what a day. what a week.
ok, so a quick recap, we have lost our contract at the orphanage we work at. we have however managed to retain our placement in the hope that the contract will be renewed and in the meantime we can continue the work we do at the rural rehabilitation centres and english teaching. we are now under the banner of a community program rather than orphanage program.
there are four orphans who we tend to prioritise in light of the fact that they have disabilities. we intended to take them with us to our rural placements each morning. give them the stimulation and physical therapy they need.
nope. not happening.
ok, just one, just Little Phouc. he needs his physical therapy each day or he will regress. so we'll just take him for now and see how we go.
ok.
actually, nope. not happening.
he's too weak to travel.
bullshit.
bullshit.
bullshit.
i HATE the director of that orphanage and i've never even met her.
i HATE the state of this stupid corrupt system.
and i'm afraid.
i'm afraid for him. what will happen to him? he's made so much progress in the last three months, sure, in the last four weeks i've seen him improve. if he goes without physio he'll just end up back the way he was, a little ball of a body lying on his bed 24 hours a day in pain and bored.
i'm so disappointed and frustrated and so so sad for my little darling. he's such an amazing little being. my heart swells with love and admiration for him every time i just think of him.
the saddest thing of all is that if we had just known sooner we could have somehow made efforts to bridge the gap and make sure he gets his physio somehow...
however, i am here for another four or five weeks and who knows what will happen before i leave. i know you don't know this boy but please, if you read this, send me some positive vibes or pray for him or do whatever it is that you do in times of need.
he needs.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Thursday, 12 June 2008
i'm sorry, i know it looks long, but i use small words for you, i promise! ;)
i'm having to learn how to use simple english as well as trying to learn vietnamese!
also, i don't expect any of you to read it all, but this really is the very least amount information i could commit to this blog.
so, last time i wrote i had experienced one day in this lovely town.
there's a lot more to the people, the places and the life that i hadn't seen then, and God knows, i probably still haven't.
i could go into even brief detail about each placement but still have you all bored to tears! in short, these children are all beautiful. apart from the three english groups we teach, our work is exclusively with disabled children. in the rehabilitation centres and in the social protection centre. we give them attention, affection, physio therapy, facilitate the community support and hopefully give them a sense of importance in this world and society where disability is regarded akin to the old notions of leprosy.
it has been a massively gratifying week and a half so far and i'm enjoying every aspect.
so much so that i've decided to stay another month!
when i initially applied, i though one month would be a long time, but now, 8 working days in i can see that it will pass in the blink of an eye and there is so much more i could be doing here instead of seeing statues and famous buildings and beaches and monuments [all of which i can see in the two months afterwards!]
but today was a particular roller coaster of a day.
last week we were informed that the program would possibly not continue to run here in Quang Ngai due to difficulties with contract renewals at one of our placements, SPC.
Mr. Viet, our boss, Toan, our translator and all the volunteers even met with the dept. of foreign affairs on tuesday to try to plead our case. [a fun excursion were it not for the gravity of the matter]
the work we do at SPC concentrates on 4 children. one in particular, 'Little' Phouc, is left lying on his rattan mat on bare wooden slats for twenty two and half hours every day, he has cerebral palsy, an unfunctioning left arm [possibly agent orange defect], is blind and at 9 or 10 years old, stands at a little under 3 feet tall.
and he's beautiful, oh is he beautiful!
we had to fight for him. he needs someone to care for him and do his physio therapy with him. [two months ago his muscles were so constricted that they could barely pry him from his 24 hour foetal position, today, wearing leg splints he can stand for great lengths and is even beginning to try to take steps, amazing and exciting!]
anyway, without the SPC contract, we couldn't have this placement operating. simple as.
so today, with our hearts heavy with fear and grief for all the children we try so hard to help, we went off to teach english at the local kindergarten. almost certain in the knowledge that our days were numbered as a volunteer presence.
we returned to find Mr. Viet in the house waiting to tell us the bad news. the SPC contract was not renewed and without an orphanage at the placement, they could no longer operate the program...
but what about little Phouc, and all the other children too?
the physio, the support, the attention?
what about the bright young things who gather for english conversation every week who can truly benefit from talking with the 'only westerners in town'?
we talked about plan B's, questioned the situation, threw out suggestions and pleas. searched for answers and tried to hold back the anger, frustration and tears. thoughts of Little Phouc lying practically unattended in the backs of all our minds especially.
so guess what, if the program can't operate as an orphanage program with no orphanage, how about we call it a 'community program'?!
yep, it was simple as that!
the relief, the joy, the cheers! the creativity!
we will take our three disabled orphans with us to the rehabilitation centres and the work can continue!
it is quite possible that i am not relaying the full facts of the situation to you, for reasons of discretion and to keep your interest! it is impossible for me to describe the work and the people justly but know this, simply put, i am very happy here, learning new things about the world and myself everyday. i'm teaching and learning new skills and i believe that the work being done by the volunteers here is really making a difference. both today and for the future.
and even though it was never the plan, i'm already excited about the second month!
in other news, the mosquitoes have found me, ouch... we went to Hoi An at the weekend, swam in the sea, ate a lot and i got a dress made. it's 1.30m and i've been up since 5am for my run. we went to the beach here this evening to celebrate our victory and then sat up on the terrace listening to music and talking and drinking strawberry wine and cheap orange rum!
the geckos are still singing away to each other but i think it's time i called it a night
i promise i will get some photos uploaded soon. i miss you all and love you.
