2003-08-29 - 10:12 p.m.

From the paper diary: Thursday, August 21,'03

10:50 a.m. Austin just called, "I want to see you right now." Well, I did tell him I'd be available today. So what if I just woke up. He'll get here in an hour or so from Uijongbu.

Yes, I slept in, on my recovered bedding,- very nice and comfortable. I don't sleep more than 60-90 minutes in one stretch anyway. It's a habit that has developed since Lou died. I come to consciousness, realise that I'm feeling uncomfortable, and roll over onto my other side or go to the bathroom, as the body dictates. Usually drift off to sleep right away. So I only lose about 10-20 minutes of sleep time each cycle. The core issue is that I don't change position in my sleep, so whichever hip I'm lying on protests.

Austin's problem is that he hasn't learnt to type and isn't comfy with computers. The hard work for me is to assist him, not do it for him. He needs to compose a resume' and apply for emigration to Canada. I think his chances are better there, to find work. He's from Nigeria and Canada is easier for former British colonials to enter. Doug from Calgary says they give preference to skilled workers from Africa and Asia "because it's the Politically Correct thing to do." Being fluent in English sure helps. If Austin had a college degree, he could teach English. He has graduated from high school and plainly comes from a middle-class (trades/crafts) family. He learnt furniture-making from his father and uncle, and he knows the basics of plumbing, electrical installation and the other construction crafts. [Oops, gotta go meet him now.]

16:00 - Austin forgot his password, so we tried unsuccessfully to get into his mailbox. Next, we walked all around the university campus, ducking into a building during a shower. Then we met a girl he had talked to on the subway. She's a junior at K.U., very nice, not a "pick-up." She thought it strange that we asked her to lunch. After observing Austin, I decided to pay the bill so she wouldn't feel obligated. He's too much like a bossy Korean man. He didn't call the waitress when we wanted more water, but told her to get it. I didn't feel right about it; he insisted. I could tell by her posture that she didn't like it either

18:00 - I caught up on 80 minutes in napland, cleaned up the stove area on the porch and cleaned out the roach traps. Still need to declutter my room, set new traps and spray the ants. Whoever said ants and roaches won't invade the same space didn't live in my basement.

Just checked the outside temp: It's 31 degrees C (88 F) after a rain shower. Heaven only knows what it was at 2:30 p.m. when Austin and I were out hiking around. We watched a while during the filming of a report on foreign students studying at K.U. He recognised the Nigerian student, and said that two of the girls were Russian. He speaks a little French and Russian as well as Korean and English, on top of his native Ibo, a very intelligent young man (handsome, too).

19:00 - Couldn't stand my sticky self, so took a cool shower. It's made some difference; a wet head and the fan on medium seem to have gotten my body temperature down from "sweltering" to "nearly comfortable." The thought of donning clothes is still daunting; however, I must go out and find a shop with "Mul Mok-noon Hama," the chemical dehumidifier. Everything in here is damp. My calculator is acting wierd. (This is a funny story about my first attempt to buy the Mul Mok-noon Hama, with the wrong Korean phrase.)

Saturday, August 23 - About all I've done recently is eat, sleep, and work on lesson plans. Yesterday I discovered another great bulgogi place up the street. (Last year, I took a photo of their persimmon tree and a stack of recyclable bottles.) For roughly $5.00 U.S., I got grilled marinated steak and onions, seven different veggies, soup, salad and coffee. Outstanding!

Friday, August 29 - I went back to that superb restaurant again today for supper [and took notes]. According to today's exchange rate, their price of 5,000 won is equivalent to US $4.27.

This is what I got: 200 grams {7+ ounces) of steak (they marinate the meat and freeze it to slice into paper-thin slices across the grain, and then cook it in front of me on a stone fry-pan that sits atop a portable gas stove). Cooked along with it are tiny mushrooms, leek slices, onion slices, and diced celery. The sidedishes were; Loose-leaf lettuce, green peppers, sesame leaves, red bean paste, bean sprouts, mountain vegetables marinated in sesame oil and seeds, nappa cabbage kim chi, cucumber pickles, whole kernal corn, iced thin-sliced pickled radish (flavoured with green horseradish powder), a salad of sliced white and purple cabbage and lemongrass (with a vinaigrette dressing that complements the marinade) AND an iced and vinegary soup woth carrots and radishes. After the meal, the waitress brings your choice of coffee or a cool cup of cinnamon-clove tea with pine nuts floating in it. I chose the latter this time.

The radish here is called "mu" and is mild and sweet in its raw state; the nearest thing I can compare it to is the difference between regular yellow onions and Sweet Vidalias. It is also Huge, about a foot long and 4 inches across, pure white with a green top, where it sticks out of the ground after achieving this mammoth size. It's much broader than the Japanese daikon radish. "Mu" is used where we might use turnips, such as in a beef stew, and it's much tastier, without that sulphurous reek that turnips have.

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Happy Trails!

~ Sil in Corea

P,S, the cyclamin is starting to grow new leaves, coming out of its summer sleep. It looks quite perky. I was amazed and pleased to notice it when I went to make some tea this afternoon. It's been estivating under the clothes-drying rack on the porch, and I let it have a drink last week when we were having cloudbursts. It's kept about 5 leaves going at any one time this summer, but they were looking pretty dusty before the deluge. After, it looked a little waterlogged, so I dumped out the saucer. Now, it's happy, I'd say.

previous - next

http://www.newdream.org/

Free clicks save land at http://www.therainforestsite.com

Copyright 2001,2002, et al. Sillama1 (Andrew knows my real name, and you will suffer from rectal boils if you take anything from this site.)

Fight Spam! Click Here!