The New Place

The new place sucks! I cannot ever get away from NOISE it seems. It does not matter how carefully, or even how carelessly I try and find a place. NOISE plagues me wherever I go. And, this new place is no exception. This time it's a rooming house, and an illegal one at that from what I can tell; too many tiny small rooms in too small a space and without proper fire escape routes etc. As far as I can tell, the place is four separate apartments converted into sixteen to twenty small rooms, some with private bath and most without. Mine has a private bath. That was the only draw for me at the time

Anyways, there is no sound insulation in the walls such that I hear everything. People also have such a large footprint that they have no idea how to live within such a small confined space. BANG, BANG, CRASH, CRASH, TALK, TALK, like it was right in the same room. And, late into the night when most "normal" people sleep, too. Arghhhh! I need to get out of here!

Working, Working and Working

I guess I should update this thing! Anyways, I did get that hotel job I mentioned in my previous post. Been working there for almost three weeks now. Although, I do not get as many hours as I need to survive yet. Low season is upon us. So, that may not look very promising until next spring when high season begins. The same can be said about the wedding studio job, too. I might need yet another part-time job to tied me over the winter months. I'll look for that soon. Right after I move again.

Yes, I'm moving again. I need a place closer to my work places and closer to the cheap places to eat in the city; that being downtown "Chinatown". I mean, where else can you get a plate of food that is so full that even I cannot finish it for $4.00 (and that INCLUDES the tax already)! I mean, "McD's" combo meals are TWICE that price (PLUS tax) any day!

Let's put this another way, a slice of "all dressed" (meat lovers, meat and veggies, etc.) pizza at the local chain pizza joints that dot this city cost $4.85 (after tax). A 6" cold cuts sub at the local chain sub places cost $4.84 (after tax). There is really something wrong in this country when food is so ridiculously expensive everywhere except Chinatown. I mean let's GET REAL! More food on a plate than I can finish for $4.00 vs a pizza slice, or a tiny sub sandwich that leaves me still starved for more than that! C'mon!

So, I'm moving into an area where, in my youth, I would never have in my wildest dreams thought of living. But, here I go doing exactly that. It's where the cheapest places to eat are located and it would actually cost MORE to cook it myself than to eat out. Trust me on this, I used to cook and it cost a small fortune in this city to do that. If you can make a well balanced meal (simple carbs + meat + complex carbs - read: veggies) for under $4.00, let me know!

Plus, after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is to be at the mercy of public transit. It used to take me well over an hour to get home after work. That is, until I discovered that it was faster to walk home from the subway station than to wait for a bus that only runs every 26 minutes. The walk only takes about 13 to 15 minutes depending on how energetic (read: fast) I feel like walking after running around at the hotel all day.

Well, that's all the news fit to print for now.

The Job Search

It's been almost one month since I've come back home to Toronto, Canada. And, I've been sick for almost three weeks of that time with a cold in my throat that just would not go away. It's, thankfully, almost gone now!

But, I've not been lazy either as I've been searching for a new job for the past three months now; for a couple of months before I left Korea and for the past month since I've been back. I've also been working freelance for the wedding photography studio that I used to work for before, too. They have some urgent post processing work that needs to be done. I'm still there for about another week and a bit, I think. Hopefully.

Anyways, the results of my job search have not been good. By this time, I am about ninety job applications into the search; about a dozen to Japan, about a dozen to China, about a dozen to Taiwan, about fifty to Korea and the remaining approximate dozen in Toronto. To wit, I have had a grand total of four interviews and possibly one bogus job offer from China that did not even have an interview associated with it. They also never supplied any current employee contacts that I requested either. Hence, the bogus job offer conclusion. Of those four interviews, three of them were from Japanese companies and one from a Toronto company. I have another one in Toronto tomorrow, too. Wish me luck!

If you do a simple statistical analysis on those numbers, you would think, all things being equal, that I would have gotten the most job interviews from the Korean companies. But, no. I had none, Zero. Zilch. Which leads to the inescapable conclusion that, as it is well known around the internet community already, English teachers teaching in private schools in Korea are for non-Asian English teachers only. Period. If you want a good teaching position in Korea as an English teacher, you cannot be of Asian decent. It's as simple as that. I won't belabor this point anymore as an internet search will get you all the information you will need on the subject. Suffice to say that, for the present time, I am no longer looking at English teaching positions abroad. For the time being, I will stay in Canada and find work in Canada, whatever that work happens to be.

