Eating innards
It’s been a while since I blogged about food. Expect it to be a recurring theme. I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of what things are in the supermarket. The only way that I have been able to do this is by just taking a guess at what something is based on its packaging and its location in the store, and then buying it, eating it, and seeing how far wrong I was. Sometimes, I end up eating something delicious as a result. I have become a huge fan of ramen, for example. The closest thing we have to this in NI is probably instant noodles (“Supernoodles”), but ramen is so, so much better – close to the flavour and texture of noodles youR

Noise pollution, or natural behaviour?
I blogged before about how some things that would be considered rude in our culture are not considered to be so in Korean culture. Asking personal questions, being just a little too honest, eating with your mouth open… But while I’ve quickly adapted to this and am no longer startled by such behaviour, one thing continues to trouble and disgust me – and I don’t see myself changing my mind about it. Have you ever been walking along the street behind someone – and I don’t mean to sound sexist when I say that (in my experience, at least) it is always, always a man – and witnessed them clearing their throat in a very

We don’t speak the same language.
I still haven’t worked out whether it’s the language barrier or just a completely different style of communication, but I now have more misunderstandings in one day than I used to have in a month. Even when you think you’ve been completely clear, and that there’s no way you’re taking the other person up wrong, there’s a misunderstanding. Even when you rephrase your question  half a dozen different ways, or double check that you understand what the other person is really asking you before you answer, there’s a misunderstanding. Even when you think that there’s absolutely no way a particular situation could be in the slight

I c-an r-ead Kor-e-an
I’ve finally gotten around to making a serious effort to learn Korean. What with one thing and another (Swine Flu, parties, all-day meals, difficulties with the air here that make my nose bleed and cause me to feel generally urgh), I still haven’t made it to a lesson. But having talked to a few people who have, I’ve decided that I have to teach myself as much as possible first. The first week, the teacher spoke in English, said one guy last weekend, but after that, it was all in Korean. Now I know how the kids at school feel when we talk English all the time. The main difficulty is the completely different alphabet. If I’

Get A Room!
I was going to write a post all about Korea’s noraebangs, but last night I discovered something even better. Noraebangs (“nore-ay-bongs”, literally meaning “song rooms”) are ubiquitous in Korea, and a truly wonderful concept for anyone who’s ever been kicked out of a bar for refusing to heed staff requests to stop singing. Yes, they are karaoke venues, and there’s one on practically every street corner – often more than one. It is very easy to leave a bar at any time of the night or day and dance merrily into a noraebang