Tea

Last week we were asked if in England we drink a lot of tea. And so we tried to explain, sort of!

Yes we drink tea, maybe in the morning with breakfast.
Midmorning as a "tea break" at work
Maybe with lunch.
Maybe after lunch.
Perhaps 3.30 as another "tea break".
When you arrive in from a long day at work about 6.30 ish
When your favourite soap is on
Possibly whilst going to bed

Erm yeah, maybe thats it, but everybody is different but we do drink lots of tea in England!

That is the best we could do,, he seemed amazed that we actually drink tea. Although we had to break it to him gently that it wasn't like a formal affair with cucumber sandwiches and scones!

But that you can do that in some places! By the end of it we were exhausted and dying for a brew! No such luck in Korea!

An Epic Journey!

The posts numbered under October are of my weekend! In Korea it was Choo-sok - Thanksgiving! And I was honored to be invited by my lovely room mate Chan-mi to spend it with her (epic)family.

I've tried to make each post nice and bite size so you wont be too intimidated to start one and not finish, and this way you can come back and read at different times!! What can I say, I love my readers! And want you to read them all!!

Enjoy :-)

Choo-sok 01

We had train tickets booked for Wednesday afternoon at 7pm and Chan-mi was worried because the sitting tickets had sold out ages ago and we needed to get to the cafe early so we could sit there for our 4 hour journey!

Well we arrived in plenty of time and had first pick of the benches that were lined against the window. The Cafe was a bar the served food, Korean delights! Seaweed and Kimchi galore! It had computers at one end that you could sit at and pay to use, next to this were some arcade type games and on the other side were 3 private Karaoke rooms!!!

We stayed well out the madness at the top end of the carriage. Journey was quite uneventful for a couple of hours, I had the usual curious smiles and nods and mini bows. Being a white woman is a conversation starter in itself in these parts!!

However, every time I looked up from my book, I got a massive grin and nod for the same man crouched in the corner. Yes crouched- I would later find out that this is a huge norm in Korea! He kept attracting my attention and doing the same thing, each time I would politely smile and nod and do a mini bow in return. He eventually plucked up the courage (Deutch, he was loving the on train bar!) and came to crouch in front of me, not standing up straight before he came over, he shuffled his way no more then half a metre away from me!

"English?"
Yes
"Where?"
Manchester (Pointless saying anywhere else!)
"ooooooooooo" lots of nodding and rocking.

Then awkward silence as he spoke in Korean to Chan-mi. And finally he finished with...
"Remember, all you gotta do is, Just Do It!!"
Okay then! Will do! After removing his hat he pointed to his shaved hair and said "Monk,Monk" and shuffled away!!

Not the end however, he returned many times, asking about what I was doing in Korea, and when he found out I study computer art (close enough!) he was disgusted, invited me to his mountain where he was headed and told me he would teach me real art! Unfortunately I had to pass but thanked him profusely when he brought me over a can of beer from the bar. And again when he came over to open it for me, and when he shouted from his corner "BOTTOMS UP!" and again when he brought me over a second beer!

By this point the whole carriage was staring at me! Not the crazy drunk monk! AGGGHHH!

The man sat next to Chan-mi then shook his head, had stern words in Korean to leave me alone now, and took the beers back to the man behind the counter who apologised! I loved it! Especially when he got off for his stop he carried on shouting JUST DO IT until all there was was a faint echo of my friendly Monk!

Choo-sok 02

The next day we were woken by Chan-mi's Om-ma nim (mother) saying breakfast was ready. Mountains of rice, a variety of Kimchi, and thank God, SPAM! Im not really big on breakfast so I hoped I didnt offend to much when I could barely finish my bowl of rice.

After showering, well standing in a tiled room full of buckets and bowls and dousing myself in water, we were ready to go to E Mart, asda to us English Folk! Here I was dragged round the Deli counters while Om-ma tried to stuff all the testers into my firmly shut mouth. After taking a breath she managed to throw in a huge piece of very salty tofu, and before I even began to chew I knew this wasn't staying down, spat it right back out and into the attendants bin!! Sorry!

I tried pork and beef and when Chan-mi said "try this, very delicous, Dug" I was scared. Dog? DOG? Nooooo! But i thought come on Haz, do it, you're in Korea, this is the question that everybody at home will ask! So I had it, straight in, chewed very fast and then swallowed. Bloody gorgeous! And then the guilt, Oh no I ate dog!! My poor Butchy at home in England and I ate his fellow canine! I voiced my worries to Chan-mi and she laughed and said you have duck named Butch?! Oh, right, it was duck!!! hahahahahahahahaha

After EMart we went to visit an aunt who lived in a local high rise. These high rises are everywhere, all with a number painted on the side, Ive seen up to 300 in some areas. But, not to be fooled these are actually luxury accommodation, lovely wooden floor, big living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and to show that this is 5 star and not just tasteful decoration, you can actually flush you toilet roll instead of putting it in a bin by the loo!!

When we arrived, the aunt was elbow deep in kimchi, preparing for our trip tomorrow for Chuk-sung! Trying not to be snoopy, I had a snoop around! She had a massive pile of chillies spread out drying on the balcony! Hmmmm interesting! No doubt for more kimchi making!

She was lovely, surprised to see me, and then loved it! We ordered Chicken takeaway for lunch, Yang-yum no less and we all sat a round a lama mime table on the floor to eat! Korean style!!

