Happy New Year

Happy 2012 (for Lulu)

Sunrise festival in Sokcho

It's the year of the Dragon

Crowds of people heading to the beach to see the sunrise 

Me on a frozen lake infront of a frozen waterfall

Korean New Years celebrations are far more moderate and conservative compared to the wild ways of the West. Traditionally, Koreans just go to the beach and watch the first sunrise of the year. Fortunately, because I'm such a lucky person, a cloud covered 2012's sunrise but I can assure you, the sun still looks the same. 

I much prefer the sunrise to a night of partying hard. 

Kimchi

Kimchi 

Soju 

The same way that people don't understand how I eat tripe, I don't understand how Koreans eat kimchi. The dish is made of fermented cabbage with a spicy paste and a sour taste. October/November are the kimchi making months. Families drive to food markets and buy up bushels (bundles or whatever the collective term of cabbages is), then they wash it and coat it with the paste and let it 'rest' otherwise known as ferment. 
The quality of the kimchi depends on how long it's been allowed to ferment and your own tastes bud, fresh kimchi could be 'rested' for a week and old kimchi can be fermented for years! 
I've tasted kimchi, not sure how old it was but it isn't for me. Bless the Koreans, they have stronger stomaches than me and this isn't only with regards to their food, the national drink also takes a lot out of you. 


Soju. The Russians have vodka, the Koreans have Soju. I'm not sure if it's because both these countries happen to be fully embraced by winters' kiss (they're really cold), that they felt the need to consume so much alcohol but vodka has nothing on soju. The amount of alcohol in soju must be the maximum limit allowed for human consumption. We have it at every school dinner and as a sign of respect you take a shot with the boss(es). 


Life can be tough for the foreign stomach. 

Winter Wonderland pt 1

Winter Wonderland

My Church

Work

We are all the same

  My school- Wontong Chodo Hakyo (Elementary School)

I had to write a message in my schools year book. This is what I wrote:

We are all one.

"Everyone smiles in the same language." - Author Unknown

Nearly a year ago, I got on to a plane and flew over 12 300 kilometers and arrived in a school where my brother and sister seemed to have visited before. The boys loved soccer, computer games and WWE, just like my brother. The girls loved music, boy bands and chatting, just like my sister.

As puzzling as it was, it became clear that all of us are really just the same, especially when we are in school.

During my first few weeks here, my family kept asking me what the students were like and I kept say they’re the same as the students in South Africa. You have the good students that do the work, ask great questions and really want to learn and on the other side you have the other kind that don’t care or make an effort, which always makes sad.  But then I remembered the mistakes you make when you are in elementary school, all the lessons you should have paid attention in and all the teachers who could have shown you the world, if you only gave them a chance.

Now that the year is nearly over and I have to sit and write this message, I’d like to share what I’ve learnt. We are all the same; we laugh, smile and interact in the same language. We learn in the same way, we teach in the same way.

Wontong is very different from Johannesburg. For one we have over 3 million people in the city and Wontong has a lot less than that. But if you look closely and after getting over the different languages, the different appearances and the different continents, you’ll find or see that the people and mostly the students have the same dreams and the same goals. We are all human; we are capable of treating each with respect and love.

Thank you Wontong Elementary School for welcoming me into your world, its felt just like home and it has shown me that the world is a very small place, especially because we are all the same. We are one.