Home sweet home?

It seems I have been searching for a home since I left mine in 2006, a few months before I left for Korea. I had been living in the same apartment for seven years (!) and was so comfortable in my life there that I had to move to the other side of the world to pull myself out of the rut I was in.

Mission accomplished. Right?

I suppose. Since then, I have become a very different person, some new good qualities have emerged and there are probably some new bad qualities that I may not recognise in myself (any help on that one is appreciated), but I think for the most part I am a better person than I was when I 'left home'.

I think my desire (back then) to stay in one place, and not move, came from the fact that I had been moving all my life. Every two years when I was a kid and my parents were together, and then I left my mom's house as soon as I hit 18 and was able to. I guess I never really felt like I had a home. So, throughout most of my twenties, I lived in this wonderful (if a big dingy and old) apartment with some great (and some terrible) people, until I decided I was far too young to be so comfortable in life.

So, here I am, two and a half years later, living in yet another foreign country and I've decided to make this country/city/culture my new home. Not like Korea, which was always going to be short-term, but like that apartment that I found in my twenties, London will be home, for quite some time.

Now I just need to find that physical place, a space all my own, somewhere in this vast city that I can actually call home and not 'my room'.

I've been on the hunt for about a week and a half. I've given notice to my current flatties that I'll be out by the 1st of February. It's not easy here, though, to find somewhere that lives up to (or even comes close) to that feeling of home that I had in my apartment in Montreal. I know it always takes time for these things, I know I didn't feel 100% at home in the first year I lived there, so maybe I just need to give it time? The problem is, I haven't even seen anywhere that has the potential of being "home"...

I'll just keep looking. I know it's got to be out there somewhere. Everything else in London has fallen so perfectly into place and all I'm missing is a good home... so I know I'll find it... I'm just so tired of searching.

flat hunting.

I've had enough of this house. I need to move. I've been looking at rooms for the last four days. Hence not posting yesterday out of utter exhaustion. I still haven't found the perfect place, but have seen some decent flats.

Most of the nice ones are a lot more expensive and at the upper levels of my budget, but might be worth the extra money.

A few of the places felt like going back in time 150 years.

One of them had a loo that was covered wall to wall, ceiling to floor in pictures of Jesus. Another had showers in each of the rooms and wallpaper reminiscent of a time when Victoria was in power.

A couple had promise, but the flat mates would be ten years younger than me and I don't need to play mommy to anyone.

Finding a flat in London is tiring and difficult. That's all I can say right now. Hopefully I'll find something soon... More on all of this to come, right now I'm catching up on my Sunday post. Apologies if you came looking and found nothing...

a serious update... or january in a nutshell... or it's a really long one...

I can truly say that I brought in the new year with grace and style this year. I think I did anyway. The evening started out that way, kind of. Ok, maybe I'm wrong and it was actually a night of total and complete debauchery... it was so long ago now that the details are fuzzy, though that could also be blamed on the champagne.

Lisa and her most wonderful flat-mate hosted a party - and since I was still living with them at the time, I sort of did too, even though I didn't know very many people there. Lisa and I started cooking the day before - sausage rolls (from her dad's famous recipe), vol-au-vent, dips of all sorts (two Canadian imports - my world-renowned spinach dip and an onion dip). there were meatballs, and plates of veggies - and that's just what we made. There was also a cheese porcupine (you know when the cheese is stuck to toothpicks and they are stuck into a melon to make it look like a porcupine!) sandwiches, crackers, breads, and on and on, like I said, my memory is a little hazy...

The spread at the start of the evening... see the porcupine!?

The bathtub was filled with ice and cold water and the drinks were dumped in. Somewhere in the range of 30 bottles of champagne, as well as unknown amounts of wine, beer, and liquor. (I vaguely remember shots of jack daniels at around 5 am.)

The bathtub at the beginning... should have taken before and after shots...

All we needed were the guests, and like in that famous movie, if you build it they will come... the rest, as they say...

Someone brought these awesome noise making balloons and we all went nuts with them!

It was a truly brilliant night. Sorry there are no photos of me, that's what happens when you're the official photog and no-one knows how a real camera works! Oh well... I think there might be a few shots of me floating around somewhere, but I will likely never see them... and so, neither will you!

At midnight.

The last guests left the party at 7:30 am. If that isn't a night of debauchery then I don't know what is! It reminded of my late twenties when I'd go out clubbing on St. Laurent with the girls *wink wink. Not something I like to do often, but amazing when it happens.