[i'll send postcards too, soon hopefully!]
[moral of the story? expect the unexpected!]
also, i don't expect any of you to read it all, but this really is the very least amount information i could commit to this blog.
so, last time i wrote i had experienced one day in this lovely town.
there's a lot more to the people, the places and the life that i hadn't seen then, and God knows, i probably still haven't.
i could go into even brief detail about each placement but still have you all bored to tears! in short, these children are all beautiful. apart from the three english groups we teach, our work is exclusively with disabled children. in the rehabilitation centres and in the social protection centre. we give them attention, affection, physio therapy, facilitate the community support and hopefully give them a sense of importance in this world and society where disability is regarded akin to the old notions of leprosy.
it has been a massively gratifying week and a half so far and i'm enjoying every aspect.
so much so that i've decided to stay another month!
when i initially applied, i though one month would be a long time, but now, 8 working days in i can see that it will pass in the blink of an eye and there is so much more i could be doing here instead of seeing statues and famous buildings and beaches and monuments [all of which i can see in the two months afterwards!]
but today was a particular roller coaster of a day.
last week we were informed that the program would possibly not continue to run here in Quang Ngai due to difficulties with contract renewals at one of our placements, SPC.
Mr. Viet, our boss, Toan, our translator and all the volunteers even met with the dept. of foreign affairs on tuesday to try to plead our case. [a fun excursion were it not for the gravity of the matter]
the work we do at SPC concentrates on 4 children. one in particular, 'Little' Phouc, is left lying on his rattan mat on bare wooden slats for twenty two and half hours every day, he has cerebral palsy, an unfunctioning left arm [possibly agent orange defect], is blind and at 9 or 10 years old, stands at a little under 3 feet tall.
and he's beautiful, oh is he beautiful!
we had to fight for him. he needs someone to care for him and do his physio therapy with him. [two months ago his muscles were so constricted that they could barely pry him from his 24 hour foetal position, today, wearing leg splints he can stand for great lengths and is even beginning to try to take steps, amazing and exciting!]
anyway, without the SPC contract, we couldn't have this placement operating. simple as.
so today, with our hearts heavy with fear and grief for all the children we try so hard to help, we went off to teach english at the local kindergarten. almost certain in the knowledge that our days were numbered as a volunteer presence.
we returned to find Mr. Viet in the house waiting to tell us the bad news. the SPC contract was not renewed and without an orphanage at the placement, they could no longer operate the program...
but what about little Phouc, and all the other children too?
the physio, the support, the attention?
what about the bright young things who gather for english conversation every week who can truly benefit from talking with the 'only westerners in town'?
we talked about plan B's, questioned the situation, threw out suggestions and pleas. searched for answers and tried to hold back the anger, frustration and tears. thoughts of Little Phouc lying practically unattended in the backs of all our minds especially.
so guess what, if the program can't operate as an orphanage program with no orphanage, how about we call it a 'community program'?!
yep, it was simple as that!
the relief, the joy, the cheers! the creativity!
we will take our three disabled orphans with us to the rehabilitation centres and the work can continue!
it is quite possible that i am not relaying the full facts of the situation to you, for reasons of discretion and to keep your interest! it is impossible for me to describe the work and the people justly but know this, simply put, i am very happy here, learning new things about the world and myself everyday. i'm teaching and learning new skills and i believe that the work being done by the volunteers here is really making a difference. both today and for the future.
and even though it was never the plan, i'm already excited about the second month!
in other news, the mosquitoes have found me, ouch... we went to Hoi An at the weekend, swam in the sea, ate a lot and i got a dress made. it's 1.30m and i've been up since 5am for my run. we went to the beach here this evening to celebrate our victory and then sat up on the terrace listening to music and talking and drinking strawberry wine and cheap orange rum!
the geckos are still singing away to each other but i think it's time i called it a night
i promise i will get some photos uploaded soon. i miss you all and love you.
[i'll send postcards too, soon hopefully!]
[moral of the story? expect the unexpected!]
