So I have been an intermittent blogger over the last few weeks and months. There are reasons :-) Until just over a month ago I was in New Zealand with my family, which was lovely. However there was not much happening that sparked my talking interest, I mean that it was all so normal. :-) I do realise that what is normal for me is not normal for others, but I wasn't sure you all wanted to read about the day in the life of someone living in the NZ countryside.
Then I was in Oz for a three weeks, which was also lovely, but also normal. I got to stay with some of my favourite people, and see lots more of my favourite people, and get a visa.
Now, just in case you haven't caught up with my news I'm now back in South Korea. Loving being back!!! Even with all the talk of war. Only problem with being back is that I don't have as great internet as last time. Last time I was in the heart of Seoul. Now I am just outside of Seoul in a New City, I'll talk about that in a bit. I'm actually quite close to where I was when I first came to Seoul, I can see the same mountain near my apartment, but now I'm on the other side.
My apartment is new and unfurnished. I have brought a small amount of furniture. A Korean style bed, a clothes rack, a small bookcase, a small chest of draws and a small desk. Notice it is all small. I'm trying to make sure that everything I buy can be moved easily. Don't want to have to hire a truck to move apartments. Currently I can carry everything by myself - though it will take a few trips.
The Korean style bed: you start with a two inch thick pad with a zip on quilted cover, then you lay a small quilt about a cm thik on top of that - it acts as a bottom sheet, and then I have my NZ duvet, donna for Australians and I have no idea what you Americans call them, on top of that (I brought it with me). I'm not worrying about a top sheet as it is too much of a hassle to tuck it in, will just have to wash the duvet cover regularly It is all finished off with two nice fat western style pillows and pillowcases that match the duvet cover. It all of this sits on a 5 inch thick base. During the day I roll the thin pad, duvet and everything up into the corner of my room. Then the base folds in half and becomes my chair for working on the computer. It is actually very exceedingly comfortable.
As well as these aforementioned items of furniture, we also have an ironing board - a real one, not one of the tiny Korean ones that sit 6 inches off the floor, and a coffee table and a donated TV which we can't use - not that I want to - but it has an American plug so we can't even plug it in. Thats it! Nice and minimalist. Oh, yes, there are also two plants with pretty pink flowers that were gifted to me by one of my friends from before. She was careful to give me instructions for their care; they are each to get only 1 shot glass of water once a week. This apparently will guarantee them a long and happy life. We will see. (My flatemate/roommates also has furniture for her room, but I'm not counting that because it's her furniture. I like the NZ term better, roommate makes it sound like we share a room, but we don't, we share an apartment.)
The best thing about our apartment - and all Korean apartments for that matter is the heated floor!!! Today was COLD! That cold you get when the wind is blowing over snow. No snow where I am, but plenty of wind. I was chilled to the bone by the time I got home - and it's only a short walk. However I had anticipated that situation and left the floor heatin on. Normally we turn it off when we go out, as the apartment holds its temperature quite well, insulation in the walls and all the windows are double glazed. However, today I just new I'd want a warm floor when i got home - and I'm so glad I left it on, arrived home, unwound from all the layers and immediately embraced the floor! Felt a bit like the Pope kissing the earth when he gets off a plane. Warmed me through in no time flat ^^
Internet: Korea is the country with the best internet coverage in the world. I am absolutely positively sure of this fact. When I was here before I invested in an iphone and used it's personal hotspot feature hook my computer onto the internet. Now ironically I can get wonderful cellphone coverage everywhere in Korea except in my own apartment!!!! I have discovered if I cuddle up to the glass of the big picture window in the lounge I can get enough coverage to send and receive messages, check my emails, etc. But I have to hold the phone flat against the glass and lift it quite high up. Makes it difficult to type when it is plugged in. Then yesterday I had a brainwave. I put a suction cup style hook in the window as high as I can reach, and a plastic bag on the hook. Then I put the phone in the bag and use my extra long USB cable to plug it into the computer and 'm back online and able to type :-) Works exceedingly well - although now making phone calls is not quite as easy - feel like a freak shouting up at the plastic bag ... lol! Yes I can take it down, but if I do the coverage is more likely to disappear ...
 |
| This picture shows my chair/bed base, phone in bag or hook arrangement, desk and computer. The pink patch is the brain hat I'm knitting myself. More on that another day. |
Goodnight for now
XOXO
No comments:
Post a Comment