A Georgian Breakfast.

While Jennika was away in India, I mostly kept busy with work. On the weekends, I socialized with my coworkers. For the Korean new year, Katelynn Bell, an English teacher at Bugil, invited a few of us over for brunch. There was hash-browns, bacon, omelettes, and a full spread of other tasty goodies. It is hard to get a nice western breakfast in Korea. After lunch, we continued to socialize and Katelynn shared some home made ice cream which was the bomb. Shortly after cleaning out the ice cream Robyn Horn found a 1000 piece puzzle. We whittled away at it all day. I've never completed a 1000 piece puzzle in one day. As the hours passed, we saw the end get closer and closer until 6pm was upon us. I saw the end in sight. I still haven't finished a 1000 piece puzzle in one day, my hunger took over and I left for some Indian cuisine at Mount Fishtail, but Robyn, Christopher Decou, and Katelynn polished it off.

So close to the end!

Love Motels and Korea

A large part of the Korean culture is love motels. Kids live with their parents well beyond their adolescent years [acceptable limit] and literally only move out of their parents house when they get married. At that point, their parents buy them an apartment and they live with their spouse. When they go to university and start dating, there is no place to go for privacy, hence the love motel scene. These motels are very discrete, often with hidden garages or fringes at the entrance so that you cannot see who is parking their car. The rooms are rented by the hour and are used almost exclusively for sex. That is, except by foreigners. The expat community capitalizes on these cheap, but clean and usually decent, motels for accommodation purposes. Since we travel to different cities almost every weekend during the ultimate frisbee season, we have frequented many motels. The Hotel 369 was our most pleasant experience. For 60,000 won (often love motels run from 30-70,000), we were able to score a lovely room in Busan just behind the Oncheonjang subway stop and close to Pusan National University. I wanted to share what a nice love motel looks like. This way if you go to one and ask to see the room, you can compare.

The Korean Love motel: it's your home away from home! For 3 hours, give or take.

Most hotels provide slippers

Clean bathroom, including tub with jets!

That's right, there is a TV on the ceiling!

Every thing was classy ... except the red pleather headboard and matching chairs!

 

  Towels, robes, and a loofa were in a drawer

Free drinks in the mini fridge

Guests are given a "bathroom set" when they arrive that holds all the essentials in case you rushed to the motel

Including, but not limited to, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razor, bubble bath, face wash, 

collagen facial mask, condoms, lube, and other sex things

We recommend it!

The Inexplicable World of Korea #10 - Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic Surgery in Asia - The Desire to Look "Western"

An interesting observation that one can make when coming to Asia is that the ideals of beauty are the complete opposite from western cultures. In North America, we desire to be thin and dark skinned. That tanned look is "healthier", and maybe even indicates wealth. In poorer countries in Asia if you are fat and white, then you are rich. The fat people have enough food and the lighter your skin means you don't have a job working in the sun, thus you are more well off.

In Korea and China, they have taken it one step further. They actually want to RESEMBLE western/European people. They have taken to rejecting their own racial features (almond eyes, flatter faces, darker skin), in search of having a more "western" face. In Korea, a smaller face, high cheek bones, protruding nose and bridge, the double eyelid, smaller chin and jaw are all considered to be part of a beautiful face. It's astonishing to watch as parents are buying their daughters plastic surgery as a high school graduation gift. The younger you have the surgery is considered beneficial because you still have time to grow into your new features. The subway is full of plastic surgery clinic ads. I'm pretty sure there are more cosmetic surgeons in Korean than regular doctors. Plastic surgery is so prevalent In Korea, that approximately 1 in 3 people have had it, and most aren't ashamed of talking about it.

Here are some videos that both appalled and intrigued me. Plastic surgery is a very foreign craze to me. The host of the show in the Korean video is sporting what is called the "Gangnam face". Plastic surgeons are so prolific in Gangnam, the wealthy upscale neighbourhood in Seoul that was put on the world map by rapper Psy, that you can literally pick out the typical face that women are getting. Even scarier is how all the Miss Korea pageant contestants in 2013 looked identical.

