Book Review

I thought that I would review all the books that I read in Korea. The first one is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. It was written by Dai Sijie. I quite enjoyed the book; as a hopeless Sinophile, I found it absorbing in its Chinese-ness alone. It is about 2 boys who were relocated to the countryside for "reeducation" during Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution. The meet another boy who has a suitcase full of forbidden Western books including one by, (you guessed it) Honore de Balzac. The book succeeds in that it demonstrates the witchhunt-like mentality that encapsulated China at the time rather competently. This seemed to be Sijie's crux for writing the book. It is as much as about the desolation that comes of floating in a sea of mediocrity, as China; for this reason it has something to offer everyone. The human condition and all that other nonsense is also addressed so Oprah might even like it. Its only failure is the clumsy changes of voice towards the end which offer no propulsion of plot, or even insight itself whatsoever. In fact upon first reading the book, I would recomend that they be glossed over, and then reapproached after the book is finished and you have nothing better to do. Worth a read anyway though.

Bundang Cathedral

Sorry to flood the site with posts one after the other, but the publishing site is finally working. This morning I went for a walk to the Bundang cathedral. It is truly an amazing building. It seems to to a synchretism of styles throughout Catholocism's history. At first, whilst walking towards it, it seems very Gothic and Northern European, but that is only the one side. Around the cormer is a circular aspect that reminds me of Giotto's sacristy in Florence. The arches over the windows and doors are rounded and smallish relatively and not at all pointed, giving it a Romanesque feel as well. The interior is no less of a conglomeration. Mediaeval icons share wall space with ultra-modern automatic doors. To top it all off, there is a scale reproduction of Michaelangelo's "Pieta" inside. The effect is not at all too busy however; a sense of very real serenity pervades. The spiral ramp with tiled renderings of Catholic parables and history is particularly settling. It was a welcome change from the ubiquitous neon and bustle of Korea.

Work

Hi guys. Its probably high time I showed what work is like over here. I sometimes cannot believe what an amazing group of people I work with. Everyone has done their best to make me feel welcome. I will leave everyone nameless for privacy reasons. Avalon is a huge school, last I heard there are over 5000 students at many different campuses. Anyway enjoy the pics.

Bibimbap

I thought I would share my daily breakfast experience Korean style. I have fallen in love with bibimbap. It is basically just a bunch of vegtables, an egg, rice and hot sauce all mixed up. The first picture is what arrives on your table, next you mix it all up and eat it. It comes with 5 side dishes, and a bowl of soup, all at a whopping 3 bucks. So who can afford to eat at home haha. The other pics are from inside the restaurant. This particular place is my favorite so far.

Hey everyone. I thought I would share these photos of Bundang that I took this weekend. It is an unbelievably beautiful town this time of year. The cherry blossoms are out in full force, and so are the people enjoying spring. I walked from Seohyeon station all the way back to home in Ori. It took about 3 hours with stops. I played some catch with some little guys for a while, and stopped for a doughnut as well. Korea is really beginning to agree with me. I was sick last week, which was a real drag, but am back in the pink nowadays. My classes are really coming together also, obviously the first couple days were a little overwhelming but I seem to have found my groove. I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful traditional Korean teahouse this weekend. It was utterly gorgeous, and the tea was exquisite. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera along, but I will be visiting again soon. I have heard that near the park in which the teahouse is located there is a massive cathedral with a scale reproduction of Michaelangelo's Pieta. Having seen the original in the Vatican, I hope to compare the two sometime this weekend. Well that's about it fer now, talk to ya later.

My Pad

I am very happy with the apartment that my school gave me. It is an officetel located about 100 feet from Ori subway station. As a minimalist by nature, this apartment is custom tailored to my purposes. It is basically one big room, and a bathroom. My coworkers have expressed how lucky I am for all the perks that came with the place. I got a microwave, copious utensils, a rice cooker, loveseat and an iron. The washing machine, air conditioner, microwave and talking door lock are all in Korean. To most people this poses a challenge. I am fortunate however. I was gifted with a fanciful mind (scatterbrain) that couldn't usually be bothered with reading appliance instructions, even back home in Canada. The approach is the same here, just punch random buttons and hope for the best. For washing clothes the 46 with 2 squiggly lines and upside down V works capitally. Never had whiter whites. Here are some pice. Take 'er easy.

blogo numero uno

Well, I finally made it to Korea. I am thoroughly enjoying this fascinating country. The people are wonderful and so is the food. The area I live in is really great, it has wide streets and is very clean. Although I am sure that there are millions of people surrounding me, it doesn't feel crowded. The school that I work at is also very nice. There are about 10 or so foreigners working there, all of whom seem to be terrific people. In less than a week, I have been invited out 4 times. Everyone went out of their way to be nice to me. The day I landed, the head teacher took me out and showed me around. Best cure for jetlag? Get off the plane and party until 3 or 4 Korean time. You will be exhausted, but the next day, after your headache goes away, you will be acclimatized. I went hiking on Saturday to a fascinating place. It is a complex of temples on a mountain in Seoul. I will write more about the experience when I get time. That's it for now, take 'er easy.