In my haste to post last time it seems I forgot to include any explanation as to why I have decided to call my "studio" (pronounced "bedsit") 'The Love House'. It is not, as some might assume, that I intend to make this a love shack, baby, love shack but rather it is in reference to the roller-blind over my window.
This somewhat inexplicable addition to the studio was instantly my favourite part of the whole place as it adds the touch of oddity toward which I am quite partial.
The fact that the "Beautiful Life" excerpt it almost entirely irrelevant and somewhat morose, insofar as it encourages you to revel in the misfortunes of others, and yet has somehow been included on this cutesy design. This is not even the best example of misused or misplaced text I've seen. I'm sure many English teachers here have taken a moment to read the notebooks of their students which are plastered in unusual and out-of-place quotes and in a lot of instances misquotes. I'm sure I'll snap a pic of a journal or two in the coming days for you guys.
To the left you can see the office which has everything one could need in an office: an ergonomic swivel chair, a writing desk (please notice the journal, it was placed especially for the photoshoot), and a wall of bookcases, which in this instance is just one bookcase which masquerades as a wall between my bedroom and the office.
Here we have the sitting/dining room which adjoins the office. The Bronx hardwood flooring is underlaid with gas heating to keep the tooshie toasty while entertaining or eating. Joking aside, this truly is the space where Koreans would entertain guests. This is traditional as the Western idea of sofas and couches never really gained traction over here. This seems utterly bizarre to a proud Irishman like myself who has perfected the art of lounging on any form of sofa be it upholstered, leather or even a futon!
Moving on we have the kitchen, or more accurately, kitchenette. This is the only aspect which has disappointed as there are a number of key features of a true kitchen missing. These absences include a kettle, a toaster, a grill and/or oven. However, given how often I eat in this is perhaps mostly a non-issue. Bar the kettle. Kettles are essential. This is a lesson I hope to sneak into many many classes throughout my time here.
The kitchen does however, come with this magnificent piece of confounding equipment which provided endless hours of random button-pushing, beeping and eventually somewhat alarming washing noises before signalling the end of my first load of washing on my first weekend here. Later, I asked my coworkers to translate the Hangul into English for somewhat easier use in the future. Thus you see my pink post-it held up by sticky-plasters like a cheat sheet of laundry. However there are many settings which are labelled in unusual phrasing such as "baby clothes", "blankets", and strangest of all one of the spin settings is labelled "dry like river" the intent of which is anyone's guess. On the one hand I can see it meaning drying the clothes as if they've been in a river or will produce a river worth of water, however, on the other hand I could see it meaning leaving the clothes as if they've been in the river. Someday when I'm bored and it's hot enough I'll try it out and solve this age-old mystery. I'll keep you posted.
And that folks is where I spend those hours when I am not in the norebang or the academy, however few and far between they may be!
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