This is Verena Gotsch from Finland. I finished high school 2006 and after that I have been working and travelling, next spring I will be reading for the university exams. I travelled to Korea via Trans Siberia, first to Moscow and from there to Beijing. From there I continued to Qingdao and took a boat to Korea. Long way from Finland... I came to Korea because I heard that the nature should be very beautiful here, mountains and forest, many places to go hiking... I hope that will be possible during my travel here. I have also been curious to now more about the korean culture and arts.
18 Dec 2008
Arriving LATE in the evening... I took a long time to come here by train and bus from the other host family, where I could surprisingly stay only one day because there was some kind of a seminar.
19 December 2008
Because I had really odd stomach pain since arriving in Korea on the 16th December I asked to go and see a doctor. The host mother in the previous family had also taken me to see a doctor, but a korean traditional medicine doctor who did not speak any english and was trying to give me some acupuncture healing...
This second doctor in Shinbuk did not ether speak much english, so I till not really know what is wrong... But I was given one injection and a huge amount of medicine, 12 pills each day during 3 days... Argh! Scary! Never eaten so much medicine in my life! I am waiting for the side effects...
20 December 2008
The second day of making bean paste, washing, boiling and pounding beans... From morning until evening. I wonder what we will make of all that paste.
I have not had any bad sleeping problems yet... I wonder... Both pillow and mat are made of wood, not very soft to sleep. But I guess it is good for ones body to sleep on a hard mat. I just could not first imagine that I would be able to sleep like that! This is really hard core! Real korean bed...
The food I have had until now has been the best! I love korean food!
- In the photo, she is pounding bolied soy beans with a traditional Korean stone mill. It is one of steps to make Korean traditional soy bean paste.
21 December 2008
Visiting a spa! Wow! Very relaxing and refreshing! Pools with water in different temperatures, saunas with amethyst (I do not know the english name, but a purple stone) stone as a roof. I had already really missed the sauna, this was of course very different from the Finnish sauna, but still. Afterwards I went for a walk and saw some bean paste loafs hanging outside of some houses. So I guess making it is quite popular in the country side.
- Photo taken at Mt. Wolchul Spa
22 December 2008
Finishing the making of bean paste. I understood that later it will be used for making soy sauce. But before that it has to be kept in a warm place for one month. I was also trying to make rice straw string... Too difficult! In the evening we ate some sweet bean soup with rice cakes... Mmm... Delicious!
23 December 2008
Some work outside in the garden... I was again thinking how beautiful it must be here in the spring when the persimmon trees are in flower...I was also going for some walks... There is a scary dog farm nearby... I was wondering why are there some many dogs...
24 December 2008
Christmas! Working first in the garden again, cutting some bamboo... I also walked to Shinbuk to buy some body lotion. It is always so fun to walk in a city when you do not know at all the local language and people staring... It took long time to find a shop with lotion although people were very helpful. And in the evening for my great surprise a christmas party! Eating nice food and singing christmas songs! Really cute! My parents where calling too! I had not expected to have any christmas at all this year.
25 December 2008
Christmas day! Working the whole day outdoors again, planting persimmon trees. It is exciting to think how those trees will grow and later give fruits... And I have been there when planting them! But it was freezing day, snowing and windy and since I was not moving that much I caught very cold... Drinking a lot of hot coffee...Having again a party in the evening! Wou! Some relatives coming for visit and they brought cakes and vine from Uzbekistan with them... Delicious, brown, sweet vine...Mmm... I do not think that I have ever before had something from Uzbekistan... We were also eating some chinese food and noodles. Was really fun even though I could not follow the conversation! So until now I have had a very different christmas from normal but I guess that I can not really complain.
26 December 2008
Christmas is continuing... Having a funny breakfast with the hostess, eating cakes with persimmon jam and sweet milk coffee! A proper Christmas breakfast indeed! After breakfast we were continuing the planting of persimmon trees and doing some other garden work. In the evening eating out in a restaurant serving raw beef and raw beefs liver... At home I am quite strict vegetarian but I have to admit that this was something absolutely delicious.
For a while I had been wondering why there are so many dogs at a neighbour farm... Might they be dogs for eating? I knew that it is normal to eat dog meet in Korea which is a quite shocking idea for me... Well, today I heard that it really is a farm for producing dog meat... Small culture shock...
27 December 2008
In the morning we went to get more persimmon trees for planting with the host. It is nice to drive around and see the hills and mountains... Later we where planting the trees. In the evening the hostess was teaching me her meditation method... We often do some stretching same time in the evenings before going to sleep and this time I asked her to teach me her method. Very relaxing... I have to continue it when I go back to Finland.
- Photo taken with the host
28 December 2008
Last day. I slept very deep and long after the meditation... Today we finally finished the planting of persimmon trees. It is fascinating to think that those trees will live longer than me. Who knows maybe I will see those trees again some day.
We went to eat out for dinner again, this time buffet! It is always fun to go to a buffet in an other country when you have no idea what all the dishes are! But I am just so full!