmart, Coles and Safeway, and them all having Cadbury 250g blocks of chocolate on special doesn't help), and when I get working again, I'm gonna check out the gyms in my town, and see what's on offer.

When I was in Korea, i used to work out before I went to work, and that really helped with the shitty mood (as in getting rid of it) before I got to work. It really helped me deal with shit a lot easier. If I can work out for 2 hours at the gym, have a shower, and go directly to work (do not pass go, do not collect $200), I'd be happy.

Speaking of chocolate just before, I organised a parcel to send to a group of friends in South Korea (Who I affectionately call the Scooby Gang - me included... there's 4 of us, 2 guys, 2 girls, but that's as detailed as I've gone into it) which ended up being 5.7kg (12.5 pounds) of chocolate and lollies. A couple of days after I left Korea, it was G's birthday, so I sent him 3 blocks of Cadbury Chocolate, and he loved the Rocky Road stuff, and with M missing some things from Canada (Crunchie bars!), I gathered up some of those, and a few others, and then some lollies. Luckily, different supermarkets had things on special this week. Anyway, here's what it looked like, pre-sending:


I pixelated some things, so that there's some surprises when they get the box next week.

Well, I'm still waiting on my police check from Korea. I called the courier service AGAIN, and they're looking into it. I checked in on the new a few mins ago, and it says it's going to be delivered today: "Onboard with courier driver" is it's official status. This document is holding up my whole application, so it would be great if I can just sort all of this shit out today.

Not Fappy!

(Fappy - based on words like "fungry - fucking hungry" and "fugly - fucking ugly").

I'm not fappy :p My police check that was meant to get delivered yesterday, didn't. I'm gonna have to call DHL people, and use my angry teacher voice.


Went to Subway for lunch, and had a vegie pattie sub. It was fuge! (fucking huge ^^)

Also, went for a bike ride last night. Didn't do much exercise in the past two days, so just gotte keep motivated - it's fard (fucking hard) at times.

Level up?

Since I didn't do too bad on the Elementary korean test yesterday, I thought I'd give the Intermediate level test a go. It was damn hard - a lot of words I don't know, and it doesn't help when the voices in the recording speak slow enough so that it's irritating. - especially after listening to real speed Korean for 3 years. Also, with taking a Korean test yesterday, my brain was a bit mushy anyway.

Also, After doing Grammar & Vocab, Listening, Writing (where I just halved my score from yesterday for the 30-point open question. I know I can write the 400-600자 amount, but with my grammar and vocab limited, it would get less points, so I just halved what I got from Equinox in the Elementary test), and then Reading. After all that, a few questions in, when it got damn hard quickly, i just gave up, and I did what any person would do if they gave up in a test - hope for the best by choosing answers at random.


Here's what I got:

Listening (듣기): 36/100
Reading (읽기): 15/100
Vocabulary and Grammar (어휘 및 문법): 33/100
Writing (쓰기): 22/100

Total (총액): 106/400
Average (편균): 27/100
(technically 26.50, but i rounded up.) ^^

I think, if I persisted with the Reading section, I could have got 20~25, but, meh... I have a good idea where I'm at with Korean.

Also, once I get a job, I won't be online as much and also won't have much time to study Korean. So, it's kind of cool to know, without any real study, how well my Korean was.

I'm still toying with the idea of studying Korean for a year in Korea somewhere, but at the moment, I think it's mainly driven by me missing Korean food, the lifestyle and my friends. Holidays to Korea are more likely, and if I can keep my Korean level roughly at where it is, so that when I go to Korea again, it won't be so hard to get around.

I will admit, the Korean that I was using in Korea, is very different to the tests. If there was a section on the tests about giving/listening to directions, buying multiple bus/train tickets, while asking about where bus/train lines go, then I'd be awesome ^^

Basically, if there was stuff based on real life experiences, I'd be alright ^^

Ah, and my Criminal Record Check, that I need from Korea so that I can become a registered teacher again in Australia, is on it's way. I should be registered by... summer break! ㅋㅋㅋ

화이팅~!

