A Merry Christmas in the mountains

Dear Family and friends

What a magical Christmas it was here in Korea. Maybe it was because for the first time, it was an ice-cold, snowy kind of Christmas that made it so much fun. Christmas just makes a whole lot more sense in the cold weather, when you get to stay in doors, wear funny jerseys, eat warm food and drink Gluwein.

Also, it was very different to spend Christmas with friends instead of family. I have to admit it.. it was realy, realy fun! Not that I don't love spending Christmas weekend with family, I love this too. But for the last few years our little family of four shrunk with Sammy being in America, and it got a little quiet and lonely around. For me there is nothing better than being surrounded by a bustle of people and activities. Maybe I should have lots of kids.. ha ha just kidding.

So this is what transpired.. on Christmas Eve Riwha (my good Korean friend) and I baked our hearts out at school, and bundled our games, food and supplies into a bus and headed for Jangsu-gun Beonam - a small town in the mountains just 20 minutes from my town, Namwon. Now let me chip in here that if it wasn't for Riwha's excellent sense of timing and sound organisational skills there is no way we would have made the bus in five minutes. I have to congradulate myself for chosing such a skillful travel partner.

Our bus dropped us off in a tiny little town whose corner cafe also operated as the local bus stop. The old Korean lady there helped us organise a taxi (very difficult when there are no taxi's in sight). And while we were waiting she poured us a cup of her homemade hot ginger tea, bless her soul. The resort was a few minutes away (Riwha got very cross when I forgot Amber's phone number, crisis reverted when we found it on Riwha's cell phone thank god). I realy need to be more organised, maybe it's time to buy myself a cell phone.

Anyway we quickly got the festive atmosphere goinng, and pulled out our fairy lights and muffins. Riwha set about decorating the place with small bows and little christmas treats. She is so creative, and what an eye for detail!

 

The others soon started to arrive, my good friend Amber from Cape Town, her friend (also a Tash) from New Zealand, as well as a realy awesome climber friend Alison and her friend Nic. Soon mystery Mike arrived on his motorbike (in the freezing cold, poor guy). There was a close mishap when Lauren (travelling from Ulsan) and Jasmine (from Andong), and Bo (Tash's Texan boyfriend) were dropped off in the middle of nowhere by the taxi driver (also now in the middle of the night and freezing cold) and didn't have a foggy clue where they were. There was a mild panic to say the least! They luckily found a Korean man who - screaming at them first - got on the phone with Riwha, and then kindly offered to drive them straight to the lodge. We realy do depend on Koreans for small travelling mercies here, I can't count how many times a little moment of generosity has saved my aas. So after a nine hour trip (which is roughly the time it takes to fly from SA to Singapore Lauren pointed out), they finally arrived and we were ready to celebrate.

Our cabin was warm and snug, and we woke up slowly. Alison made some fun Christmas decorations, Amber read her book. We all marvelled at each others crazy pajamas. We walked and played outside on the iced river and felt like little children. We drank irish coffees and I got a pot of Gluwein going. We played games, ate and snacked and then played more games. My good friend Cristen arrived from Namwon, and then he joined the others for a hike, while some of us stayed to get the dinner rolling.

When they got back it was present time. We each bought just one small gift - the rule being that it had to be funny. We made a game out of opening presents - we were allowed to 'steal' presents from each other or open a new one.  Some of the highlights were bunny socks, christmas underwear, a monkey hat that Riwha loved and wore for the rest of the weekend, and chocolates and a goody pack of spices, seaweed and games that I took. What fun!

At last it was dinner time. On the menu: roast chicken sauted with celery and garlic, honey -marinaded sweet potatoes, a walnut potatoe salad made by Amber that still makes my mouth water, steamed vegetables and a giant salad, washed down with red wine. Yummy! It was hard to eat after that, so we lay about for a bit, went for another jump outside (it just started snowing on Chrismtas eve, how lucky). When we came back we had much more energy and turned off the lights for a dance party.  We managed to eat our two delicous cakes and even get down some of my small apple pies with whipped cream.

Sigh. What more can I say! What a successful Christmas. It was wonderful to share it with friends and people from all over the world. Thanks to everyone for all the planning and hardwork. 
Please have fun looking at these photographs:  http://picasaweb.google.com/natasha.brain/AMerryChristmas2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvPzeuszJ-dAQ&feat=directlink

Merry Christmas! 

Market Day

There are many curious and wonderful things in Korea, and the Saturday market seems to capture them all. I headed there on a chill Saturday morning, looking for inspiration and adventure, and I was not dissapointed.

The market is just a short cycle away on my new bike (everyone rides them in Korea). I headed there on sunny late Saturday morning with my friend, Cristen. The sun was shining and people were bustling about, busying themselves with those things that people do on Saturdays (my Saturday shifts working at the Goodman Gallery seem like a hundred years ago). The Korean children are not so lucky - they have to go to school on Saturdays, but only half day, so there were a few milling about by that time. I bumped into a child who recognized me - I taught her cooking class at our center a few weeks back. I was chuffed that she remembered my name. It feels like the community here is gradually opening up to me.  If know that if I could  improve my Korean, their world would open up to me even more. 

We headed in the direction of the market, and passed stalls loaded with cheap clothes (the Chinese type that we get at home), bright colourful umbrellas and veg, and a big truck selling piles of fresh muscles in their shells. I was already taking out my camera, but then we got inside the actual market, and I was gobsmacked... Rows and rows of people selling things...I never knew Namwon was so big, or had a market this size. Fish slithered and splayed out of boxes, dead bodies displayed open in the morning air, or alive wiggling in buckets.

Now stop here if you are alarmed by this. In Korea, fish restaurants have their stock delivered alive to their stores, and you can pick your fish/ crab/ whatever else from the aquarium outside the restaurant. They don't seem to hide the death of the animal from you here - there are constant reminders that your foods is alive and you're killing it. Take for example the wiggly fish that are eaten as they jump around on your plate. I don't know if they're wrong for bringing it to our attention, or if we are for keeping the truth from ourselves, but either way it's the first time I've seriously considered being a vegetarian...

Veggies were fresh and bountiful, and thanks to Cristen's' Korean, I managed to pick up some nice lemons, and a rosemary plant, which were both 'heerlik' with my fresh fish the next day (obviously I recovered quickly from the meat conundrum the day before). I also got some home made fresh pumpkin noodles, which I can't wait to try, and a bunch of fresh veg which I got for a whole lot cheaper than at the shops...Success! Now if I can only figure out the currency in Korean, I could head down here every weekend for supplies. It's great motivation and practice.

 On my way out I spotted these freaky looking dried fish (the preferred snack in Korea, although I think these were just for decoration). I almost bought them, but then decided a photo would do. I want to draw them for a Korean still life. Check these out!

So as you can probably tell, I had great fun at the market and will be frequenting it more in the future. My cupboard got stocked with healthy food, and I got a good dose of fresh inspiration.