As a very good friend of mine said to me recently regarding this predicament, and other related matters; "there is no place to run!"

Bambino Italian Bistro

One of the things I love most is good food. And, by that I should say, good authentic food. Not some "somethingized" version of a food. Italian food is one of my favorite things. In North America, as well as South Korea, they "North Americanize" and/or "Koreanize" most foods from other cultures. I absolutely HATE this bastardization of original authentic foods! The taste is absolutely not the same afterwards. I know I've waxed poetic (perhaps "bitched" is a better term) about this phenomenon regarding Chinese food in years past and I won't rehash it all again here. Suffice to say I prefer the original tastes of the foods that I eat.

In Toronto, Canada, where I have lived for most of my life, there is a very large Italian community in the city with many authentic Italian restaurants. Like most ethnic peoples, Italians will refuse to eat Italian food if it is not authentic in taste. So, I have had "real" Italian food quite often. Plus, I've also been to Italy. The food taste is the same, which is AWESOME!

One of the late finds during my last few weeks in Korea was the only authentic Italian taste restaurants I have ever found there. They opened downstairs in one of the buildings in the "officetel" complex where I used to live. I regret not being there anymore because their food is just so AWESOME! Owned by a very nice young couple, the food is to die for. It is amongst the best authentic Italian food tastes I have ever had. Period!

I have tried many of their menu items, but not all of them. I was never disappointed by anything they made. Today's photos are of one type of pizza they make; Salami Pizza. It is a thin crust pizza with just the right amount of crunch at the edges and with soft, creamy, chewy cheese in the middle. The salami is real Italian salami and not North Americanized salami so prevalent in pizzas everywhere. The drizzled olive oil makes it so rich and tasty. The appetizer is made of toasted bread with a crushed olive topping (black) and of a lemon topping (green). Very tasty indeed. The salads they make are amazing. I cannot describe how incredible the taste is. If all you know are North American lettuce and tomato salads, you are missing the other 99% of the world!

I wish them great success in their new business as their food is that good. I worry about how well they will do because most Koreans do not like to stray outside of their own Korean food tastes. And, this restaurant is about as far outside of their usual comfort zone as you can get; it's authentic and that's something Koreans only like when it comes to eating their own foods.

Very Highly Recommended

Price: Reasonable

Location: Hivarasa Ville, Incheon, South Korea; opposite Home Plus near Imhak subway station.

Home Again!

I'm home again! Jet lagged, but otherwise okay. It's really tough to stay awake till bedtime. I'm falling asleep as someone is talking to me. It feels like the twilight zone, except worse! I should be better in a few days. Then, I'll do that last Korean restaurant review promised in the previous post. Gotta go to bed now!

Last Looks

Today was my last full day here in Korea. I had to move out of the apartment early in the day and that left me with lots of time afterwards. As such, I returned to my old neighborhood after checking into a hotel near the airport for my final night here to do some shooting. Perhaps, I should have done more of that while I was there! Anyways, and in no particular order, here are some shots of the stores and restaurants that I frequented while living here. I will miss them!

Grand Mart department store. A somewhat iconic older chain store that has been around for a while. This one is a block from where I live and is the very first place I shopped at when I arrived here. It's kinda old and run down looking both on the outside and on the inside. But, the stuff they sell are the latest wares.

The main entrance.

A funky sculpture outside.

Yes, that is a McD's you see there. It's in the fourth floor food court area and the taste of the food is the same here as back home in North America. I generally don't like McD's and only ate there a few times. The fries are about the only thing I like at McD's.

Judging by the number of pix I shot of this store you would think it was my fave store. But, it's not. I just like the big old building itself. It's interesting to me because it reminds me of the old stores and buildings in the 60's.

This is Home Plus. Now, this is my fave store. They have just about everything you could want and at decent prices, too. Although, the quality is sometimes a bit low. A part of the UK based Tesco chain of stores, this chain does very well here it seems. It's very popular and always busy. I eat at the Lotteria fast food chain upstairs in the food court. You might recall a review of them a while ago. Basically, the Korean version of McD's. I like them.