Monday, 2 June 2008
day one at Quang Ngai
the g is silent
so i just spent a lovely weekend in Da Nang. met all of the old volunteers, some of whom are on their way home and also most of the new ones coming in.
we had orientation yesterday for all the placements in the Da Nang house which is where i was supposed to be placed but as the day went on it appeared my services might be required elsewhere!
the ladies in the Quang Ngai house put out an appeal for an extra pair of hands and so i sat and thought about it and thought about it and in the end i went with the decision i'd already made within the first 90 seconds, and so here i am in 'real Viet Nam', Quang Ngai.
ok, so first off, Da Nang is a pretty big city. it's touristy and incredibly noisy and a bit touristy and a lot like any other city in the world.
and i'm a county bumpkin really so that was one really big reason.
the rest was just gut instinct. it was six of one and half a dozen of the other but my gut was just telling me that if i had the choice, Quang Ngai was the place to go.
so we all piled into a scorching hot car and headed off on the 3 hour journey south.
and woohoo, i was right!!!!
it's amazing here. i saw stars for the first time since i left home. we cycle almost everywhere (mostly on dirt tracks), we have 2 inch long geckos crawling along the walls& ceilings all evening chatting away to each other, we have a massive upstairs balcony that looks out onto paddy fields and .... we're the only white folks in town!
deadly!
they all think my septum ring is the most hilarious thing they've ever seen and none of us have experienced celebrity status like this, "hello, what is your name, where are you from, hello, hello" - everywhere! it's great craic.
and the placement, the work, i think it's going to be wonderful. (phew!)
this morning we went to Binh Hoa which is a sort of meeting place for disabled children and their parents and siblings where they can play games, get some physio and we give them fruit and milk aswell. it also seems to be a great support for the mothers, they are such hard workers and disablity is such a taboo in this country that they must have a lot to deal with.
every monday and tuesday morning, they will carry their children or load them up onto a moto or bicycle and make the journey out to Binh Hoa for just an hour and a half - and it seems to be well worth it to everyone.
this evening then i took my first ever english class.
it was mad!
there were about 15 students, from 13 to 37 all with only a little more english than i have vietnamese and they were great fun.
we asked questions and played a game and man it was so hot. hot hot hot!
but it was good fun and i'm looking forward to next week when we'll be talking about travelling, entertainment (i think they meant hobbies and interests..) and jobs.
great! ha!
we have breakfast here at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 5. so far so good on the food front, it's all quite tasty and there's a bit of everything. we eat out of tiny little rice bowls though so i'm not sure how much i'm actually eating in one sitting. i leave the table full anyway, have no doubts!
this evening though as we ate dinner it started to rain a bit, which apparently is really very rare here, i obviously took it with me! the Aussie ladies were delighted until Doreen looked out into the hallway from the table and noticed that it was flooded.
completely!
the drains in the two ground floor bathrooms had blocked and we were ankle deep in water throughout the house for about an hour! it was madness, we had buckets and brushes and jugs and towels trying to get the water out onto the street, happily, we don't have a front door per se, just a pair of galvanised shutter-doors on guides so the whole living area opens out right onto the road.
we all sleep on matresses on floor here and poor Dave's room is on the ground floor and so his matress got soaked. bedlam!
but it was sort of fun all the same and no real damage was done. there are pics around somewhere, i'll do a bit of uploading soon enough. wait til you see this place, it's real picture postcard stuff!
so that's all for now, i'm off up to get in under my mosquito net and sweat the night away under a [rotating] fan, if i could only train myself to breathe in as the fan crosses me!
til next time,
tam biet
so i just spent a lovely weekend in Da Nang. met all of the old volunteers, some of whom are on their way home and also most of the new ones coming in.
we had orientation yesterday for all the placements in the Da Nang house which is where i was supposed to be placed but as the day went on it appeared my services might be required elsewhere!
the ladies in the Quang Ngai house put out an appeal for an extra pair of hands and so i sat and thought about it and thought about it and in the end i went with the decision i'd already made within the first 90 seconds, and so here i am in 'real Viet Nam', Quang Ngai.
ok, so first off, Da Nang is a pretty big city. it's touristy and incredibly noisy and a bit touristy and a lot like any other city in the world.
and i'm a county bumpkin really so that was one really big reason.
the rest was just gut instinct. it was six of one and half a dozen of the other but my gut was just telling me that if i had the choice, Quang Ngai was the place to go.
so we all piled into a scorching hot car and headed off on the 3 hour journey south.
and woohoo, i was right!!!!
it's amazing here. i saw stars for the first time since i left home. we cycle almost everywhere (mostly on dirt tracks), we have 2 inch long geckos crawling along the walls& ceilings all evening chatting away to each other, we have a massive upstairs balcony that looks out onto paddy fields and .... we're the only white folks in town!
deadly!
they all think my septum ring is the most hilarious thing they've ever seen and none of us have experienced celebrity status like this, "hello, what is your name, where are you from, hello, hello" - everywhere! it's great craic.
