Best… and the only

Can you believe it? Fish and Chips in Pohang?

You better believe it… because this is the one and only place to get it.

Portobello, a bar, located in downtown Pohang. Their fish and chips are pretty good, 15,000won. I think it would be nicer if they could serve it with proper chips instead of wedges. And even better if there was a wedge of lemon or some vinegar. But overall, it was great. Large portion.

Also, try their buffallo wings, 13,000won, served with tater tots.

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Duriban

Hee Young recommended us to this cozy little restaurant, called Duriban. You can almost mistakenly read it as Durian.

I wouldn’t call it a restaurant. It’s not a cafe too. Let’s call it an eatery then. It’s very small inside. But very tastefully designed. So sorry I forgot to take a photo of inside the cafe.

Even the cutleries and serving trays that they serve the food in is so thoughtfully thought of.

Mathias ordered their sushi set, because he was craving for sushi. And I ordered Donkatsu set. The tomato pickle in that heart shaped dish is really appetizing.

Not only their food is visually appetizing, it tastes great too!

If you live in Pohang,  pay them a visit. They’re closed on a Sunday.

http://blog.naver.com/duriban8092

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Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year (CNY) is just around the corner. Unfortunately I won’t be going home this year round. Will be celebrating another quiet CNY, just the two of us 😦 Will be inviting some friends over for a small “Tuan Yuan Fan” (family dinner), together on the eve.

Koreans however, call it 설날, pronounced as Sollar, known as Lunar New Year. It’s not as happening as CNY.

This year, Mat’s research company gave everyone a box of goodies.

The supermarkets are stocked with all sorts of gift packages. The Koreans will buy these gifts for their parents. To name a few, a box of wagyu beef, exotic mushrooms, dried anchovies, nuts, like the one Mat received. And some gifts are plain weird, like a box of Luncheon Meat (spam). That’s like poor man’s food (btw, it’s not cheap)! Anyways, whatever makes them happy.

Here’s Mat’s gifts, a box of nuts: Almond, cashew, walnut, and a small packet of dried blueberries. Unfortunately Mat can’t eat any of those, except for the dried blueberries. If he eat the nuts, he’s asking for trouble!

Happy Chinese New Year Everybody. Wishing you a Blessed and Prosperous New Year!

새해복마니받으세요! (se hae bok mani badeu se yo)

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APCTP Retreat 2013

Was looking through all my photos and realized, I was really lazy at blogging last year… lol… 😛

Remember Mat’s company retreat 2 years ago at Deogyusan? Well, last November, it was that time of the year again for another retreat. This time, we went to Gyeongju. It was somewhere next to Bomun Lake, Gyeongju.

The Director of APCTP giving a short speech, telling us to be enjoy and be safe!

This time, it was more like a team building kind of retreat. So we played some team building games, like the one below. A whole new way of tug of war. All pictures here were taken by Mat. And we couldn’t take pictures of all the activities we did because, we were in it! There was this game where 10 of us had to jump rope as many times as possible. And another game where 10 of us had to bounce a ball without dropping it.

This next game is gladiator, where you have to knock your opponent down.

Man vs man, and lady vs lady.

After that, we were exhausted! Went for lunch at this restaurant called Meat & Meet.

Food was just ok, typical korean bbq pork, but what made it better, was of course, the wonderful APCTP researchers 😉 We dominated the whole restaurant!

After lunch, came the final showdown. A few painful rounds of paintball.

Issa and I getting ready for war!

This “field” however was more realistic compared to the one the year before. It had trees, and bushes and oil cans, and a hut.

Mat playing a fool…

That’s one happy victim?!

The worst part of this game was the final round. We had to play paintball russian roulette style! I regretted having been called to play for my team.

Teams walking away from each other ready to shoot at anytime.

My enemies shooting at my team

Me, 2nd from left, being shot at

The damage: Terribly shot in the head!

I regretted because the distance was too near! And you don’t want paintballs hitting other parts of your body that is not protected by the helmet and breast plate. I had terrible bruises on my arms and legs.

Other than that, another fun day! And another great retreat once again! Wonder where will we go and what we will do for this year’s retreat!