The next day I 'moved' to a different flat a twenty minute walk from Lisa's to (of all things considering my allergies) cat sit. I spent a week there and moved into my own place when my duty was up.

This is when life in London really began for me. No more hanging with people I knew all the time... having my own space... finding my way to work from my new home... getting all the shopping done... and all the other stuff that comes with life.

My room is in a house with seven other people. A Kiwi couple in one room, a (I think) Polish guy, a Columbian exchange student, and three Algerian guys. There is no common room, just the kitchen and two bathrooms, but that's ok. My room is what is referred to as a "double" because it's big - almost, in fact, as big as my apartment in Korea was. (There will be pictures when I tidy up...) It came furnished, almost, but it has everything I need now.

My house. My room is the bottom window.

It's on the first floor and I have huge bay windows that look out on the street. This can sometimes be annoying as I can't leave my windows open, but I don't think I would in London even if I were on the fifth floor! (More on crime in London in another post.) I DO get lots of light though when I want/need it (or when the weather chooses to co-operate!)

In early/mid January, I had a couple of visits with D & A of Korea fame. They finally made their way here after seeing most of Asia, Australasia, Russia and much of Eastern/Northern Europe (I think anyway - check her blog for greater detail - coulda woulda shoulda (doesn't open in a new window, so wait til you finish here!!)) It was kind of surreal to see them here, but it was amazing to have the opportunity. hint hint... anyone coming to london... ?!?!?!

The rest of the month has been mostly work and more work. I work at a regulating body - I'm a spoke in the wheel of bureaucracy... how ironic. It's boring, but it pays for the extraordinarily high rent and cost of living... I just get by really. Sometimes I work overtime on Saturdays.

Sometimes I go into work with Lisa on Sundays - which is incredible. I don't want to name names, but many of you must know where she works, and for me, it is the most amazing place to be learning. If you want more on that you'll have to email me directly, as I need to be more discreet here than in Korea... people... speak... English!

To get to the Tate Modern... follow the orange posts...

I've walked around nice places like Green Park and St James Park (they're both next door to the Queen's house, otherwise known as Buckingham Palace). I went to the Tate Modern a couple of weeks ago, which was one of the nicest museums I've been to... oh the Miro's and Picasso's and Pollacks. I even bumped into an old J-school friend while I was there. Weird.

St James Park

Also St James Park... looks out of a fairy tale...

I will leave you with some pictures and put January out of my mind (and this blog) now... though, if I think of anything, I will let you know.

A black swan at St James Park.

One last thing for January, I hate Haggis for the first time on Robbie Burns Day. It was good, but I preferred the vegetarian version. We even read aloud the ode to haggis... good times.

The Haggi' fresh out of the pot. Veggie on the right.

The meat one being chopped up.

On my plate and ready to go.

my house... is a very very very small house...

I live in a rooming house. I know how that sounds (or do I?). There are seven bedrooms in the house, a bathroom with a bath, a shower/toilet room, and a kitchen. I think there are eight people living here (but I have yet to meet them all and so really can’t be sure)and because of the uncertainty of sharing a house with so many there are some inevitable shocks.

Shock 1 – no paper in the toilet. I guess that everyone just brings it with them when they go. I’ve left a roll in the toilet for myself, and I hope that no one minds… but it doesn’t seem that any do.

Shock 2 – everyone has their own kitchen equipment. Obviously we all share the oven, stove top, fridge (one upstairs and two down), toaster, microwave, sink…etc… but they all have their own plates, utensils, pans, pots etc…

This was a huge shock to me today when I got home with a work friend (after shopping for other household goods – pillows, sheets…) with a load of food to cook some thai green curry and discovered that I was meant to have my own pots, pans, plates etc… Thankfully one of the guys that lives upstairs told me I could use his in the meantime, but it was just so foreign to me.

Is this my first foreign experience in England? Yes and no. In most flats people share things and live together, but because this “home” I’ve found is more like a rooming house, it seems like this could just be normal. I have yet to verify this with a ‘native’. Regardless, it was a shock to me. I really didn’t expect that I’d have to buy all those things that you have to get when moving into a new place.

There are a few things, as mentioned above, pillows, duvet, sheets that I expected the expenxe for, but I seriously believed that my flat would come “all-in”. I had a nice chat with my landlord this evening about it all. We’ve come to an amiable agreement – he will pay for it all, within reason. He’s really very nice for a landlord, and I really like my room. I feel comfortable here.