and the placement, the work, i think it's going to be wonderful. (phew!)
this morning we went to Binh Hoa which is a sort of meeting place for disabled children and their parents and siblings where they can play games, get some physio and we give them fruit and milk aswell. it also seems to be a great support for the mothers, they are such hard workers and disablity is such a taboo in this country that they must have a lot to deal with.
every monday and tuesday morning, they will carry their children or load them up onto a moto or bicycle and make the journey out to Binh Hoa for just an hour and a half - and it seems to be well worth it to everyone.
this evening then i took my first ever english class.
it was mad!
there were about 15 students, from 13 to 37 all with only a little more english than i have vietnamese and they were great fun.
we asked questions and played a game and man it was so hot. hot hot hot!
but it was good fun and i'm looking forward to next week when we'll be talking about travelling, entertainment (i think they meant hobbies and interests..) and jobs.
great! ha!
we have breakfast here at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 5. so far so good on the food front, it's all quite tasty and there's a bit of everything. we eat out of tiny little rice bowls though so i'm not sure how much i'm actually eating in one sitting. i leave the table full anyway, have no doubts!
this evening though as we ate dinner it started to rain a bit, which apparently is really very rare here, i obviously took it with me! the Aussie ladies were delighted until Doreen looked out into the hallway from the table and noticed that it was flooded.
completely!
the drains in the two ground floor bathrooms had blocked and we were ankle deep in water throughout the house for about an hour! it was madness, we had buckets and brushes and jugs and towels trying to get the water out onto the street, happily, we don't have a front door per se, just a pair of galvanised shutter-doors on guides so the whole living area opens out right onto the road.
we all sleep on matresses on floor here and poor Dave's room is on the ground floor and so his matress got soaked. bedlam!
but it was sort of fun all the same and no real damage was done. there are pics around somewhere, i'll do a bit of uploading soon enough. wait til you see this place, it's real picture postcard stuff!
so that's all for now, i'm off up to get in under my mosquito net and sweat the night away under a [rotating] fan, if i could only train myself to breathe in as the fan crosses me!
til next time,
tam biet
Thursday, 29 May 2008
annyeong hi gyeseyo Seoul & gamsa hamnida!
that's good bye and thanks!
so having done very little on my final day in Seoul, Luke (Australian guy staying the hostel) and I decided we'd go and see a Korean martial arts comedy theatre show called "Jump!" last night.
It was 7 men and 2 women chosen from a rotating cast of about 50 I'd say.
Wow, wow wow wow and wow, it was amazing!
I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and my hands were raw from clapping by the time whole show was finished.
The best part was the finale where each character shunned their costumes and the (fairly loose) plot and just gave the most stunning martial arts display i've ever seen.
their mastery of their own physicality is just awesome. and inspirational.
the funniest part was when they did a little audience participation and who did they pick out first? the one person in the crowd who was most opposite to every single cast memeber, Luke!
well it was like seeing Gulliver in Lilliput for real. He was about 15inches taller than anyone else on stage and well, i guess you had to be there so i won't bore you, but it truly was hilarious.
i got my photo taken with one of the cast aswell, i'll post it when i get a chance.
he was the one all the Korean girls were most taken with and it was easy to see why!
it's a pity the girls wouldn't come to see it while they were there too, i know for a fact that Karen would have been in her element! ;)
so then we went back to the hostel where a small crowd was gathering of all the solo travellers and we had a few bottles of beer and a good laugh.
at 12 the guys decided they were going out on the pull and seeing as Bora (the Korean girl in the group) wasn't going out it was decided that i might lend a little credibility to their mission....hmmm!
so anyway, Marc the Manillan-born New Yorker, Deech the half-Indian Australian, Luke the really tall Australian, Julien the French-Canadian and myself hit the town.
unfortunately it seemed that not one girl in the club we went to spoke english so the guys didn't really do very well for themselves at all but I took great pleasure in rubbing it in their faces that I did in fact get chatted up by a Seoulite called Joel.
ok, just one more time - haaaaaa haaaaaa, I won! (sorry!)
so anyway, given that all of their attempts failed, we just ended up dancing the night away until the club closed at 5am and then made our way back to the hostel in the breaking morning so i could pack my bag and head to the airport.
there's organisation for you eh?!
so there you have it, it's now 9pm SE Asia time and i haven't been to bed in 36 hours so i'm going to hit the hay. i'm really glad to have met all the lovely people i did in the hostel, it's renewed my confidence about meeting people during the rest of the trip and i'm looking forward to it.
i'm also really glad to finally be in Vietnam. the language and the people are just so lovely and i'm really looking forward to trying to speak it and learn some more. i'm more than a little anxious about the work ahead and what is about to unfold, i think it's going to be pretty hard.
but i'm also quite sure it will be well worth it.
just a note though, it's 9pm but the temperature is in or around 29degrees celsius.
if it's hot now, what will the daytime be like?!!
yikes
i'd love a bit of soda bread and real butter right now
bye!
so having done very little on my final day in Seoul, Luke (Australian guy staying the hostel) and I decided we'd go and see a Korean martial arts comedy theatre show called "Jump!" last night.