Choo-sok 03

The next morning at 5am Om-ma burst into the room! No, no fire, but we were leaving to get to her grandparents house. We had no problem beating the traffic and arrived before 7am in some of the most beautiful surroundings I had ever seen - see Photos. Beautiful mountains and misty scenes in the distance gave me probably the best memories of Korea.

Her grandparent's house was in the true traditional style and was built on a platform where you take off your shoes before you climb. And the doors are very low because it is more respectful that you enter a room slowly. There were 3 buildings. One main where the living room come master bedroom was, a kitchen next to and a store room on the other side. The other buildings also were storerooms but more in a way they had huge elaborate decorative solid wardrobes in. How they got them through the tiny door is anyones guess.

Behind the main house was a large plot of land on a hill where many different crops grew. Mainly cabbage for Kimchi, Bean sprout, apples and beans of some sort. There were also more vegetables growing in pots at the front of the house.

Being away from the city was such an amazing change after being amidst the concrete city for a month! Anyone that has been to a large Asian country will understand what I mean when I talk about "the smell".

Throughout the day i was presented to different cousins and aunts and I dutifully nodded and bowed politely. I was begginning to feel sorry for Chan-mi as she was designated translator. I didn't mind not being able to understand what people said. I could pick up odd phrases and words by this point, but Korean, unlike Chinese is a really softly spoken language. As in when somebody speaks to you, you don't feel as though your getting a stern telling off!! So i didnt mind listening to the interesting sounds they could make with their mouths!

Thanksgiving seemed to consist of the women making tons of food, serving it for the elders, men and children, and then them selves sitting in the kitchen catching up. Most of the family seemed to live far apart and this being the biggest festival in Korea was perfect to catch up.
A big part of the festival is visiting ancestral tomb's and from what I understand we were lucky that they were only a short walk away, slightly up the mountain. Many families spent the festival trawling the country for the graves. These are not graveyards however. Koreans believe in keeping the mountains sacred and when the graves were moved here they were made to blend in. By erecting a mound on top of carved stone platforms, the graves were a symbol of the natural surroundings. On most mountains in Korea, you will find the totally untouched due to this belief of keeping them natural.

At the graves a small offering was laid at each of the four tombs and after bowing at each we could move to the next one. A short but important affair.

Choo-sok 04

Whilst at the grandmothers house I was told we were going to meet another aunt. Her mothers sister. So we were bundled into the car and set off. When we arrived at another high rise block I was interested to see if they were all the same in the way they were built to be luxurious. It was beautiful. After an hour of being here I was told we were staying the night. Half relieved that I could have a real shower and not have to use a bedpan, I also worried as I had left my bag with all my clothes, camera, phone, and quite a large amount of cash. I agreed I would be fine without my things if I could borrow some pj's and call one of Chan-mi's cousin's to put my bag out of the way. The house had over 25 people coming and going all day and I was sure it would be fine but still conscious of the fact it wasn't with me.

Worries aside we ordered takeaway pizza and when it arrived we all congregated on the floor to say grace. The family were massive Christians. Dinner was lovely, Dominoes delivers in Korea too!! And before I could get up off the floor a bible was handed to me???? The family of 4 had 7 bibles. One had English translation. Om-ma read a passage and then told me through Chan-mi I was to read aloud in English. A hymn was sung and I thought this was over. But then Chan-mi explained everybody would say a prayer in the circle and we would say it aloud to the group, again me in English.

Earlier that day I had tried to explain that I had been christened but do not attend church. Well after this revelation, Om-ma had made it her mission to turn me to god. Promising she would pray for my mother! I thanked her greatly for her kindness.

Om-ma brought this up again when on Sunday morning I was taken to church to listen to a Koren sermon. Chan-mi was instructed to point to the English words throughout the Hymn's- although there was no way I would sing alone in English in a church full of people!!

Outside she bought me a toothpaste and toothbrush set as a present for me now going to church every Sunday.

Everbody I met over the weekend was amazingly kind and helpful, and me having as much Korean as they had English still managed to feel 100% welcome into their homes. This is true to nearly all Korean people we meet at uni and even walking around on the street. They always try to give helpfull pointers, even if they just talk at you in Korean with a massive smile! Lovely!

Choo-sok 05

Whilst away in the country I had a small epiphany! Now not one to get all poetic but the scenery was absolutely breathe taking. And i think it helped me realize that there was something missing to my experience in the city. The mountains are preserved and Koreans don't believe they should be touched. This is the History of Korea.

The city is not really older then 50years. The high concrete skyscrapers are magnificent in one sense, but more anonymous. The only identity is the electric billboards and vertical neon signs.

I haven't been able to put my finger on what I was missing until now. And its the lack of imagination, and inspiration I have when I look round the city! I'm so used to beautiful European cities with centuries of buildings to look at and allow my mind to think of these pockets in time and imagine these historic scenes!! Over summer I visited Budapest and Milan, oozing with elegance and fantastic structures from past times! Even Leeds and Manchester and London have places in my heart.

Yes Korea does have some old palaces and traditional buildings that were not destroyed in any of the 100's of invasions Korea has survived.

But I think now I need to look deeper. I cant just drift around the city and be struck with these buildings that of are works of art!

Im on it!!!!