China is one of the biggest consumers of Korean plastic surgery

Korean plastic surgery show

Plastic surgery has become part of the culture here; a very scary, unappealing part. Even foreigners come to Korea in search of cheap surgery. The airport information booth has brochures about surgical clinics, procedures, and medical insurance. In a country with such a high demand for perfection, and an abundance of surgeons, it's no wonder a nose job will cost you a fraction of the price in Korea compared to the USA. You can pay for your flight, the surgery, and in patient care for less than it would be to have it at home.

A simple Google search reveals lots of news articles being written about it. A really disturbing one was about a clinic that was fined for having a monument of chin bones they had removed from patients displayed in their entrance.

Personally, I think Korean women are beautiful and they should stop trying to look like a completely difference race! The ideals of beauty in this country are frustrating, as so many people don't fit into their mold of perfection. I think Korea needs a beauty reality check.

Jennika

The Final Goodbye

Today my Grandad will be laid to rest beside my Grandma and with his first son who died at the age of 12. Because I cannot be with my family in Ottawa to say goodbye, I wrote my Grandad a letter and mailed it to him. My sister has courageously offered to read it on my behalf at his ceremony of life this morning.

To my dearest Grandad,

How does one say goodbye to the best man they’ve ever known? I’ve decided I can’t. We always said see you later when we parted, and stood waving at the end of the driveway until the car was out of sight. We never went longer than a few weeks without talking. There are often words left unsaid when someone moves on to their next journey, but I feel like we said them all. We talked about life and love. We talked about childhood and growing up. We talked about school and finances. How many people can say they discussed homosexuality and gays with their 90 year old grandfather? I can. You are the strongest, most open minded, coolest grandad I’ve ever known.

But if I had to choose (and it appears I do), my parting words for the last time would be ‘thank you’. Thank you for teaching me to always go for my dreams. Thank you for teaching me to never give up. Thank you for showing me that at any age, life is worth fighting for. Thank you for sharing your passion for rocks with me. I now cannot go anywhere without picking up a piece of the local landscape. Thank you for correcting my English grammar with such effervescence. It helped me write a highly praised thesis and become a university English professor. I promise I will always take something there, and bring it back, just as you taught me. Thank you for supporting me, no matter what the urgency or reason. I would never be where I am today if it wasn’t for your support, emotional and financial. You helped me through some of the toughest times, and continue to do so even now.

I’m so thankful to have had 27 years to get to know you. I am proud to say that I truly knew my grandfather. I took advantage of the gift that we were given, the time that we were given, to get to know each other. In the 90s, I remember coming home from Brownies one night to hear that you’d had a heart attack. I thought I was going to lose my grandfather at such a young age, but I should have known better. In high school, I remember sitting in the walk-in cooler at Dairy Queen crying my eyes out because your heart surgery had been postponed again. I had just called my dad to get an update, and he told me you looked so solemn sitting there, all ready for surgery, only to hear that some machine wasn’t working so you had to go home. It broke my heart. But again, you pulled through, demonstrating that strength I’ve only ever seen in one person. The summer I lived with you and Grandma is something I will forever cherish. I got to know my ancestors as real people. We laughed a lot that summer. We danced, we gardened, we watched movies, we shared stories, we made memories, and we lived. Thank you for being a part of my life, and for making me a part of yours. Even though I grew up many miles away, I never felt further away than a phone call.

Enclosed is a rock I picked up for you from the north shore of Prince Edward Island this summer. It was my first trip to PEI, and all I could think of was whether or not you’d been there. The sandstone bluffs are incredible. JM and I walked out to this area where the shore was eroded and had created some unique rock formations. I picked up a small stone for you. I didn’t get to mail it before I left, so it came all the way back to Korea with me. I never thought I would be sending it to your memorial.

Thank you, Grandad, for being my family. I’m very proud to be a part of yours and Grandma’s legacy. Please give her my regards. I miss you both so much, every day. Until next time … see you later.

