Wonju Tattoo: Photos and Videos

As promised in a previous entry we said we would give you some photos and videos of the Wonju Tattoo Festival.

The local Korean Marching Band

Ladies from New Zealand dancing while the beautiful sound of bagpipes filled the stadium

A packed stadium

The presenter of the show



Now for the videos, all the music you hear is from the people marching so keep in mind they are rocking their instruments while also making awesome formations....It takes incredible coordination. The sound on these videos isn't ideal but it should give you a taste of what we saw:

The local Korean band starts off the show



The Philippines were by far the stars of the show:

The Mexicans were also good fun!

Unfortunately my battery ran out so I wasn't able to record the USA and the Korean Army which were phenomenal. All in all the Wonju Tattoo Festival is just good old fun and I really hope that they decide to keep to keep the festival going because it would be a pity to loose such a wholesome and fun festival!

Post by Claudia



A weekend away!

We finally plucked up enough courage to grab a bus and go away for a weekend, and man was it worth it!

We started off by going to Nami Island, so beautiful, but I forgot my camera (boo). Oliver has amazing pics though and I am sure he will put them up soon!

As for the rest of the weekend...it was soooooo cool!


Below is everyone who was there. What a blast!!!

However, the boys outdid themselves on SoJu and passed out early. Myself and Chrissie took it upon ourselves to draw on their faces and take amusing pics of them!! Loads of fun.

Let's just say the next morning was not pretty but what better way to sort out a barbie than to have some amazing korean food. Mmmmmm!

We finished off a glorious weekend by going quad-biking. It was my first time....what a rush!!

Oli has super cool photos of the weekend...mine are just to wet your lips!

Post by Claudia

Food glorious food!

I have been asked endlessly about what the food is like in Korea. If I could sum it up in three words it would be SPICEY, TASTEY and GOOD!

Many of you who know me know that I can barely handle a packet of Peppadew Lays, let alone a plate of incredibly spicey food. But hey, a girl has to eat…so I have had to learn. I am proud to report that after a week and a half in Korea I am already showing a higher tolerance for hot food! Yeah Dawg!!!

We have not been able to take as many photos of food as we would have liked. Simply because we are terrified of looking like typical westerners (I know its stupid, but we have this weird paranoia).

OK, but enough with explanations. Let’s get to the food!

Oliver has bigger balls than me (duh!) because he ate silk worm larvae. I couldn’t make myself do it, and I am glad because he complained about the taste endlessly!

We went to another restaurant which had no pictures and only words. Feeling brave I pointed at a random one, indicating that that is what we will be having. We got a plate of some or other vegetable covered in hot sauce. It was delicious. But then we saw the table next to us get a plate of something that was moving, but I mean, really moving. We thought that it was a plate of worms, later we found out that it was octopus. They cut off the tentacles of an octopus while it’s alive and they vibrate on the plate for a while before the die down. That is the last time I pick a random object off of the menu. Phew!

As you would expect, there is a lot of rice! And it is the best rice ever! Gimbab (a roll of rice and fish – similar to sushi) and Bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables and eggs).

In Korea you can find dried or pickled anything, octopus, squid, fish, vegetables. It’s weird and cool! We have had loads of the pickled stuff (delicious) and some dried mini fish (surprisingly Mmmmm).

Chicken in Korea is mind blowing…just thought I’d throw that out there!

With most meals you drink water, Soju (a watered down vodka), or Hof (draught beer).

Sweet stuff, there is not much in restaurants but tons in convenience stores. We bought some Dr. You the other

day. Chocolate cake that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating, supposedly!

OK, well that’s it for now!!!!

Bone meat soup!!! Yum!




Dr You: All the calories, none of the guilt




Rich Rich Chicken: sweet, crispy and unvelievable!


By: Claudia

Ok, just an update.

Well, so far things have been going quite well.

We both have our first two days of teaching behind us. My first two days were an absolute blast. The kids are really fun to work with, and most of them do cooperate quite well. Claudia's first day was quite hectic, with her being thrown somewhat in the deep end. Her second day was much better though. She did come home with a pretty big smile on her face!


Yesterday Claudia's director and his wife came to pick us up, in order for us to go to the hospital and do some tests for our medical aid and for our "Alien Cards". Alien cards....


Anyway, we got to the hospital, and had a whole bunch of tests lined up...sight tests...hearing tests...weight...height...chest x-rays...pee in a cup...blood test. It was pretty intense. And the craziest thing about it all, all of these tests took about 30 minutes to complete, for both of us. Back in South Africa this would have taken hours!
After that they took us for some nice lunch. Very cool!




And in other news, here are some completely unrelated pictures. Just some snaps to show our new home.






These flowers are all over our beautiful city, Wonju. They are what's left of the cherry blossoms that bloomed just before we got here. Pity we missed the big boom. Next year...







These signs are visible all over the city. Everywhere. These places are known as 'PC Bang' (bang rhymes with tongue). They are internet cafes where one can sit 24 hours a day just surfing or playing games. Usually Starcraft or Sudden Attack.




This is a picture I took of an ad on TV. It's really, really weird, like a lot of ads here. I wish I could find the video to show you. It really is crazy.


Post By Oliver