Of course, my room came with almost everything I need – bed, dresser wardrobe… I just need to get a few necessities and a couple of extravagancies, and it will truly be all mine. But I guess what I’ve learned is not to take anything for granted and not to assume (ass out of U and me) anything, which I really should have learned in Korea, but sometimes in life we need to make the same mistake more than once for it to really stick.

I’m okay with the situation. Maybe I’ve rationalized it in my head… but I’ve told my landlord that I’ll sign for six months and if I really don’t like it (even before) that we’ll figure something out. For now, I’m happy to have my own room and an underwear drawer, even if I have to go shopping for some pots and pans… at least I’m not paying for them.

**nb... it's been a few days since I wrote this post and haven't had time to post... sorry... but I have found out from my 'native' Londoner, that it really isn't normal that everything isn't included.

the dragonfly days of summer

that's right, dragonfly, not dog. don't think i've mentioned it, but the dragonflies are out in full force. it's pretty incredible to see hundreds of them just floating through the air above you. haven't taken a picture yet because i haven't had my camera with me and they probably wouldn't shoot that well, being as small as they are, but i'll see what i can do.

it's been hotter than hell of late... hovering around 30 C, plus humidity, which brings it to something like 50 C (okay, might be exaggerating a little) which is kind of nice on some level, but i am praising the fact that i have air conditioning in my apartment. i don't know what i'd do without it sometimes. it's one of those really nifty ones that has a remote and all kinds of controls. i'm not sure what most of them are, (the remote is in korean) but as long as it keeps spitting out cold air, i'm ok.

the coolest part is that i can adjust the temperature. if i want to leave it on when i sleep i can leave it on warmer so that i don't wake up in an ice box (not to mention that it can't be good for you to sleep in the freezing cold of the aircon, can it?).

anyway, we're in high summer here, and i've had the afternoons off all week, so have been heading up to the roof to work on my base tan. it's coming along very nicely. got a bit of a burn on my legs yesterday, but they're fine today.

the heat is also good for an excuse to not go to the gym, i mean, i'm melting anyway, right? been getting there as often as possible, but they don't have the luxury of a working aircon (korean for air conditioning) so sometimes it's just too hot to work out for very long.

eleven days to thailand. and 39 days to home. those are some numbers that i can live with! (as opposed the million degree heat).

ahh... the sounds of home...

my last apartment in montreal was home to me for about seven years. for about four of those i lived next to a construction zone.

the city was re-building a highway overpass across the street from me. the Decarie Expressway in Montreal, which, where i lived was below street level - kind of like a giant moat. they were re-doing the overpass that went across it on the corner of my street. it turned out beautifully, but the four years of construction all spring/summer/fall wasn't very fun.

summer was the worst because you couldn't open the windows without hearing the trucks beeping, or the jack-hammers drilling... all through the night. that was the only time they could safely close the highway below without interrupting anyones' busy schedules - other than the people who were trying to sleep that is! thankfully (for me, not my room mates) i had an inner bedroom that didn't get ALL the noise.

i remember one night my roomie actually called the number they had posted on the signs outside to complain about noise levels. the guy on the other end could hear it through the phone. they sent over some sound pollution testers within a couple of days, but nothing ever came of it. there were some barriers set up, big pieces of plywood that did nothing to eliminate the noise, and i guess they figured that was enough. anyway, it was pretty bad but i suppose we got used to it for the most part.

this morning i was awoken to the nostalgic sounds of drilling in concrete and heavy machinery. i've been expecting it, since there is an insane amount of repairs to the sewers going on around here... it was only a matter of time until they got to my street... but it is a good thing they aren't doing it overnight - they only started, as i woke up, at 6:45 AM. (still, a little early to be drilling, no?) i had to take a shot from my front door... so here it is:
isn't that the cutest little excavator you've ever seen? and the mini dump truck too! too bad they don't sound so small! anyway, the view was quite similar to what i remember seeing in north america. one guy working and three guys watching! some things are the same everywhere you go!