With love, forever and for always,

Jennika

My proud Grandad

 

School trip to The Bamboo forest.

Today the GLP went on another field trip. We left campus today because of the Korean SAT, the same test we mentioned last year. This time we went to the small Korean town of Damyang in the south west of Korea. This region of Korea is viewed by the rest of Koreans a quaint. This is the first time that most of our students have gone to this region, which I think made the trip a welcome change from the typical school trip locations.

Are first stop was a traditional Korean garden. Being fall there are not many flowers or other decorative plants. The garden wasn't lush, but the trees are changing offering views of deep yellow covered leaves. One of our students Spencer is very knowledgable on Korean history and culture. He explained how the garden was special because it was built around a stream. In order to incorporate the stream into the architecture the was a bridge and a special wall constructed to highlight the stream.

The beautiful colours of fall. 

This plant reminds me of Christmas tree lights.

We took a small break to learn how to make Korean rice crispy squares. With no marshmallows to make the a gooey treat, Beng Chang sneaked some sugar to make it more palatable.

Some cactus flavoured rice treats.

Our next stop was a Korean meatloaf place. I forgot to get pictures, but it was very nice meal. I did manage to get a picture of the mural in the entryway.

Stay classy Damyang!

Next, we visited the famous Bamboo forest. For a brief moment it felt like we were not in Korea. The temperature inside the forest was pleasant and cool. The air was Fresh. My nose was in heaven. A great respite from the smells of Cheonan. I also tried some bamboo ice cream. It had a similar taste to green tea ice cream but it wasn't as strong.

The entrance to the bamboo forest.

Bamboo

After a stroll through some nice tall trees, we packed ourselves back onto the buses and headed home.

Photo of the Week #8 - Engrish

Bad translations into English are so common in Asian countries that they have a name ... Engrish. Today while making my breakfast shake, I noticed something that cracked me up. The package contains frozen mango halves. They are delicious, but the name on the package would persuade me think otherwise. Buahaha.

 

A Sprained Finger

Of course, playing Ultimate Frisbee means you will incur a few injuries. Bruises, scrapes, strained muscles, etc. are pretty normal. Last season I was plagued with plantar fasciitis, this year my injury was a sprained finger. After reaching back to grab a disc that was behind me, it caught my finger and pulled it back. Way back. I felt a pop and then pain. I knew it wasn't broken, but definitely sprained.

A trip to the local doctor confirmed this. Haha, that's a funny story. I went to the Dankook University hospital because it's on campus, and I get a discount for being a Dankook employee. Win-win right? Well, I went to the reception and asked to see a doctor. After getting an English translator on the phone, to whom I explained the injury, the receptionist refused to let me see a regular doctor that day. She kept saying 'Doctor, opsoyeo' which means there are none. But tomorrow, she said, finger specialist. All I needed was a proper splint (I had fashioned myself a makeshift one already out of cardboard and tape, but I needed a real one) and perhaps an x-ray to ensure there wasn't a fracture. Apparently this was not possible without a specialist's expertise.

So the next day I go to where she booked my appointment and I arrive at a sign that says 'ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY' - wait what?! All I needed was a splint and I got sent to a surgeon. In Canada, this would have taken months to get in, but here I only waited until the next day. Despite my hesitation, the doctor was really nice and he spoke English. The x-ray showed that the tendon had pulled away from the bone (over stretched) and he wanted to give it time to heal. He was very impressed with my makeshift splint and couldn't believe I had made it myself (it would seem no one in Korea takes health care into their own hands). He taped up my finger to a splint and advised me not to use it and come back in 2 weeks so he could show me 'finger exercises'.

Two weekends of Ultimate later (yes, I had to keep playing!), I went back to him. He took my splint off and buddied my middle finger to the ring finger to stop it from twisting. The joint was very stiff, but after stretching it all weekend (and playing some more ultimate - hehe) it is feeling better! Not 100%, but I can almost make a fist on my own. Hurray!

 Middle finger sprain!