It was 7 men and 2 women chosen from a rotating cast of about 50 I'd say.
Wow, wow wow wow and wow, it was amazing!
I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and my hands were raw from clapping by the time whole show was finished.
The best part was the finale where each character shunned their costumes and the (fairly loose) plot and just gave the most stunning martial arts display i've ever seen.
their mastery of their own physicality is just awesome. and inspirational.
the funniest part was when they did a little audience participation and who did they pick out first? the one person in the crowd who was most opposite to every single cast memeber, Luke!
well it was like seeing Gulliver in Lilliput for real. He was about 15inches taller than anyone else on stage and well, i guess you had to be there so i won't bore you, but it truly was hilarious.
i got my photo taken with one of the cast aswell, i'll post it when i get a chance.
he was the one all the Korean girls were most taken with and it was easy to see why!
it's a pity the girls wouldn't come to see it while they were there too, i know for a fact that Karen would have been in her element! ;)
so then we went back to the hostel where a small crowd was gathering of all the solo travellers and we had a few bottles of beer and a good laugh.
at 12 the guys decided they were going out on the pull and seeing as Bora (the Korean girl in the group) wasn't going out it was decided that i might lend a little credibility to their mission....hmmm!
so anyway, Marc the Manillan-born New Yorker, Deech the half-Indian Australian, Luke the really tall Australian, Julien the French-Canadian and myself hit the town.
unfortunately it seemed that not one girl in the club we went to spoke english so the guys didn't really do very well for themselves at all but I took great pleasure in rubbing it in their faces that I did in fact get chatted up by a Seoulite called Joel.
ok, just one more time - haaaaaa haaaaaa, I won! (sorry!)
so anyway, given that all of their attempts failed, we just ended up dancing the night away until the club closed at 5am and then made our way back to the hostel in the breaking morning so i could pack my bag and head to the airport.
there's organisation for you eh?!
so there you have it, it's now 9pm SE Asia time and i haven't been to bed in 36 hours so i'm going to hit the hay. i'm really glad to have met all the lovely people i did in the hostel, it's renewed my confidence about meeting people during the rest of the trip and i'm looking forward to it.
i'm also really glad to finally be in Vietnam. the language and the people are just so lovely and i'm really looking forward to trying to speak it and learn some more. i'm more than a little anxious about the work ahead and what is about to unfold, i think it's going to be pretty hard.
but i'm also quite sure it will be well worth it.
just a note though, it's 9pm but the temperature is in or around 29degrees celsius.
if it's hot now, what will the daytime be like?!!
yikes
i'd love a bit of soda bread and real butter right now
bye!
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
some photos
so here are a few photos of what we've been up to so far...
Out on the town, at Ho Bar...!
At Seoul Tower, and this is where I'm off to next!
The immensely impressive military dressage display at the War Memorial
Michelle, Karen and Mairead [and soldier] standing in front of the 'photo line' at N1ce lookout point, DMZ.
In the background are the viewers into North Korea and you can only take pictures from behind that line....hmmmm....
Gyeonghoeru Pavillion at Gyeongbokgung Palace
"Kimchi!" Karen's famous here dontcha know!
Everland
Mairead, Karen, Triona, Jay and Michelle
Out on the town, at Ho Bar...!
At Seoul Tower, and this is where I'm off to next!
The immensely impressive military dressage display at the War Memorial
Michelle, Karen and Mairead [and soldier] standing in front of the 'photo line' at N1ce lookout point, DMZ.
In the background are the viewers into North Korea and you can only take pictures from behind that line....hmmmm....
Gyeonghoeru Pavillion at Gyeongbokgung Palace
"Kimchi!" Karen's famous here dontcha know!
Everland
Mairead, Karen, Triona, Jay and Michelle
the lady doth protest too much
on our trip to the DMZ, the tourguide told us how there is a two year mandatory military service for all South Korean men. [in the North it is ten years...and seven for women...]
she mentioned how this often breaks up young couples but that also sometimes those relationships do survive.
there is a saying though, that if the girlfriend cries too much when the boy leaves for duty that she probably doesn't really love him that much and therefore the relationship won't survive.
i suppose she knows she's saying goodbye!
anyway, i was reminded of that last night when i was talking to mam, emer and eoghan and mam was asking if i was awful lonely.
well i'm not! :)
of course i was when i was in the airports and when the girls left and i'm sure i will be from time to time again as the trip goes on but i know i'll be home and i made this choice to go so i suppose i don't have much right to be lonely really.