***

on another note, my day went much better today than yesterday. i managed to get out for my lunchtime walk and found a new route to take that allows me a little time in the woods as opposed to staying on the streets. it was nice to be surrounded by trees, if only for ten minutes! the laryngitis is clearing up - almost gone actually - but i'm a little worried about the five classes i have tomorrow and friday... hopefully the upward trend of recovery will continue.

i finally caved...

and bought a toaster oven.

i know it seems silly with less than six months left here, but it just makes life so much easier... my apartment doesn't have an oven, since it doesn't have a regular stove. i only have a two spot gas range... so, no oven... but now i am the proud owner of this:
and at only 26,000W (~30$cad) it was a steal! just try to find one that cheap in canada!!! anyway, i figure i can sell it when i leave... and if no one wants it then it'll be a nice gift to one of my co-teachers.

can you tell i had a boring weekend? the highlight is a small kitchen appliance. i spent my weekend in solitary relaxation... i just didn't feel like going out to the bar and getting home at 5am... maybe next weekend...

home?

today i finally got letters from Canada - three of them! i'm almost sure this means that the post office wasn't sure what to do with them for quite a while. they were all sent at least a couple of days apart - not to mention that two of them were stapled together (very odd). anyway, one was from my mom, one from my grandma (i've been corresponding with her since i was a little girl) and the last (but not least) was from Bilal. i call him my nephew because his mother (Alexia) is like a sister to me - we've known each other for twenty years. he sent me pictures of his trip to France in the summer and a drawing that he made for me. since he's only just turned five, he can't write yet, so his mom wrote it for him, but he signed it. i miss him a lot and call him semi- regularly so he won't forget me! though i don't think he actually will. anyway, it was really nice to get letters from "home". especially since i got them right after coming home from the homeplus (!home!) after buying my first Korean houseplant! haha! so much HOME - a good enough title for this post, i think! anyway, i usually have a black thumb (not green) but i figured what's two dollars?

buying it went something like this:

me with hands in the air: sun?
korean lady (in korean): two thousand.
me with hands waving in the air: sun?
korean lady: no. no sun.
me: okay. i'll take it!

my apartment does get some sun, but i want this for my kitchen where i don't think it'll get much light, i wrote the name down in korean "shinsangbum" and will investigate to see what kind of care it requires. it's just a little thing, the picture makes it look bigger than it is, but hopefully i won't kill it. maybe i should talk to it, give it a name? then i'll really be certifiable! talking to my plants! haha! anyway, i'll let you know if i kill it.

so where's home really? thoughts? comments?

home sweet home

i was waiting to post pictures of my apartment until i felt it was ready, but i don't know how long that's going to be... so here it is. i tidied up and put everything away - as best i can with no shelves... and took these videos with my little point and shoot... no sound, but it's not really needed anyway.



and since you can't see the bathroom, thought i'd shoot a separate one of that for you... it's also known as my shower.



ahh... my home for the next eleven months... i lucked out with the size of my place, kat's apartment is smaller but she has more furniture. the other places i saw were about half the size of this one.

here i am!

well, i'm finally getting settled in my new home. i have been placed in Young-Eun Middle School in Gimhae, which is near Busan in the southern province of Gyeongsangnam-do. i have been set up in a newly renovated studio apartment - new fridge, gas range, wsahing machine, microwave, toaster, rice cooker, electric tea kettle, wardrobe, bed, tv, table and chairs... well, you get the idea. everything is new. there are no bugs, and it's clean. what more could one ask for? i was missing gas and, therefore, hot water for a few days, but everything has been sorted out, and it's starting to feel more homey.

today i'm off to Busan to apply for my alien registration card - that will allow me to get a telephone and the internet (at home) which i am looking forward to, since this PC at school just doesn't cut it for this Mac user! besides which, this version of windows is in Korean. for some reason blogger is also all in Korean, so it'll be nice to be able to use my own computer and really understand what i'm doing.

so i teach four classes a day - except tuesday and thursday when i also teach the teachers (five classes). so far it's gone quite well, i think. i'm not really sure, since i don't get any kind of feedback from anyone. the vice-principle comes to a few of my classes a day and stands at the back watching me, i'm not sure why since he doesn't understand English at all... maybe just to get a feel of my classroom technique? which, of course, is nil. lol... i'm hoping that some of my "team-teachers" will be open to new teaching methods - i would like to make class fun and interesting for my students... i think some of them will be into it, and others not so much.

anyway, this is not a very interesting post - no pictures - but i just wanted to put something out there, let everyone know that i am alive and well, and will post something more interesting soon.

keep watching for my post on the "Korean Village" - a working traditional village that i visited last week...