Main entrance.

Secondary entrance at the other street corner.

The entrance just opposite my apartment building and the one I usually use.

My former apartment building. It's known as an "officetel"; which is a combination of residential and businesses scattered throughout the building. And, I do mean throughout the building, not just relegated to the first few floors. There was an office type business just on the other side of the elevators facing my apartment. And, I was on the ninth floor!

One of, usually, four entrances; one on each side of the building. This one faces Home Plus. And, is the one I usually used as the recycling depot is closer to this end and I recycled stuff everyday. I'll miss the easy recycling bins, too. Canada's recycling system SUCKS in comparison.

Looking up from just outside the entrance.

Inside the building; the downstairs elevators. There are three of them. But, they are divided into odd floors, even floors and both! Kind of a different system. I don't really know if it's more, or less, quicker. I usually didn't have to wait too long as I leave so early in the morning.

The elevators on my floor.

My former front door.

If you've seen some of my earlier posts regarding my former home, you'll know what it looks like on the inside already. I no longer had a key at this point! Wahhh (sniff, sniff)!

Outside my former front door looking towards the right hand side.

Towards the left hand side.

Straight ahead. Yes, I was right in front of the elevators, but I didn't get too much noise from it, though. People were generally decent about noise.

From the elevators looking towards my old door.

The dry cleaners I used. Pants dry cleaned and pressed within three days; KRW2500. That's a bit over CAD$2!

Caffe Bene. Perhaps the best gelato and waffles I have ever had. It's a chain all over Korea. I love them. I did a review of them earlier.

The best place for home made style dumplings I've ever had. They are home made as you can see them being made as you sit in the restaurant.

Perhaps the only authentic Italian restaurant in all of Korea. A very recently opened restaurant that I just love. I'll have a full review of it coming up soon. I regret that I have to leave just as they arrived!

The best European styled pastries and breads I have had anywhere. Although, some of the "Koreanized" versions of things are a bit not to my liking; like corn added to things where they should not be added. I dunno about this corn thing everyone here seems to have going. And, I mean regular yellow corn like from the cans. Another chain found throughout Korea.

The is the place where I used to get my hair cut for KRW5000 (less than CAD$4.50). Now, compare that to back in Canada where the same hair cut used to cost me CAD$21 + tip! I will surely miss this place, too. I mean, c'mon! What a difference in prices!

A fried chicken place I like. Ironically, fried chicken is not considered a main course meal food here. It's regarded only as bar food and not served with things that you would normally associate with a complete meal; like fries, salad, bread etc. Trying to find a complete meal that includes fried chicken as the protein source is impossible. Luckily, this place had potato wedgies in one of its menu items. Try finding french fried potatoes anywhere other than McD's and its Korean clones.

Korean BBQ grill. Most yummy. A charcoal grill inside your own table where you cook the raw meat yourself. Absolutely the best Korean food around. Various different types and all of it is just so good! Well, except for the spicy versions which are too hot for my tastes buds to handle. This is my fave grill restaurant as their red bean dipping sauce is out of this world good.

My usual table (right) outside on the deck; well, at least during the summer and warm weather months.

Another BBQ grill restaurant that I like.

A noodle place that I like. Their noodles are amongst the best I have had here. Although, they do need to cut down on their use of mussels and clams a bit and add a bit more shrimp in their broths. All in all, still very flavorful and yummy.

Well, that's a very quick and dirty run down of the places in my immediate former neighborhood. I didn't remember to shoot everything, though. For example; my doctors offices just across the street, my bank right at the corner, my tailors just downstairs in my former building, the pharmacy inside Home Plus, the contact lens place right next to the bank, the E-Mart on the way to school, the pizza place also on the way to school, the school itself, the sidewalk vendor who makes the best fresh-made doughnuts I've eaten and so many other businesses that closed up after a few months that I used to frequent. Things change very quickly here in Korea.

I will miss them all. Tis a bittersweet, wistful, feeling at the moment punctuated by short moments of panic when I realize I am headed, once more, into the unknown. I was very excited about coming here to Korea and did not have such moments back then. Now, that I am on the flip side heading back, I sometimes wonder if it was the right decision to leave. Well, what is done is done.

Into the abyss I go!