but apart from that, i've met some lovely people already and i'm looking forward to the rest of my trip with and equal mixture of excitement, anticipation and anxiety!
so, there you go, i miss you all but i'm not crying myself to sleep at night!
in fact, there was a serious thunderstorm last night so i lay in bed and listened to the pelting rain through the open window and it was just lovely.
she mentioned how this often breaks up young couples but that also sometimes those relationships do survive.
there is a saying though, that if the girlfriend cries too much when the boy leaves for duty that she probably doesn't really love him that much and therefore the relationship won't survive.
i suppose she knows she's saying goodbye!
anyway, i was reminded of that last night when i was talking to mam, emer and eoghan and mam was asking if i was awful lonely.
well i'm not! :)
of course i was when i was in the airports and when the girls left and i'm sure i will be from time to time again as the trip goes on but i know i'll be home and i made this choice to go so i suppose i don't have much right to be lonely really.
but apart from that, i've met some lovely people already and i'm looking forward to the rest of my trip with and equal mixture of excitement, anticipation and anxiety!
so, there you go, i miss you all but i'm not crying myself to sleep at night!
in fact, there was a serious thunderstorm last night so i lay in bed and listened to the pelting rain through the open window and it was just lovely.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
a word on Korean health and safety
people don't generally jay walk here.
it's very much frowned upon and the only people i've really seen doing it are the business men in the financial district.
i don't know why though.
scooter and motorbike drivers [sometimes only wearing hard hats as helmets] are just as inclined to drive on the footpath as the road. they're either motorists or pedestrians depending on what suits.
today on my way to the Seoul Museum of Art i found myself in the middle of a building site pretty much. not that i chose to but as i followed the signs to the building, part of the footpath had been completely dug up and wasn't blocked off, so i had to either walk out on the road or step gingerly amongst the rubble.
the other day i walked by a site and even though it was hoarded off, i looked up and noticed that the scaffolding was anchored to the trees lining the street with cable ties.
with cable ties!
the scaffolding was being held to relatively immature trees with cable ties!
so in other words, they don't really get health and safety here yet...!
it's very much frowned upon and the only people i've really seen doing it are the business men in the financial district.
i don't know why though.
scooter and motorbike drivers [sometimes only wearing hard hats as helmets] are just as inclined to drive on the footpath as the road. they're either motorists or pedestrians depending on what suits.
today on my way to the Seoul Museum of Art i found myself in the middle of a building site pretty much. not that i chose to but as i followed the signs to the building, part of the footpath had been completely dug up and wasn't blocked off, so i had to either walk out on the road or step gingerly amongst the rubble.
the other day i walked by a site and even though it was hoarded off, i looked up and noticed that the scaffolding was anchored to the trees lining the street with cable ties.
with cable ties!
the scaffolding was being held to relatively immature trees with cable ties!
so in other words, they don't really get health and safety here yet...!
Monday, 26 May 2008
some quiet time
so the holiday is over and the work of travelling begins! the girls (Mairead, Michelle and my lovely roomie Karen) all left this morning to head back to Ireland. we've had a great few days and did loads. at first it was all a bit strange and the curious stares from people and all the bulgogi sort of put us out a bit but as the days passed we all really enjoyed ourselves and found seoul to be a lovely place. everyone is very helpful - when they're not trying to walk through you off the metro - and we stared just as much at the kids as everyone did at us!
so, what did we do? well saturday we just walked around and got the feel of the place and tried to get over our jetlag. on sunday we went to Everland, "where every day is a holiday!"
ooooft! talk about cheese! it was fantastic though! it's a crazy fairyland amusement park on a level of cuteness i've never experienced before..! only thing is that it rained and thundered like none of us had ever seen or heard before. it was mad. but on the upside we did get stunning yellow everland macs to keep us dry (pics to follow hopefully!)
we also saw the main palace in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung. it was beautiful, really and truly. the attention to detailing on the buildings was mezmerizing. it was full of school children who had great fun practicing their english us, asking us where we were from etc.
karen made the mistake of walking off on her own though and was well and truly mobbed! a pretty girl in a pretty dress with pretty blonde curly hair is sure to guarantee celebrity status here in Korea! it was hilarious to see her surrounded by fawning schoolgirls! (and she loved it!)
we went to the DMZ and the JSA also. the DMZ (de-militarised zone) is 2km deep on either side of the MDL (military demarcation line) and we were given a history of the area and the war/invasion. we also watched a south korean propaganda movie and took a trip down into the 3rd infilration tunnel dug by the north Koreans during the war and discovered in 1978. they had dug it out in such a fashion that 10,000 north Korean troops could be in Seoul within one hour of departing on foot if necessary. scary business.