TOPIK 시험 볼까? ㅋㅋ

Before going for my morning bike ride today, I decided to print off the latest TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) test that people took (elementary level only) this year. For me, the test name is a bit meh... it sounds similar to TOEIC, and the word "topic", which I guess is what they were after, but "Test of Proficiency in Korean" feels clumsy. Korean Language Proficiency Test sounds better, but can't make any funky abbreviation. KoLapt, maybe? :p

Did the practice test after shopping with my sister. Here's my results for the elementary test:

Listening (듣기): 94/100
Reading (읽기): 79/100
Vocabulary and Grammar (어휘 및 문법): 91/100
Writing (쓰기): 73/100

Total (총액): 337/400
Average (편균): 84/100
(technically 84.25, but i rounded down.) ^^

There is a 30-point free writing question (150~300자로), which says:

어느 계절을 좋아합니까? (Which season do you like?)
왜 그 계걸을 좋아합니까? (Why do you like that season?)
그 계절에 특별한 무엇을 합니까? (What's special about that season?)

Here's what I wrote, on pen and paper, without using a dictionary:

한국에서 저는 가을을 진짜 좋아해요. 옛날에 전라남도의 시골에 살았는데 여름이 아주 습해서 편하지 않았어요. 그런데, 가을이 나왔을 때 날씨가 따뜻하게 편해져서 여행하러 갈 수 있어요.

전라남도에서 유명한 산은 "내장산"라고 있어요. 다른 계절에 가면 "예쁜 산이 아닌데"라고 생각하겠지만 거울에 가면 단풍나무의 잎이 빨간색, 노란색과 주황색으로 아름답게 바꿔요.

갔을데 여친이 없었어도 거기서 진짜 좋은 시간 아직도 보냈어요. ㅋㅋ

There you go. I'm hoping, that an online friend of mine, Equinox, over at Mountain and Field, who has taken a few TOPIK tests, could give me a mark (and maybe some comments, if he has a bit of time ^^) out of 30. Thanks for the email, Equinox, and the 18/30 for the written part.

Just after I took the test, I went to check out Brian in Jeollanam-do, and found this interesting article.

Sometimes...

Sometimes it how you achieve something, then the result at the end...


...but it's always good when you're ship comes in.

General Update

This week, i've been waking up early, and going for a bike ride in the morning for exercise. Also, I've been trying to study Korean. I downloaded the latest TOPIK test questions and answers (thanks Equinox). I've been going to the library to study some Korean now and then. Mainly covering 초급 (elementary) stuff that I rarely used, or didn't learn, when I was in Korea. But, luckily, it's fairly simple, so it's not messing with my mind.

After 2 weeks, my 채소밭 (vegetable garden) is going well. Here are a few pictures.

What i miss / What i hate

Jennipal, over at jennipal.blogspot.com, asked for a bit of an idea about reverse culture shock - the things I miss about Korea, and the things I hate about being home. So, after a month of being home, and the idea of being here for a while has finally sunk in, i thought I'd write something about it. Here's the main three things I miss from Korea, and three things I hate from being back home.

Things I miss from Korea:

My Friends. I made some really good friends in Korea, and I miss them. A whole fucking lot. I miss doing the usual things we would do hanging out, whether it be shopping, eating 갈비, going to 노래방, or even getting naked in 짐찔방 (ㅋㅋㅋ). It sucks that I have to spend a fuckload of money to just be able to see them, and a smaller fuckload of money to call them. The good friends I made in Korea, are ones I'll (hopefully) have for life (whether they like it or not ^^). Students that I saw on a regular basis (I've got 3 that I call my younger brothers), I miss them too.

The Food, and how cheap it was. Almost every weekday before work, I'd go to 김밥나라 in my town, and get some 비빔밥 for 4,000 won. I'd have a small chat with the women there, if they weren't busy. All that cheap Korean food in places like that, i really miss. I miss 갈비 (especially with 성진 in 남포동, and with 강모 with the 갈비집 near his house in 대구). Also, how cheap it was, compared to eating out in Australia.

Real Public Transport. Maybe it's because South Korea is a bit smaller than Australia, but they public transport system is awesome there. Even in the countryside, there are shit loads of buses, and the cost is pretty good too. I'd travel from Jeonnam to Seoul, and it would end up costing me $50 (if I took a bus from Gwangju, or a Mugunghwa train from Jangseong) return. Where I am now, I've got 7 buses that go past during the day (latest one being just after 6pm) a few buses on Saturday, and 2 buses Sunday morning. Compared to the bus that I'd get from my apartment to Jangseong, the bus from my place into my town here - the distance is shorter, but it costs 2.5 times as much.

Things I hate about being home:

Everyone asking me the same questions. Sure, I know people wanna ask how it was, what I got from it, and what I'm doing now that I'm back home, and what I'm going to do. But, when everyone asks the same questions all the time, it does get rather frustrating. They don't do it on purpose, but it has got to the point where I don't meet too many people too often, because it just gets frustrating. It's up there with meeting new Koreans who ask "have you tried Gimchi before?" after you toll them you've been in the countryside for a long time.

