Victory is mine!

I went to the Korean embassy today to beg the powers that be for a visa. They saw fit to grant my request and I shall be picking up the sacred document on Friday. :) They also assured me that the kerfuffle that is going on between North and South Korea at the moment will not lead to my untimely demise. Which is good.  

I have been snowed in for the past few weeks but I have not been idle whilst in my icy prison! I have used this time to try and prepare myself for life among the good people of South Korea. For example, I’ve attempted to master the art of using the mighty chopstick with the aid of instructive youtube videos. So far the chopstick has proven a worthy adversary and I have not yet learnt its secrets… The food continues to evade my grasp! If it were not for the keen foresight of my esteemed friend Sarah I would surely perish in that noodle crazed country… Luckily, this wise and plucky young lass has provided me with one of Ikea’s finest ‘chopsticks for retards.’ The two legs of the chopstick are held together with a spring so you don't have to be able to hold them properly to use them. It's basically a giant peg that grips food. Ingenious.

With the aid of helpful translation websites and of Feg’s Korean-English phrasebook and I have also learnt some useful Korean phrases such as the following: An-nyŏng (hello), Ki-rŭl i-rŏ-bŏ-ryŏ-ssŏ-yo (I'm lost), a-ra-dŭ-rŏss-ŏ-yo (I don’t understand), sal-sal-hae-yo (Easy tiger!) and perhaps most usefully of all Nae hoebuhkeurapeuteuneun changuhro kadeuk cha isseyo (My hovercraft is full of eels).

With my trusty chopstick in one hand and my Korean phrasebook in the other I shall be fully equipped to face any challenges that lie ahead! I hope...