the JSA is the joint security area held by the UN and Republic of Korea (south) forces. it is right on the exact dividing line between north and south and we got to stand, technically, in the north for a moment. we were taken to an observation tower just behind the border line to see the north korean visitors centre and altogether the whole thing was a little scary. we were marched two by two off the military bus and told not to point or take a drink from a bottle. not to take camera cases or bags with us either. we were being watched like hawks by the north koreans and apparently any gesture we made that could be construed as positive by the north would be used as propaganda by them in the future.
all this talk of propaganda, who do you believe?! anyway, it was fiercely interesting to see and then when we went to the war memorial it gave us a fantastic perspective. seems like it must be pretty frustrating for the south koreans. they didn't start the war (it would seem) and only ever really defended themselves. they have built an amazing railway station at Dorasan, just inside the ROK border in the hopes that someday travel between north and south will be free. if that re-unification does happen, the south will then end up supporting their northern counterparts technologically and economically and you have to wonder what the cost of that support will be to the already not-so-well-off south koreans. guess we'll just have to wait and see...
for your entertainment only, this could never be a true representation of Mr. Kim Il Jong...
Team America:
the markets around the city are amazing too. trying to travel light, i really haven't done any shopping but the girls got some fantastic stuff and for fantastic prices. the fashion here is very cute. and modest. the girls all dress very smartly and pretty much all wear heels all day long but would never expose their shoulders or their chests at all really and few wear short shorts.
we were all a bit taken aback by this and the girls were pretty disappointed that all the vests they'd brought with them were pretty much redundant but we made do and got some lovely clothes that you'd never find in Ireland.
so on saturday night we all got dolled up and went into town. we started off in the HO bar and then moved along to S Club. however, on saturday night for some reason the girls hardly dress up at all! they were out in force in their jeans, tshirts and runners. man, we just couldn't get it right! but we had fun and the music in S club was good and we could dance and stuff. i don't think any of us had ever felt so white before though, everyone was pretty much either black or koreans who thought they waz black. fun times! we got absolutely no hassle though which was great, i don't think it would have been quite like that in an Irish club.
and so to end our little Seoul holiday on a sweet note and Triona treated us to a gorgeous cake last night. ;) there are bakeries everywhere all over the city and the cakes are just stunning. pure works of art.
so now i'm off to try and track down a bed for the next few nights and wander a little. by saturday i'll be installed in Vietnam and getting down to the volunteering, how time flies.
missing you all
eadaoin
so, what did we do? well saturday we just walked around and got the feel of the place and tried to get over our jetlag. on sunday we went to Everland, "where every day is a holiday!"
ooooft! talk about cheese! it was fantastic though! it's a crazy fairyland amusement park on a level of cuteness i've never experienced before..! only thing is that it rained and thundered like none of us had ever seen or heard before. it was mad. but on the upside we did get stunning yellow everland macs to keep us dry (pics to follow hopefully!)
we also saw the main palace in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung. it was beautiful, really and truly. the attention to detailing on the buildings was mezmerizing. it was full of school children who had great fun practicing their english us, asking us where we were from etc.
karen made the mistake of walking off on her own though and was well and truly mobbed! a pretty girl in a pretty dress with pretty blonde curly hair is sure to guarantee celebrity status here in Korea! it was hilarious to see her surrounded by fawning schoolgirls! (and she loved it!)
we went to the DMZ and the JSA also. the DMZ (de-militarised zone) is 2km deep on either side of the MDL (military demarcation line) and we were given a history of the area and the war/invasion. we also watched a south korean propaganda movie and took a trip down into the 3rd infilration tunnel dug by the north Koreans during the war and discovered in 1978. they had dug it out in such a fashion that 10,000 north Korean troops could be in Seoul within one hour of departing on foot if necessary. scary business.
the JSA is the joint security area held by the UN and Republic of Korea (south) forces. it is right on the exact dividing line between north and south and we got to stand, technically, in the north for a moment. we were taken to an observation tower just behind the border line to see the north korean visitors centre and altogether the whole thing was a little scary. we were marched two by two off the military bus and told not to point or take a drink from a bottle. not to take camera cases or bags with us either. we were being watched like hawks by the north koreans and apparently any gesture we made that could be construed as positive by the north would be used as propaganda by them in the future.
all this talk of propaganda, who do you believe?! anyway, it was fiercely interesting to see and then when we went to the war memorial it gave us a fantastic perspective. seems like it must be pretty frustrating for the south koreans. they didn't start the war (it would seem) and only ever really defended themselves. they have built an amazing railway station at Dorasan, just inside the ROK border in the hopes that someday travel between north and south will be free. if that re-unification does happen, the south will then end up supporting their northern counterparts technologically and economically and you have to wonder what the cost of that support will be to the already not-so-well-off south koreans. guess we'll just have to wait and see...
for your entertainment only, this could never be a true representation of Mr. Kim Il Jong...