Explaining Everything. I haven't really used real English for an extended period of time for a few years. So, sometimes, I make silly mistakes in English, or I just don't remember stuff (like accent stuff, or what "sandwich" or "toast" means when you're at the baker and they ask you if you want it sliced), or people with strong accents. Since a had a lot of Korean friends, I just got used to being surrounded by Koreans, speaking Korean and doing stuff in Korean. Now that I'm home, it feels that I'm learning thing again. So, when I do make a mistake, I get a weird look, and I tell people in my not-so-australian accent (which I like, and hope I can keep it. lol) that I was overseas for ages and didn't really use English.

Shit is the same, but different. The other day, I was driving around trying to find places that I used to go to, but finding out that they had relocated, or closed down. If feels like that I am a few years behind friends, since they've continued their lives here, and I've gone off on a tangent, and come back. Friends say that they wish that they could do something similar to what I did, but I can't help but feel that I'm back at square one.

Friends that were, but aren't anymore. In a way, I will find out who my good friends are in Korea too, because they will make the effort to keep in contact with me here, but not many friends that I had while I was in Australia, kept in regular contact with me, and there were only a few who I would make the effort (or have made the effort) to meet/see/contact, since I've been back. When I go back to Korea for a holiday (as early as late next year, if things work out well here), it will be interesting to see which friends I will see, and which ones who will make the effort to see me when I'm there.

Great Day for a Picnic

I met up with 성국's housemates, and we went for a picnic in town. They were all good people, and were surprised that I could speak Korean well enough. But, since I haven't really used Korean in 4 weeks, i can tell that it's not as good as it used to be. we had lunch (i prepared some stuff), and then played some 고스톱. I had a great time. It's a little sad that two of them are moving out of the area. Here are some pics.

Almost a month...

It's been almost a month since I've been home, and the feeling has finally sunk in. Hit me yesterday, as I started taking new medicine for my heart (which was one reason why I was getting tests done earlier this week). Met up with some friends on Wednesday night, and then with another friend on Thursday night. Both meals were good, but the company of familiar friends is even better ^^

Something that I used to eat now and then when I was young. It's called a "Monkey Face" ^^

The sweet corn and zucchini seeds have started to sprout. The tomato plants are still being temperamental - the hot wind yesterday and the warm weather the day before really messed with them. Hopefully they'll come good.

BBQ

Every now and then, I'll cook at home, to give mum a break. Tonight, was something simple.

I went to a party last night, to meet up with some old friends from DJing days, and i took some meat and a salad with me, but the meat was already organised, so my friends insisted that I take it home, so I decided to cook it tonight.

There was also some salad left over from lunch yesterday, so I made some more salad, similar to what was left over, so that there was enough for everyone, and set up the table outside, since it was a nice day *^^*

Going for a series of tests tomorrow, so I can't eat/drink anything, except water, from 10:30pm tonight.

Vege Garden, day 2

Decided to expand the garden, and make a second section.

So I bought some tomatoes, onions, red chillies and zucchinis.

I planted the remaining sweet corn (closest to camera), and planted the zucchinis and chillies in the middle, and then planted the tomatoes and onion. Also watered both gardens with Seasol, a type of liquid fertiliser that it based on seaweed. Basically, it looks like 간장 and smells like 김밥. ㅋㅋㅋ

4 photos

Something that I haven't eaten in at least 3 years... Snowballs. Saw these on special while I was shopping yesterday. Delicious, soft marshmallow on the inside, with a thin covering of chocolate. On the outside, coconut *^^* Also, on another chocolate story - a couple of days after I left Korea, it was a friend's birthday, so when I got home, I sent 3 blocks of Cadbury's Chocolate to him. It arrived today, and said it was good ^^

Also, while I was shopping, there was a gardening section in the supermarket, so I decided to buy some seeds. With vegetables being a lot more expensive than when I was here 3 years ago, I thought it would be a lot cheaper to buy some seeds and grow my own.

So, while the rain had a short break, I decided to get a bit of dirt out the back, and plant some of those seeds. Should have some delicious vegies in about 3 months.

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a good day tomorrow. I'm meeting the Korean friend from last week, with some of his friends, and I've got a picnic planned. But, just incase it's a bit wet and/or rainy tomorrow, I should make a back up plan.

야채 뜰?

Every now and then, I have a "유치" (kindergarten) moment when I use Korean. What i mean by a 유치 moment, is when I use Korean, it sounds childish - not intentionally by the way. I just use what I know, pull meanings from English, and put it together.

