District 1260 Blog

Well what a day! I am sitting in a somewhat seedy internet cafe surrounded by Korean gaming nerds. The only thing on their mind is the screen and game, so I am, in truth, as safe as anywhere  in here! Amanda has run off with her laptop and is at a homestay and I am home alone at the Seoul Residence so I had to come here to communicate with the uk.

Well we had another Rotary club meeting today in a posh hotel. I was reminded of some of the Korean habits while musing over another meal at the meeting.

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Here we are again, at the end of a busy day, one day closer to home and yet each day bringing a new adventure which reveals another dimension of life in Korea. Today was Buddhas birthday. We spent time at a temple where families pay homage to the great Buddha through ceremony and offering. But what birthday celebrating larks tonight! It is also the great Amandas birthday, and we have just returned from a session in a private Karaoke bar, korean style! Never seen  anything like it in the uk! After a fab birthday meal with cake, we were escorted to a sombre little place in the city where for a brief scary kimchi moment I thought I was about to be sold for a few bottles of soju. However, within moments the room was soon to be transformed into a rocking and rolling party zone with Hansung getting  the musical groove on with Amanda wailing something of a quaint love duet, and me croaking out  Careless Whispers, and Sugar Sugar. I'm sure there is a gap in the uk market for a similar venues.

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Well here we are almost time to go home. As I type, Amanda is re sorting her luggage despairingly I sense, we have much to bring home and not a lot of luggage allowance. I am mentally packing some fond and funny memories. We have had such an amazing time here. But I am missing green England big time now.

So what have i been doing? We Rotary Conference confirmed that Korean Rotary women dress to the nines at every opportunity. I sat there not understanding much but feeling very bedraggled in my creased dress and with sweaty armpits. This has to be a low part of the trip, that we have so little time to draw breath between one activity and another, the relentless pace of needing to be somewhere, attend and 'do', and not much time to tart oneself up for the next event. However, maybe armpit smelling may be a Korean cultural habit as during one of the female singers performances at the conference the woman surely lifted her arm and bent her head to inhale. Elmi and I just glanced at one another and then  fell about laughing. The conference sideshows were interesting. I got to test an eye massaging gizmo that squeezes and pummels the surrounding eye area to releive tiredness.

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Well in Seoul my  smalls crisis has abated temporarily as I descended as soon as I could this week on Amandas hotel room to load up the machine, and turn her spick and span room into a Korean laundry for a few hours. Sorry Amanda but thanks. While speaking of scrubbing small things I too also spent today 'scrubbed' in an operating theatre, quite unexpectedly, as Dr Kim, one of my vocational placements announced suddenly that I was assisting him in theatre. Yes, you read this correctly,  before I could say 'kimchi' I was adorned in green scrubs, gloved up and helping to correct incontinent Korean womens  bladders and remove unwanted growths from the cervix! Its been quite a day! I have actually now found a midwife though! Right outside Seoul, about 30 miles out in fact, there is s rare species known as the midwife who still quietly practices beautiful birthing with women. She is a minority species, and is as passionate as myself that women should know birth as an empowering and beautiful experience. She is sadly unable and unwilling to compete with the hard nosed business ethic here that drowns and silences midwifery practice in the big hospitals . So she runs a small homely birth centre in an unassuming building in the Seoul suburbs delivering about 200 babies a year. There are about 15 such places in the whole of  s. Korea. There are only 20 midwives a year trained here. It is tragic really.  She is small but vital cog in this big Korean business machine. I dearly  hope she continues to provide this much needed service.

Finally I feel on the blog we have to make a mention of dear Mr Nam our bus driver. Without Mr Nam, things would not be the same. In the middle of the busiest street, the darkest depths of Seoul, whereever we are, where ever we need to be, Mr Nam just appears in his sturdy steed, the  bumpity bump green bus to collect us, scoop us up, and smilingly and patiently take the weary Brits, thru the most soul destroying traffic jams  to another cultural or rotarian venue. Thank goodness for Mr Nams. Goodnight fellow bloggers, so sleepy now. I do not have the pleasure of a rainbow painted cat in my room. I  like the orange and pink legged one myself. The maid turfed  it out tho. I am going to sleep in a bed fit for a Disney Princess in Shrek. I am not joking! Love Paula xx

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today we move on again. I am hoping to locate a washing machine on route! I think we are going to church so maybe god will have one! Yesterday was fab. Boats, bikes, and beer! Ending with Bulgogi in  evening. Elmi is now slurping her food with the best of the Koreans. I had the worst night of the time here, on the floor and I now feel like death hense I am up so early blogging. Looking out over a misty Seoul. I hope it is mist and not the abhored Yellow Dust from China! They worry much about it here and many people wear face masks. I may bring back some of these and start a new business venture!  For the  style and image conscious Korean woman these masks have to be worn with a stonkingly big head visor and sunnies. A new uk look is   about to be launched!  Write soon! Paula

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Just a short update if I can remember everything. Spent a day at Dongguk Buddhist University where we were with the masters and studetns of Englsih Lit and Sociology. They were a fabulous bright and polite bunch of young people who were very interested in our vocations  and lives in the uk. We spent  time being shown round the buddhist temples and how to bow to buddha. someone snapped my rear anatomy while bowing so i  am watching the blog carefully incase it gets downloaded to the site. Yesterday we were taken to  see one of Liam Neesons less good films 'Taken'. Somehow  stupidly I guess I expected cinemas to be different but sitting in a row stuffing 'popcorn' and drinks happens here too. It wasnt popcorn exactly but I did check in the dark it wasnt a bag of those deep fried silk worm larva.......! We have just spent our 1st night staying in a swish apartment with a family we have never met. Granny lives here too. She is very frail but eats bucket loads it seems. She has just got her korean knickers in a twist over my suitcase and none of us can work out why.................. she ranted for about 5 minutes and then hugged Amanda. So we are still bewildered......... Today we are taken by this families very polite son on a boat down the river. We need an easy day so havnt yet got going. Food is still an issue for me tho. Elmi devours it all, even dishes that resemble what I tip down the sink after Sunday lunch washing up. I cannot find much that presses my appetite buttons. I think Callum feels similar altho he is braver than me in trying some dodgy looking food. I even had to give the wilting Callum half a bar of Green and Blacks last night. He was in serious chocolate deficit. I have kept my final emergency bar secretly stowed away for particularly bad food days.  It looks like it will be  a scorcher today so sun block is goingon. Elmi will write more soon. Paula xx

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Hi good to hear from folks at home. Infact the diet is really quite unsweet. Even their 'sweet' things are sweetened with a fairly unsweet red bean! We have met a Rotarian who runs a donut factory but he isnt selling much to the Koreans he says. I am in beef overload now they have found out I will eat a bit of meat ( I have had to!). So I get beef morning noon and night and some more, and of course all with the ever present Kimchi.Today I have spent a disappointing 20 minutes vocational visit at a hospital, which wasnt very useful, so i'm hoping this issue can be resolved soon. I do however have plenty of material though to write a comedy show...............
I finish with my 1st homestay today and they have been very kind although not much english spoken. No one has yet offered to wash my smalls yet so I am going to be in trouble pretty soon, or maybe I should say the team are going to be in trouble if I have to recycle them unwashed......
Today I was taken with Callum to my vocational visit at a big busy hospital by a Rotarian artist and her male friend who burst into crooning songs now and then..... yes it gets crazier by the day!
Ah well, off to bed. It was my 20th wedding anniversary today and I forgot it yet again! As my husband says, why change a habit of a lifetime just because I'm in Korea! A bientot mes amis.......i am better at french! Paula xx

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Hello All 

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