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It’s Finally Published!

It’s not as dramatic as the title sounds, but hey, I got something published in a little local UNESCO magazine. Yippee!

I was asked to share about Malaysia in the local schools here in South Korea, under the Unesco Cross Cultural Awareness Program, and after the presentation, I had to write a report to Unesco about my thoughts of this program.

I was invited to share about the Malaysian culture, people, arts, etc… to school children. After my very first presentation, I was sooooo proud of myself because I remembered all my Malaysian history… lol. And after the second presentation, I was like, wow… I’m really Malaysian… hahaha…

A BIG THANKS to Viola Chan for helping me edit my terrible writing.

Here is my article:

I’m Not Korean

I think this is an amazing program introduced by the Korean government – which is to spread the knowledge of different cultures and of people from around the world.

Last Saturday, I went to a high school under the UNESCO CCAP program to introduce Malaysia. I had a great time sharing the Malaysian culture with the students. I think it’s a great idea to start introducing this program to children since they are the future generation.

The first impression I got of Korean students was that they work very hard; they must do, since they go to school at weekends too. I never had to go to school at weekends. When I told the Korean students that class starts at about 7am and finishes at about 1pm in Malaysia, they couldn’t believe it.

So far, I’ve been in Korea for more than a year; and this is what I’ve come to realize. Most Koreans expect a foreigner to look like a caucasian, or be colored in some way. To Koreans, I look like one of them. When I’m in Japan, they say I look Japanese. When I’m in Taiwan, they say I look Taiwanese.

I suppose I do look like a Korean since I have fair Asian skin and black hair. No one suspects I’m a foreigner until I speak. Many Koreans do not realize that people from different nations can also look like them, and that foreigners need not necessarily be African or Indian.

Coming from a multicultural and multi-ethnic country has its advantages. When I was in school, I had Malay, Indian and Dayak friends, friends of different cultures and skin colour. People appreciate each other for who they are instead of where they are from. Over time, people learn to develop tolerance for one another, and this eventually leads to acceptance and friendships. This means less racism as people appreciate each other’s ways and practices.

Korean, on the other hand, is more homogeneous – especially so in smaller town and villages, In fact, I’ve often been mistaken for a Korean since I arrived more than a year ago. And this isn’t always a good thing.

Let me share a few incidents with you:

When I go to the market for my grocery shopping, the Ahjumas stare at me the moment I speak. When I go to a shopping mall and try my very best to speak Korean, the shop assistants realize instantly that I’m a foreigner (Uigukgin). They sometimes walk away or ignore me for fear of not being able to communicate with me in English.

When I’m with my foreign friends, I’d speak in English. When I do this on the bus, nearly everyone on the bus would turn their heads to stare at us, especially the children. When I converse in English with my husband, people wonder why we do not converse in Korean.

Once I was standing between a Spanish and a Columbian. A University Professor came by and greeted the Spanish and the Columbian with much enthusiasm. He asked where they were from, and said “Oh, we are happy to see international people!”. I was about to extend my hands to introduce myself, but he just walked off! I feel a little sorry for foreigners who look Korean since they will most likely be regarded as a local Korean and therefore will not be singled out for a special welcome. 

These are just a few humorous moments of my life in South Korea.  When my friend asked if I would like to share my Malaysian culture with school children, I was really excited! I wanted to show the children that a foreigner could look like a Korean too! Hopefully, I can do something to minimize the stares a foreigner like me gets when he or she looks or talks differently.

Nearly all of us have a foreigner as a friend. Following the development of the Internet, distances between people and countries have become smaller and smaller. The world is truly a global village.

Our neighbours may or may not look like us, and may or may not share the same culture. One thing’s for sure – our experiences have become richer and better for having known and appreciated the various different cultures and peoples of the world. My life here in Korea is like an extended adventure – I never know what new experiences each day will bring. And I am sure when the day comes for me to leave Korea, my friends at home will think I have become a little Korean in my ways. 

 

Flora Aik
A Malaysian living in Korea

p/s Malaysian Embassy, if you happen to come across this, you should seriously think of making me an Ambassador of Malaysia!

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