When I was first learning Korean, before I knew the word for socks (which is 양말), I used 발 옷 (meaning foot clothes). Its one thing I used to try to do in Korean, was to describe what it is/was. Most of the time, this style of getting meaning across, also needs that the listener needs to know some kind of English.

Today, was "vegetable garden". I know the word for vegetables, which is 야채, and I know the word for garden (which also means backyard), which is 뜰. So, I was trying to explain to a good Korean friend (who is studying something to do with plants at university), that I am starting a 야채 뜰. Now, his English is pretty good, so I thought that he would get it *^^*

But no.

When i use Korean, i try to not use my electronic dictionary, to see how much I know and can use, but I needed to use it to get the right word.

채소밭.

채소 is another word for vegetables, and 밭 means field.

More Shopping

Went for a walk around town again. When I walked past the library, I thought that I could go and study Korean there for a while, rather than doing it at home. I'm not sure what Korean library hours are like in small-ish kinda towns, but, I would imagine that closing my 7pm is way too early. haha


I thought it was funny to have Alien, Predetor, Alien vs Predator, Thank you for Smoking and various other movies, in the Childrens' section.

The Plan, Part Two

I talked about what the plan was last week, but there are still some things I need to get out, so that, basically, when more people unintentionally, and unknowingly piss me off by asking "what's the plan?" and "What are you going to do?". A previous post, The Plan, was an attempt to answer this, but it seems I need to get into more detail for some people.

Teacher Registration

This is the main thing I need to sort out, so that I can work as a teacher in Victoria. I was already registered, and for the people who know me, I'm not a fan of paperwork. Luckily the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) doesn't need me to fill in everything, since some of the sections will have the same paperwork/information as my previous registration.

But that isn't the main problem/delay. There is a section about living overseas, as follows:


So, Since I've lived in Korea for 3 years, I need a criminal record check thing from Korea. So, I emailed the Korean embassy, and this is what I got:

1) We, at the Embassy will send your application form back to you after certify them.

2)You forward them to National Police Agency in Seoul.

3) They will check your records and will return the result to you.

4) Finally, you can bring the result to DIAC to obtain your visa.

After explaining that I don't need it for a visa, and how the form is more suited to Koreans, rather than people who have lived overseas, I sorted out the process, which is:

1) I fill out the form, and attach certified copies of passport(s), and I also included print outs of my visa and alien rego card (which i took a photo of before I handed it over at immigration at Incheon), and then sent it to the Korean Embassy in Canberra.

2) They then send it back to me, with their special stamp.

3) I send all that stuff to the National Police Agency in Seoul, with a funky ass return envelope with funky International Coupon Response things, and the process it, then send it back to me.

That can take about a month-ish. Once I get that, I can then sort out my teacher registration. In Korea, they do tests to get a teacher license, but in Australia, you get Provisional Registration, and then after some time of teaching, you make a portfolio, showing that you're awesome, and then a group of people check it out, sign some papers, wave a magic wand and make you a fully registered teacher.

I'll just be getting provisional registration. Once sent in, that takes about 4 to 6 weeks to process, because it includes a criminal record check from Australia. So, in total, about 2 and a half months, which means, i should be registered by January. The school year starts at the end of Jan 2009. I miss out on jobs that are being advertised now, since I'm not registered, so I gotta wait until late Jan 2009, and hopefully get some substitute work, which will hopefully lead to a school liking me, and then them offering me a short-term contract, or applying for jobs at a later date.

This then ties into my plan to get back to Korea. I'd like to go back to Korea eventually, either for a holiday or studying Korean for a while. But, I'd need to save up a lot of cash. But, getting a decent job (an ongoing contract would be awesome, so that income is regular) is the priority.

If that means moving away from here, and getting another job in another area of the state, that's cool too. Just see how it goes.

That's the main thing I wanted to clarify. I'm also thinking of going to Melbourne to meet up with friends late Nov / early Dec, depending on the cash situation.

Other than that, things are pretty much what I said before in the The Plan post.

쇼핑 하러 갈까?

Today was a public holiday in Victoria, Melbourne Cup Day - yep, a day off for a horse race. So, it's a good day for shopping.

One thing that I'm still not getting used to, are the closing times here in Australia, compared to Korea. There's no "real" shopping after 5-6pm here. And, with today being a public holiday, things were open at a local shopping centre, from 10-11am, to 2-4pm. For people in Korea, imagine a store being open for only 4 hours, on a public holiday!