Team America:
the markets around the city are amazing too. trying to travel light, i really haven't done any shopping but the girls got some fantastic stuff and for fantastic prices. the fashion here is very cute. and modest. the girls all dress very smartly and pretty much all wear heels all day long but would never expose their shoulders or their chests at all really and few wear short shorts.
we were all a bit taken aback by this and the girls were pretty disappointed that all the vests they'd brought with them were pretty much redundant but we made do and got some lovely clothes that you'd never find in Ireland.
so on saturday night we all got dolled up and went into town. we started off in the HO bar and then moved along to S Club. however, on saturday night for some reason the girls hardly dress up at all! they were out in force in their jeans, tshirts and runners. man, we just couldn't get it right! but we had fun and the music in S club was good and we could dance and stuff. i don't think any of us had ever felt so white before though, everyone was pretty much either black or koreans who thought they waz black. fun times! we got absolutely no hassle though which was great, i don't think it would have been quite like that in an Irish club.
and so to end our little Seoul holiday on a sweet note and Triona treated us to a gorgeous cake last night. ;) there are bakeries everywhere all over the city and the cakes are just stunning. pure works of art.
so now i'm off to try and track down a bed for the next few nights and wander a little. by saturday i'll be installed in Vietnam and getting down to the volunteering, how time flies.
missing you all
eadaoin
Saturday, 17 May 2008
seoul
ok, so we all got to seoul ok.
the emirates flights were just great. i had a whole row of four seats to myself on the way to dubai. watched two films and slept for maybe an hour.
[see pic below of stewie enjoying the flight also.]
the one to seoul was jammed but still all good. all in all, by the time i got to bed last night i think i'd had about 4 hours sleep in nearly 60hours though, which was a bit much...but i'll recover!
so we went to a "hof" (pub) with Triona and Jay last night. no one stands up in bars here, you go in, sit down, decide what you want and then press the bell. no waiting at the bar or any such inefficient nonsense. we had 2 x 3lt pitchers of beer, a coke, a plate of German style sausages (don't ask!) and some nachos. all came to 65,000W. which works out at roughly about e40. not bad at all between six of us eh!
so it's almost 10 and we're going to meet Triona and Jay for breakfast soon so i won't delay, not sure what we're doing today, going to the markets and just generally soaking up the Seoul atmosphere i think. seeing as Karen was the only one to get any decent amount of sleep on the flights we're all a bit zombie like so we'll just take it easy today hopefully.
hopefully i'll have some interesting entries soon...!
the emirates flights were just great. i had a whole row of four seats to myself on the way to dubai. watched two films and slept for maybe an hour.
[see pic below of stewie enjoying the flight also.]
the one to seoul was jammed but still all good. all in all, by the time i got to bed last night i think i'd had about 4 hours sleep in nearly 60hours though, which was a bit much...but i'll recover!
so we went to a "hof" (pub) with Triona and Jay last night. no one stands up in bars here, you go in, sit down, decide what you want and then press the bell. no waiting at the bar or any such inefficient nonsense. we had 2 x 3lt pitchers of beer, a coke, a plate of German style sausages (don't ask!) and some nachos. all came to 65,000W. which works out at roughly about e40. not bad at all between six of us eh!
so it's almost 10 and we're going to meet Triona and Jay for breakfast soon so i won't delay, not sure what we're doing today, going to the markets and just generally soaking up the Seoul atmosphere i think. seeing as Karen was the only one to get any decent amount of sleep on the flights we're all a bit zombie like so we'll just take it easy today hopefully.
hopefully i'll have some interesting entries soon...!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
gatwick..
so i'm here in gatwick.
killing time and using up my sterling.
saying goodbye to that lovely sunny island home of ours was tougher than i thought it would be.
hell, it's always hard leaving when it's so sunny and nice and it sounds so good described like that!
the weather here is awful today. suits my mood i suppose, it's just a bit dull and overcast but not raining anymore.
i've slept for approximately 45 mins in the last 28 hours now and drank more coffee than my poor body can handle but i'm looking forward to the emirate flight, should be nice, even if i do look like a hobo by now.
my archos is full to bursting thanks to Moe, full of music and entertainment to keep me happy and distracted if needs be, and needs must, at this point anyway.
gotta go now, the sterling's gone
south east asia here i come!
killing time and using up my sterling.
saying goodbye to that lovely sunny island home of ours was tougher than i thought it would be.
hell, it's always hard leaving when it's so sunny and nice and it sounds so good described like that!
the weather here is awful today. suits my mood i suppose, it's just a bit dull and overcast but not raining anymore.
i've slept for approximately 45 mins in the last 28 hours now and drank more coffee than my poor body can handle but i'm looking forward to the emirate flight, should be nice, even if i do look like a hobo by now.
my archos is full to bursting thanks to Moe, full of music and entertainment to keep me happy and distracted if needs be, and needs must, at this point anyway.
gotta go now, the sterling's gone
south east asia here i come!
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